Welcome again to another iteration of Stars to Stories. Whether you’re joining in for the first time or returning from last month, I’m glad to have you here.
If you’ve had any modicum of exposure to astrological content online, you may have already heard that the highlight of this month will be the tri-annual mercury retrograde. What I see commonly with this phase is the click baiters and list makers of the WWW using it to call alarm, declare meltdown, and sell corporations a whole lot of ad space.
Why breed more fear in the world though when every day a screen is telling us to be scared? Mercury’s retrograde is a common phenomenon that occurs because of the orbit speed of our earth at angle to what’s beyond, not because we’re doomed or completely helpless to the external influence of the sky.
As we live through the current culture’s arms race of domination, maybe these intermittent reversals are a good thing. During this time of unbridled accumulation, this period’s astrology can help us to lose what’s not ours to take forward. Lose our greed and our shame. Our destructive, disconnected tendencies; our insane ability to frame the world only in terms of competition and lack.
Each day is filled with more for-profit prophets claiming philosophies of affirming our way into success and prosperity, as if all of our heart’s desires can be nestled into a couple of words repeated each morning or night. We can’t deny the fact that our souls are such complex things that we need words ad infinitum to even begin to comprehend ourselves. We need words, desperately, to free ourselves of the separation of this cut-off culture, this isolation, this pain. This longing for what feels out of reach.
The word affirmation has its roots in the Latin firmus, meaning what is solid, hard, stiff, or rigid—securely fixed in place. All of that is not what this month will be about. For March I’d recommend you learn how to be a lake, or a puddle that reflects the beauty of the cloud-filled sky, rather than an outdated monument untruly firm in its position. To encourage this juicy flexibility, the horoscopes are lined with sign based questions, not aphorisms to be staunchly obeyed.
Can you go back to what still hurts this month? Can you go back to what you dreamt of when you were younger, or back on the commitments and patterns that are making you sick and depleted? The optics of Mercury’s backward path relative to the earth will help you imagine what’s outside of the strictness of that pressure, what’s beyond that you haven’t yet felt, what could be if the threat of not having a safety net wasn’t such a real hurdle to overcome.
On March 6th, the same day the planet Mercury goes retrograde in the sign of Pisces, Uranus moves into Taurus for the next seven years. Uranus loves to shake things up, to innovate, to shock and enlighten. While we may be going backward this month, we certainly won’t be returning to what we always have counted on. We won’t know what we don’t know until we trace our hands along its edges as we stumble alongside it in the dark, how beautiful.
This month I hope you can sense the parts of yourself that feel whole and healed, even just for a moment, even if it’s simply in the space of a fleeting breath in the mere outline of that possibility to come. To all who are joined here through this column, I wish you infinite blessings from the deepest part of my words. May you feel guided by what’s beyond.
xo Laura
Scroll down for horoscopes by sign and read for your ascendant or rising sign if possible.
(If you’re curious to find your rising sign, go to astro-seek.com. After you enter your birth information look to the left of the circle to the line that says AC. If you’re intrigued, confused, or both intrigued and confused you can email me at starstostories@gmail.com for a consultation.)
Aries
Are you feeling run down, Aries? This month, the parts of you that feel out of reach or unconscious are crowded. Your vitality, your forward motion might be much more interested in browsing Internet shopping and streaming shows from bed. Can you be cool with that? What if it lasts for a few weeks? Stay within your means, and don’t neglect what’s necessary, but the mini-retreat might be good for you—it could simply be from home. April will pick back up with what’s unprecedented and speedy in its course. Even the coaches of the most prime athletes know that utilizing temporary time outs is mandatory for playing the game well.
Taurus
Can you accept the unexpected, Taurus? This month, Uranus moves into your sign, which is seismically something you’re bound to feel. There could be shakeups involving your career or whatever part of you is public. The next few weeks will have you reviewing alliances, friendships, and the groups to which you belong. While there might be hard decisions to make, there seems to be some luck involved. Are you looking for a new job? New revenue stream? Be patient with the disruptions—April will provide more concrete answers and forward movement involving your finances and spending. Spend this time now innovating and dreaming up what’s to come.
Gemini
Do you have a project currently under review, Gemini? Or are you thinking of new ways to structure your pay scale and resources? March may be as mundane for you as navigating taxes or insurance based on the work and plans you put in place in the past. As annoying as it can be to have to focus on the blurry memory of what happened last year, take care of your responsibilities now. The start of April will be a boost of energy for your sign, so be sure to clear out and complete the nagging tedium now to ensure a fresh start to the spring season ahead.
Cancer
Are you rethinking how you want to broadcast your work to the world, Cancer? Are you and a friend or colleague reviewing plans in terms of your teaching, travel or writing? Are you coming up with a different structure to your education or classes? Some of this may come up because of new professional groups that emerge or innovative ways of connecting with your peers. You may be surprised by the powerful support of an older partner or mentor who helps you rethink your public position and gives you a boost you didn’t have previously. The turnaround could help you to question and evolve any outdated beliefs.
Leo
How are your energy levels, Leo? Is your vitality dragging with the work of navigating murky tax, insurance, or health issues? If there are any complications because of work or illness, there should be some reversals in the next three weeks. While you might not quite be feeling your usual bright self, the last week of the month will give you a shot of heightened oomph once the sun moves into Aries on the equinox, March 21st, and then again when Mars moves into Gemini on the 31st. Winter will officially be over, and your sunniness will be free to shine.
Virgo
Do others seem elusive, Virgo? Out of touch or ungrounded? In March, the orderly aspects to your world are becoming blurry and wet like a watercolor. The dream occurs elsewhere, with others, with your artistic audiences. What emerges from partnerships or alliances might surprise you this month. Things might not be as controlled or neat as you prefer, but there are spiritual, creative, and imaginative insights to gain if you can endure the temporary frustrations. The innovations that occur might make you rethink and reframe what it is you enjoy so you’ll be able to launch into the spring with renewed gusto.
Libra
Are you wanting to beautify things, Libra? Feeling the need to move into a larger space or to spruce up your residence, but feel stuck in terms of your income? There are major developments going on between your home, work, and finances. Maybe something about how you see yourself needs to be shaken up that could affect how you view your worth and ability to draw in resources. You’re probably much more capable than you’re giving yourself credit for, Libra. On the plus side, partnerships may start to feel extra enjoyable this month, less stuck and less inert. What can you do with what and who is drawn to you?
Scorpio
Are you feeling any shifts in regards to your partnerships and pleasure, Scorpio? There is something at work in how you relate to others and the reinvestigation of the watery ways in which you enjoy yourself. At best, you might run into an old friend, ex, or crush while at the grocery store—and at worst you might run into an old friend, ex, or crush while at the grocery store. The psychic stew that burbles up from the past will help you revisit what it is that makes you feel good and who you want to be aligned with, even if those relationships don’t make it far into the future in their current forms. You’ll have heightened energy in April to fix and transform what it is that needs to evolve into something new.
Sagittarius
What’s going on at home for you, Sagittarius? Fantasizing about a dream living situation? Life-work balance? Someone moving in with you, or out? There will be repeat conversations that take place with family or where you live involving the subtle nuance of keeping your career and partnerships in harmony. Even if there are ideas at work underneath the surface, it’s important to put in the legwork now for those things that are yet to be seen. Come April partnerships will be revitalized after the reviews that take place this month. Can you stay realistic about your finances even while imagining your ideal place to put your roots down?
Capricorn
Have you been rethinking your routines, Capricorn? This month will have you reviewing all things related to how you spend your days and what it is you enjoy. There might be reversals in your schedule and where you circulate around town. Visiting an old haunt that used to bring you pleasure might be fruitful in terms of what you discover or recover about yourself. Is there a former hobby that accidentally got lost in the past? Or neighborhood space that previously was meaningful to you? Let yourself have fun with the ways you move through your community—it could help to brighten up the last weeks of winter.
Aquarius
Are you confused about money, Aquarius? Is there something going on behind the scenes with your possessions and the income you take in? Could it be that there’s an older boss or family member that you need to liberate yourself from? March may provide a revisiting of the past ways you used to provide for yourself. If you’re feeling lost or directionless in terms of how you want to get paid, use the next three weeks to brainstorm ideas about what it is you want to root yourself to and how to make yourself feel grounded among the flux. Your living situation may be asking you to innovate and improvise as well.
Pisces
Are you dreaming big, Pisces? This month is full of juicy illusions and direct access to spiritual influence. Can you dive into the fantasy without numbing out? As is usually good advice for you, make sure not to overdo it with mind-altering substances this month, even if that simply means reducing time spent on social media, video games, or binge watching. Maybe your obligations to the groups or organizations you belong to can help you stay solid. Or conversations with friends can help tether yourself to reality and keep you grounded. If you have a vision to share with the collective, please do! Don’t you know how desperately the world needs your innovations and inspiration?
Note: these horoscopes are intended as words of stimulation and suggestion, not as cardinal rule or unbiased fact. By engaging with this page, you agree that all choices made based on the information provided in this column are your responsibility alone. Take a breath and be well!
Attending AWP? Laura will be reading with Shirley Magazine at The Stacks Coffeehouse on Saturday, March 30th at 6 PM in Portland, Oregon. Stop by and say hi!