retrograde *again*?
how to tell what March's astro will mean for you
Listen to the audio version:
i’ve been anticipating the astrology of March 2025 for a year, and still i woke up on February 28 and said, “wait, Venus goes retrograde tomorrow??” it’s true. Venus is retrograde and she will be until April 12.
it’s a time and a half out here astrologically. i don’t usually write transit reports or forecasts, but it’s such a moment that i’m going to dip my toes back in (and probably get water everywhere).
the threshold between Aries and Pisces1 is a focal point in March, to say the very least. Venus retrogrades from Aries to Pisces, Mercury retrogrades from Aries to Pisces, Neptune goes from Pisces to Aries, and this month’s eclipse season straddles both signs. if i were to take a crack at answering the question, “what will the astrology of March mean for me?”, well… that’s what' i’m going to do below.
but first, in case you missed it:
March booking is open,
and you can use the code PALANTIR until midnight tonight to get 20% off a reading with me!the coupon code has expired, but my books are still open!i wrote about phone as palantirs and some not-meta apps things to do on your phone to help you stay sane.
what’s happening in March
Venus Retrograde: March 1 - April 12, 10° Aries - 24° Pisces
Mercury Rx: March 15 - April 7, 9° Aries - 26° Pisces
Lunar Eclipse in Virgo: March 14, 23° Virgo
Solar Eclipse in Aries: March 29, 8° Aries
Neptune enters Aries: March 30
two signs (Aries and Pisces) are in focus for March, and therefore two houses in your chart. the most basic way to figure out wtf is happening for you is to think about the significations for those two houses, and think about how Venus and Mercury each go from one to the other: a game of compare and contrast, of this-but-also-this, and of parsing.
when there’s so much action between two places like this, it can be helpful to think of the planet going back and forth between two places, vibes, concepts, or ways of showing up. from there you can ask: what are they pondering in this back and forth? what are they retrieving? discovering? grappling with?
we’ll break down what that looks like in practice, but first, here’s a cheat sheet for each rising sign and some ideas of “between what-and-what”:
Aries risings: between your 1st and 12th houses
between yourself and your deepest fears/longings
Taurus risings: between your 12th and 11th houses
between your deepest fears/longings and your social/community life
Gemini risings: between your 11th and 10th houses
between your social/community life and who you’re becoming
Cancer risings: between your 10th and 9th houses
between who you’re becoming and your values/worldview
Leo risings: between your 9th and 8th houses
between your values/worldview and deep bonds/vulnerability
Virgo risings: between your between your 8th and 7th houses
between deep bonds/vulnerability and how you show up in relationship
Libra risings: between your 7th and 6th houses
between how you show up in relationship and the tangible maintenance of yourself
Scorpio risings: between your 6th and 5th houses
between the tangible maintenance of yourself and your authentic self-expression
Sagittarius risings: between your 5th and 4th houses
between your authentic self-expression and your home/family/roots
Capricorn risings: between your 4th and 3rd houses
between your home/family/roots and your mental patterning
Aquarius risings: between your 3rd and 2nd houses
between your mental patterning and your finances/resourcing
Pisces risings: between your 2nd and 1st houses
between your finances/resourcing and your sense of selfhood
this list is so, so limited. there are so many other house significations that may be much more relevant for you, so don’t be afraid to mix and match from your own keyword bank to see what resonates with your lived experience. need a robust list of house significations? Your Personal Seasons is a sweet lil $5 guide to mapping your astrological year, and it has a big table of house topics to give you ideas.
the context: saturn in pisces and aries/libra eclipses
there have been major Stories in Aries and Pisces for the past two years. Saturn has been in Pisces since March 2023 and the North Node has been in Aries; and while the two signs are in aversion, the Aries/Libra eclipse story has been so deeply linked to Saturn in Pisces it’s honestly a little weird. these two places in your chart have had something to do with each other for almost two years—in a way, this connection between Aries and Pisces is nothing new.
a concise list of the way Saturn in Pisces has involved itself with the Aries/Libra eclipses:
in every swallowed lunation on the Aries/Libra axis, every push and pull between autonomy and interdependence, every return to selfhood and departure from over-accommodation of others, Saturn has been there exerting a subtle influence on Venus and Mars as stewards of these processes. like a hand on the shoulder that brings you back to your body that is so, so tired, Saturn insists we stay with the meaning we are making, no matter what catharsis and catalyst seduce us into abandoning our long work.
your own experience of the Saturn in Pisces story and the North Node in Aries story set the tone for March’s astrology.
saturn in pisces
i wrote about Saturn in Pisces back in 2023. i asked to be shown what to make of the Lord of Limits in the Realm of Limitlessness, and i was shown a Bone Collector walking a black sand beach, a desert, the ruin of a decimated city, the whole world. this image of Bone Collector is how i understand this transit, and therefore the narrative being woven by this 2.5 year chapter. but here’s a translation into normal words:
Saturn solidifies and concretizes. Saturn recognizes the substance of a thing: what will last through time and trial. In Pisces, Saturn solidifies the connections between, the both/and truths that defy the false either/or binaries we are fed.
In Pisces, the truth that there is less distinction between this-and-that or you-and-me is revealed, and we find ourselves in a sea of Stories, none more or less objectively real or true than the others. Saturn in Pisces teaches us that the Stories that become Real or True are the ones we choose. The chimeras that take form are the ones you feed with your time and attention.
Saturn in Pisces is understanding that what becomes solid, what ceases its writhing and takes a Shape, is based on your choice. And there is no “right” one. It is subjective. And no less Real or True for it.
a gentle insistence has been emanating from Saturn in Pisces for 2 years now. it has demanded that you come to terms with what you really believe, what you’re really willing to let concretize, and what can no longer be brought to life, even if that’s what you want most in the whole world. Saturn in Pisces has asked for your devotion to the long work of sorting through your bag of bones, seeing which have spirit left.
it is weary work, weaving and sorting and summoning and watching hope grow wings that whither and transform into something else entirely, over and over. it has been a masterclass in hope as a discipline and translating faith into fortitude. and the pisces house in your chart has been topically central to all your musings, grievings, growth, shapeshifting, and solidifying.
Saturn in Pisces is not done yet. though he will make an initial foray into Aries from May 24 to September 1, he will return to Pisces to complete the story that began two years ago. during that final phase, Saturn in Pisces will be ruled by Jupiter in Cancer (June 9, 2025 - June 30, 2026), which i think bodes well for integrating the Piscean trials and wisdom Saturn encountered there.
north node in aries
from July 2023 to January 2025, the North Node magnified all things Aries, and Mars as steward of the Dragon’s Head had his hands full of the horns of this beast, grabbing, grasping, holding on for dear life a nd loving the thrill of the monstrous notion of self without apology. Mars isn’t typically shy about wielding power, and though it’s hilarious to think anyone could control the power of a Node, Mars is uniquely suited to vibe with the more more more MORE of the Dragon.
simply put, the Aries parts of our charts have been blown up as if through a fisheye lens, with all else being shrunken into the periphery. your Aries house has likely demanded a lot of you, excited you, pissed you off, hyped you up, drained you, and kept you coming back.
Mars has encouraged you to revisit your human right to reject what is not for you and to embrace your convictions. with all the fucks being given to your autonomy and agency, there likely haven’t been many to spend on niceties and exhausting social graces—and thank fuck, because your Saturn in Pisces projects of interdependence have no extra room for that which is insubstantial.
the North Node is finally out of Aries now, but there is a chapter-closing eclipse there one last time at the end of March. it’s giving sweaty, exhausted, collapsed in a chair drinking water through a bendy straw.
as an house/environment in your chart, Aries has been depressurized by the departure of the North Node, but not left unchanged. it might feel a little rubbed raw, or you might feel crystal clarity about the Martial lessons you learned over the past couple years there. as Mars Retrograde in Cancer ruled the tail-end (head end..?) of this Nodal transit through Aries, you may simply be too exhausted to put what you learned into words—or you may understand, now more than ever, exactly what is most important to you to protect with the ferocity of your unfiltered emotion.
now that that’s settled
take a moment to think about: what Aries-house topics in your life have been juiced tf up for the past year and a half? what Pisces-house things have been persistently tough-but-so-important? it is these topics that Venus and then Mercury will be integrating for you on a lived, personal and interpersonal level this March.
Venus and Mercury in Aries say, “oh yeah, i remember… this is too important to not fight for.” then they must stop, looking over their shoulder, drawn back to Pisces, where Saturn reminds them, “yes, but: the work is long that lasts.”
we are asked to hold the realizations forged in the fire of Aries and plunge them into the spirit-water of Pisces to be cooled into a shape that will hold. back and forth we go, heating and cooling, shaping, creating tools and artifacts we can carry with us forward into the next chapter of our stories.
put simply, how can you do the Aries thing without abandoning the Pisces thing? what this means for you comes back to the houses in your chart, and from your lived experience of the past 2 years of astrology.
some prompts:
Venus brings questions of desire and relationship to the Aries/Pisces threshold:
how do you fiercely love yourself (and act like it), while staying devoted to what is so much bigger than just one person?
how do you embrace an unapologetic expression of selfhood without singing the web of interconnection that is crucial to our continued strength?
how do you say “enough is enough” without over-identifying with narratives that undermine your own agency?
how do you stay distinct, autonomous, and brave enough to choose generosity when it’s most important?
Mercury brings questions of information metabolism and discernment to the Aries/Pisces threshold:
when your mind can’t yet parse the body’s wisdom, what stories do you tell about yourself?
when the mind skips ahead but the body drags behind, what stories do you tell about yourself?
when it all makes sense, when the clarity cuts like a knife, when you can’t unsee what you’ve seen or unknown what you’ve learned, how do you return to the compass of your felt sense?
what worthwhile belief, hope, or faith cools the fire-high mind when your thoughts are burning a hole in your head?
if Saturn in Pisces teaches anything, it’s that it’s hard to hold Both, but we must. and it is to this wisdom that Venus and Mercury are destined to return as we strap in for the month ahead.
if you’d like a second pair of eyes on your chart and what the March astrology means for you, i would love to help! i don’t offer predictive astrology (i don’t answer questions like, “will i get my dream job/lose my job in march?”), but i do offer an exploration of the topography of the road ahead. an in depth vibe check. a filling in of some blanks that helps you understand what you might be grappling with and feeling like in the future.
here are some kind words from a recent client who talked transits with me:
I had such a meaningful and introspective session with Jo that left me thinking about their ideas for many weeks to come. As an astrologer myself, it had been a while since I had sought out a reading. I chose Jo because of how they understand the nuances of planetary behavior and read holistically, holding balance and space for each little part of us. Their work is not based on keyword delineations - a deep respect for the planets is found here. I walked away from my reading with many insights - but most particularly about my 12th house work and my nodal axis.
Jo leads collaborative sessions with curiosity - if you want to learn more about yourself, I couldn't recomm
end a session more.
—L.Y.
thank you, L.Y.!
sending you wind in your sails,
—jo
Maeg Keane writes incredible threshold pieces, and their essay on the Pisces/Aries threshold is a must read for March 2025.
This was fabulous, poetic and cut right to the heart of things. Thank you. I have important placements in both signs and I have a feeling this one’s going to hit a lot harder and deeper than the last venus retrograde
Excellent read!!!!