Horoscope: March 9 - 15, 2020
Image by RENE RAUSCHENBERGER

Horoscope: March 9 - 15, 2020

Astrologer Pam Younghans writes this weekly astrological journal based on planetary influences, and offers perspectives and insights to assist you in making the best use of current energies. This column is not intended as prediction. Your own experience will be more specifically defined by transits to your personal chart.

Highlighted Aspects for This Week
All times listed are Pacific Standard Time. For Eastern Time, add 3 hours. For Greenwich Mean Time, add 7 hours.
MON: Full Moon 10:47 a.m. PDT, Mercury goes direct 8:48 p.m. PDT
WED: Sun sextile Jupiter
FRI: Mars square Juno
SAT: Mars sextile Neptune, Sun sextile Pluto

ONE of the primary challenges of 2020, represented astrologically by the Saturn-Pluto and Jupiter-Pluto alignments, is learning to navigate circumstances that we cannot control.

Individually, we all experience such situations periodically, mostly in small ways -- like little "pop quizzes" that arise unexpectedly. But most of us have also gone through times that felt like a final at the end of the semester, conditions that demanded our attention and took great effort to maneuver through. If we review what was going on astrologically at these pivotal life moments, we might find that we were working with a Pluto transit at the time.

It is more rare to have global experiences wherein millions of people are all aware of a common situation that feels outside their control. But, this is often what occurs during a hard Saturn-Pluto aspect. The two widespread conflicts that have been labeled "world wars" began when Saturn and Pluto were in hard aspect.


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TO HELP US understand current challenges, we can consider Saturn and Pluto as our teachers, whose goals are for us to learn and grow, even if we don't always appreciate their instructional techniques. Saturn teaches primarily through assigning us an obstacle or limitation, which requires us to develop greater maturity, discipline, patience, and responsibility.

As the psychotherapist of the solar system, Pluto's teaching methods are often quite complex, taking us deeply into our unconscious reactions and patterns. Under Pluto's tutelage, we feel very deeply about a certain situation or person, at either end of the vibrational scale. We might feel overcome with emotions such as love, passion, or desire, or we can be overwhelmed by fear, resentment, or anger.

Pluto's ultimate lessons have to do with empowerment. Through situations and feelings that arise, Pluto shows us where we may be giving our power away, often quite unconsciously.

USUALLY, it's clear when this happens in relationships, when one person abdicates their power to another. In these situations, growth comes when that person literally reclaims their power in some way, perhaps through learning to make their own decisions, or even by leaving a partnership, if the power imbalance is extreme.

But it's harder for most of us to see the pattern of disempowerment when we're giving our power away not to something or someone outside of us, but to something internal.

Whatever may be going on externally in our individual lives right now, if we are dealing with anxiety or fear, we can benefit from observing how we are giving our power away to those emotions. As President Franklin D. Roosevelt said in his first inaugural address in 1933, perhaps "we have nothing to fear but fear itself."

WHEN I WAS A CHILD (lo these many years ago!), most Western doctors laughed at the idea that there was any connection between emotions and physical health. The first breakthroughs in mainstream thinking came when it became clear that digestive disorders could be linked to excess stress and worry. Since, then, thankfully, we've come a long way in understanding the mind-body connection.

An article published in 2008 in Harvard Women's Health Watch states:

"Anxiety is a reaction to stress that has both psychological and physical features. The feeling is thought to arise in the amygdala, a brain region that governs many intense emotional responses. As neurotransmitters carry the impulse to the sympathetic nervous system, heart and breathing rates increase, muscles tense, and blood flow is diverted from the abdominal organs to the brain. In the short term, anxiety prepares us to confront a crisis by putting the body on alert. But its physical effects can be counterproductive... when it persists, anxiety can take a toll on our mental and physical health."

In other words, being anxious can weaken our immune systems. The emotion that we feel due to a perceived outside threat can actually make us more vulnerable to that threat.

THIS IS WHY it is so important, when fear is heightened in the energy field we call "mass consciousness," for each of us to find ways to calm. There are many methods we can use, from meditation to mindfulness practices, from deep breathing to candle-gazing, from taking walks in nature to enjoying soothing music. And, for longer-term help, there are structured brain-retraining techniques such as the Gupta Program, that have been proven to benefit those who have health issues such as chronic fatigue or chemical sensitivities.

This level of conscious awareness, the development of a part of us that can stand back and observe, with open heart and calm mind, is a part of being spiritually mature. When we are under stress, whether it is due to personal issues or global concerns, it is part of what we are called upon to do. As spiritually aware beings, it is our responsibility (Saturn) to be the leaders in this regard. As we embody this higher aspect of our being, we become midwives for a giant leap in our personal empowerment and global evolution (Pluto).

THE MOON IS FULL as we begin our new week. The lunation perfects at 10:47 a.m. PDT (5:47 p.m. GMT), when the Moon is at 19°37? Virgo. This is a "SuperMoon," which means it occurs when the Moon is at perigee (at its closest proximity to the Earth). A SuperMoon appears larger than the typical Full Moon, because our satellite is literally closer to us than it is at other times. Its effects can also be more powerful.

Although the Moon is in earthy Virgo – one of the more detail-oriented, practical signs of the zodiac – this is a very ethereal Full Moon because the planet Neptune is closely aligned with the Sun, and therefore opposite the Moon. Perhaps the best way to contemplate this incongruity is to consider how we might use our Virgo qualities of discernment and service-orientation in compassionate or creative ways.

Neptune can also have the effect of making things foggy or unclear, so we'll need to have some patience if practical solutions are not yet finding form. As teacher, Neptune encourages us in developing greater faith, in relying more on our intuition and higher wisdom, and in opening our hearts in compassion. But, because we may not see as clearly as we want to, some will also deal with the more troublesome effects of Neptune, which are disillusionment, deception, and avoidance.

THERE ARE MANY positive potentials with this Full Moon, however. With the Moon, the Sun, and Neptune all in harmonious aspect with most of the planets currently in Capricorn (Mars, Pallas Athene, Jupiter, and Pluto), we are empowered, energized, and inspired to improve situations by accessing creative solutions.

We also have an enhanced ability to see the patterns that need to be shifted. And, we have the courage and confidence that are necessary to put strategic plans successfully into action.

MERCURY stations (comes to a standstill) on Monday, almost precisely 10 hours after the Full Moon. The Messenger Planet has been retrograde (moving backward) since February 16, corresponding with a time of playing catch-up. Over the coming days, as the planet gradually picks up speed, we should have better access to the ideas that will move us forward. With Mercury in progressive Aquarius until March 16, the solutions that are proposed may be radical or come from grassroots efforts.

Mercury will finally emerge from its "post-retrograde shadow" on March 29. This is when it reaches the degree where it originally went retrograde. Astrological wisdom tells us that we can anticipate even more progress after that point. Overall, the end of the month will be interesting to watch, since Mars and Saturn align in Aquarius on the 31st. More about that event in the coming weeks.

IF YOU are watching the Moon's aspects to the group of planets now in Capricorn, here is this week's list. For a few hours around these times, we are likely to feel more off-balance and judgmental. All of these aspects occur while the Moon is in Libra:

  • Moon square Mars: Wednesday, March 11, 5:06 a.m. PDT
  • Moon square Jupiter: Wednesday, March 11,12:48 p.m. PDT
  • Moon square Pluto: Wednesday, March 11, 5:41 p.m. PDT
  • Moon square Saturn: Thursday, March 12, 1:12 a.m. PDT

*****

IF YOUR BIRTHDAY IS THIS WEEK: Your spiritual or creative identity is enhanced this year. You are likely to feel more in tune with your sense of your life's mission, and have opportunities to bring your ideals into form. This will take some effort on your part, but there can also be magic involved, once you open the door and walk through it. Tap into your higher wisdom, for it is more accessible now. Be willing to let go of past self-definitions that may have kept you from taking action, and surrender to the higher current of your life's river. (Solar Return Sun sextile Jupiter, conjunct Neptune, sextile Pluto)

*****

For previous weeks of the Astrological Journal, click here.

About the Author

Pam YounghansPam Younghans is a professional astrologer, editor, and writer. She lives in a log home northeast of Seattle, Washington with her beloved animal companions. She has been interpreting charts professionally for over 25 years. If you are interested in an astrology reading, e-mail This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., or leave a message at 425.445.3775. For more information about NorthPoint Astrology offerings, please visit northpointastrology.com or visit her Facebook page.

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