The Imbolc season of purification, fertility, and light begins on a Last Quarter Moon in Scorpio, with the Sun square Mars in Scorpio and Venus conjoined Pluto. We are emerging from winter’s darkness to give birth to a new spirit within ourselves, and these are the final stages of labor.
The first of this year’s eclipse seasons gets underway with a Solar Eclipse in Pisces on March 8. Eclipses are astrological symbols of dramatic change; falling this year in Virgo and Pisces, they mean many of us are experiencing critical transitions related to our work, health, spirituality, and the way we handle the practical affairs of our daily lives.
It’s particularly important, then, to strengthen and purify in order to reap the greatest benefit and renewed energy from this season of change. Here is a ritual to purify your home and spirit and to celebrate the return of energy and light.
Ritual for Purification and the Return of Light
What better or more practical rite of purification than to give your home a good scrubbing? Wash all the bedding and clean every floor. Make a game of decluttering your closets and pantry. Sweep out the fireplace and prepare for a ritual fire.
Then, at sunset before Imbolc, gather seven red and white candles. As darkness falls, turn on every light and lamp in your house, light every candle, and kindle the fire in your stove or fireplace, saying something like, “With this healing fire, I purify my space and heart, and ready myself for the birth of new spirit.”
Mars in Sagittarius
Mars enters the sign of the Archer on March 5. Since it turns retrograde in this sign on April 17, Mars will spend more time than usual in Sagittarius this year. Apart from a regression into Scorpio between May 27 and August 2, Mars will be in Sagittarius through September 26.
Mars in any sign symbolizes the quality of our physical drive, competition, and conflict. In Sagittarius, Mars wants to run free and do exactly as it pleases. Most serious conflicts during this transit are related to beliefs and opinions, particularly when one person is trying to change another’s mind.
While Mars is in Sagittarius, adventure calls; travel looks tempting; even returning to school seems alluring. Sagittarius is a mutable sign, however, and the archer’s arrow does not always move in a straight line nor reach its intended target. No matter; simply imagining a bigger life for yourself, and trying something new, can move you in an exciting direction.
Here is a guide to Mars’s influence in each house of the horoscope. Find the houses of your chart with Sagittarius on the cusp(s) to identify where the archer will release his arrow:
1st house: Self-defense, physical exercise, emergencies
2nd house: Resources, earnings, possessions
3rd house: Communication, siblings, neighbors, learning
4th house: Home, family
5th house: Hobbies, creative and recreational activities, lovers, children
6th house: Work, health, habits and routines, diet
7th house: Close relationships, partners, enemies, collaborators
8th house: Shared resources, intimate relationships
9th house: Religion, politics, beliefs, travel, philosophy, higher education
10th house: Career, authority figures, ambition, goals
11th house: Groups, friends, networks, organizations, friendships
12th house: Rest, retreat, meditation, hidden matters
New Moon in Aquarius – Feb. 8, 2016
This a fresh, invigorating New Moon, with the Sun and Moon in exciting Aquarius in a bracing square to Mars. You’re ready to get things moving, even if it means stepping on a few toes along the way! At the Capricorn New Moon, you made your resolutions for the new year; at the Aquarius New Moon, expand your vision to include your long-term goals and the legacy you hope to leave to the future. Sometimes we need to unite with other like-minded people to achieve the greatest possible good, and this is the New Moon to call those people to you. And since Aquarius is the sign of friendship, it would be nice to include wishes for your friends in your New Moon observances.
Full Moon in Virgo – Feb. 22, 2016
This Full Moon in Virgo, with the Pisces Sun conjoined Neptune, demands we find a better balance between the intuitive, relaxed energy of Pisces and the organized, rational consciousness of Virgo. This is a relatively quiet lunation, the calm before the highly charged eclipse season that begins at the next New Moon. The Sun is building to a square aspect to Saturn, and this makes energy measured, even a bit low. This is a period where perseverance is required, especially when it feels as though you’re not getting anywhere. After the square is exact on March 5, a tremendous amount of energy will be released, leading into the New Moon Solar Eclipse.
New Moon/Solar Eclipse in Pisces – March 8, 2016
The New Moon Solar Eclipse at 18.55 Pisces is exactly opposed Jupiter and square Saturn. There is tremendous conflict between the desire to take a chance and do more with your life, and the practical considerations that have to be addressed in order to make that happen.
Eclipses carry messages throughout your life, crossing over the same points in your birth chart every nineteen years and opposing them every nine and a half years. Previous eclipses at the same degree as this Solar Eclipse occurred on March 9, 1997; September 7, 2006; September 11, 2007; and September 13, 2015. If significant events happened in your life then, you now have another opportunity to complete any unfinished business related to those matters.