If you were expecting some kind of sun sign nonsense, forget about it. This is real astrology for the real world. If it's real astrology for yourself that you want, you can get it by phone or in print. And if you need help deciphering the astrological glyphs in the graphics accompanying this article, see Astroglyphs: Astrological Symbols Guide. Please note: this forecast is expressed in terms of Universal Time (UT).
Time keeps on slipping, slipping, slipping
into the future
-- Steve Miller
 

March is a pell-mell headlong rush to . . . where, what? Danger for sure, what with Mars passing over the degree of the February 7, 2008 solar eclipse before opposing Saturn and then aligning with Neptune. And then there are the eclipses: the lunar eclipse on the 3rd and the SuperMoon solar eclipse on the 19th: all kinds of excitement is in the wind whenever there's an eclipse stirring things up, let alone a SuperMoon. Not to mention the Uranus alignment with the Moon's north node later in March, the Pluto station at month's end, and the hangovers from February: the Saturn-Neptune opposition and the Mercury intersolar cycle.

Geophysical disturbances get the month going, with the total lunar eclipse on the 3rd and the Moon's southward crossing of the celestial equator on the 5th. An upsurge in powerful storms with damaging winds and heavy precipitation is on tap from the 1st through the 6th, along with volcanic outbursts and moderate to severe earthquakes (Richter 5 and up). There's no place on Earth that isn't subject to one or more of these hazards, but astro-mapping the March 3 lunar eclipse shows signs of special vulnerability along a horizon arc through Ontario, Canada and across the eastern US, out through Florida to cross Cuba and the west coast of South America. In the eastern hemisphere, that same arc cuts up through Indonesia, Indochina and eastern China. The longitudinal risk zones in this map touch the Aleutians and the west coast of Alaska (around Nome), coming down through Italy and Africa around Tripoli. I'm not saying that being outside one of these zones means you don't have to be prepared to deal with natural calamities of one sort or another. You should know the drill: fresh batteries, water and food for at least a few days, a full tank of gas and money enough to get you through a long weekend, etc.

Bear in mind that Mercury's intersolar cycle, which started February 7 when the little planet reached its extreme east of the Sun, remains in effect until March 22. It's a cycle that includes the Mercury retrograde period of astrological renown, which started February 14 and lasts until March 8. All things Mercurial are crucial during the intersolar Mercury phase; infrastructure, commerce, information, communication and transport being prime examples. Absent careful investigation and planning, and conscientious follow-through, all such things are apt to go off track during these cycles. There is "a time to every purpose under heaven," as the Preacher wrote (Ecclesiastes 3:1). Mercury's intersolar phase is a time for focus, concentration, planning, follow-through and communication - all the qualities of the active and involved mind, in short.

An active and involved mind is, alas, something of a rare commodity. In case you haven't noticed, most people are not especially alert and focused most of the time. When this kind of sleepwalking runs into Mercury's intersolar cycle, with its focus on mental acuity, it doesn't take long for things to go awry. If you're sharp and focused and alert, you can avoid a certain amount of this mess. In fact, you can even prosper by concentrating on tasks that center on thought, planning and communication. But you'll still have to dodge all the messes created by the people who are sleepwalking. So be ready.

The sort of things to be ready for during the Mercury intersolar cycle that continues right up until Mercury's extreme elongation west of the Sun on March 22 include strikes and other disruptions affecting transportation and communication (e.g. postal, phone, mass transit, trucking, airline, shipping, dock and warehouse workers, teachers and all manner of media). Weather both terrestrial and solar (including geomagnetic storms) can play a part in the kind of breakdowns described here, but human beings are definitely a part of the mix - sometimes through inattention, sometimes through malicious action. Power failures due to infrastructure breakdown and computer network disruptions caused by hacker attacks, software vulnerabilities and the like are also just a crossed wire or a keystroke away from a major mess at these times. Think of the Jet Blue passenger strandings that took place in February during the first half of this cycle, for example. And then plan on worse for March, with its even more extreme weather. Or remember the computer glitch that dropped the Dow 200 points in a minute during the February 27 market meltdown, and remember that past is prologue. The worst may have passed by the 8th, when Mercury goes direct; but it ain't over 'till it's over, as Yogi said. And it ain't over 'til the 22nd.

If I had to pick a day to have a backup generator all fueled up and ready to go, a backup plan in place in case the scheduled or expected didn't come to pass, a day to be especially sharp and steady and focused - it would be during a Mercury intersolar cycle. Keep your eye on the ball, take nothing for granted, follow up on everything, leave nothing unattended: that's all you need to think about for the next several weeks, by and large. That, and the truth - which tends to slip through the cracks at times like this, despite attempts to keep it down.

The SuperMoon solar eclipse on the 19th ushers in the biggest potential for geophysical disturbances of the year to date. (SuperMoon is a term I coined in a 1979 article for Dell Publishing Company's HOROSCOPE magazine, describing what is technically called a perigee-syzygy; a new or full moon [syzygy] which occurs with the Moon at or near [within 90% of] its closest approach [perigee] to Earth in a given orbit.) This is the big one, and it stretches from the 12th (the Moon reaching its extreme declination south of the celestial equator) all the way through the 26th (following the north lunar declination extreme on the 25th). With its simultaneous Mars emphasis on the Saturn-Neptune opposition, and with the eclipse happening within hours of the Moon's perigee and northward equatorial crossing, I figure this SuperMoon means business in the storm and seismic departments. Very powerful storms with destructive winds and heavy precipitation are bound to be part of the picture. This will likely include some flooding, both coastal (extreme high tides, possibly tsunami too) and inland (heavy rain and snowfall causing floods, landslides, ice dams, avalanches and mudslides). And of course there's the seismic risk: moderate to severe earthquakes (Richter 5 and up with attendant tsunami risk) and volcanic eruptions. These things happen every day, but this SuperMoon means a whole raft of 'em - a surge, if not a deluge.

Wherever you'll be during this month's SuperMoon window, be ready. To be sure, a solar eclipse's zone of visibility is a clue to the zone of vulnerability. In the case of the March 19 SuperMoon solar eclipse, this includes all of Asia, from Iran eastwards; as well as parts of Alaska. And then there's the astro-locality mapping of the event, which shows links to British Columbia, eastern Brazil, the Middle East, and along a longitudinal line from Tokyo down through Australia. Anyone in any of these areas could do worse than be on special alert this month. But the whole planet is in the danger zone, so don't be complacent wherever you are at the time.

The same things that help us prepare to get through the early stages of a natural disaster - food, water, fuel, first aid etc. - can come in handy in case this month's Mars potential gets out of hand. From the individual to the collective, danger and conflict are emphasized under the kind of strong Mars activation that's in effect from most of March, particularly from the 15th through the end of the month and on into early April. Fires, accidents, crashes, explosions, criminal violence, military clashes: they're all the rage during the kind of Red Planet rampage. Keep your head down and your guard up, get a grip on yourself. (The 19th, 21st, 22nd and 25th are extreme points along this continuum.)

Uranus aligns with the Moon's north node only once every fifteen years or so; and only once every 170 years or so does this happen in Pisces. When it does, it's worth noting, because it means eclipses take place with the Moon at extreme declination and with the Sun and Moon aligned with Uranus. It happens this month, for the first time since 1839. I figure it's a sign of a new Industrial Revolution of sorts - a technological changing of the guard, with the social and political revolution that does with it. Given all the other historic cosmic cycles happening lately - see my 2006 and 2007 World Forecast Highlights - I see this as one more brick in the wall of a whole new edifice of civilization. Don't try to hang onto the past, because it's slipping away faster and faster every day now. And one of the ways this will be brought home to us all in March is in world financial markets and systems spasms, what with the Pluto retrograde station chiming in near Galactic Center on the 31st (in effect all month). I've said it before and I've said it again, this isn't an Apocalypse - except for the people who bet their futures on the status quo.

Finally, I'd be remiss not to note that the last day of March ushers in an elevated storm and seismic, associated with the April 1 lunar southward crossing of the celestial equator.

SPECIAL FEATURE: This month's birthdays of the famous and infamous (with astrological birth charts)