Mercury goes Retrograde in Pisces and brings compassion and confusion to any new ground we cover, almost daily, now. There’s a method to the Universe’s madness. Pisces is the least linear of all the signs, while Mercury loves facts and figures, details and data. The truth is we don’t decide things based on logic, we decide on emotion. Show two different people the same set of facts and they can interpret them two completely different ways. They are both right.
Yes, I did say, they are both right. Yet neither of them have the whole picture. What we do now in this unchartered region of life sets a new normal as generations of conditioning fall by the wayside. In this new normal we need compassion. So the meandering wander through Pisces with the Mercury Retrograde is to put us in touch with things that defy logic.
Like how to be both an individual and a partner at the same time. Hint, it starts by partnering YOU. It’s been said before in many ways, be your own best friend, love yourself. What’s required now is a simpler, less intellectual way of doing that and more of an experience. In other words, when you get triggered, how much time do you spend on what caused your reaction? How much personal responsibility is yours for what you feel and the reasons you feel that way?
We benefit enormously when we slow down, ask ourself what we feel and what does that feeling need. We may need nothing more than acknowledgement of the emotional storm and comfort around whatever comes up. It can be incredibly healing to have our own undivided attention on those feelings. No rationalization or explanation is needed for why we feel it.
It’s just a feeling that wants attention, like a baby crying because the world is a scary place at times. Comfort you. Full stop. That’s necessary and very helpful at this point. Turn your attention away from whoever provoked the response and keep it on you first.
Venus and Chiron meet up in Aries just ahead of Mercury’s back and forth. Aries is the new beginning, but a young place. We want a fresh way to deal with our pain. Not quite the ‘shake it off’ mentality but certainly not one that has a lot of patience to sit and tend what hurts. So we must consciously decide to be present for what we feel rather than racing past it. In fact, patience is the guideline for the rest of this moon cycle and into March.
When we jump into action we pull from muscle memory and patterns that no longer fit. Especially around those most familiar to you, old habits can assert themselves quickly if you don’t slow down. Remember to get curious and give yourself your own attention. If you jump into action, catch yourself and pull up short. Review the situation and dig deeper on all the moving parts inside of you before you decide a course of action. If you want help with that, check out what’s available here.
You may feel scattered, chaotic and a little at odds with yourself. Guess what – that’s good news. It means you are out of the Matrix and operating from more free will than automatic response. Those new choices start to reveal a rhythm over time. That beat unfolds for the better part of this year, so it’s a long game. For now the goal is to manage the emergent you, the individual you. Really get to know you as you are now.
Then you can show up for anyone else with more solid contribution that can actually give you better outcomes. Don’t worry if there’s no clear path to results in anything you do. That’s because more is available to you then you ever had before. If you jump at an outcome and drive hard for that, you miss a lot of incoming opportunity that your fear brain loves to limit. Slow down, circle back if you have to and let a new ‘me’ navigate any ‘we’ with attention and patience. Doing so pays dividends that enrich you on multiple levels, but you’ll have to feel it to believe it. You will, with a little practice. The Cards and the Stars will help.
Thank you
Lisa Greenfield
Card of the Full Moon Cycle: Queen of Stones
The right attitude makes all the difference this next two weeks. Queens highlight our receptive side. It’s very easy to access a whole range of feelings swimming in the collective unconscious. Which can make your logical brain start to cook. The key is our bodies. Stones represent the physical side of life. When you move at a less rushed pace, the body has time to give you feedback. Do check on how deep and even your breathing is. When those feelings start to express themselves physically, breathe into it.
The information you pick up is subtle and a fun new place to play. Like an extra TV that you didn’t know you had, the body gives you lots of valuable stories to educate and entertain you. Keep curiosity close by your side, for YOU. The stones are the slowest moving element so this isn’t a quick fix. Rather it’s the promise that what you invest in returns to you magnifies. Which is why you want to take it step by step the next two weeks to ensure you want more of what you send out there.
SATURDAY: FULL MOON PAGE OF VESSELS 2.8.20
This is a tender Full Moon and highlights the emotional well being inside of us. What we create in our lives is a direct reflection of this inner state. That is not to say that when you experience challenges in life you can blame yourself for creating them. Far from it. Rather this means that when difficulties come up check what your support system is and do you trust life in all its chaos or are you at odds with events. Your inner harmony reflects in the outer reality. This Full Moon invites us to deepen our trust that whatever obstacles are in our path, they are there to serve you.
What you love inspires you to overcome challenges to achieve connection with what you love. Those difficulties are where you move past an original urge or lust for outcome and into the place where you elevate the desire into something textured and beautiful in its depth. The greatest success stories, the greatest love stories are where people triumph over seemingly impossible odds. The love they feel or the calling they have inspires them to be more than they knew they could be.
But it requires not just permission but participation. What effort do you make for what you love. Those efforts matter and can be the making of you and what you desire. Know the rest of this Moon Cycle sets in motion what is worth an effort and what isn’t. Trust your heart to show you the way. Pair up your heart with actions as you slowly move forward, discover which efforts feel authentic and which ones don’t. You can’t decide from your head. You have to feel it with your heart, commit to those choices and then act in the most congruent way for you. It’s an evolutionary process, and so worth your time.
SUNDAY: ACE OF BOWS – 2.9.20
We have an out of bounds Mars that is a bit like the Wild Wild West. With Mars in a renegade position, you are going to find extreme reactions are more possible. This is to take you out into the unknown and also to teach you to handle your own power. Strong feelings without a healthy command of your response is like riding a wild bronco without training. You and others are pretty likely to get hurt. This Ace is about the spark of ingenuity that can light a stove to nourish you or begin a wildfire that destroys. Which will it be? Your emotional potential is being carved out which brings a deepening of the best and worst feelings. Command is required and you are capable of responsibly integrating those feelings into purposeful responses.
Great courage is required in changing times and we definitely live in changing times. Great compassion is required to get through the destruction of the old order and building of the new. So those potent feelings are necessary. As is containment of the potential. Personal responsibility is the theme we see richly rewarded this year. In fact, Saturn is in the place of ‘undefeated’ when it lines up with the light in life. The base drives of greed, lust, hatred cannot win when Saturn sits where it is now. Those shadow drives do not subdue easily. It’s a time for heroes and heroines. This Ace says your particular spark of courage and inspiration is yours and yours alone to give, responsibly. This spark is hard to miss, you light up when it is present. Your shoulders go back, chin goes up and it overrides any fear that goes with it. Find yours. Tend the spark with acknowledgement and apply it carefully with like minded others or in thoughtful discussion with opposition. Persuade, don’t compel others to look for their light, by holding yours front and center.
MONDAY: EIGHT OF STONES – 2.10.20
It’s going to be tempting to let the wounded place kick you into reaction patterns today. Resist. If you do react out of habit, you can circle back and try it again with more command and less impulse. It won’t be the first or last time you react as you explore new ways of handling yourself and those expanding powers. Which is why you can circle back and take a do over as needed. The important thing is to allow new responses to take root. Eight is the symbol for infinity and reminds us that what you put out there comes back to you. That is why you want to adjust your actions to who you are now, not who you’ve been in the past.
Venus and Chiron meet up in early Aries so it’s a fresh start on seeing personal wounds with fresh eyes. It allows you to feel that a new understanding of what happened and how to apply it for greater good is real. Like the grain of sand in an oyster, you put down years of calcification over rough edges to create a pearl of wisdom and beauty. Keep doing that. Take what hurts and soothe yourself. Something beautiful comes from this place. With the Moon opposite Mars you may be tempted to rush or over react. Check yourself, breathe. Make a different choice. Make an empowered choice. Look for one that adds beauty to the situation. It’s there waiting for you to select it.
TUESDAY: FIVE OF BOWS – 2.11.20
The Wildwood Tarot says of this five, “By facing and defeating our greatest fears, we empower ourselves and grow more resilient and effective against adversity”. The Virgo Moon trines Saturn having moved past Pluto to reassure us that it doesn’t have to be perfectly crafted to be perfect. Accept what is as the birth place of what is absolutely meant to be. You know how you know that? Because it is what happened. Let go of second guessing yourself. No beating yourself up over would of, should have, could have. You made the perfect choice and now what can you harvest from it?
Creativity is always ripe in this moment. There is no shortage of ways to take whatever happens and do something better with it. Today you get to practice doing this. Whether it is a fresh situation or the ghost of decisions past, remake, remodel instead of wishing you’d done things differently. Trust yourself, trust the Universe and play with what you have to bring fresh inspiration to this moment. Something unexpected waits to come out of whatever you have in front of you. Call out the artist in you and move past what you think you can do. See how much fun you can have with it, I dare you.
WEDNESDAY: FOUR OF ARROWS – 2.12.20
The battle is won or lost in your mind today. Which is why rest is advised. Mental rest, that is. Get out of your head and into muscle memory. Do something that is physical where your mind can freewheel but with your direction. Set your mind a task. In Mythology, the Gordian Knot was tied so tightly and so big no one could untie it. Until Alexander the Great appeared and simply cut through it with one bold stroke. Tell your mind to slice through those sticky knots with clear decisive thoughts. Don’t worry about details, just set it the task and then get into your body.
While you work out, or garden or ski, your mind can be busily cutting through the knots relieved to have good direction on what to do. It is restful for it rather than hunting, hunting, hunting for a way to untangle things. Mercury, that busy thinker, has to work its way through to many loose ends to untie them all. It’s too easy to slip into Eeyore mode or get grumpy. Redirect it and let your body move the tension through. You’ll end the day feeling more Optimistic and less tired.
THURSDAY: SIX OF STONES – 2.13.20
What is out of balance needs adjustment. Today carries a bill to be paid either by you or to you, possibly both. Six is the number of wholeness in what we manifest when it sits in the realm of stones. Like a lopsided bowl the first time you do pottery, there is a learning curve. But first you have to admit where it’s lopsided. It’s normal to want what we do or offer to be valued rather than rejected. And the adult part of us knows that we have to move beyond the effort itself being all that counts. Remember where you overcome challenges is what deepens and enriches anything you do.
So face up to what’s less than ideal, wade in and give it another pass. If you really want to go the extra mile, see how much fun you can have reworking it. Challenge yourself. Imagine you are like Rocky and make it a heroes journey to go further than you thought you could. Or bring out your inner Magician and take whatever that lopsided situation is and turn lead into gold. Why not? You not only improve things, you can have fun doing so. That’s a useful tool to have in your toolkit.
FRIDAY: TEN OF VESSELS, 2.14.20
Ten’s are one to the tenth degree, a whole new playing field. Today might feel a bit like graduating High School and starting as a freshman again at college. The aspects today support love, communication and sweet dreams in cozy spaces. However it’s a toss up as to how much of what’s unfolding you can comprehend today. Neptune is unboundaried so words spoken today resonate and send ripples a long way out. If you find yourself moved to poetic expression, enjoy! But first set the intention that what you speak to another be solid from the center out.
What that means is be careful making sweeping statements unless you are going to put action and effort into making them come true. The trine between the Moon and Mercury can tip you into deep feelings that spill out to a loved one. Again, give your brain a command that it will only offer what is in alignment for you to act upon going forward. You may find yourself in a bit of an intimacy hangover tomorrow if you don’t set clear guidance ahead of time. Either that or be prepared to live up to what you say when the deep Scorpio Moon tangos with Neptune later in the evening.
SATURDAY: TWO OF STONES – 2.15.20
We go back and forth today between tension and momentum. It’s a matter of finding our footing, losing it and then getting it back again. Practice makes perfect. Old thoughts want to take you back into contraction or protection mode. Except they don’t feel good, they don’t fit and can’t find solid ground to land on anymore. What you feel and do now requires a better fit. One that both looks and feels better than what you used to think and do. Navigating between then and now is like going to the gym. You build muscle when you resist slipping back into familiar patterns. Personal insecurity gives birth to more conflict than is necessary. As your self trust grows, so does your trust in a generous Universe.
Better choices, more attractive choices, crowd out what’s left behind. Rather than a loss, you experience more of a change over. The Moon gets a helping hand from Saturn to remind us that we don’t have to get it all right now. This is the long haul and all we have to do is practice thought selection and action matching. Then what you feel, think and do line up with the direction you pick on intuition. All the parts of you come together to create a better whole. Speed is not effective, sustainability is. Keep that in mind and then feel your way forward with more of you in the decisions you make.
SUNDAY: THE GREAT BEAR – 2.16.20 . MERCURY STATIONS RETROGRADE
Mars moves into Capricorn which puts change into action. What we’ve dreamed about, talked about or wished for is where we have to ante up and give it form. Yet there is reason to move slowly. Or should I say reasons. First Mars squares Chiron. The old feeling of powerless meets up with the planet that can change the story. But it’s not a wholly comfortable transition. The Great Bear is change that is inescapable so you do master this. Forgiveness is a key element.
Forgive yourself first. Then see if you can forgive the person who wounded you. Not the behavior, but the person can be forgiven. There is nothing wrong with saying no to bad behavior from another. The trick is to see them as another human with faults. The more generous you can be with their shortcomings the more that mindset can be where you live inside your own head. When you accept that all your decisions appear as just what they were meant to be, you live inside the same grace you offer another.
Again, this is not a lack of defense. You can and will stand up for yourself when someone crosses a boundary. The difference is, you invite better behavior from others who can more easily work with someone less heavily defended. The Great Bear signals renewal is at hand. There are opportunities, collaborations and much more there when you harvest the power during this Mercury Retrograde season. You won’t finish March where you are today. Follow the inspired guide inside you, speak your heart and be willing to act on what you say, give it time to all come together.
MONDAY: SEVEN OF VESSELS – 2.17.20
The Moon and Neptune square off and bring up old losses for another grab for our attention. Missed opportunities may try to grab center stage today. That moment in history is gone but the suffering over it doesn’t go quietly. Time to talk yourself off the ledge of sorrow with a little practical wisdom. Like the fact that what you wanted then may not have been ripe for the picking then. That doesn’t mean it isn’t ready now. Revisit those old missed opportunities and give a compassionate kiss to the wound. Then weigh how much you might want to find today’s version of what you missed.
To do that you have dig deeper and discover what drove that desire for something in the first place. That person, place or thing was associated with a feeling they gave you. Find the feeling and then open up to having that wish granted now in upgraded form. We have to invest ourselves in the wish. If you still want it enough to put action behind it, then you can turn a missed opportunity into an unripened harvest that finally has matured into something you can have.
TUESDAY: FOUR OF BOWS – 2.18.20
This Four promises reward for focus, effort and dedication and the Stars line up to help you reap what you sow. First you sow, then you reap. The reward of this Four dangles in front of you like a carrot but the emphasis today is on the task. Remind yourself that you will reap rich rewards for your responsibility and discipline. That keeps you walking through the day, not overly planned or defensive. Instead you feel your ability to act on things that suits you and your goals.
A certain pleasure comes with meeting an obstacle and watching it roll out of the way once you put your elbow into it. By all means, with this Spirited card, visualize what needs to be done and then do it. There’s an ease in the aspects today that makes that both fun and productive. Again, a good tool to have handy whenever you meet up with resistance. Four is also a firm foundation, which is exactly what applied effort for maximum achievement builds.
WEDNESDAY: KING OF VESSELS 2.19.20
This King echo’s the message of the Magician and the aspects today carry the same theme. This is the fertile ground for grand visions of what will be followed with careful steps in that direction. Water is magnetic and this King helps you draw to you the resources to bring things to life what your imagination stirs up. When we open up to Magic we have to let go of familiar terrain and known risks. The definition of alchemy explains that you have to “reunite with the divine or original form” through the process. In other words, relax your limits on what you know is possible.
Then patience is required. Like the tide coming in, each wave of feeling and acting on your behalf reaches another high water mark with each ripple of inspired effort. Don’t throw a lot of momentum at those visions to muscle results or drive hard for the finish line. This is about a rhythm where tempting imagination fuels a step at a time in its direction. Slow can feel uncomfortable while our fear brain hunts anxiously for certainty. You are in uncharted territory so it pays to move at a measured pace. This allows the information around you to present a more complete picture, one that includes more of the original form. The pile up of planets that aid in structure building highlights the gift of today. Open up to the Magic of transformed thoughts into fresh action and then give it time to become the divine form it can be.
THURSDAY: THE GREEN MAN 2.20.20
We call on the command of the Green Man to bring order to what can feel like chaos today. Feeling run high to get something done, measure results. Once again, rushing is how to cut short the transformational tension. You are better when you tap into the confidence of this Card to tackle whatever presents itself. There is power in healthy confidence. Hold the image of yourself successfully navigating an obstacle course to arrive on the other side feeling victorious for the completion. Don’t compare and despair. Your course is uniquely designed to build your strength and trust for what you came here to do.
Instead your win is to compare and dare to do more than you realized you could. Let it feel good, like watching a movie where you cheer on the hero, only you are the star. Renegade Uranus helps to break free from the victim mentality but with compassion. You can kiss what hurts and then jump back into doing what you thought you couldn’t. You do see evidence of coming results even if you don’t collect the trophy. Let the feeling of satisfaction inspire you to keep up the good work. One choice at a time, one day at a time, you create a new normal. By year’s end you can look back and see how very far you’ve come.
FRIDAY: THE ANCESTOR – 2.21.20
With expansion comes the inevitable contraction. Like a breath in and then out, our fear brain can follow the two steps forward with one back. Today you may find the urge to retreat to familiar ground and responses rising up. We have two competing needs as humans. The first is to belong somewhere, then once we do we need to know where we stand out as an individual. These two responses vie for first place today. The Ancestor promises the familiarity of tradition, history, repetition. There’s a comfort in thinking we know what to do and how to do it. As we face new horizons and uncertain paths, the urge to course correct onto familiar paths comes up.Your task is to realize that the old has already changed.
Even if you try to do the familiar, it won’t take you the same way or to the same results. You can’t go backwards, you have to go forward. If you choose to go forward dragging past patterns with you, it hampers what you can create rather than helping you. Now you can pick certain things that feel right and update them for the present. This way you take from the past what can and will adjust with you to what’s happening now. Think of it like pottery. The vase you tried to build slid off center and warped. You don’t throw the clay away. You condense it down into a fresh start and rework it. It takes a little bit of water (emotional connection) to start fresh with that clay, but then you are free to learn from past mistakes and create something beautiful. Try seeing things through that visual today and get your hands a little dirty. Perfection is the enemy of good when you play.
SATURDAY: SIX OF BOWS – 2.22.20
Benefits as the results of endurance are what this Six promises. The Sun is in an easy aspect to The Great Awakener, Uranus, to underline this message. When you commit to efforts that more truly align with who you are now you win. Not only that but as you live more authentically, less regimented, you belong and stand out in fair measure. Both needs are satisfied. This isn’t to say there is no conflict, but rather that any dust ups become a chance to know and understand ourselves and others better. We have to learn how to disagree without seeing opposition as the enemy. The day isn’t the enemy of night, hot isn’t the enemy of cold. These are just contrasts that inform a richer world.
See conflict as chance to know yourself and the world around through contrast. Get curious, see what comes of letting more information about the differences fill in the gaps between you and them. It’s a way to see our scars as evidence of strength rather than a reason to protect and defend. Curiosity also brings room for exploring what scars shaped a differing point of view. You can always decide what behavior builds bonds and which ones destroy trust and affection. The difference is you share that insight with an invitation to connect rather than as prosecution. This can be a very powerful shift and a scary one. Again, this is why slow is good… Take it a step at a time and savor those victories.
