The March 2022 Full Moon occurs on 18th March, close to the Spring equinox that happens only two days later. Like last month’s Full Moon in Leo/Virgo, this is another lunation that changes signs after a few hours – moving into Libra as the lunation progresses. This is the lunation that marks the start of spring, when worms start to appear above ground to show us that the planting season is about to begin.
It’s the time of year that marks a re-birth – yet the Full Moon always represents a culmination, the time for bringing things to a head. This month – like last month – the Full Moon has only one major aspect and once again, it’s to Pluto. This reminds us that sometimes when things come to a head, it may be like lancing a boil. The poison needs to be expelled – and this month that may have more resonance than usual.
March 2022 Full Moon: The Essentials
The Moon begins its Full Moon phase at 27˚39′ Virgo. Virgo is a productive sign and is associated with health and efficiency. There’s a phrase that comes to mind with this sign, “We reap what we sow”, and that’s appropriate as Virgo is also associated with the harvest. I’m always reminded of the myth of Persephone when I think of this sign. The legend is too long to repeat here but the main points of the old classical Greek myth are as follows:
Pluto kidnaps and rapes Persephone the daughter of Demeter, the Goddess of the harvest. He keeps her in Hades as his wife. Demeter goes there to negotiate for her daughter’s release. While she’s there the world becomes barren and the human race starves. It’s not a good situation. However, Pluto and Demeter reach an agreement to split Persephone’s time between the earth and the underworld. When she’s above ground it’s spring and summer – and autumn-winter when she returns to Pluto’s domain.
What has this to do with the March 2022 Full Moon? The whole point of their powerful negotiation was to find a workable compromise to a situation that had arisen because of an act of aggression by one party – Pluto – over the sovereignty of another – Persephone. For all of them – and all of humanity – things would never be the same again. The tale may be ancient but with the Pluto/Virgo influences over this Full Moon, it is timeless – and perhaps appropriate for the times in which we live.
March 2022 Full Moon: The Chart
The chart for the March 2022 Full Moon seems, at first glance, to be straightforward. As well as the obvious Sun-Moon opposition (which is a given) there is a trine from the Moon to Pluto. Look more closely, however, and you will see there is also an opposition from the Moon to Neptune, and that planet is in a powerful stellium that includes not only the Sun, but also Jupiter and Mercury – all in Pisces.
Though Jupiter and Mercury are technically out of orb and therefore not in aspect to the Full Moon, because of their place in the stellium they are still influential in this lunation – even if it’s in a more subtle or minor way. In other words, they are still part of the story. As usual, I’m also looking at the ‘background noise’ in this chart – the aspects that are not technically part of the lunation complex but are still connected to the events that are being played out under the Sun’s reflected light.
By the thread of a sextile, Mercury (the last planet in the solar stellium) connects to Uranus in Taurus, and that planet sits in a square aspect to the Venus-Mars conjunction now in Aquarius. In astrology – as in life – all things are connected. So, here, we seem to be looking at the Moonlight bringing things into focus that may be associated with Neptune, Mercury and Jupiter – against a backdrop that has all the tensions you would expect from a Uranus square aspect to the powerful Venus-Mars transiting conjunction.
March 2022 Full Moon: The Aspects
Drilling down into the aspects is how we put flesh in the bones, so I’m going to begin with the ‘stand-out’ aspect, the Moon-Pluto trine.
Moon trine Pluto
First, a few words about trine aspects in predictive astrology. The trine is an ‘easy’ aspect and in natal astrology it is often considered beneficial – though heaven knows why as it’s also associated with laziness and ancient astrologers often considered it to be a sign of evil. All judgement calls aside, in predictive astrology a trine often signifies either (1) existing conditions rather than new events or (2) things that happen quickly because there is nothing getting in the way of them doing so.
Aspect lesson over. Let’s remind ourselves what Pluto signifies. Without getting into the cataclysmic horrors that Pluto is known for (war, criminal actions, brutality and worse) the most significant thing about Pluto is the association with leaving the past behind – and that can take many forms from change being thrust upon you, to taking control of the necessary changes – painful or otherwise – in your life.
When the Moon trines Pluto, there may be changes heading towards you that you simply cannot do anything about – even if you want to. However, I suspect that this month the Moon-Pluto trine may indicate events that are significant, possibly traumatic, cathartic and on-going. This trine seems to be part of a process of peeling away the past to reveal some awkward truths (think extreme power and wealth) that was intimated by last month’s Moon-Pluto quincunx – and I think we can see how that’s working out.
At a personal level, those of you with sensitive areas of your natal chart may be affected in particular by this aspect. Those of you with important planets and points in late Virgo and Pisces may be more likely to experience situations that may be difficult to handle – but those of you with planets and points in Taurus and Aquarius may be advised to proceed with caution around the time of this lunation too.
Watch out for issues to do with long distance travel – particularly disruption and delays – or things like sudden cancellation of travel plans. Upsetting news that affects you deeply could be heading your way. Also, there may be issues with having to work out where you stand on a particular situation – particularly if someone hasn’t been entirely straight with you. This lunation seems to be one that is affecting our communications in the widest sense – everything from our travel plans, perceptions, opinions, and world view comes under the spotlight this month.
Moon opposite Neptune
The confusion I mentioned earlier in unsurprising with Neptune in the mix. The March 2022 Full Moon shines a hazy, nebulous light – in fact it wouldn’t surprise me if some of those moonbeams remained hidden behind Neptune’s clouds. It’s an aspect that is known for misunderstandings, poor judgement and emotional vulnerability. All of those things may be issues that we have to deal with in the next few weeks – and it will not surprise you that ‘victims’ and ‘victimisation’ are also associated with this opposition – particularly with Neptune in its own sign, Pisces.
However, What is also signified by this aspect is empathy. We may find an outpouring of sympathy for those less fortunate than us – and that may be both at a personal or at a collective level owing to the absence of any boundaries in Pisces. One danger may be that this is rather unfocused; if you feel emotionally affected by events in the wider world or in your personal life, it may be easy to be swept along by impersonal feelings rather than feel in control of your emotional responses at this time.
The Stellium
So what are the issues in the solar stellium that may be brought into the light or brought to a head? in the chart for the March 2022 Full Moon, Mercury, Jupiter and Neptune are brought together in the light of the Sun. Perception , understanding and imagination are the drivers this month – yet it may be difficult to know where to draw the line when it comes to he information that we may need to process over the next few weeks.
There may be a heightened awareness that barriers need to be overcome. There may also be an increase in misinformation or important information may be overlooked or misunderstood – and this may be true at a personal level too. However, it’s going to be difficult not to be affected by global events. Jupiter and Mercury are the signifiers of information on a global scale – all news broadcasts are here and it may be hard to avoid ‘doom-scrolling’ right now. A reminder from Neptune. This is not good for your mental health.
The Background Noise
Finally, what are we up against this month? The March 2022 Full Moon takes place in a sky where Uranus continues to cause havoc and the Venus-Mars transiting conjunction is not as full of love as we might like it to be (I did mention this possibility in my earlier post on this here). However, we are where we are – and that place seems to be a tense, evolving and dynamic one for relationships of all kinds – both global, social and personal.
The signs are that this is a process that will – and needs to – continue. Things re-align – often rapidly and unexpectedly. There is no value judgement with Uranus, so how things will end up is anyone’s guess. Expect a few people or entities to change sides, split up or come together in surprising alliances. Once you take that on board, you won’t be shocked by the number of surprising announcements that you may hear over the next few weeks. Again, that may be applicable in our private lives or the public domain. Anything is possible right now.
© Sara Shipman 2022
Picture Credit: Image by 光 东 from Pixabay
