I'm Having Someone Else's Nightmares

...or maybe they are mine, since it shouldn't matter that I don't know any of the characters who populated this morning's string of nightmares (a wheelchair-bound man whose legs were eventually amputated; a strange family of Australians who only sang, never spoke; a gang of frat boys pigging out at a hotel's breakfast buffet, leaving no food for anyone else). For one thing, I am a writer who constantly conjures up strange characters; for another, as anyone who's ever made even a cursory study of dream interpretation knows, so-called strangers in dreams can symbolize the dreamer. In which case, I really should worry.

Yes, my assorted astrologically inclined ruffians and fops, we're just about midway through the annual swim through Pisces, and the seas have been rough thus far. The Sun-Neptune conjunction in Pisces last weekend was utterly wasted on me, since I was too low-energy after the flu to be creative; instead I became obsessed with finding the box containing my framed photographs that I could contribute to my sweetie's imminent "Wall of Fame." (Okay, photographs are certainly Pisces, and my sweetie also happens to be a Pisces). Turns out my framed photos were scattered throughout a few boxes, and many of the frames are not designed for hanging, just propping. But no problemo: once I regain my energy, which should happen any month now, I can buy some frames with hooks at my no-longer-so-local 99-cent-&-up store.

Before returning to Piscean issues, I must say that I am disappointed in Mars in the fellow water sign of Scorpio--although to be fair, it more than earned its keep from early January till just after the Sun-Mars square in early February; I got an exciting opportunity as the Sunday Brunch Astrologer at class-act old-school French restaurant Raoul's in Soho. (It's a temporary gig, just through May until the regular Sunday Brunch reader returns from her maternity leave...but everything is temporary, is it not?) But then I got the flu, with Sun squaring my Saturn and Mars opposing it, as well I got more freelance projects than I could handle, and my life was pretty much reduced to three things: Medicine, Work, and Sleep. Whereas I used to require maybe 7 hours of sleep in order to function reasonably well, I now need at least 10.

Mars at the Scorpion's tail end will not go gently into that good night before visiting Sagittarius for a few months (yes, Mars will retrograde back into Scorpio in late May, and stay there till early August). This is because we are coming up on a Mercury-Mars square (exact 12:43 a.m. EST) at 29 degrees of Aquarius and Scorpio, respectively. Although it's not likely there will be much respect going on under this square. If at all possible, avoid getting into any arguments; they could turn ugly, even violent. This may mean having to avoid people in general for the rest of the day and evening. Even good friends may have a bad falling-out -- hell, especially good friends. That also goes for lovers, frenemies, coworkers, siblings, neighbors, and the random guy standing behind you at the bodega about to go postal because they're out of his preferred flavor of Fanta. Get the picture? If you can't really hide out or avoid hanging out, it might be a wise idea to hit your inner Mute button -- though if you can still hear, you may get incensed enough to flush that wisdom down the toilet.

Back to the Sun in Pisces. This weekend features an icky Sun-Saturn square (exact Sunday 3/6, 1:04 a.m. EST, i.e., Saturday night for many of us) and a potentially much better Sun-Pluto sextile (exact 3/6, 11:36 p.m.). This particular Sun-Saturn square from Pisces to Sagittarius highlights all sorts of conflicts: spiritual, religious, moral, family, career. I daresay it will be an "interesting" (i.e., scandalous and nausea-inducing) weekend in the continuing ridiculousness that is the U.S. election cycle. Especially if you have planets in middle degrees of mutable signs (Pisces, Sagittarius, Gemini, Virgo), the Sun-Saturn square may feel like a crucifixion. I am hoping that the Sun-Pluto sextile 10 hours later will provide the opportunity for a resurrection, for both body and soul.

Stay tuned for my Solar Eclipse in Pisces forecast!

Entering Pisces: Dreaming of Kurt Cobain

A preamble of sorts: I am a midwave Gen-Xer, i.e., born midway between Douglas Coupland and Claire Danes. Nirvana meant nada to me till after Kurt Cobain died and MTV released Nirvana's Unplugged in New York album; Nevermind and In Utero were released when I was too busy grooving on the likes of Janis, Jimi, the Doors, and the Dead to identify with the indie-rock Lollapaloozians. Kurt Cobain was born on February 20, 1967 -- a Pisces with a Cancer Moon and, like yours truly, Pluto conjunct the Ascendant.

The dream opens with me driving around the grim roadways of Florida, near where my folks used to keep an equally grim apartment so that my dad could play tennis outdoors in the winter. In my waking life, the last time I was down there was late 1992, when I was in grad school and there was a horrible family fight that nearly ended in divorce between my parents and led to my "borrowing" the rental car to drive to the clubhouse so I could call a friend and not lose what remained of my sanity.

In the dream, the roads around the Federal Highway all look the same, but I manage to find the house of a friend, a much older woman who was surrounded by younger relatives. This friend does not really exist in real life, but she is closely based on someone I recently met who seems to be part friend, part mentor. I realize I need to catch a plane back to New York, which means I have to drive back to the apartment to pack my bags and hustle to return the rental car.

On the way (at a gas station, I think), I meet Kurt Cobain. Suddenly he is at the apartment with me, admiring the astrology poster I created for my current Sunday brunch gig at a French restaurant in Soho. He finds it interesting that I do astrology, but is mostly impressed by the artwork. I tell him about some other creative projects I'm working on and complain about the crappy Chinese tablet I ordered online but is basically worthless for my particular needs.

Next scene takes place at the departures gate at the airport. I see Kurt Cobain once again, and he walks over to continue our conversation. No one seems to recognize him. I am becoming overwhelmed by his kindness, that someone like him could enter my world and care so much about what I was doing. I fall silent. He asks me if I'm doing okay; I know he knows that I cannot believe this is really happening. So I tell him about my brush with a certain someone even more famous and even more married, a celebrity who many moons ago took me out to dinner and wanted me to be his "mistress" (true waking-life story). He laughs as if he understands there was no real attraction in that experience, only curiosity on my part.

On the plane, I feel like Richard Dreyfuss in the last scene of American Graffiti, staring out the window, exhausted but ready to fly toward his future life. I am in the first row of economy class, and I can see the top of Kurt Cobain's bright blond head in the last row of first class. Suddenly, someone on the plane realizes who is flying in their midst, and spreads the word, and a frenzied crowded rushes for him, screaming his name. Some guy waves around a Polaroid he'd just snapped of Kurt Cobain, overexposed with half of his face cut off and one red eye. I scoff, "So you have a photo of him? Big deal. I had an actual conversation with him."

When the plane lands, I walk past Kurt Cobain's empty seat and see all this stuff left behind. A young male flight attendant materializes and announces that it's all stuff for me. There is a tablet, also a manila envelope containing a letter and a song written for me "and 1 other person." I cannot re-create the song's lyrics; even in the dream, the words were blurry. The letter urges me to "keep on trying, and if it doesn't work out, you can always join me on tour in '94."

What year am I in here? There's the dream tablet acting as a reminder that it's 2016 -- but in my waking life, I often perambulate into the past. This past Sunday morning as I walked from the Broadway-Lafayette subway station to the restaurant in Soho where I have my brunch-time astrology gig, the streets were mostly empty...and even though so many of the stores were different, I felt as though I was walking into my past on Prince Street 30 years ago, when I was a moody teenager dreaming of becoming an artist and living in a loft in Soho.

Does Kurt Cobain know that he is dead? Is Kurt Cobain really dead if he is still being conjured up by so many living souls and recognized on an airplane? One water sign infiltrates another water sign's dreams as easy as pie to offer up reassurance, a song with blurred lyrics, and a possible future adventure with him in case I try but fail.

Dreams are the ultimate symbol of Pisces: effortless creativity, a movie filled with symbols that only the dreamer can truly interpret. Many people forget their dreams when the alarm intrudes into this symbolic narrative at an ungodly early hour and so-called real life begins. Others use their dreams as a compass, as inspiration, as a blog post when they do not feel like discussing the astrology of presidential candidates or yesterday's Full Moon.

"Come as you are."

Pisces Post-Full Moon Haikus

Pisces Post-Full Moon Haikus

Snow globe still shaking
With two weeks left of winter--
I'm cold and tired.

I try to recall
Pleasurable sensations
Like my cat's sleek coat--

Like my sweetie's lips
And the warmth of his fingers
And his soft fine hair.

I try to recall
Going out sans bundling;
Hair not shaped by hat.

I try to recall
A week without feeling sick,
Sneezing and coughing.

Spring is almost here
Though it seems nowhere nearby
Buried in the snow.

From Dark of the Moon to New Moon: The Siberian Express; or, Come On, Baby, Let the Hard Times Roll

New Moons frequently occur in the final degree of a sign. The one this past Wednesday at 6:47 p.m. EST, however, was so cuspy at 29 degrees, 54 minutes, and 54 seconds of Aquarius that by 6:50 p.m., both the Sun and Moon were in Pisces. This effectively gave us a New Moon across two signs.

Emotionally, things did seem to ease a bit once the Sun and Moon entered Pisces (and at the time, Mars and Venus were still in Pisces). That's just on a personal level -- water signs tend to breathe better with transiting planets in water, whereas fire signs may feel extinguished. However, much of the U.S. is still dealing with the so-called Siberian Express, many people at my temp gig are still wheezing and sneezing, and despite all the vitamins I am taking and hand sanitizer I am using, I am currently dealing with my fourth cold in six weeks (or maybe it's the same cold that I'm just not getting over).

We are now solidly into the New Moon period -- and I was honored to catch sight of the Moon-Venus conjunction this past frigid Friday evening as I walked west from my subway stop to home, as it was a truly beautiful sight, and I was jonesin' for beauty -- yet not much feels different. This is partly because Mercury, though direct now, still has a ways to go through Aquarius, where it was retrograde for a very long three weeks (and perhaps tied into the Siberian Express).

Another part of the lingering dark-of-the-moon feeling is due to the approaching Sun-Saturn square (exact Mon. 2/23, 8:56 a.m., followed just one minute later by another square, between the Moon and Mercury). This is the very first Sun-Saturn square to occur since Saturn entered Sagittarius at the end of 2014. The Sun squaring Saturn is a classic authority-clash aspect between man and The Man. Unfortunately, this aspect, especially given the signs involved (Pisces and Sagittarius) favors the type of bully of either gender who represents Law and Order, the status quo, or just looks good on paper while engaging in such cowardly, underhanded tactics as backbiting, trolling, and stalking while also being territorial and greedy. If you symbolize the Sun in Pisces (creative, intuitive, mystical, true to yourself), wait this one out. If you personify the worst side of Saturn in Sagittarius (cold, rigid, hypocritical, avaricious) go for it....

....with the caveat that just like you, karma's a bitch.

Mercury Retrograde in Pisces Blues

It all seemed so promising, this flock (or school) of Pisces planets, the likes of which haven't been seen in so many moons I hadn't even been born yet: Sun, Mercury, Venus, Mars, all desposited by Neptune in its ruling sign of the Fishies, and all in harmony with Saturn in the fellow water sign Scorpio.

If only Mercury hadn't turned retrograde on 2/22, perhaps all would be going swimmingly (pun intended).

Mercury retrograde is tough all by itself, but in Pisces, the sign of Mercury's detriment, it is even more of a challenge. As much as this placement can inspire, particularly for creative types, it can also sink even the most forward-thinking person into a quagmire of sadness and "mighta-coulda-shoulda-beens." Not a great time to focus or to be able to remember your keys, your 17 case-sensitive passwords, or your own name. I myself was out earlier today to pick up a nice loaf of Italian bread for tonight, which I managed to forget at the counter; when I ran back out into the snowy, sleety mess to get it, the mirror in my building's lobby confirmed that I'd put on my World War I Flying Ace hat backward.

Right after Mercury turned retrograde in my 6th house of health, I came down with a bug accompanied by a low-grade but debilitating fever that has only now begun to dissipate. Said bug served as a nifty wet blanket during the romantic weekend getaway I'd planned a month ago for my sweetie and me. I also shot myself in the foot (Mars in Pisces in my 6th) during an important job interview this week (which I'd had to reschedule -- another signature of Mercury retrograde -- as last week I was way too sick to come in) by failing to present myself with enough confidence. (Pisces is many things -- visionary, inspiring, paradoxical, magical, mysterious, wistful, dreamy, intuitive -- but rarely take-charge confident.) However, there was one bright spot: a rewarding chart reading with a new client.

Mercury turns direct on 3/17; between now and then we will have the New Moon (3/11), which I hope will give me (and everyone else) more hope in the face of various personal and societal disturbances (e.g., the sequester and the restrictive abortion law passed this week in Arkansas -- especially ironic, given that today is Inernational Women's Day).

Pee Ess: If a Certain Pisces is reading this post, Happy Birthday and I hope you're getting ready to celebrate!

Once in a Blue Moon

This Blue Moon seems so close
Though in reality is so far away --
Dream yourself a little dream
Before you reenter the fray.

Let yourself imagine
Let yourself be magical
Let yourself howl at the Moon
Before you get too logical.

This month was born on a Full Moon
And is set to die on one, too --
The pearly orb will rise at sunset
And doesn't have to be sad, just blue.

Sun Conjunct Neptune: Don't Dream It, Be It

Remember the Mercury-Neptune conjunction on Valentine's Day? Were you able to communicate all the dreamy, inspiring thoughts swimming through your mind? Well, if the challenging Venus-Pluto square occurring at the same time kept you from feeling the universal love that Neptune is capable of, you have another chance today...except that it is far more visceral in nature than the Mercury-Neptune conjunction.

The Sun symbolizes one's life force and ego, and linking up with Neptune at 0 degrees of Pisces, this is an auspicious day for dreaming what and who you want to BE into reality. You need not be an artist or mystic to take full advantage of this aspect, but you will need to be open to the mysterious, inspirational nature of Neptune in its own ruling sign.

Meditate. Listen to music (right now I am playing ELO's El Dorado). If the spirit moves you, do a watercolor painting, or write poem or a song. Take a long bath. Allow yourself fantasize or daydream about your ideal self, with two caveats: Resolve to do something about making this dream come true, and also recognize that if your fantasy is so over the top that it could not possibly come to pass without jail time, eviction, or being chased by butterfly-net-wielding doctors, after the conjunction passes (3:42 p.m. EST) try to dial it down a few notches. Neptune is not moderate, has no boundaries, and can sometimes be downright delusional; if you do not temper its visions of what could be with a dose of pragmatism and awareness of reality, you can become dangerously swept up in its siren song.

You might also find yourself feeling lost or "at sea" today about who you really are; Neptune tends to dissolve or diffuse whatever planet it contacts. Such dissolution is particularly beneficial if you tend to be rigid or overly controlled; Neptune can open you up to new possibilities. However, if you are a Neptunian type to start with (i.e., your natal Neptune is heavily aspected or you have planets in Pisces), this feeling of not really knowing who you are might just be business as usual.

Neptune, which rules Pisces, is highly emotional and inspirational. Let yourself go with this Water-element flow, but at the same time, remember how to breathe underwater, and be sure to respect the undertow. (These instructions are not necessary for the Water signs Cancer, Scorpio, and Pisces, but other signs may need them in order to navigate today's waves.)

Good cess in finding your own "Rainbow Connection."

Full Moon in Pisces: Purification Via Tsunami

It's a damned good thing I practice astrology, or else I'd be convinced I was going off my rocker. For the past day or so I have felt the energy of the Full Moon in Pisces, and this lunation is exact at 12:03 p.m. BFT (Brooklyn Freelancer Time).

Full Moons always bring a culmination to the lunar cycle: for the past two weeks, whatever has been building in yourself as well as the outer world will reach its maximum form of energy. A Full Moon can shed much objective light on an important situation and provide excellent, creative release if you use its energy wisely. Otherwise, the energy curdles, and the next two weeks of the waning Moon may be spent wondering, "Where did it all go wrong?"

Full Moons also illustrate a very important principle in astrology: polarity. Instead of thinking of twelve separate signs, living and dreaming in their twelve separate zodiacal boxes, think instead of six poles, each consisting of a particular sign and its opposite. You may think that opposing signs are truly opposite and have nothing in common; nothing could be further from the truth. Opposing signs always share a "quality," i.e., cardinal, fixed, or mutable, and also occur in compatible elements, i.e. Fire/Air, Earth/Water. Visualize the beauty of the yin-yang symbol: two interlocking black and white paisley shapes, each sporting a drop of the oppposite color. In astrology, each sign contains its opposite in seed form. Much, therefore, can be learned from your opposite sign. Interestingly, the astrological aspect that concerns relationship issues is the opposition! In other words, without the opposition, there would be no awareness that "the Other" exists...I am not just talking about relationships between people, but between objects, words, numbers...the world of abstractions.

For the purposes of this particular Full Moon, which is a "pure" one because no other planets are aspecting it, I shall concentrate on the Virgo/Pisces polarity. Both of these signs have unusually heavy karma attached (the other "heavy" of the zodiac is Scorpio). In the case of Virgo, the stage of self-consciousness has been reached; the self needs to be purified in order to enter the realm of relating that self to the rest of the world. Virgo is considered the final "personal" sign, which does not mean the signs that follow are impersonal; however, the second half of the zodiac generally is pulled toward shared resources and experiences, which culminates in the universality, empathy, collective unconscious, and dissolution (and unfortunately disillusion) of Virgo's opposite sign of Pisces. The Full Moon in Pisces urges us all to consider how healthy we really feel, and this is not limited to our physical body, but how we are getting along with the planet Earth (remember that Virgo is an Earth sign!), and our mental health. Some of the difficulties that can surface during this Full Moon include:

- Extreme perfectionism and dissatisfaction over only being human, leading to beating yourself up (Virgo) or fatalistic "I give up" depression (Pisces)
- Hypochondria
- Psychosomatic illness brought on by constant worry and anxiety
- Indigestion, often due to bad food/drink choices
- Insomnia
- Addictive behavior (if you have a strong Neptune in your natal chart, you may find that you are particularly vulnerable to the energy of Moon in Pisces)
- Reaching the breaking point in terms of services rendered: "After all I've done for (him/her/the world), THIS is what I get in return?" (Slam door, brood, and retreat for the rest of the lunar cycle)

If the above list leaves you shaking your head and wondering if there is anything good about the Full Moon in Pisces, here is another, admittedly smaller list of its more positive manifestations:

- Insightful creativity in the arts, especially writing, film, and dance
- True selflessness that encourages you to serve without expecting a reward
- Increased environmental awareness
- The ability to synthesize trillions of bits of information and, in so putting some metaphoric jigsaw puzzle together, understand the whole
- Setting more reasonable "shalt nots" and "shalt dos" in your life, especially those that affect your physical and mental health

Catch the wave!