Welcome to Ghost of a Podcast. I'm your host, Jessica Lanyadoo. I'm an astrologer, psychic medium, and animal communicator, and I'm going to give you your weekly horoscope and no-bullshit mystical advice for living your very best life.

Welcome back to Ghost of a Podcast. This week, we're going to look at the astrology of February 23rd through March 1st of 2025. I have to just start this week off by acknowledging how fast things are changing and how frightening they are, especially if you're Trans or Nonbinary, if you are an immigrant, in particular with a green card or hoping to get a green card, if you are disabled or work for the government. I mean, the list really fucking goes on. I think we're all pretty freaked out.

I want to be perfectly clear I'm not talking about politics. I'm talking about social conditions. And as a humanistic astrologer, the way that I work with astrology is always human-centered. And what's happening in the United States, what's happening across the globe, is really destabilizing and uncertain for the vast majority of humans. And that's scary. Most of us are walking around with a whole lot of fear, with a lot of tension and stress in our souls, and not only is that happening to you and for you, but it's happening on a collective level. And that has its own big, powerful energetic field, which builds on itself.

So, this week, I want to again acknowledge that you may be having a really fucking hard time right now, and that makes sense. That is fair. That is real. And you're still taking care of your kids, having to pay your bills, work, manage the day-to-day. And it's hard, and it's overwhelming. And there is no good way to go through hard times. I saw a TikTok, and I wish I had remembered who said this, but I was engaged in the scroll and didn't take note, and then it just stayed with me. So I wanted to share this with you.

This person was talking about how, in authoritarian regimes, it's not like life stops. It's not like you no longer go to the movies, you no longer go to parties, you no longer think about what to wear for the day. I mean, things can get severe to the point where it's apocalyptic and none of these kinds of concerns are yours anymore, but I think that people have a very cinematic idea of what living through authoritarianism or fascism or war, even, is. And in the modern world, some of what war is is simply propaganda. It is the communication of straight-out lies, half-truths. So much of what happens is that things get worse and worse, and you simply must adapt. And that is scary, and that is hard. And if you're panicking, if you're freaking out, yes, that's real. That's real.

But I want to remind you that whatever realities we find ourselves in, whatever collective conditions we find ourselves in, of course, we may be all in the same boat but not on the same part of the boat. We don't all have the same access and resources within the boat. As we find ourselves in the same boat, what's really important is to recognize that you're on the damn boat, to accept that you're on the damn boat. From that place, you can make choices. You can adapt. And you know what? You need to adapt. We need to adapt. And that means acknowledging that the level of stress and fear that we are living with is happening. It's not going to change tomorrow. There's not a news article that's going to magically fix it.

There's no magic fixing things right now. And that doesn't mean there isn't magic in the world. It doesn't mean that you don't have access to magic. We can't magic our way out of collective conditions. And that's hard to bear, but bear it we must. And it is so much easier to bear if you do it in community. So, if you're having a hard time⁠—especially if you're having a hard time⁠—force yourself, challenge yourself, to reach out to and connect with others, to not isolate in your fear and panic.

Now, this week, as you may have noticed from the title of the episode, yes, Mars goes direct⁠—huzzah. But Venus, the planet of socializing amongst many other things, goes Retrograde. God damn it. So within this is an invitation to reflect because whenever planets go Retrograde, we follow the rule of re's. Reflect on how you let love in, how you connect with others, the relationships you have, and in particular the relationships that are based in care and love and kindness and empathy. And the power of those things, the power of Venus⁠—the power of those things cannot be overstated.

The effect of love and empathy in your relationship to yourself, in your relationship with others, is going to sustain you through these times. So practicing kindness is just that. It's a damn practice. And I want to invite you to center that practice moving forward. And that doesn't mean you don't have boundaries, and that doesn't mean you don't get mad, and that doesn't mean you don't say no. It means, while dealing with your noes and dealing with whatever crises you're dealing with or whatever fear you're dealing with, you practice showing yourself kindness and empathy and extending that kindness and empathy to others. So you might decide somebody is a jerk and not to be dealt with. Okay. It is a kindness to yourself to hold that boundary, and you may have empathy for them that they are clearly not right with themselves. And then you let it go. Part of being kind to yourself and kind to others is not obsessing. It's not belaboring. Sometimes you just gotta let go. More on that to come.

You know I've been talking to you for a while about getting your papers in order, and I feel like that's a big conversation even in the mainstream news and on social media. I want to give you this little heads-up that on March 15th, Mercury goes Retrograde. Are we Mercury Retroshading? Yes, we are. And Venus goes Retrograde this week, making applying for papers so much more sticky and messy. And so this week is as good as it gets to do whatever administrative tasks you need to do, whether it's getting your paperwork in order, filing an extension on your taxes—I don't know⁠—that kind of shit.

That said, astrology⁠—astrology, this spectacular tool that we're all in love⁠ with—what it does is it kind of tells the weather, right? It tells the weather. It's going to be chilly. It's going to be rainy. It's going to be sunny⁠—whatever. It's not like you're supposed to stop living your life just because the weather is not optimal. It just means that you prepare for the weather. So, if you have to do shit that is inadvisable technically speaking, astrologically, you're not cursed. It doesn't mean something's going to go terribly wrong, per se, at all. What it means is that you have this astrological data that empowers you to prepare, to not take it personally if somebody misunderstands you during a Retrograde. You expected it. You knew. It's a Retrograde, right? That kind of thinking can be really supportive and helpful. So do your best to get shit sorted that needs to get sorted before the 15th of March, a.k.a. ASAPly.

Connected to that, Lambda Legal is hosting a free virtual info session on passports for Trans, Nonbinary, gender-nonconforming, and intersex folks. It's scheduled to be on February 26th at 3:00 p.m. Eastern, 12:00 Pacific. And the link to join is in my show notes. It's free. And if you or someone you love falls into those categories, or if you just want to be more informed, that's an excellent resource for you. So definitely check that out.

Okay. All that said, let's dive into your horoscope. The astrology of this week begins on Sunday, February 23rd, where we have two major things to look out for. The first one happens at 8:58 a.m. Pacific Time. Mercury will be at 17 degrees of Pisces and 1 minute, and Mars will be at the same degrees of Cancer. That means Mercury is trine to Mars. This transit is great, honestly. What it indicates is that you're in a good position to communicate with other people, socialize, really consider the details of your plans. And that's because Mercury is related to both friendships, colleagues, plans, like the details⁠—the little things. It's also your day-to-day environment. So that's both in physical space and online.

Mars, by contrast, is all about what you do. And at 8:58 a.m. Pacific Time on Sunday the 23rd, Mars is still Retrograde. That's going to change, but stay with me now. Mars is related to what you do and how you do it. Mars likes to move through things pretty quickly. So having Mercury trine to Mars is a great transit for sorting through some details, connecting with people. There's really nothing to look out for other than overextending yourself, which is potentially a risk.

Now, several hours later, at 6:00 p.m., we have Mars going Retrograde at 17 degrees and 0 minutes of Cancer. I have to say the Mars going direct at 17 degrees exactly of Cancer⁠—it made me think of Sabian Symbols. I don't know if you have heard of Sabian Symbols or if you fuck with Sabian Symbols. They're something I talk about a fair amount on my Patreon. Sabian Symbols are not astrology, but they're like spiritual interpretation of the zodiacal degrees. When you look at a Sabian Symbol for a particular degree, if, let's say, a planet is at 17 degrees and 1 minute of a zodiac sign, you would round up to the next degree. So you would look at the 18-degree Sabian Symbol for that thing.

But because Mars goes direct at 17 degrees and 0 minutes of Cancer, I couldn't resist the urge to glance at Dane Rudhyar, who's a spectacular astrologer⁠—his interpretation of this Sabian Symbol, 17 degrees of Cancer. And I was well rewarded. So I just wanted to share it with you before we unpack further the astrology. And the Sabian Symbol here is the unfoldment of potentials issuing from an original germ. It's the life urge to actualize one's birth potential. This 17 degrees of Cancer point, from a Sabian Symbol perspective, is about growth. And in these wildly tumultuous times, I think it's so powerful to be able to tap into⁠—even if for just a moment, 6:00 p.m. Pacific on the 23rd⁠—what is the potential for growth as it's germinating inside of you? What is it that you are struggling with or working on that you want to evolve and grow around? What can you do⁠—because we're talking about Mars at this degree of Cancer, right? And Mars is about doing. So what can you do to participate and be a part of growth and positive potential in the world?

The process of germination as referenced in this Sabian Symbol is so much about the struggle to move towards the light. And I really love that, growing towards the light. What does that look like? What does that feel like? And how can you meditate on that, reflect on that as we move out of a Mars Retrograde cycle that has been long and arduous, but we remain in the Retroshade phase, which is really when we move forwards through degrees of Cancer and Leo that we've already moved through in the Retrograde?

There is also to consider, as I mentioned, I believe, last week, that the Mars/Pluto square that has been ongoing for several months isn't completed until later in the spring, in April of 2025. And so, again, when we reference this Sabian Symbol, the life urge to actualize one's birth potential⁠—birth is painful and messy. Birth is hard. Even an easy birth is a bloody birth. So how can we envision, how can we find the motivation and the passion, to participate in birthing a better world, a better life, greater health or wellness or achieving some sort of goal⁠, whatever it is that's important to you, whatever it is that you're working on right now?

As I like to say and have said many times before, just because something is hard for you doesn't mean it's wrong with you. And this kind of moment that we're at is putting each and every one of us in contact with what's hard for us. And your maladjusted coping mechanisms, your trauma patterns, your challenges in your birth chart⁠—however you want to frame it⁠—may have you thinking to yourself, "Okay. Well, this is what's wrong with me. Because it's hard for me, it's what's wrong with me." And I want to say no. If it's hard for you, it's hard for you. And that's not inherently a personal failing. In fact, failing isn't inherently a personal failing. Failing and struggle are opportunities to grow towards the light. And when you encounter the ways in which you are stuck or struggling, it's only an affirmation of how important it is to you and the value of growing towards the light. So, as much as it's helpful, fuck with that. Okay? Okay.

Now, back to Mars Retrograde. When we experience a transit, whether it's a transit to your birth chart or a transit in the world like we talk about here on the podcast, what happens is an evolutionary experience. You experience something, and it's a part of your evolution one way or another. And when that transit moves out of orbit or it ends, like this Mars Retrograde is over as of the 23rd, that doesn't mean that, okay, well, the themes of it are completely gone to you. It doesn't mean that everything is completely done. What it means is that the energies, lessons, issues, assets⁠—whatever it is⁠—that are associated with that transit are no longer activated in the particular way that a given transit activates you.

Now that Mars is no longer Retrograde, you are not being activated to reflect on your motivations. You are not being activated to turn within. And that doesn't mean you should stop turning within or reflecting on your motivations. It just means that that is not what the Universe is forcing us all to do. That's something else to look out for now that Mars moves direct⁠—I mean, it's Retroshady but direct⁠—is that things are about to move quicker. Have you felt like things were moving quickly already? I sure as hell have. Well, now that Mars is direct, it's going to move even quicker.

And so, again, it's important to check in with your coping mechanisms. Mars is related to anger and rage and passion and motivation, yes. But when those things are blocked or stymied or reach a point of overwhelm in the system, humans tend to experience exhaustion, demoralization, burnout. You can feel just like you're going to fall apart. That's kind of the opposite of typical Mars energies, but that gets activated in each and every one of us, various degrees at different times, depending on your nature and your circumstances.

And so it's going to be really important to notice how Mars is functioning inside of you. Where are you at in your relationship to anger? Are you burning yourself out with rage? That's not great, right? Instead of getting angry, are you just feeling demoralized? Well, that keeps you stuck. That's not great either. Whatever it is that is activated inside of you during this Mars Retrograde is an opportunity for you to know yourself better and for you to grow. That doesn't mean be perfect. That doesn't mean grow exactly the direction you want and the way you want all at once. It just means grow. We are where we are. You are who you are. If you can work to accept that, from that foundation, you can make choices that help you to act in alignment with what you want to advance inside of you, in collaboration with others, and in the world at-large.

As Mars go direct, things change, period. Things change. Things are changing quickly. And now that Mars is direct, you may feel the energy, the motivation, or the push from the outside to change⁠—to change quicker, to change all at once, to make action happen. That may be unavoidable; that may be wonderful. But what you don't want to do is forget the lessons of the Retrograde, which is to reflect.

Mars has been Retrograde since December 6th, and we've been in the Retroshade longer than that. But in this period, can you reflect on times where you wanted things to change quicker or move quicker, but now, with a little hindsight, you can see if they had gone the way you wanted them to go, when you were impatient for them to go, maybe they wouldn't have been in your best interest? Maybe you would have missed out on something important.

It's really valuable to reflect on the period of a transit⁠—and in this moment, we're talking about Mars Retrograde⁠—because it empowers you to learn more lessons, to actually take them in. And in our modern world, we take in so much data we often don't create and cultivate the space to integrate and digest that data. But that's exactly what we need. And so I want to encourage you to reflect on that this week.

That brings us to our next exact transit. It's happening on February 25th, which is a Tuesday, and it's going to be exact at 4:02 a.m. Pacific Time. This transit is not fun, okay? Mercury will be at 20 degrees and 16 minutes of Pisces, meeting Saturn at the same exact degrees of the same sign. When Mercury sits on top of Saturn, your thinking⁠—Mercury⁠—gets heavy⁠—Saturn. This can be a time where you have to deal with the consequences to things you said or didn't say or how you said it or how you didn't say it. There may be consequences to you not actually listening to what somebody else communicated to you.

Mercury conjunction to Saturn is likely to put you in a scarcity mindset. The other thing this transit can do is have you focused on what is constructive, what is practical, what is real. And this can happen on a material level because we're talking about Saturn, but it can also happen on a spiritual level, on a humanitarian level, because these energies are occurring in Pisces. Whatever level this transit hits you on, know that when Saturn is this close to Mercury, you're supposed to be focused on kind of hard things. And hard doesn't necessarily mean bad, but Saturn is actually technically really hard. It governs bones and teeth. It's structure. And when we see structure, we could be talking about the structure of your body, the structure of your psyche, the structure of your life. We could also be talking about the structure of a company or of a country.

When we're looking at Saturn, we're looking at hierarchies, and especially entrenched, established hierarchies. And we could easily think of a couple in the world and probably more than a couple in your life. Now, Mercury is about ideas and is adaptable, but when so close to Saturn, it has a much harder time being adaptable. And so you may start kind of exploring an idea or engaging in a relationship with somebody⁠—because Mercury is related to your relationships⁠—and feel like you hit a wall. And that wall might be inside of you. It might be in the dynamic. And how you respond to that wall that you perceive, whether it's real or projected, reflects who you are in this situation.

This is where I come back to some of what I was talking about at the start of this episode. Mercury conjunct Saturn can trigger depressive thinking. And again, it's scarcity-based, so it can make you feel like you're stuck and you can't think your way out of it or do anything about it. This transit can make you feel like you're in a rut or reflect back to you how you're in a rut. And what's important is to recognize that the kind of scarcity-based or negative, pessimistic thinking is not inherently bad. I am a fan of well-placed pessimism and listening to fears. I am a fan of that. I think that it's idealistic to imagine that Saturn doesn't exist⁠—in other words, that things aren't hard, that everything is safe.

But it's important to be pragmatic and to use common sense. And unfortunately, because this is happening in Pisces⁠—not the most common-sensey of the zodiac signs. Now, I want to be clear I'm not talking about people who have the Sun in Pisces. I'm talking about the energetics of Pisces. So you may find yourself just in a really negative frame of mind, feeling like, "Well, nothing that I can do will make any difference, so why bother trying?"⁠—can lead towards, again, depressive or nihilistic thinking. And when we veer into nihilism, it's hard to validate and center, let alone act from, a place that reflects your values. This is important in general, and in particular, it's important because Venus is about to go Retrograde.

But here's the potential. The potential is that you can learn something important. Whether it's learning from your own past experiences, like reflecting on your past experiences and actually getting it, or talking to somebody who has more wisdom than you, somebody who's older than you, somebody who's more experienced than you⁠—there's something really powerful about this transit in that it can empower you to really focus, to focus up. And that can empower you to learn.

Now, whatever you learn may not inherently necessarily be what you want to learn. You may learn that something is stuck in your life. And instead of jumping to conclusions or trying to defend or justify your perceptions or your thoughts or your feelings, instead of trying to say to yourself, "Well, if my pants don't fit anymore, that's because x, y, z about my body," or, "x, y, z about whoever washed my pants," or whatever it is⁠—if you go straight from a recognition of a fact to an explanation or a damnation based on that fact, then you haven't sat with the fact long enough. So practice sitting with it. And Saturn is actually really good at supporting you in doing that, sitting with data, sitting with information and trying to be interested in a common-sensey, practical way about what it is not only that you perceive to be happening, but your own mental reactions, the narrative that's ready to just jump in in reaction to a thing. Be interested in that. That's interesting because it says just as much about you as it does about anything else, certainly your situation.

Now, this transit⁠—again, it can be a little depressing. It can put you in a negative frame of mind. It can make you feel like you're not making progress at the rate you would like to. It can make you feel stuck, all this kind of shit. The other thing it can do that I think is really worth cultivating is it can help you to assess what respectful conduct is and to actually engage with yourself and with others in a respectful way because Saturn is so much about that. It's so much about respectful conduct, I mean, in its healthy embodiment.

So are you treating your problems, your insights, your goals with respect? Are you treating other people with respect? Are you treating yourself with respect in your own inner dialogue? If the answer to any of these questions is no, that's a great point of inquiry for you, maybe a reflection, or maybe just a redirection. We are Mercury Retroshady, after all. Maybe it's time to redirect your thinking or your tone or the language that you choose or the narratives that you center.

Now, that brings us to Thursday, February 27th, where we have a New Moon in Pisces. It'll be exact at 4:45 p.m. Pacific Time. The Moon will be at 9 degrees and 40 minutes of Pisces, and so will the Sun. New Moons are a time for setting intentions, for manifestation, for charging your crystals. New Moons are so important, and I know people like to focus on the Full Moon. It's visually very impactful, and it often brings up really challenging emotions. But here I am, a simple Capricorn astrologer saying to you don't only center the hard, challenging things that are in your face.

New Moons are when the Sun and Moon⁠—your identity and your emotions, your will and your feelings⁠—are in alignment. And that is an opportunity to set or reset your energy or intention or attention for the month. And this particular New Moon is worth naming because it's the start of Eclipse Season. March, we don't only have Mercury and Venus Retrograde; we also have two Eclipses, my friends. The intensity of March I cannot understate, okay? But that's a conversation for later.

And if you want to hear my breakdown of the astrology of March, of course, as always, you can join me over on the kittens level of my Patreon, where I drop a bonus episode of Ghost of a Podcast where I break down the astrology of the month ahead. Or if you don't want to join my Patreon, you can always just purchase it as a one-off podcast episode. It's at your discretion. Also, you can just wait for my weekly breakdowns.

Now, back to our New Moon. This is a very Piscean New Moon. Not only do we have the Sun and Moon at almost 10 degrees of Pisces, but we still have Mercury and Saturn sitting on top of each other, not fully conjunct, but sitting on top of each other in Pisces. We still have the North Node and Neptune sitting on top of each other in Pisces. So that's the Sun, Moon, Saturn, Mercury, Neptune, and North Node. That's a lot of Pisces.

So, just based on that, let's sit for a moment. This New Moon is going to be a powerful time for cultivating presence. So I'm talking about spiritual and emotional presence. And that's really hard when you're feeling challenged, when it feels like the world is on fire. Abandoning yourself in your own moments of need doesn't make it easier to bear those moments. In fact, it creates a larger complex that makes life much harder, much harder in the long run.

The rub is, when you get present, when you really tap in spiritually, sometimes you feel worse. And that's because you're not disassociating from yourself; you're actually feeling your feelings. And feeling your feelings is hard. It's hard. Now, I know some people have no trouble feeling their feelings, but they have a hard time not drowning and losing themselves in their feelings. If you are in that category, that Mercury/Saturn conjunction is actually your friend because it can help you to develop a more constructive, practical, sustainable relationship⁠—in other words, some boundaries⁠—to how you think about and connect to your emotions.

Now, you may be somebody who has a hard time connecting with your feelings, which I think is actually most people. Even people who are super emo will often have a hard time connecting with their feelings and instead focus on their thoughts about their feelings. A lot of times, our emotions are focused on how annoying the scab is and how difficult the scab is and the ways in which we are picking at our scab or resisting the urge to pick up the scab instead of just allowing ourselves to be present for the wound underneath it, to be generous and kind and patient.

Here's the thing. All this Pisces energy wants you to be patient and empathetic and kind, to understand the universality of your feelings and the conditions that you're living with. It's very easy to feel alone and lonely even if you're around lots of people. But the truth is we are interconnected. Your fate and mine are interwoven, and they are interwoven with the fates of everything and everyone else. And the more that we acknowledge that, the more that we believe that, the more that we act like we believe that, the stronger we are.

And not to belabor the whole Pluto in Aquarius thing, which we will do for many years, by the way⁠—belabor Pluto in Aquarius⁠—but our power is as a collective. That's the lesson. That's the assignment, the power of the collective. And this New Moon in Pisces, just on the brink of Eclipse Season, on the brink of Venus Retrograde, is an opportunity for you to connect to yourself, to greet yourself wherever you're at, however you feel, to be present, empathetic, and kind to yourself because from a place of presence, you can do what Piscean energy really teaches us, I believe, which is have energetic and emotional boundaries.

But it's not possible to have boundaries if you're not present. Again, the rub⁠—you have to be present to have a boundary. And it's hard to be present, and it's hard to have boundaries. And it's extra, extra hard to have boundaries if you're not present. So, this New Moon, I invite you to tap in, to sit with and honor whatever it is that you feel⁠—grief, sadness, loneliness, joy, excitement, exultation⁠—whatever. The mess of it, the contradictions of it⁠—feel it. And from that place of presence and empathy and kindness, consider your boundaries. Which ones are working? Which ones aren't? Maybe you need more boundaries. Maybe you were thinking you had a boundary, but you're actually realizing it's not really a boundary. It's not adaptable. It's more of a rule, and it's keeping you stuck. It's keeping you in a rut.

Adapt. Evolve. Grow. New Moons are an opportunity to tap into clarity and, from the light of clarity, set new healthier and better-adjusted intentions. It's kind of beautiful, right? It's less spectacular than a Full Moon, but it's just as useful. It's just as important.

Now, on this day, there is one exact transit. It's exact at 1:38 a.m., so several hours earlier, but it is the tightest aspect in this New Moon chart. And that's⁠—Mercury is at 23 degrees of Pisces and 36 minutes and is forming an exact sextile to Uranus at the same degrees of Taurus.

Mercury is your mind, and Uranus is your nervous system. And a sextile is a spark. It's creative, and it's kind of easy. So this particular transit lets me know that you, me, and all of us are in a great position to make connections, figure something out, have relationships or conversations with other people that foster progress. And progress⁠—I know I've said it before, but again, it's worth repeating: progress doesn't have to be perfection. Progress⁠—any amount of progress⁠—is progress. And it's good for your heart. It's good for your brain. It's good for all your parts to identify and validate or affirm and really sit with, for a moment, progress, even if it's only a little eke of progress, because every little bit of progress builds on itself, whether it's in the world, in your psyche, in your relationships, at work⁠—whatever it is.

Mercury sextile to Uranus makes it a great time for figuring things out, having useful conversations, and doing what I'm speaking about, which is having a kind of grounded, values-based connection to what is and what you intend to be, so getting present and setting intentions or making plans. This is also a great transit for just talking to people, listening to people.

Now, one last thing I'll say about this New Moon, which is if you fuck with magic, if you're going to do a ritual or something like that, my advice is to first get grounded and present. If you're doing any kind of magic or ritual work and it doesn't have the first and foundational step being come home to yourself, be here, receive whatever it is as in this moment for and within you⁠—if that's not your foundational first step, then you run the risk of your energy work or your spiritual work slipping into the world of imagination and fantasy instead of yielding you grounded, sustainable results.

So practice getting present. Practice being kind to whatever it is that you find in this present moment. That might be a massive shift for you or a really subtle shift for you. Either way, it is revolutionary to not abandon yourself. It shouldn't be, but it is. It is, because the world is set up in such a way that it is so much easier to abandon yourself and just shove food in your mouth, keep on pushing, not sit with your feelings. How would the world be different if we all decided that we were going to center our wellness, that we were going to center quality of life over getting through life? A New Moon in Pisces is a great time to imagine the possibility.

And that brings us to our final exact transit of the week. On Saturday, March 1st, Venus goes Retrograde. At 4:36 p.m. Pacific Time, Venus will go Retrograde at 10 degrees and 15 minutes of Aries. This Retrograde is going to last March 1st until April the 12th. It's retrograding in Aries; it will retrograde back into Pisces. But let's focus on the Aries part.

It's a little unusual that we are on the heels of the Mars Retrograde that Mercury Retrograde is going to overlap. We will, of course, talk about that closer to the date with this Venus Retrograde. It's a lot of Retrogrades. But let's take a moment to use a little common sense. If you look at the world, does it not seem like it makes sense that things are moving backwards? Which is in fact what Retrogrades are. They're when a planet appears to be moving backwards through the sky, and it does move backwards through the zodiacal degrees.

So I've heard Venus Retrograde dubbed the season of the ex. It can be. It can be a time where people come back into your life, you run into exes, or you just start thinking about people, whether it's people you've dated or just people you've loved that the relationship didn't work out. This is because Venus is related to our intimate, close, and sensual relationships. If someone comes back into your life during a Retrograde, it's not mystical. If you broke up with someone because of an incompatibility, if things didn't work, unless you've both changed, they're still not going to work. Just a hot tip, okay?

So, whenever we go through a Retrograde, it's a time for reflection. We follow the rule of re's. That reflection may be, okay, a reflection on the pattern, a reflection on, "What is the thing that I was doing in this relationship, and am I still fucking doing it? Have I evolved? Have I changed?" Don't be so focused on what other people are or aren't doing. The only thing you can control, the only thing that's actually your responsibility, is what you do and why.

Venus is related to your values. So that's both connected to the value that you hold in yourself, like your self-esteem and your sense of self-worth, but it's also the values and principles that you organize your life by, what it is that you are truly convicted around and what you center in your priorities. I recently dropped a video on, again, my Patreon talking about what values actually are and how to figure out what your values are. And you can check that out there if that's something you're just constantly like, "Wait. With the fuck even are values?" A lot of people struggle with this concept.

A Venus Retrograde invites you to reflect so that you can reassess and reframe or reconfigure your relationship to your values, whether that's your ideas about your ethics or it's just making sure that you're living in accord with what's authentic to you. Venus is also related to a sense of safety, a sense of belonging in your skin, in relationships with others, and even in the world. And so, again, this is a time where things aren't stable. And as you reflect, you're probably going to have to make changes. And those changes during a Venus Retrograde in Aries you may want to do really impulsively. And you know what? Who am I to say? Maybe impulsively is the best way. But you want to reflect. Take enough time to reflect before you act.

Now, looking at the chart of the Venus Retrograde cast for 4:36 p.m. Pacific Time on Sunday, March 1st, it's not that different from the New Moon chart because they're so close to each other. But there are some very important things that I need to mention to you. The first is that Venus and the Moon are sitting right on top of each other. Venus goes Retrograde at 10 degrees and 15 minutes of Aries, and the Moon will be at 9 degrees and 5 minutes of Aries. So they're less than 2 degrees off of each other.

And so this tells us how emotional this Venus Retrograde is going to be and how emotional it's supposed to be. This also, on a more social level, speaks to the rights of women. And when we're talking about the rights of women, we're always also talking about the rights of Trans and genderqueer, gender-nonconforming people as well. When we talk about the rights of any marginalized group of people, there's the legislative part of it, like of what governments do, but there's also the will of the people. It's where people's hearts and values really are. Do we as a society value women in general, Queers in general? And are we willing to protect these groups of people?

We can have a much larger conversation about values and who we value in society. In this moment, I want to remind you that the Moon is about protection. It's about what we want to protect. It's related to a sense of family. It's like this idea of, "I'm going to protect my family." So this Venus/Moon Retrograde can be a time where we see social change powered by people taking care of each other⁠—or not. Both of these things have consequences. But we are living through extreme times with some pretty extreme astrology, and it is not likely to be chill or moderate. That I can say as an astrologer.

The good news about this Moon/Venus conjunction is that because of it, it will make it easier to connect to, feel into, and honor your values because the Moon is there; it's making it really emotionally strong. That's the thing about extreme times, is they kind of help you to know where you stand. And not taking a stand, if you're "apolitical" or whatever⁠—I mean, you couldn't see it, but I put air quotes on the word "apolitical" because in times of oppression, in times of repression, not taking a stand and not taking a side is always taking a side with those in power, a.k.a. the oppressor. There's no such thing as not having an opinion about human rights. And that's what Venus Retrograde has us reflecting on. What do you actually care about? How do you principle your life? What are you acting on?

Now, Venus is also related to finances. And this is connected to values, right? What you put your money into reflects your values. What we as a society put our money into reflects our values. Oftentimes, we will center economic concerns over our values. And sometimes you just have to to survive, and other times you don't, but you do anyways. Life is complicated. Venus Retrograde is the time to reflect on your finances, to make sure that they reflect your values, and to, if you can, look at what you're doing financially and whether or not it's working. And depending on your circumstances, depending on your nature, that could look a lot of different ways.

In regards to your values system, you got over a month here to really reflect on it. So take the Venus Retrograde challenge and do exactly that. This is a heartfelt investigation, which will be a little confusing because in this chart, Mercury is sitting at 27 degrees and 56 minutes of Pisces, right on top of Neptune at 28 degrees and 55 minutes of Pisces.

So, when Mercury and Neptune are conjunct, which we will talk about in next week's horoscope in greater detail⁠—when these two planets are conjunct, what happens is that you're confused. It's confusing. Neptune governs anxiety, and Mercury is your attitude and communication. It's how you listen. It's what you say. So it can be anxiety-fueled thinking. It can have you kind of with head in clouds, which is not inherently bad or good, but when your head's in the clouds, it's hard to know what's happening here on Earth, where you live.

This placement in the Venus Retrograde chart certainly speaks to confusion and uncertainty. And when you are in the presence of anxiety, uncertainty, the unknowable, the mystical, the spiritual, the possible, it is important that you orient yourself through your values, whether it's spiritual work or freaking out about the world, to orient yourself through your values. It can be really solidifying. Values are very Taurean, which is a fixed earth sign. It can be very grounding and fortifying and can help you to assess your options. And when you make choices that reflect your values, life is easier to bear. The problems you have⁠—at least you know you acted in accord with your values. It makes life easier to bear.

This Venus Retrograde is an opportunity to tap into your passions⁠—because it's in Aries⁠—and the things you care about in a heartfelt way because the Moon's right there. And that's powerful. That can be incredibly healing and fortifying. It can help connect you to a path that empowers you to feel good about yourself and how you're participating in the world. And who amongst us couldn't use that right now? We will talk about Venus Retrograde a lot more, but I think that's enough for this week.

Now, I'm going to run through these transits one more time. On March 23rd, Mars goes direct, and Mercury forms an exact trine to Mars. On the 25th, Mercury forms a conjunction to Saturn. And then, on the 27th, Mercury is exactly sextile to Uranus. Also, there is an important New Moon in Pisces. And then, March 1st, Venus goes Retrograde.

Now, my friends, I've got an important announcement to make. I mentioned to you last week that I'm going to be in San Francisco at CIIS, and I hope you will join me there. But what I didn't tell you is that on the 16th of March, I'm going to be in Oakland, and I am so honored and excited to be getting to speak at the Oakland Museum of California. I had an exhibit there a couple years ago now at the Hella Feminist show. And in it, I created a portal where people could come and bring up their really challenging emotions and release them into a portal. It was a really powerful and beautiful experience for me and so amazing to share with other people and, again, an insane honor to get to be in at the Oakland Museum.

On March 16th, I'm going to be in conversation with Malkia Cyril-Devich, and there will be music by Mahsa Vahdat. And this is all in honor, in celebration, of Women's History Month. It's going to be a powerful and intimate space for real conversation and transformation. We will be reimagining justice, speaking on the very real grief that we're all experiencing both very personally and as a collective right now. And I'm just⁠—I'm really excited or this, as I am for the CIIS event. So, whether you're in Oakland or San Francisco, I hope you join me. Links for everything you need to know are going to be in the show notes, the episode description, so just find them there.

And as always, I want to thank you so much for joining me here for Ghost of a Podcast. I hope you take really good, gentle care of yourself and others, and I will talk to you in just a couple of days. Buh-bye.