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March has the potential to feel noticeably different between the first and the 31st, and not just in the familiar “in like a lion, out like a lamb” routine the weather tends to give us. As though current events were not disorienting enough!
The month begins just three days after Mercury stationed retrograde in late Pisces, and then on March 3 we get the second eclipse of this season’s pair: a total lunar eclipse with the Virgo Full Moon, opposite the Pisces Sun. The Full Moon is exact at 6:38 am EST that Tuesday morning. The eclipse, peaking roughly four minutes earlier, will be visible primarily in the western U.S., Australia, and over the Pacific (the Moon will set during totality in the Eastern U.S. time zone).
Mercury retrograding on its own can feel a bit like a wrinkle in our collective mental fabric, and it can take some effort to shift from frustration with glitches and miscommunication to an appreciation of what these incidents might be trying to draw our attention to. Which is often the fact that we are not paying attention.
If you can trust there is value in doing something over again, fixing mistakes, finding temporary (and less expensive) workarounds, and slowing down, it can be easier to roll with Mercury’s lessons in presence, perseverance, and particularly patience. A sense of humor helps, too.
Layering a Mercury retrograde phase with eclipses is even more special. The two weeks between eclipses can feel like a time warp, during which life can take an entirely new trajectory — though if eclipses do not contact anything directly in your birth chart, the effects can be much more subtle. In either scenario, however, your most important tool is noticing: noticing changes, opportunities, and synchronicity; noticing how you feel, and how you respond to what you encounter; noticing moments when you can choose a strikingly new direction with the ease of choosing a different pair of socks, simply because you can sense at your core that it’s your next right move.
Along with noticing it helps to get clear on your intentions and to read which direction the current of your life is flowing. And, if you’re able, to try during the couple days on either side of an eclipse to at least touch on the things you’d like to cultivate more of in the next several months that follow. That can mean consciously choosing what you won’t give your time and energy to, as much as you are able. Whether that feels as easy as turning off the television or as devastating as the unexpected loss of a job or a sense of identity, this opening of space and the feelings accompanying it deserve your noticing, too.
Eventually, on March 20, the Sun enters Aries at 10:46 am EDT: the equinox, when everywhere on planet Earth enjoys equal hours of day and night. The Northern Hemisphere begins spring, and the lengthening of days until the solstice in late June (with the Southern Hemisphere experiencing the reverse). Later that same day, at 3:33 pm EDT, Mercury will station direct, still in Pisces.
Mercury stationing direct can be a moment when new information you did not realize you were missing — but which changes your whole understanding of whatever matter is at hand — can suddenly emerge. I’ve experienced this phenomenon myself, and highly recommend keeping your antennae the afternoon of March 20.
I have notes about the specifics of these charts for the Virgo Full Moon and lunar eclipse and Mercury stationing direct that I hope to work up into another piece, so do keep an eye out for it.
That said, this will be my last set of horoscopes for a while. I love writing them, and I receive wonderful feedback about them! But they require a hefty amount of time and focus. That’s been true whether I write long ones, like this set, or short ones (due to the effort it takes me to distill a message into its most succinct form). That time so far has been unpaid. And until I can get the work that does pay me into a more regular and dependable rhythm, and shore up some systems and foundational structures to support it all, this is unpaid time I can no longer afford to give. With any luck I’ll be able to get back to them before too many months slide by!
As always, I offer this writing with the intention to serve the highest good of all who read it, and in hopes that it can contribute in some way to the collective healing and thriving of this planet. Thank you for reading, and for sharing this post with friends who might appreciate it.
With love,
Amanda
If I can support you through the current changes and uncertainty with an astrological consultation or some soul work sessions, please get in touch. And if you enjoy these horoscopes or find them helpful, you’re welcome to leave me a tip here as a form of energy exchange. Thank you for reading!
Also: I recommend reading for your rising sign in addition to your Sun sign. Please comment or message me if you’d like help finding out what your rising sign is or why it matters.
March 2026 Eclipse and Mercury Retrograde Horoscopes
ARIES — Exactly how many impulses and competing desires are rumbling around in your unconscious right now? It looks like quite a few, and that can make it trickier to channel your energy into clear, decisive action. Although this is not your preferred mode of operation, it’s okay to simply allow all these inner contradictions to flow in and out of consciousness without making any big moves for a few weeks. At least one hidden issue is playing peek-a-boo this month, and each time it emerges for a “peek” you might change your mind about it. I recommend making notes each time this happens. A map of these thoughts and glimmers of insight will come in handy down the road — especially come mid-April, though you’ll likely start feeling more like yourself around the equinox. In the near-term, you may receive a major clue during this eclipse. Expect it to arrive in your workplace or in the areas where you most regularly give yourself in service. No matter who or what gets your attention that day or how you react to it, try viewing it as a coded message from yourself. This will help you take ownership of how you feel about it. As you sort through these layers you’ll likely feel some inner space open up — room enough to help you shed some baggage, and lightening you enough to be propelled toward a longstanding goal.
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TAURUS — While others may know you by the company you keep, it’s even more important this month for you to know yourself by that same measure. Some of your biggest changes in recent years have been deeply personal, to the point of being downright subterranean. How evident is that evolution in your wider social life and affiliations? To be clear, I’m not talking about “status friendships.” Rather, this month offers an opportunity for you to update your self-awareness files by connecting with as many people as possible out in the world. To fully engage this process, watch for any idea or habitual way of expressing yourself that trips you up when you get too precious or perfectionist about “fulfilling your purpose.” You know by now that life is just one creative experiment after another; every step toward discovery, dharma, and embodiment comes as a result of the consequences and karma of missteps just as much as it stems from your gifts and intentions. Recent expansions to your frame of mind or a crucial (if seemingly minor) spiritual teaching will help you cross this latest threshold, but you’ll need to lean into it actively to reap the benefits. Self-doubt regarding what you can offer the world might be the biggest transgression against yourself to watch for; evidence to the contrary should emerge at the equinox to set your mind at ease and set your path more clearly.
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GEMINI — Have you recently been reviewing — or even begun doubting — your goals? Or, like the famous Talking Heads lyric, do you find yourself looking around and asking, “Well, how did I get here?” and then tracing the through-line of your career choices and achievements? As disorienting as this might feel, you’d be wise to engage with the process fully rather than try to ignore it. The key is to review and revise while simultaneously taking new steps and reaching toward what’s next. Of all the signs, yours and Pisces (which you have in your career zone) are best equipped to hold dual mandates in mind simultaneously, like wheels running on parallel tracks. This month, however, those tracks may feel like they’re running in opposite directions. To paraphrase Kierkegaard, we must live life forwards but only understand it backwards. Here’s where things get interesting: the March 3 eclipse looks like it will be pulling back the curtain on a concept of security that belongs to your family of origin but no longer serves you and your current worldly options. Seeing this for what it is — and consciously choosing to update it (and perhaps update your literal home) — could set more in motion than you can envision now. This may include financial benefits, if you act on what you learn. Around the equinox you should have a clearer sense of what you’re aiming for and why, and be in a better position to take effective action toward it.
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CANCER — Do you know how crabs can tell it is time to bust open their shells and molt? It’s not because they look around and decide they would enjoy a wider tide pool or a deeper crevice between two rocks. And it’s not that they look around, see all the other crabs doing it, and figure it must be time for them to do it, too. Nope. They feel it from within: a sense of pressure, like they’re pressing up against their own edges from the inside (which in fact they are), until the only thing that can happen is for the previous limiting factor to fall away. Since June of last year, you’ve been pushing out in new ways, possibly molting several times en route. With the March 3 eclipse comes an opportunity to connect this very personal, inner process to a bigger shift. You have strong access currently to your “higher guidance systems” — whether for you that means spirituality, intuition, esoteric or divinatory arts, the world’s great books and philosophers, or something else that connects you to understanding far beyond yourself. Some event, person, or insight in that domain is about to show you a specific limit to your thinking that you’ve grown out of. Perhaps a single, brief encounter with someone will be the inconspicuous catalyst to letting it decisively, instinctively fall away. If it seems this month like you’re retracing insights you grasped ages ago, or looking for guidance from mentors you thought you’d outgrown, it’s not that you got anything “wrong” the first time. Think of it as a bonus course that will inform bigger moves around the equinox.
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LEO — You appear to be invested in — even **enmeshed** with — quite a handful of people and situations. How much control and authority you have in each case likely determines how comfortable you are with it all; therein lies the rub: your zone of “surrender” is hosting the majority of planetary activity in your chart right now. I not talking about surrender as in “being conquered” or giving yourself up on some essential level. Rather, a recognition and acceptance of the forces at play beyond your control. When you can see clearly what’s out of your hands, it actually puts you in a much stronger position to identify just how much **is** in your power, and then act on it. What’s most striking to me is how clearly the March 3 eclipse is pointing to a need — and the opportunity — to renegotiate at least one specific contract you have with someone, be it financial, emotional, sexual, or some flavor of soul contract that has been completed. This could even mean updating an inner “contract” of sorts with yourself, as you consider what is not yours to carry any longer. Be strategic and precise here. It’s not the time for a watercolor wash on the canvass of your agreements, though clocking vibes and listening to your intuition are tools in the process. A seemingly insignificant factor of your day-to-day work or health may help you connect what’s shifting now to your literal, material resources down the road. Reviewing past agreements and their boundaries will likely be part of this month’s revision process, surfacing a key insight by the equinox.
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VIRGO — Who are you when you’re not reflecting other people back to themselves? I ask because you are so oriented on being of service, and so gifted at analyzing what you meet, I could imagine it might feel rather disorienting when an event or encounter disrupts your typical patterns of relating. You might notice this dynamic particularly strongly with the March 3 eclipse. By my reading, your relationships of all sorts are very active right now, giving you plenty to focus on, respond to, assist with, and sort out. All that outward focus likely feels emotionally natural for you, even if it’s taking considerable effort. Yet just as the Full Moon in your sign reaches peak intensity, bringing at least one relationship to a head, the Earth’s shadow dims the Moon, as though somebody unplugged it for a few minutes. With the emotional power cut, see if you can identify what the other person is actually showing you: a key thought pattern, insecurity, or emotional habit that’s been cluttering your self-awareness for so long. The easiest way to release it will actually be to express it (creatively, playfully, maybe even publicly). Even the smallest such deliberate gesture could suffice. If a partnership changes course significantly, allow yourself the entire month to review your options and the other person’s decisions and actions. After the equinox you’ll have more (and clearer) information to work with in response.
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LIBRA — Your workdays promise to be busy ones this month. Although by “days” I really mean, “any hours you are not asleep,” whether you are technically at your job or not. A whole cast of characters and impulses have arrived on the scene, challenging you to keep life flowing smoothly for yourself and everyone whom your efforts serve. You take this responsibility to others so very seriously; a noble virtue until your deep empathy and sensitivity lead you to push past your limits. In fact, it looks like you’ll be reconsidering how that dynamic has been working for you from now through the equinox. When a key realization around that time combines with refreshed enthusiasm for one of your biggest goals, you could make significant progress toward it — thanks in part to carefully rebalancing the role your emotions play at work, relative to your mind. You have room to get creative with this. And if you’ve been erring too far in one direction or the other, chances are your health will speak up, though the connection might not be immediately obvious. Speaking of subtle signals: the March 3 eclipse will be speaking on a direct line to your subconscious. Possibly a message will come through during dreamtime (write it down!). Perhaps more likely is that some hidden side to your personality is due to get flushed into the open like a bird from a bush, possibly by a workplace or health issue. Yes, it’s been hidden from you and from those around you for a reason. But at this point it’s just psychological clutter. Once you see it for what it is, clearing it out of your way should feel like an obvious, strategic, and overdue relief.
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SCORPIO — Even the grandest creations and adventures begin with a single, small idea. I offer this at the outset because whatever shift is culminating for you with the March 3 eclipse could have longer legs if you lean into an otherwise inconsequential word, thought, or attitude (or quirk in your immediate surroundings) that somehow catches your attention and whispers, “opportunity.” You’ll know it’s the thing to listen to if you can sense its potential to uncork the genie of your creativity, or your willingness to take a new chance. That said, it looks like you’re already enjoying a wealth of playmates, inspirations, brain children, or literal children fueling an especially expressive (and likely pleasurable) month. Have you started wondering if there’s a catch? Okay, here goes: making the most of all this good mojo will require you to clear some space. Does this mean releasing certain perfectionist ideals regarding what you offer the world, such as what counts as “good enough to be seen in public”? Or the degree to which you must suffer to be of service? Or literal social connections that no longer align with your sense of mission? In any case, there may be a distinct “before and after” scenario. Whatever kind of signal interruption connects these areas of your life will likely show you a solution that “just feels right” even if it wasn’t on your radar previously. If you can approach any “do overs,” revisions, or misadventures as just part of the game rather than roadblocks this month, the emotional energy you recoup can support using what you learn as the equinox arrives.
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SAGITTARIUS — Is there one small move you can make at this time that could unlock your earning potential? If there is, I suggest you start putting it in motion ASAP, and definitely by the time the March 3 eclipse rolls in. If you are not sure what that small move might be, watch for clues in this same timeframe. You’ll know the action you seek by how easily it correlates to one of your grander aspirations, along with how beautifully it harmonizes with your home life and sense of emotional security. However, just as learning to sing harmony well requires some effort, so too will taking advantage of this opportunity — though once you set things in motion, it could release more benefits than you anticipate. This eclipse also speaks of a deeper kind of release for you. The next several weeks describe an active focus on your home life, including a close review of the family patterns that underpin some of your deepest emotional tendencies and spiritual core. A Virgo Full Moon might normally describe some kind of conflict between your career and your home life, or between your aspirations and your sense of security. But a lunar eclipse short-circuits the power of that tension just as it’s peaking, potentially revealing a truth that was hidden by the glare of so much unconscious emotional energy, and simultaneously bumping you to a new level of understanding — or out of a situation that no longer fits who you are becoming. Pay particular attention to any inherited, multigenerational beliefs or values around resources. These will inform how you solve the problem of any family baggage you’re ready to shed, especially if you’re in a position to talk to your parents about this legacy. By the equinox you’ll likely have a different frame of mind about all of it, and be ready to shift gears.
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CAPRICORN — Mr. Rogers famously sang, “It’s a beautiful day in the neighborhood,” and while that may or may not be true for you weather-wise, it certainly looks like a **busy** day in your neighborhood. Actually, more like a busy month. And by “neighborhood” I mean not only the area where you live and interact with neighbors but also your mind. How we think significantly shapes how we perceive what and who is around us, how we communicate to and about them, and how we feel about all of it. (Just one reason why Mr. Rogers was so brilliant: he knew that assuming and declaring beauty from the outset positions us to see it in others and let them see our own.) For the next few weeks, you’ll be taking a closer look at how you’ve been thinking and communicating: what’s working, what isn’t, and why. Despite your orientation on the material world, your mind is heavily influenced by your emotions and potentially more psychic-type sensitivities. With the March 3 eclipse, you may recognize some way in which you’ve been a “hapless victim” to your own attitudes and sensitivities, and decide to put a stop to it (the ensuing process will likely be gradual, though the realization could be sudden). Something far beyond yourself — be it someone in a distant land, an expansive spiritual or philosophical concept, or an intuitive download — may disrupt your train of thought in such a way that dropping it entirely is the obvious choice. Around the equinox an additional insight should help both types of “neighborhood” feel more beautiful more often.
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AQUARIUS — Your charts this month speak of abundance, and focusing your attention on what you value most in life, be it material, spiritual, or intellectual. You’ve likely been attracting helpful people and resources to you recently, and it looks like you have the desire and energy to go after more of what matters (and to use what you have, whether money, talent, or other assets, to help others). Yet new actions and even exciting changes can elicit an over-protective response from our reptile brains and egos, just like actual threats do. This goes double for “major growth opportunities,” when we may in fact need to leave something behind — even simply an outdated sense of self-worth — to level up. Welcome to the March 3 eclipse. It’s connecting what you possess and prize to the zone of your chart related to deep transformation and merging, which could provoke existential questions and concerns. Consider working these fears into your gratitude mantras. Something like, “I am grateful to notice that I am afraid of [X], because now I can take ownership of it, investigate it, and either consciously heed it or get support in consciously releasing it.” Since you’ll likely reconsider and reshuffle your priorities this month, I’d advise not making new investments until well after the equinox, when some piece of crucial missing information could emerge.
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PISCES — I suspect you are firing on all cylinders this month: intuition cranked to 11, drawing friends and playmates to you like a magnet, expressing yourself like it’s your job, all backed by a freshly charged set of batteries and the desire to use them. Yet it looks like you’re starting to rethink some of the ways you’ve been expressing yourself, or perhaps where you’ve been focusing your attention and presence. Into that mix it appears someone is showing up who may force you to confront some niggling detail or other bit of solid reality you thought you could simply believe your way past. If you can avoid judging this encounter (or reality) as a setback, you’ll stand a good chance of being able to recognize something about who you’ve been up till now that is ripe for release. You’ll know what it is if it feels natural to let it go — kind of like water seeking its own level — yet also strategic. You may typically prefer to keep this sort of inner process private. However, it’s directly connected to your public life, and actively working that dynamic promises a payoff that will reach further than you’d expect. By the time the equinox arrives and Mercury stations direct, a key insight should fall into place to help you move forward, feeling more like yourself than you ever have.
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