The Astrology of March 2023

The Astrology of March 2023
'Psychedelic Pluto' (Image Credit: NASA/JHUAPL/SwRI)

Passages and Portents

of the Astrology of March 2023

March Astrology

The month of March is of major passages and portents. Something y'all will likely have already noticed by the time this post goes live.

Here's the major highlights:

  • Saturn enters Pisces, and won't be home until 2050. It's more than 14 years until Saturn will be an honored guest over in Libra.
  • Pluto enters Aquarius, immediately joining the degree of the previous Jupiter/Saturn conjunction back in 2020.
  • Mars finally leaves Gemini and enters Cancer careening headlong into Their sign of fall – but with triplicity! Practically speaking this tasks Mars with tending to the sentimentality, clannishness, and defensive qualities of Cancer. I've got some thoughts from the last time that Mars entered Cancer that you can read here.

Saturn's departure from home territory is the passage. And Pluto's (preliminary) entry into Aquarius the portent. Globally, we're looking at the introduction of the themes that will transform the world as we know it. In the U.S., we're looking at a very particular triple transit over the threshold between the 'natal' Pluto of the nation and the sign that immediately follows it.


Some major news stories that are clearly big indicators of both the wrap up Saturn's long stay at home, Their entry in Pisces, as well as the end of a very long 15 years of Pluto in Capricorn.

Those of you old enough to have been working for your living prior to 2007 likely remember Pluto's entrance into Capricorn. That whole 2008 financial collapse, revealing of the thorough rottenness of a globalized fiat-currency banking system, and the start of the largest upward transfer of wealth in the history of... history.

And now that Pluto is beginning the year-long transition across the thresholds of Saturn's nocturnal and diurnal signs we've now seen the second largest bank run in U.S. history.


Week # 9: February 26 - March 4th

March 1st

Venus conjunct Jupiter at 12° Aries

March 2nd

Mercury conjunct Saturn at 29° Aquarius

March 3rd

Venus conjunct Chiron at 13° Aries

The first week of March is also the last week of February. This one is already a couple weeks in the rear view now. This week saw unexpected winter storms in large parts of the west coast with blizzard warnings in California and snow on the Hollywood sign in Los Angeles.

Your intrepid astrologer was stuck longer on a trek up north with the road between there and home blocked by said winter storms.


Week # 10: March 5th - 11th

March 6th

Sun at 15° sextile Uranus at 15° Taurus

March 7th

Full Moon at 16° Virgo

Fortnightly Lunacy: Virgo Full Moon 2023
Fortnightly Lunacy - in reverse.


The Full Moon in Virgo at 16° of the sign made a mutable cross the likes of which we haven't really seen since the previous set of eclipses.

March 11th

Venus at 23° Aries sextile Mars at 23° Gemini
Mercury 15° Pisces sextile Uranus at 15° Taurus
Jupiter conjunct Chiron at 14° Aries

It's hard to believe we still have yet to witness a complete orbit of the asteroid Chiron since its discovery at 3° Taurus back in the '70's.


An interesting news story was published this week, part of The Repatriation Project and a joint publication between journos at ProPublica and NBC News. At least from the perspective of Indigenous history and my particular interest in the astrology of land grabs and the land back movement(s).

A Top UC Berkeley Professor Taught With Remains That May Include Dozens of Native Americans
Despite decades of Indigenous activism and resistance, UC Berkeley has failed to return the remains of thousands of Native Americans to tribes. The university is still discovering more human remains.

The article examines a NAGPRA and the particular case of a UC Berkeley professor who has argued against the repatriation of remains used in evolutionary biology instruction at the university.

Friend and colleague Alex Mikinaak, Indigenous Astrologer and trained Historian, invited me to have record a conversation about the story as an example of the astroloical doctrine of subsumption – that charts must be understood in the context of the ones that come before them; in particular, that when interpreting the charts of individuals we must understand the charts of the places they're from as being part of the 'root' or radical context of which their natal promise is but a part.

You can watch that conversation with Alex on YouTube:


Week # 11: March 12th - 18th

Here's where we transition the view from the rearview back to the road ahead. There's still a lot that has yet to happen this week, and the rest of the month has plenty left in store for us.

This week is jammed packed busy full of day after day of lots of changes. On the heels of daylight savings here in the U.S. If you weren't already feeling disoriented from Saturn's entry into Pisces, it's quite likely you'll feel so this week from the sheer volume of activity in the sky.

March 12th

Asteroids Vesta and Chiron conjunct at 14° Aries
Vesta conjunct Jupiter at 14° Aries

Focus on healing. Literally. Vesta's an asteroid that has to do with the way that we focus our energy, attention, and the efficacy of our will enacted. Chiron is asteroid that shows us the places where we've been so deeply impacted that we've got something unique to offer by way of our personal vantage.

Vesta's conjunction to Jupiter should bring our awareness to what we're most dedicated to, our ways that we can expand our dedication.

March 14th

Mars at 25° Gemini square Neptune at 25° Pisces
3rd Quarter Moon square the Sun at 24° Pisces

Though the Moon's square to the Sun comes just after the final exact square of Mars in Gemini to Neptune.

March 16th

Mercury conjunct Neptune at 25° Pisces
Sun at 25° Pisces square Mars at 25° Gemini
Venus at 29° Aries square Pluto at 29° Capricorn
Venus enters Taurus
Mercury at 25° Pisces square Mars at 25° Gemini

Confusion is likely to be the name of the game today. Confusion, lies, deception, delusion and illusion. On the other hand, an aptitude for the archetypal and symbolic that invites creativity like little else. The problem here comes with the strange reception and indignity of the whole mess.

Like spilling so much paint on canvas, some might call it art and others might call it a toxic wasteful mess.

March 17th

Mercury conjunct Sun at 26° Pisces
Venus at 1° Taurus sextile Saturn at 1° Pisces

This may be an interesting day for initiating creative endeavors, with the cazimi of Mercury at the maximum degree of their fall, and the opening sextile of Venus' cycle with Saturn – one which will end/restart in Pisces next year.

While little is likely to come of this in the immediate days and weeks following these transiting aspects, it's likely that some years from now you'll be able to look back at this time as important in to the development of a significant portion of your body of work.

Particularly if Mercury, Venus, or Saturn are activated as chronocrators of some sort for you.


Week # 12: March 19th - 25th

March 18th

Mercury at 29° Pisces sextile Pluto at 29° Capricorn
Mercury enters Aries

A powerful beginning to the week. At least in terms of brain power. (Your intrepid astrologer hopes). In theory, Mercury's exit from the land of their antithetical depression into a sign that is much more their speed.

While Mercury's nature is changeable, and thus they're able to find some affinity anywhere in the zodiac so long as there's another planet their to model their temperament after, Pisces is the sign that offers Mercury the least familiar and comfortable tools and resources to work with.

Pluto is powerhouse of energy; and the combination of these two is known for producing great investigators, researchers, and those with powerful minds and powers of communication.

March 20th

Sun enters Aries

This brings us to the moment of the Spring Equinox, and Bear's first attempt at delineating a proper mundane horoscope.

A link for that will drop a bit later.

The Sun's entry into Aries give us an exalted luminary rising in the presence of the greater benefic. Because the Sun exalts in Aries, Mercury's combustion is mitigated, irrespective of the terms They find themselves in through the course of their quick(silver) transit in fire-starter Aries.

March 21st

New Moon at 0° Aries

This New Moon in Aries is the first of two that we'll experience this year, and the last non-eclipse-y one until after the Nodes shift over into the Pisces/Virgo axis a few years from now.

A longer breakdown of the lunation in the most recent edition of Fortnightly Lunacy:

Fortnightly Lunacy 2023: Aries New Moon
Details demand clarification with the Aries New Moon.

March 23rd

Pluto enters Aquarius

This is one of the bigger deal ingresses we'll experience. And one that nobody has ever had the privilege of knowing about while it was happening. Pluto was discovered in Cancer back in the 1930's so the ingress into Aquarius marks a point where we've now seen half of the Pluto's various zodiacal guises.

March 25

Mars enters Cancer (fucking finally)

Good gods that was the longest Mars retrograde transit – that wasn't actually irregular in duration in any way, just interminable, qualitatively speaking.

Read Skyvibe Serial for Week #12

Skyvibe Serial 2023: Forecast for March 19th - 25th
This week’s transits bring gale force winds of change.

Week 13: March 26th - April 1st

The final week in March is jam packed. While the big headline transit highlights may have already passed that doesn't mean that this week is something to sleep on by any means.

March 26th

Mercury conjunct Chiron at 15° Aries

Seriously, Mercury is fucking flying through Aries. Don't even need Redbull for those wings.

March 27th

Mercury conjunct Jupiter at 18° Aries

Mercury and Jupiter are planetary opposite, and their union in Aries brings together expansive meaning making with a fast moving mind. Wild optimism and

March 28th

1st Quarter Moon in Cancer square the Sun at 8° Aries

No more Moon in Cancer free from the gaze of the malefics. Instead, we've now got the Moon in Cancer immediately diving into an aspect with Saturn, and the Mars. In act, this opening square of the Moon is preceded by a malefic enclosure.

Le sigh.

March 30th

Mercury conjunct asteroid Vesta at 22° Aries
Mars at 2° Cancer trine Saturn at 2° Pisces
Venus conjunct Uranus at 16° Taurus

Another big day. The conjunction of Mercury and Vesta gives us a mental focus and clear idea for harnessing our autonomy A real fire under the ass kind of energy. Meanwhile, the trine between Mars and Saturn, potentially, gives us the ability to harness our emotions and imagination toward action. Or else maybe finds us wallowing in some intensely quixotic nostalgic melancholia.


Have a question for Bear? Want to connect with other astrologers and astrology enthusiasts?

As always, I hope these words find and serve you well.

If you'd like to start a discussion or pose a question to your fellow members (and/or Bear) feel free to post down below!

If you'd like to reach out to Bear directly you can reach him at: contact@bearryver.com


Bear Ryver is a professional astrologer helping his clients hone strategies for grounded growth and embodied empowerment by bringing them back to the BASICS. Winner of OPA’s Most Promising Astrologer in 2018, Bear has lectured at conferences like NORWAC and ISAR. He holds certifications in Hellenistic, Electional, and Horary astrology, and specializes in Intersectional Astrology. He was a teacher for the Portland School of Astrology, and has volunteered as a mentor for AFAN. When he’s not talking stars, or pulling cards, you can find him climbing rocks and playing guitar.