Astrological Highlights for March 16-22, 2026: Start With the Ending

How Much is Enough?

How much do we actually need in order to be happy? It varies from person to person, of course. But happiness studies have shown that beyond what is needed for necessary expenses, plus a little bit extra, more money doesn’t really bring more happiness. It can provide more pleasure and comfort, but that’s not really the same thing. Many people on their death bed would give everything they own for a bit more time.

As Venus squares Jupiter (March 18, 2026, 9:09 am PDT, 15º10’ Aries-Cancer), take some time to consider how many hours of your life – the most precious commodity of all – are exchanged for things that don’t bring you much happiness. Let your desire for the newest, shiniest baubles be tempered by Jupiter in Cancer’s penchant for objects that are old, inherited, or well-made enough to stand the test of time. And pay attention to the things that make you happy and don’t cost a penny.

Sesame-Crusted Change

Once upon a Daylight Saving Time morning, I emerged somewhat groggy and in the mood for a little something different for my breakfast. What sounded good? A quick mental scan finally produced a result: “bagel.” I toddled off to the bagel shop and came home with a nice, big sack full. When I texted my neighbor to offer her one, she was delighted: “I just couldn’t face my usual breakfast this morning,” she said. “Now, it feels like the sun has come out!”

“A change is as good as a rest,” as the old saying goes. And it really is amazing how much energy can be unleashed by the tiniest alteration in routine. It doesn’t need to be anything dramatic; perhaps a different breakfast, a new route to work, takeout for dinner – just something outside the usual.

The Sun’s sextile to novelty-loving Uranus (March 18, 2026, 1:20 pm PDT, 28º14’ Pisces-Taurus) is a reminder to embrace change. This needn’t descend into chaos, but there’s little doubt that we can feel cheered and enthused by even the smallest, sesame-crusted change.

Start with the Ending

How do we make sense of a New Moon in Pisces (March 18, 2026, 6:23 pm PDT, 28º27’ Pisces) the last sign of the zodiac, the one devoted to letting go of old baggage and releasing attachments? How do we make a new beginning when we’re knee-deep in endings?

The delightful songwriter David Wilcox has a song that says, “Start with the ending, it’s the best place to begin.” He posits that a marriage, for example, could be much better if you begin by breaking up, because at that point, “there’s no pretending, the truth is safe to say.”

Endings and letting go are a process. This is the New Moon to initiate that process, and it begins with letting go of pretense and saying the truth. Each New Moon can have a shelf life, not just of 29 days, but of three years, thanks to the Lunar Phase Family Cycle. We step out onto the precipice here and begin a long, slow fall – and this New Moon is very much about how we handle this process.

And what a Pisces New Moon this is, with the Sun, Moon, Mercury, Mars and the Moon’s North Node all in this sign – and the Sun and Moon in a tight conjunction with Neptune in Aries! What you are, what you feel and think, your worldly plans, your spiritual core – they’re all holding hands and preparing for the leap.

Still retrograde in Pisces, Mercury pipes up with a stream of questions, outbursts of curiosity, and distractions. How to fall into a dream of release when a magpie is squawking in your ear?

Oh, I suppose the reminder is about letting the old stories go. Blocking out the hurtful voices. Ignoring the squawking. Refusing options.

Focusing on the letting go. Focusing on the fall.

The Plow and the Seed

Look at a newborn baby – so fragile, defenseless. But consider what it’s just been through. The process of being born is bloody, sometimes violent, often dangerous, and honestly, must be terrifying to a small newcomer to the planet. Now look at that baby again, and marvel at its toughness. Listen to its full-throated cry, and admire its ability to get its needs met when it can barely see and can’t even turn over by itself.

This week, the Sun enters Aries (March 20, 2026, 7:46 am PDT), the sign of new beginnings. In which house does Aries, especially its first degree, fall in your birth chart? This is where you’re as delicate and as tough as something newly born. Here, you’re courageous, a pioneer who blazes your own trail. You’re the plow, readying the soil, and you’re the seed that’s planted there. You’re a newborn baby, the most vulnerable and formidable of all creatures.

What’s For Dinner?

Like many married couples, my husband and I spend a good amount of time each day in discussions about what to have for dinner. On a recent day in Mercury’s retrograde period, negotiations opened with a delicious homemade vegetarian “neatloaf”. It called for ricotta cheese, so we stopped by the grocery store, but accidentally picked up cottage cheese instead. Back at home, we came up with a substitute, but then couldn’t find the neatloaf recipe. We swerved to pasta pomodoro, but found we were out of our favorite pasta for the recipe. Finally, we landed on an orzo dish we like, but just as we started preparations, the water filtration pump began screaming for attention.

You get the idea. Classic Mercury retrograde stuff – wrong ingredients, lost papers, technological malfunctions. Three times each year, for several weeks at a time, Mercury’s retrograde periods are mostly minor, but usually aggravating.

This week, Mercury stations direct (March 20, 2026, 12:33 pm PDT, 8º29’ Pisces), concluding its latest retrograde period that began on Feb. 25. As it wakes up and begins to move forward along its path, perhaps the recipe will turn up. If not, we’ve at least stocked the pantry with angel hair pasta for the pomodoro. The water filtration pump seems to have regained its composure. And for now, life goes on.

The Wild Blue Yonder

When Mars trines Jupiter (March 21, 2026, 5:01 pm PDT, 15º16′ Pisces-Cancer), all the detours you’ve taken along your path, all the different interests and classes and projects that seemed like distractions, have led you all at once to something remarkable. All the paths converge and lead toward a joyful, wide-open future.

Mars in Pisces wants success that it can hold in its heart; fortunately, Jupiter in Cancer offers just those kinds of rewards – the ones you can make you feel prosperous and cared for. If you’ve been struggling to build an emotional safety net despite reversals and disappointments, help is near at hand. You’ve passed through the slough of despond, and now it’s time to embrace the wild blue yonder.

Kissed by Spirit

We are a yearning, dreaming, mourning, praying species. Our awareness of our mortality leads to a craving for spiritual understanding. Not only do we want to know what comes after this world, we want to understand why we, personally, came here in the first place.

As the Sun, symbol of individual divinity, conjoins with Neptune (March 22, 2026, 4:18 am PDT, 1º50’ Aries), planet of faith and spiritual awakening, heed the invitation to reunite with your personal creative source. By doing the things that make us shine, the things that open up our hearts, that are motivated by love – we’ll remember why we’re here, and feel kissed by spirit.

Many of us wish to more fully explore our creativity, and this reunion with the creative source takes us into the realm of the Sun, symbol of individual creative genius. As the Sun splashes through Neptune’s powerful waters, this is less of a time to create art than to absorb the feelings, lessons, and sensations that awaken creativity and pleasure – which will later be turned into art, enhance relationships, and make us feel better about being who we are.

Writing and images © 2017-2026 by April Elliott Kent

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