Makeover
A charming, 1920s era bungalow is the latest in my neighborhood to have been completely made over. Following a now-familiar formula, the original casement windows were replaced with unimaginative vinyl ones, and the beautiful shiplap siding was pulled off to make way for stucco. Any classic built-ins that remained inside are, I’m confident, long gone.
As I once heard someone say, it seems that the house’s owners liked everything about it except the inside and the outside.
At another house nearby, workers were seen repairing the original windows, carefully scraping old siding back to bare wood, and finishing it off with a paint job in beautiful, era-appropriate colors. It is a joy to behold.
Venus sextile Pluto (March 9, 2026, 11:52 pm PDT, 4º46’ Aries and Aquarius), like all Venus-Pluto aspects, loves a makeover, whether it’s refurbishing an old house or helping someone choose a new hairdo and wardrobe. But there’s a difference between bringing something back to life by stripping it back to its intrinsic beauty, and making it over into something else entirely, something it was never meant to be.
A More Inclusive Life
Jupiter, retrograde since Nov. 11, 2025, stations direct (March 10, 2026, 8:30 pm PDT, 15º05’ Cancer) the day before a Last Quarter Moon in Sagittarius and Pisces, both ruled by Jupiter. Jupiter dipped its toe back into the earlier degrees of Cancer during its retrograde period, and is attending to unfinished business over the coming months, before it enters fiery Leo this summer.
And what’s the nature of that unfinished business? Making room in our homes, our family, our lives, for things that are new and unfamiliar.
This week, dare to yearn for a life that’s larger and a little more inclusive than the one you’ve been living. Ponder the big questions. But be gentle with yourself, too. Rest up for your Hero’s Journey – wandering bravely into a half-frozen world, crowned with a hat full of unfamiliar stars.
The Redemptive Third Act
The Last Quarter Moon is a phase of redemption. It’s the pivotal third act in our personal narrative, when we undergo a crisis of confidence, come to terms with our circumstances, and take action toward a resolution. This Last Quarter Moon is in Sagittarius (March 11, 2026, 2:38 am PDT, 20º49’ Sagittarius), which, with its optimism and humor, is one of the more uplifting Last Quarter Moon signs. Under this influence, we’re a tad more likely to believe that we can pull off a redemptive third act.
The Sabian Symbol for this Moon is innocent and a little bit humorous – 21 Sagittarius, A child and a dog with borrowed eyeglasses. I’m sure there’s a deeper way to interpret it, but it reminds me of a kid trying on Dad’s spectacles and slipping an extra pair on his dog for good measure – a way to try to imitate someone you look up to, and in turn, to be the one that someone else (the dog!) looks up to. Maybe that’s the key to a satisfying third act.
This Last Quarter Moon concludes a lunar phase family that began with a New Moon at 20º40’ Sagittarius on Dec. 12, 2023. That New Moon was in aspect to Mars and Neptune, and it’s now-or-never time for some formidable quest we envisioned then, acted upon at the Sep. 10, 2024 First Quarter Moon (19º00’ Sagittarius), and saw at a peak of fruition at the June 11, 2025 Full Moon (20º39’ Sagittarius). Now, we decide how to conclude this chapter with perspective and grace, so we can move on to the next one.
The Thing You Think You Cannot Do
Eleanor Roosevelt once famously said that, “You must do the thing you think you cannot do.” Why? Because otherwise, the fear immobilizes you.
Which brings us to Mars, the planet of overcoming fear, in conjunction with the Moon’s North Node (March 13, 2026, 2:58 pm PDT, 08º55’ Pisces) – the point of the unknown adventures that take you out of your comfort zone and toward the fear of the unknown, to confront the things you think you cannot do.
My teacher used to say that to move in the direction of the North Node will always land you someplace worthwhile, even if it doesn’t look as you had imagined, and even if it’s a place you would never have expected to enjoy. The Virgo South Node finds comfort in criticism, endless details, separation rather than unity, the tree rather than the forest. But moving toward the Pisces North Node points us toward a connection with everything and everyone around us. We see ourselves as neither better nor worse than anyone else, nor even particularly separate from them. Pisces is a sign of togetherness, and this Mars inspires us to grab someone’s hand and move together with them toward a bold, shared vision.
Three Steps to Making the Story Real
All great things begin with passion, an impulse that connects us with the vital pulse of the world. Sit with that passion long enough, and you’ll find a story that longs for expression.
Now dwell there for a little while, and dream up various ways of sharing that story. You pick up a guitar or sit at a drafting table, write a story or make a YouTube video. And finally, you find your path and set forth, unafraid to share your passionate story.
This has been the trajectory of Mercury’s three ongoing conjunctions with Mars. The first, on January 17, was in Capricorn, and activated pragmatic determination; this week’s Mercury/Mars conjunction in Pisces (March 15, 2026, 1:07 am PDT) expands the nature of the story, filling in the bare bones of Capricorn’s practical vision with dreamy watercolors; and on April 20, with Mercury conjunct Mars in Aries, it will be time to book the venue for the concert, finalize a blueprint, storyboard a video. That’s when we’ll make this pragmatic story into a passionate reality.
Writing and images © 2017-2026 by April Elliott Kent
