One of my recurring fantasies is to renovate and live in an old church. I’m enchanted by the idea of a home with arched stained glass windows, a choir loft (perfect for a master bedroom!), wood trim and floors lovingly scrubbed for decades with Murphy’s Oil Soap… and something more, perhaps. A peacefulness; a soulfulness gained from years of prayerful contemplation that have seeped into its bones, transforming a simple structure into a sanctuary.
I was born with Pisces, the sign of the spiritual seeker, on the cusp of my 4th house (the house of home and family). Home is my sacred place. The search for peace and quiet, for a gentle place of order and contemplation, has always been my first priority in choosing—or creating—a place to call home. Although my husband and I haven’t realized our fantasy of living in a church, our little bungalow is quiet and private. Two large trees shield the front of the house, the miracle of Caller ID protects us from unwanted phone calls, and uninvited visitors will find we don’t even have a doorbell. Inside, flickering candles and contented cats lend an atmosphere of relaxation.
Visitors often tell us that our house feels especially peaceful, but it wasn’t always so. When we bought our house, the discordant energy of the previous owners seemed to linger like barnacles on the bottom of a boat. And the day we moved in, renters pulled up next door with a U-Haul truck and a dog whose barking kept us awake all night, every night. It’s taken an enormous amount of spiritual work over the past twenty years, negotiating with the universe through ritual—and (more tortuously) with neighbors—to create the sanctuary we enjoy today.
Wherever Pisces falls in your chart, you seek to create a sanctuary into which you can retreat from the rancor and agitation of daily life. But as anyone who has lived in a monastery can tell you, retreat and sanctuary don’t exempt us from confronting our issues! In fact, I think the areas of life symbolized in our birth charts by Pisces are sacred not just because they’re places where we can retreat and regroup, but because they describe where we meet the issues that stand between us and true inner peace.
So at this Pisces New Moon (March 2, 2022, 9:35 am PST), I invite you to find sacred sanctuary in your chart, and consider how these areas of your life serve as both your retreat and your spiritual classroom. Here are a few real-life examples to prime your imagination. (Need help finding the Pisces house in your chart? This post might help.)
- A friend with Pisces rising, born with a curved spine, finds her sanctuary in her yoga practice, transforming her body through physical exercise.
- An acquaintance with Pisces on the cusp of the second house finds sanctuary in his love of gardening and of collecting antiques.
- With Pisces on the cusp of the third house, a serious, businesslike Capricorn-rising client found tranquility in writing poetry and making music with friends.
- One client with Pisces on the fourth house lives full-time on a houseboat!
- One woman with Pisces on the fifth house adored artwork with a sacred focus; one entire wall of her house was covered with crucifixes. With Pisces on the fifth house cusp, you may consider music, art, other creative pursuits, or time spent with pets or children as your sanctuary.
- A co-worker with Pisces on her sixth house cusp held a well-paying position but worked in a basement office with no natural light. She transformed her prefab cubicle into a sanctuary, complete with a trickling fountain and Japanese scroll.
- A client with Pisces on the seventh house cusp found sanctuary in a series of lovers who were artists, musicians, and spiritual seekers—and ultimately married a man who is strongly religious.
- One friend with Pisces on the eighth house cusp was an avid devotee of Tantric yoga. The eighth house is a house of sexuality, but also of sharing and of magical practices. Pisces offers an element of spirituality to these connections.
- A woman with Pisces on the ninth house has been known to sigh, upon entering a library or bookstore, that “books are all I know of heaven.” Come to think of it, she would probably love to buy a church and turn it into a bookstore!
- An artist with Pisces on the tenth house cusp said she did her very best work once she rented an office above a local church. For many, the secret to this placement is a career that reflects spiritual as well as material values.
- A sensible Taurus rising man with Pisces on the eleventh house cusp found soothing refuge in his friendships, including his recovery cohorts, numerous artists, and at least one priest.
- One woman with Pisces on the twelfth house cusp used to sleep as much as possible; when awake, she drank a lot. When she got sober and found love and religion, her faith became her sanctuary.
Reconnecting with your sanctuary
When the New Moon falls in Pisces, it’s vital to consecrate your personal sanctuary and reconnect with the sacred part of yourself. Cleanse your space with sage, salt, or lemon water. Build an altar, as simple or complex as you like, to serve as a spiritual “safe place” for giving thanks and asking for guidance. To invite spirituality to take root in the soil of your everyday life, institute a daily ritual such as lighting a candle, burning some incense, or ringing a bell.
The particulars of your ritual don’t much matter; what’s important is your intention to breathe clarity, compassion, and surrender into your inner sanctuary. Send empathy to troublesome neighbors, and discord will often disappear. Surrender to your curved spine and it becomes easier to work around it. Recognize the unhappy job situation that imprisons you, and you can release it to make room for a peaceful working environment.
Where is your sanctuary? Where are you called to create an oasis of peace and tranquility in the midst of life’s often harsh landscape? At this New Moon, find the Piscean sacred space in your life. Clear it physically and symbolically, anoint it with incense—and maybe a little Murphy’s Oil Soap—and transform it into your dream home.
Writing and collages © 2010-2024 April Elliott Kent
More about this week’s planetary happenings in my weekly column and on my podcast!
Subscribe to my mailing list for news and updates, and get my Working with the Moon workbook – new each month!
Helpful things…
