Grace McGrade is an intuitive astrologer based in Los Angeles. She is the head astrologer of the app Stars Align. Her sessions include birth chart readings, transits, energetic clearings and psychic consultations. For more astrology, read her guide to rising signs and moon signs. Read an overview of what 2026 has coming up for us this year here.
March opens amidst a pivotal Eclipse season and Mercury retrograde, and with the Sun still in Pisces, the energy is immersive, murky and intense. Pisces, being the last sign of the zodiac, corresponds to karmic completions, the nebulous and dreamy territory where we encounter endings. As Pisces guards the invisible realms, our psychic abilities are more pronounced, as is our ability to enter altered states, making the beginning of March feel a little surreal. As Mercury backtracks through Piscean terrain, unprocessed emotional material resurfaces, and while our communicative faculties may fail us, our intuition is speaking loud and clear.
On the 3rd, a Lunar Eclipse occurs in Virgo, the polar opposite of Pisces, helping us clear out the remaining energetic residue of last year. Where Pisces rules the spiritual, Virgo rules the material, and this Lunar Eclipse swiftly severs us from circumstances that are at odds with our highest purpose. This eclipse may bring a moment of reckoning around workaholism, professional burnout, and excess responsibilities, often through unexpected events. A role, routine or dynamic may be culminating. This is when we’re asked to let go of patterns of perfectionism, neurosis and control, and instead, place our trust in the divine.
After weeks of uncertainty, Venus enters Aries on the 6th, bringing new light into our love lives. Venus in Aries doesn’t hesitate or ruminate; it charges ahead blindly, immune to the idea of failure. We’re a tad more impulsive about the objects of our affection, prone to blurting out forthright omissions of feelings, developing instant crushes, and losing interest just as rapidly. This bodes well for taking warrior-esque action towards any goals, as we know what we want, and we’re ready to get after it.
The final New Moon of the astrological year is a moment to employ our skills of visualisation and imagination, and fully lean into our most delusional daydreams.
And then, on March 18, the New Moon in Pisces arrives as a potent manifestational threshold. Two days before the equinox, before the zodiac resets in Aries, we are given a final invitation to consciously connect to our fantasies. This is the final New Moon of the astrological year, a moment to employ our skills of visualisation and imagination and fully lean into our most delusional daydreams.
The Astrological New Year begins on the 20th, when the Sun moves into Aries, heralding the arrival of the spring equinox. The same day, Mercury in Pisces stations direct, and our brainfog alleviates, making room for some much-needed clarity. Light triumphs over darkness, spring has sprung, and everyone is much more aggressive. Aries season serves as a reminder to reacquaint ourselves with our individual missions, to fight for what we believe in, and to exercise pure willpower. While this may mean that our political climate starts to heat up, if we brace ourselves for battle, Aries energy supplies bright possibilities. It’s an activation of shiny new trajectories, aided by Saturn and Neptune, who are nudging us down roads untravelled.
On March 28, Pluto in Aquarius sextiles Saturn in Aries, supplying a concrete way out of the hellscape we’ve been living in. This indicates a transference of power back to the people, opportunities for positive collective change, and potential shifts in leadership. On a personal level, this is a call to ask ourselves how we are personally contributing to the change needed in our world. Saturn and Pluto encourage us to incite the revolution, become a champion of a cause, and commit to something bigger than ourselves.
With the Sun and Mercury retrograde moving through the most private and porous sector of your chart, March begins in a sleepy haze, making you feel more introspective than usual. Try to set some time aside for rest, as it’s the prequel to your birthday season, a spiritual clearing before a busy period that won’t stop once it’s started. Eclipse season and Mercury retrograde are activating your unconscious patterns, buried emotions and dreams deferred, gently nudging you to listen out for spiritual messages. You are quieter and more permeable than usual, more sensitive to psychic atmospheres, and perceiving more intuitive information.
The Lunar Eclipse in Virgo on the 3rd calls for a reset of mind, body and soul. If you’ve been running on fumes, overcommitting, or trying to control every outcome, something shifts abruptly. This Eclipse is about relinquishing perfectionism, and external forces may course correct you, severing you from day-to-day circumstances that have been draining your life force. Try to temper the desire to run on adrenaline while calling it productivity.
The mood improves when Venus enters Aries on March 6, enhancing your ability to attract who and what you are looking for. This is a period of heightened visibility and magnetism, when your social life reanimates and others respond positively to your presence. Then on the 20th, the Sun enters Aries and your season begins. After the strange, interior weeks of Pisces season, your vitality returns. Mercury stations direct the same day, and life begins to get lively. New timelines are being activated for you, as Saturn and Neptune encourage you to commit to your wildest fantasies, and take action in the direction of your dreams.
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March enlivens your social life, as the Sun and Mercury retrograde enter your sector of friendships and scenes, reconnecting you with familiar faces. You may be feeling that you’ve outgrown certain spaces, and with Mercury backpeddling through this terrain, imbalanced friendships may reach a necessary end. The Lunar Eclipse in Virgo on the 5th lands in your sector of pleasure, romance, indulgence and creative self-expression, culminating in unhealthy patterns and encouraging you to recommit to your craft. Eclipses externalise what’s already been building internally. It may be time to let go of unhealthy modalities of pleasure, especially those rooted in compulsion, validation or excess, and return to something more intentional. Venus enters Aries days after, supplying you with intuitive support.
The New Moon in Pisces on the 18th is a beautiful day for envisioning your dream community and calling in the collaborators, friends and muses who align with your values. Days later, on the 20th, Aries season begins, marking the start of a new astrological year. With Mercury now direct, the fog lifts, and you’re much more decisive about who you spend your time with. As Aries season is the prequel to your season, this cycle is less about initiating things externally and more about listening to your body.
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Mercury, your ruler, is retrograde in non-linear Pisces, making most of the month feel surreal. This is an excuse to feel rather than overthink things, helping you to lean further into your intuition. Despite this dreamlike atmosphere, career matters are highlighted in March, and professional opportunities that were delayed or put off could reemerge, requiring your attention. Double-check your emails and don’t bring drama to work, as the lines of communication are muddled until the 20th. On the 3rd, a Lunar Eclipse in Virgo hits your sector of home, calling you to reorganise or improve your living situation. On a deeper level, this eclipse is a moment of emotional excavation, where you can let go of learned patterns of perfectionism, neurosis and control, potentially inherited from family. Try to clean house, metaphorically or literally.
When Venus enters Aries on the 6th, the vibe gets more upbeat and lively. With Venus immediately making contact with Saturn and Neptune, social revelations are in store for you. Rather than fighting for recognition, you’re being asked to build community intentionally, and to invest in friendships that have depth and longevity. The Sun follows suit, entering your social sector on the 20th, and Mercury stations direct the same day, ending the month on a higher note.
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Pisces season emphasizes your spiritual beliefs, offering you an opportunity to find the deeper meaning at play within the patterns of your life. With Mercury Rx in Pisces, intuitive messages you may have missed resurface, as this retrograde invites you to reflect on how you have interpreted past events. In particular, there may be a confrontation with patterns of martyrdom or disempowering beliefs that have kept you unconsciously perpetuating victimhood. The Lunar Eclipse in Virgo on the 3rd helps to shed light on the way you think and speak about your experiences. An old narrative no longer fits who you’ve become, and this Eclipse helps to curtail negative thinking habits, offering you a clean slate for the next astrological year.
Career momentum accelerates as the planets move into Aries, starting with Venus on the 6th. Boosting your professional visibility, this transit helps you turn heads and receive well-deserved recognition for your work. Jupiter, which has been retrograde in your sign since November of 2025, stations direct on the 10th. With the planet of luck and prosperity on your side, opportunities that stalled may reappear. This is the payoff for all the inner work you’ve been doing.
The New Moon in Pisces on the 18th is beneficial for setting intentions around travel, study or spiritual expansion. Visualise the life you want, as something slightly delusional could become real. Then on March 20, the Sun enters Aries, bringing focus to your career and reputation for the next four weeks. At the same time, Mercury stations direct, and decisions can be made with confidence.
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Pisces season infuses your intimate life with psychic energy. It could feel like the boundaries between you and others dissolve, and you have a hard time identifying where you begin and others end. With Mercury retrograde backpedalling through this terrain, emotions may run high, old lovers could reappear, and unfinished business demands clarity.
On the 3rd, the Lunar Eclipse in Virgo shines a light on your sector of resources and self-esteem. If relationships have felt draining, this eclipse asks you to return to yourself, take care of what needs tending to, and to stop martyring yourself for others’ causes. This eclipse also helps to alleviate financial stressors, as you trade neurosis for practicality, potentially uncovering a new source of income.
The New Moon on the 18th is the perfect date to set intentions for the kind of spiritual love you’ve been longing for, so adopt a delusional, fantastical outlook, and set your sights on your heart’s desire. When Aries season begins on the 20th, it massively uplifts the vibe. This is the start of a New Astrological year, and a trip or journey of sorts could be on the horizon, as the planets ingress into your sector of foreign terrain. You’ll be much more explorative, and with Mercury stationing direct the same day, delays cease to disrupt plans. Follow the call to adventure.
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With the Sun and Mercury retrograde moving through your sector of partnerships, this month promises to be revealing. You’ve been through a two-year astrological growth spurt in these areas, where you had to let go of certain people, and be more vulnerable with others, and March marks a powerful culmination point for your relationships. The Lunar Eclipse in Virgo on the 3rd illuminates your identity, supplying the strength to detach from an old role. You don’t need to play the caretaker for everyone. Nor do you need to be perfect to be deserving of love.
With Mercury retracing your relational territory, ex-lovers and friends could reach out, attempting to lure you back into old dynamics. Trust your intuition about people, and try to focus on finding closure without reanimating an unhealthy connection. Existing bonds that uplift you begin to deepen on the 6th, when Venus in Aries moves into your sector of sex and intimacy. You’re bolder and more direct about who and what you want, and more willing to be seen exactly as you are.
The New Moon in Pisces on the 18th brings new counterparts, collaborators and characters into your world. Opportunities could arrive through other people, so remain open to making new connections. When the Astrological New Year resets on March 20, your psychic senses are accentuated, and with Mercury stationing direct, you see with greater clarity. Aries season adds an element of passion and purpose to your connections, bestowing you a recognisable magnetism. This season activates your eighth house, heightening intuition, intimacy and emotional awareness, ending the month on a deeper note.
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March challenges you to be more discerning about how much you take on, as the Sun and Mercury retrograde move through porous Pisces, illuminating your day-to-day energetic hygiene. You may notice that your schedule feels slippery, your energy fluctuates, and boundaries around your time become harder to maintain.
With the Eclipse in Virgo on the 3rd shining a deliberate spotlight on your sector of rest and seclusion, you may feel pulled in two different directions – driven by the desire to get it all done, but in dire need of a break. Take a step back to replenish your energy. As Mercury backpeddles in your work region, old projects and opportunities reemerge that require attention. Try to pace yourself, rather than overpromising and underdelivering.
Assistance comes your way on the 6th, when Venus moves into Aries, bringing in supportive collaborators and connections with a desire to help you with your mission. By the time the Sun enters Aries on the 20th and Mercury stations direct, clarity returns in relationships, conversations move forward, and offers are on the table. An important romantic revelation may arise on the 28th, when Pluto sextiles Saturn, giving you the courage to vocalise what you need.
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With the Sun and Mercury retrograde moving through fellow water sign Pisces, your fifth house of romance, pleasure and creative self-expression is accentuated. Pisces season adds a dreamlike quality to these experiences, dissolving ordinary boundaries and heightening sensitivity. While you are feeling flirtatious and inspired, Mercury retrograde can bring some old flames back into your life, or potentially an increased appetite for escapism – so try to reflect rather than regress. On the 3rd, the Lunar Eclipse in Virgo impacts your sector of friends and networks. You are invited to assess whether your alliances truly support your growth, or whether they distract you from your creative mission.
After the heightened emotional atmosphere of Pisces, Venus in Aries beckons you back to business on the 6th. It’s an opportunistic period for work, so set your sights on professional matters. The New Moon in Pisces on the 18th is an ideal time to set intentions for love and creativity. As the Sun enters Aries on the 20th and Mercury stations direct, practical concerns come back into focus. Conversations become more straightforward, while your schedule fills up, keeping you booked and busy for all of Aries season.
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Pisces season infuses your world with a surreal and emotional atmosphere, supplying you with intuitive insights. Mercury is retrograding through your sector of home, and you may find yourself reflecting on childhood patterns, family dynamics or your sense of security. Listen to your instincts, you may feel called to rearrange furniture, declutter, repaint, add art, change sheets, bring in water elements, candles, incense. Pisces wants to add more magic to your domain. On March 3, the Lunar Eclipse in Virgo illuminates your tenth house of career and reputation. You could find yourself questioning whether the direction you’ve pursued truly reflects your spiritual mission. If something in your public life has been sustained by obligation rather than conviction, the eclipse makes it clear.
When Venus enters Aries on the 6th, warmth returns through your fifth house of creativity and romance. You feel more playful, more daring in love, more willing to initiate flings. Jupiter, your ruling planet, stations direct on the 10th in your sector of sex and intimacy, deepening existing bonds and bestowing you with a heightened magnetism. When the Sun enters Aries on the 20th and Mercury stations direct, your creative fire is reignited. The introspective fog begins to lift, and you are propelled into a joyful season of pleasure and play.
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March sharpens your psychic perceptiveness, while also making communication feel a little Mercury. As the Sun and Mercury retrograde in Pisces move through your sector of conscious thinking and communication, things get weird. Yet beneath the apparent vagueness lies something meaningful: an invitation to listen to what is usually dismissed as irrational or impractical. What assumptions have you been operating under? Which mental narratives no longer serve your present reality?
On the 3rd, the Lunar Eclipse in Virgo helps you ditch damaging belief systems, as you trade a cynical outlook for something more spiritual and inclusive. When Venus moves into Aries on the 6th, you may have a sudden desire to be more domestic, redecorating or hosting people at home.
The New Moon in Pisces on the 18th is excellent for setting intentions around communication. Watch your words and thoughtforms, as your manifestation abilities increase. Then on the 20th, Aries season shifts your focus fully to home and foundations. Mercury stations direct the same day, clearing up misunderstandings and helping you acquire a strengthened sense of security.
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Pisces season helps you to call in prosperity. You may notice how deeply intertwined money and self-esteem can be. Mercury retrograde in this sector encourages deep reflection, as you are invited to examine the internal narrative surrounding your value. Where have you underestimated your talents? Do you believe in your ability to attract abundance?
On March 3, the Lunar Eclipse in Virgo penetrates the deeper terrain of shared energy, intimacy, vulnerability and sex. You may suddenly see where an energetic exchange has been imbalanced, where you’ve over-given to feel wanted, or withheld vulnerability to maintain control. You are being asked to purify your intimate life by releasing dynamics rooted in obligation, guilt or silent resentment.
The New Moon in Pisces on the 18th offers an opportunity to redefine your relationship to security. Set intentions around income, but also around self-worth. As the Sun enters Aries on the 20th and Mercury stations direct, mental clarity returns. You may feel a renewed sense of agency in shaping your immediate environment with your words. Speak what you want to see into existence. Your voice is powerful.
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It’s no ordinary Pisces season, with an eclipse and Mercury retrograde bringing wild-card energy to March, opening doors and closing others. The spotlight is on you, and the stars are conspiring in your favour, particularly on your New Moon on the 18th, so set your sights on your intentions for the next astrological year. Mercury retrograde helps you to reflect on the narratives you’ve been unconsciously perpetuating, so you can adopt a better story.
Relationship patterns reach a turning point on the Lunar Eclipse in Virgo on the 3rd, hitting your sector of partnership. Suddenly, you see people clearly, as this energy removes illusions and asks you to act with discernment, being more conscientious of your company. On the 6th, Venus moves into Aries and shifts your focus to self-worth. Suddenly, you’re less dreamy and more direct. Financial opportunities may fall into your lap, a direct result of the newfound confidence and self-assurance you’ve been adopting.
As the Sun enters Aries on the 20th and Mercury stations direct, practical concerns reassert themselves. The emotional haze begins to clear. Decisions can be made with greater confidence.
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