Living in L.A. in the 1980s, I often visited the Ojai Foundation in Ventura County for a dose of spirituality and nature. At that time, the gifted artist Beatrice Wood was still throwing pots in her enchanted studio not far from the Foundation. We’d bring her chocolates as an offering, and she’d hold forth about life and love.
Sometimes Beato would tell us about her adventures as the “Mama of Dada” (a protest art movement of the 1920s and 30s), hanging with the likes of Marcel Duchamp and Isadora Duncan. A dreamy, imaginative Pisces, she’d developed her own process for glazing ceramics that yielded a magical, luminescent effect. She’d also had a string of unfulfilling relationships with men.
Sitting regally in her chair one day, wearing her signature sari and bold bracelets, her silver hair in a chignon, she fixed a serious gaze on the women gathered at her feet.
“What is the most important word in the English language?” she demanded.
“Love?” asked one. Beato shook her head.
“Beauty?” ventured another.
With a dramatic pause backed by 90-odd years of hard-won wisdom, Beato announced: “The most important word in the English language is No.”
I thought of this recently while considering the upcoming Pisces total solar eclipse square boundary-setting Saturn. The first of three SuperMoons in a row, this New Moon eclipse also happens with the Moon at perigee (the closest approach in its monthly orbit around the Earth), which intensifies its impact on tides, tectonic plates and human beings. In fact, some astrologers conjecture that there could be some major earth changes around this eclipse (March 8, 5:54 p.m. PST).
Fear-mongering is definitely not my thing; I’m more interested in the effects on our psyches. Because the New Moon in spiritual, otherworldly Pisces is conjunct Wounded Healer Chiron, opposite growth-oriented Jupiter and square decisive Saturn, it certainly can symbolize a big ending and a new beginning. This is a pivotal opportunity to eclipse whatever isn’t serving us anymore, and ask the Divine to bring in a whole new level of healing and service.
With the fresh, exciting energy of the Spring Equinox due on March 19-20, we naturally want to take risks and say Yes to life this month. But sometimes Yes begins with No. As we sort and filter the new beginnings flooding in, we’re carving out a new pathway for ourselves. It may be excruciating to say No to whatever is no longer working for you or to those who want a piece of your action, but doing so can set you free.
If you need help tuning in to the Divine Forces, check out this Pisces New Moon ritual from my book, Astro Feng Shui: Making Magic in Your Home and Life. You’ll also find a mini-video showing how I helped one couple transform their Health gua, which corresponds with Pisces (as well as Virgo).
Glad you enjoyed it, Stella. And yes it does seem a bit sorrowful right now, but we have to trust that some kind of liberation is at hand. Good luck with your Saturn transit!
This is very true for me at this time. Recently diagnosed as a type 2 diabetic, I am learning to say NO to many cravings that have pushed me around for decades.