Pisces New Moon
A Ritual with Mangano/Pink Calcite
After two seemingly long lunation cycles through Saturn’s signs, we may feel parched as we approach the Pisces New Moon. As we reach the cliff edge of Aquarius at the balsamic phase, we hear Mercury's siren call, pulling us into the depths of the Piscean ocean and beckoning us to join the watery congregation. If we dive too deep, we may get dragged under the crashing waves of emotion into Davy Jones’ Locker!
With five traditional planets in water signs, we look to Venus and Jupiter to provide the lifeboat. But Jupiter is tangled up with crossed wires in Gemini, and Venus cannot get back quickly enough from her detriment, the Aries sauna, to be the hostess with the mostess!
The best option when dealing with a glut of anything is to embrace the situation. Trying to swim upstream, though it may give us a good workout, is exhausting. I think of the salmon fighting against the current to reach their birthing pool, where they spawn and then die. It is the ultimate symbol of nature's cyclical pattern, and there is nothing the salmon can do but agree to play its role.
Tethered together but always trying to pull us in opposite directions, the Pisces twin fish can have us torn between enforced action, the routine of the mundane world, and the need for rest and recuperation. When energetically worn thin, we need to meditate, sleep, read fiction, or escape from the world's flawed and chaotic reality.
Finding a way to balance the two is the dual nature of mutable signs, and some would say that the watery realm of Pisces is THE most mutable of them all.
Mangano/Pink Calcite
Mangano Calcite is our crystal of the month. It has a very delicate pink hue. It honours Pisces exalted ruler, Venus, as She prepares to turn retrograde on the 2nd of March from Aries. She does not return to Pisces until the 27th of March, meeting the Moon as She passes back through the sign before the Aries New Moon and partial eclipse on the 29th of March.
Pink is nowadays associated with love and all things feminine, but this has only recently been the case. Consider that Mars’ colour is red, and pink is just a lighter hue, and then you can see why, in the past, it was the colour associated with young boys. Baby blue was the colour for young girls; the dark blue of the robes of the Madonna lightened.
Calcite is a calcium and magnesium-rich crystal found in limestone deposits. It is often comprised of the bones and shells of creatures from long ago or as stalagmites and stalactites. The formation process is slow. Calcite brings to mind Saturn in Pisces, where water and limestone combine to create these sometimes giant structures deep in caves away from the light.
Calcite comes in all colours, which makes it perfect for crystal healing using it to correspond to each chakra. The energy is very soft and subtle, like the crystal itself; it is only three on the Mohs hardness scale.
Pisces New Moon Ritual
You will need…
A single Mangano Calcite crystal (or five small tumble stones and another to hold in your hands)
Optional five clear quartz points
Large glass bowl (that you can fit your hands or feet/foot one at a time in)
A cover to place over the bowl after use. E.g. clean tea towel, plate.
Clean Towel!A grounding stone, e.g. Black Tourmaline, Petrified Wood, Jet or Chiastolite, etc.
Honouring all the planets soaking in water elements, look for ways to use water to cleanse ritualistically. Remember that Pisces is the sign associated with the feet; today, I had an indulgent chocolate pedicure; it’s a great way to use water mindfully to remove the hardness that may have built up during the cold months. We will all be looking forward to wearing lighter clothes, and some of us will be wearing sandals; now is the time to prepare ourselves by allowing ourselves a little TLC and making it a ritual, literally adds to the magic.
If you have time to make a full Mangano elixir, prepare it beforehand. It makes a lovely clearing room spray, especially in the bedroom. If you only have a few hours before, you can make crystal water instead.
You can either put the crystal directly in the water (do not leave calcite in water too long, as it is soft and can start to break down) or, if you have five small tumble stones, put them close to the bowl in a circle. For added pizzazz, if you have clear crystal quartz points, put those on the outside of each crystal and the point inwards toward the calcite and the centre of the bowl, and that will charge the energy into the water. If you have a sunny day, put that in a place the Sun will reach and place a cover over the bowl while it is infusing to keep out the dust and contaminants.
Clear your working space when you are ready to start your ritual washing. I say this every time as it is essential that your space is not just physically but energetically cleansed, but this is even more important with this cycle. If you have bells, sound bowls, wind chimes, etc., use those, especially in the corners of each room. White Sage or Frankincense incense would also work.
Take your crystal-charged bowl of water and place it in front of you. Hold one of your Mangano crystals in your hands and consider or meditate on the parts of the previous year's solar cycle you are ready to release. You can say this out loud if you wish.
Once you have thought deeply about the energy that needs releasing, without using any soaps or other products, place your hands or feet in the charged water and spend time washing mindfully. As you repeat, “I release… from my life,” take your time and, if possible, use both hands to work the energy into your skin.
If you are unable to use both hands or your mobility is limited for any reason, maybe a trusted person can help, or you can just sit with your Mangano crystal and ask for the release of the old energy.
Once you can feel the energy in your body shift into the water, take your hands out and cover the bowl quickly with a clean towel, cloth, or plate so that the energy stays contained in the water. Take it outside and pour it onto a piece of soil, not concrete, and as you do, ask the earth to take the energy back to the Source to be transmuted back into light energy.
Once this is done, and if it is not too cold, you can stand barefoot on the earth and ground and centre yourself, feeling the energy restoring you. If it is too cold, go back indoors, sit with a crystal between your feet, and imagine the solid earth regenerating and supporting you. Use something grounding like Black Tourmaline, Petrified Wood, Smokey Quartz or a piece of Jet (not Obsidian) to pull you back into your grounded body.
As the cycle builds and the Moon swells, you can make more Mangano Calcite water to sip throughout the days leading up to the Full Moon to refresh and renew your intentions; stop just before the Moon reaches Virgo.
And if all of that feels like taking up too much energy, wearing or holding Mangano Calcite crystal, especially placing it around your bedroom and living space, can help to soften the jagged energies of daily life. Use one of the grounding stones any time you feel yourself getting pulled too deeply into fantasy land.
Have a great lunation cycle and see you for the Aries eclipse!
Saffron Dennis is an astrologer, and crystal therapist, based in the East Anglia region of the UK. You can book her for a reading or as a speaker at your local or online event at divinebaytree.com
So interesting about baby blue and pink!