Welcome back to the Essential Astro Cast.

I am your host, Veronica Perretti,
and this is the podcast you listen

to when you want to know what's going
on up in the heavens, so that you can

dictate your fate down here on Earth.

Welcome back.

I am.

So happy to be with you today on this day,
February 26th, 2026, the day that Mercury

is indeed stationing to retrograde.

So if you've been experiencing lots
of unexpected little things going

wrong, scheduling two appointments
and not realizing you had the first

one, that was one that I did today.

If you have been having trouble
organizing things or making decisions

about things, this could also be Mercury.

Just making you a little bit confused.

It is retrograde in Pisces.

And Pisces is the sign associated
with sleep with Dreams.

With our fantasies, with our
illusions, and with our delusions.

So if you're feeling a little d Lulu,
as the kids say, it could be Mercury

retrograde in Pisces, we're also in
Pisces season, so the sun is in the

sign of sleeps and of sleep and dreams
and illusions and mercury's there.

On Venus is there, Venus is exalted
in Pisces, so she's feeling pretty

powerful and we've got a lot
of Pisces energy at the moment.

So we've, we're in an era that is
being really bookmarked by fire and air

energy and just as we start to open up.

That next chapter with Saturn and
Neptune coming together at Zero Aries.

Last time we talked, so we spoke
last week on the 17th of February.

That was the new moon, solar eclipse.

That was the beginning of the
lunar new year, the beginning

of the year of the horse.

Then right after that, on
the 18th of February, we had.

The sun and trap Pisces and I spoke
about how on Friday the 20th, last

week was one of the most notable,
monumental weeks of astrology and.

W That was mainly because we had Saturn
and Neptune coming together at zero

Aries, which is, we don't have Saturn
and Neptune coming together very often.

It's something that
happens every 35 ish years.

The last time was 1989, and it is
really notable because it was when the

Berlin Wall fell down, which is the
perfect metaphor for Saturn, Neptune.

'cause Saturn is boundaries.

It's restrictions, it's structures.

And Neptune is the dissolution or the
dissolving of boundaries and structures.

So having these two come together means
that a lot of things are breaking down

and falling apart, but we are also
inviting in the opportunity to build

something new that will support us, and
we're seeing that happen throughout our.

World in the news.

I am a big fan of Heather Cox Richardson.

She is a historian who writes a daily
newsletter and does some YouTube

videos and talks about what's going
on in our politics here in the

US within the context of history.

And it's really, really helpful to read
her partially because she's taking a.

A large view, and she's looking at
the history of things and how this

fits into our history as a country
and the history of the world.

And in a lot of ways it's
similar to astrology.

Astrology helps us step back and
take in that big picture view,

which is very Aquarian in nature.

We just finished Aquarian season, so we
know what that feels like to step back and

take that big wide view, not necessarily
being so emotionally entrenched.

In the moment with what is
going on in that exact moment.

But stepping back and taking the
wider view and being a little less

emotional about it, and a little more
logical and rational and analytical,

there is use in that perspective.

And there is also, of course, a great
deal of use of being in the Pisces

energy of feeling what you feel and
not necessarily paying attention to.

The details, not necessarily taking the
rational or logical view, just feeling

what feels right, trusting your intuition,
going with your hut, if you will.

That's something from a writer named
Alexandra Fran, and she talks about

the hut being the heart and the gut.

Together, it's the hut when you need
to trust your hut, trust your heart and

your gut, and that is the essence of.

Mercury retrograde in Pisces, we
might make decisions that maybe they

don't make sense, but it feels right.

So trust that.

And remember that you can experiment.

You know, if there is something that is a.

Make it or break it decision maybe
that is best left for after Mercury

stations direct and moves forward.

Again, it's only gonna be three weeks,
but if there are smaller decisions

that are not make it or break it,
you can let yourself experiment.

That is something that is
going to be, in my opinion.

An ongoing theme that we're working
with as we move through this time of

lots of air and lots of fire energy
because fire likes to burn bright.

And air only makes fire burn brighter.

So fire likes to act.

And having Saturn in Neptune, in Aries
means that we're taking some big actions.

We're taking some big steps.

And Aries likes to just do it.

And as a person with a whole lot
of Aries in my chart, I can tell

you that sometimes that Aries
energy just needs to fail upward.

It just needs to go out there and
do it Now, we're not there yet.

The sun is not an Aries.

We haven't reached the spring equinox.

We've got lots of time to reflect and be
in the feelings with Pisces, but I'm just

planting this seed for you that it's okay.

To experiment, to try things
and to change your mind.

And I say this because Mercury retrograde
and Pisces is gonna have us thinking

about things and seeing things a little
bit differently, but we also have a full

moon lunar eclipse this week coming up.

So today as I'm speaking to you, we are
focused on Mercury retrograde at the

very this moment, 'cause that's happening
today or it happened this morning.

But we are preparing,
we're in between eclipses.

We have another eclipse coming
on March 3rd, which is Tuesday.

And eclipses tend to bring things
into view that were already there,

but not necessarily something
we could see clearly or maybe.

We couldn't see it at all, whether
that was because we personally were

hindering ourself with our own internal
dialogue or what we were choosing to

see, or just because we didn't have
the information, it hadn't happened.

All of that is to say that eclipses
are about the light of our luminaries,

the sun and the moon being obscured.

When the light is obscured, we're
able to see things that were in

the shadow of that full moon.

So when the light of the
full moon is obscured on.

Tuesday when we have this lunar
eclipse, the stars around that

full moon are going to burn.

They're gonna shine brighter.

We're gonna be able to see them.

So what's in the shadows for you?

What's hiding?

What's been nagging at you?

What has needed to be done today?

It's very classic Mercury
retrograde and Pisces.

'cause it's sort of emotional.

I.

I just had this moment
of wanting to go through.

I've been wanting to for a while,
but I finally did it today.

Go through all my son's books.

He has so many books in his room
and they're such a mess, and I kind

of wanted to take out all of the
holiday ones and put those aside.

And he also had a lot of them
that are just really for babies

and he's not a baby anymore.

He's gonna be three in March.

I thought, you know, this is the
time to get rid of a lot of these

books that we don't need anymore.

We have so many and we have so many
that we don't read because everything

just feels like so much clutter.

And you know, me as an Aries with
a Virgo moon, I hate clutter.

So we went through and we.

Discarded a lot of books and we
organized the books that we have into

sections so that we can find what
we want, when we want to find it.

And it felt really good, but it was also
a little bit emotional to release some of

those things and I probably didn't even
release enough because of course at this

age, getting rid of things is is harder
the As because they're so young still.

Anyway, all of that is to say that
if you're feeling this need to.

Release.

It is definitely in line with Mercury
retrograde asking us to reflect

and with the lunar eclipse coming
in Virgo, so Mercury retrograde.

What is it about?

This is one of the most intense
retrogrades of the year, this

whole week that I'm talking about.

Really this week into next week, it is
about reviewing our dreams, reassessing.

Where we wanna go and
what's important to us.

Mercury is retrograde, as I said
in Pisces, which is the sign, one

of the signs ruled by Jupiter.

So that means Mercury is answering
to Jupiter currently in cancer,

a sign that he's very happy in.

He is exalted there, but he is retrograde.

He's gonna be turning direct soon.

In a couple of weeks, but at the time
that Mercury stations, which tells us

a little bit about the flavor of this
particular retrograde period, which

will be for the next three weeks.

Um, the moon was in cancer squaring
Neptune, so that means that.

The moon, which is ruling that
Jupiter, which is ruling that Mercury,

the moon, is squaring Neptune.

Neptune in that new sign of
Aries, meaning that we're taking

on new dreams, we're taking on

new fantasies, we have new illusions
and maybe new delusions as well, and.

That Mercury is retro rating
as it is about to conjunct.

Venus and Venus rules all
things that are important to us.

Love money, how we love how we want
to be loved, how we feel valued.

And how we value others.

So we are going to really be looking
at the things that are most important

to us over the next few weeks, and
if those things are still going to be

important to us in this next chapter,
in this next dream that Neptune is help

shepherding in his new sign of Aries.

Okay, so I just wanna take a quick pause
here and tell you about a couple of things

going on in my world, ways for us to get
together via Zoom so you can join me.

Every Friday for yoga at 10:00 AM
Eastern time, you can join Cosmic

Yoga Club or you can drop in for $26.

I also have a once a month
class, which is gentle yoga and.

Restoration and some intention setting
and some spiritual inspiration.

A little meditation.

It's called Sunday Sanctuary.

It is one Sunday a month
at 10:00 AM Eastern time.

You can join me for Sunday Sanctuary
for $26 a drop in, or again by joining

Cosmic Yoga Club for $35 a month.

All of those things are available on
my website, veronica perretti.com,

on the yoga tab.

In addition, once a month,
I host cosmic conversation.

It is on Wednesday at 5:00
PM The next one will be March

18th, so I hope you can join me.

That is completely free.

It is my gift to you.

It's an opportunity to come ask
questions you have about astrology.

It's also just a nice time to check in
with a community of other people that

speak this language that are interest.

In this, some people are astrology
enthusiasts, learning how to read

charts, and some people are astrology
novices just coming to this world and

this language, and I try to bridge the
gap so that everybody takes something

useful away from our time together.

So I love hosting those.

It's sort of like an astrology happy hour.

It's called Cosmic Conversation.

You can join that.

On my website, veronica preti.com

under the events tab and save your seat.

The next one will be March 18th.

Alright, let's get back to this week.

So the next big thing that's
happening this week is Mars Square

Uranus, and this is indeed big.

On Friday the 27th, we will have Mars
in Aquarius, squaring Uranus in Taurus.

This is the closing square
from their conjunction.

On July 17th, 2024.

Generally with Mars Transits, we will
often feel them as they approach so.

You might already be feeling this.

You might have already been
feeling this for a few days.

Mars Square, Uranus can make us impulsive.

It can make us a little
bit rash or impatient.

It can make us anxious, but it could also
be inspiring and it can also be the kick

in the butt that you need to finally take
action on something that perhaps was hard.

To rip the bandaid off with.

So Mars Square Uranus can be
a rip the bandaid off moment.

It can be the thing that, finally
helps you make that change.

So what needs to finally change or
be acted on that may have been seeded

all the way back in July of 2024.

So collectively, that was when
there was a certain event.

In Butler, Pennsylvania on the
campaign trail, which led to a

very famous photo op, which some
would say led to the victory of,

you know, who over my girl Kamala.

With that, I think this week is gonna
be really interesting in the news.

We already know that.

It's interesting, there's
already a lot happening.

We had State of the Union, we have a
lot of stories coming out right now.

Honestly, I'm not even keeping
up with the news throughout the

day 'cause it's too much and it's
really draining my nervous system.

So I check in at the beginning
of the day and I listen to.

A Levelheaded News podcast and
then I check in at the end of

the day on Instagram and Threads.

I'm not prescribing my
news diet to anyone.

Trust me, I'm far too informed perhaps.

But with that, just know that this
is a time, as I said, the theme

of this moment is reviewing our
dreams and where we're going and.

We are not individuals
that exist in a vacuum.

We are individuals that exist in a
society on earth, and other people's

experiences have an impact on us as well.

The collective, that collective energy
has an impact on you, whether or

not you are paying attention to it.

And I think the cost of not paying
attention right now is far too high.

So find a way that you can pay
attention and also honor, your

responsibilities in the world.

I know that if I spend all day
scrolling, I can't really be present

for my son the way I want to be.

You do what works for you.

But I just wanna say that this is a
moment, this square, it's going to

be bringing up a lot of the stories
that were seated at that time.

I do think this week is, I mean,
we already know that this week is

gonna be big in terms of the Jeffrey
files, and a lot of that has to

do with the eclipse that's coming.

Not just the Mars Uranus, but the
Mars Square Uranus is interesting

and we'll see what's going on.

A lot of astrologers thought that
Mars Uranus conjunction, which was

on, you know, who's Midheaven, that
it was gonna be a health event.

And it was in a way so it'll be
interesting to see this closing square.

What comes up with that and the next
conjunction of these two planets, which

happens every two years, is going to
be June 25th, and that is going to

be kicking off that Wild July that I
mentioned in my year ahead workshop.

If you didn't get a chance to come, you
can still get the re reply on my website.

Under events you can purchase
the replay for the same price

for my 2026 year ahead workshop.

And I talk a lot about July and how that
is going to be a big moment this year.

Really, some of the most wild astrology
is gonna be happening in July.

Last week, the Saturn Neptune
conjunction certainly.

One of the top tier, most notable
pieces of astrology of the year, July,

is when things are really going to
all kind of come to a head together.

So.

Mars Square, Uranus.

Watch out for that.

Watch out for that on Friday.

Watch out for that over the next few days.

In general, just that feeling of
restlessness, that feeling of anxiety,

that feeling of I have to make a change.

That feeling of I can't sit here
anymore, this has to be acted upon now.

As I said, mercury is retrograde, so
maybe you're seeing something in a new

light and that is prompting your action.

Or maybe you're seeing something
in a new light and you realize

that you are really riding the
anxiety train and you need to pause.

So either way, let Mercury
retrograde inspire you to see

something from a new vantage point.

So speaking of Mercury and Pisces,
Mars will be joining Mercury

along with Venus and Pisces, um,
just in time for the Eclipse.

So on Saturday we'll have Mercury
and Venus joining together.

I already mentioned that earlier
in our Mercury retrograde segment.

You know, mercury and Venus, just
being close together at the point of

the retrograde means that we're gonna
be reviewing our values, reviewing our

relationships, reviewing our money.

Great time to be doing the
reviews to prepare your taxes.

Mercury retrograde is always a good time
to be doing the reviews for your taxes.

I find with Mercury retrograde it
gets demonized, but in some ways

I find Mercury retrograde helpful
'cause we often find things.

Hadn't seen before, so maybe you find some
charges that you were like, oh my gosh,

I didn't know I was being charged for two
Google accounts or something like that.

So it can be helpful to do
your tax review, your financial

review at this time, even though
Mercury is not in a particularly.

You know, heady, intellectual,
detail oriented sign.

It's a little bit harder.

Mercury is in Pisces, but
still a good time to review.

Nonetheless.

Venus is exalted in Pisces.

So this conjunction can be
really helpful for coming

together with like-minded people.

There are people that you care about
in your life, so you might find

that you're having conversations
this weekend with your loved ones.

About.

You know how things have been
and how you want them to be.

'cause remember the theme of the week.

We're reviewing our dreams
this week and next week.

'cause I'm recording
this late in the week.

So on Monday, getting back to Mars,
he will after that square, a Uranus.

On Friday, he'll go through the weekend,
he'll finish out his time in Aquarius,

and then he will move into Pisces and
he'll be joining All those planets.

Planets are all really
close together in the sky.

They have been like that
for a few months now.

So that's one of the reasons that
things have felt intense is that.

All of the personal planets
clustered together is just

amplifying whatever's happening.

It feels more intense, more focused.

So we're really being focused
in on one or two things in our

own lives and in the collective.

Mars going into Pisces just in
time for that Eclipse number two,

which is coming because we are
in the midst of the eclipses.

So I don't know how we got all the way
into this podcast, and I'm just saying

this, we are in between two eclipses.

We are in Eclipse season,
we're in the heart of it.

We had the eclipse a couple weeks ago,
and now we're going into the next eclipse.

So.

Mars going into Pisces, it's going,
it's not its favorite sign because

Pisces is not an action taker.

Pisces is a dreamer.

Pisces is a sleeper.

Pisces is a sit back, relax
and enjoy the view kind of guy.

You know, that's the archetype, if you
will, but Mars and Pisces will bring

out intuitive action following your hut.

Like I said earlier,
your heart and your gut.

Mars and Pisces can also bring
up self-sacrifice that is a

theme of this particular transit
and it can bring up spiritual,

take that out.

It can bring up.

A deeper yearning for
spiritual inclination.

So if your spiritual practice needs a
little judge, you need a little more.

Motivation to get to your meditation
cushion or to your yoga practice or

whatever your spiritual practice is.

Maybe it's taking walks and
it's been too cold there.

You know, there's a little bit
of a push to get back to whatever

helps you feel connected to the
spirit of your own understanding.

So those are awesome.

Great things to look out
for with Mars and Pisces.

Mars and Pisces, though it is
not the most motivating, so Mars

is gonna feel a little soggy.

He's not gonna feel like he's operating at
his best, but we'll see how it pans out.

This go round, because we're in Eclipse
season, we're Mercury retrograde.

I know we're like entering this new
chapter and every time we kind of

cross the threshold, like we cross
the threshold with Saturn, Neptune

conjunction, we kind of get pushed
back into reflection mode again.

And that's what happened.

We crossed the thresholds and then we
got pushed back into Mercury retrograde.

But Mercury retrograde,
it's meant to slow us down.

It slows us down so we can speed up.

It slows you down so you can see
things from a different vantage point,

and then take the right next step.

It slows you down so that you
pause when maybe you're not ready

to take the right next step.

So that brings us two, the full moon lunar
eclipse, which is on Tuesday, March 3rd.

It is going to take place
exactly at 6:38 AM Eastern time.

The full moon means that
the sun is in Pisces.

The moon is in the opposite sign of Virgo.

When a full moon occurs near the
south node, it is an invitation to

release, to discharge, to let go.

Because the South node is in Virgo,
it is about releasing perfectionism,

releasing emotional over analysis,
releasing routines that perhaps no

longer serve you or make you feel bad.

Like one of the things that I'm
always hard on myself for is not

getting up early in the morning.

So with this eclipse, maybe.

With the help of Mercury, I can
sit with what does it look like

to get up early in the morning?

Maybe it's not getting up two hours
before my son and doing all the practice

that I used to do before I had a child.

Maybe it's just getting up a half hour
before my son, so I make breakfast,

make coffee, feed the cats, and don't
feel like I'm doing all of those

things with him screaming at me.

Just.

Looking at releasing the, not only
the routines that might not be

serving you, but also the expectations
that you're putting on yourself.

Because Virgo does rule our routines.

It rules our self-care rituals, it rules
how we show up in serve in the world.

You might release some of the ways
that you're really being hard on

yourself about not showing up enough
or maybe, releasing the need to

show up at the expense of yourself.

These are some ways that
it might be manifesting.

Not necessarily, but we could.

These are some themes that might
be coming up with south node,

Virgo, lunar eclipse in general.

That means the north node is in
Pisces, which we've been working with.

So we've been working with the nodes in
Pisces, Virgo since Sept, well, we've

been working with this eclipse cycle,
not the nodes, but the eclipse cycle.

We had our first eclipse in this
eclipse cycle back in September of 24.

So it's kind of interesting 'cause
we were talking about July 24, and

now we're talking about September 24.

Okay.

That leads me to believe that we could
all just take a peek at our journals

and our calendars from July, August,
September of 2024, see what was going

on, and see what was seeded at that time.

What seed did you plant?

How has it evolved?

How has it grown?

How has it shifted?

How does it need to shift?

What needs to change?

That's what we're looking at this week.

We're reviewing our dreams.

Okay, so full moon, lunar
eclipse, it is all those things.

Six months ago we had a full moon
lunar eclipse in Virgo or I'm sorry,

in Pisces on September 7th, 2025.

And that was at 15 degrees Pisces.

And at that time, that was when
the Jeffrey files really blew up.

And some of the survivors were
on Capitol Hill threatening

to put out their own list.

If the, if Congress didn't do it, and
now we're seeing six months later, and

we often see this, we see that eclipses
will plant seeds and they take six, they

take weeks or months to unpack, sometimes
six months until the next eclipse.

And so we're seeing that that eclipse
planted a seed and six months later

with this full moon lunar eclipse with.

The full moon now in Virgo on the other
side of the chart with the south node,

south node being that point of release,
releasing the files, we have been seeing

a distribution of this information
and we're continuing to see that.

And that is only going to amp
up this week with this full

moon lunar eclipse in Virgo.

That was really seeded back in
September because that eclipse.

That was in Pisces, that full moon
that took place conjunct, Jeffrey

Epstein's, Venus Mars conjunction in his
chart, which is at 16 degrees Pisces.

So it's really interesting.

I knew that at the time I had
predicted that September 7th Eclipse

was going to be a really, really
big one for this particular story.

And now we're seeing that this
eclipse is only a few degrees

away at 12 degrees Virgo.

And we're seeing that.

The story is back bigger and
has an even firmer hold on

the collective consciousness.

So that's about all I got with that.

So the eclipse.

Basic eclipse care.

You wanna take care of yourself.

You wanna drink enough water, you
wanna be getting enough sleep?

No late nights out, no drinking too much.

No, really just taking care of
yourself, doing the things that

future you would be grateful you did.

If going to bed at 10 o'clock means
that you're gonna have a better morning

tomorrow than go to bed at 10 o'clock.

If going out with your friends tonight
means that you're gonna be able to manage

the stress of work tomorrow better.

Then go out with your friends tonight.

Think about what future you
is gonna be happy you did.

In general, eclipses will zapper energy.

They can make us feel really exhausted.

On the other hand, some people find that
it's really hard to sleep when we are near

the eclipse, so just being aware that our
physical body, our vitality can take a hit

when we're in eclipse season, particularly
when the eclipses are really ec close.

So as we move toward March
3rd, just be aware of that.

I know it's been a horrible winter
for illness, but generally people

also feel like their immunity gets
run down around eclipse season.

We just feel like we're running
on empty a little bit, so.

Be kind to yourself.

Take care of yourself, take care
of the other people in your life.

A lot of other people in your life
probably aren't paying attention to

astrology, so it can help you and help
them for you to be aware that these

are the energies we're working on.

Remember, this is the next few days,
this next week or so, it's really about

reviewing our dreams, taking a step back.

And taking action when prompted
from a place of intuitive knowing.

All right, that's all I got for you.

I hope you have a wonderful few days and
I'll be back next week after the eclipse

to talk about what's around the bend.

Alright, bye.