Well, what do you know... I'm writing the monthly article ahead of time for a change. Taking a look at your month ahead in magic with March 2020.
I'm going to try to remember to start these articles with a bit about the general space weather. Please remember, I'm a magician not an astrologer!
The generally bright spot about March is Venus' ingress into Taurus on March 4th (at 10:08pm Eastern to be exact). Austin Coppock, in his year ahead look, notes that this is the only time in 2020 that Venus will be in a place of strength (Venus is Exalted in Taurus) "without being harassed by an angular Mars". The point of ingress and Friday the 27th (Day of Venus, Moon in Taurus) look like your best options from a high level perspective. Though be aware of the Venus-Uranus conjunction in the early days of March (exact on 3/8/20).
Also on the 4th, Retrograde Mercury transits backwards into Aquarius bringing His particular brands of joy and folly along. This may well be some foreshadowing of events to come as at the end of the month, both Saturn and Mars will ingress into Aquarius. Mercury will then station Direct in Aquarius on the 9th, the same day as the Full Moon in Virgo (19 Degrees) -- Full Moon in a Mercury ruled sign on the day Mercury stations... significant? Maybe, maybe not.
The 9th is a busy day as it also marks the Sun's entry into the Third Face of Pisces, the final decan before the cycle begins anew. Austin Coppock, in his 36 Faces gives the image of this decan as a cup of blood.
The moon also makes a trine to Jupiter here. Mercury re-enters Pisces a week later on the 16th.
Browsing over the calendar itself, you'll see that March is most definitely Mar's month (Mars also rules the final decan, the Third Face of Pisces). And this is highlighted by the return of the Sun to Aries and the Vernal Equinox (Sun enters the First Face of Aries 3/19/20 11:48pm Eastern -- PlanetWatcher, I have discovered, appears to be about 10 minutes behind every other source I review). Shortly thereafter, Saturn will finally leave its home sign of Capricorn and enter its second ruled sign: Aquarius. Saturn has been in Capricorn since December of 2017. This respite (?) of Saturn in Aquarius will be short lived, as Saturn will station Retrograde on May 11th and move back into Capricorn... but that's a ways away for now.
March's New Moon occurs in Aries, a few days after the Equinox. And on the 30th, Mars will ingress to Aquarius and join Saturn.
"The last decan of Pisces is a place of martyrdom, of being willing to sacrifice everything, It is about the attainment of one's greatest desire, no matter the cost." -- Austin Coppock, 36 Faces
Lunar and Solar Auspicious Days
We've got no "fruit machine days" ( I still have no idea what that means) this month where we get both Lunar and Solar Auspicious on the same day, but there are still some good days for magic in this month.
Our first auspicious day is March 21st, Lunar Auspicious with the Moon in Aquarius on the Day of Saturn. Days of Saturn tend to be littered with wonderful topics like "making talismans to harm enemies" and " for making a couple hate each other". But if you aren't looking to do any harm, there are some more benign hours like the hour of Mars which is "for setting up enchantments" . This is also the 27th Lunar Day, which is "for love and bindings of love" which is a nice match for our lovely Venus in Taurus theme.
Next we have two Solar Auspicious days in the 25th and the 26th with both the Moon and the Sun in Aries. These are a Wednesday and a Thursday respectively. Mercury has stationed direct at this point and moved back into Pisces. Mercury days are always rich with possibility. The 25th catches the tale end of the 2nd Lunar Day (for gain and winning at chess) in roughly the first hour of the day, with the 3rd Lunar Day beginning at 7:35am Eastern (for making talisman of war and similar). Thursday, Jupiter's day, still has Jupiter in Capricorn... not His best placement, but Mars is moving on into Aquarius shortly hereafter. The first hour of Thursday the 25th still has the 3rd Lunar day, but the rest of the day from about 8:00am onward is the 4th (for causing love in a couple).
The 27th is Lunar Auspicious, with the Moon in Taurus on Venus' day. This day ought to be circled on your calendar. Venus is freshly ingressed into Taurus (3/4/20), she's moved out of the early conjunction with Uranus and is largely unencumbered. The dawn hour is still the 4th Lunar Day (for causing love in a couple).
March's Rituals and Holy Days
I'm not going to over every day on the calender, but some invite some investigation and deserve notice.
For the Romans, March began with Feriae Marti, a month long festival dedicated to Mars the God of War. It was the beginning of both the agricultural calendar and the season of military campaigns. At the same time, on March 1st, they celebrated the Matronalia, dedicated to mothers and wives.
March First is also the Feast of St David, the patron saint of Wales.
March 5th Navigium Isidis, A celebration of Isis as patron of ships and seafarers. Stella Maris, Star of the Sea, one of Her Latin epithets was later adopted for Mary. Any day celebrating Isis/Aset/Eset is a good day to celebrate.
March 7th Death of Thomas Aquinas -- not sure where you come down on this one, but my opinion of ole' Tom is not a good one. There's another death day in this month's calendar, so I'll bring that up here too: March 19th marks the Death of Fred Phelps. Do I need to tell you who he was? I probably should not mark this day, but I can't help but feast and dance a little.
March 13th Feast of St Leander of Seville, Brother of St Isidore of Seville, St Florentina and of St Fulgentius of Cartagena. I can not find that St Leander is patron of anything, but... being one of 4 canonized siblings has to rank for something.
If you aren't interested in celebrating the death of Fred Phelps, the 19th offers a handful of other options: the Feast of St Joseph, the Vernal Equinox, the Sun enters the First Face of Aries.
The First Face of Aries, the first of all the Faces, like the final face before it, is ruled by Mars. Its image, given by Austin Coppock, is that of an Ax.
The ax may be the tool by which the individual liberates themselves from the hostile world, but it is also the cruel weapon of the primordial mother as castrator, the limiting force with which the warlike figures of this decan wrestle. This is the essence of this face -- the individual yang struggling out of the collective yin. -- Austin Coppock, 36 Faces
Appropriately, March 24th brings us the Day of Blood (Dies Sanguinus), sacred to both Bellona and Cybele, sacrificial blood offerings made by the priests and adherents of both goddesses.
On a gentler note, March 24th is also the Feast of the Archangel Gabriel. Some sects still celebrate this feast, though the official word is that Michaelmas is the Feast of the Archangels and all are honored on that day.
March 25th is the Feast of the Annunciation, where the aforementioned Archangel Gabriel, visited Mary and announced that she would bear the Son of God.
On March 30th, the Sun Enters the Second Face of Aries. This decan is ruled by the Sun, its image a crown. The Sun reaches is degree of Exhaltation in this face.
All vices and virtues are habits. Neither are generated in a day , or left behind in a moment. They come to define not only our character, but the interaction of the character with the world around it. Given time, one's virtues and vices come to define their lives. Indeed, the world remembers one for little else but these two. -- Austin Coppock, 36 Faces