The New Moon of March 18 (6:23 pm PT) falls just 2 days before the equinox and marks the Vedic New Year. After recent eclipse turbulence and a harrowing Mercury retrograde, this new moon signals the emergence of a new season, though not without challenges and surprises.
This new moon falls in the mystical sign of Pisces, the last sign of the zodiac that marks endings and new beginnings. The new moon is also in the Vedic nakshatra called Uttara Bhadrapada, which is symbolized by a funeral pyre. This new moon burns away attachments, and is an excellent time to cut karmic cords, declutter your life and free yourself of excess baggage.
Know your Vedic birth star? Calculate yours and get a free guide.
The new moon also marks the Vedic New Year, a chart Vedic astrologers use to assess larger collective karmic trends for the year to come. According to the traditional calendar, 2026 is the Year of Parābhava, a name associated with loss, defeat, and conflict. Adding to its cautionary tone, the new moon is closely aligned with Saturn, the planet of karma, discipline, and delay. This alignment suggests a year weighted by important challenges that will ultimately build focus and resilience. With Saturn combust and in an exact conjunction with the sun by March 24, you may be feeling heavy, exhausted, or doubtful during this time. Delays maybe necessary on this new moon, and it’s better to hold off on important decisions until later this month, when Mercury retrograde ends.
Chaotic Mercury retrograde and warrior Mars have been locked in an explosive alignment since February. This lunar cycle continues that trend, but progress is expected with a strong supportive aspect from Jupiter, which is now moving direct. This auspicious influence offers support, wisdom, and insight. Prayers for peace, compromise, and clearer thinking are especially potent now, and conditions will improve after March 20, when Mercury turns direct.
Another important influence begins after this new moon: Kala Sarpa Yoga, the “serpent of time.” This alignment involves all visible planets and triggers key events in larger, collective issues. Kala Sarpa will continue intermittently until July, increasing the sense that humanity is moving through a significant karmic passage.
This new moon also initiates the sacred waxing moon of Chaitra Navratri, the nine nights of the goddess celebrated in the fall, but also in the spring as an inner sadhana. During these nights, nine forms of the Divine Feminine are worshipped for protection, healing, and prosperity.
In Hindu tradition, when negative forces become too powerful, it is the goddess Durga who rises to confront and stop them. This makes the coming fortnight an especially potent time for prayer, devotion, and calling on divine protection for the world. To learn more about the goddesses of Navratri, read the article here.
How these planetary transits affect you personally depends on your birth chart. Book a Vedic astrology reading to learn more.
