The famous phrases that came out of the American Revolution show us they were fighting for their lives. Patrick Henry's "Give me liberty or give me death," lets us know how intensely they felt the weight of tyranny. Then there's "Live Free or Die," the words of General John Stark, of New Hampshire, which later adopted this as their motto. Stark sent the message to fellow revolutionaries when he couldn't attend a reunion in 1809. The full toast was, "Live free or die: Death is not the worst of evils."

As Mercury goes into Aries today, we're sure to see more language that defies the irreverent and anti-life status quo. The fire of Mercury in Aries can burn off mental fog, and inspire daring thoughts of what we can do. Mercury meets with friendly energizing Mars in Leo today, infusing us with the courage to face our fears, so we can act. It's easier to see our life today as a hero's journey.

On Thursday (the 18th), Mercury opposes Saturn in Libra, and then Friday (the 19th) comes into a tense square with Pluto in Capricorn. It's the leading edge of what will become a shattering of narrow, carefully manipulated and limited perceptions. The surge of life is so forceful and alive that it makes everything else pale (and dead-looking) in comparison. With Pluto in the picture, speaking up for what's emerging (Aries) becomes a matter of life and death.

I find it exciting to think of minds liberated to follow these fresh impulses, which will grow stronger with Uranus in Aries. Because if man-made laws and the established order (Saturn) of things are destroying life on the planet, then defiance means fighting for life. And just refusing to go along with the status quo, while discordant to the society, is a balancing act.

In her book Bringers of the Dawn, channeler Barbara Marciniak writes that we come to Earth to be defiant. She writes, "...not in a way that would give you problems or create disharmony, but in a way that would create harmonic defiance. Through your harmony, you are defiant toward the old vibrational frequency."

To me, this hints at the uprising for humanity that's lit by that fire within. It's the spark of life coming forward to demand expression. Mercury is in Aries through April 3rd!

Today we get an exhilarating buzz from the Uranus-Sun meet up in Pisces. A big theme for Uranus Pisces is serendipity, so watch for sunny, energizing signs that hint at a divine order. The Moon in Aries adds its in-the-moment urgency to the Uranian breaks for freedom for the same ole' status quo.

• Insomnia, mind racing, restless legs syndrome.
• Strange dreams and thought tangents.
• Emotional outbursts in unlikely places.
• Speaking forcefully from the heart.
• Reckless acts that endanger self or others.
• Accidents due to being oblivious to physical environment.
• Electrical disturbances, jolts to nervous system.

There's big propulsive energies, but these surges can go rogue and be dangerous. The raw impulse to act and bust out, gets us in trouble when it's not handled with care. It asks us to be mindful of others' reactions, needs, and sensitivities and be aware of what's going on around us. It's a lite sampling of what's to come when we'll be embodying the two wild ones together with Uranus in Aries.

• Uranus in Aries: A Heads Up for the Accident Prone by Donna Cunningham
• Uranus in Aries for Teens: The Fool at the Edge

It's the New Moon in Pisces today, which joins the Sun and Moon in the last sign of the Zodiac. Endings. Emptiness. Emotional Fullness. A time of reflection on all that's happened. There may be a wake-up call (surprising news, shocking messages) with Uranus-Mercury in an alignment. And it's a psychically rich week of deep soul searching, before the busting out of the season (and Spring Equinox, March 20th).

Michelle Lessirard of the New Moon Journal, says the entire week can be powerful for intention-setting. Michelle writes, "Gather friends to honor the change in seasons...create an object or drawing that represents what you are giving birth to this next season. Dust off your New Years vision board. Give the muse a voice. Honor her presence in small rituals that feed your mind, heart and soul."

And in her poetic post, Out of the Formless, CJ Wright of Auntie Moon has thoughtful suggestions for this moment. One is to analyze the year since last Spring, since the subtle nuances could be lost when the Sun bursts into Aries. She writes, "Pisces/Pisces, the end of the cycle. In only a few days, we'll enter a new world and the cycle will begin again. Spring! The ancient one becomes a child."

A metaphysical writer I follow, Karen Bishop, says it's a time when we may feel like empty shells, before the new comes in. Even so, she writes in her latest post, "Many are making sudden and massive changes within themselves, and becoming new people in leaps and bounds. Many are noticing that something is at hand."

That "something at hand" is the awakening of something within us, that'll help us move through the darkness we're in now. I like this anonymous quote of encouragement from the Auntie Moon site, "Never let go of hope. One day you will see that it all has finally come together. What you have always wished for has finally come to be. You will look back and laugh at what has passed and you will ask yourself...How did I get through all of that?"

So, it's fitting that today I picked the Bat in the Medicine Cards, the totem of rebirth, but not before a ritual death. As the guide book says, the natives of Turtle Island (America) sent their initiates to dig a grave, and spend the night in the womb of Mother Earth all alone in the dark. "Darkness, and the sounds of animals prowling, quickly confront the initiate with his or her fears."

These last days of Pisces find us hanging upside-down like the Bat, preparing for rebirth. Which, Medicine Cards points out, is the position babies assume before they're born. The human future is so uncertain these days, that the anticipation can be mixed with dread or foreboding. But Pisces has the potential of showing us the way to real hope. That's when we know that no matter how dead, empty, lost, betrayed, victimized, forsaken or tainted we feel, there's always a chance to come out the other side....for a real rebirth.

"Turn off your mind, relax, and float down stream. It is not dying. It is not dying." (From the Tibetan Book of the Dead and the Beatles' song, "Tomorrow Never Knows")

Before the rebirth of any New Moon, comes the death part. I was born in the dark days of the Moon, known as the Balsamic phase, and feel at home in it. To me, the time of the Dark Moon is sacred. It's a time to ally with powerful spiritual forces, and surrender to the changes. But in our noisy world, you have to create the psychic space to do that. In the days leading up to the New Moon, you can do that by:

• Spending time alone.
• Turning off distractions (tv, radio, computer).
• Taking a walk in nature.
• Resting and doing nothing.

There is a lot of dying going on in our lives right now. And now we have this New Moon in Pisces, to quicken the process. With Uranus and Mercury aligned, it's a weekend crash course in spiritual wisdom. Two Days to Enlightenment! So in these days of the dark, how can you honor what's happening? With Pisces, I recommend not thinking too hard, but just experiencing it all. Dance, write nonsense poems or paint, draw, take pictures, etc.

The constellation Pisces reminds us that we're living inside a mystery. And nobody knows what's going to happen. I like this quote from Richard Bach's Illusions, "The mark of your ignorance is the depth of your belief in injustice and tragedy. What the caterpillar calls the end of the world, the master calls a butterfly." The dark of the Moon is the cocoon stage, so let yourself experience this time of alchemical mixing. The New Moon is Monday, the 15th at 3:01 pm EDT.