Mercury retrograde conjunct Mars — volatile period

In episode 526 of The Astrology Podcast we look ahead at the astrological forecast for March of 2026, with astrologers Chris Brennan and Austin Coppock. We are coming off the heels of some incredibly momentous planetary alignments, so we spend the first half of the episode doing a deep dive into recent news events to see how the astrology has been manifesting before transitioning into our breakdown of the transits for the month ahead. In the news segment, we explore the impact of the exact Saturn-Neptune conjunction, particularly how it has been revealing things that were previously concealed, most notably with the release of the Epstein files. We also discuss how the recent eclipse magnified Pluto's transit through Aquarius, accelerating themes around AI agents, humanoid robotics, and discussions of extraterrestrial life. Finally we note the astrology surrounding the very serious geopolitical escalations currently unfolding with Iran. As we move into the forecast for March, we find ourselves still deep in the heart of eclipse season, navigating a total Lunar Eclipse in Virgo that is heavily colored by a number of overlapping alignments. We break down the challenges of a particularly debilitating Mercury retrograde in Pisces, the reality-distorting effects of the inner planets crossing the Saturn-Neptune conjunction in Aries, and how Jupiter stationing direct in Cancer might offer some helpful silver linings and protective intercessions during an otherwise volatile month. Finally, we highlight a few windows of opportunity amidst the chaos, including a very positive Mars-Jupiter trine that forms the basis of our best electional chart of the month. As always, you can find the complete list of timestamps below if you want to jump to different sections or topics. Austin’s Website https://Austincoppock.com Patreon for Access to Electional Astrology Podcast https://www.patreon.com/astrologypodcast Timestamps 00:00:00 Introduction00:00:38 Quick March Overview00:02:42 Beardology00:06:16 News Segment Begins00:06:39 Epstein Files Released00:22:48 Superbowl and Puerto Rico00:28:51 AI Acceleration, Agents, and OpenClaw00:37:28 AI's given fear of death00:45:33 AI causing computer scarcity00:48:22 Robot Martial Arts00:52:11 Anthropic00:54:08 Seedance 2.0 & Saturn-Neptune00:59:53 Aquarius Eclipse and Extraterrestrial Life01:06:14 Death of Jesse Jackson01:08:37 Prince Andrew Arrested01:10:02 Mexican Cartel Leader Killed01:11:26 Cuba01:14:10 Iran01:21:19 Wrapping Up News Segment01:23:55 March Astrology Forecast Begins01:24:58 Mars-Uranus square bleeding into March01:26:34 Mercury retrograde in Pisces overview01:29:26 March 1st chart & Mars entering Pisces01:30:44 Virgo Lunar Eclipse opposite Mars01:39:56 Mercury retrograde conjunct Venus01:53:02 Sun trine Jupiter01:58:12 Venus conjunct Neptune and Saturn02:03:37 Jupiter stations direct in Cancer02:06:41 Mercury retrograde conjunct Mars02:09:00 Pisces New Moon02:11:06 Sun enters Aries & Mercury stations direct02:14:02 Mars trine Jupiter02:21:26 Auspicious Electional Chart for March 21st02:24:26 Sun conjunct Neptune and Saturn in Aries02:30:42 Venus enters Taurus & end of month transits02:34:22 End of forecast & closing announcements02:40:41 Credits & Patreon shout-outs Watch the Video Version of This Episode https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kILo6zBNkoo - Transcript A full transcript of this episode is available: Episode 526 transcript Listen to the Audio Version of This Episode Listen to the audio version of this episode or download it as an MP3: