Daylight Saving Time is an agreed upon lie to fool ourselves into thinking we have more time or more daylight time at least. The truth is there are just as many hours of daylight and darkness no matter what you name the hours. And since we create this ruse, we can modify it. For instance, a couple years ago, a law was passed in America to help save energy by starting Daylight Saving Time two weeks earlier in the spring and ending it one week later in the fall. This weekend as Saturday turns to Sunday, set your clocks ahead one hour and begin enjoying a longer afternoon til sunset. You won't miss that hour unless you're an early riser, because we pay for the shift with a later sunrise.

DST isn't the only thing that's early this month. Spring comes earlier on March's calendar in years like this when Leap Year inserts an extra day in February, adjusting the alignment of our "human-made" calendar as compared to the seasonal clock. The equinox is on March 20 in the Eastern Time Zone and on the 19th in Central Time and zones to the west.

And Easter comes about as early as it can. Why is that? It goes according to a formula, which of course was human-determined and defined, but it does have a connection to observable external factors that are astronomical, namely the changing of the seasons and the phases of the moon. Easter is always the first Sunday following the first full moon after the spring equinox. In 2008, we have a full moon March 21, a Friday only a day after the equinox, making Easter the Sunday after that, on March 23. But Passover isn't until April. It goes according to the lunar-based Hebrew calendar and when Easter is very close to the equinox, Passover can be in the next moon cycle.

Around the time of the spring equinox (and thus reverberating throughout the coming season), there's a little battle between the desire to get everything neat and orderly versus a laissez-faire attitude or an escapist tendency to avoid anything unpleasant, thanks to fastidious Saturn in Virgo opposite mellow Mercury in Pisces. Since Pisces is a water sign that relies on feelings, if you get in the right mood, you could really "pour it on" and do Saturn's hard work. These two planets are connected to a second pair of opposing planets pitting energetic Mars in Cancer, the sign of domestic matters, against Pluto, a planet of extremes, in Capricorn, the sign of "a place for everything and everything in its place." A productive or personally gratifying use of the energies at hand is to take charge of your personal space and improve it. Pluto even signifies taking out the garbage!

Mars rules Aries, the sign of spring, so Mars' sign placement at the equinox is of extra importance. In Cancer, it expresses as nationalism or fighting for the sake of one's home or family. Since it's across from Pluto, which signifies power, in Capricorn, the sign of government and authority, some people may use this planetary combination to perpetrate a fight against city hall or the powers that be. The connection to the Saturn-Mercury opposition brings in a potential for futility or frustration (Saturn presents obstacles) or confusion and misunderstanding (Mercury in Pisces muddies thinking and communication). On a more positive note, Mercury in Pisces can show the vision of the perfection that Saturn in Virgo seeks and spur Mars into action for Pluto's transformation, a great formula for turning over a new leaf.

Add the power of the Moon sign to your clean-up plans. When the Moon is in Scorpio (the sign Pluto rules), we're more motivated to get rid of stuff. See the second paragraph of this article for dates when the Moon is in Scorpio.

The New Moon on March 7 is in Pisces, heralding a four-week cycle for hatching plans and dreaming of what can be. New Moons are times to plant the seeds for the future. This New Moon occurs very close to Uranus, which acts like an alarm clock to shake us and wake us up. Uranus rules electricity and lightning; sometimes it shocks us to get our attention. It always means "expect the unexpected" and fortunately Pisces is a flexible sign that helps us navigate shifting waters. Uranus also wants you to "march to the beat of your own drummer" and "do your own thing" in your unique way.

To keep informed about the planets' movements, be sure to read your Janet's Plan-its!