Astrologers are a vast and diverse breed. So it is a rare event indeed when consensus occurs among our community as it does around April’s heavyweight planetary events. For those of us in the business of explaining cosmic effects, we have asked ourselves how to break the news, gently. I have yet to hear of an astrologer who believes anyone will be left unchanged by the movements taking place this month. That is how significant a month lies ahead. It is one of those times when even the least introspective among us will shake their heads and ask, “what on earth is happening?”
As the days come flying at you, and they will, many rattled to the core, remember two words: brace yourself. Those born under the cardinal (action) signs of Aries, Cancer, Libra and Capricorn will feel April’s punch the strongest. That said, nearly everyone has planets (or rising signs) in one or more of these signs so expect some part of your life to shift. April taunts us to live each day as our last. But do yourself a favor while you are living life at full till: spend some time putting your affairs in order. Mars now in Libra sparks us to find balance.
Joining fiery Mars in the center of this challenging mix is radical Uranus causing sudden shifts and changes, dramatic, seemingly out of nowhere. Uranus is nicknamed “The Great Awakener” for this reason…jolting and shaking us out of our human slumber to pay attention. Where have you or the human collective passed by/ignored what we must focus and work on? Do it now, rattles Uranus. With Mars right behind lighting the match, these two change agents take center stage and guarantee April will not be subtle. Nothing short of a seismic month, April is highly volatile…but also affords extraordinary opportunity. It is a hope for the best but prepare for the worst kind of month.
As a person and astrologer, I am not one who leans toward negative projections as I firmly believe there are silver linings, hidden treasures and opportunities in every moment. So I have no doubt April will bring its share of untold breakthroughs, wildly creative solutions to stubborn problems and impossible dreams coming true. Foreshadowing great possibilities to come, the scientific Big Bang theory was recently confirmed via a series of experiments. What better way to lead into April than with validation of the very discovery of our Universal origins? What was once merely conjecture has now solidly earned a place in the Science Discovery Hall of Fame.
In whatever direction your life turns, one thing is for sure: the planetary coordinates point to a tremendous amount of energy about to be unleashed. So here’s the deal:
The stage is set on the New Moon in Aries on March 30, when the Sun, Moon and radical Uranus all conjoin in Aries to form highly stressful angles to Jupiter and Pluto. The great beneficient energy, Jupiter in maternal Cancer opposes transformer Pluto in traditional Capricorn. Both Cancer and Capricorn have ties to the status quo, security, and established order. So as you can imagine, when Uranus literally shakes things up (Uranus rules lightning strikes and earthquakes), these two stable-minded energies are not happy. Change is afoot, says the March 30 New Moon. Uranus’ very tight pairing with the Sun (your will) and the Moon (your emotions) says: expect the unexpected. How will you respond?
Those born in the 1960s will be shaken hardest by April. For the Sixties Pluto-Uranus in Virgo generation (read: hyper-planners, helicopter parents, the driven) now at mid-life, a thorough dislike for unpredictability is an understatement. Hatred, contempt and paranoia of not knowing the future is more like it. I belong to this group so I can accurately speak to this. However, April is our teacher, says it is make-or-break time, where the rubber meets the road in terms of learning life lessons. Surrender and surrender now. Key to surviving April is the Yiddish phrase: We plan, God laughs. Planning will only get you so far. This month, allowing, flowing, yielding are watchwords.
Each of us must go about our lives the best we can, doing what comes naturally. The business of your life must be taken care of. Still, if you have dragged your your feet anywhere, now is the time to heed the call, pay attention, attend to what you have ignored. Supporting our efforts in the first week of April is a harmonious angle between Venus in Aquarius (read: love and money) and action-oriented Mars in Libra. These two rule our male and female energy and in air signs we find unusual, out-of-the-box ideas and strategies for relationships as well as finance/how to earn money.
Also, Jupiter in nurturing Cancer aligns helpfully with Neptune in watery Pisces to clear away and clean up matters concerning family, food, inheritance, house/property/home and Mom. Be it your own mother, grandmother, maternal figures or your role as a parent. Beneficent Venus joins Neptune and further assists us in these arenas the week of April 7th.
The North Node of the Moon aligns with the Neptune-Venus pair, aiding relationhips, bringing clarity and pure understanding to those we may have difficulty with or deliver new heights of joy and love with those we cherish. At the same time, the Gang of Four, the planets involved in the Grand Cardinal Cross, (picture a square with each of four planets, Mars, Jupiter, Uranus and Pluto in separate corners) start moving into place for their exact positions on April 23. This is a Grand Planetary Stand-off. Transformer Pluto is at 13 degrees Capricorn, Jupiter at 12 degrees Cancer, Uranus at 12 degrees Aries as Mars slowly cycles backward in retrograde motion at 19 degrees Libra. Can you feel the Great Shift occurring? Uranus rules anything sudden, including accidents, what jars you, so we may see a spike in surprise events. We may be particularly challenged when the Sun opposes Mars from April 8th through the 11th.
Uranus also instigates revolutions and with its very stressful position to Pluto in Capricorn (The Establishment) we could see governments threatened (even toppled), big businesses collapse, stock markets plummet. Figuring squarely in the center of this storm is Vladmir Putin. Curiously, Putin is a Libra Sun sign, meaning: he seeks to please. Clearly, his life lesson is to learn diplomacy and negotiation. The G7 (formerly known as the G8) just kicked him out of the group. Their message: you can’t just march into a country and land grab. After Putin claimed the Crimea last month, the G7 agreed to shut down financial access between their countries and Russia as well as terminate passport visa approval for Russians. The days of totalitarian takeovers are over. Economic allies won’t be bullied. If you want to play at the Big Boys Table, you have to play nicely. Cooperatively. Or else suffer isolation. The former KGB mastermind is learning a hard lesson that the old ways of operating just do not work in the New World Order. The G7 message must be working, because as I write, Putin surprised President Obama with a call yesterday “seeking resolution to the Crimean situation.” His phone call tees up precisely what’s in store for April: game change.
Sit back and watch it all unfold as Mars continues its reverse motion, tightening the sharp angle to Uranus, Pluto and Jupiter leading into the full lunar eclipse on Tuesday, April 15th. This is the Full Moon eclipse many have talked about. It occurs smack in the middle of the Passover/Holy Week, between Palm Sunday and Easter. As a reminder, eclipses are cosmic windows that blow fresh air into our lives where we need to grow and develop. Picture electronic doors that open before you when you step on the magnetic mat. Open, you may enter. Depending on where eclipses occur in your chart, you are called to focus on that segment of your life. The April 15th eclipse occurs at 25 degrees Libra, affecting the areas of relationship (including with ourselves), art, beauty, diplomacy, balance. Time now to bring us, and the world, into balance. Often, lunar eclipses bring aspects of our lives to culmination, full fruition, so that we may turn to new chapters and frontiers yet to be explored. The composition of this full lunar eclipse truly serves as an immense catalyst to bring one cycle to conclusion in order to push humanity forward. As goes the individual, so goes the collective…
Giving tremendous gravitas to this particular eclipse is Pluto’s retrograde turn the day prior. We are forced to dig really deep if we haven’t already. Yes is the only acceptable answer now. Definitively, squarely, firmly. Refusing or resisting is futile. We must journey down the rabbit hole, like it or not. You know where you need to do the work.
Lessening the strife that arises is healer Chiron’s supportive angle to Responsible Saturn. Where there is emotional and healing work to be done, this duo rushes to the scene like an emergency trauma team. Additionally, Venus in Pisces joins Chiron and Saturn reducing pain with ample love, money, empathy and understanding as we begin exploring the black holes of our lives. The plot thickens and the stakes heighten. Eclipses occur in two’s and three’s and this month we have two: the second, a solar eclipse, on the 29th. Sandwiched between the two, is something akin to The Twilight Zone, an abyss where whatever you seek to put into motion falls flat. The days between eclipses are notorious voids.
During this particular straight, it is especially true, driven home. Because on April 23rd, planetary configurations reach critical mass. Life comes to a gigantic head via the Grand Cardinal Cross. Remember the square I mentioned earlier with Pluto, Mars, Jupiter and Uranus? Well it is now a boxing ring, a perfectly formed square as Mars moves into exact position to challenge the other three. All four planets now stand off at 13 degrees of cardinal (action) signs Capricorn, Libra, Cancer, and Aries. Let the games begin. Whatever you start may be completely interrupted now. It is not a time to make bets, seal the deal, gamble the family fortune, sign vital documents, take a job, or initiate relationships. Instead, hold on to your hat. Literally. We are pushed and pushed. Think Cosmic Labor Pain. Wow. Divorces spin into high gear, relationships that are not meant to be terminate, the food supply is squeezed due to the unending California drought, long established entities and traditions break down…all to make way for the new… people, jobs, efforts, habits/routines, and creations which are in alignment with who you really are and are intended to be.
A solid strategy for the weeks of April 14-30 is to observe and stand guard, for you can be sure there are multitudes who will act, react and overreact now. Lay low. Tread lightly. As well-known astrologer Michael Lutin has said: “When something is over, all you are left with is how you handled it.” If ever there was a time to think before you speak or act, now is it. It is not an overstatement to say that the immense potential for huge force to be emitted, wielded and projected may spawn rebellion, upheaval, earthquakes, and breakthroughs.
Breakthroughs…that is the very image of an earthquake.
Seismic activity is in full swing already. California’s recent shakes are symptomatic of the entire ring of fire activated from Chile through the Asian Pacific region. The good news is that the rattling and shaking, lightning strike energy will dissipate the final week of the month as we head into the New Moon solar eclipse on April 29th. The Sun (our will) and Mercury (how we think and communicate) move into stable Taurus, cooling off emotions fired up by Aries. Calmer heads prevail especially as the Sun and Mercury helpfully align with Jupiter in Cancer the last days of April. Some may wake up this week and find themselves in an emotional wasteland or mental post-apocolyptic state asking was it all worth it? Where do I go from here?
The finest period to stretch your wings and plant seeds for a fresh start is Springtime. The New Moon on April 29th in earthy Taurus affords plenty of fertile ground. “Some changes look negative on the surface but you will soon realize that space is being created in your life for something new to emerge,” says Eckart Tolle. Choose love, not fear. Say a prayer; make a wish; light a candle. Go.