April begins with us considering how best to develop our creative talents. We might feel blocked by our responsibilities and the interests of someone else, but even if we are delayed we are refusing to be thwarted.
The Sun conjuncts retrograde Mercury on the 1st. We can give thought to what we want to initiate, but the actual implementation might best wait until Mercury turns direct on the 15th, the same day that we have the Aries New Moon, which truly signals the beginning of the Spring season. Up to that time, we are all in preparation mode, readying ourselves to spring out of the starting gate with any attempts to jump the gun liable to be hindered.
The early part of April can have us banging up against our responsibilities, standards and traditional measures. We may have to do a strong inventory taking, consider what works for us and what doesn’t, and yet still hew to our obligations.
April 2nd has Mars conjunct Saturn. More power is best utilized in dealing with those tasks at hand, outstanding matters and past situations in need of completion.
We may feel the springtime thrust of getting on with things, initiating new projects and starting up new activities, but it would be wise for us to keep in mind that we are in the midst of a Mercury retrograde. We can put the pedal to the metal, but if the transmission is in neutral, we may only be gunning the engine and getting nowhere.
The first half of April is more geared to cleaning things up, going over matters that still need to be resolved and making our plans for initiations that are better executed as we come into the second half of the month.
On the 4th, Mercury squares Mars, followed by Mercury square Saturn on the 5th. This juxtaposition of the Aries energy [retrograde Mercury] and the Capricorn energy [Mars and Saturn] can have us asserting our ideas but being perceived as a rebel without a cause. We might seem to other people as the contrarian solely for the sake of being contrarian, with us appearing to emphasize our individuality but without clear intent only strong conviction. This early part of April is a time for us to watch our tongue, to think things through before speaking and then to have substantial evidence to back up any claims that we make. We might feel frustrated at this time with a sense that no one truly understands what we are saying or what we mean. We could easily fall into depression as though in our communications we are spitting into the wind. Timing is everything and this is not a time to present our case or to win our arguments.
While this first week of April could prove vexing, it is also a time to apply the brakes to any impulsive actions or impetuous statements.
The 7th of April with Venus trine Saturn could have us in contact with an old friend, someone who has seen us through past experiences of thick and thin. We may be reliant upon someone to provide us an objective critique of our plans and how we present ourselves. We can find comfort in that person we recognize to be solid, no-nonsense but a solid support system.
The second week of April might be more comfortable than the first week. Social occasions can be fun events, and we might feel that we have gotten back our pizzazz.
The 11th has the Sun square Pluto and Venus trine Mars. Even if we have experienced some knockdowns by the vagaries of life, we might realize that everyone, not only ourselves, has been going through some rough patches, all with the intention of helping us transform ourselves, getting rid of the extraneous to focus on the essential. There may be a stripping away of the dross, but such eliminations allow us to come from a soulful level. We could be feeling far more real, doing our own individual life journey according to our own particular needs and with little concern as to how other people react to us.
The fascinating aspect of coming from substance rather than mere appearance is that such a disposition becomes magnetic, drawing the ‘right’ people and connections to us, like moths drawn to our flame.
The Venus trine Mars on the 11th is followed on the 12th by Venus sextile Neptune. Connections made at this time could seem karmic with contacts providing assistance to help make our dreams come true. There can be an idyllic quality at this time, a sense of extra-dimensionality whereby we have stepped away from mundane reality and the rules of normalcy and entered into a magical, mystical time when people, things and situations come to us easily without our making things happen — an indication of the paradigm shift from linear, sequential reality where we believed we had to MAKE things happen into the asequential, nonlinear reality where life occurs by our being in synch with the natural unfolding of what seem to be random events of mini-miracles and magical being.
This altered disposition is spurred on by the energies on the 14th, when we are on the dark side of the Moon prior to the New Moon on the 15th. The 14th has Jupiter sextile Pluto and Mars sextile Neptune. We may feel on top of the world, and as though everything can go our way. Our sense of possibility may be strong, but it’s important that we keep in mind the fact that Mercury is about to turn direct on the 15th, and whenever Mercury is about to turn direction, whether from direct to retrograde or from retrograde to direct motion, things can get squirrely. We can enjoy our exuberance and enthusiasm, but it would be wise to temper it with a ‘wait and see’ attitude. This is a time when we can line our ducks up in a row, consider what our priorities and our resources are, and ask for divine guidance that our forward movements are done with finesse and right action.
The 15th has Mercury turning direct just shortly before the Aries New Moon. Although we are almost four weeks into the Spring season, we come fully into the springtime with the Aries New Moon and certainly made easier by Mercury turning direct. With a strong emphasis on the third decanate of Aries [the Sagittarius decanate] and with the Sun Moon conjunction being within orb of a conjunction with Uranus, this New Moon and the two week period it influences up to the Full Moon on the 29th provides the energy for us to engage new directions that are attuned to our philosophical beliefs as to how we choose to do life. We might consider foreign travel, distant trips, higher education and taking a more thoughtful approach to our days ahead. This New Moon would be suggested as a time for us to consider our resolutions for the astrological year ahead with optimism and confidence that no matter what our journey entails we have the talents, abilities and support from those we meet along our way and from the universal forces to successfully grow and evolve through our walk along our path.
The third week of April has a great deal of change occurring with Saturn turning retrograde, the Sun entering Taurus and Pluto turning retrograde.
On the 17th of April, Venus opposes Jupiter, Venus trines Pluto, and Saturn turns retrograde. Now is a time for us to be astute, to marshal our resources, avoid excess and to realize that there are times when things take longer than we might like. We might have to pick and choose what we wish to engage and with whom we wish to participate. If we are conservative with our resources and selective in our choice of collaborators, we can be highly effective, productive and successful. But with Saturn turning retrograde, we may realize that things often have to percolate longer before implementation.
The Sun conjuncts Uranus on the 18th, the day before the Sun exits Aries to enter Taurus. We can discover new aspects of ourselves, determine how we can incorporate freedom of movement in our daily affairs, and consider where we shall place our energy in the days ahead. We are all looking to be free and autonomous and liberated from binding restrictions. It may take some time and effort to free ourselves from the ties that bind, but the first step in doing so is by our intention.
As the Sun moves from Aries into Taurus on the 19th, the Stellium of three planets in Aries ends. Increasingly, we may find ourselves less impetuous and more willing to take things step by step. That does not necessarily mean linear steps of one in front of the other but could instead allow for side steps at times, leaps and bounds at other times. We’ve entered a brand new world, a brand new year, and with the Sun moving into Taurus we can transition from the impulse of new directions to the seed planting for our intended new trajectories. From concept into manifestation.
The 22nd has Pluto turning retrograde. Earlier in the week we had Saturn in Capricorn turning retrograde and on the 22nd Pluto turns retrograde. With these two slow-moving planets transiting Capricorn and now retrograde, we could experience various traditional and stable institutions revealing inherent weakness and structural malaise. Bombings and geophysical activity of volcanic eruptions and earthquakes often occur when Pluto turns direction. This week is a time for us to tread carefully and be mindful of our surroundings. People can be acting out, venting their frustrations in irrational acts.
Mars sextiles Jupiter and Venus exits Taurus to enter Gemini on the 24th. Our persistence and determination could have us pushing through any obstacles. Not only can we be highly productive; nothing is likely to fall between the cracks. We are able to cut to the core and deal with the essential ingredients of any situation all the while that we are keenly aware of the specifics. With Venus exiting its own Sign of Taurus to enter Gemini, we finally have a planet transiting the Air Element after two months of having very little Air, except for the occasional transit of the Moon through the Air Signs. We can be engaging and in contact with any number of people. Our communications, even despite the Mercury retrograde, can be pleasant and charming and range a wide variety of topics.
The 25th of April has Mercury square Saturn. While we may have been more attentive to our personal matters, and especially those that are forward-looking, we might discover some outstanding matter that needs to be addressed. Things overlooked may have to be dealt with, but let’s not put on blinders, close off our peripheral vision, and fall into a funk of feeling obstructed or delayed. Sometimes the bumps in the road provide the opportunity of review and reworking issues we once thought resolved. It would be wise to give thought to any lingering situations that need to be concluded.
Mars conjuncts Pluto on the 26th, and this energy configuration can be incredibly powerful. Pluto is the higher octave of Mars and they both co-rule Scorpio, the Sign accentuated over the weekend with the Scorpio Full Moon to close out the month of April. There can be explosions, implosions, geophysical activity, people acting out and other forms of dramatic, even violent, release. If we use the energy wisely and can harness this powerful configuration, then we could virtually move mountains. We can be like bulldozers forging ahead and knocking down anything that gets in our way. It is far wiser to be proactive with this energy than subject to it.
We come to the end of April with the Scorpio Full Moon on the 29th and with the Sun trine Saturn. The intensity generated on the 26th with the Mars Pluto conjunction can continue through the end of this month with a crescendo occurring with the Scorpio Full Moon on the 29th. This is a time of sorting through our various involvements, considering what to keep and what to be rid of. Coming as it does on the weekend, this may be a good time for a good Spring clean up and clear out. We can be more focused on the truly important activities that we wish to encourage and at the same time aware of areas of our life that we need to shed. This is a time for us to work smarter rather than harder and to cut away the dross while accenting the real purpose of our daily activities.
April 2018… waiting for, right timing…
