The astrology for this week of April 17th through the 23rd of 2023 can have the energy swinging high and low with the intensity ratcheting up towards the end of the week as we come to another Mercury retrograde.
The week begins benignly enough. We may feel in an otherworldly state where things occur in a rather extraordinary manner. Perhaps we should acknowledge that life is unfolding as it will, no matter whether we go along with the currents or try to enforce our will on the conditions.
As the week unfolds, the energy heats up. The Aries New Moon, a Solar Eclipse, early on Thursday EDT is followed by the Sun exiting Aries to enter Taurus, recreating the Stellium in the Fixed Earth Sign as the Sun joins Mercury and Uranus in Taurus.
The New Moon influences the fortnight up to the Full Moon on the 5th of May. This two-week period encourages us to both expand our involvements, move beyond our comfort zone and to start a seed-planting process of putting our spirit into action. Let’s bear in mind that during these times we are co-creators with the universe and not the sole arbiter of our conditions or circumstance [as if we ever truly were].
Any rigidity could trip us up towards the end of the week. It would be wise for us to keep in mind, mantram-like, the keywords for these times of paradigm shift: flexibility and adaptability.
We may be hard-pressed to let go of our preconditioned mindset of being in control of circumstance but continuing in such a belief may only cause a great deal of hurt and heartbreak. The game of life has changed. There is no return to normalcy or even normal conditions. These are turbulent, tumultuous, dynamic times that offer both the challenge and the opportunity for things to alter suddenly and dramatically with hardly a moment’s notice.
Friday has Mercury turning retrograde. Murphy’s Law of ‘whatever can go wrong could go wrong’ is back in force with this Mercury retrograde liable to constantly remind us of the idiom ‘the devil is in the details’.
Whatever we have initiated during the late winter, early spring, we have the opportunity over the next three weeks to review, rework and tighten up projects in which we might have left something missing.
Despite Mercury turning retrograde, which could throw us off kilter until we get used to the switch up, the weekend can be a fun time of revelry and good times with good friends with a tendency for us to be here, there, and everywhere, sampling this, trying that but with little long-term involvement or definitive commitment.
Monday, April 17th – Other than Here – Uranus, Neptune, Moon Void-of-Course, Pluto. Monday begins this week with the Moon concluding its transit of Pisces. The Pisces Moon today sextiles Uranus and the Moon conjuncts Neptune. The Moon then goes Void-of-Course for six hours with the Moon making no further connections to the planets as the Moon finishes its transit of Pisces and before the Moon enters Aries late in the day. The Aries Moon sextiles Pluto toward the end of this Monday. We may begin this week in an otherworldly state of mind. Uranus and Neptune are related to a higher consciousness, the revelatory and the intuitive. The more we can be open to the unexpected and are able to alter our plans, the more likely we could engage some surprising developments. This day allows us to see incidents of being in the right place at the right time. It is important that we avoid getting in our own way and allow things to unfold as they will. Our having faith that things work out and being attune to the shifts and changes would go a long way towards things proceeding effectively and successfully. With Pisces being the last Sign of the Zodiac wheel and Aries the first, there is a major switch over on this Monday. We’re completing a monthly cycle of the Moon’s transit through the Zodiac, with various endings intended and new beginnings to be initiated, stronger still with the Aries New Moon on Thursday. Monday evening gives us a thrust to plan how best to do our seed planting in the days ahead.
Tuesday, April 18th – Pathway of Good Intentions – Venus, Mars. Tuesday continues with the Aries Moon with the Moon today sextile Venus in the morning, and the Moon square Mars late in the day. We may have all sorts of ideas for our involvement today. We might want to put our mark on any number of activities, but we do have to be wary that we don’t take on too much. If we have a long ‘to do’ list, we need to be certain that we are taking care of the particulars and not merely trying to rush through our planned activities. Our intentions could be the best, but our capability to accomplish everything we have scheduled can be lacking. It would be wise for us to prioritize our engagements. Otherwise, we could go into this day with the best of intentions but in a helter-skelter manner achieving little except exhausting ourselves. These times are disruptive, necessitating contingency plans and a bemused attitude towards what often seem dysfunctional situations in which we find ourselves. This is a day for us to think things through, devise a best practices approach to our day, and not overwhelm ourselves. We are on the ‘dark side’ of the Moon prior to Thursday’s New Moon. We are also in the last few days before Mercury turns retrograde on Friday. Let’s accomplish what we can of outstanding matters, address the most significant completions, and realize that certain issues may have to wait for a more propitious time. For those in the US, one significant completion today is the filing deadline of our 1040 and our required payment to the IRS. The taxman cometh, the taxman taketh.
Wednesday, April 19th – Up, Up and Away – Jupiter. Wednesday has the Aries Moon conjunct Jupiter. We are also on the threshold of the Aries New Moon with the New Moon tonight CDT, MDT & PDT, early tomorrow EDT. With Tax Day behind us, it would be nice to say: ‘devil get thee behind me’. While we may have met and paid for our 2022 federal taxes, estimated payments for 2023 and the recognition of the clock ticking can have us feeling a sentiment of ‘working for the man’. But having major bookkeeping, accounting, and significant payment behind us, we could use this Wednesday as a ‘mental health’ day. Being on the ‘dark side’ of the Moon today, we might not get a great amount done, even if we’re cognizant of the impending Mercury retrograde. Taking time for ourselves, sighs of deep relief and looking on the sunny side of the street can reinvigorate us and prepare us for what could prove to be a most convoluted Mercury retrograde. Every now and then we need a break from the hurly-burly of life in the 2020s, and this Wednesday would be one of those days. Let’s put a smile on our face, look to the far horizon and keep confident and optimistic that no matter what we’re dealt, we can be effective and successful.
Thursday, April 20th – Humpty Dumpty – Sun, New Moon, Solar Eclipse, Pluto, Saturn, Sun Taurus. Thursday is one high energy day with liable implosions, explosions and shifting sands. The day begins with the Moon conjunct the Sun at the time of the Aries New Moon [12:13 AM EDT], a Solar Eclipse. The Moon then moves into Taurus where today the Taurus Moon squares Pluto and the Moon sextiles Saturn. The Sun exits Aries to enter Taurus [4:14 AM EDT] where today the Taurus Sun squares Pluto. The Sun entering Taurus recreates a Stellium in the Fixed Earth Sign as the Sun joins Mercury and Uranus in Taurus. The New Moon occurs right on the cusp of Aries – Taurus. With Pluto’s influence and today’s signature impacting the next fortnight, we could have a two-week plus period when our security is threatened, our stability shaken up. We may be gung-ho to indulge ourselves in springtime activities, but we need to be attuned to the costs involved. While the powers-that-be might attempt to quell concerns and anxieties, there can be an overriding sense that situations are not as peaceful and resolved as being presented with our fear that anything could go awry at any moment. This is a time for us to be careful in expanding our involvements and when doing so in a manner that doesn’t put us at risk. Things can change suddenly and dramatically, sometimes with no notice, and it is imperative that we maintain awareness and be mindful in our actions with contingency plans at the ready for us to shift and alter our plans if conditions demand. Not only could there be various crash and burns occurring over the next two weeks. We are also coming into tomorrow’s three-week Mercury retrograde when minute details are liable to trip us up and trigger a nasty fall.
Friday, April 21st – Devil Details – Mars, Mercury, Uranus, Neptune, Moon Void-of-Course, Mercury retrograde. Friday continues with the Moon in Taurus with the Moon sextile Mars and the Moon conjunct both Mercury and Uranus early in the day, and the Moon sextile Neptune at the end of the day. The Moon then goes Void-of-Course for six and a half hours with the Moon making no further connections to the planets as the Moon finishes its transit of Taurus and before the Moon enters Gemini on Saturday morning. Mercury turns retrograde [4:35 AM EDT] with Mercury initially retrograding through the second decanate of Taurus [Virgo]. Despite our best intentions and a willingness to engage state-of-the-art methodology, we can easily step back in it as Murphy’s Law of ‘whatever can go wrong could go wrong’ is back in effect for the next three weeks. With yesterday’s Solar Eclipse and today’s beginning of Mercury retrograde we need to keep an eye on our resources — our time, our finances, our engagements. We could easily feel on a sense of overwhelm, having too much going on and not having the wherewithal to cover all our bases, at least without some things falling between the cracks. It will be essential that we don’t lose sight of specifics and particulars, for we might fall victim to the idiom: ‘the devil is in the details’. Whenever Mercury changes direction, things get squirrely with us trying to find our balance under shifting sands. Extreme caution is advised.
Saturday, April 22nd – Irrational Exuberance – Pluto, Saturn. The Moon moves into Gemini on Saturday with the Moon trine Pluto early in the day, and the Moon square Saturn later in the day. We may be gung-ho as we start our Saturday. We are far more interested in exploring the new and the different, stretching our wings, and going beyond our normal parameters than playing it safe and sticking with ‘same old, same old’. We do need to keep in mind that Mercury has only turned retrograde, and things could be rather convoluted. Having a plan of action for our day, even if wildly diverse and extensive, would allow us to draw upon time management skills and not get flummoxed by delays or disruptions we encounter. Our energy may be a great deal stronger early in the day, with a significant burst and thrust to get going, but as the day proceeds, we might feel as though we are running out of steam. If our energy flags, so too could our mood and emotions. By pacing ourselves and not becoming obsessed with what we want to do and how we want to do it, we are likely to be more effective. These times call for a bemused attitude where we accept the flaws and frailties of humankind, including even our own. Awareness and mindfulness and patience will help us avoid the pitfalls of glossing over important specifics or getting lost in our own dominance of our conditions. Today is Earth Day, an opportunity for us to appreciate and acknowledge the power of nature and natural unfolding that might not play to how we perceive things or how we believe things should be.
Sunday, April 23rd – Those Special Moments – Venus, Mercury, Mars. Sunday continues with the Moon in Gemini with the Moon today conjunct Venus. Mercury sextiles Mars. This Sunday can be an especially pleasant day spent with that special person or significant people who add so much to our lives. There are times when we just need to step off the wildly accelerating carousel of our lives and engage the quality that enhances our living. Today is one of those days. We may have a lot planned for this day, but let’s not lose the sense of connectedness we have with other people. Conversations can be light and lively with everyone seeing the good in the circumstances in which we find ourselves. This could be a ‘mental health’ day, a day to recharge our batteries, reinvigorate our spirit. We might also decide to spend some time tidying, straightening up, and clearing away the debris. Later in the day, it would be wise for us to consider our plans for the upcoming week. But in these times, and especially during this Mercury retrograde, it is best to write our plans in pencil with a large eraser with the understanding that ‘if you want to make god laugh, tell god your plans’.
