April has a great deal of movement with various shifts and changes going on. The changes, however, may be more like the camel squeezing through the eye of the needle than the smooth slide of greased wheels. Although we might want to get on with things, start new projects and put past concerns behind us, our movement forward may be hesitant with necessary glances backwards both to see where we have come from and also to address issues we thought resolved but that still need an element of reworking. Fast, slow, slow, fast… step forward, step back… that’s how the dance goes.
April begins with three planets in Fire Signs, two planets in Earth Signs, two planets in Air Signs and three planets in Water Signs. Four planets are in Cardinal Signs, four planets are in Fixed Signs and two planets are in a Mutable Sign. Five planets are in Positive Signs, and five planets are in Receptive Signs. There is a fairly good balance regarding the Elements, Quadruplicities and Dualities as we start the month. We do have a T-Square by Sign in the Cardinal Signs with the Sun and Mercury in Aries, Saturn in Libra and Pluto in Capricorn. This Cardinal Sign T-Square is something that will be ever more in play in 2011 with Saturn back in Libra and Uranus transiting through Aries. We also start this month of April with a Grand Cross by Sign in the Fixed Signs with Venus in Taurus, Mars in Leo, the Moon in Scorpio and Neptune in Aquarius.
Remember how the dance goes? Fast, slow, slow, fast… step forward, step back. If we can get the rhythm down, then this month can be a time to plant the seeds of new projects and new interests, while pulling the weeds of the past that could throttle our new intentions. Even if we become frustrated by the amount of time that it takes to get things done, let’s see any delays or impediments not solely as frustrating but rather, and more importantly, as a honing and tempering process. We are not looking for shallow or superficial experiences. We’ve all likely been there and done that. Increasingly, we are interested in the deeply meaningful and truly purposeful. We want depth, passion and focused involvement.
Ask and ye shall receive… and so it for us as we begin this month of April. On the 2nd, Mercury moves into Taurus and over the next several days we have Taurus transiting Venus and Mercury squaring Mars in Leo and trining Pluto in Capricorn. On the 3rd, Venus squares Mars. On the 4th, Venus trines Pluto. On the 5th, Mercury squares Mars. On the 6th, Mercury trines Pluto. We may question whether we have the resources — time, energy, money — to put ourselves in the best light and present our creative projects in the optimum manner. We have to be wary that we don’t get in our own way, that our ego personality from insecurity demands a fine mask and grandiose costume to present that which we wish to express. We may find narcissism running rampant as people grandstand and blow their own horn as loudly as possible. The Wizard of Oz screen may be truly impressive, but at some point we all need to pull back the curtain and see the little guy pulling the strings. C’est dommage… for it may create disillusionment bigtime.
Part of the process of these times is stripping away the fluff, ridding ourselves of the dross and getting real and standing naked unto the world. There is a wise and true saying that states: ‘when the student is ready, the teacher appears.’ Whether we have to repeatedly bang our head against the wall or have the universe provide us with a lateral lobotomy and give us a whack on the side of our head, once we figure out that we don’t have to masquerade and make ourselves ever more important we can then be far more authentic and far more in our essence and truly express our soul and our spirit. The beauties of these times include the fact that perceptions are being exponentially increased. People may talk of transparency all the while doing sleight-of-hand, but we’re just not buying it anymore. Our mind is sharper, incisive, better able to read between the lines and see what is really going on. Perhaps it has been years of conditioning, of being fed lines and given stories and offered hopes and dreams that had no basis in reality. We just do not buy it anymore. On the contrary, we can see clearly now and become far more aware of what is going on. Life is becoming ever more transparent and we are becoming adepts in the journey of walking through the maya of life on the earth plane. In so doing, we are not interested in being involved with those people that bring so much baggage to the interaction that it becomes overwhelming, time consuming and exhausting. There just isn’t the time or the inclination any longer. Instead, we want to sprinkle our lives with those people that contribute and add to our experience in a positive, enlightening and celebratory manner. Not that we are not concerned with other people’s problems. We are. We just do not want to get so entangled in their emotional dramas that we lose our way.
In early April, we can see clearly those people that may be characters but are characters too self-involved that there is no real room for true interrelationship. We can deepen our relationships with those people with whom we feel a soul full connection. Our insight is strong, our desire for meaningful experiences heightened, and we might use the early part of April to devise our plans, consider our methodology and enhance our dreams of where we want to go and with whom we want to go there.
Although we are seeking depth and intensity in our life experience, it would be wise to remember the primary challenge of these times — letting go of ‘control’ over situations and becoming co-creators with the unfolding energies. Consequently, it is important for each of us to engage humility and appreciation of the wise saying that god and the universal forces have far greater plans for us than we could ever imagine for ourselves. The universe works and we can find ourselves benefiting by working with the universe. In so doing, it is essential that we maintain flexibility and adaptability and that we be willing to concentrate more on process than completion or resolution.
This first weekend of April can be highly active, even a conundrum with the Mercury, Venus, Mars and Pluto interchanges. The 6th also has Pluto turning retrograde. Often when Pluto shifts movement, there seems to be eruptions — volcanic / earthquake activity, explosions, bomb blasts, and the like. The five-month plus retrograde cycle of Pluto also allows us to review, reflect and re-consider some of the fundamental changes that have gone on regarding the structures of our lives. We may look to fine tune, temper or even tear down some of the changes that have gone on in our lives over the past two years. The question for each of us in looking at how we are doing our lives will focus on whether we have built solidly as if on rock or haphazardly as if on sand, and all with the understanding that even rock solid situations may have to shift, change and adapt to unfolding circumstance.
The 7th has retrograde Saturn going back into Virgo, which it transited from the late Summer of 2007 into the Autumn of 2009. Not only will we need to look at our goals, our formats and our structures. It will also be important for us to consider our means, our methodologies and determine whether we are engaging a best practices approach. Now is also a time for us to consider our health regimen. Are we taking care of ourselves, enhancing our well-being — physical, mental and emotional?
This mid to late Spring could also be a time when work issues arise. How capable are people to make the shifts and changes necessary during this contractive phase? People may want what they want and can cry out what they need, but such demands may be expectations based on past parameters rather than present or future realities. During this time, there could be threats of work stoppages, strikes and even general discontent. Health issues could arise and it would be well advised to take care of both the skeletal structure [the bony structure and especially the back], and the intestines.
The Aries New Moon on the 14th – 15th can have us looking wistfully to an imagined future or distant realms. We might consider travel plans during this time, and with the influence of the Saturn Uranus opposition [exact on the 26th] we may feel the push pulls of old and new. On one hand, we might wish the security of the past even if that security was the complacency of discontent. On the other hand, we might want to cut the ties that bind, free ourselves from commitments and responsibilities in order to be free under the assumption that the grass is greener somewhere other than where we are. The idea that the grass is greener is an enticing concept and could be truly pleasurable so long as we don’t bring our old baggage with us. The answer to any confusion between old and new may be balance, similar to creating a suspension bridge to get from one side to the other with the recognition that some times we may need to go back before proceeding forward, until eventually we have reached the other side and no longer need to go back and forth.
The 17th begins the second of the year’s four Mercury retrograde cycles and begins at the time of Venus sextile Jupiter, followed on the 18th by the Sun sextile Neptune. Mercury will retrograde through Taurus and it would be a good time for us to consider our financial situation, our budget and even develop a plan to pay for increased taxes, higher user fees, and other governmental fees that might be forthcoming. We might be reticent to do so, especially around this weekend, when consumer purchases could spike up as we seek solace in purchases and acquisitions with us buying things that could assuage our anxiety and make us momentarily feel better and remind us of the good old days when money was easy and living less stressful.
During a Mercury retrograde cycle, it is always wise to postpone major decisions and avoid significant purchases. Akin to Murphy’s Law whereby ‘whatever can go wrong, could’, Mercury retrograde can trigger miscommunications, misunderstandings, delays in travel and computer glitches. With Mercury retrograding through Taurus from the 17th of April through the 11th of May, certain problems thought resolved regarding financial institutions, banking systems, and accuracy of economic forecasts could come to light. And yet the clarity in the communication of any such issues might not be totally clear and may demand reading between the lines and looking at the fine print.
The Sun moves into Taurus on the 20th and creates a Stellium of three or more planets in the Fixed Earth Sign as the Sun joins Mercury and Venus in Taurus. This is a brief powerpack as Venus exits Taurus to enter Gemini on the 25th. With the increased Taurus influence this is a time to take things step-by-step without any jumping ahead, doing our due diligence and beginning to plant our seeds for new projects and new developments, all with the recognition that there needs to be a gestation and germination phase and avoiding miracle grow to try and make things happen faster.
The 23rd through the 26th seems another highly active period with Venus square Neptune and Venus sextile Uranus on the 23rd, Venus trine Saturn on the 24th and Venus entering Gemini on the 25th. There can be a great deal of social activity at this time, reunions, reconnections and springtime gatherings.
The 25th and 26th also has Mercury square Mars on the 25th followed by Saturn opposed Uranus on the 26th. Discussions can ratchet up into arguments and the push pulls between the traditional and the innovative can be strong. People may not only question authority at this time. They may take to the streets, demand their perceived rights and emphasize their individuality. Actions could prove extreme. Nothing may be done by half measure. But for each of us, it would be suggested that we take our time, make no knee-jerk reactions, count to ten before any response and recognize that we might not be fully aware of all the variables involved in any particular situation. Unexpected events can arise now, and we should maintain caution to avoid possible accidents.
The 28th has the Scorpio Full Moon. During these times we are being asked to be far more resourceful than we might have been in times past. Doing more with less and seeing how we can both conserve our resources and stretch our monies are important abilities for these times. We may strip away the non-essential and focus on the essential. We can cut away the superfluous and irrelevant and start to do life with passion, focus and commitment.
April… a time to sow, a time to plant seeds…
