Strange Onion Peelings

The first week of April follows the partial Solar Eclipse at 9° Aries. Whereas the Lunar Eclipse of March 14 was of a much more somber caste, in the first Decan of Aries, this veiling of the Sun suggests a more assertive, and even violent energy. What was underneath the radar on the 14^th gets unveiled here, and the beginning of a climax is indicated.

            On April 5^th, Saturn and Uranus will meet in a sextile, or 60° relationship, in Pisces and Taurus, respectively. Uranus has been on a bit of a tear through Taurus recently, largely unchecked by a more sobering influence. A bit of a calming period might be indicated before Uranus begins his final degrees before entering the wilder, Mercurial terrain of Gemini.

            On the 7^th, Mercury will station direct, and begin retreading the territory he backed over in the middle of March. The shadow period, where he covers those degrees, can often be a wild time when things you thought had been taken care of a month ago come back and need addressing.

            Also on the 7^th, Retrograde Venus will Meet Saturn at 25° Pisces. This is the climax of her descent into the darkness that began on March 1^st. She finds herself in the halls of a repressive, but also reflective, force. A compromise might be in the offing, though it could be temporary, as Venus is about to re-enter Aries with renewed force. She turns direct on the 12^th, and will be moving into her position as a morning star.

            This occurs on the same day as the Full Moon at 23° Libra. The third decan of Libra is associated with a great deal of debauchery and general fun. It’s a rather nice change after the grim energy of the past weeks.

            The four days from the 16^th through the 19^th are especially busy.

Mercury enters Aries on the 16^th. He is peregrine here, except for a brief period of dignity by term in the middle degrees of the sign. An airy planet, he is apt to fan flames in an argument and communicate with in a blunt, and even caustic, manner. The next day he will join with Neptune at 38 minutes of Aries for a brief soiree with fantasy. In Aries this could mean delusions of persecution, or of grand conspiracies.

On the 18^th, Mars enters Leo. He is peregrine, save for the tail of the Lion. He is, however, the exaltation lord of the Sun, and is more dignified in behavior, if not by placement, than in other signs where he is similarly on his own. After the Sun enters Taurus on the 19^th, the King and His General square off, and the mutual reception that they briefly enjoyed is broken. The Sun may be tempted to reign in conflicts he entertained only hours before.

As he moves to square Pluto in Aquarius on the 23^rd, he may find himself pressured to be more of an idealogue. It’s an uncomfortable position, as in Taurus he’s in Venus’s domain and doesn’t really want a part in all that.  Pluto, meantime, is moving toward an opposition with Mars on the 26^th. It is under such configurations that wars begin.

The New Moon on the 27^th, at 7° Taurus, finds the Moon in her exaltation. This is an industrious and science oriented decan, starting the lunar month off on a practical footing.

April ends with the ingress of Venus into Aries. She has a couple of moments of minor dignity here, but is mostly frustrated. The rest of the astrology for the month points to contraction and conflict, but Venus seems fit to turn on the powers that be.