ASTROLOGY THIS WEEK: APRIL 1 - APRIL 7
Tuesday, April 2nd
2:38am PDT: Mercury conjunct Neptune at 17°Pisces09’
As Mercury makes his final meeting with Neptune in Pisces, we might still feel as though we’re lacking clarity on a situation. Mercury can experience frustration in Pisces, unable to understand where others end and we begin; to define the lines between what is our responsibility to ourselves, to each other and to the world. It’s vital to remember that Pisces' school is innately spiritual. That suffering teaches many lessons, one of which requires that we separate from our suffering enough to see all it is illuminating for us. Take the space you need. Read the poem below as a source of reflection. Then tuck kindness under your shirt, in the space above your heart as you make your way back out into the world of understanding how much you do not know.
Kindness
Naomi Shihab Nye, 1952
Before you know what kindness really is you must lose things, feel the future dissolve in a moment like salt in a weakened broth. What you held in your hand, what you counted and carefully saved, all this must go so you know how desolate the landscape can be between the regions of kindness. How you ride and ride thinking the bus will never stop, the passengers eating maize and chicken will stare out the window forever. Before you learn the tender gravity of kindness you must travel where the Indian in a white poncho lies dead by the side of the road. You must see how this could be you, how he too was someone who journeyed through the night with plans and the simple breath that kept him alive. Before you know kindness as the deepest thing inside, you must know sorrow as the other deepest thing. You must wake up with sorrow. You must speak to it till your voice catches the thread of all sorrows and you see the size of the cloth. Then it is only kindness that makes sense anymore, only kindness that ties your shoes and sends you out into the day to gaze at bread, only kindness that raises its head from the crowd of the world to say It is I you have been looking for, and then goes with you everywhere like a shadow or a friend.
Wednesday, April 3rd
8:39pm PDT: Mars in Gemini sextile Chiron in Aries, both at 2°34’
Mars in Gemini speaks quickly and this aspect activates awareness of where language can wound us. Gemini can sometimes struggle with honesty because it sees the truth behind all the little things. But Mars in Gemini also makes us adaptable to change. Practice communicating how you feel in a moment as a form of emotional honesty with yourself and others. Remember to take everything you hear (from yourself or anyone else) with a grain of salt because it will change. Speak with intention to shift something rather than to take up space and get stuck in it.
Thursday, April 4th
12:13pm PDT: Pluto in Capricorn opposite True Node in Cancer, both at 23°03’
As Pluto opposes the North Node we experience big shifts on our life’s path. As both Pluto and the Nodes move relatively slowly, this is a shift we will feel leading up to and fading from this aspect. Pluto requires we push ourselves to our suspense point of passion, climax, even pain until we are able to release. Notice where tension has been building in your life, particularly resulting from any need to control a situation for a safer outcome. Pluto does not often allow safety - asks us to be in the discomfort of fear as the gateway to transcendance and a return to the source-point of the cycles we repeat. Meanwhile, the North Node in Cancer desires a sense of safety beyond all else. Wants to build a container that can hold us deep in our resistance, challenge, fatigue, mess of being human. Wants us to soften into arms that will hold us regardless of how hard it is. What are you trying to control that is preventing you from feeling secure? Make a list of what does help you feel safe and a list of your irrational fears. Share your lists.
Friday, April 5th
1:50am PDT: New Moon at 15°Aries17’
With every planet direct and the Sun in its exaltation, this Friday’s New Moon helps us plant seeds that have the power to sprout quickly. Ruled by Mars in the early degrees of intelligent Gemini, this Moon is a moment to internally reflect on the things we most want to learn, rapidly, in order to be in a more full-bodied connection with life herself. Gemini might be flighty, but it is incredibly adaptable, able to orient many points of view simultaneously. Aries activates our life-force. The part of our charts which contain Aries reflects a domain of life that we might use to define ourselves. It is the house where we will individually set New Moon intentions that can offer us the most growth. Consider what you know about yourself. Now consider what you don’t know. What you’ve never tried. What could be great if you presumed good intent and jumped in with all you’ve got. Consider that there’s something you don’t know that you don’t know. Commit to learning whatever that is. Jot down some experiments you might undertake that would teach you something about your capacity. Expect to not find a resolution but revel in your self-exploration. You learn to live by living.
Sunday, April 7th
2:17am PDT: Mercury in Pisces sextile Saturn in Capricorn, both at 20°06’
Mercury’s last sextile to Saturn from his Pisces retrograde feels more grounded and clear than Mercury’s conversation with Neptune. Thinking back to February 19th and March 20th, this aspect wants us to commit to the spiritually guided routines that support us for a long time to come. This retrograde cycle had us come head to head with our faith (or lack thereof) in ourselves, our partners, our communities and the most holistic future we like to imagine. It asked us to see where making sacrifices can give way to new life and where sacrificing harms us long-term. Now Mercury brings those lessons to Saturn so we can build a more sustainable structure for ourselves. Saturn in Capricorn has strong boundaries that support patient growth. What elements of your life are propelling your rapid expansion without time to process or rest? Use the vibration of this aspect to create a framework in which you feel safe to wait while you grow. Even if it feels contradictory, incorporate more time and space to help your basic needs get met (basic is mind, body and spirit so make time for emotional warmth). If these shifts in your practice affect someone you love, communicate with kindness the structure that you need at a moment when you are able to receive their feedback and their own adjustments. Remember that the current astrology affects everyone and grounds us in a constant state of flux. It’s okay if not everything works for you but note when some shift aligns with your present evolution, even if it didn’t or doesn’t align with where you were before. Sticking with what you love or what is your truth always comes with challenges. Use these conversations with yourself and others to talk about methods that supply you with stamina. You’ll need it.