ASTROLOGY THIS WEEK: APRIL 8 - APRIL 14
Tuesday, April 9th
1:05pm PDT: Mercury in Pisces trine True Node in Cancer, both at 22°07’
As the messenger moves back into flowing alignment with the Nodes for the third and final time in his retrograde cycle, this aspect has us implementing the changes we learned we needed to make. Any aspect to the Nodes will offer us choices. It will show us options about how to proceed or how to turn away. It may call us back towards what is familiar. Trines between Mercury and the Nodes can usher people into our lives and/or swoop them up and off our path. A trine in water has us feeling rather than thinking or doing. Note also that trines do not require our conscious presence to be activated. The key to working with this aspect, if you like, is to place more trust in the current. Release any habitual perfectionism and understand that the fates will catch you in the soft silk of their spider womxn’s web. Notice which gateways are opening in your life, flooding you with care and the effort of constancy that comes naturally when you love something. Cultivate awareness of the difference between your desire to engage vs. a karmic sense of responsibility. Once you have this awareness, don’t do anything about it. Refuse to judge it. Let the universe help you out. It always does.
11:14pm PDT: Venus conjunct Neptune at 17°Pisces24’
Venus and Neptune are a force for longing. In Pisces, they deliver the sweetest dream you could divine. They are the ripe romantic, artistically inclined with an incredible imagination that finds beauty in just about everything. This aspect can support us in seeing the positive and accessing infinite compassion amidst a sea of soreness. Also important to note that Venus conjunct Neptune makes us especially vulnerable to deception as we seek to see only what we yearn for, while blinding ourselves to even an ounce of seemingly intolerable pain that might come with not getting it. Use this time to turn inwards - let yourself witness your deepest desire. Practice focusing on this one thing, holding it in your mind’s eye and allowing yourself to feel what you want in its fullness. This aspect aids us with the faith that is is possible to have the thing for which we hunger most. But you must also confront the truth of what that thing is. Then you must open your mind to the idea that there are many ways of getting it. Let go of the specifics. When this conjunction fades, let your meditative experience be a vision that guides your path with the eagerness that comes with knowing the depth of your yearning. Affirm it, regardless of when or how it is realized.
Wednesday, April 10th
1:47am PDT: Sun in Aries square Saturn in Capricorn, both at 20°12’
You can control how much you are trying to control. You can limit your attempts to force. You can restrain your habit to dominate. You have the power to demonstrate the kind of leadership that understands when and how to follow. You can ignite collaboration. Inspire interdependence. Commit to collective accountability. Block social perfectionism with your incredible patience for everyone in your path. This square is not easy. It tries our prudence. It exemplifies how much we endeavor to structure outcomes. It reminds us that the only true authority we have is with ourselves. Consider the conditioning that has you holding others and yourself to frustrating standards. Squares are challenging but they are also dynamic motivators for positive change. Change your expectations. Change your questions and the way you frame them. Stop looking for a right response. Build yourself up as an advocate for open offering.
10:00am PDT: Jupiter stations retrograde at 24°Sagittarius21’
While the recent trendiness of retrograde astrology has us in all kinds of apprehension, Jupiter’s retrograde cycle does not ascribe to the duality of direct = good and retro = rotten. Jupiter’s cycle is considerably slower than that of Mercury, Venus and Mars. It generally retrograde for about 120 days, a number that lends considerable harmony to its synodic cycle. Moreover, as Jupiter’s nature is naturally buoyant and benefic, we can expect Jupiter retrogrades to offer some easiness in our schedules. When Jupiter aspects other planets while direct, it applies an element of expansion, propelling grand movement and enlivening our cultural awareness. When retrograde, Jupiter still bears the torch of wisdom, but might slow down our schedule so we can feel our internal experience on a deeper level in order to learn from it. Let this station be a reminder that time is not of the essence but time is the essence. Change is inevitable. The clock is not under our control, however we try to define the construct of time. What we do with our time, the faith that we place in the present, the surrender to however long it takes, are choices we can make. Jupiter is retrograde until August 11th. Enlighten at your own pace.
2:40pm PDT: Mercury in Pisces sextile Pluto in Capricorn, both at 23°07’
This aspect supports us in changing the way we communicate in relationships and on a collective level. What have you learned about the way you react to conflict since Mercury’s first pass to Pluto in late February? What have you come to understand about your own defenses? What situations bring out your inner victim? Your unintentional abuser? Mercury and Pluto each contain a similar power that can alchemically alter energy. Mercury is the manifesting generator of the “change your mind, change your life” message. Pluto plays out patterns until they hit their peak, sometimes more accurately called a “rock bottom”, then uses the release point as the trap door to new life. Pluto offers us, in many ways, the gift of desperation. When brought to the forefront of your awareness, this aspect asks you to initiate the small changes in your routine patterns (Mercury) that reflect the depth of paradigm shifts in your consciousness (Pluto). See yourself taking up space in the world in a different way. Release who you needed to be in previous stories. Bring your big transformations into the regularity of your daily engagements. Communicate with new clarity or clearly communicate that you are still confused.
Thursday, April 11th
9:18pm PDT: Mercury in Pisces square JupiterRx in Sagittarius, both at 24°21’
We see what we expect to see. The extent of our learning correlates to our willingness to look at something we don’t know and our ability to focus with objectivity. “If a pickpocket meets a saint, he sees only his pockets.”* This aspect challenges us to cultivate awareness of how our expectations shape our reality. With both planets guided by Jupiter, newly retrograde in Sagittarius, it offers an opportunity to shift outcomes by first adjusting our internal search. Why do you want what you want? Why are you seeking a certain result? What could you imagine will arise differently? Sometimes, changing your perspective is enough to change the entire situation. When you don’t know what to change, start by asking the universe what you could change? Let curiosity and possibility be your guides.
Friday, April 12th
8:08am PDT: Venus in Pisces sextile Saturn in Capricorn, both at 20°16’
Venus and Saturn in sextile find strength in healthy attachment. Can teach us about the physical actions or things we need to be loving and committed partners who are receptive to each other’s experiences. This doesn’t have to be romantic and likely isn’t. It does activate however, the practical kind of love that stands the test of time. Sextiles need our conscious engagement to thrive. Offer your collaborators positive feedback. Thank them for the things they do or their natural ways of moving through the world that you find supportive in your relationship and outside of it. Notice how naming what you love about someone ups your attraction to them. Notice also how it inspires your own desire to evolve. Remember that the vibration you are able to strike together is a big part of why you’re still in any relationship.
Saturday, April 13th
1:04am PDT: Sun in Aries square Pluto in Capricorn, both at 23°07’
This aspect isn’t necessarily cruel but it definitely finds its comfort in conflict. Sun in Aries is deeply connected to its intuition while Pluto digs into dire spaces for the sake of change. Meanwhile, Pluto is tightly joined with the South Node in Capricorn, indicating that the weight of this fight can be felt as the answer to fated choices. Attempting to exert your power over another’s experience will move you little in the long run. Likewise, nobody else holds your answers. Notice if conflict arises because you unconsciously asked someone (through words or actions) to make your choices for you. Where are you giving away your own power as opposed to someone actually taking it from you? Where are you frustrated because you let someone choose and you didn’t like their decision? Crawl back into yourself. Take some space away. Your own answers are karmic - they arrive always on time. The North Node in Cancer asks us to redirect our authority internally, such that we feel enveloped in careful choices we’re confident of because we gave ourselves the respect of patience while making them. Along these lines, carve out space for community that refuses to do your internal work for you. Align yourself with friends that guide you to your gut. You’re never far from your instincts if you take the time to heed them.
Sunday, April 14th
6:40am PDT: Sun in Aries trine JupiterRx in Sagittarius, both at 24°20’
Free from the bonds of friction with Saturn and Pluto, Jupiter swoops in to lend the Sun some much needed buoyancy. This aspect can have the effect of lifting our spirits after some crucial but draining drama. Seek superficial fun. Remind yourself of the passion that propels you into progress. Play, create, re-learn how the art of pleasure is also activism. Beating yourself up because the world is a mess won’t heal your bruises. Use this energy to build a love-filled free-exchange environment that reminds you what you’re fighting for in the first place.
4:48pm PDT: Venus in Pisces sextile Pluto in Capricorn, both at 23°08’
Now we can feel the power shifting. Venus in her exaltation meets Pluto - not with the same level of intensity but certainly on her own terms. This aspect reminds us how well we are able to navigate dynamic relationships when we stay focused on ourselves and in touch with our instincts. When we are not dependent on others to make our choices for us, we are better able to devise a structure together that gives voice to everyone while propagating active-listening and healthy compromise. None of this can happen without personal connection to some power that exists beyond the relationship. Identify your own needs as a means to securing deep-rooted stability with others. Recognize the inherent sacred quality in everything, including yourself.
*"Be here now, remember." APA (6th ed.) Ram, D., & Lama Foundation. (1971).