April 2012

April 3~ Venus enters precocious Gemini for an extended stay, because of her direct and retrograde motion. The rare Venus occultation of June 6 could be the most anticipated event of the year- besides the end of the 5125 year Mayan Long Count calendar. Venus will cross the disk of the Sun at the inferior conjunction, as she transits between the Sun and Earth. This occurs at 16 Gemini, which is the antiscion (mirror/shadow point) of the brightest star, Sirius, aka the Dog Star (14 Cancer). The contact between Venus and Sirius is generally favorable. Venus leaves the sign of the Twins on Aug. 7.

From Mundane Charts

April 4~ Mercury goes direct but is still in Pisces where it's a bit out-of-sorts and prone to fuzziness. But at least we get some minor relief from mercurial snafu's and delays. Intuition may partly compensate the lack of mental clarity. Mercury re-enters Aries April 16, and moves out of it's shadow phase April 23.

April 6~ Full Moon at 17 Libra, with the Moon's North Node conjunct Juno (both at 7 Sagittarius). The drive to connect and socialize is amplified- while conflict resolution is trending.

April 10~ Pluto stationary-retrograde indicates that the demoted planet will be especially powerful days before and after it stations. Astrologers know the potency of Pluto- however one chooses to classify it as a celestial body. Plutonian catharsis is deeply internalized for the next 5 months- so release whatever needs to be released, and something new can enter your life. It's natural to have painful emotions come up when we experience loss.

April 14~ Mars finally goes direct after a frustrating period of retrograde motion since Jan. 24 in the critical sign of Virgo. If we spent the last few months going over the details and refining our modus operandi, we can now move forward with energy and initiative in the best possible way.

April 19~ Sol enters Taurus the Bull and we might appreciate the blessings of the earth that sustain us in pleasure and comfort, even more deeply.

April 21~ New Moon in Taurus conjoins the asteroid Ceres, and sextiles Neptune. All loss is followed by a return- the return of the life force in the natural world after winter, and the return of the beloved after estrangement. This lunation highlights a new beginning regarding the need to nurture and be nurtured, that's essential to the Ceres archetype.
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Critical Mass Approaches by Bill Herbst