Your Horoscope in April

The sky above us is like a cosmic clock on which we can read the time via the cycle and the phases of the Sun, Moon and Planets as seen from the Earth. The ebb and flow of our lives can be measured on its quadrant and interpreted in terms of phases, representing inner process mirrored in the sky. The lunar month is a cycle with a rhythm of 28 or 29 days and that will be the pace of this astrology column.

Why the Moon? Because it can be seen and followed by the naked eye, so we can relate to it in a very immediate and poetic way. As fascinating and inspiring as this cycle can be, it is also meaningful in terms of phases, from the New Moon—seen as the seed of the cycle—to the first crescent quarter, the Full Moon and then the second waning quarter, after which it disappears for three days, and then the cycle starts again. It is a beautiful dance between the Moon, the Sun and the Earth, to which our emotional a physical biorhythm is connected. Nowadays we don’t pay much attention to this aspect of reality, so this blog is a little reminder and a guide to re-enchant the sky above us, as well as our lives.

Lunar Month April/May 2011

The New Moon of April 3, in Aries, is the beginning of the astrological lunar year, a new cycle of dissemination of the solar impulse through the zodiac.  The chart of this lunar month shows six planets in Aries, the sign that brings the fire impulse to ignite new growth in all fields. Each planet is an archetype of a specific inner psychic quality: Mars represents the opportunity to set in motion a new course of actions. Uranus has a promethean quality that brings about revolutionary ideas, sudden intuitions, bright inventions. It will spend the next seven years in Aries so there will be plenty of it. Sun is about being assertive of self-identity, motivating individuals to step forward and to lead, at this time, with the support of all the other planets in Aries. Mercury corresponds to mental energy, suggesting new ways of expressing ourselves and communicating our ideas with intense inspiration. Moon in Aries represents passionate feelings and urgent needs—to protect, to nourish, to assert ourselves as individuals and to be recognized. Jupiter gives space to expand our ideas and embrace a new philosophy of life.

Saturn in Libra is showing us the areas of our life in which we encounter limits and obstacles that oblige us to slow down, go deeper, wait and take time to build more solid inner structures, in order to be more conscious and responsible. Saturn is retrograde between January until June, so this is a unique opportunity to consolidate our projects before starting to manifest our choices. Meanwhile Mercury will be retrograde from March 30 to April 23: time to rethink, to evaluate a different mental approach, to read the small fonts, to see if the sequences and the process of everything we are doing are coherent and effective.

In times like this that are prone to constant progressive acceleration, it is important to take advantage of any opportunity to review our steps; as we can see in the chart, the stellium of planets in Aries are sitting in front of a solid and time-keeping Saturn. Oppositional forces are expressing the need to become aware of the other polarity; in this case they are reflecting the inner tension we all feel between the urge to act and the need to do it in the respect of laws and protocols. These are rules we all need to recognize: the right of justice and mutual respect, in a world that is every day more complex and multicultural.

The human system is undergoing a massive upgrade, in terms of communication, economy, human rights, planetary awareness, no-one is excluded, all boundaries need to be redefined, be they cultural, political, economical or, above all, psychological. We can perceive Saturn as something inside or outside us, that contains and guides or limits and obstacles. The same battles and conflicts that we are seeing in the world are happening inside us too, and they are the result of many less conscious choices we have made.

The Aries/Libra axis, underlined by the New Moon chart, is the matrix of all kind of polarities, I/others, inner/outer, body/mind, we need to see how sometime we exacerbate these distinctions to the point that became a polarization, and then we fail to see the implicit connections.

This is why an integral perspective is needed, a way of being able to look from an all-inclusive perspective, detached but still engaged. Astrology offer this opportunity, the chart is a snapshot that contains all elements. When we look at the chart we see a diagram of the inner dimension of the individual and the collective dimension. It is of crucial importance to highlight this connection, to see that there is no real separation between the two. It is a way of making sense of the reality as a process, the unfolding in time of seeds—actions of which we are all part.

In the art world the stellium of six planets in Aries can represent the activism aspect of art, a source of constant inspiration, pioneering a new world view that need concrete manifestation. Art has a unique place and role in human life and an infinite variety of expressions; Uranus is now back in Aries, a cycle of 84 years started in 1927/1928. At that time Malevich wanted to change the world by his art, Joan Miró is reported to have said “I want to assassinate painting,” as we read in Peter Schjeldahl’s article: “Angry Young Man, Joan Miró at MOMA,” in which he describes the atmosphere of that period. Saturn in Libra is indicating a different kind of expression and concrete manifestation of the innovative impulse, directed more versus integration rather than disintegration of the esthetical dimension—an integration that will have to happen on a new basis, being the result of the incorporation of a variety of multicultural-multimedia languages.

To take full advantage of the new moon your intention should incorporate Aries energy, which is active and confident. The cycle will arrive at a first checking point with the waxing moon in cancer of April 11, when anything you just started will go through a challenging adjustment. From the 10 to the 12 the Moon will create a grand square opposing Pluto and squaring Saturn Jupiter opposition, the emotional level the challenge will require all your determination to face the fear of being too little and weak to make the difference. With the Full Moon in Libra of April 18, we will be able to understand better the solar project and to connect with Neptune and Chiron, now both in Pisces, to amplify sensitivity and compassion, and relate all this to the needs of others too. In the last waning quarter on April 25, Easter, the overall tension will still be very high but with the Moon in Aquarius we will be able to find the right distance and treasure what will became evident if seen in a less involved way. On May 3, the cycle will start again with the Sun and the Moon in Taurus, but this is another story . . .