Molly's Astrology

The big picture in April is upbeat. Expansive Jupiter touches inventive Uranus in a harmonizing trine. Both planets are in water signs—Jupiter in Scorpio and Uranus in Pisces. Planets in the same element “speak the same language;” they relate to each other easily. As above, so below—here we have ease and opportunity around the principles represented by these two planets. Jupiter represents growth, education, adventure, travel, your philosophy, your beliefs, the law and the judiciary. Uranus represents the truth, inventions, breakthroughs, technology, independence, and ideas that upset the status quo.

These are both freedom-loving, visionary planets. Their meeting may reflect both opportunities for freedom, and longing for something more fitting of your unique gifts and needs. If you have been hiding your talents and gifts away for fear of upsetting others, this is one of the best times of all to let your freak flag fly.

This should be a good month for people in sales, particularly technology sales. It also looks good for other Uranian types—astrologers, energy workers, inventors, and anyone else who isn’t afraid to break the mold.

This is the second of three passes of this transit, meaning this time may bring a new development around a situation or idea that first appeared in November. The transit’s third and final pass (coming in August) marks the appearance of the end result.

These two planets in water signs urge us to look beyond the logical for answers. Water signs are emotional, intuitive. It’s time to honor the spirit of things, not just the form. The greatest scientists knew this intuitively—George Washington Carver for example, who discovered countless uses for the peanut and other crops, has this advice for the inventor:

Look about you. Take hold of the things that are here. Let them talk to you. You learn to talk to them¹.

He found all these things out by observing the peanut directly. He listened to the peanut. Most people don’t know it’s possible to talk with plants. In fact, it’s quite easy, but most of us have forgotten their language. Plants communicate clearly, but you can’t hear their language with your ears. You can only hear it with your heart².

We can all learn from Carver’s example at this time, trusting in intuition and honoring our connection to all of nature’s creatures: two-legged, four-legged, and root-legged! And bear in mind that the solution to any problems or issues this month may come in an unexpected way, a unique solution that has never been tried before, something experimental. Particularly as the trine builds in power in the second half of the month.

April 1-2, as Venus sextiles Pluto, it’s a great day to deal with finances or heal a relationship. Venus-Pluto is sexy, and marks a potential for deep connection, but also for deep feelings that may even reach the level of obsession. So keep things in perspective.

April 3-5 Mercury trines Jupiter early in the day on April 4, signalling an attitude of optimism in business, good news, good ideas, and a good time to make important phone calls, send important messages, or ask for favors.

Venus (the love vibe) exits logical, friendly, detached Aquarius on the evening of April 5, and enters romantic, idealistic, compassionate Pisces, and our relationships with others take on a softer quality, more accepting, more compassionate, more fantasy-laden.

April 6 and 7, Mars opposes Pluto in the heavens. This is a potent combination that can heal or destroy. There’s power in the skies that you can use to accomplish great things, or to bring down the house. So be careful which fuses you light on these days! Avoid dangerous places, and don’t get behind the wheel of a car if you’re angry.

April 8-10 Saturday was made for letting it drift, as the Sun forms an easygoing sextile to Neptune, planet of psychic vibes, inspiration and imagination. On Monday, a Virgo Moon strums the strings of the Jupiter-Uranus trine. It’s a great day for getting organized. You could think up an original solution to a problem or work through a thorny issue that came up last week.

April 11-13, the Moon twangs last week’s Mars-Pluto opposition, and people’s moods are on the hot, touchy, cranky side. Be careful with knives, toasters and other sharp or hot things (including sharp tongues!) on Tuesday morning. There’s an emotional Full Moon cranking up emotions in agreeable Libra on Thursday the 13th, but that isn’t the full story—Mercury square Pluto signals secrets and uncompromising attitudes from someone. Somebody’s playing a passive-aggressive game. There may be a hidden agenda behind the smile.

Mars, which represents our physical energy and actions, has been in chatty, intellectual Gemini since mid February. On Thursday, he moves into emotional Cancer. Mars is in fall in Cancer. This means his assertive, competitive force has to adapt to the sensitive emotional terrain of the sign Cancer. In order to move ahead during the next couple of months, we need to set aside self-centeredness and be sensitive to the needs of others. Mars in Cancer tends to be defensive, seeing other people’s needs as a threat to his own. Thoughtless remarks arise from people’s basic need to feel secure and protected; don’t take it personally.

April 14-16, it’s a Good Friday indeed. People are in a better frame of mind to solve problems. With Mercury moving through the last degrees of Pisces, our minds drift to thoughts of colored eggs and bunnies (symbols from the pagan holiday Ostara, an ancient celebration of fertility), and the great prophet who taught compassion and urged us all to “love thy neighbor,” ushering in the Age of Pisces 2,000 years ago.

April 17-21 As the Moon is in the waning phase (changing from full to new), it’s a better time to complete old projects than to begin new ones.

Our thinking shifts gears, becoming sharper and quicker as Mercury moves from Pisces to Aries on Sunday morning. You might wake up with an idea. But don’t rush to a hasty decision as Mercury squares Mars on Monday. Resist the urge to take a thoughtless comment personally, or take your frustrations out on others. You’ll catch more flies with honey than vinegar this week.

Tuesday and Wednesday look great for your most important “nose to the grindstone” work, as Mercury trines Saturn and Venus trines Jupiter. People are in a logical, practical, problem-solving mood. It’s a good day to mark important items off of your “to-do” list. It’s a very good day for sales. As people are feeling more optimistic about money, the purse strings loosen up. Thursday through Saturday are clear and good for taking care of business and celebrating Earth Day! Shout-out to Mother Earth; thank you so much your abundant gifts, you give so much more than I realize. I’ll do my best to see that I and my fellow humans show you more love and respect from now on.

April 23-26 On Sunday and Monday, the Sun squares Saturn. These are a couple of heavy, low energy days, when you and those around you are feeling more pessimistic than usual. We may feel weighted down by practical concerns and obligations. But it’s unlikely that a bad mood or negative comment will drag you down, as the Jupiter Uranus trine is nearly at full power.

Looks like something new and exciting is brewing this week—the dark of the Moon (the few days preceding the new Moon) are quiet, but buzzing with anticipation of the new cycle. It’s also the best time of the month to give up a bad habit. I find I’m able to cut back on caffeine (my favorite vice) during the dark phase of the Moon with fewer side effects. And looking back, I found that both of the times I quit smoking were around the time of the new Moon. (Laugh if you want, but it’s true.. two acupuncture treatments—one lasted a year until I foolishly started up again, and the second one took for good.)

April 27-28 Thursday, 3:44 pm EDT, 12:44 pm PDT, the New Moon. Mark this moment with silent recognition, and think of what you’d like to accomplish in the next month or two. This new Moon in Taurus favors you setting goals and making wishes concerning finances and security needs—material, emotional, and spiritual. See Jan Spiller’s wonderful book, New Moon Astrology, for some inspiring ideas about using Lunar magic to create the life you want.

Thursday and Friday are excellent days to start something new as the Sun forms a sextile, a signal of opportunity, to Mars, which represents strength, initiative and new beginnings. Meanwhile, Mercury, our thinking and communications, forms a sextile with imaginative Neptune. There is power and strength in subtle things. It’s a great time to see an alternative healer, or use your inner vision to solve a tricky problem. Write down your ideas. Even if they don’t completely make sense now, they might be useful in the future.

Saturday the 29th, an upbeat vibe in the morning gives way to more intense feelings in your love life or social life as Venus squares powerful Pluto from the late afternoon through the wee hours. Pluto is obsessive, consuming, highly sexually charged energy that can be highly creative. But manipulative people and drama queens will be on the prowl tonight. Not the best night for a first date! Sunday the 30th, we are back on track. All clear for Mayday!

Mark your calendar!

Best days for your highest priority plans are April 2-4, 16, 19, 20, 28-30.
Take it easy April 6, 7, 9, 13, 17, 24.

Molly Cliborne

¹ George Washington Carver at About.com

² For more information, read Stephen Buhner’s books, The Lost Language of Plants, The Secret Teachings of Plants, the works of Joseph Chilton Pearce, or visit the Institute of HeartMath.