April 2024

MERCURY RETROGRADE, April 1 to 25:
Mercury in Aries takes a retrograde tour from April 1 to 25. The transit begins with Mercury almost all the way through the sign of Aries before it does an about face. Of course, by now, you know the Mercury retrograde drill: revisit, revise, double check everything, don’t jump to conclusions or make assumptions, do not sign important contracts, or make large or important purchases, guard against impulsivity, put added attention toward safeguards and health. During Mercury retrograde you can proceed with a temporary or short-term undertaking. Of course, each Mercury retrograde cycle has its own seasoning.

The archetype of Aries is inclined toward speed, impulsivity, and heat of the moment reaction, rather than a considered response or plan. Over the next few weeks, you could be tempted to race ahead or dive in full tilt. Caution is advised. At any moment, Mercury retrograde could toss something new or completely unforeseen into the mix that could change the whole ball of wax.

To the plus, Mercury in Aries can be like the fresh energy boost you get from your favourite morning coffee brew. It can be a good transit for fresh start initiatives once Mercury retrograde is finished (after April 25). Use the retrograde period to iron out the kinks. Trial and error is an Aries process. Mercury in Aries sets a backdrop for testing and honing your quick learner skills.

On the other hand, Mercury retrograde in Aries can be an inflaming (re-inflaming) influence. On the health front, headaches, rashes, fevers, cuts, or bleeding fall under this transit’s archetype. Handle weapons, machinery, and cutting tools with added care. The temperature can rise regarding the weather, caustic situations, and emotions. Keep a safe distance from hotheads, sharp tongues, angry drivers, argumentative and aggressive individuals.

Whether direct or retrograde, Mercury in Aries is single-visioned. This straight shooter transit becomes even more specific and targeted during its retrograde cycle. As such, the transit aims to cut through what it considers as time and energy waste. Expect April to move you, them, or it more quickly along. Circumstances can put the writing on the wall or cut to the chase in some unmistakable, inevitable, and fast-track way, especially so in tandem with the super new moon solar eclipse in Aries on April 8. Eclipses tend to put fate or destiny in play in some striking way.

Mercury ends retrograde on April 25 but does not leave Aries until May 15. Encompassing the end of the retrograde cycle, from April 19 to 27, Mercury is in strong position for instigating, a reboot or fresh start, and for pro-active or pre-emptive measures. Also, things can have a way of playing out or resolving to an advantage. The backdrop is set for a breakthrough, a turn of the table, or a sharpening of wits and/or aim regarding next moves.

TOTAL SOLAR ECLIPSE (Super New Moon) IN ARIES, APRIL 8 (19:24 Aries):
No doubt you have heard something about this eclipse from a news media source. In locations where it is possible, schools have rearranged classes to allow students to watch. The eclipse path begins in the Pacific Ocean, will make landfall on Mexico’s west coast, then travel through the USA from Texas, up through the northeast to Maine, and then to exit North America through Newfoundland, Canada. The moon’s shadow casts a wider path than the 2017 Great American Eclipse which cut through the USA from Oregon to South Carolina. The super new moon, total solar eclipse of April 8, 2024, will intersect the 2017 eclipse (dubbed the Great American Eclipse) path just east of St Louis. These states will experience the eclipse’s path of totality: Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine.

See the eclipse paths here: https://nationaleclipse.com/maps/map_2023_2024.html

Note that eclipses hold potency over a duration of time. They may or may not be event producing on the actual eclipse date. They start to build momentum about a month in advance and can continue to play out over the months that follow. (They can continue to be of influence for years too, although by that point, their potency is less dynamic and more woven into the experiential track.) The totality of this eclipse lasts 4.28 minutes, which equates to a potential activation of 4 plus years.

Eclipses are a fascinating study. As “hot spots” (outstanding junctures) and pivot points along our evolutionary timeline, they set fate and destiny into play in a threshold crossing and accelerating way. During a solar eclipse, the moon temporary blocks out the sun’s visibility. When the light returns, it is exposes something new and/or previously hidden from view.  An element of the unexpected typically accompany eclipses. At times what is exposed is jolting, shocking, or catapulting. In addition to our personal life journey, newsmakers, events, and passages of note make the headlines. Can you remember what was happening for you back in the spring of 2005? You may get a hint of what to expect next. Although no two eclipses are alike, the solar eclipse of April 8, 2005, was at the same degree as the one we are about to experience. Here are a couple of notable events related to that eclipse: Charles and Camilla married on April 9, John Paul II died on April 2, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger was elected Pope on April 19.

Chiron (conjunct at 19 Aries) is a major contributor to the total solar eclipse. You will feel this dynamic, bring it to life eclipse in a sudden thrust or pack-a-punch way if you are born on or near April 8, or have personal planets (natal chart signatures) that are triggered by the eclipse. It is a prompt for the breaking new ground, for taking a risk on a whole new way of being you, of living, and creating. Be first, take the lead. Put passion, inspiration, courage, and initiative to the forefront. Make it happen for yourself. Go solo if that’s what is up for grabs. Freedom and independence is the Aries way. Change one small thing and watch how it changes everything. Although I encourage initiative and action, make sure it is one of responding to the gifts of the here and now, rather than fight your way through resisting the reality at hand. If you are uncertain as to your best play, wait until that elusive clarity arrives. In one form or another, it will most definitely appear. This I can guarantee. The unfolding of time will eventually reveal all.

A triggering influence, Mercury in Aries has already set the Chiron/eclipse mandate into play. You may witness this through developing circumstances, or the growing internal awareness and inner narrative/discussion that now occupies your attention. Over this two-month period, Mercury/Chiron will meet three times, March 20/21; April 15 – 17, and May 6. These dates mark shift points as you work your way through the task at hand. Mars in Aries provides added “bring it to life” assistance/momentum toward the end of May (May 25 to 30). Expect to stay occupied by this new experiential track through the end of the year and into the start of 2025.

A new moon eclipse brings the new to life. Often the catalyst is an ending of significance. The eclipse in Aries adds even more turbo to the sudden, abrupt, and cutting-edge experience. Watch for this super new moon solar eclipse to carve a more well-defined line in the sand between the past and the present, between yesterday and today. Despite Mercury retrograde, expect to experience a forward thrust momentum of significance.

At the time of the eclipse, Mars is at the end of a two-year manifesting cycle with Saturn. Mars in (balsamic) conjunction with Saturn in Pisces dissolves whatever stands in the way of full steam ahead. At the same time, this planetary pairing stirs hidden potential. A relationship or circumstance that stands on shaky ground is likely to falter under this eclipse. Only the strong – and destined to be – survives. A breakup, divorce, or sudden departure is likely to hit headline news.

The gift of this eclipse is the opportunity to finally break past patterns, of being and creating. The eclipse holds the potential to jettison far beyond what would be considered as typical or average pacing and progress.

Chiron is most often referred to as the wounded healer archetype, but he is also a maverick, a gifted shaman, and an extraordinary teacher. The centaur archetype can put you in touch with your special destiny and your most extraordinary resources. In relationship to the eclipse, the transit of Chiron can set your life path onto a “once in a lifetime” fork in the road or opportunity. The extraordinary can happen, perhaps when you least expect it.

What is instigated by the eclipse will continue to keep fired up over the next two months, through the end of the year and into the new year (esp. November to February). Expect fresh aspects and options to be introduced/interspersed over the course of the rollout.

To report on the harsher elements of the Aries archetype, fire, wildfire, war, violence, conflict, gun violence, and the actions of lone wolves can continue to capture attention. It would not be surprising to see escalation regarding the Ukraine/Russia war, the Gaza Strip conflict, and elsewhere in the world. Campaigns or wars wagered (social, political as well as actual) launched during Mercury retrograde tend to be flawed or to fail.

Headline news will always demonstrate the signature of an eclipse. A current example: Music mogul Pi Diddy is in the news for sex trafficking, sex abuse, rape, and other allegations (more demonstration of the Aries shadow).

Aside from the pitfalls I feel are necessary to cover, I am excited about the potentials for this eclipse. There is significant potential to fast track your circumstances and your evolution. Wager a risk on your future not your past. Fire is the great purifier. The month ahead could give you the kick or the gift you need. The fresh and new could bring you back to life in some wonderfully revitalizing way.

JUPITER/URANUS CONJUNCTION, APRIL 20, 2024 (21:49 Taurus):
The conjunction of Jupiter and Uranus in Taurus is a big event, one that astrologers are watching with keen interest. This transit happens once every 13 years, but in different signs each time. Their last meet-up (three passes) happened in 2010/2011 as both planets were finishing tours of Pisces and setting up shop in Aries. (The Fukushima nuclear explosion happened shortly after the last conjunction.) The last time Jupiter and Uranus met in the sign of Taurus was 1941, the middle of WW2. Note that survival (emotional, economic, material, physical) is a Taurus archetype.

April 20 could be a trigger date for action regarding economics and the money markets, for social or political climates, for weather and geo-physical action, for breakthroughs in science and technology or discoveries of significance. If nothing notable happens on this exact date,  know that the true importance of this Jupiter/Uranus transit is that launches the start of a next 13 year growth, discovery, opportunity, and reinvention cycle.

On the day these two giants meet, Venus in Aries will transit the exact same degree of the April 8 eclipse. The Venus transit holds added potency because of additional factors: (a) Venus is the ruler of Taurus (for those astrologically versed, she is the also dispositor of Jupiter/Uranus), and (b) the planet is also the current ruler of the transiting karmic axis south point (south node in Libra). Follow instincts and intuition. Both could be significantly increased/enhanced during this transit. In fact, these faculties could remain at peak for most of the month ahead.

Jupiter/Uranus could launch a new reality into play. Whether metaphorically or in some manifest way, you may be surprised to find yourself standing on a new ground zero. Uranus in Taurus is the signature influence that has been and continues to accelerate the reinvention of everything that holds value and meaning.

Under this Jupiter/Uranus conjunction, you can find yourself at the threshold of charting a major undertaking or new life course, especially so if you are born on or near April 20 or have personal planets that are situated close to the Jupiter/Uranus conjunction. This transit can completely revamp core beliefs and your evaluation process regarding what holds merit. To the plus, it can put you back in touch with parts of yourself that you have buried or smothered. Jupiter/Uranus can be reawakening in a ground-breaking and liberating way. You may discover new talents, resources, and assets, or revitalize ones that have been downplayed, undervalued, or under utilized. Your self worth or economic status can be utterly transformed. Whatever April 20 or the month of April triggers for you, know this launch point holds an especially dynamic life force that will continue to unfold in the weeks and months to come.

May the month ahead set you on fire in the best of ways!!