As the editor of the Astrology Arizona newsletter, I compose an overview of each month. Today we take a look at the primary factors for the month.

The Overview for April

This year the month of April features Pluto in Aquarius for the first time since 1777! While exciting in its implications for the future, remember Pluto rules the seeds of things which will sprout in the future, so it may take a while for us to see the revolutionary social and spiritual developments portended by this major event.

This month also finds Mercury slowing to go retrograde on the same degree Uranus went stationary direct in January, and where Jupiter will go stationary retrograde in early September. The themes associated with this degree are that old answers cannot confirm the new conditions of existence, and old approaches are not adequate to deal with what’s happening. So find new approaches, new attitudes, new understanding, and don’t worry about what’s past; focus on finding new means to get things done.

With Mars finally moving through Cancer, we are now no longer in a compression of planets, and the “Bundle” Jones patterns of the past few months (when the Moon was between Sagittarius and Cancer) have now given way to a “Bowl” pattern, where half the signs are occupied and half are not (when the Moon is between early Capricorn and late Cancer) .

This month all the inner planets transit Aries, Taurus, and Gemini, with Venus entering Gemini in mid-month, thus heralding future transits of Mercury and the Sun. That places all three inner planets within the outer planet occupied zone of Pluto in Capricorn, Saturn and Neptune in Pisces, Jupiter in Aries, and Uranus in Taurus. This month continues our spiritual harvest with a focus on letting go and leaping forward!

Because the inner planet conjunctions with the outer planet spiritual heavyweights renew many important cycles between January and May, we should expect some things to end and be replaced with a new focus of spiritual energy for the year. The inner planets transiting the outer planet span is a time to pull the energies inward for these few months, with the Moon the key to effective expression. When the Moon is between Capricorn and Cancer, we’ll feel more “enclosed,” whereas when the Moon is between Virgo and Scorpio, it will be the focus for all the other planetary energies as a nozzle pointing us to right action.

Remember the first three weeks of the month is still under the influence of the March 21 New Moon at 1 Aries, helping us emerge in new ways into new worlds of experience. This will come to fruition after the Full Moon at 17 Libra/Aries on April 5 just as the Sun conjuncts Chiron. The last third of the month is under the influence of the Solar Eclipse New Moon at 30 Aries. As that Eclipse will remove all which hinders our focus, and features Sun square Pluto, it promises major shifts based in what began in January.

When Jupiter entered Aries in May 2022 we launched into a new era which became a dominant theme when Mars conjuncted Jupiter in late May at 4 Aries. That conjunction began a 2 year cycle of learning how to enjoy life more naturally on our own terms. When Jupiter revisited that conjunction point in the third week of January it accelerated the growth of that energy, renewing its fiery expression. This month brings further developments in our Aries sector.

Jupiter moving through Aries gives an Aries backdrop to planets we have in Sagittarius and Pisces, as well as the houses where we have these signs on the cusp. Jupiter launched another major long term healing and mentoring cycle when it conjuncted Chiron at 15 Aries on March 11. That began a long wave Chiron cycle which will last until the Summer of 2036. As an aside, when Chiron transits between Aquarius and Gemini, it moves relatively slowly and has conjunctions with Jupiter about every 13 years. However, it can take 19-20 years for the next conjunction after Gemini or Cancer. That means once the conjunction at 16 Gemini happens in the Summer of 2036, then we won’t have another conjunction of Jupiter and Chiron until the Spring of 2056 in Aquarius.

Saturn begins the month in early Pisces, which has changed the feel of any planets, points, or house cusps we have in Capricorn and Aquarius. Yes, after about 5 years in its home signs, Saturn now has to share power with Jupiter! While in Aquarius March and July 2020, Saturn shook up the world and galvanized us to action. Its re-entry into Aquarius in December 2020 preceded Jupiter’s entry into that sign by a few days, and their conjunction then created the Grand Mutation at 1 Aquarius. That conjunction ended a 200 year Earth era and began a 200 year Air era, and set the sociocultural conditions for the greater Aquarian 20 year era now developing.

During all of 2021 and 2022 we’ve been learning how we want to contribute to a greater future-oriented vision, and how to manage our feelings and our individual spirituality. This month Saturn continues to crystallize what we need to learn about the first decan of Pisces, with the theme of “Federation.” However, we are still under the influence of its October station with a theme of rising to some type of urgent need, “emergency,” or “an exaggeration of life problems.” The first week of April brings lessons about our indestructible Self and the enduring elements of our life, and subsequently brings interactive “traffic jams,” the ability to master discouragement, and by the end of the month, the first dawning of a new collective dedication.

Planets Slowing Down, Speeding Up, or Shifting Signs

This month Mercury and Pluto slow down while the others continue moving forward at a brisk clip. Early April shows Mercury still very fast, but it slows tremendously the second week of the month, so get your ducks lined up, preparing for Mercury to go retrograde. Venus is still at maximum cruising speed, and Mars is picking up speed for many months to come. Jupiter in Perihelion is moving very quickly through late Aries, and Saturn’s at maximum speed. Uranus and Neptune are direct and fast in motion.

In April we’re back to three planets changing signs. This month the Sun, ruler of Leo and Cancer, will give us two (Aries and Taurus), Mercury, ruler of Gemini and Virgo, will give us two (Aries and Taurus), and Venus, ruler of Taurus/Libra, will give us two (Taurus and Gemini).

Mars

After its long retrograde, Mars is now picking up speed by the week! It went stationary direct at 9 Gemini, with a theme of being a Zen archer, sure in your aim as a result of your training between September and February. This will be a theme for this year and the next. Mars is now in Cancer, moving us out of our many month “multi-tasking” mode and into more of a caring, nurturing mode.

Mars is activating the house(s) where we have 4 through 19 Cancer. While Mars is in Cancer, the position of the Moon is important in how Mars expresses its energies. That means we’ll have many shades of Mars coming forth in April. Mars in Cancer is in its sign of “fall,” the opposite of its exaltation in Capricorn. This means that Mars doesn’t really learn from Cancer energies, except how to care for self and others. Mars in Cancer with the Moon as dispositor means we can expect many “behind the scenes” shifts in views and attitudes.

The first half of April, Mars is in the Cancer decan of Cancer, ruled by the Moon with an extra dose of Venus. The last half of the month Mars is in the Scorpio decan of Cancer, ruled by Mars with an extra dose of Mercury.

Between April 1-10, Mars will prove agitating to those with planets between 4-9 degrees of Aries, Cancer, Libra, and Capricorn. Between April 11-20, it will have the same effect on planets between 9-14 degrees of those signs. And between April 21-30, it will agitate planets between 15-19 of those signs.

The major aspects Mars makes this month are relatively few after the semisquares at the beginning of the month. The only major friction comes from Mars square Chiron, which of course could bring us a turning point in some form of healing and/or mentoring.

The main outer planet aspects Mars makes include a triseptile to Pluto in early April, a biseptile to Neptune toward the middle of the month, and a binovile to Jupiter just after that. So it’s actually a great month for focused Mars activities, since it receives a sextile from Mercury all month!

As I’ve offered before, when Mars is within a degree of forming or separating from a hard aspect with a planet, slow down and show deliberation and caution in how you use force. Hard aspects to/from Mars always require that we moderate or antidote impulsiveness and impatience.

Sign Focus

This month the sign focus is on the signs occupied by the inner planets plus Jupiter, since Aries and Taurus are strong throughout the month. We begin with Sun, Mercury, Jupiter and Chiron in Aries, and then Mercury moves into Taurus where it stays the rest of the month. Once Venus moves into Gemini in mid-month, it adds another sign to the rest of the occupied areas. Venus in Gemini will help us anticipate what’s coming in May and June when the Sun and Mercury transit that sign.

So the first 3 days are primarily Aries, from then to mid-month Taurus is dominant. After that the influence is spread out, as Venus enters Gemini and makes a mutual reception with Mercury in Taurus. This month shifts the sign occupancy, and though we begin with at least one planet in Aquarius, Pisces, Aries, Taurus, and Cancer, by the end of the month Pisces will recede and Gemini and Cancer become prominent.

We’re Actors On A New Stage With A New Set

We’re still in the initial years of a new era. The Grand Mutation of Jupiter conjunct Saturn at 1 Aquarius began a new 20 year Aquarian Era in December 2020, as well as a new 200 year era, moving global energies out of Earth and into Air. We’ve begun to grow beyond the materialism of the past 200 years and have entered two centuries of Air emphasis, with its qualities of relatedness, receptivity, versatility, movability, lightness, and cooperative ideas, visions, and ideals.

The June 2021 Solar eclipse at 20 Gemini has facilitated the end of irrelevant and extraneous ideas from our decision making process, and the extremely beneficial Total Solar Eclipse at 13 Sagittarius in December 2021 gave us a promise of major gifts and unique interactive opportunities which will be perfect for whatever we need. Rewards have come and more are coming these next 3 years!

We’re still "under the beams" of the Solar Eclipses we experienced in 2019, 2020, 2021, and 2022, and these “cosmic recyclers” continue to remove all that we no longer need in our lives. Take note of where you have 1 Cancer, 24 and 13 Sagittarius, 20 Gemini, 11 Taurus, and 2 Scorpio, since 1 Cancer aligns us with a larger reality, 24 Sagittarius helps us find happiness, 13 Sagittarius gives us a new identity and love, 20 Gemini removes what cannot be assimilated or communicated, 11 Taurus will help us remove “weeds from our garden of Life and Mind,” and the recent one at 2 Scorpio is helping us release attachments from the past as we enter a more complex social experience.

Last May’s eclipses with Sun in Taurus have begun to shut down old value systems in that sector, as well as the Scorpio sector via the May Full Moon Wesak Festival eclipse. November’s Total Lunar Eclipse Full Moon at 17 Taurus/Scorpio is helping us tap our spiritual power and focus it through “hearing our inner God” and allowing our Higher Self to transform our lower self and our worldly expression. The Scorpio Solar and Lunar eclipses are already leading us to say goodbye to the past, giving up some old ideals, and finding a new perspective on how and when to do things. You can find out more about the Solar eclipse and Lunar eclipse by going to my site at www.aquariuspapers.com where there are numerous articles in the archives on how eclipses work.

This month’s eclipses begin to work their magic on our Aries and Libra sectors for quite a while to come. The Solar eclipse at 30 Aries is sure to shut down some elements wherever we have that in our charts, and the eclipses later this year will be the last in the Taurus/Scorpio sector with another one coming in our Libra sector.

As we study how successive Eclipses have affected various areas of our charts and lives, we can get a sense of the utility of these “Cosmic Recyclers” in removing what we no longer needed in those areas, creating a void which attracted new life experiences. They invite us to look back, and then forward, to see the continuity of “letting go, taking in, letting go, taking in” across the years.

The Grand Irrationality

In April, the 7-pointed “Star of Destiny" I’ve termed The Grand Irrationality is in play when Mars septiles Uranus and biseptiles Neptune in the second week of the month, with more triggers happening in early May. This will activate all 7 zones, making the middle of the month very intense as we move through the profound choices and changes indicated by these aspects. Mars heralds what will be triggered by Venus in mid-May and the Sun and Mercury when they septile Uranus and biseptile Neptune in early July.

All of the septile-series 7th harmonic aspects from the inner planets to the outer spiritual planets represent turning points at the hard edge of revolutionary change we’ve been going through for a while. Obviously, this is activated every time the Moon moves through one of the seven “hot zones” of this evolutionary configuration. All septile-series aspects are non-rational degree relationships representing “forks in the road of destiny” in any larger cycle. I have written extensively about “The Grand Irrationality,” a configuration which has been active since 1994, at my main website http://www.aquariuspapers.com where I explain why all of humanity is forging its future destiny at this time. If you have a planet or point near any of the seven zones, your life is sure to be affected. In April these zones are around 2-6 Aquarius, 25-29 Pisces, 16-20 Taurus, 7-11 Cancer, 28 Leo- 2 Virgo, 19-23 Libra, and 10-14 Sagittarius.

During the periods these 7th harmonic aspects are in play, if things get weird or crazy, be clear about the choices you’re making. While a lot won’t “make sense,” it doesn’t have to; just be clear about what you’re doing and why. Even though there may be interactions with unreasonable or irrational people, we still have the power to respond in productive ways.

As with “hard” aspects to and from Mars, if that planet (or really any planet) is involved in any non-rational aspect, whether one to our natal Mars or transiting Mars making a non-rational aspect to one of our natal, progressed, or solar return planets, it’s a time to be cautious during the period when the aspect is within a degree of forming or separating. Things have a way of getting strange during 7th harmonic aspects, so those are times to be especially deliberate and thoughtful in choosing our responses.

Primary Action Beats for the First Half of the Month

April begins under the influence of the March Equinox New Moon at 1 Aries, putting the spotlight on that house in our charts. That New Moon had a theme of emergent individuality as we continue to move through a time when “the old answers cannot confirm the new conditions of existence.” This month is about understanding the spiritual power of initiative and appreciation as we enter a new realm of Being.

Jupiter continues to race through the third decan of Aries, with a new yearly cycle of expansion coming when the Sun conjuncts Jupiter in the second week of April! The first week begins with the Moon in Leo and Virgo being the focus for all the other planetary energies, and makes favorable aspects to several other planets. Mercury enters Taurus on April 3, marking a shift in the backdrop to our planets in Gemini and Virgo, as well as the houses with those signs of the cusp. Mercury sextiles Saturn and the Sun conjuncts Chiron in the run up to the Full Moon at Passover on April 5.

The rest of the first week shows Moon in Libra and Scorpio, which is outside the occupied planetary span, making it the nozzle for the release of all the other planetary energies via the sign and house it’s transiting in our charts. The first week finishes with Venus sextile Neptune, and Mercury sextile Mars, showing the entire first week features maximum productivity across multiple life sectors. At that point Mercury’s in its shadow zone and slowing quickly, so make sure you get everything in order for the coming retrograde!

The second week of April features Moon in Scorpio, Sagittarius, and Capricorn, making it the nozzle during Scorpio and then adding sign energies at the front end of the occupied span after that. By April 9, we have an important Yod, or Finger of God between Mercury, Mars, and the Moon, with the theme of “expansion through sacrifice” to open future possibilities.

Venus enters Gemini on April 10 and immediately trines Pluto and squares Saturn, so if things seem heavy, figure out what you don’t need any more and allow yourself to see the humor in things. This is a turning point, an emergent shift in the larger Saturn and Pluto cycles going on. With Sun conjunct Jupiter, see the big picture, embrace the adventure in your Aries sector of your chart, and move into the future with confidence!

Primary Action Beats for the Second Half of the Month

The second half of the month begins with Venus square Saturn and the Moon in Aquarius and Pisces. Given the Lunar aspects, it should be a very good weekend on April 15/16. This extends to April 17, 18, and 19, as the Moon in Aries conjuncts Chiron and Jupiter, always a good thing! April 19 brings the Solar eclipse which features a conjunction with Jupiter and a forming an out-of-sign square to Pluto, anticipating the major T-square to come the third week of May when Mars is at 1 Leo, Pluto’s at 1 Aquarius, and Jupiter’s at 1 Taurus. That eclipse will shut down elements of our lives wherever we have 30 Aries, and create a void which will attract more appropriate opportunities when Jupiter transits 30 Aries in early May.

The Sun enters Taurus April 20, and immediately squares Pluto, giving more power to the important shifts coming in mid-May. Mercury goes stationary retrograde on April 21, giving us a specific focus for several weeks on finding new approaches to new conditions. The Moon in Taurus on April 19, 20, and 21 puts the focus on Uranus and Mercury so keep calm and carry on even if things change in abrupt ways.

The fourth week of April features Moon in Gemini and Cancer, with Mercury retrograde making a second sextile to Mars, again favoring productivity and harmonious function for planets we may have in the early degrees of Taurus, Cancer, Virgo, Scorpio, Capricorn, and Pisces. There are great lunar aspects in play the entire third week up to April 27, so make the most of the harmonious times.

The 27th shows Mars square Chiron, which can release healing energies where we have mid-Aries and mid-Cancer. The last week of the month is dominated by Mars sextile Uranus and very favorable aspects from the Moon in Leo and Virgo. Again, overall a very productive and relatively harmonious time!

Evolutionary Development

This is the fifteenth month of the North Node in Taurus era! We’re now in a time of our greatest development coming through the sign of appreciation, value, and enjoying the best life has to offer. The recent eclipses are already assisting us in letting go of strong feelings related to the past, as well as all which blocks us from going deeper into our connection to Source. With Taurus growth and Scorpio release, keep it simple and steady, showing what you know by releasing what needs releasing and attracting what needs attracting.

As I noted at the beginning, Mars conjunct Jupiter in Aries in late May 2022 began a 2 year adventure in opening to new ways of enjoying life and new freedom to be as authentic as we need to be. That cycle and other Aries cycles are already in high gear motion. During last month and this month everything is bursting into a bright flame thanks to the inner planet conjunctions with Jupiter and Chiron.

Our wise friend Saturn brought us to the threshold of radical transfiguration and entry into a greater field of conscious Light/Life in March, and now we’re in the deep waters of Pisces. This is a time of demonstrating a greater empathy, sense of connection, intuition, and compassion.

The Sun in Aries is a time to see the Light of being able to act on one’s own initiative, not waiting to be told what to do. This takes the idealistic vision of Aquarius deepened in Pisces and brings us to a threshold of new activity. This month we can act on a vision with confidence, and assume new parts to play in the collective work.

We now continue our third year of the new Aquarian era, having renewed that energy via inner planet transits for this year. Having harvested the 2022 work in Capricorn, we’ve now reset the karma of the larger process and continue our journey into the Aquarian vision which will find its initial grounding when Jupiter is in Taurus. Since Aquarius and Pisces finish old cycles and Aries and Taurus introduce new ones, face forward and capture what you can.

The new 2023 Aquarian energies powered up the last two months, with rapid developments in March when Saturn entered Pisces and Pluto made its first appearance in Aquarius. As Jupiter is racing forward at maximum speed, embrace the future and don’t clutch as things rapidly accelerate. This broadens the Aquarian vision through direct action, and guarantees us a rapid expansion of awareness in our Aries sector in 2023. We are unique sparks of Light which are part of the greater infinite Light Field. The vision of 2021 has now manifested in a new iteration, with new visions and harvests coming the next few weeks.

As we’re now at the beginning of the third year of a new 20 year and 200 year cycle, remember a new era has dawned. Have courage and take the initiative to leave the Earth and fly free into the Air of what’s opening as the Grand Mutation expands its promise into the Divine transfigured ideal of a more just truth and future. This month brings the promise of adventures to come, so wield your spiritual powers of gratitude and appreciation for all we have and all which has brought us to exactly where we are, for better or worse. In any case, we stand at the end of the Pluto in Capricorn era, and are now experiencing the dawning of the coming Pluto in Aquarius era.

We have now collectively transfigured into a greater vision of the one Light/Life we all are together. Continue to find your heart strength and new forms of genuine happiness appropriate for who you are now, and who you are becoming relative to just a few months ago.

The 2022 Capricorn and Aquarius transits began a new chapter of utilizing forms of personal power in Capricorn to serve the emerging Aquarian ideal. A huge part of the past died in 2021 and 2022 and a new expansive inspired energy came in via the Mars conjunction with Jupiter in Aries. The past is over and we all have begun our trek into a new world of new potential, new adventures, and new ways to enjoy being ourselves while doing our work of Destiny. Open to the abundance of the process of growth, since we are all on a rocket ship to the stars!

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Since I also include this in the newsletter, I’ll offer it to you here:

PLANETARY MOTIONS IN APRIL 2023

SUN – 12 Aries to 11 Taurus
MERCURY – 26 Aries to 16 Taurus then back to 13 Taurus
VENUS – 19 Taurus to 22 Gemini
MARS – 4 to 19 Cancer
JUPITER – 20 to 27 Aries
SATURN – 3 to 6 Pisces
URANUS – 17 to 19 Taurus
NEPTUNE – 26 to 27 Pisces
PLUTO – 1 Aquarius (all month)
CHIRON – 16 to 18 Aries
TRUE NORTH NODE –5 Taurus (all month)

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SIGNIFICANT ASTROLOGICAL OCCURRENCES IN APRIL 2023

(Bold entries are the ingresses, stations, and lunations. Non-bold are significant aspects.)

NEW MOON; March 21; Sun and Moon at 1 Aries
MERCURY CONJUNCT JUPITER; March 27 at 19 Aries
VENUS CONJUNCT URANUS; March 30 at 17 Taurus
MERCURY ENTERS TAURUS; April 3
MERCURY SQUARE PLUTO; April 3 at 1 Taurus/Aquarius
SUN CONJUNCT CHIRON; April 4 at 16 Aries
FULL MOON; April 5; Sun 17 Aries; Moon 17 Libra
MERCURY ENTERS SHADOW ZONE; April 6 at 6 Taurus
VENUS ENTERS GEMINI; April 10
SUN CONJUNCT JUPITER; April 11 at 22 Aries
VENUS SQUARE SATURN; April 14 at 5 Gemini/Pisces
AAZ Meeting; April 15
NEW MOON SOLAR ECLIPSE; April 19; Sun and Moon at 30 Aries
SUN ENTERS TAURUS; April 20
SUN SQUARE PLUTO; April 20 at 1 Taurus/Aquarius
MERCURY STATIONARY RETROGRADE; April 21 at 16 Taurus
MARS SQUARE CHIRON; April 27 at 18 Cancer/Aries
PLUTO STATIONARY RETROGRADE; May 1 at 1 Aquarius
INFERIOR CONJUNCTION OF MERCURY/SUN; May 1 at 12 Taurus
VENUS SQUARE NEPTUNE; May 4 at 27 Gemini/Pisces
FULL MOON LUNAR ECLIPSE; May 5; Sun 15 Taurus; Moon at 15 Scorpio

I want to welcome all to drop by our Astrology Arizona Facebook page and join the social media initiative going on there. Please feel free to contribute a topic, ask about a topic, or anything else related to our new group! See you over there!

Reprinted on crystalwind.ca with written permission from Robert Wilkinson. Copying this article to other blogs is strictly prohibited. It is copyright protected. 

© Copyright 2023 Robert Wilkinson

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