Your Stars April 2017

Is Prime Minister Theresa May taking astrological advice? It seems improbable, given her general demeanour as Mrs. Sensibly Dull (give or take those cheetah heels). Yet here she is writing her divorce note to the European Union on the new Moon of March 28, a date that puts the day’s planetary fingerprints all over the UK chart of 1801 and the England chart of 1066. In particular, the ‘divorce planet’ Prometheus is bang on the 1066 ascendant of 22 Aries (it is primarily England’s choice to leave), while Pluto is opposing the Moon in the 1801 chart – transformation!

This Aries’ new Moon is also exactly opposite her own Libran Sun at 8 Libra (born 1 October, 1956), a good signature for a split with a major partner. And new Moons are generally a good moment to initiate events.

So was this is a time deliberately chosen? Almost certainly not. As Nick Campion, our era’s political astrologer nonpareil puts it, “The universe chooses its own times”. Either way, it is remarkable that astrology is so in tune with the UK’s national horoscope(s). Those hostile to the noble art of planet-plotting might ponder the odds on such exactitude being ‘random coincidence’.

The season of Aries is always about fresh starts of course, and synonymous with the inrush of spring energy. It’s the month of “the yonge sonne in the Ram” as Chaucer put it, or “the cruellest month, breeding lilacs out of the dead land” as T.S. Eliot had it.

This year The Ram looks in less of a rush than normal. Messenger Mercury goes retrograde on April 10, rewinding into Aries on April 21 before resuming normal service on May 4. Venus is also retrograde, vanishing from the Ram’s skies on April 3 before turning direct in Pisces on April 15 and reaching Aries again on April 29. Adding to the somewhat sluggish mood is Saturn, turning backwards in the Archer’s skies on April 6, and Pluto, turning retrograde in Capricorn on April 21.

Nonetheless, any month with a full Moon opposite Prometheus (April 11) has an element of caprice and surprise in play. That the full Moon is conjunct Jupiter – it will be fun to watch Luna approaching the largest planet in the days beforehand – makes this an especially volatile time.

Aries

As the first sign of the zodiac, the Ram has a ‘me-first’ reputation. No fault there – someone has to come first, why not you? – but your birthday horoscope comes stacked with provisos. With Jupiter in opposition until autumn, partnerships remain delicately poised and in need of attention if they are to prosper. The flip side of that scenario is that maybe one or more partnerships don’t need to prosper and are best consigned to history. Even if you are committed to a certain person, with Prometheus powerful in your skies this spring, independence and self-direction remain paramount.

How you get those seemingly contradictory impulses in balance is quite a challenge, one likely to become acute around the full Moon of April 11, when the Sun joins Prometheus and Luna joins Jupiter in opposition. Diplomacy and fair play called for, not just in romantic associations but in friendships, relations with ex’s and business partners. If you are single and romantically unencumbered, then you have everything to play for.

Terms and conditions applying to the gung-ho side of Aries come from other planetary events. Venus reverses clean out of your skies on April and isn’t back until the start of May(which looks quite a month for lovers), while Mercury is in one of its thrice yearly sretrogrades, specifically affecting birthdays between April 14-20. Mercury retrograde is not always the bugbear it is commonly painted – a go-slow attitude on your partnerships is in order. Old business is as good as new.

Just as the Sun completes it race through the Ram’s skies on the 20th, your Mars ruler changes signs and moves into Gemini, meaning that while you have to double check your timetable and the traffic news, you will nonetheless ll be running round for the rest of April and all of May. Happy birthday.

Taurus

Bountiful health and physical strength will get one through most situations, and while parts of your horoscope are in fickle mood – more of which anon – the presence of energy planet Mars in your skies until the 21st, and the mighty Sun thereafter, should ensure that the Bull marches (gallops?) on regardless.

Then there is Ceres; the goddess of growing and protection is also in Taurus’ patch of the heavens during April. Ceres is the fierce mother-in-law (who rescued daughter Persephone from bad boy Pluto), so you may find yourself either playing that role or on the sharp end of it.

April does present you with problems, however. Mercury staggers into your sign on All Fool’s day, then lurches backwards on April 10, not to resume its position in your skies until mid-May. Delays and enforced postponements are the customary picture. The retrograde of your ruler Venus is a less transparent omen, but also spells old business (possibly but not necessarily romantic) to be taken care of, along with people who turn moody on you.

Also, the Sun’s presence behind the scenes in your solar ‘scope describes secrecy, perhaps retreat, and attending to the mind-body spirit axis, so that you can leap into action come your birthday season. The new Moon of April 26 spells a restart, and an entire new chapter if that’s your birthday.

Gemini

As of the new Moon of March 28, many Geminis are in new territory, metaphorically (and maybe literally) speaking. Said new Moon represented a powerful lift-off point, one that comes into sharper focus at the full Moon of April 11, when Sun, Prometheus, Jupiter and Luna meet – a real surprise package, not least in terms of your social scene and love life. Time to refresh both, with little room for misplaced loyalty. Be new.

The month of Aries – fire for your air – is stimulating, but with your ruler, Mercury, in retrograde from the 10th (until May 4), old associations and unfinished business are good to revisit, a message underscored by the retrograde of Venus until April 15.

Mars, planet of the high burn, arrives in The Twins’ skies on April 21, upping your energy levels as those around you sag. Mercury might poke the odd stick in your wheel this month, but your horoscope remain in genial, even uproarious fashion through to mid summer.

If you were born in June, you now reach the end of a cycle that began last August, when Saturn’s opposition began in earnest. Most of you have been obliged to make big decisions since – property, job, something official and, perhaps, the curtailment of a long term relationship. Saturn draws to a halt early in April and remains focused on birthdays circa June 18; a cue to take your destiny firmly in your hands and take the plunge. A new life is calling.

Cancer

First consider professional developments from late in March, as Mercury – retrograde from April 10 – will be dragging you back to them late in April. Hopefully this is a beneficial return – certainly the volatile aspects at the full Moon of April 11 promise a further shake-up in either your professional or domestic life, perhaps both.

Maintaining business as usual, hunkered down in the Crab’s secure shell, is quite possible, but not the best use of the planets at your disposal, especially if you were born mid-July.

All of you have plentiful assistance in April, firstly from Mars and Ceres – the pair are moving in tandem across the networking sector of your ‘scope – and then from the Taurean Sun in the same zone, the place where you find effectiveness in groups and collectives. The new Moon of April 26 is good for a relaunch (late June birthdays take note). Venus, backsliding across the peak of your ‘scope – then moving forwards across it as April closes, is a sign that you are in the public eye – a dashing stage performance Is on the cards, or at least a visible feat of prowess at work.

Romance is where you find it just now – at work is no bad bet. If your birthday is circa July 11, Pluto is static in opposition, and you may feel forced to come to a commit-or-quit decision about a relationship. Fine if the decision is from with in yourself, but don’t be coerced by the other party.

Leo

First, the annoying news: with Mercury going back an forth over the peak of your ‘scope for the next six weeks, some form of ‘It’s on, no it’s off’ scenario will be in play, very likely concerning your profession. Forewarned is forearmed, however – play it cool but efficient.

Not everything in the world of work looks harmonious anyway – a transit of Mars (squaring your Leo planets) will test your patience. Complete focus is needed, since once Mars is out the way (April 20), along comes your Sun ruler to put you through your paces. The new Moon of April 26 I a time to renew your bid for public/professional glory, Merc Ret or not.

There is a relentless feel to events earlier in the month, especially if you are in the business of travel or academia, with your Sun ruler meeting Prometheus at the full Moon of April 11, a time to broaden your social circle (oddballs welcome) and formulate/instigate some bold, even revolutionary plans. Your luck looks in where meeting and greeting is concerned. If you are in the dating game, old contacts are as good as new.

Where more long-term, more considered matters of the heart are concerned, you reach a point of understanding this month, as Saturn comes to a halt and the experiences of the last seven or eigh months can be digested, and commitments made or, if necessary, broken. A defining moment? Perhaps, especially for birthdays circa August 20.

Virgo

With planets splashed across your horoscope, you seem to be keeping a lot of plates spinning at the same time. Personal relationships figure large, either because they are intense (Pluto is powerfully placed) or baffling (so is Neptune) or because an involvement that seemed lost is now back in contention (Venus is retrograde until April 15 and opposite you all month).

Plus, with the Sun meeting Prometheus at the full Moon of April 11, sudden dates and maverick appearances are also in the frame, not least over the weekend of April 8, when the waxing Moon is in your skies.

Money and property also have their place this month. You may have to wait until mid summer for Jupiter to turn on the income tap fully, but the money planet’s involvement at the full Moon suggests prosperity.

Relationships, not just but especially romances, certainly have intensity just now. The backslide of Venus accentuates both erotic longing and money that’s owed to you – such are the oddities of astrological symbolism – both of which are ongoing themes this spring. The new Moon of March 28 is a signal to get on the front with money matters.

On March 10 the high-energy planet Mars changes gear and shifts into the kindred earth sign of Taurus – highly favourable for intellectual work and for acts of derring-do. Virgo gets a somewhat undeserved press as a timid creature – the next six weeks is a chance to show the world just how wrong is that estimation.

Libra

Your mission, should you accept it, is to stay on a fat, optimistic roll even when things don’t go your way. Jupiter, the planet dominating your horoscope through to your birthday, is about trying your hardest, pushing your luck, and if you get knocked back, trying again.

Said planet is in the centre of the action in mid-April, when the Libran full Moon – the only one of 2017- joins Jupiter, simultaneously opposing the Sun (obviously!) and Prometheus the liberator. That’s a volatile line-up, not least for birthdays October 9-19 (but don’t fret, you all get a touch of the lunacy). Under these transits, your personal life is unlikely to run in quiet, orderly fashion. Independence (or something like it) and the attraction of unconventional people/partners is a more likely scenario.

Your solar ‘scope is a complicated picture in April, however. Your fastidious ruling planet, Venus, is disinclined to sort out partnership issues until next month (she is retrograde until April 15), and more interested in health and hard work until May. Mercury is also retrograde, and the quicksilver planet’s opposition from April 21-May 16 is full of ‘ifs’ and ‘buts’ about friendships and partners and dates. Where romances and playmates are concerned, you need to be a little zen this month; stay in the moment, desipher the signals from others with care..

Pluto, strong in the domestic area of your solar chart, highlights advantages accruing from property ownership. Mars, once the red planet reaches fellow air sign Gemini on the 21st, accentuates benefits of being clever, communicative and internationally minded, an ongoing theme in May. The new Moon of August 26 is in Taurus and your zone of banks, investments and shared money; make decisions but with Mercury retrograde until May 4, postpone action.

Scorpio

A month when you face several planets in opposition, including a retrograde Mercury, spells complications. As related last month, Mars in opposition – until April 20, draws your sting or, worse, turns it back on you, so relations with significant others – friends as much as lovers – need to be conducted with care. Try not to give others cause to fall out with you.

The Sun in opposition, from April 20, means you are halfway through your personal year and need to nurse your energy levels. You aren’t running on all cylinders., though the new Moon of April 26 is a chance to set personal relationships straight. That may well be necessary since, Mars aside, Mercury spends the first three weeks of the month in opposition, and is retrograde from the 10th. Try to get crystal clear before that date, so that any backsliding by other people can’t be blamed on you. The three weeks of Merc ret are, however, ideal for revising deals you are in, renegotations and revisions. You simply have to be patient and – as ever – relentless.

Let’s further accentuate the positive. The retrograde of relationship goddess Venus into Pisces is a sweet omen for romantics among you, for re=encountering old flames and chasing apparently lost causes. Sumptuous party invitations flutter your way. Enjoying the simple things of life is made easier…it’s all a nice balance to the cut and thrust elsewhere in your personal life.

The month of Aries, meanwhile, calls for a fresh look at lifestyle and healthy routine, especially around the full Moon of April 11, which is conjunct helpful Jupiter. Scorpio, let’s not forget, is often the keeper of the mysteries – your sign make first class witches and wizards – and spiritual truths are easily located mid-month. Luna moves onto your own sign over April 12/13, auspicious days for all your dealings.

Sagittarius

There is a degree of dawdling going on in your ‘scope – ruler Jupiter is backsliding, so is Venus the romancer, so is Mercury the messenger from April 10. And, from April 6, so is Saturn the taskmaster, the planet that has been putting you on the spot for, oh, at least the last seven months, if not two years. Saturn just sits stationary in one spot all month, and if your birthday is December 17-20, that spot is you!

Birthdays then can therefore expect to be handling weighty matters (work, property, elderly relatives) this month, the upside being for all Centaurs that the ringed planet’s backslide (until September) brings a less pressured spell than you have had since your birthday.

Saturn aside, your horoscope is in buoyant, pleasure-oriented mood, the Sun in fellow fire sign Aries describing the kind of conviviality with which your noble sign ifs associated; there are, as one famous Sagittarian sang, bells to be rung, songs to be sung, wonderful flings to be flung!

As much is especially true around the full moon of April 11, which finds Luna alongside ruler Jupiter and oppitse sun and Mavrick Prometheus. That looks like a recipe for hot social/romantic action, and with the Moon passing through your own skies on the weekend of April 15/16, you can play the life of the party.

Action elsewhere looks pretty slow. Mercury in your work zone is sluggish, and the messenger’s retreat into Aries from April 29 further accentuates creativity and joy (repaint the ongoing masterpiece, reshuffle the scenes in your play). Venus is meanwhile mooching in the home zone of your ‘scope, prior to her return to wild times in may.

Anything else to watch out for? Of course. Warrior mars moves into six weeks of opposition on April 21, meaning that amid you cavorting, don’t be falling out with friends, and at work, keep rivals at a healthy arm’s length.

Capricorn

The astrological Goat is not especially keen on surprises, disruption or innovation; steady, indeed relentless application is more its style. You may have to think on your feet during April, however, when several planets turn to backward motion, not least of them messenger Mercury, which goes into a three week tailspin on April 10. Keep arrangements clear prior to that date, and expect conversations – about feelings as well as plans – to take a few contrary turns.

Emotions tend to run high in April – not necessarily in a bad way, pleasure is much in favour – but with Mars and the Sun in your fellow earth sign of Taurus (the first until the 20th, the latter thereafter), your love life and creative spirit demand attention. The new Moon on April 26 ushers in a fresh chapter in both. Venus in retrograde is another change-of-heart indicator, whether it’s you or a friend/lover/sibling that’s re-orienting.

Career and status, about which many Capricorns fret, are also in jumpy mode, especially at the full Moon of April 11, which sits atop your ‘scope alongside Jupiter. The presence of the giant planet makes 2017 a promising year for your professional profile – onwards and upwards – but this full Moon is jangled by Prometheus in opposition, meaning anything fom a surprise promotion to someone picking up the wrong envelope at the awards ceremony. Either way, you look on display.

Mostly, however, it’s the Sea Goat rather than the Mountain Goat that is April’s frame, asking you to swim with the currents. That your undisputed ruler, Saturn, is stationary behind the scenes all month is another call for contemplation.

Aquarius

April looks like a month of one step forwards two step backwards, or two steps forwards one step back…let’s just say the omens are of a contrary nature. What’s the confusion? Firstly there is the usual suspect, a retrograde Mercury, that skies backwards from April 10 just a week after crossing the root of your ‘scope. A degree of bafflement about your domestic or professional scenario is one likely outcome – no biggie, necessarily, but you may feel your wheels are spinning pointlessly. Take your foot of the pedal!

Your traditional ruling planet, Saturn, is also turning backwards, albeit very slowly. This can mean the culmination of a project dating back to several months – to last August, perhaps, or simply a feeling of being ‘stuck’. If the latter, then give yourself plenty of time to feel your way forwards.

Retrogrades ask for revision and rethink rather than ploughing on regardless, a message re-enforced by Venus, also moving backwards in the first half of April, with the green planet asking for another look at a financial scenario you thought done and dusted. April is the perfect time for setting the seal on money matters (Venus can be a money planet as well as a romancer).

Definitely in the mood to look and move forwards is planet Prometheus, often tied to your sign as its modern ruler, which is the planet of of bright ideas and futurist thinking. Prometheus is tangled up with the full moon of April 11, a potential Eureka moment. Said full moon is next to Jupiter, making international contacts important.

Also marching determinedly onwards from April 20 is Mars in your fellow air sign of Gemini, a very straightforward omen; a call top pleasure, wooing, creative endeavour or sporting glory. Go for it!

Pisces

A month when Mercury goes retrograde is not usually one to eo expect a lot of action – it’s more often about slowing down, revisiting the recent past and straightening out mistakes. Tick all those boxes by all means, especially with reference to money matters, since Mercury is backsliding into the cash zone of your solar chart. Sort out the accounts. The full moon of April 11 is also about money, though the accent is on solving debts and contracts rather than cashflow. Still, with Jupiter involved, a tidy windfall is always on the cards.

However, April is no ordinary month, and its several retrograde planets come with baggage. None more so than Venus, which reverses from Aries into Piscean skies until the very end of the month. Venus is invariably a welcome visitor, promising luck, fine company, fine wines and a frisson of romance. That the green planet is moving backwards until April 15 may help recapture the magic of a relationship or to relocate the number of that hot prospect you met. Though Venus doesn’t cover much ground – birthdays March 16-19 are especially in the frame, she makes significant aspects to other planets – Chiron, for, example, brings a touch of healing energy.

Saturn is also undergoing a switch from direct to retrograde motion, its stationary position in April bringing a professional chapter to a conclusion or professional issues to a point where they must be confronted. Be thorough, and give yourself time.

The communications sector of your scope – the pace of bright ideas, speeches, phone calls, short journeys, conferences and internet connections – is highly active throughout April. Mercury going retrograde here is not, obviously, especially helpful, though it is ideal for revising your scipt and/or resurrecting an old speech. Still, with Mars here untilthe 20th and the Sun from the same date, there is work to be done, words and narratives to be spun, especially after the new moon of April 26. Be your own spin doctor.