Geoffrey Chaucer, a keen astrologer, set his Canterbury Tales in April – ‘when the young Sun has half run its course in the Ram’. Not much chance of a pilgrimage in the time of covid, but there’s plenty of hope in April’s stars, which are dominated, as ever, by the signs of Aries and Taurus. The cosmos is in purposeful mode, with all planets moving ‘direct’ (i.e., forwards), rather than sliding backwards from our perspective on planet Earth. A time to look lively then, after the long travails of winter and lockdown. A retrograde spell of Mercury is on the horizon, at the end of May, with its accompanying slow-down, all the more reason to get on your pony and ride, as an old soul tune has it. Happy trails.
Key events
- April 4 – Mercury into Aries
- April 12 – New Moon in Aries 03.31 BST
- April 14 – Venus into Taurus
- April 19 – Mercury into Taurus
- April 23 – Mars into Cancer
- April 19 – Sun into Taurus
- April 27 Full Moon in Scorpio at 04.31 BST
Aries
Since there are so many planets on your side during the first phase of April, there is no better time to push your agenda relentlessly onwards. Be the fabled (battering) Ram leading the pack. Mercury lends you insight, the Sun joi-de-vivre, while Venus allows you to switch to charm and seduction when required, or to smooth relationships upset by the full Moon at the end of March.
The Aries new Moon on the 12th is a powerful signal of renewal, both personally and in the wider world, with long-standing professional issues brought to fulfilment – or to contention – as Pluto, not always a helpful presence, is aspected by Sun and ruler Mars. If people in power are being unscrupulous, don’t be tempted to respond in kind. Virtue is the card to play, along with help from what seem to be numerous allies.
The season of Taurus switches focus to security, finances, and home comforts, with your ruler Mars shifting to the nadir of your ‘scope, a place associated with family and where you live. At the least that calls for a spring clean, though you might also consider matters of ancestry and where you came from. Happy Birthday.
Taurus
A couple of weeks with the Sun and ruler Venus tucked away in your solar twelfth house spells a time to keep your head down, scheme away and build up your strength ready for the action that kicks in when Venus arrives in your skies on the 14th. If, however, you have planets in Aries in your birth chart, or Aries rising, then you’ll be flat out all month.
In any case there are limits how downbeat you can be given the ongoing pressures – perhaps good pressures – when Jupiter and Saturn are at the peak of your ‘scope, as they have been thus far in 2021. These are planets that put your reputation on the line, especially where profession and small or large ‘p’ politics is concerned. Tough but fair, that’s you.
You are handed an interesting plateful – and birthday feasts may be involved – once the Sun joins Venus and Mercury in Taurean skies on April 20. For the most part you can have things your way, and with Venus here from 14th until May 9 you can turn up your romantic beam to 11. Talking of which, the full Moon opposite you on April 27/28 has a touch of ooh-la-la about it; the last few days of the month look like a wild card of some sort may be in play.
Gemini
Keep the pace steady and the focus on the immediate terrain ahead. Of course, there are long-term objectives, but just now march to your own drumbeat and revel in personal triumphs. Warrior Mars rules until the 23rd, when the red planet moves out of your skies. Meanwhile a demon spring clean is in order. Getting due credit from people in your professional realm isn’t guaranteed when Neptune is in charge, or it may come with a devious agenda. Not that you don’t have plentiful support from your fellow travellers – au contraire, this is time to pal up with them, and to nurture those friendships that might turn into something more intimate.
You hit a period of greater clarity around the new Moon of April 12, when Mars, Sun, Jupiter and Neptune all align – a potentially pivotal moment for those with birthdays circa June 17, when you may have to stamp your foot and draw a line over others’ conduct.
Once the Sun has moved onto Taurus on the 19th, and thereby into a more secluded zone of your ‘scope, it’s time to draw breath and think again, both about those long-term plans and if you’re on the lookout, romantic prospects – the 25th and 26th, just before the full Moon, is an opportune moment for the latter. You need to be ship-shape ready for May, when ruler Mercury arrives in your skies for nine (count ’em) weeks, including a three-week retrograde spell. Clear the decks!
Cancer
A lot of tasks marked ‘Urgent’ appear to be piling up in the ‘in’ tray and given a new lunation of your ruling celestial body, the Moon, on the 12th, best dispatch them with all speed in the first half of the month. It looks like something of a solo effort – keep your profile high, get the jobs done.
By the time Luna arrives in your own skies, over the 18th/19th, you are in easier climes, with planets in earthy Taurus in more co-operative mode.
You look quite the social mover and shaker in the second half of the month, and if help is needed, it’s at hand. Warrior Mars arrives in your skies for a six week stay on April 23 – Grrr!
Cancers can be scary too – just in time for a humdinger of a full Moon on the 27th, when you might as well air your issues, display your desires (declarations of undying love welcome) and see how other people handle it.
Leo
Leo is meant to represent the perennial child – in a good way, fizzing with enthusiasm – but with Saturn in opposition, mature deliberation and responsibility are sure to be high on the agenda. A lighter load is in sight, but probably not this month. The other planet in opposition, Jupiter, continues to ask for a just settlement with one or more significant others, and/or to offer support from a partner.
That said, a slew of planets in fellow fire sign Aries, and a new Moon there on April 12, are unconditionally positive, shining a beam into the future bringing allies onside. There is, in short, all to play for, and those of you in the education/I.T. business have an especially strong following wind.
Planets moving to the peak of your scope later in the month – your Sun ruler reaches your midheaven on the 20th – ups the ante on professional issues. Ensure you have the profile you deserve (not that there is any likelihood of false modesty). The full Moon on the 27th, at the other side of your ‘scope, shines its limelight on both domestic bliss and public glory. Grab what you can of both.
Virgo
It’s handy that the Sun and its accompaniments (Venus, ruler Mercury) are no longer in opposition, but there are still questions to answer. Some are likely to appear early in April (around the 7th) when pushy Mars in your career zone squares evasive Neptune (which remains in opposition, seemingly forever), when it’s likely best to do nothing rather than commit to a course in which you don’t quite believe.
More issues arrive, more personal probably, around the 17th when Mars aspects scary Pluto to demand ‘who do you love?’. Again, you can duck. The cosmos is in forwards motion and the outlook changes with it. Unless you are tucked up with your main squeeze discussing your mutual budget and holiday plans, the first half of April comes sharply edged, but the Sun’s shift into cuddly (for you) Taurus at the 19th brings a breezier second phase of the month, stacked with inspiration and out-there ideas courtesy of your Mercury ruler. An altogether better time to address awkward questions, with a fine-looking weekend over the 23rd/24th, when a waxing Luna is in your skies.
The full Moon of the 27th also looks none too crazy, and with Mars in Cancer, super sociable. You astrologer nonetheless offers a heads-up, that ruler Mercury turns retrograde late in June, so desks must be kept clear and polished. You know it makes sense.
Libra
As you know, the mood swings don’t help. There are bound to be a few when Sun and Venus (among others) are in opposition, not least where significant others and potential lovers are concerned; a case of ‘come on’ and ‘go cool off’. Your task in April is to find your legendary balance. Application to work and long-term tasks is one way to do so, whether said work is intellectual (Mars continues to shine brilliantly in this respect) or mundane, practical matters that don’t rest on your, or another’s, emotional turbulence.
The Aries new Moon of April 12 is a good moment to reset relationships (you may have to concede ground), while events around April 17 have a touch of revelation about them, whether friends, lovers or practicalities. Birthdays circa October 19 take note.
The month of Taurus comes with a change of emphasis – with planets no longer staring at you from opposition, it’s a less jumpy few weeks, when you can explore deeper emotional attachments and the mysteries of personal finance. Before the full moon on April 27 – in Scorpio – Luna passes through the Scales on the 25th and 26th; maybe not as challenging/thrilling as the Libra full moon on late March, but sill potentially giddy. Enjoy
Scorpio
A month of transition, as the saying goes. The first half of April principally offers salvation through hard graft and steady attention to your long term aims Saturn squaring you from your home zone insists; and home and family rather than career may be where the problem-solving is to be done. The new Moon on the 12th is about work and the need to be a clean-living, health oriented individual.
Relationships and your emotional well-being are…foggy. Neptune in full-on mode where matters of the heart are concerned can be wither idyllic or misleading and may need all of those deep-seated Scorpio instincts to decode what another party is telling you.
The second half of April is another matter. Planets in your opposite sign of Taurus are inclined to put you on the spot, or at least on the back foot, but you are promised some clear answers where you stand. Venus in Taurus from the 14th can bring new prospects for those in the dating game, and accord with those who are going steady, a good time for peace initiatives with your main squeeze. Venus reaches Prometheus on the 23rd, which along with the full Moon in your skies on April 27 is a recipe for major change, either initiated by yourself or dumped on your doorstep. Coinciding with Mars shift into Cancer, a kindred water sign, your personal life promises a thrilling ride. Not a time to be stuck in your ways.
Sagittarius
Take your pleasures where you find them. There seem to be plenty on offer in the first half of the month, as planets light up fiery Aries and your fifth house of joy, sociability and creativity. ‘Go for it’ as the popular saying goes, though first you must decide what ‘it’ is. The long-delayed masterpiece? A post-lockdown trek? A plan for romantic seduction? It would be easy to spread yourself too thinly.
Complicating the choices is Mars, still in opposition until April 23. As suggested in last month’s forecast, the red planet here is a two-edged sword, promising both intriguing individuals and provocative scenarios where the red mist descends on one or other parties – you or a friend or enemy. All the more reason to attend to your own agenda and avoid dramas which could turn super-touchy around April 17, shortly after the new Moon of the 12th.
The planetary situation once planets move into Taurus – the Sun arrives in the Bull on the 19th – is inclined towards diligent work and health practice rather than celebration, though ruler Jupiter remains onside to grant a vibrant social circle, upbeat siblings and bright ideas. The full Moon in Scorpio on April 27 is behind the scenes, and you may choose to follow suit for a spot of deep meditation. Nonetheless, a still potent Luna is in your skies over the last two days of the month, calling for as much profile as you can muster.
Capricorn
Spring brings both tussles and delights. The Sun – this year accompanied by Mercury and Venus as well as minor planet Ceres (a benevolent busybody) – squares your own sign and needles you to get cracking with career matters and/or home renovation. Any cracks in your infrastructure are likely to make their presence felt. The new Moon of the 12th urges you to engage on necessary changes.
The second phase of April is benign by comparison, as planets roll into fellow earth sign Taurus. An empowered Venus here from the 14th is the formula for feasting, romantic play and delight in your own company, and is followed by the mighty Sun on the 19th – all good. The full Moon late in April, on the 27th, turns up the temperature on all such matters.
Mars moving into opposition on the 23rd for six weeks is less straightforward. The red planet here can ginger up your relationships, usher in a bold and captivating person, catch you in a spat with your main squeeze or provoke open warfare with an enemy. Best be a bit tricky when dealing with significant others – there’s no point upsetting the applecart unnecessarily.
A solitary planet occupies the Goat’s skies – Pluto, which draws to an apparent standstill in April, making it especially significant, though its focus is principally on birthdays circa January 16. Pluto represents transformation, sometimes empowering, at others more of a meltdown; a time to count your gains and losses and renew your commitments.
Aquarius
Don’t even think about slackening your pace, postponing your tasks or neglecting your big agenda. There will be time enough for that in May. In April, recall your new year’s resolutions and push on. Jupiter – upbeat, benevolent, joyous – will be leaving your sign for a few months in mid-May, calling for you to make the most of its presence now, especially since it aligns helpfully with Mars at mid-month.
The red planet can be something of a terror, but not when it is so helpfully placed in your fellow air sign Gemini. On the contrary, as suggested last month, its presence here encourages creativity, romance and sporting success.
April’s delights don’t stop there. Planets in Aries, with a new Moon on the 12th, also work in your favour, especially where communications, education and I.T. are involved. Even after fiery Aries gives way to earthy Taurus, from the 19th, you can push on, though perhaps under more challenge from critics, or from the demands of home and family.
Challenge, however, is what 2021 is about. Saturn in your sign ensures as much, though it’s the kind that brings you to take responsibility for yourself and look after others, and with responsibility comes achievement and satisfaction.
Pisces
Spring is often a chequered time for Pisceans, with planets moving in and out of your skies. This year planets are moving en bloc, meaning once Mercury leaves your sign on the 4th, you are left only with the ambiguous presence of Neptune and asteroid Pallas, a handy omen signifying capable, assertive women.
Most of the action is elsewhere, in Aries for starters, where the Sun, Venus and Mercury rule the roost for the first phase of April. In your solar ‘scope the Ram represents wealth; cash money for sure, but also what you value and treasure. A battle with the spread sheet is therefore in order, along with good resolutions about how you may get more of the folding stuff in your pockets. Some cherishing of your artefacts, artworks and so on is also in order, especially as Mars in your home zone is all for a deep spring clean and disposal of extraneous stuff you might put up for auction on e-bay/Christies (delete as appropriate).
Phase two of April, from the 19th, sees planets shifting to Taurus – earth for your water and a more convivial outlook. Siblings and second cousins may loom large or suddenly appear from history. Simultaneously mars moves onto watery Cancer, a prime position in your ‘scope for joyous activity, whether it’s the transient delights of good company or the more enduring fascinations of romance and artistry. Since Mars aligns sweetly with the full Moon of the 27th in watery Scorpio, you are at one point of a dynamic triangle, if only for a couple of days.
More sustained is action in May, when your governor, Jupiter, arrives in your skis for a couple of months; something to look forwards to. Meanwhile Jupiter is behind the scenes, and so is a secretive part of your agenda, whether it’s plans or a retreat with bell, book and candle.
Your Stars 2021
There will be far more about the astrology of 2021 in a special Your Stars 2021, now available to buy. This includes a 1200 word forecast for each individual sign alongside an overview of the year and the shape of the new era (for so it looks) socially, culturally and politically.
Your Stars 2021 comes wrapped in a PDF format. The price is £7.99.