So onwards we hurtle – as in March, April starts with all seven of the solar system’s planets in forward motion from our perspective on Earth. The world seems to be in a great hurry and events arrive thick and fast. But wait…Mercury is about to enter one of its periodic three week retrogrades, and while major planets remain in impatient mood, Mercury’s go-slow should help us catch our breath, even if it is only because of pettifogging details.
In our personal lives, best to clear the decks pronto and to avoid any grand pronouncements after the 21st. Taurus is the sign of economics, and while we may not see a crash like that of 2007/8, the markets may have a turn of the jitters. Intriguingly, the recent collapse of the once mighty Credit Suisse bank happened as Saturn entered Pisces and passed Neptune in the horoscope of modern Switzerland (b.12/9/1848). The Swiss birth chart also has the Moon and Saturn in The Fishes, so the famously stable banking nation may continue to be not so stable after all.
April also sees a total solar eclipse on the 20th, just before the Sun moves into Taurus. Astrology is divided about what eclipses mean – revelation or cover-up – but the consensus is that they represent instability, and that sometimes the best thing is to do nothing until they are out of the way. This eclipse is in the 29th degree of Aries’ allotted 30 (12 x 30 equals 360, the circle of the zodiac), the infamous ‘anaretic’ degree where fateful, wild cards are dealt adding a freakish element to the month.
Pluto is now in Aquarius, albeit only until June 11, and isn’t settled in the sign of the Urn Bearer until November 2024. Early days then, but we may get some clues what’s coming along. While most of us are concerned about the plight of planet Earth, the world’s major powers seem intent on interplanetary conquest. All of a sudden we are being assured that there is ‘life’ – meaning water – on Jupiter’s Moons, on Pluto and even on our own dear Moon. Funny, it wasn’t there when we landed back in 1969.
Aquarius is, along with Sagittarius, much associated with rocketry, inter-planetary exploration, and Science Fiction…as they say, watch this space.
Celestial events
- April 3 – Mercury moves into Taurus and goes retrograde from April 21 to May 15.
- April 6 – Full Moon in Libra at 04.34 GMT
- April 11- Venus moves into Gemini.
- April 20 – New Moon in Aries with a total solar eclipse at 04.12 GMT
- April 20 – The Sun moves into Taurus at 08.14 GMT
- Mars spends all month in Cancer.
- Jupiter remains in Aries until May 16
- Saturn remains in Pisces.
- Prometheus remains in Taurus.
- Neptune remains in Pisces.
- Pluto remains in Aquarius.
Aries and Aries rising
Head down and charge is the default setting for many Rams and as it’s your birthday month, and you have mighty Jupiter with you for another six weeks, trust your instincts and that you have Lady/Lord Luck on your side. (Reminder, bookies never go bust, punters do). There’s a strong feeling of ‘If not now, when?’ to your ‘scope this spring. That there is a total solar eclipse at the very end of your skies – the infamous ‘anaretic’ 29th degree referred to in the introduction – lends a forceful quality to events then. Avoid precipitate action.
One might say the same about financial matters given that Mercury is heading for a retrograde on the 21st. Jiggle, juggle, dive and duck by all means in order to keep the cash flow gushing (or at least flowing) but avoid big ticket items where possible.
The full Moon in your opposite sign, Libra, on April 6 puts relationships in the spotlight, albeit briefly. Not the moment for a contre-temps. Theis Moon is conjunct the odd planetoid Chiron, associated with wounds and healing, specifically wounds that require ongoing acts of nursing and salve. Most of us have them, but take care not to add to the list now. Happy Birthday
Taurus and Taurus rising
It’s a month for a calm mind and quiet determination. Pleasure, leisure and a dip into the Mind-Body-Spirit handbook will help while the Sun bumps its way towards your own skies on the 20th. There is a solar eclipse on that date, but it falls (just) in Aries, not Taurus, so no cause for panic.
April is complicated, nonetheless. Venus in your sign until the 10th calls for some favourite activities – gardening, shopping, industriousness – and some flaunting of your personal charms. From the 4th, communicator Mercury is also in the Bull ‘s skies, but its turn to retrograde motion on the 15th urges you to get your business done before that date, and to expect a period correcting mistakes (not necessarily your own) thereafter. Patience is a virtue, and one at which your sign excels. Have a plan ‘B’ anyway.
Intellectual life and educational affairs remain well starred now that Mars has broken free of several months of deadlock. Scooting around the ‘hood, and calling in favours from whoever might grant them, are likewise in favour. Big changes are rolling down the turnpike but are more likely to arrive in May and June. when Jupiter and Prometheus boss your world. Those of you with birthdays April 20/21 may prove an exception – with Pluto sat atop your horoscope, any changes won’t be small and incremental, quite the opposite.
Gemini and Gemini rising
April is a mixed bag – which has the virtue of keeping you from getting bored, even if some of the month’s transits are not about entertainment. Consider your ruling planet, for example – Mercury moves into Taurus on April 3 for nine long weeks (it’s normally just three) in a position that’s ‘behind the scenes’, meaning downtime, a recharge of the batteries, a spell of the inner quest rather than achievement in the outer world. Three weeks of Mercury retrograde are included just to rub in the message to meditate.
On the other hand – as you know there is always one, if not several – comes a spell of the Sun in fiery Aries with Jupiter and a full Moon in Libra, which is quite the cue for a twirl on the social roundabout. It may not be all pleasure – some of it will be about team-building and mucking in on a communal level to realise your ambitions. Keep those in sharp focus as Saturn is in your ‘achievement’ sector for two years, with especial reference in 2023 to May birthdays.
April 10 and 11 deserve special attention. Venus – muse, romancer and good luck charm – reaches your skies then and makes potent aspects to both Saturn and Aquarius. Turn on your love beam, if you are so inclined, charm the boss or start writing the screenplay for your sci-fi saga. Venus is with you until May 7; dip into the dressing-up box and do the rounds.
Cancer and Cancer rising
People have differing views on the past – where one writer (L.P. Hartley) can opine ‘The past is a foreign country’ and another says, ‘The Past isn’t even passed’. In general, Cancerians are inclined to the latter view but just now you are better keeping your eyes firmly on the future. The Sun, Jupiter and two new Moons at the top of your ‘scope this spring – the second on April 20 – concern where you belong and prosper in the big bad world. Career in a word. The second being a total solar eclipse raises the stakes, though you may wish to avoid any initiatives at that time. The cosmos is about to do something different.
Which brings us on to Taurus and that annoying Mercury retrograde. Being part of a team is central to your mission this year, with Jupiter arriving in Taurus in May until mid-2024, so even though there will be crossed wires, even double crosses, this spring, best to stick painstakingly to your task. Thought about taking the captaincy?
You have a major assist in all your endeavours now that warrior Mars in in your skies, ready to take on those who dare stand in your pat, or at least to provide you with indefatigable get-go. If you are in the business of wooing, all that red-blooded is also useful. Think of the future.
Leo and Leo rising
After famine – two years of Saturn in opposition – perhaps there is feast ahead. April finds you marching, a little erratically maybe, towards a sunnier, more favoured spot in your public life and career, the Sun being your ruling celestial body (no mere planet for royalty!). This phase kicks off in earnest when the sin hits the peak of your solar ‘scope on March 20 and is much amplified in May, when Jupiter reaches the same peak.
However, it ain’t all smooth runnings until then, not with messenger Mercury in Taurus entering a retrograde phase when cockups arise all too easily – so you pen a killer application for a new job only to find that your letter wasn’t delivered or your email had a mistake in the address. So precision is called for, along with double checking and a plan ‘B’. Meanwhile, with Venus putting you in the public eye until April 11, dress to impress.
Venus moves on to a congenial phase with a three-week residency in Gemini, where you can sportingly be one of the crowd at work, a team player. And until April 20 your Sun ruler is ‘exalted” (turbo-charged) in fiery Aries, giving you enviable traction when dealing with international affairs or working ion publishing, education, internet and so forth. The total eclipse of Sol on March 20 is a moment to ponder (watch and wonder rather than take action). Someone or something of importance is either making an exit or an entrance, and likely both at the same time. Stay alert.
Virgo and Virgo rising
Much depends on where your birthday falls – or where you have other planets in your birth chart. Saturn in opposition is rarely a time of easy-going joy, but unless you have a birthday in August, you are out of the line of fire until 2024, and if you are an August birthday then hard work – Virgos are good at it – and scrupulous accounting should see you through. Look after yourself, especially teeth (which fall under Saturn’s aegis).
There is financial planning to do in April, thanks to a packed eighth house – where the money involved often belongs to someone else (a bank, mortgage company, a will), though Jupiter’s presence here suggests funds are forthcoming. This is also a zone of passion and sex and taboos (think Scorpio!)> After one new Moon here, in March, comes the total solar eclipse of April 20, an omen of departure and arrival when you can happily sit on your hands and see what transpires…Que sera, sera and all that.
Taurus, a fellow earth sign, hosts your Mercury ruler for nine long weeks, with an irksome three week retrograde in the middle. This is a good position for travel, for international travel and for publishing and internet matters except for that retrograde phase (April 21- May 15) when delays, revisions and general tardiness tend to reign. Hang on in there anyway as May brings more rewards and possibilities than April suggests. To help you get through the tedium comes Venus at the peak of your chart from the 11th – when you are in the public eye – and Mars in Cancer, helping you find fierce fun among colleagues and chums.
Libra and Libra rising
Contrary to some descriptions of your sign, Libra is not just about diplomacy – there is also a confrontational streak, one best avoided in April, especially around the Libran full Moon of April 6, when lunar madness may blind you to the fact are out-muscled by the (exalted) Sun in Aries. There is a lot of pressure and flux across your relationship axis in April, though how it plays out is a tough call. Jupiter, also in opposition from The Ram, is like that – the giant planet’s conjunction with the Sun on the 11th can describe the arrival of a dreamboat, your liberation from an outworn partnership, or getting more mundane, large sums of money being prised from your account.
Then there is the total solar eclipse at the new Moon of April 20, a real game changer for October 23 birthdays and maybe more – looks like a long wait could be over, that you and your main squeeze could be moving to another level of intimacy or that a bitter foe is being displaced. The omens are, as ever, malleable. Charm remains one weapon at your disposal and thanks to Pluto and ruler Venus in the zodiac’s other two air signs, good times and formidable creativity are to hand.
Mars arrival at the top of your ‘scope turns up the volume on career matters, hopefully spelling good outcomes to the increased energy you are obliged to expend, though a fight with a rival for your place in the pecking order could be on the cards. Play the diplomat, a deadly diplomat if you like, but the less shouting the better.
Scorpio and Scorpio rising
Here you go, bravely onwards, or rather here you don’t go, not just yet, maybe in a minute. Nine weeks of Mercury in opposition from Taurus – three of them with the communications planet in retrograde (from the 21st) – is the cue for mixed messages, promises that don’t deliver and plenty of patience.
The need to hurry is questionable. You still have Venus opposite you until the 11th so flirtation and/or cooing over a non-dairy milk shake with your best guy or gal are the first order of April. Much of the planetary action is at an oblique angle to your Sun, in the zone of good health practice and an orderly workplace. Coming right along after the solar eclipse of the 20th is first the mighty Sun, putting you somewhat on the back foot, and in May Jupiter, planet of bonhomie. In the meantime, things may turn out differently – but not necessarily worse – than expected.
Take heart that your ruling planet, Mars, is roaring away in Cancer, enabling you to leave behind emotionally charged situations that have dragged on through a long winter. Despite Mercury’s shenanigans, travel looks appealing, anything with an international reach, or anything involving education, publishing or the cyber world.
Sagittarius and Sagittarius rising
Routine may have you down in the dumps during April. A retrograde Mercury in your sixth house is a well-tested recipe for administrative mess-ups and petty-fogging bureaucracy, sigh. Do your duty. There is an abundance of good stuff to savour. You ruler, mighty Jupiter, remains in Aries in the best possible position in your solar ‘scope, the place you find joy, and with the exalted Sun herein Aries – and exactly conjunct on the 11th – count your lucky stars (here they are). If you are a love affair, celebrate it, if you are looking for one, go search, if you aren’t bothered by such stuff, off you go to the studio to paint an epic landscape or direct a space opera. If you want to shed a romantic involvement, the solar eclipse of the 20th presents a very obliging moment.
Talking of the search for romance and friendship, the 11th also sees Venus move into opposition from Gemini for three weeks, putting forward likely candidates for your delectation or the chance to make peace with someone with whom you are on the outs. Partnerships of all stripes are well favoured. Let harmony rule.
It’s early days for the ongoing transit of Saturn at the root of your solar ‘scope, but birthdays circa November 23-25 may already be feeling the push toward greater achievement or to settle a property issue. Be dogged.
Capricorn and Capricorn rising
It’s all up close and personal this month. Not necessarily romantically, though with Venus powerful in your horoscope until April 11, you look like a lover…and maybe a fighter too given that warrior Mars is opposite you all month in Cancer. Partnerships of all stripes – your co-writer, co-owner, your best pal and your feared enemy – remain an ongoing issue until mid-May; people you can’t live without even if it’s hard to live with them.
Talking of which, family and roots remain under emphasis. In March you had the first of two new Moons at the root of your ‘scope, where blood is thicker than mud as the old adage has it. Jupiter is still here and keen to make the Capricorn home larger, the family bigger and jollier. All good then, but the second new Moon here, on April 20, is also a total solar eclipse, suggesting a new domestic order may be coming into play. It’s a wait and see moment, and something a revolving door where personnel are involved.
There is large, if confusing action in your fellow earth sign of Taurus. Venus is here until the 11th to increase your creativity.
Aquarius and Aquarius rising
Money, enterprise, home, romance and graft – April is a smorgasbord of offers, though, or course there are catches. You have a shiny new offer from Mercury as April opens, as the communication planet aspects Pluto in your skies. Worth giving any developments to do with home or career a serious look as this aspect hasn’t arrived (for Urn Bearers) for, oh, aeons. Later in the month Mercury goes into one of its sulky retrogrades (from April 21- May 15) when more haste brings less speed. Have a plan ‘B’.
No matter, you need the time to contemplate your financial situation, which is now under the slow but sure governance of Saturn, and to explore the educational/internet possibilities being opened up by the Sun and Jupiter in Aries. You have already had one new moon in this zone, in March, and on April 20 comes a total solar eclipse come new Moon to clarify what is on offer.
The sign of Taurus represents home and family in your solar ‘scope, and given how busy it gets during the next two months there are plans to contemplate that go beyond a mere spring clean. As mentioned, mercury is spending time here, with the Sun following up from April 20 while in mid-May Jupiter arrives to expand the Aquarius Villa, add or subtract a resident or two, and generally consolidate your roots. All good.
Finally there is Venus, which from April 11 transits your song of love, leisure, parties, posturing and creativity. You can take your pick from those (damnit, take the lot) for the following three weeks. Enjoy.
Pisces and Pisces rising
Many of you are labouring under Saturn’s yoke now – big decisions, big bust-ups, big career moves – but even if you find yourself on easy street April looks like quite a tussle with money. Ruler Jupiter in your cash zone (Aries) is of course a good thing, especially around the 11th, but Jupiter is easy come, easy go, and holding off to the folding stuff can prove quite a trick. The full Moon of April 6 should provide some clarity here but make your financial decisions in the first half of the month where possible, because Mercury in one of its retrograde phases from the 21st is sure to complicate what should be simple. And the solar eclipse of March 20 something of a nail-biter for all signs.
The season of Taurus looks helpful nonetheless, with support coming from siblings, second cousins and pals, and if you are in the business education, comms and ideas you can anticipate a lengthy upbeat period, beginning may rather than April, when your big-hearted Jupiter ruler arrives here for a year’s stay.
In the shorter term, throughout April and into May, Mars is marching through your zone of creativity, hot dates and wild parties. Do your best to fit into that agenda.