‘April is the cruellest month breeding lilacs out of the dead land.’ So go the opening lines of T.S. Eliot’s hallowed Wasteland, but Thomas Stearns could be a bit of a misery, and for most of us April is a month for optimism.
Maybe one’s angst level at April’s arrival rises in an urban environment, since country poet John Clare thought April ‘The fairest child of spring/And every hour that comes with thee/Comes some new joy to bring’.
There is joy in April’s planetary picture, but also cause for concern.
The warrior planet Mars is granted superpowers when in tough Capricorn (‘exalted’ in astro-speak), and the red planet’s encounters with Saturn (2nd) and Pluto (24th) make for an unappealing mixture, suggesting an intensification of political, military and corporate power plays. This month could be a dress rehearsal for 2020, when we reach ‘peak Capricorn’ with Jupiter added to these three.
The grand communicator, Mercury, remains at odds with the Capricorn action and is retrograde until the 15th, so take proclamations of breakthroughs at talks and conferences with a grain of salt. Mercury is interested in the past in the first half of the month, a time for catch-up and re-assessment.
The Aries new Moon on the 16th (01.57 GMT) offers a burst of fresh energy, a moment of rebirth even. The Sun is ‘exalted’ in The Ram, which is a high-energy sign as this month’s birthday parties may demonstrate. The new Moon is conjunct Prometheus, the planet of technological and social revolution, so expect milestone moments in both regards this spring.
The month of Taurus begins on April 20, 3.12 GMT, a sign very different from the Ram, slower and more sensuous, and with the Bull’s ruler, Venus, there until the 25th, April has a welcome counter-current running through it. Venus is sweetly aligned to the harsh Capricorn trio, making peacemakers the real stars of spring’s show.
First comes the ‘Paschal’ full Moon of Easter Saturday, the moment when the Libran Moon shines for exactly half a day. Luna is square Saturn, making this a time for reflection as well as feasting. Happy holidays.
Aries
There is a portion of provocation in April’s stars; a welcome incentive to push boldly onwards on the one hand, a goad or two from a rival or boss on the other. While Mercury is backtracking in your skies until mid-month, revision and planning are as important as new business; you should have all rockets on full boost come the new Moon of April 16.
A dashing air and brave decisions should follow. A trio of planets at the roof of your ‘scope, including ruler Mars, concern your public standing and profile, and you may have to satisfy the establishment in your profession (‘the man’ if you like, and said establishment will likely be male) while maintaining your individual bravado. That’s quite a balancing act, perhaps asking for the ‘one for me, one for the man’ approach of some Hollywood film directors. Issues here are ongoing into May.
Your appealingly (it says here) unruly side must have its say, especially after the new Moon and especially if you are a birthday circa 17-20 April. Sudden changes of allegiance professionally and romantically are part of a Prometheus transit, and the distant, oddball planet is now in its last weeks in the Ram (though it returns next winter), and keen to ensure you have absorbed the ructions of its seven year stay. Sparks may fly in April! For social circulation and for those in the dating game, Venus in Gemini from April 25 is a welcome development; circulate.
On another subject, the presence of Jupiter and Venus across the cash and property axis of your ‘scope promises more income without radically more effort. Hard, however, not to also spend. Happy Birthday.
Taurus
April is a month of counter-currents. As long as the Sun is behind the scenes in Aries (along with a retrograde Mercury) part of you is in the past, or at least in a private place. Wellbeing of mind, body and spirit are a priority.
Happily, the awkward trio of Mars, Saturn and Pluto are in a fellow earth sign, Capricorn, meaning professional runnings can either look after themselves or will proceed better than expected. ‘The System’, as the phrase goes, is in a co-operative mood.
Happily too, ruler Venus is in Taurus from the 1st-25th, offering shrewd judgment in matters of the heart, an invitation to flirt shamelessly, and a personal makeover should you have the loot (or even if you don’t). The fine dining we can take for granted.
You reach your birthday month, beginning on April 20, on something of a roll. The following weeks are the time to put your plans for world domination into effect. The Sun’s alignment to stationary Saturn equals a chance to cash in on the graft you have put in since the new year. The boss has a shine on you.
The more you get done now the better, since another wave of planetary energy is heading your way mid-May, more of which next month. You need to be meeting it fully up to speed, so late April is no time to be on cruise control. Get used to being adaptable, a quality much called for during the next chapter of 2018.
You end April with a full Moon opposite you in Scorpio, where lucky Jupiter remains until your birthday. Jupiter’s opposition can be a mixed bag. Relationships where one and one make three is a possible scenario, sponsorship or mentorship another, an upgrade in your valuation of a partner a third. In another guise, Jupiter may be demanding ‘Don’t fence me in’, and just take off. Six months of the giant planet in opposition should have made things clear. The full Moon of April 30 brings the planet in all its guises to the fore.
Gemini
The full Moon of Easter Sunday could ask some unexpectedly pointed questions about with whom your heart lies and on what terms, specifically the financial set-up you and a partner maintain. Saturn imposes a streak of hard realism into money matters this month.
Meanwhile ruler Mercury is retrograde until the 15th; no biggy if you follow the rules and return to issues and projects that have recently gotten left behind in the rush. Contact with lost acquaintances may prove important. Beyond that, the action in fiery Aries works in your airy favour, especially after the new Moon of April 16; wheel, deal and be part of the team/collective. The Sun’s encounter with Prometheus on April 19 may bring a social, even romantic frisson to those of you born late in the Twins; circa June 19/20.
May birthdays get a blast of fertile spring energy after the 25th, when Venus sweeps into your skies, and will be doing all of you a favour in May. Turn your people-power activator all the way up to eleven, call on friends, supporters and lovers and milk those Taurus birthday parties mercilessly for fun and simpatico souls.
For most of the month, however, Venus remains behind the scenes in Taurus (where many Twins will have planets), and the seclusion of the Sun in the Bull from April 20 likewise calls for a spot of reclusion within the Gemini whirlwind.
For some of you – birthdays centred on June 5 – Neptune is the maverick planet in the pack, calling for clear vision and intent if you are to make the most of its star-maker qualities. Giving in to your prejudices and bad habits would be a mistake. If you are in the creative industries, then inspiration seems to be on tap. Follow your inimitable curiosity and instincts.
Cancer
The feeling that they are coming at you from all sides is one to guard against this month. They are, of course, coming at you – ‘they’ being your critics, disgruntled partners, dull bosses, work show-offs, corrupt bankers and anyone else who disturbs your mental and emotional equilibrium.
However, it would be an error to throw all your energies into a tussle with the forces of Mars, Saturn, Pluto, the Sun and a retrograde Mercury, who variously oppose and square your little ol’ Cancerian Sun. Keep focus firstly on career, where the Aries Sun can push you into action, and the irksome Mercury retrograde bring inspiration from the past.
The Aries new Moon on April 16 is next to the unorthodox energies of Prometheus, which for those of you born circa July 20 is the cue for a push up the slippery pole of seniority, and for others a creative breakthrough.
Venus in earthy Taurus works entirely on your behalf, whether it’s simply old friends riding to the rescue, new romantic prospects arriving, or profitable wheeler-dealing.
‘They’ are not going away of course. Saturn draws to a halt mid-month, by which time many of you, notably June birthdays) will have a clear idea for the agenda for the next two years, one being set since Saturn came on the scene last Christmas. Rigour is a big part of whatever enterprise you have undertaken, but pressure eases over spring.
Partners may be spiky or even spiteful under April’s Mars transit. Strategic withdrawal into the Cancerian shell is one option, but throwing yourself into positive enterprises is better way to duck any flak. With Jupiter lodged in fellow water sign Scorpio, your emotional equilibrium does not look under threat. The full Moon in the Scorpion’s skies on April 30 should find you in happy equilibrium.
Leo
The four letter word ‘work’ is embedded in April’s stars. Saturn in your ‘scope’s zone of honest graft has been imposing different rules on your working life since New Year, and with pushy Mars now joining the ringed giant the pressure is on to either dig your way to glory or find a more amenable place for your skills.
Your career arc is brilliantly illuminated from a different source, fair Venus in dignity, moving across the roof of your ‘scope, an antidote to the 9-8 routine. Venus likes to show off (likewise the Leo tribe), so if you can grab your fifteen minutes of glory the hard graft can pay off. Venus here also signals a shrewd female overseer to push you along. The first three weeks of April are the seeds of the more concerted push for public success that comes with the season of Taurus on April 20 when your Sun ruler tops your ‘scope.
Meanwhile the Sun is helpfully sited in your kindred fire sign of Aries, with the new Moon of April 16 your spring restart. Mercury retrograde – research- ends on the 13th, so pedal to the floor thereafter. Birthdays circa August 20 need to keep a fair-weather eye open for opportunities to go somewhere different/use a new set of skills to make your way.
The array of projects on offer and the planning involved push aside relationship grumbles for now (key phrase ‘for now’). Your ‘scope’s one-on-one axis is not frontline news though Venus may well offer you someone desirable but unattainable, like falling in love with a film star. With Ceres in your skies you might be sorting out someone else’s relationship.
The full Moon of April 30 reminds you that everyone needs a home, and to celebrate the one you have.
Virgo
Your April horoscope has a large splash of adventure to offer. The zodiac’s other earth signs, Capricorn and Taurus, respectively entertain Mars and Venus, both at their most forceful, but in splendid harmony over the first three weeks (and precisely aligned April 11). You could sail away to Bali on that combination, or find yourself in a whirlwind Hollywood-style affair.
It’s a very people-dominated transit in any case, concerning powerful individuals who win/have won your heart (or vice versa) and with whom you can go places. If you have such people in your life, celebrate, if not, here’s a good time to seek passion.
With transits like these, it would be downright rude to be at less than your best, the contents of your pencil case freshly sharpened, your most elegant frock freshly pressed. Venusian pursuits – craft skills, art exhibitions, growing, cooking, eating – are in favour. The month of Taurus, beginning on April 20, maintains the earthy theme of your ‘scope. Venus moves on at the 25th, but the green planet’s new position at the peak of your ‘scope calls for a public profile.
Your Mercury ruler is somewhat in a sulk until mid-month, mainly concerned with how you are going to pay for it all. Research and chase debts now, answers arrive after Mercury flies forwards just before the new Moon of the 16th launches a new phase in financial affairs.
The full Moon in Scorpio, on April 30, is close to Jupiter in the area of your ‘scope that concerns education and learning new skill sets, a theme amplified next month.
Libra
The Scales is the sign of perfect poise, so the first question is, are you? Perfectly poised that is. You have to perform quite a balancing act over the full Moon of Easter Sunday, which is in your sign and likely to bring the odd giddy spell.
With the Sun in opposition until late April, you are somewhat on the back foot with your one-on-one dealings. Mercury in opposition all month, retrograde until the new Moon of the 15th, a time to tie off the multiple loose ends from the last few months. Complete your negotiations ready a relaunch after mid-month, when expedient promises may come back to haunt you – you’ll likely be held to your word.
The frisson of new and oddball relationships has been a continuing theme for some Librans (dates circa October 21) for many months. Sudden arrivals and departures are one mark of a Prometheus transit, and the planet’s (almost) final fling in opposition this spring could mark either a rupture in an affair/partnership or an elaborate game of swings and roundabouts in the dating game. You may not have full control, and may have to surrender to the other party’s decision, or you may have to give in to temptation and accept that just now, chaos is your companion.
April’ s other rumble comes from the heavyweight planetary trio of Mars, Saturn and Pluto at the root of your ‘scope, the place of home and hearth, family and ancestry. It may be a ‘simple’ matter of bricks and mortar, buying and selling. Good time for research into the market or pushing a deal relentlessly through. OR for a sea change in the way your household is run.
Blood is thicker than mud, however, and this trio may be dredging up experiences from your childhood and parents, along with issues from further back, from forbearers who are only a dusty snapshot in an album; deep material.
Scorpio
The astrological Scorpion is nothing if not tenacious. At best your sign is a loyal braveheart, at worst a schemer stuck on revenge. There are times, however, when even you have to unclasp your hold and let things and people go. Jupiter, the planet dominating your year, may be ‘lucky’, but doesn’t like being fenced in, its operating principles being freedom and justice.
Much of April’s planetary action favours an open, questing approach. Ruler Mars stirring up your house of travel and curiosity is part of the picture, the vision (and opacity) of Neptune another, while Venus, in your complimentary sign of Venus, may play either the bright elusive butterfly of love (sigh) or the fulfilment of a partnership as a source of strength and affection. Everything is to play for.
The undercurrent of Aries, where there is a new Moon on the 16th and Mercury dragging its heels until the 15th, is the cue for an overhaul of infrastructure and routine. Part of Jupiter’s lesson is to let go of outworn objects; just now, less is more, the better to stay mobile and engage with simpatico souls, of whom there seem to be plenty about.
The month of Taurus arrives on April 20, when the Sun moves into opposition (six months since your birthday), calling for a less arduous routine. You will be dealing with a lot of Taurus energy this spring, what with Prometheus arriving there in May. The Bull is a sign as stubborn as yours, so locking horns with adversaries and partners (sometimes the same thing) may not be productive. Jupiter suggests you yield a little. You have your own album to make, so to speak.
April 30 brings the annual Scorpio full Moon, a chance for you to steal the limelight or to throw a giddy fit. Be ready and steady.
Sagittarius
Saturn currently has an iron grip on financial matters in your ‘scope; let’s hope you do likewise. April’s concentration of planets in Capricorn (Saturn, Mars, Pluto) will tease out any uncertainty in your fiscal arrangements, so energy expended on concocting a long term (say two-three year) plan for prosperity is energy well spent.
A retrograde Mercury (in Aries) helps with the overhaul and ways to reclaim what’s rightfully yours. Call in debts. The dynamic spring Sun in Aries, a kindred fire sign, is more a call to adventure; the new Moon of the 16th (by which time Mercury is moving forwards) is worth a declaration of intent and a celebration. The Sun’s encounter with wayward Prometheus on April 18 is a cue for fascinating new people gate-crashing your life or for finally taking on a love affair of a perhaps unorthodox nature. On April 26 Venus moves into opposition in Gemini to offer more potential friends and/or lovers. All in all, a month for finding good company.
The Sun’s move into Taurus on April 20 sounds a more mundane note; your tea break over, it’s back to work, and this summer’s odd accent on routine graft suggests you will be learning new skills and considering where the best place is for your talents.
At the other end of the Taurus axis is Scorpio, where ruler Jupiter remains, somewhat behind the scenes but dreaming of the fortune and salvation around the next bend in the road. The Scorpio full Moon of April
Capricorn
It may be helpful to separate the personal from the professional this month. Heaven knows that can be difficult for Capricorn, for whom ‘the job and I are one’ and ‘my stuff and I are one’ is often the mantra. April asks for more a more open, even passionate display of emotion where duty and achievement are kept in check.
Saturn, in your sign since your birthday, comes to an apparent halt in April, asking for a cool assessment of progress since Christmas. Those most in the learning curve and under most pressure are December birthdays, whom summer grants a respite. This is no time to throw in the towel; under Saturn you keep going, but you may have to revise some new year’s resolutions.
The big momentum in your ‘scope, however, comes from warrior Mars in the Goat’s skies, passing both Saturn and Pluto before month’s end. That trio of planets is no cue for a Judy Garland song, more a case of push coming to shove. Keep in mind that it’s principally you that’s doing the shoving. Where Saturn and Pluto represent impersonal energies, Mars is red-blooded and personal.
It’s easy to lose friends under a Mars transit as the red planet is harsh and shoots from the hip. Happily, Venus (the other ‘personal planet’) is wondrously sited in Taurus, a fellow earth sign that represents hobbies, parties and romance, the areas to direct your drive.
With Mars and Venus aligning precisely on April 11 (an ‘earth trine’ in astro-speak), you should be able to remind the world that you are not all work and a big house, but someone operating from passion. Before the 25th, when Venus changes sign, those of you interested should be able to locate a hot date or two.
More blessings arrive with the Sun’s arrival in Taurus on the 20th, promising a purposeful, fruitful month. By then Mercury has woken up (the 15th) and the Aries new Moon (the 6th) has prompted a professional restart. The full Moon of June 30, in Scorpio, is good for a gathering.
Aquarius
April has lots to offer, providing you don’t mind a multi-task agenda. Easter Sunday’s full Moon signals a time to take stock of the last three months, since Saturn changed sign, plus a retrograde Mercury (until the 15th) makes this an ideal time to catch up on commitments and paperwork.
Saturn, your traditional ruler, remains reclusive but empowered in Capricorn. With Mars now involved alongside, long term plans need to come into focus, ones you can pull off in a couple of year’s time when Saturn will arrive in the Urn Bearer.
The Sun in Aries and the new Moon in the Ram on the 16th will keep daily life bubbling and siblings onside, with a side order of old faces appearing while Mercury in Aries is retrograde until the 15th.The Sun’s contact with Prometheus, the modernist co-ruler of your sign, on April 19 is a wild card, an impromptu encounter or a Eureka! Moment.
Venus spends most of the month in Taurus, and the Sun’s arrival in The Bull on April 20 and events around that date are worth noting since this same stretch of the zodiac is under repeated emphasis throughout the spring. Changes to your career status, or developments in your domestic set-up are on the cards and open to manipulation by yourself, so don’t take a new situation as irrevocable. Change, and the second thoughts that go with it, are a given in the Aquarius ‘scope this spring, but considering your sign’s stubbornness, likely to be achieved by degrees.
Venus’s shift into Gemini, a kindred air sign, on April 25 opens a light-hearted spell, good for moments of hand-holding with a treasured playmate, or for finding one, not least over the weekend of April 28. The full Moon of April 30 tops your ‘scope and asks for a toot from your own fair trumpet.
Pisces
Yours is a water sign in a picture dominated by planets in earth signs; a helpful and nourishing scenario if you can swim with the currents, which may be demanding. Take Mars, Saturn and Pluto in your friendship zone; a stern trio but positive providing you don’t take too much for granted. With Saturn at a halt mid-month, terms and conditions apply, even to old friendships, let alone to dealings with fellow travellers on your professional road. Keep arrangements clear.
A retrograde Mercury isn’t a great deal of help in that regard, but allows you a couple of weeks to tidy things up – money is in the frame – before the communications planet turns direct on April 15. The new Moon in Aries immediately afterwards should quicken the inflow of funds.
There are more supportive friendships courtesy of Venus in her own sign of Taurus, there until the 25th to keep the social scene circulating. Love affairs can also grow this month, thanks to the accommodation between Venus and Mars – any potential partners may be hiding in plain sight. The two ‘relationship planets’ are most precisely aligned on June 11, aspecting slow-moving Neptune in your own skies; an apposite moment for a dreamy (maybe too dreamy) encounter or three. Ride your luck.
You might care to try a few different sets of people to hang with in April, as transits forthcoming this spring have this theme under emphasis, starting with the Sun moving into Taurus on the 20th. The full Moon in Scorpio on April 30 brings your international framework into focus, albeit briefly.
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