April 2009 Astrology Article

April 2009 Astrology Rant

by by Mystic Marguerite
April starts with a dramatic square from Venus in Aries (surfacing consciousness) to Pluto in Capricorn(status quo authority); it has been rather itchy out there and we may have found ourselves behaving strangely. For some, a classic symphony of sex-money-power-death-ego has been playing in the background, made even more poignant as Venus is retrograde in the primal life sign of Aries and just emerging from an inferior conjunction with the Sun. Symbolically, the goddess has traveled to the underworld, been put to death and then reborn in rejuvenated form. Soon she will rise up raw and militant, bringing primal dreams of creation and newly quickened life up from the unconscious. In plain talk, the ides of March has been marked by more death than usual; of beloved friends, relatives or pets, but also of cherished dreams, hopes, relationships and careers.
This particular retrograde Venus transit is occurring right over a single point in the zodiac associated with transformation and rebirth, reinforcing this theme over the entire month, not only of letting go of that which can no longer be; but also of experiencing the strangeness of stepping into an altered state of being brought on by an eclipse in the soul. Already made vulnerable by fear, confusion or sorrow, we are being further pressed upon by Pluto, archetypal lord of transformation, ruler of mass-movements, catastrophic breakdowns and the more Kali-esque forces of existence. We might be experiencing strange cycles of high, even manic energy and a wild willingness to risk, alternating with feeling worn out, depressed, shell-shocked and over-stimulated. Those still defiantly holding on to the usual paradigm of self-definition may be feeling like a rabbit that has been hunted down to hide in the last bramble; wondering if the hounds will flush them out, or if laying low enough will grant more time in a familiar space. Or maybe if one exhibits enough spirit of transcendence that will suffice to buy a ticket to grace.

Expect incidents of chaos and upheaval natural or man-made starting around April 4th; Pluto will station retrograde while a passive-aggressive Mars in Pisces opposes Saturn the karmic task-master. Stations of the outer planets often translate into major events in the mundane word; Pluto rules the larger destructive forces at work in the world such as volcanoes and earthquakes; or matters such as genocide and government coups in the arena of human affairs. Mars in opposition to Saturn retrograde represents one of the more unpleasant energies to be experienced, think irrepressible force meeting a thick, spongy wall, or the phenomenon of driving a car with the brakes on. On the 4th, the aspect is exact and the resistance is increased even further by the Moon in quincunx to Mars and Sun-Mercury in quincunx to Saturn. In the mundane sense we consider the Sun as representative of national identity and ruling authority; the Moon represents the people at large. Quincunx energy is resistive, restless and full of friction; two different kinds of doing and being are not fitting at all well together. Quincunxes often figure prominently in a visit by Death.

Looks like a big slow-down in the OK Corral goin’on, across the country in the early weeks of the month. It may be dawning on more and more people, that the power at the top is purposefully engaged in bringing this country down, by printing ruinous amounts of money that disappear into a bailout black hole. Yet we do not dare correlate government officials or politicians with a condition of treason. Unthinkable. As Pluto stations retrograde it is in quincunx with the Nodes of the Moon (the status quo) and squaring a debilitated Venus; there is a slow and insidious transformation going on within the collective, as it becomes clear that little of this bailout effort is having much positive effect on the man down on the street. Even if we do have those innovative, revolutionary new ideas for living in the Brave New Age, most of us are not being granted the financing or regulatory support to make it so. On the personal level, think of this aspect combination as the tension in a bow as it is being drawn back to fire an arrow; the release when it happens is going to be a dozy, and there is a cosmic correlation for that happening this month also.

The Full Moon occurs at 19 degrees Libra on April 9th. Things seem to get a tad more intense around the time of the lunation, and the strings on this one are further tightened by Mars (aggression) in quincunx to the Moon (the people at large, your security needs) while heading for a meeting with Uranus, another planet representative of the larger forces at work in our universe that don’t immediately appear to be subject to personal control. Uranus represents cosmic creativity, sudden change, revolution and the future. When activated by a fire-bolt like Mars, Uranian energy detonates violently, big time. Think pipe bomb, think psychotic breakdown, nuclear incident, transportation accident, flood, volcano or earthquake.

Mars actually meets up with Uranus on April 15th; we could say the intense resonance evoked at the Full Moon of climax is only a prelude to mid-month mayhem. If casting a mundane chart for the time of conjunction, set for Washington DC and Koch houses, Mars-Uranus detonates in the twelfth house of karma, self-undoing and bondage. Mars is also ruler of the first house and Ascendant; Uranus is ruler of the collective and unconscious twelfth house in this chart, so we could be looking at a massive disaster involving water, large-scale riots or a terrorist event or melt-downs and accidents down at the personal level, as Venus retro nearby rules both the house of our money and the house of perceived enemies. This chart is also remarkable as a Moon-Pluto conjunction sits up on the Midheaven in the ninth house of government structures, foreign countries and the law. Pluto here is ruler of the mundane eighth house of other people’s money, debt, taxes, power and control. The Moon, representative of the people, is ruling the fourth house of home base and the fifth house of children and speculation.

The Moon-Pluto thing essentially looks to be a collision between the demands of the people at large, slamming into the realization (hopefully) of what Big Money and World Based Power plans to do with us and our children due an impossible debt load coupled with devaluation of US currency. Alternatively, one could also imagine that elected representatives and/or the President suddenly grow a huge set of balls and stop the Fed, the Treasury Secretary and a disastrous monetary policy dead in its tracks.

Well, but we have Neptune-Chiron-Jupiter (the fantasy that everything is going to be alright) sitting in the eleventh house of the legislature in sextile to the Sun, located in the first house of the people (we will take care of you). Yes, great effort is going to be expended by our august leaders and the media, to make us believe everything is going to be fine and the right band-aid will be applied soon. Just expect social chaos, fantasy, violence and power-plays to compete for your attention this April.

The New Moon of beginnings occurs on April 24; by then a great energy shift will have taken effect, and we may be able to feel a tad more easily grounded. The Sun will have traveled into Taurus around the 21st; energizing the urge to get on with planting and cultivating. Mercury will have been in Taurus since the beginning of the month, but now communications take on a new sensibility and groundedness, bringing that expansive Jupiter-Chiron-Neptune fantasy back to earth, making it produce by hard work instead of fanciful promise.

This lunation has remarkably fertile symbolism in it; in a horoscope chart set for Washington DC and Koch houses, we not only have the Moon and Sun cuddled up in fertile Taurus and the fourth house of home base; Venus has finally gone direct and sits right on the birthing point of zero degrees Aries, fresh off of a meeting with Mars at 1 degree Aries 59’. You don’t have to know astrology to know that Venus represents females and Mars represents males, a conjunction represents a union of sorts. The lunation Sun and Moon are also in trine to Pluto in the mundane first house of the people at large; it might be a little sloppy and makeshift out there, but seems like we will have gotten past a freak-out of sorts by the end of the month. It’s gonna be time to make hay in new ways, grow babies or have some fun while the sun shines, to heck with it.

Here I would like to insert an explanation of the current state of affairs as offered by certain acquaintances in the spiritual arts. They say a choice was made last August, amongst all of the beings in and out of existence and the forces of “evil” and “good”. This was to allow the Light to shine on everything that was previously hidden. So nobody gets away with much that is imbalanced or false for very long. It means that to the degree we may have judged others and made scapegoats of them, we now see them as a mirror reflection of whatever aspects of self we had chosen to deny before.

It also means we have opportunity to change whatever contracts we have made with self and others, radically change the way we are living and surviving. This is why the economic turmoil is occurring, because many of us really are changing our consciousness about existence and our place in it. Others of us are choosing to rigidly defend the usual way of conducting conditioned life with great determination. The turmoil will continue to fuel the break down old structures and belief systems, even while they strive to impose more control than ever. The outcome is not certain at this point, as our race has been blinded by tribal cant long enough to mutate many into narrow emotional and spiritual cripples.

Upsets, power struggles, accidents and violence can still occur as Mars squares Pluto on April 26th but collectively we will be ready to move on into the promise of summer, whatever it may bring. At month’s end Mercury the communicator moves into its home sign of Gemini, quickening the mind and urging us to embrace the amazing technological advances that continue to unite the globe via the world of communications. It’s not yet prime time for lift-off of new projects and new directions; real progress will not come easily until late May. April can be well-spent reworking blueprints, investigating, designing, experimenting , traveling or researching in preparation; in addition to throwing out more of that old baggage, there is always more. Even though various people and powerful institutions will continue in the house-of-cards game for awhile longer, hopefully for those at ground level the fog is lifting and the next steps forward are becoming clear. May the wind be at your back; know that God(dess) holds your soul safe through every throw of the dice and ripple in the veil that is Life.

Astrology Charts for This Rant and More Can Be Found At:

www.mysticmarguerite.com