Astrological Forecast for April 2009

Too often, we think of astrology as being about individuals. "What can I do about this situation?" and "What do you think will happen?" are two questions astrologers hear very often. Of course we are all concerned about ourselves and our loved ones. In these troubled times, however, we need to remember that who we are as individuals is always embedded within larger contexts.

With what do you identify? Is it your body, your mind, your feelings? Your career, status and reputation? Your family, friends, social network? Your ethnic group, country, and culture? Your species? All living beings on this planet? All sentient beings in the Cosmos? The sky’s the limit, but most of the time we find ourselves identifying ourselves very narrowly, as though we were only what Alan Watt’s called the "skin-encapsulated ego."

It might seem a bit egotistic to even imagine identifying with the entire Cosmos, or with our planet. Yet if you think about, the idea that you and I as individuals are somehow separate from everything else, isolated from the rest of the show and off on our own, is itself a fairly egotistical position.

When trying times and difficult astrological conditions prevail, we have two choices, we can retreat to our individual perspectives ("everyone out for themselves") or we can try - and it isn’t always easy - to see our individual trials and stresses as part of larger processes which are affecting our entire society, the whole planet, and perhaps in some way the evolutionary process of the entire Cosmos.

Of course, if you lose your job, your first concern is going to be putting food on the table, but it does help in some ways to see that your individual loss is part of a process of economic reorganization that is affecting virtually everyone in the world. From this perspective we can try - and you haven’t heard me say it’s easy - to bend our energies towards the most positive outcomes. Astrologically, April will give us plenty of opportunities to deal with stress, collectively and as individuals, so we can see how good we are at applying a broader perspective.

The month begins with a concentration on Venus, first with an irritable aspect to Jupiter on the 1st, and then a square to Pluto on the 3rd. The goddess is retrograde, so we’ll be going back over past issues of love and money. With the aspect to Pluto, who’s even more powerful than usual now, we can expect that there will be lots of reconsidering where finances are concerned.

The tension at the beginning of the month is high, as we have both the First Quarter Moon on the 2nd and Pluto’s station to retrograde on the 4th. First Quarter Moons are always times of action, and Pluto stations can stir up deep passions and create power struggles. The aspect to Venus suggests finance and romance will be the most obviously affected areas, but not the only ones.

Mars and Saturn oppose each other on the 4th, suggesting a need to focus our actions very precisely. If we know where we want to go, this time can be very productive. If our intentions are less than certain, we can expect quarrels with those in authority. At the deepest level, there is a challenge to the status quo, and an almost irresistible urge to pick a side in the debate.

The Full Moon on the 9th is in the sign of Libra, highlighting beauty and relationship, but with Venus retrograde, we’re more likely to be assessing and appraising the situation than moving forward. Still, Full Moons are active times, and perhaps we’ll be ready to move on what we’ve learned since Venus stopped to back up in the sky on March 6th.

April 15th might be the stand-in for April Fool’s Day this year, as Mars conjuncts Uranus and the Sun sextiles Neptune. The first aspect favors innovative action, providing the courage and motivation to change, while the second allows us to work with our dreams and fantasies without getting lost in them. On another level, this is the day tax returns are due, and it would help immensely if you aren’t a last-minute filer this year.

Venus ends her forty days of retrograde when she stations to move direct on the 17th. Although the period is technically over, stations tend to really slow things down in the areas ruled by a planet, so don’t expect love letters in the mail for a while. We can expect that we’ll have come through this period with a better sense of what we really want in our relationships, and also with a better sense of our financial responsibilities.

We have a mixed ride out to the end of the month. The 21st has Venus meeting up with Mars, an aspect which can help us to blend the energies of love and sex. This aspect forms in the last degree of Pisces, and right on the heals of Venus’s retrograde, suggesting that our energy and drive can also flow into a more universal caring and compassion. But if you want to use the energy for more personal ends, I won’t tell.

The New Moon is on the 24th, and is typically a time of quiet and introspection. The aspects around this day suggest that there will be more energy in the air than usual. A Mercury-Neptune square on the 25th should be very good for paying attention to our dreams.

The Mars-Pluto square on the 26th implies something very different. These two planets have a similar energy and usually get along with each other. Yet in a square aspect we are likely to see power struggles and competition, or at best the courage to challenge entrenched power.

April is not an easy month, astrologically. Individually, we will probably all feel some stress and strain, but once again we should try - you didn’t hear me say it was easy - to keep the bigger picture in mind.