Astrological Gaze at April 2016--Planets Taking a Retro Vacation

As we move out of the first set of eclipses that took place in March, April gives us some breathing room in the form of planetary retrogrades. We begin the month with two planets already doing the backward tango--Jupiter and Saturn, and then as the month moves along, Mars, Mercury, and Pluto turn retrograde.

Now, the Mars RX is problematic for people who want to speed ahead and tend to drive through life in the fast lane. A retrograde Mars has us pulling back our energy and even going into the rest mode. And Saturn is already retrograde (begun this transit on March 26) and so we're not experiencing drive and ambition with those two planets taking a breather. And then Mercury goes retrograde in slow-going Taurus on the 28th so communication slows way down also irritating people who like life to move more quickly. This will hinder college students who already have too many distractions during spring quarter and now they just want to bathe in the sun like seals on an abandoned beach. And it will be amusing to see how these energies effect birds and animals this spring as they give birth to offspring.

I pull an image of the Four of Wands from the Tarot deck which shows a group of people frolicking at an outdoor celebration--perhaps a wedding or some other rite of passage. But even a wedding takes drive and ambition on someone's part and April's energy is more aligned with Shakespeare's Much ado About Nothing. And to top it off, Pluto goes RX one day after Mars turns backwards (the 18th) so it's going to feel like projects are suspended in the air, like some surreal Saturday Night Live skit--woe, where did my job go? However, use the Mars and Pluto RX to get in touch with the deepest recesses of your subconscious mind. Now, would be an excellent time to delve into therapy or counseling since our minds are less defensive and returning to childhood wounds for healing and clearing.

We require this respite so we can take stock of all the activities of previous months. We need to slow our heart rate down, lower our stress levels, and chill. And chill is not a word I like because I like things to happen as quickly as the next person having a double-A personality. During the final week of April we move into the Taurus energy so life slows down even further, and some people are going to feel like they're feet are stuck in mud. The Sun joins Mercury in Taurus on the 20th and then we experience the Scorpio Full Moon the following day.

Now, those of you with dominant Fixed Signs (Taurus, Scorpio, Leo and Aquarius), you're actually going to enjoy April's slower pace. You haven't enjoyed the circus of Cardinals and Mutables who have brought change and transformation at every turn. And now you're heading to the hammock with a good book and a cup of ice tea (or something stronger). Those of you with dominant Cardinal Signs will enjoy the first sixteen days of the month before Mars and Pluto turn retrograde and certainly before Mercury turns RX at the end of the month. But even you must admit that your nerves are frayed and you could use a vacation--April is the month to do that.

Mutable Signs get entangled with the Mutable T-Square but mainly Saturn and Jupiter locking horns which comes off as Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde--optimistic and enthusiastic one minute, scathing the next. You don't even know what you believe as far as ideology any longer, but you hang on to your old stories for dear life, only because telling a new story takes too much work. But why tell a story at all? Follow the Neptune flow and just be or become the being, if you know what I mean.

So here is the transit breakdown for April:

New Moon at 18 degrees Aries on the 7th
Mars RX on the 17th
Pluto RX on the 18th
Full Moon at 2 degrees Scorpio on the 21/22nd (Earth Day)
Mercury RX on the 28th

By the end of April, 5 planets plus the asteroid Juno are RX (outer planets RX for 6 months)

Don't start anything new that involves a huge input of energy or ambition. Do take a vacation, take a meditation class, go into deep therapy, do something creative that's not competitive and rest. April is a good month for self-care, getting in touch with your body and taking care of health problems. It's a time to reassess recent life changes, research a new career or even new place to relocate, and it's a good time to get in touch with friends and spend time with them.

By the time late May rolls around we'll have more changes heading our way as the Saturn-Neptune square tightens (Neptune goes RX in June) and we'll experience a Grand Mutable Square with Jupiter acting as the outlet. So take your cue from the lazy bull hanging out in the meadow and take time to smell the wildflowers or head to a mountain and get in touch with the beauty of the natural world.

Use this slow period to get an astrology forecast reading. Sign up  on the blog form (read the services page first). Give yourself the gift of self-knowledge.