AstroCast: April 4 -17, 2015

Posted on April 3, 2015
Posted by Kimberly Maxwell

astrocast-header

This is not your daddy’s eclipse season.  Game changing events are unfolding in the midst of the total solar eclipse that occurred on March 20th and the full moon lunar eclipse on April 4th.  Got inertia?  The current astral patterns are custom made to bust that right out of this world.  Just taking a quick look at a few of the headlines in the news lately, the tragic story of a deeply troubled pilot shockingly taking 149 lives with him as he made the ultimate statement of despair by crashing his packed commercial jet in the French alps, immediately resulted in major rule changes at airlines across Europe and may finally force a re-think of how we deal with psychological disorders.  Saudi Arabia and Iran fighting a proxy war in Yemen is the new hot spot in the endlessly volatile Middle East that is forcing the U.S. to re-think its delicate balancing act in Mideast affairs.  On one side, it appears there may be an unprecedented breakthrough to reach an agreement with Iran that could head off a nuclear arms race in the region.  On the other side, the situation in Yemen exemplifies what appears to be a complete breakdown of borders among Middle East nations.  Iran’s nemesis Saudi Arabia has been bombing rebel forces across its own borders using jet fighters procured from the U.S.  With lucrative oil and military contracts on the U.S.’s not so hidden agenda, the collective consciousness of the leaders involved in these tense situations will dictate the outcome of the issues on the world stage and reveal what has been, or has yet to be learned.

On a personal level, if we haven’t already adopted the mantra “shift happens” maybe now is the time because the spell of this particular eclipse season contains extra potent incantations.  Eclipses in general seem to generate psychic wobbles, tidal wave-like vibrations that disrupt normal patterns, but the current round occurs as part of a confluence of highly unusual astral conditions.  The new moon solar eclipse two weeks ago occurred in the most prominent of astral positions on the spring equinox Aries point, the annual archetypal reset button that wipes out all memory so we can get a fresh start at the new zodiacal year.  Except this one came at the very last degree of Pisces linking the moment with a past life-like bleed through.  What normally has the stamp of innocence all over it instead carried with it a tremendous sense of responsibility to make this life better than the last.

The April 4th lunar eclipse may trigger a déjà vu experience as it is aligned with the freshly finished three-year long series of era-changing squares between Uranus and Pluto.  Moreover, the Moon in Libra opposing the Sun and Uranus in Aries and squaring Pluto in Capricorn makes this a tension-filled T-square configuration.  That “I’ve been here before” feeling, however, may have an otherworldly dimension to it being the culmination of the mystical Pisces new moon cycle.  Additional factors with a culminating effect unfolding within days of the eclipse are the Sun and Mercury traveling in tandem in Aries.  They activate the Uranus/Pluto square with exact aspects April 5th through 8th, and then have their own culmination with the Superior Conjunction on April 9th, the point of the Sun/Mercury cycle that has a full moon effect.

Pluto acts as the Roto Rooter of the astral world, inducing us let go of all the crap we hold onto.  Currently occupying Saturn-ruled Capricorn, Pluto seems to be systematically breaking down dysfunctional structures of all kinds. All you have to do is look around to see how the various manifestations of the forms we operate through have transformed, from home and work in our personal lives, to governments and corporations on the societal level.  Uranus acts as the defibrillator that will bring us back to a life we may have disengaged from what may seem like lifetimes ago.  To see Uranus’ effect, look at what part of our lives have we been phoning it in that now requires our full and complete attention to handle matters that unexpectedly have a life or death meaning.  The superior conjunction of the Sun in Moon in Aries will laser focus the mind to fearlessly look at the crossroads where we now find ourselves and come to the kind of decisive moment that changes our life course.

The archetypal complexity of this eclipse period does not end here.  There is a fortunate bonus, an outlet for the forceful breakthrough and fractious breakdown climaxing energies at play.  Big-hearted Jupiter in Leo trines the entire bundle of planets in Aries and sextiles the Moon in Libra and hopefully will make this all a game for us.  While the exact trines between both the Sun and Uranus to Jupiter occurred prior to this period the potential for exciting opportunities and innovations are still very much in play.  Mercury’s trine to Jupiter, exact on April 6th, allows a channel for our perceptions to experience meaning and purpose as well as opportunity in the unfolding events.  On April 8th, Jupiter ends four retrograde months of review and stations direct, making his influence extra potent at this time.  In Leo, Jupiter’s expansive nature is expressed through creativity.  In his pure state he emanates joy and a sense of fun in all he does.  Of course the shadow side of pomposity and attention grabbing showiness could manifest depending on the nature of the vibration he connects with on the earth plane.  How does our current philosophy frame our creative expression and how can we expand on that to take it to the next level?  With some effort at becoming more aware of how limiting our philosophy may be, we could change it up in a way that gives us greater freedom of creative expression and joyful encounters with life.  Can we find it within ourselves to see any kind of work as play and have fun with it?  Can we let the star we are within radiate love without and shower others with our unique gifts?  If we can relax amidst the turmoil and allow this amazingly nuanced vibrational astral pattern to shake us off our guarded philosophical pedestals, or in other words by letting the boundaries of our own limited thinking breakdown, we can go through this purifying trial by fire and have the breakthroughs in our lives we really want and need.

To top it off, depending on how strong an orb stretcher you employ, one could say that both Venus and Mars are the only planets not involved in the lunar eclipse.  With the two planets that rule the signs of this eclipse being unaspected, this brings a wild card potential for unexpected results to the issues raised by the polarity between self (Mars/Aries) and others (Venus/Libra).  This seems like a good thing.  Maybe this is the collective pedestal that needs to break down.  The traditional notions of who we are in relation to other could definitely use a re-write!  Certainly we need to find a balance between the expression of our own uniqueness and how we as individuals create a thriving environment for ourselves on spaceship earth.  Symbolically underscoring this point of view, Venus and Mars are the planets that make the first aspects after the eclipse.  On April 11th, Venus leaves her home sign of placid, beauty-loving Taurus, for the active networking sign of Gemini, an apropos shift that motivates her to make connections with others, and generally get people together to share their specialness.  The first aspect Venus makes after the eclipse is an opposition to Saturn in Sagittarius, which becomes exact on April 14th.  Venus/Saturn aspects can be quite difficult in that they frequently lead to dark feelings of alienation and having to go through life’s trials alone.  There can be a withholding of love, or a need to prove love that often requires increasingly extraordinary means to achieve satisfaction.  However, this planetary pair has legs when set on a steady neutral course of minimal self-projection.  Longevity in relationships is a hallmark of this astral pair, along with a sense that the love generated here will endure all obstacles.  Inherent between Venus and Saturn is the need to study the art of relating.  How can we be unique individuals and not only allow the other to be other, but to celebrate other’s originality, even if it diverges from our own?

Mars might bring the answer to that question when he re-engages with the other planets April 12th through 17th with a sextile Neptune and square to Jupiter.  Mars in Taurus is able to envision his place in the cosmos when he connects to Neptune in spiritual Pisces, and understands the necessity of placing his strong personal desires in the service of the greater good.  He is motivated to dedicate all his actions and might into being at one with all of creation.  Many a spiritual warrior are under the influence of this planetary pair who find ultimate strength beyond the self in a vision of what could be.  The square to Jupiter in Leo enhances Mar’s sense of purpose and conviction but he’ll need to maintain the softening, all-inclusive aura he gained from Neptune to keep him from feeling like he’s fighting against everyone for what he believes in.  Best to put his abundant energy under the auspices of a good cause!

Also on April 14th, Mercury is the second planet to change signs during this period when he enters Taurus.  The downshift from the heightened initiating mental activity in Aries to the practical, methodical approach to thinking of Taurus could bring with it a much-needed calming effect to our brain – for the quick 16 days he takes to travel this space!  Mercury in this sign known for reliability, durability and conservation, may not be so quick to change as he would be in the adjacent signs, but that figurative bull-headed tenaciousness is quite handy when we have such a great need to see the important processes brought on by this eclipse season through to completion.

Barely moving over the past month as he prepares for his retrograde turn on April 16th, Pluto’s intensity is highly focused throughout the next month.  This tiny distant astral body cleverly uses the invisibility cloak of deep space to work his alchemical magic on us.  At times like this when he is moving at an imperceptible pace his hidden powers become even more compelling but on such a subtle level that we may not even notice the mountains he has moved until we get on the other side and look back at how we got here.  It takes a magician to understand the occult nature of the cosmos and Pluto is the best guide we could have to get a glimpse of the depth of power inherent within that can have tremendous effects on our world without.  So grab your wand and start practicing.  The great Sorcerer in the sky is sending down a Hermetic beam for all eager apprentices to aboard.

Here’s the data:

*Times where noted are for the Pacific Time Zone.  

**Planetary positions rounded to the nearest whole degree, unless otherwise noted.

April 4th – Moon opposite Sun (Full Moon Lunar Eclipse) at 14° Libra/Aries at 5:05 a.m.

April 5th – Sun square Pluto at 16° Aries/Capricorn at 8:05 a.m.

April 6th – Mercury trine Jupiter at 13° Aries/Leo at 6:26 a.m.

April 6th – Sun conjunct Uranus at 16° Aries at 7:08 a.m.

April 7th – Mercury square Pluto at 16° Aries/Capricorn at 5:05 p.m.

April 8th – Mercury conjunct Uranus at 17° Aries at 5:20 a.m.

April 8th – Jupiter station direct at 13° Leo at 9:58 a.m.

April 9th – Sun conjunct Mercury (Superior Conjunction) at 20° Aries at 9:01 p.m.

April 11th – Venus at 0° Gemini at 8:29 a.m.

April 12th – Mars sextile Neptune at 9° Taurus/Pisces at 10:23 a.m.

April 14th – Mercury at 0° Taurus at 3:52 p.m.

April 14th -Venus opposite Saturn at 4° Gemini/Sagittarius at 9:25 p.m.

April 16th -Pluto station retrograde at 16° Capricorn at 8:51 p.m.

April 17th – Mars square Jupiter at 13° Taurus/Leo at 5:29 p.m.


AstroCast
Kimberly Maxwell

A student of the Sher Institute since 2008, Kimberly has been writing AstroCast since 2012. A long-time Los Angeles resident, Kimberly gives astrological consultations, has various artistic pursuits including the development of a burgeoning creative hub in her community, and works in international television distribution at a major studio.

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2 responses to “AstroCast: April 4 -17, 2015”

  1. olgaduff22@gmail.com' Olga says:

    Hi Kimberly. Thank you for all your deep insight each month I most enjoy reading about current events and their astrological connections. Jim does this well too. I’ve been following your blog and I love your dance with words.

    I once studied with Jim about 10 years ago.
    Regards and thanks again,
    Olga

  2. Dreyskii@yahoo.com' Andrea says:

    I love your dynamic writing style, especially the metaphors you use.

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