If March was a month when energy germinated below the surface and then popped through the half-frozen ground at the full moon, April represents a flowering of that energy – retrogrades and all. Four planets retrograde in April – Ceres (technically a dwarf planet), Jupiter, Pluto, and Saturn. These retrogrades intensify the month’s energy more than put a drag on it. It’s the resistance that’s necessary to build strength as we go forward.
Things really begin to pick up following the new moon in Aries on April 5th. After a few days when we’ll be itching to get moving, the action starts. Take it easy through the first week of the month – it isn’t time to push forward just yet.
A Venus/Neptune meeting can make the time around the 8th through the 10th good for romance, although as with any romance the truth behind the story may not be quite what we think. Over the next week, Venus will make a series of aspects that should help us to sort reality from fantasy, while making the best of both.
Many of us won’t be thinking of romance at this time, though, as the Sun’s upward movement is given a check by a square to Saturn on the 10th, while Jupiter stations to retrograde. It feels like the brakes are slammed just as we’re picking up speed. Expect delays and hesitations – not of the Mercurial kind, but more fundamentally, as we consider whether we have the resources to press onward in the face of resistance.
Getting stuck leads to frustration, and frustration can become motivation. The struggle is on as the Sun challenges Pluto on the 13th. The resistance we’ve encountered can be transmuted into power, but doing so without going too far is tricky. Expect that tensions build throughout the middle of April and will find their release in the last week of the month.
That last week is power-packed, with a “something’s gotta give” kind of feel. From the full moon on the 19th, through the meeting of the Sun and Uranus on 22nd, to Pluto’s station retrograde on the 24th, Saturn’s station retrograde on the 29th, and a few hot aspects thrown in for good measure, it’s unlikely to be a time when we can contain ourselves.
The cosmic weather is complex at the end of April, a mixture of implosive, pressurizing forces and explosive, liberating energies. The possible manifestations, from the most positive to the most negative ends of the spectrum on the individual and collective levels, are beyond imagining. This is a time to push ahead with plans and projects you’re sure of, but also a time when it may be necessary to reconsider what you’re doing and how you’re going about it. Keep in mind, also, that others are also struggling with their own issues, and some folks are sure to be rather volatile. Dealing with such a mix of contradictory and powerful forces isn’t easy for any of us. It’s in the areas of life where we feel most vulnerable that we’re likely to encounter difficulties, while the same energies can be viewed as opportunities in places where we’re on top of our game.