April 2018 Outlook
April & Aries – Fresh Starts
Derived from the Latin Aperire (or Aprire in Italian) and meaning ‘to open’, April is all about the flowers of spring opening in the Northern Hemisphere, new birth and also the opening of the year’s new zodiac round. The Sun is in Aries every April, the first zodiac sign on the path of the 12 zodiac energies of the wheel of life.
Aries represents the birth of the ‘Self’ and its journey through incarnation. Spirit selves incarnate, but not all individuate… many live according to pre-programmed versions of the 12 zodiac energies as if rats on a wheel, or robots following cultural commands. We all have Aries in us, the desire to live our own life paths and individuate; necessarily using the masculine, yang, life-force. This requires effort, courage and taking action.
Mars – Yang Self Under Pressure
This April has all the usual excitement of possibilities and openings to grow our individual selves further, but there’s also stalling, stopping, blocking and delaying energies. Mars, the planet that rules Aries, comes under pressure in a big way this month, and the months to come too, but if we take time to adjust to life’s feedback, the obstacles become healthy boundaries and resistance-training. Be it yoga, walking or the gym, resistance is a core principle of all exercise and necessary to stretch, grow and build muscle.
Mars is the ‘action self’, the ‘yang self’, which we all have, in the same way we all have Aries within us which is yang too. This yang part of the self gets a huge workout when Mars, planet of action, energy and direction meets up with three major archetypal forces this month: Saturn, Black-Moon-Lilith and Pluto. These are important forces to understand, but not easy. April is all about turning these into your life’s trainers and teachers, even if they are difficult to take.
Saturn, Black-Moon-Lilith & Pluto with Mars
It could be a great month to find solutions for greater productivity, determination and focus in your day-to-day and long-term goals and actions, but the confrontation with the lessons and challenges of Saturn, Black-Moon-Lilith and Pluto are testing.
Here’s the dates of this formidable trio affecting Mars:
Mars conjunct Saturn, exact 3 April, but in force from start to mid-April
Mars conjunct Black Moon Lilith, exact 20 April, but in force from mid to end April
Mars conjunct Pluto, exact 26 April, but in force mid-April into May.
More Mars in Coming Months
These energies are so intense it’s hard to separate the dates of influence, so really it’s a month of all three affecting your yang self, your Mars, your Aries. So what do you do? Symptoms and emotions include frustration, anger, heat, passion, intense inspiration, adrenalin, stress, depression, overreacting, blame, extra effort, force, exertion, right use of power, exhilaration, whoops of joy, laughter and celebration once through the eye of the needle.
At the end of June, Mars heads Retro until late August. Combined with the lasting influences of this month’s alignments, Mars is in an intensified awareness and growth program until November.
Chiron into Aries – Renewal & Healing
To add to the Aries themes, this month Chiron comes out of Pisces, where it has been for the last 8 years and goes into Aries on the 17th; all part of why this month has such massive Aries themes. Chiron is the centaur, the ‘wounded healer’. Over the past 8 years of Chiron in Pisces, the wound of addiction, or of altered states, became more prevalent. Pisces is the zodiac sign of the sea, of water. If our body waters are out of balance with too much sugar, too much technology, too much alcohol, too much medication, too many chemicals or toxins etc, then the brain becomes affected and the body-mind ends up in an altered state, the brain being about 75% water. Chiron has spent 8 years trying to show us about unhealthy altered states and how to heal them.
Clean, Clear Starts
Now Chiron goes into Aries. Aries rules the head, the brain, the eyes, the ears, and positive Aries is represented by a clear head ready for action and focus. Chiron in Aries helps us heal clarity problems that mar or sabotage hard efforts. If we action things from an altered state, we could misdirect our energy and get off to the wrong start. What state was your spirit self in before it incarnated into this life? What state is your spirit/soul self in now as it gets ready to begin its plans for tomorrow, this week, this month, this year, next year and so on? Chiron over the next 8 years helps heal any ‘Self, me, start-up’ problems, and courage problems – it takes a courage overhaul to have a Self overhaul.
Uranus out of Aries – 11th Hour ‘Aha’
This is Uranus’ last month in Aries after 8 years there. We live in a world with the Mars/Aries/yang principle out of balance. If it was in balance, there would not be the toxic inundation, violence, war issues, over-sexualisation, noise bombardments etc that we are overloaded with. Uranus, through the digital Smart technology revolution, shook up the collective Aries energy, bringing great innovations that kick-started a new era, but also amped up raw competition and over-adrenalised survival, ‘me, me, me’, my Self, my pleasure, issues. In this last month of Uranus in Aries, some of these themes become larger than life.
What’s not working can be seen for what it is, and what is working can also be seen with Aries clarity and used to improve the good of the all. Uranus usually brings dramatic wake-up calls for the better or worse of the collective. If the worse shows itself, the extreme off-the-wall nature of Uranus wakes us up to the need for action, and the evolutionary solution will be found within the symptom. So if anything in your life has thrown you for six, it can help to stay present to the symptom from a range of perspectives until the solution is found and this month could bring the ‘aha’ needed.
Mercury in Aries Retro – Direct mid-April
April starts with Mercury still travelling Retro and Mars in Capricorn. What’s more, Mercury is in Mars’ natural zodiac sign Aries – even more Aries energy in focus! This all calls for persistence with communication and behaviour, as words and actions are likely to be misunderstood, misplaced or misdirected. So if something about communication or assessing others goes awry, use this time to have a fresh look. New perspective can change everything. Mercury went Retro last month on 23 March, and even though this thoughts-perceptions-communication planet goes Direct on 15 April, the shadow effect lasts until early May, and Mercury leaves Aries mid-May.
Mars all month in Capricorn – Black/White vs Diversity
All the while, Mars is in Capricorn until mid-May and brings out the judge and the jury in us all and vestiges of custom-made decision making as if from a rule book, rather than from living, loving and learning. Our life-force can find a way to flow healthily and creatively through negotiation, discussion, bargaining and respecting diversity and difference and the vitality that can bring. It’s not about deciding for example that you’re a Taurus and you’re incompatible with Leos therefore you would never consider dating one, when it’s people whose energies combine – i.e. whole people, just like whole foods! – complex, unique and real, not factory-made. Mars in Capricorn is about directing life-force well, and unlocking it from pre-programmed right/wrong/black/white.
Unblock Chronic Problems with Mars
Mars in Capricorn also brings the healing power of humility – humility in the sense of being humble and admitting any input or fault in contributing to stuck issues; the most effective humility being to change and grow rather than getting stuck in ‘I’m a bad person and not deserving’. Through this month of testing, trying and tricky astrology, of life on an obstacle course, putting the effort in to face and turn challenges around can bring needed breakthroughs. Even the most ancient of stuck problems can be unstuck and turned into joy, but it will take honesty, vulnerability, humility and courage.
It’s Mars so Take Action
This is April, the month of openings even in among all else. So for every shut, slamming or stuck door there is a new choice, and the challenge for your Mars, for your ‘yang Self’, is to create the kind of open door your authentic whole self would like to walk through. And being Mars, this means taking action, whether big or small!
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3rd Quarter Moon Capricorn, 8 April
Go here on 8 April for the 3rd Qtr Moon forecast, which stays online until the next 3rd Quarter Moon four weeks later. The effect lasts a week until the New Moon, and on a core level lasts the whole month until the next 3rd Qtr Moon.
New Moon Aries, 16 April
Go here on 16 April for the New Moon forecast, which stays online until the next New Moon four weeks later. The effect lasts a week until the 1st Quarter Moon, and on a core level lasts the whole month until the next New Moon.
1st Quarter Moon Leo, 23 April
Go here on 23 April for the 1st Qtr Moon forecast, which stays online until the next 1st Quarter Moon four weeks later. The effect lasts a week until the Full Moon, and on a core level lasts the whole month until the next 1st Qtr Moon.
Full Moon Scorpio, 30 April
Go here on 30 April for the Full Moon forecast, which stays online until the next Full Moon four weeks later. The effect lasts a week until the 3rd Qtr Moon, and on a core level lasts the whole month until the next Full Moon.