Greetings Earthlings!
Are you ready for the big opening, the giant eye of dark and light, moving in a wide swathe over the Earth, and especially over the USA? My pals and I will be looking up as the Moon eats the Sun on April 8th, our eclipse glasses on, from an undisclosed location in Oklahoma. April is a month where one planet after another has a movement and a message to share.
This month is Aries until the 19th and boy, is there a lot of it! Let’s start with the basics … Aries is the first sign, it’s a place of pure innocence. It represents your identity; your I Am quality. Think of a tiny child, utterly dependent on others and at the same time, consumed with its own needs. And this is where Aries gets a bad rap. The crying, impulsive infant wanting what it wants when it wants it. That’s something to consider as you move through the first part of this month.
And, if that isn’t wild enough for you, let’s throw in Mercury retrograde from the very beginning of the month at almost the beginning of Aries, to April 25th.
Let’s make sense of this…
We have a New Moon total solar eclipse with a super Moon no less (close to the Earth) in the middle of a Mercury retrograde. This is a cosmic and life opening opportunity for us all IF we come from the best of Aries. Which is the ability to envision the future and the courage and impulse to go there. Unequivocally, without hesitation.
This action needs to be quick and smart. It’s not something to regret. Imagine, years of toil and pain avoided by a single sharp action. In Buddhism this is known as skillful means, an action that produces happiness, as opposed to an action that does not.
Here’s an example, say you’re dating someone, and you see the writing on the wall, there are a few differences between you, and he (or she) is showing some behaviors that wave red flags. Decisive Aries energy will cut it off quick saving you years of grief and couples counseling.
Here’s another: you’re renting out a room in your house and you get a feeling about the applicant. Aries feels that and trusts it and decides then and there if the person is the right fit.
And the final example — imagine you live on an exquisitely beautiful planet with a bunch of other folk and you notice that the planet is being trashed and species are losing their habitat, and you feel sad all the time, until you realize that a lot of other people feel the same way and there’s a collective movement (Pluto in Aquarius) to STOP fowling our nest and to move toward a new and exciting vision of planetary and communal health. That’s the power of an Aries eclipse with Chiron!
This does not mean that you need to make a decision at the eclipse, it means that throughout the course of the next six months or so, you’d do well to hone your intuition and especially your self-knowledge (the I Am of Aries) so that when situations arise you can come from the brilliance of the archetypal fool, coming from nothing but that which feels true for you and makes you smile.
Here’s how the month rolls along:
The first two days of April are under a waning Capricorn Moon inviting you to get things done.
Mercury stations on April 1st (April Fool’s Day!) and turns retrograde at 27° Aries at around 4pm on Tuesday April 2nd. It begins to station direct the evening of April 24th, turning direct on 4/25 at 16 °Aries.
April 2nd, Mercury retrogrades. Dot your i’s and cross your t’s. Let the next three weeks be about self-understanding, especially when it comes to reactivity and repression. Mercury and Chiron will connect making this month excellent for skillful correction and rewiring.
The Aquarian Moon encourages connection and rational thinking as it carries collective energy through to late on April 4th, when Venus leaves the tenderness of Pisces for Aries. She does not want to be left behind! In your life this feels like independence and possibly some loneliness. But don’t buy the myth of separation. You are connected, and you’re an individual too.
Also on the 4th, the Sun conjuncts the North Node helping you align with your new vision.
We’re fast approaching eclipse day. The darkening Moon travels through gentle Pisces meeting with Mars and Saturn. Stay focused and open. Lots of symbols come in over the 5th through 7th.
April 8th, 2024 New Moon Solar eclipse at 19° Aries with Chiron, right there. I mean, right there! At the exact degree and within one minute. Absolutely remarkable. This all takes place at 12:19 pm MDT but… in terms of watching the eclipse, please check your exact location and eclipse times as totality will last 4 minutes and 28 seconds.
Having discussed Aries and the opening for skillful means that this exquisitely tender eclipse provides, let’s look at Chiron’s role in this New Moon.
Chiron is the place where it hurts. It’s the place in your chart and life where a great leap of understanding takes place. Usually this is accompanied by a cosmic slap upside the head, like a Zen Roshi waking a meditator. Consider yourself warned!
I’m a Chiron person so I can talk about this. Chiron isn’t that easy. But it does enlighten. The wounded healer operates from within you like a genetic code. It connects missing links, corrects crooked ways, and leads you to a new and improved self only it kinda’ hurts to get there. I know. Darn. Well, I’m a better person for it. Besides, Chiron is the intuitive principal, clairvoyance, clairaudient, clairsentient, claircognizance, and clairalience. In other words, Chiron acts as an inner compass.
Chiron in Aries is like having an idea of yourself that makes you happy. It’s full of love, love for who you are and how you feel about others, and your love for them, for humanity, what the Zulus call Ubuntu. It’s your love for the world itself, its animals, rivers, skies, and seas. It’s an ultimate genetic and spiritual upgrade. It’s a re-wiring. Prepare yourself accordingly.
Wow, after all that, how does one move on from those four and a half minutes of eclipse! The effects certainly linger until the Moon leaves Aries, entering Taurus early on the morning of the 9th.
There’s no time for complacency for the Moon meets abundant Jupiter and wildly inventive Uranus over the next few days bringing religious overtones and technological surges. This takes place over April 9th and 10th. This is an important precursor to the Jupiter/Uranus conjunction on April 17th. Pay attention to how you feel and what’s going on around you, in the Earth and environment.
April 10th, Mars and Saturn connect in Pisces suggests that karma catches up. Oh oh! Rest if you need to. Though this is a generalization, it’s true for some that connecting with an important man brings meaning. My friend and colleague, Nancy, feels this is an excellent time for a vision quest.
April 11th and Mercury meets the Sun, while the waxing Moon is now in Gemini quickening your thoughts and plans. Remember, reflection is the goal with Mercury retrograde and most certainly fresh from the eclipse. Protect your mental health. Soothe your mind.
The Moon in Gemini carries fresh breezes and ideas through to the Moon’s entry into Cancer on the 13th. Jupiter is now within one degree of Uranus. You’re feeling it! The Cancer Moon enhances your emotions through the next two days.
This is especially true on the 16th when Mercury and Chiron meet. Insights and intuition, ideas about your identity, breakthroughs and breakdowns, are possible. Remember the four agreements? And the one that said not to take anything personally?
April 17th and Jupiter and Uranus meet, with their tightest conjunction being on April 20th. Historically this cosmic aspect is connected with sudden fame and fortune, with big, wonderful things. Stay open to teachings and truths. Look for worldwide leaders to emerge. This is a big cosmic event in incredible window of time.
The warm Leo Moon carries you through the next few days and enters Virgo as the Sun enters Taurus on April 19th. Also on the 19th, Mercury and Venus catch up to each other. Time to write a love letter. Write one to yourself while you’re at it.
April 20th Jupiter and Uranus connect in their tightest aspect. Wow Wee! What big, advanced, earthy, wise, sensual, technological, chaos will emerge from this. It’s very Promethean!
The two stay together while on the 21st, Venus meets Chiron. Are the planets in our solar system playing broken telephone? There’s an awful lot of hobnobbing going on. Take their lead and make your own connections.
The Scorpio Full Moon on April 23rd shows the emotional results of all this activity. Listen in to your deepest self, something old and crusty is giving way to new life. What is it?
Feel things moving out on the 24th and 25th as the Moon opposes the big guys (Jupiter and Uranus). Understanding, maybe even fear, accompanies your acceptance of the insights that come to you.
April 26th and 27th, the Sagittarian Moon lifts spirits and fuels conspiracies.
April 28th and Mars meets Neptune. This is a time for forgiveness. It’s time for prayer. Protect your immune system. Spiritual insights are possible now.
This energy carries through to the 29th while on the 30th Mars leaves Pisces for Aries. Here comes new energy after a rather mystical month. The Moon enters Aquarius on the 30th and meets with Pluto. The energy is shifting again and it’s not all about you anymore, it’s about us, and who we are together and how independent action must consider the whole.
And so, coming to the end of this very dynamic and full month, with our understanding expanded and our lives changed, we are renewed by our connection. This helps us to remember that you matter, we’re all connected, Earth is our home and love our destination.
Your astrologer coming to you live from the path of the eclipse,
Dulce
