Almanac – April '10

Venus squares Mars on the 3^rd.  This could be extremely productive physically and energetically.  However, temptations to squander this energy with frustration and obstinacy may arise.  Make sure to do something active to channel this; hiking would be perfect.

Venus trines Pluto on the 4^th, giving us space to lighten our load and find more depth of appreciation in the day to day glory.  If things still need clearing, then don’t neglect this opportunity.

Mercury squares Mars on the 4^th, enticing us towards creative action or threatening restlessness.  The crux is to avoid wielding our blades unproductively.

Mercury trines Pluto on the 6^th.  This would be a good time to keep slogging through the backlogs of our worlds.  But don’t push yourself too hard, there’s always time for taking care.

Pluto stations retrograde on the 6^th, starting us down another dredge and purge program.  This round seems to be focusing on us focusing purely on what we can work with and more deeply releasing the rest.  This especially refers to regret fantasies, self-doubt issues and the wussy way of projecting our ‘why nots’ onto others.

Saturn retrogrades back into Virgo on the 7^th, for its final passage in Virgo for a while to come.  In other words, it’s time to relax our perfection standards, give ourselves some more credit, and cut a little more slack.  This also supports solidifying our tendencies towards being of service to those working through their stuff; as well as pulling our own metaphoric weeds up by the roots.

The New Moon is in late Aries on the 14^th.  This is ideal for planting new seeds, both literally and intentionally.  Embrace patience and trust in the natural timing of the world; this is the key to seeing our intentions through.  We also can’t really know what’s to come, so free your mind of unanswerable inquiries.

Venus sextiles Jupiter on the 17^th, stimulating the need to get out there and join the party.  Do something entertaining by connecting with friends, or maybe seeing an interesting film.  Relax.

Mercury stations retrograde, also on the 17^th.  This will be a rather intense retrograde for Mercury as things will tend to go either too slow or too fast and leave us rather exhausted and slightly bewildered.  We don’t have to be frantic, but keep in mind that the energy around us is likely to be frenetic.

The Sun sextiles Neptune on the 18^th, calling us to be more centered through lessening our attachments to outcomes, especially those involving ourselves.  We must follow the currents if we are to go anywhere significant with any fuel left in us.

The Sun moves into Taurus on the 19^th, bringing things down to Earth another notch.  Tend to the gardens of your life; don’t rest on your laurels.  Just remember that some fruits take quite some time to fully develop and then ripen.

Venus squares Neptune and sextiles Uranus on the 23^rd, allowing us to reassess our values and reaffirm our appreciations.  This configuration could have us wanting guarantees where they don’t exist.  Proceed with appreciation for the birds already in the hand; the rest will come in their own due time.

Venus trines Saturn on the 24^th, again bringing up the issue of progress and how much our growth is being see externally.   However, the world often makes us wait in tantalizing agony for the full embodiments of our efforts.

Venus moves into Gemini, also on the 24^th, bringing some shifts in mind and course.  The idea of this passage is to love and embrace the middle ground while appreciating the surrounding polarities.

Mercury squares Mars on the 25^th, bringing recent issues to a head, hopefully for resolution and undoing of less-than-optimal momentum.  As almost always, it is better to self-adjust and work through our own energetic/mental hang-ups without dragging others into the fray, even if they’re already involved.

The Sun trines Pluto on the 25^th, asking us to release our fears and externalizations and enthrone ourselves as the centers of our worlds.  Just don’t expect that others to view it the same way from their perspective.

Saturn opposes Uranus on the 26^th, pushing us forcefully to break out of our oldest and most entrenched ruts.  If we don’t make the commitment ourselves, the world will surely create some way of blasting through our resistance.  If we’ve had our noses to the personal-maturation grindstone then this could starkly contrast the relative mobility and freedom of our current situation compared to just a year ago.  While it’s true that the work is never done, it’s encouraging to move into freshness and feel the accomplishment within.<

The Full Moon falls in early Scorpio on the 28^th.  This could be quite an emotionally intense lunation.  As per usual, avoid unnecessary drama and stay focused on learning from the past so that the lessons can evolve into far worthier vistas.

Mercury conjoins the Sun on the 28^th.  Resolve to undo unhealthy mental programming.  Stop the hamster on the wheel.  Get yourself out of the way and smell the flowers.  What choice do we have but to follow the rhythm and see what we can make of it.

Well, April is about as mild as things are getting this season so hopefully we are all using it to fortify our positions and strengthen our resolves.  It is about rhythm, or maybe we should be calling it cadence: Maybe like biking up a mountain when the muscles should seek to align with the willingness/rhythm of the heart.  The smoothness of the transitions is crucial to long-term energy responsibility.  More simply, keep on, keeping on.