Retrograde City: Some Food For Thought on April's Astrology

I shared this a few weeks ago on Facebook with full intention of also posting it here, but it turns out my progressed moon in the 12th house is more powerful than previously imagined (to put it simply, life is just very fluid right now), so it took me a minute to actually post it.

I wanted to share these insights and timelines to help put April's Astrology into the bigger picture.  Today as I write this particular post Venus is now going direct after a long retrograde through Pisces & Aries -- so we now begin the process of wrapping up the Venus story which has been running since January 30th.  This is a NEW BEGINNING and a conclusion to cycle started 8 years ago, when Venus last went retrograde in Aries :)

But Venus is not the only planet to change directions this month.  Mercury also just recently went Retrograde in Taurus/Aries -- covering issues of self worth, value, being in the body, and also leadership & autonomy.  This Mercury/Venus Retrograde confluence is and has been an excellent time to make significant shifts in matters of love & money, and because Mercury happens to be in a stubborn sign like Taurus, it's a great time to work on some of those habits that just don't seem to die -- particularly if they pertain to Taurus' dark side... food, inertia, miserliness and laziness (And Aries:  Selfishness, egotism, impulsiveness, and anger).

Anyhow -- here is the timeline of all of the big retrograde cycles that are happening this month plus some of my notations about them.  Jupiter is also retrograde right now but I did not include it as my thoughts were primarily connected to the "stop and go" vibes of many planets changing directions at once.  However the Jupiter retrograde does have significance here because it is in one of Venus' signs:  Libra -- which is already creating an need to evaluate the role of relationships in our lives -- expanding our potential to make new and interesting connections, while also making us aware of dead and uninspired energy that needs to be released.  Jupiter will go direct in June and finish its transit in Libra by the fall.

OK, now continuing on...

TIMELINE OF CYCLES CONVERGING IN APRIL'S ASTROLOGY...

Venus Retrograde -- Aries/Pisces concludes (or moves towards conclusion)
JAN 30 -- Venux Rx Shadow
MAR 4 -- Stationing Retrograde
APR 15 -- Stationing Direct
MAY 18 -- Clears shadow

Saturn Retrograde -- Sagittarius begins
DEC 30 -- Saturn Rx Shadow
APR 5 -- Stationing Retrograde
AUG 25 -- Stationing Direct
DEC 1 2017 -- Clears shadow

Mercury Retrograde -- Taurus/Aries begins
MAR 27 -- Mercury Rx Shadow
APR 9 -- Stationing Retrograde
MAY 3 -- Stationing Direct
May 20 -- Clears Shadow

Pluto Retrograde -- Capricorn begins
DEC 29 -- Pluto Rx Shadow
APR 20 -- Stationing Retrograde
SEPT 28 -- Stationing direct
JAN 19, 2018 -- Clears shadow

QUICK NOTATIONS...

Venus & Saturn are square to each other when they both station which extends the length of the square substantially.  There is a feeling here of important and permanent shifts in relationship dynamics.  It will likely be spurred on by a conflict -- something is outgrown in favor of a more mature/responsible or serious undertaking.

The Sun travels through Pluto/Uranus/Jupiter T-Square so everything feels extra big.

Mercury & Venus cycles overlapping makes changes very immediate and pressing ... Saturn & Pluto stations add to tension as it irritates everyone's natal Saturn & Pluto stuff (power and control, whee!) ... but there is a lot of important stuff at the guts of it -- worth, value, boundaries, secrets revealed, deep purging, discovery, stubborn and volatile issues coming to the surface -- so try to see it for the lessons, solutions and resolutions, rather than getting roped in to the same old loops.

FURTHER WORDS...

Everything in life is an opportunity to return more truly and more deeply to wholeness and completeness within self.

Venus and Mercury retrograde overlapping is a very personal / interpersonal type of review process. What do we really desire? Who are our true friends? What do I value? Think? Feel? And want at this time of my life? If things have been revealed about your relationships of various kinds, how do you move forward towards a better, more actualized you, and better harmony within those relationships? What have been the blind spots, the failures, the expectations? If old news has reappeared how can you bring that old energy back to the wholeness that is you? How do we bring the errant elements of our being into harmony, truth and integrity with what we really feel inside?

Always returning. Always becoming more singular, more whole... Sometimes by letting go of the things that are binding us without us realizing they are.

Saturn and Pluto both going retrograde and thus amplified really brings issues of power and control into the mix as well. Sometimes we get so caught up in trying to fix and manage that we make the process harder for ourselves. But the key with both of these planets is ultimately inner strength and clarity -- not outward perfection. If you do not have clarity right now, inner strength also is a state of surrender and faith that the processes are still playing themselves out and have not yet reached completion.

The realizations have many levels... So being open to what comes, you can discover more and more layers. No matter how stressful or painful on initial impact, we find that we can learn something greater about ourselves.

I do not personally feel conflict is inherently negative when it shows up cosmically and in life. I see my life as about evolving and becoming myself more completely and better, not maintaining perfect mundane stability at all times... so for me it's all fodder for growth and I embrace that. True freedom and stability comes from within. It's real trying sometimes but when I rise above and really transmute something, I'm better for it always. That is the beauty of working with astrology. It's understanding that consciousness is always evolving. It never stops. Ever.

So let yourself grow. And don't be afraid of it when it knocks on your door. Know yourself better in life's reflection. Find peace there.

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A quick word on the New Moon & Setting New Moon Intentions...

A quick, late word on the New Moon, the end of eclipse season, and some quick tips for my followers who like to set intentions on the New Moon...

Regarding the past month and all that I have been bearing witness to, living, and feeling -- all I can really say is WOW! What I feel right now as the energy of the new moon approaches, is that everything which was dislodged, upheaved, and otherwise shuffled around in the course of the past month has done so to free up our energy for the new things that are coming into our lives... and this new moon in Aries is an especially good time to turn our focus toward the future. Aries is the first sign of the zodiac, and it is an energy of initiation and of setting the wheel in motion for the new year. Whatever happened in this past month's cycle of eclipses most certainly will continue to have a profound and reverberating effect on our lives for a long time, but trust that when the concrete cracks, new life always seems to find a way to shoot through. Keep shedding, keep questioning, keep refining, keep speaking to the truth that lives beyond our rational facilities and deep within our core self. There is something there for ALL OF US to recognize, if we are willing to see it. With the new moon occurring at 7:24AMEDT, during the dreaming hours, now is the time to sow in faith and trust, that our vision is destined to become our reality. Mind to matter. Dream to actualization.

All action, of course, is not without process. And towards the latter half of the month Mars, Pluto and Mercury will all be turning retrograde, giving us a chance to really rework our lives around recent discoveries. There is intense development at work within us all right now to become very clear about our truth, and let go of the aspects of ourselves which interfere with our integrity. The energy of the Fire Monkey year continues to be intense, challenging, and full of surprises -- we must remember to stay grounded and observe the reflections in our reality with an inward eye. This is not a peaceful time on earth, but individuals may work to cultivate peace within themselves in order to bring the presence and vibration of peace to the world in our own unique, special ways. There is no deed too small, no action unseen.

Now, for my intention setters:

Using astrology to set intentions is an excellent way to create the reality you desire. I find it to be a wonderful, monthly meditation, to clarify for myself what it is that I am really working on in my life and what it is I am most desiring to achieve. A great way to phrase intentions is to use present tense "I AM" type language. It is helpful to set intentions WITH the energy -- so certainly you can reference my analysis above, or just work from the notion that Aries is "The Beginning" so the energy right now is very much about beginning things. Your intuition is the most important factor when working with intentions -- you want to really honor what arises in the process of considering intentions. I think it is best, personally, to write them down, but it is up to you how you wish to approach this. Try also to limit your intentions to around 10 or so -- this will allow for more focus, energetically speaking.

The timing of intentions is also important -- you want to set your intentions after the moon is officially "new" and try to avoid "void of course" moons where the energy isn't really good for activating things. "It will come to nothing" is the common phrase associated with the void of course moon. The last aspect of the moon when it goes into this energy will determine the ultimate outcome of things, so this can add another dimension as well.

Here are this month's guidelines for timing:

This month's New Moon occurs at 7:24AM EDT on April 7, 2016. The moon goes Void of Course with a conjunction to Uranus at 10:46AM EDT. The energy of Uranus is about major change.

The moon enters Taurus at 2:10AM EDT and goes void on Saturday with a trine to Pluto. This is an energy that indicates progress and evolution on a deep subconscious level.

To summarize: Set intentions BETWEEN 7:24AM & 10:56AM EDT on April 7... or After 2:10AM EDT on April 8 for the most efficacy :)

I encourage everyone interested in this subject to check out Jan Spiller's book "New Moon Astrology" in which she goes into great detail about this.  I have used this book as a reference faithfully for the past year and have found it to be really great -- it is the primary reference for what I am sharing here along with my own tweaks and discoveries along the way :)

K, I hope this helps.

MUCH LOVE TO ALL.

<3