April 17th ~ 24th

…let’s get serious about taking care of each other. Let’s remember how precious we all are and how precious life is. Let’s take inventory of our civilization, strip it down to its studs, and see if we can build one more beautiful. As Covid stirs our compassion, more and more of us realize that we don’t want to go back to a normal so sorely lacking it. We have the opportunity now to forge a new, more compassionate normal. ~ Charles Eisenstein (The Coronation) charleseisenstein.org

Venus has just barely begun to slow down this past week. She will continue to do so for the next few weeks, until mid-May, when she appears to finally stand still, and station for her retrograde phase which will last until the end of June. She is already in the shadow of the retrograde period. A time notorious for its impact on relationships and finances. A time in distinct contradiction to Gemini, perhaps one of the most social signs there are. And the sign that Venus currently occupies. Together but apart. Struggling to connect even while we maintain distance. There are signs that we will continue to find creative and meaningful ways to do so over the weekend as Venus connects with both Mercury and Mars: waving hello from a therapeutic distance. As many of us are. 

But perhaps the big story this week is the New Moon in Taurus. Taurus is the normally placid sign of Ferdinand the Bull, lazily sniffing the daisies. It is also the sign in which we celebrate Earth Day which coincides with the New Moon this year, and is when we celebrate the Earth in all her glory. This will be the 50th year celebrating Earth Day which marks the beginning of the environmental movement. Never is there a more perfect metaphor for that which supports us all, unconditionally, as the very Taurus celebration of Earth Day. Taurus is a sign of stability. It represents those things we prefer not to change, those things we rely on, that which supports us: the economy, our income, our self-worth, our skill sets, and the very Earth we walk on. 

The New Moon on Wednesday (or Thursday if you live further to the East of me), will fall within degrees of a conjunction to Uranus, and a square to Saturn. The New Moon is briefly translating the light of one to the other, in anticipation of a transit that will define much of 2021 and 2022: Saturn square Uranus.

The story of the environmental movement is not only about recognizing how we have lost our connection to our mother the earth. It is also about how we have lost our connection to each other, through the illusion of our separateness. The Saturn/Uranus squares are showing us that this cannot go on forever. That we need to adapt. To change. And one of those changes has to do with confronting our own fears about change itself. The time for change is imminent, and can no longer be ignored. But whether these changes will be for the better, or not, will depend on us. 

We are being compelled to pay attention to the ways that we have structured our economy, how we impact the environment, how we have devised our social structures. Are these fair? Are these sustainable? There will be those who resist and fear changes. Who will dig in their heels protecting the remnants of what once was, from what appears to be threatening all that they have built up and invested in. There will be others clamoring for freedoms and civil rights and social equality, taking into consideration even the least of us. We can cling to fear and separation; or we can lay the foundation for progressive change. 

This New Moon is a portent of what’s yet to come: a premonition that somehow our lives will never be quite the same again. But there is also an understanding that due to necessity, we are going to have to find new and innovative ways to adapt. Saturn/Uranus cycles are associated with technological advances and breakthroughs, and major reforms in society. But they can also have to do with the absolute fear of and resistance to any sort of unwelcome change. There is no doubt, that something interesting this way comes. 

Just days after the New Moon, Pluto will station retrograde. Since the last Mercury retrograde that ended March 10th, all of the planets have been direct. Every one. But that’s about to change. Beginning with the station of Pluto on April 25th, we will then have 3 more planets station retrograde in May. It could feel like we will need to take a few steps back in order to move forward again. 

The stations of Pluto can be powerful and remarkable as the Lord of the Underworld turns in his underground lair. Coinciding with the Sun/Uranus conjunction right after the New Moon, and a Mercury/Pluto square, there could be sudden and remarkable shifts. Facing Pluto is one of the most transforming experiences we can ever have. But it requires both courage and honesty. We’ve already had the locusts and the plague this year. What on earth is next on the horizon? 

For next week’s horoscopes, click below: 

HOROSCOPES