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by Terry Lamb, M.A.

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New to astrology? Read on and ignore the technical bits. There's plenty here for you too! Why don’t I write horoscopes for each sign?

ABOUT A YEAR AGO, we stepped through the veil into a new world. It may be difficult to even remember how strange it felt at first, so much has changed since then. Now we’ve acclimated — so much so that the excesses we indulged in over recent years may make us blush. Austerity is the key word now, fleshed out by a barrage of newly coined phrases and meanings like “claw-back”, “shovel-ready”, “upside-down” or “under water”. This is how Pluto in Capricorn feels, and it is the highlighted energy in April.

In January and February, the planets were clustered very tightly in Aquarius, then Pisces. Now they are spreading out. We could say that Pluto was the anchor of the grouping, now the sole and long-term occupant of Capricorn. As the planets reach Aries, they present to us the first snarl in life’s yarn for this year’s cycle.

Venus Provided the Opening Salvo.
This we began to encounter with Venus as it reached (its first square to) Pluto on February 5. In theory, this is the time when a situation is “set up” in our lives that will need resolving, because Venus will make two more squares to Pluto over the course of April and May.

While we can pinpoint the exact dates when these interactions will occur, there is really a process that extends from the time of the first contact through the time of the final one. We can determine the situation by examining what we’re experiencing around the day of the first contact (and by looking at where Venus and Pluto fall in our natal chart). No matter where it falls, there is a theme of giving up a selfish interest in order to shift into the energy of our new more frugal future. If you been feeling a bit petulant, a little touchy about trivial things, it’s a sign that there’s something deeper you don’t want to give up. This gets into very deep territory, since Pluto is involved: There’s something you fear you’ll have to give up as a part of the transformative process we’re all involved in.

If we dig in our heels, it’ll be harder to make the transition; if we leap too quickly, we’ll thrash around trying to find our footing in the mud. The key is to go with the flow. While a planet is retrograde it is natural to look back at circumstances and experiences associated with that planet. For Venus, it is love and money, put simply.

Pluto Drives the Process.
In April, we’re upping the ante. On the 4th, Pluto begins its 4-month retrograde period. This occurs on the day after Venus makes its second square to Pluto. This creates an opening for one powerful realization! Because it is timed with the start of Pluto’s retrograde, we get a major clue to what we can transform over the next four months and how to go about it. To get further clues, check out what you were experiencing around December 22 and March 23. Future developments will occur around June 23 and in mid-September.

This has to do with the aforementioned strange new world we have entered. Pulling back, re-evaluating, building a firmer foundation, creating a “real” economy based on real products rather than intangibles like financial instruments and hedge funds — these are our Plutonian urges, culturally speaking. While Pluto is so newly into this sign, we may not have a way forward well worked out, but out of this chaos we will find our own unique niche in the new order that is being created.

Blinded by the Light
Following the hymn of Inanna, Venus is in the Underworld as if dead as the month opens. Astronomically, she has been in the orb of the Sun (can’t be seen because of the Sun’s light) since about March 20. Just as we are blinded to her, it is also true that we are blind to what is really going on while Venus is so close to the Sun. We can’t see what the future — especially the next 18 months — holds. Until Venus emerges from the solar brightness, we may lack clarity about what our next steps should be. In the meantime, we can finish up old projects, clear the decks with others, let things move forward that are ready, but don’t push in areas that are not yet ripe for further development.

Venus will emerge as the morning star on April 3 (as she squares Pluto). This gives her (and us) the autonomy, clarity, strength, and courage to take on a big task, to make some big changes in our lives. We will be — must be — willing to set aside our fear of being unloved in order to move forward.

The good news is that we have some help. Venus’s only difficult contact is with Pluto. The rest of the planets either help (Mercury, Jupiter, Chiron, Neptune) or stay out of the way (Mars, Saturn, Uranus). The Moon adds the usual weekly complications, heating up the appropriate area of our lives on Wednesdays and Thursdays.

Mars Lags Behind.
While Venus complicates our lives with a long stay in Aries, Mercury speeds ahead, and the Sun ticks off our steady passage into spring. Mars now lags behind this crew, symbolically leading us to wait until we understand something thoroughly before taking action.

This is true with Saturn-Uranus. Mars is in Pisces as the month opens, sharing the sign with Uranus. You recall Saturn-Uranus. They began to oppose each other last summer, bringing out the urgent need we have to make overdue changes in our lives, particularly in our political system (specifically ruled by Saturn and Uranus), but also affecting the economy. Saturn’s love affair with tradition has been butting up against Uranus’s penchant for insurrection. When placed in the world of politics, we got a radical shift in public policy in the change from the Bush to the Obama Administration. This stirred up, and improved, the economic prospects of the country; it was time for a change in economic policy.

All of this has augmented the unknowns we were fast becoming aware of as Pluto entered Capricorn, and the end result is no small amount of pandemonium as we look for our footing as the old structures crumble around us and new ones are built.

The Saturn-Uranus opposition occurs five times over 2 ½ years, so far on November 4 (Election Day) and February 5. Even though these planets have separated by about 7 degrees right now, they are still very much engaged with each other. The pressure is off for now, but Mars is going to bring this area back to life once it gets in range of Saturn — on April 4 (does this date sound familiar?).

From the 4th until the 15th, Mars will heat this pair up, bringing the challenges we’ve been facing since last summer back into the foreground. While the issues absolutely manifest as real-life circumstances, they have their roots in internal misunderstanding. By dispelling these illusions, we can flip the switch that will change our lives. We have to think outside the box and embrace what we fear, just like Venus-Inanna in her journey into the Underworld.

When Mars makes this passage, it will carry reverberations of Venus’s journey. It’s important during this time to draw on the harmonies that exist, and they are many. On the 10th-12th and 14th-15th, the Moon gives us extra assistance. Look for clues of what’s working, and follow up on leads and opportunities that come your way at these times.

All Problems Have Boundaries.
It’s only when we feel that a problem is an endless abyss that we feel overwhelmed by it. Once we can define and limit it, it loses much of its drama, and we can relax and solve it. So it will be with at least one thing in our lives when Venus returns to forward motion on April 17. At least we’ll begin to see the boundaries on our problems. Although it may be into May before we can complete their resolution, a release occurs at this time.

Icing on the Cake
Before Venus returns to forward motion, she backs into Pisces, which is her sign of exaltation. This bodes well for good outcomes, and it is especially auspicious then that Mars will catch up with her on the 21st. If you’ve had a quarrel with a loved one, this is a good time to work it out, or at least take a step in that direction. Although their contact holds energy for the briefest of times, Venus’s second stay in Pisces gives us more good energy to spread around, as she will rule the outcome of situations from the 11th through the 23rd. This lovely connection is shown in Chart B.

Relationship Dramas Could Continue.
It may not be possible to completely resolve relationship matters by this time, however. This is because Mars gets just as involved in the transformative process that our relationships are going through. On the 22nd, Mars enters Aries and begins to square Pluto, just as Venus did. Where Venus-Pluto indicated a relatively internalized conflict, Mars’s interaction with Pluto is more active, even volatile. This energy is certain to come out as violence in some forces or people around the world who find this an acceptable form of expression. In our own lives, it is not likely to do so unless there is a situation where an intense emotion could boil over.

Mars square Pluto carries a lot of energy. We are more likely to have more energy than we know how to use. However, if we collect too much energy without being able to release it, it can cause collapse just like under-energy can. We can use it in our lives to fuel a task that we find difficult, whether spiritually, emotionally, or physically. The energy surge will last for four days with a peak on the 26th, with a repeat buzz on the 28th.

Aquarian Stellium Redux
The Aquarian stellium still exists, though diminished now to Jupiter, Chiron, and Neptune. These remain a major directive force in our lives, and as the fast-moving planets move through Aries, we get the opportunity to put more definition on what we want to create with this sky’s-the-limit grouping. This is the optimum time for us to make a simple statement about what we want to create (or feel we are creating) in 2009. This will sharpen our sense of direction and purpose, both key words for this cluster.

So much is being said in the news about the American Dream. In the US, it is clear that it is being redefined. Up until the economic crash, the majority of people defined their dream in terms of material wealth. This is no longer the case. More people are turning to each other — and looking for love. The American Dream has also become more altruistic and compassionate, from being community-minded to experiencing freedom of expression, to wanting the basic supports for human life such as work and earnings, protection of your wealth by those who have committed to do so, and good healthcare for all. The American psyche will recreate its Dream this year under this stellium. We can do the same personally, as well as participate in the redefinition of the cultural concept.

Mercury’s Mixed Signals
Mercury is zinging along at top speed in April, but you know the refrain: What goes up must come down. Mercury is already getting ready for its next retrograde. By mid-month, it is already starting to slow down; by the 22nd, it reaches the area of the zodiac over which it will later retrograde. Unlike our last Mercury retrograde, which missed connecting with most of the planets, this time it gets right in the thick of things. Mercury will square Jupiter, Chiron, and Neptune as these planets are slowing down to retrograde. This is not as challenging as the interaction between Mercury, Chiron, and Neptune as last year, when they all stationed on the same weekend, but it will still hold its own in our experience. Mercury will also give us new open doorways through 3 sextiles to Uranus, so get ready for some inspiration!

If you want to track what threads in your life will receive extra focus during the coming Mercury retrograde, observe your experiences April 22–25. This will involve the healing of your own dreams for your life and what stands in the way of realizing them.

Saturn-Uranus Watch
Even though I mentioned it earlier, Saturn-Uranus still deserves special mention. By the end of March, the Sun and Mercury have moved on, but Mars will trigger them, as mentioned above in the first half of April. However, Saturn has, because of its retrograde, moved 7° earlier than Uranus, so it may feel as though they are disengaged. This is not the case; their interaction may be less intense, but they are still dialoguing with each other. Once Saturn returns to forward motion on May 16, their opposition will heat up again, until they meet again on September 15.

We can’t forget the quincunxes, seen in Chart A. My aphorism related to sextiles is, “Where there is a sextile, a yod lurks.” If we consider that we have a strong sextile between the planets in Aries and the planets in Aquarius, the quincunx point to both these signs is in Virgo, and Saturn sits at that sensitive spot. This means that there will be “sidebar issues” or side effects to whatever actions we consider or take. It won’t be possible to find resounding completions to matters we work with during the first half of the month. There will still be factors that make us uncertain about how things will work out.

Because Saturn and Uranus are opposed to each other, their yearly cycles are exactly opposite each other too. Thus, as Saturn’s culminated in mid-March, Uranus’s is just beginning; when Uranus’s reaches its peak in September, Saturn’s new cycle will be starting. We can use the seeds of awareness about Saturn to feed our approach to Uranus, and vice-versa. Their interaction ceases in mid-2010.

What’s Next?
May brings Saturn’s return to forward motion, and Mercury’s retrograde occurs over the middle three weeks of the month. Chiron and Neptune begin their retrograde periods near the end of the month.

If life is handing you mostly lemons right now, it’s time to change your priorities and make lemonade. The I Ching calls it another step on the path. We can greet life calmly, living in the moment, if we recognize that no matter what happens it is just another step on the path. No matter what life throws at us, we need to stay in our center, keep to our path, and maintain our inner independence from what threatens to influence us. This does not mean that we should be inflexible or resist the flow. The art of being in harmony with the universe is to maintain our internal integrity while responding with flexibility to the forces and obstacles that come our way.

Significant Planetary Events

Saturn is retrograde. Venus is in detriment.

All dates are based on Pacific Time.
Blue = harmonious/Red or orange = challenging/intense
Events in bold are more significant.

© Terry Lamb