Shipshape and Bristol Fashion
A month or so ago, I gave my office a thorough straightening out. It’s really been a pleasure going in there to work each day. There’s just one fly in the ointment: a single basket filled with papers and file folders that I still haven’t put away. These are troublesome drips and drabs, oddballs and one-offs with no clear home in my filing system, but which can’t be thrown out.
I’ve been putting it off, but this week, as Mercury conjoins Saturn (April 20, 2026, 4:22 am PDT, 7º55’ Aries), I’m going to tackle that bad boy. I can’t think of an aspect better suited to the tedious task of taming errant papers and setting up a civilized home for them in my filing cabinet.
Maybe you’ve got your own personal Bermuda triangle that Mercury and Saturn could help you out with this week. It might be a disastrous hall closet, a pile of junk mail, or the kitchen junk drawer where you toss twist-ties and those packets of pepper flakes that come with your pizza. Whatever it is, turn this dynamic duo loose and watch things get shipshape and Bristol fashion.
The Passionate Story Becomes Real
All great things begin with passion, an impulse that connects us with the vital pulse of the world. Sit with that passion long enough, and you’ll find a story that longs for expression.
Now dwell there for a little while, and dream up various ways of sharing that story. You pick up a guitar or sit at a drafting table, write a story or make a YouTube video. And finally, you find your path and set forth, unafraid to share your passionate story.
This has been the trajectory of Mercury’s three recent conjunctions with Mars. The first, on Jan 17 was in Capricorn, and activated a passion and a plan; on. March 15, in Pisces, came the nature of the story and the desire to share it with the world. And now, with Mercury conjunct Mars in Aries (Apr 20, 2026, 2:45 pm PDT), we book the venue for the concert, draft a blueprint, and storyboard a video. We make the passionate story a reality.
Windfalls
As Venus makes its annual conjunction to Uranus (April 23, 2026, 6:58 pm, 29º53’ Taurus), there could be an opportunity to get to know someone a little better, maybe someone you met a long time ago but who, at the time, didn’t make that compelling of an impression. And now, if you make the effort to connect, there is the possibility of it really paying off with that electrifying feeling of having met someone who could change your life.
Now, this may literally be the case for you, or it might not. But pay attention this week to offers and introductions, particularly those involving romantic or financial opportunities. They won’t all be winners, but Venus – strong in her own sign, Taurus – coming together with unpredictable Uranus can always bring something interesting and unexpected. Not always positive, however; unlikely expenses are as possible as windfalls.
The Conviviality of the Neighborhood
I‘ve lived in the same neighborhood for many years now. On my daily walk I encounter neighbors who are familiar, even if we don’t know one another by name. There’s the man with the knit cap and his one-eyed corgi; the quiet older woman who, I’m told, single-handedly remodeled her home; the pair of men with the adorable sheepdog who trade quips with me. At the supermarket, I pick the line for my favorite checker.
Gemini is the first of the three relational signs. Libra rules close relationships, Aquarius rules the way we relate as a society, and Gemini rules the casual conviviality of the neighborhood. Venus entering Gemini this week (April 23, 2026, 9:03 pm PDT) reminds us of the pleasure to be found in simple, pleasant interactions with those around us. These connections are the social lubricant that keeps the gears of society moving comfortably. We won’t become close to every person we encounter in our daily lives, but a passing smile and a cheerful hello go a long way toward making us feel less alone.
Running Wild
People of my generation, born in the late fifties and sixties, love to reminisce about our idyllic upbringings. We pride ourselves on having survived and even thrived despite the benign neglect of parents who let us run wild, hanging out together and exploring on our bikes.
Maybe it wasn’t all exactly as we remember. But I do feel that the security and slow pace of my early life had everything to do with the development of my creativity. When you have a roof over your head, plenty to eat, and a relatively peaceful family life, you have the luxury of time and energy – to play, to learn to play an instrument, to study astrology.
Last week’s ferocious Aries New Moon gives way this week to the First Quarter Moon in Leo (April 23, 2026, 7:32 pm PDT, 3º56’ Leo/Taurus). The Sun and Moon in aspect to Pluto is a shadowy reminder that the world has changed, perhaps become darker, since my generation’s youth. It takes courage to let the child within come out to play, to make ourselves vulnerable to criticism and even ridicule. But the steadiness of the Sun in Taurus offers a secure platform for our Leo playfulness and creative fun, and courage is both Leo’s goal and its true nature.
Even during stressful times, we quickly fall into routines and patterns that pass for normalcy. To the extent we’ve got adequate resources, the challenge now is to push ourselves to reach for more than just survival. It’s a lunar phase that invites us to embrace what makes life worth living in the first place.
Which Parts of You Are True?
It can sometimes be challenging to know which parts of you are true, and which ones are a habit, acquired to make life easier rather than more authentic. When the Sun squares Pluto (April 25, 2026, 9:33 am PDT, 5º28’ Taurus-Aquarius), it gets a lot easier to know which is which.
As my colleague Michelle Gould once said, Pluto is like a fire that burns away whatever isn’t true about the planet it connects with. And in the case of the Sun, it’ll burn away whatever is not truly you.
What is it in your personality, and in the life that you’ve built for yourself, that doesn’t match who you are on the inside and your sense of integrity? This transit only makes itself felt for about a week, but it’s a very strong influence that will clarify what is cluttering up your life and needs to go away. Take note, and by the end of the week you will likely feel motivated to start clearing away the clutter.
So That We Can Change
This morning, just a few days before Uranus’ final day in Taurus, I woke up cranky. My usual breakfast left me dissatisfied. My favorite YouTube channel, a Sunday tradition, irritated me by focusing too much on new elements and not enough on old, beloved ones. And the last thing I wanted to do was go into my office, as I do each Sunday morning, and finish my weekly column, because I couldn’t think of what in the world to say about Uranus entering Gemini this week (April 25, 2026, 5:51 pm PDT, until May 22, 2033).
When a slow-moving planet shifts into a new sign, my usual small, anecdotal approach to writing doesn’t quite feel up to the task of interpreting it. Planetary transitions like these are epic, universal, and I struggle to find the individual element within them.
We begin here: Uranus spends seven years in a sign, and we’re only at the threshold of this one (except for a brief period between last July and November). We can look back historically to see what came about the last time Uranus was in Gemini, which included advances in technology, communication, and transportation. Not to mention the Revolutionary and Civil Wars, and I’ll leave it to astrologers who are savvier about world affairs than I am to weigh in on that.
But I write to an individual, human scale, so I naturally wonder: What’s in it for you?
Disruption, of course, because that’s Uranus’s beat; and disruption is unnerving. We like our routines, our Sunday morning video, a particular breakfast, even a regular, weekly chore. We like traditions that make us feel grounded in time and place. Continuity. All of this brings us comfort, reassurance.
But grow attached to too many routines, and you run the risk of getting bored, stale, sleepy, uninspired; of losing your temper over unimportant things that have resisted your need for them to stay the same. Routines are anathema to Uranus, especially in Gemini, which revels in variety, fresh ideas, new messages.
Without change, without disruption, forward motion isn’t going to happen. We’ll just keep telling the same old stories and doing the same old things in the same old way.
So, wake up. Uranus enters a new sign this week. Things are about to change—so that we can.
Moments of Choice
In the cycle of two planets, as in a love story, there are predictable chapters: The planets meet (conjunction), they kiss (first square), they confront disillusionment (opposition), and they decide whether or not they have a future together (last square).
In between, there are moments of ease and ecstasy – the trines. And then, there are moments of choice – the sextiles. Often, these moments represent low-stakes choices: Do I confess that I don’t really like his favorite restaurant? Do I take a weekend away with my dear friends, even though he might feel lonely? Do I risk sharing something from my past that I’m not proud of, in the hope of gaining more intimacy?
This is more or less that it’s like when Venus, symbol of relating, sextiles Neptune, planet of romanticism and illusion (April 26, 2026, 10:43 am PDT, 3º07’ Gemini-Aries). It’s a low-stakes aspect, granting the option to build an extra layer of sweetness and empathy into a relationship.
Sextiles represent opportunities, offers, and choices, none of which you’re obligated to accept, and with no particularly consequences for refusing them. But whenever an offer like this one comes along, why not take advantage of a good thing?
What We “Just Know”
Mercury squares Jupiter this week (April 26, 2026, 11:33 am PDT, at 18º20′ Aries-Cancer), a combination that asks, What do we “just know” because “everybody knows that,” as opposed to having really studied it? Honestly, it’s like people whose faces contorts into a look of disgust when you mention astrology – because “everybody knows astrology is stupid,” even if they couldn’t do something as simple as name the twelve signs of the zodiac in order.
Similarly, in close relationships of long standing, it’s tempting to assume we “just know” what our partner is thinking, or how they would likely respond in a particular situation. This can lead to all sorts of interesting misunderstandings.
As Mercury squares Jupiter, let’s be a little careful about making assumptions based on what is generally accepted – what “everybody knows” – or even (or especially) what a particular close relationship with someone might lead us to think we know.
Writing and images © 2017-2026 by April Elliott Kent
