Hurry up and relax
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Venus is a key planetary player this week, moving into a new sign and ruling the signs of both the Full Moon and the Sun’s new sign. It also makes the first important aspect of the week, a square to Jupiter. Tax day (in the U.S.) is hardly the best day for a Venus/Jupiter square (April 15, 4:15 pm PDT), especially when Jupiter is on the degree of the Sabian Symbol, “A Chubby Little Rich Boy Rides Upon A Hobbyhorse”! But I guess this “hey, big spender” aspect could go either way for us —because if one person is spending big, that means someone else is receiving big. So join me in this vision of these two benefic planets coming together in a clashing aspect: Let’s imagine that they’re two wealthy, generous relatives who are each fighting to be the one who gives you the biggest gifts and the most love!
One advantage to tracking Mercury’s movements through the signs is that it tells you how to communicate in a way that people will best understand. Frankly, Mercury’s protracted and distracted journey through Pisces (since February 10, and including a retrograde period) can’t end quickly enough to suit me. It might have lent a certain amount of inspiration and sparkle, but it’s not the most linear sign for communication… so there was plenty of misunderstanding and frustration in the mix, too.
This week, Mercury finally leaves Pisces and enters Aries (April 16, 11 pm), a sign that moves fast. One thing I’ve learned from my Aries friends is that if I’m sending them an email, I’d better limit it to one line and put the key information in the first few words. While Mercury is in Aries (through May 6), you might consider doing the same. Get to the point quickly. Drip information instead of dumping it all at once. And do try to be a little bit patient; Mercury in Aries will eventually square Saturn (May 1), and if we try to race along between now and then we’ll find ourselves tripping over obstacles and more frustrated than ever.
This second consecutive Full Moon in Libra (April 19, 4:12 am, 29.07 Libra) encapsulates the fundamental tension that’s building through the next month, between easy-going Taurus (which shares its planetary ruler—Venus—with Libra) and hard-driving Aries. I’ll explore this in my upcoming Full Moon essay. There is also a wild-card in this Full Moon scenario, which is the Sun’s conjunction and the Full Moon’s opposition to Uranus in Taurus. Unpredictability is the watchword when it comes to Uranus, and it’s a planet that governs the desire to do things our own way. And since Full Moons generally are relationship-oriented, and particularly in Libra (the sign of close partnerships), this is a time to shake up what’s stale and outmoded in our interactions with others, and start doing more of what we want to do. Relationships that are on solid ground will benefit from this airing out, and those that aren’t may come to their inevitable conclusion.
The next day, the Sun enters Taurus (April 20, 1:55 am PDT). The Sun’s passage from sign to sign gives hints about where we’ll find vitality in the month ahead. In Taurus’ solar season, relaxation and good living are particularly important. If you’ve spent the month of the Sun in Aries rushing from task to task and starting new things, you might be ready for a rest about now. You can get away with burning the candle at both ends for awhile, but eventually you’ll start to burn out. Taurus’ season is generally the time to enjoy a slower pace. To eat well, get rest, and refocus on what’s enjoyable.
This Taurus season is complicated, however, by a couple of things. First, Venus—the ruling planet of Taurus—moves into Aries (April 20, 9:10 am) the same day the Sun enters Taurus! Venus is the planet of pleasure; it symbolizes money and relationships and the enjoyment we seek from them. In its pure form, Venus has a very straightforward approach to pleasure: acquire things (or spend time with people) that feel good, look good, taste good, sound good. While it’s been transiting the sign of Pisces (since March 26), there has been a somewhat more altruistic flavor to Venus, more of an emphasis on sharing and using resources in a way that benefits others.
As the Sun enters Taurus while Venus enters Aries, the focus naturally turns a little closer to home; and what will feel most enlivening in the month ahead is the kind of “rest” that’s actually pretty invigorating. Gardening, for instance, or hiking, dancing, or (if I may be as PG-13 as my Mars in Virgo will blushingly allow) sexy times. Anything that leads you into enjoyment of your physicality and appreciation of the sensual world, and which also requires some physical exertion or excitement, will be absolutely perfect.
But there’s one more thing: As it enters its new sign, the Sun is approaching a conjunction with Uranus, signaling unpredictability just when we’re getting a taste for stability. Until this aspect has completed early next week, expect the unexpected—and try to greet it with the equanimity for which Taurus is rightly famous. But more about that next week….
© 2019 April Elliott Kent
