Serenade
Dates and times are given for U.S. Pacific Time zone.
Get ‘er done
Think of Mars moving through the sky or your birth chart as an aggravating factor. On the plus side, aggravation can be motivating. If we’re complacent and comfortable, we won’t get much done. Mars symbolizes the galvanizing force that urges, “Let’s make something happen.” But when it comes together with Saturn, Mars initially triggers… Saturn. Inertia. Procrastination. Blockages.
When you really look under the hood of inertia, procrastination, and blockages, what you’ll find is fear. And nothing can make you face that fear and get to the other side of it quite like Mars.
When Mars in Aquarius joins up with Saturn (April 4, 2022, 6:51 pm PDT), it’s like that spunky, fearless, get-‘er-done friend who drags you to the party you’re afraid to go to. If you went by yourself, you might just stand around awkwardly nursing a Solo cup of wine and avoiding eye contact. But when you go with your spunky pal, stuff happens. You’re pulled into lively conversations. Maybe you dance a little. And by the time you leave that party, you feel energized, and maybe a little sad to go – because for once, you really felt like you fit in. And all it took was a little bit of Mars.
Just the way you are
Venus enters Pisces this week (April 5, 2022, 8:18 am PDT, through May 2), and not a moment too soon. In these raw, Pluto-in-late-Capricorn times – when many of us feel bent, spindled, and mutilated – reminders of gentler times and spirits are warmly appreciated. This includes kindly Fred Rogers, born with Venus in tender, empathetic Pisces.
I grew up watching this gentle man with the high, unusual voice, who began each episode of his television show singing a sunny little song as he entered his house, hung up his jacket, and donned his slippers and cardigan. He played with trains and puppets, including my favorite, Daniel Tiger. And at some point, there was a very good chance that Mr. Rogers would turn to the camera and tell the viewer, “I like you just the way you are.” To this day, whenever I see a clip of him saying that, I kind of want to cry. Because in a tough world, who doesn’t wish for exactly that kind of acceptance?
Fred Rogers was an über-Pisces, with the Sun and Balsamic Moon in that sign along with Mercury and Venus. A Presbyterian minister, his devotion to the development and psychological well-being of children was the cornerstone of his life’s work. To watch Mr. Rogers at work was to sink into a soothing bath of kindness and validation. No one was harsh or punitive in Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood.
I’m not going to present Pisces as a saint. But I will say that when it is operating on all cylinders – and Venus in Pisces often does – it inspires us to see the best in one another. To like each other, just the way we are.
Paws akimbo
Anyone who lives with a cat can tell you that when it throws itself at your feet, rolling around with its stomach bared and its paws in the air, it is almost never an invitation to scratch that enticing belly. Try it, and you’ll likely come away with a few war wounds.
Mars squares the Lunar Nodes this week (April 5, 11:49 am PDT, 22.56 Aquarius) on the Sabian symbol, A big bear sitting down, waving all its paws, where it met up with Saturn just yesterday. A big bear sitting down, paws akimbo, looks as sweet and harmless as a cat in the same pose. But don’t be fooled; Mars is just beneath the surface, and those paws can destroy.
As Mars bends toward the North Node on the Sabian symbol A jewelry shop, its Saturnine restraint can propel us in the direction of significant rewards. But as always, the nodal axis is a tightwire act, and one false move can plunge us into the Scorpio South Node, where paws come out swinging.
Mercury’s busy week
Mercury in Aries is busy this week, and that’s the way he likes it. He offers a friendly sextile handshake to Saturn (April 7, 2022, 5:37 am PDT), which might be a contract. He extends a sextile invitation to Mars (April 8, 2022, 11:19 am PDT), which looks a bit like a job offer. And on his way out of Aries, he squares Pluto (April 10, 2022, 1:45 am PDT) – which looks like an offer somebody can’t refuse.
After hitting that Plutonian speed bump, Mercury enters Taurus (April 10, 2022, 7:09 pm, through April 29) and downshifts to a slower, more deliberate pace. Mercury in Taurus favors a laconic style of communication, preferring to ruminate on ideas before making decisions. Enjoy the slower pace while you can. In the coming weeks, Mercury’s conjunction with Uranus (April 18) and square to Saturn (April 24) can bring either brilliant breakthroughs and the patience to make something of them, or the sorts of communication and technology frustrations that mean Mercury has taken a wrong turn.
Serenade
This week’s Cancer First Quarter Moon (April 8, 2022, 11:47 pm PDT) signals the “take action” point in the lunar cycle that began with the Aries New Moon, as well as the lunar phase family cycle that began at the July 9, 2021 New Moon in Cancer. At the time, I wrote,
“This New Moon in Cancer, the sign of nurturing, finds the Sun and Moon opposed control-loving Pluto. Whether you’re trying create a human or bring a project to fruition, you have to contend with the limits of your control. Whether you love a pet, plant a garden, or build a home, there are a lot of things that can go wrong. This New Moon offers a simple message: However scary, futile, menacing, or hopeless it seems to do so, give birth to something. Nourish someone. Nurture the life force. Do what’s within your power – and learn to let go of what isn’t.”
At the Cancer First Quarter in this lunar phase family, the Cancer Moon is opposed, and the Aries Sun square Pluto. We’re still testing the limits of our power and control, and at the First Quarter Moon, we must refuse to be defined by the limits of fear.
The Moon, Sun, and Pluto are constellated in a stressful t-square aspect in the cardinal signs of Cancer, Aries, and Capricorn. Libra is the only cardinal sign not occupied by a planet – the only one without a dog in the fight – so the safe haven when things get too stressful this week lies in Libran pursuits: art, music, enjoying our partner. If you find yourself overwhelmed, think of the Sabian symbol for the First Quarter Moon, Gondoliers in serenade – and raise up your voice in song.
Writing and images © 2019-22 by April Elliott Kent
