Houseboat Party
Dates and times are given for U.S. Pacific Time zone.
It’s the Getting
Venus enters Aries this week (May 2, 2022, 9:10 am PDT). Ultra-feminine Venus is ill-at-ease, we’re told, in the very masculine sign of Aries. But maybe ease is not all it’s cracked up to be. Venus in Aries symbolizes the kind of tough, pioneering, warrior-spirited women whose passion makes a difference.
Venus is considered in her detriment in the feisty, masculine, warrior sign of Aries. but that doesn’t mean she’s weak here – far from it. Like all planets in the sign of their detriment or fall, her efforts to express herself in an incompatible sign usually make her more prominent in one’s character, not less.
Actress Elizabeth Taylor, best known for her many marriages, is nearly as well remembered as a ferociously loyal defender of close friends like Montgomery Clift and Michael Jackson, and as the face of White Diamonds perfume (diamonds are ruled by Mars and the birthstone of April, Aries’ month). Venus in Aries loves passionately, but it savors the chase most of all. As Taylor once said, “It’s not the having, it’s the getting.” Spoken like a woman who married eight times!
She also showed Aries grit by overcoming adversity time and again – health problems, failed marriages, ups-and-downs at the box office. When asked how she kept going, she said, “You just do it. You force yourself to get up. You force yourself to put one foot before the other, and *** damn it, you refuse to let it get to you. You fight. You cry. You curse. Then you go about the business of living. That’s how I’ve done it. There’s no other way.”
I couldn’t have said it better.
Price Tag
Laura owns a small yoga studio and nearly lost it in the pandemic. She’s slowly getting back on her feet, and in fact, most of her classes are filled to capacity. But she still has some catching up to do, and she doesn’t have enough space for more students, time in her schedule to offer more classes, or money enough to hire more teachers.
Trudy, a wealthy friend, offers to make a significant investment in Laura’s business. And Laura is tempted, but she’s reluctant to be indebted for such a large investment. She knows what she stands to gain from such an offer, but it’s the freedom she might lose that makes her hesitate.
When Jupiter sextiles Pluto (May 3, 2022, 3:33 pm PDT), our desire for growth and expansion might receive a boost from someone of power and wealth. This the first major aspect between these two planets since 2020, and by now we’re ready to burst out of the pandemic bubble in search of new adventures. And that’s fine. Just be very certain you’ve read the price tag.
When inspiration strikes
Here’s something that all professional creatives know: Your deadline doesn’t care whether or not you’re feeling inspired. If you’re a writer, for example, some days you write because you owe your editor 1500 words by 5 pm.
But here’s something else we know. If you sit down in that chair everyday and write, then you’ll be in just the right place when inspiration strikes.
This week, Mars, the work planet, is sextile Uranus, the planet of inspiration (May 4, 2022, 8:47 am PDT). That means our work can take a new and exciting direction – but first, we have to show up for it.
Getting noticed
A ctor Bryan Cranston had built a fine career as a character actor, but he wasn’t exactly a household name. Then, in 2007, he landed the role of a lifetime. On January 20, 2008, the television series Breaking Bad debuted with Cranston in the lead role of Walter White, a high school chemistry teacher who turns to making methamphetamine after a cancer diagnosis. At the time, transiting Uranus was making a conjunction to Cranston’s natal Sun.
The show became a phenomenon, and Cranston won 4 Emmy awards for the role. Always a respected journeyman actor, he was now, at age 51, a bona fide star.
Picture Uranus as an antenna, channeling signals; and when it comes together with the Sun, a lot of high-wattage attention is focused in one place.
The annual conjunction between the Sun and Uranus at 14º47’ Taurus (May 5, 2022, 00:21 am PDT) is a very quick transit with only a few days of influence. But if something in your birth chart resonates with that degree, this transit can open the portal to a potent moment in the spotlight. Get ready for your closeup!
Passion and Joy
T he Sun symbolizes self-hood and heart, and Mars is the symbol of our work. When they meet in a sextile aspect this week (May 7, 2022, 2:48 am PDT, 16º49′ Taurus), we’re presented with an opportunity to make our hearts visible through the work that we do.
Mars has something of a bad reputation among some astrologers, and as someone with a rather strong placement of that planet myself, I’ll admit that his reputation is not entirely undeserved. But the gift of Mars is its passion, desire, and drive. On our happiest days, our work burns with that passion; and as the Sun enters the picture, it adds pure creative joy.
Sculptor Auguste Rodin, known for the earthy physicality of his sculptures, was born with this planetary combination in his chart. He’s quoted as having said, “True artists are almost the only men who do their work for pleasure.” As the Sun sextile Mars this week, bring to your work every bit of passion and joy that you can. Be a true artist. Show your whole heart.
Enjoy the party
This week’s First Quarter Moon at 18º23′ Leo (May 8, 2022, 5:21 pm PDT) is on the festive Sabian symbol A houseboat party. One may imagine that Leo is the life of all parties, but there are shy pussycats, too. And this Leo Moon and its ruler, the Sun, confront two of their most formidable adversaries: the Moon opposes Saturn and squares Uranus.
This is shy Leo time. For introverts, the lockdowns associated with the pandemic were an enormous relief. No need to make excuses to avoid social engagements, no more awkward loitering by the refreshment table or flirting with the family cat in an out-of-the-way corner. Shy people are often that way because at some point, we tried to strut our Leo/Solar stuff and met with an upturned palm and an icy, “No.” We often found that the same unique qualities that made us creative and interesting in private also made us hopelessly ill-suited to group situations.
But as a shy person learns, you can let that kind of discomfort shut you down from even trying to express yourself, or you can let it motivate you to shine ever brighter. That’s the challenge and the opportunity of this First Quarter Moon, and you don’t have to be a Leo to rise to the occasion.
Throw your own houseboat party. Be exactly who you are and create exactly what makes you happy. And then if no one else turns up to the party, you can still have a wonderful time.
Writing and images © 2019-22 by April Elliott Kent
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