The Astrology of April 2023
Faith, Fervor, and Favor
the Astrology of April 2023
On the heels of an intensely busy and then maddeningly mellow (read: sleepy) March, which you can read about below
...April arrives with a battery of exams: A test of our faith; an invitation to wrestle with fervor (its fruitful and destructive qualities); a potential to purify our relationship with favor; and then a redo on the Aries New Moon – Eclipse Edition.
Saturn's ingress into Pisces co-occurred with a couple of new stories that seem to be the prescience for impending stress-tests of financial liquidity and infra-structural integrity.
Pluto's first tentative dip into Aquarius is still a couple of days out at the time of this post. Given that the ingress of Pluto is onto the degree of the most recent Great Conjunction (that is, of Jupiter and Saturn), we know that the ingress into Pluto is likely going to have to some direct relationship with the major stories and issues related to that ingress.
Mars will have left Gemini, plunging headlong into the sign of their fall. We can confidently expect a more complete mobilization of will, at least while Mars is in their own term of Cancer.
Sun Siblings, April has no intentions of being upstaged. Though, an eclipse and a Mercury retrograde might not be enough to outshine the big news transits of March, April is still the month we're likely to do a lot of the noticing of just what Saturn in Pisces and Pluto in Aquarius feel like, and mean.
April's Transit Highlights
- Sun/Chiron cazimi at 15° Aries
- Sun/Jupiter cazimi at 21° Aries
- April 19th Solar Eclipse at 29°Aries
- Mercury retrograde from 15° Taurus back to 5° Taurus
On the whole the month is about making sense of what our brave new world might look like, heading into Pluto's long stay in Aquarius.
The biggest news of the month is the second Aries New Moon of 2023 which also happens to be the first of the eclipses that we'll see in the Aries/Libra axis (though the Nodes have yet to shift signs).
Long-Term Cycles
In a lot of ways April is our introduction to a new world that's been entrenching itself over the last few years since the Jupiter/Saturn conjunction.
With the peak of the Saturn-Uranus square behind us we're now trekking through the transition into the balsamic phase of a cycle that was begun back in 1988 with their conjunction at 29° Sagittarius.
Interesting the eclipse will be exactly conjoined the degree of the Uranus/Pluto conjunction that was prior to the one of our times. During the months immediately after that 1850 Uranus/Pluto conjunction at 29° Aries we saw the first demonstration of ice made by refrigeration, the 1st National Convention on Women's Rights and Robert McClure's spotting of the Northwest Passage.
Weekly Overviews
Major Transits - Week by Week
Week 13: March 26th - April 1st
Saturday the April 1st
Refresh your memory on the week with the Skyvibe Serial below:
Saturday the first is the last day of the 13th week of the year. Just like that it's 25% complete already.
The Moon has a brief window of benefic enclosure between 05:06 am and 6:24 am PDT. Many of y'all who read these will be asleep, so may just make for some nice dreams before waking up.
Wrapping up the week right.
Week #14: April 2nd - 8th
This week begins with a malefic enclosure of the Moon. Overall the week looks challenging. Earlier in the year facing hard facts looked a lot like blinking the dismay away and pushing forward. But the emphasis on the water and earth signs here sees to it that we're associated with our emotional and somatic responses.
Sunday the 2nd
We've got a window of malefic enclosure between 09:44 am and 12:07 pm. At least the application is to a sextile with Mars, with Mars in the position of answering to the Moon? Or something.
...and, those are the only aspects for the whole day. Not a great start to the week.
Monday the 3rd
Mercury enters Taurus
Mercury at 0° Taurus square Pluto at 0° Aquarius
Mercury and Pluto tend to mean revelations. A square between the two can mean arguments, verbal friction, and power struggles playing out through Mercurial avenues.
When Pluto was in Capricorn a lot of them tended to be about government corruption, to the point where cynicism (even in the face of over a decade of legitimate malfeasance) has become banal and passé. Just think about that.
In Aquarius, a reasonable hypothesis is that the revelations, or the products of obsessive (Pluto) thinking (Mercury) would have something to do with technology, 'AI' or advanced algorithms, or similar.
On the personal level Capricorn has seemed to be about the material impact of corrupt or corrupting power dynamics, so perhaps in Aquarius we should look to issues related to the distribution of power socially and digitally.
You can more read about Pluto in Aquarius soon.
Tuesday the 4th
There are no aspects between the Moon and a traditional planet for the entire day, even with the change of sign in the middle of the day. A more or less void Moon kind of day says save your energy for the rest of the week.
Wednesday the 5th
Mercury at 3° Taurus sextile Saturn at 3° Pisces
Sun conjunct Chiron at 15° Aries
Full Moon at 16° Libra opposite Sun at 16° Aries
Our thoughts and words are likely to be serious, as well as the overall tone for the day. The combination of friction and tenderness spells 'minor cuts and abrasions' of the emotional sort.
It's all revelations of a Libra Full Moon that resolves into the Aries Eclipse.
Thursday the 6th
There are no aspects between the slower moving planets – the kind whose effects are felt for days and who ping the longer arcs of our stories. Moving along the plot and bringing in change.
Still, the Moon's opposition to Jupiter after entering Scorpio comes just before a square to Pluto. Millennials – this is the teaser for your upcoming Pluto square. Consider what kinds of Plutonic
Friday the 7th
Venus at 25° Taurus sextile Neptune at 25° Pisces
Mercury at 6° Taurus sextile Mars at 6° Cancer
The Moon makes quite a few aspects from Scorpio. This is the mutual reception between the Moon and Mars that plays to the strength of the sect-mate relationship and affinity for the same triplicities.
Saturday the 8th
Once again, no aspects with traditional planets. Though the Moon isn't utterly void today. Still, a good day for taking it easy as we get closer and closer to the eclipse with the Aries Moon redo.
Week #15: April 9th - 15th
With Venus moving into Gemini our short stint in Her* garden of delights comes to end. As fast as the bloom off a rose. With Venus in the sign of Gemini flirtation and weaving of the social tapestry is heightened.
Those who have Venus activated as a chronocrator, or Gemini activated by profection will find this week to be particularly important. For the rest of us it's likely to feel like a flurry of extroversion.
The rest of the week is essentially chill. Sort of an opportunity to catch our breath ahead of the eclipse.
Sunday the 9th
This afternoon we'll find out if that last Moon in Sagittarius was bunk because of Saturn in Pisces as a fixture, or if it was just some growing pains on the heels of the transition to a less dignified Saturn.
Monday the 10th
Venus enters Gemini
Venus in Gemini is the trope of the chatty social butterfly. But there's a lot more to Venus in that sign. Though there's nothing at all about Gemini that's of Venus's nature, Venus has skill, stewardship, and dominion in the places where Gemini's qualities are applied. Weaving all those details into stories worth remembering has more to it than simply remembering and speaking the facts. The balance and proportion, understanding the motivation of the stakeholders, and who they are, the relationships between the discreet bits of data – that's Venus.
Tuesday the 11th
Venus at 0° Gemini trines Pluto at 0° Aquarius
Pluto is in the decan of Venus. In Three Books of Occult Philosophy, Agrippa describes it as "...the form of a prudent man, and the form of a woman spinning; this is the signification for thinking and working for gain while in a state of poverty, and usefulness." (transl. Purdue, 2021)
Wednesday the 12th
We leave Tuesday and enter into Wednesday with another window of malefic enclosure for the Moon. This time running the night through from 5:07 pm Tuesday evening until 2:02 am Wednesday morning.
If there are things that you know correlate to better or worse dreamscapes for you, or things that help you cope with disturbed sleep, it would be a good idea to make sure you have those things lined up for you.
Thursday the 13th
3rd Quarter Moon in Capricorn square Sun in Aries
Moon conjunct Pluto at 0° Aquarius
As if to illustrate the point that Pluto is on the other side of the invisible tropical line, the Moon's square to the Sun happens in the 3rd decan of Capricorn, a place we've grown accustomed to encountering Pluto, but they aren't there. Exactly twelve hours later the Moon conjoins Pluto in Aquarius for the first time.
Certainly this will be a day that ought to make plain the reality that we've not been in Kansas for some time and that there's no magical hot air balloon to take us back to reality and wake us from the fever dream.
Friday the 14th
Venus at 4° Gemini square Saturn at 4° Pisces
The cycle between Venus and Saturn began with a conjunction in late in the third decan of the sign. The two now reach their opening square with Saturn in the exaltation of Venus, and Venus in sign which is more favorable to Saturn.
Saturday the 15th
Mercury at 13° Taurus square asteroid Hygeia at 13° Aquarius
Moon at 25° Aquarius sextile the Sun at 25° Aries
Vesta enters Taurus
What types of analog rituals do you have to help you unplug from the digital? How do you combat the effects of prolonged electronic use, and other habits that are the product of very recent technological development?
Week #16: April 16th - 22nd
The sixteenth week of 2023 features the first eclipse of the year and the first eclipse of the Aries/Libra cycle – though the Nodes won't shift for awhile longer yet.
There's no big transits of note until the eclipse – that is, aspects between planets that move faster than the Moon. The only exception being a square between the asteroid Vesta and outer planet Pluto.
The Moon's first aspect after the solar eclipse is a square to Pluto, followed not long after by a square between the Sun in Taurus and Pluto.
The big news of the week though is Mercury's stationing at 15° Taurus, beginning a window of backwards action for the planet.
Sunday the 16th
Vesta at 0° Taurus square Pluto at 0° Aquarius
There's the possibility that this could manifest as intense focus. Particularly if you deliberately seek to harness the energy, and/or these degrees are operative for you. Obsessive focus are the keywords here. Though
Monday the 17th
If we exclude the aspects to the outer planets, then we're looking at another day with no aspects for the Moon. In fact, we go almost a day and half between classical planet aspects for the Moon.
Tuesday the 18th
No major aspects today, but the Moon and Mars have their mutual deception (the Moon unhappy in Aries and Mars unhappier in Cancer), just prior to the Moon's conjunction with Chiron.
Wednesday the 19th
The 29° Aries Eclipse
How's that for a major aspect?
This is the first Aries eclipse since September of 2015 when there was a Lunar Eclipse at 4° Aries. So you can think back to that time period for clues about what themes may see a resurgence in your life.
Who will feel this eclipse the most? Check out the Aries Solar Eclipse post by clicking the link that will appear below this line soon.
Thursday the 20th
Sun enters Taurus
Sun at 0°20' Taurus square Pluto at 0° Aquarius
The Sun's entry into Taurus is immediately followed by the square to Pluto in Aquarius. On the personal level we might expect some power struggles with authority figures.
Friday the 21st
Mercury station retrograde at 15° Taurus
Mercury's station retrograde occurs at the same degree that
Saturday the 22nd
The Moon enters Gemini to trine Pluto and square Saturn. Powerful feelings, probably more strange dreams if the trend holds up. But otherwise, a mellower day.
Week #17: April 23rd - 29th
The final week of April is moody as fuck.
Sunday the 23rd
Mercury retrograde at 15° Taurus sextiles Mars at 15° Cancer
Here begins our thrice annual three week window for revisions, forgotten tasks to be brought to our attention and then to completion, and the other usual Mercury retrograde things.
Of course, this time Mercury's near conjunction and then nevermind with respect to Uranus is sure to make for some very exciting big reveals in June when the two finally meet up in the final decan of Taurus.
Monday the 24th
Sun conjunct Vesta 3° Taurus
The Sun conjunction to Vesta seems easy to call in favor of self-possession and autonomous focus. However, in the sign of Taurus – square to Pluto and sextile to Saturn in Pisces – this one seems to be more about stabilizing our efforts, and bringing enough longevity to sustain things.
In the Orphic Hymn to Hestia she's said to "hold the center of the home. Its eternal and most enduring flame."
There's some metaphor here related to annual versus perennial flowers and having the awareness to preserve the bulbs for future seasons.
Tuesday the 25th
Sun at 4° Taurus sextile Saturn at 4° Pisces
Venus trines Hygeia and sextiles Chiron
Perhaps a good time for considering / refining / redefining one's look?
Wednesday the 26th
Vesta at 5° Taurus sextile Saturn at 5° Pisces
Long-term focus, particularly on multi-year projects, gets a strong boost today. The sextile between Vesta and Saturn grants Vesta some of Saturn's steady endurance. Could be a good time for reorganizing one's home or other spaces for more efficiency.
Thursday the 27th
Mars at 17° Cancer square Chiron at 17° Aries
Moon at 7° Leo square Sun at 7° Taurus (1st quarter square)
Feelings getting hurt, or hurt feelings getting worked – or triggered. Why not both, eh? Unlike the last two years, when this particular Moon phase and place was opposite Saturn's ray, this one is unrestrained. This makes for a rather dynamic and potentially dramatic expression of that low-key lethargic and bummed out Sun.
Friday the 28th
The Moon's squares to Mercury and Uranus emphasize lightning fast and electrifying communication, while the sextile to Venus and trine to Chiron bring the potential for soothing the previous day's wounds.
Saturday the 29th
Mars at 18° Cancer sextile Uranus 18° Taurus
Two things immediately came to mind that may be relevant: Rage Against the Machine, and the ongoing wars. Particularly those that echo the early 1940's (due to the 29° Saturn/Uranus conjunction having taken place in the sign in 1942 at the peak of World War II, and the natural associations between Mars and war).
On the personal and practical level, expect some grumpy grumps and for irritation to vent itself if not proactively given routes for processing and expression.
Week #18: April 30th - May 5th
Monday the 30th
A relatively mellow day, with just a couple of aspects from the Moon to the Sun and Mercury, rounds out the month of April.
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