Astrological Insights for April 1st - 15th, 2024

Mercury Retrograde + Solar Eclipse: 
It is time to pause & reflect on your life

Spring is opening and energies are rising. As you move into April, keep in “mind” that Mercury will be retrograding most of the month. Your pathways from point A to point B might require interesting interludes. Cultivate a willing, curious approach to this time, and as you travel through the next three weeks, be open to previously unconsidered possibilities. 

April 1st - 25th
Mercury retrograde 

April begins with Mercury moving into retrograde on the 1st; no fooling!

As Mercury, the planet that governs thought and communication, goes retrograde, it will be in “rewind’ mode and going back over the terrain of our recent weeks. It’s an excellent opportunity to review, reprocess, and integrate current events in your life. It’s a good time for recollecting, reflecting, and metabolizing your recent experiences. When we avoid this opportunity and try to conduct our affairs by charging ahead as if Mercury were moving with a direct forward motion, communication, and thinking go haywire and run wonky. When we allow the retrograde period as an opportunity to welcome a retreat into integration, we can take the opportunity to recalibrate ourselves and move in harmony with the nature of this time. 

Mercury is retrograding in fiery Aries, which can direct our attention to taking action to finish up old projects. Spring is a welcoming time to clean and declutter your home and your life. What’s been needing your attention? Spend time on these activities during these next three weeks, and you may find it easier to complete them. Clear out closets, file boxes, computer desktops, garages, workspaces, donate items, etc.  

Mercury rules our minds, and when you clear out the physical clutter, you are also helping clear your mental clutter. When Mercury goes direct again on April 25th, you can feel mentally refreshed if you take advantage of the Mercury retrograde, rewind, review, and clear out period. 

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April 2nd - 5th
Venus conjunct Neptune

Venus and Neptune are in conjunction in the sky from the 2nd through the 5th. Conjunctions among planets blend their representative energies into a combined expression. Venus and Neptune can give you a dreamy quality, especially regarding your relationships and finances. During this time, you may feel more open and flowy about these aspects of your life, and any money or relationship matters might not feel like such an issue. 

This transit can bring a feeling of pleasant stress reduction to these areas of life! 

Venus and Neptune’s influence can indicate an ability to see life from a more soul-level and universal place, not bound to earthly human limitations that often feel confining and possibly stressful. Being in this space can feel wonderful and dreamy, but you might also be less able to notice the reality of things needing your attention. One of the best ways to move through this planetary transit (2nd - 5th) is to allow yourself to have the bigger experience without making any decisions about money or your relationship, as things can seem more optimistic in an illusive way with Venus/Neptune transits. Wait until after the 5th to make financial or relationship decisions.  See if your feelings are still the same when Venus comes into a positive aspect with Pluto from the 5th - 7th (see section below). 

Enjoy the ride; it’s a great time for romance and all aesthetic loveliness. Put on music, read poetry aloud, dance in the kitchen, go out for performances, get out the crafting baskets, invite dear ones to play, invite your own inspiration to play.

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April 5th - 7th
Venus Sextile Pluto 

The 5th - 7th can bring active opportunities to move into a deeper connection with love in your life and your close relationships as Venus and Pluto come into a positive Sextile aspect. This time can stimulate you to feel more of the depths of your passion and need for intimacy and connection with others.  

It’s a good time to recognize what needs letting go so you can open yourself up to more love in your life, including self-love, and then make the shifts to allow it in. Pluto transits can bring unconscious psychological patterns that are no longer working for you to the surface so you can consciously create healthier ones that align with your current stage of life. 

One possible way to observe this dynamic is if you notice your responses to relationships or love are coming from a younger part of yourself that is more guarded and protective than open to receiving love. If so, what stories or patterns from the past are you continuing to live in or tell yourself about the present? Notice if these stories are helping you come more into connection or not. Utilize this time to find more openings in your heart to allow you to let go of old patterns so you can come into the present time connection. A sextile aspect between Venus and Pluto provides more ease in this process than at other times when these two planets are in more challenging aspects with each other. 

This is a well-aspected opportunity to become more conscious of your ongoing process with (perhaps even well-known and often processed) layers of baggage that color your emotional range of options in expressing yourself. A smooth sextile offers ease in bringing light to Pluto’s depths as they interplay with Venus’s loving dance.

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April 8th
New Moon Aries
Total Solar Eclipse

On April 8th, we will have a New Moon and Total Solar Eclipse in Aries. The eclipse begins at 10:33 AM PDT, reaches its Maximum at 11:25 AM PDT, and ends at 12:19 PM PDT. The path of totality is visible in 13 states, stretching in a northeastern arch from Texas to Maine. 

The New Moon in Aries and the Solar eclipse will happen at 19° Aries. In general, eclipses can bring needed changes, but not necessarily at the moment of the eclipse. The eclipse alignment can herald the beginning of changes that can take months to unfold. If you know how to find 19° Aries in your natal/birth astrology chart, you can take a closer look to see what area of your life may be influenced by the eclipse. If you have any natal chart planets close to 19° Aries, this can give you even more information regarding its influence. 

One thing to keep in mind in your planning is to refrain from starting new things or having events or special occasions on the day of the eclipse. It’s best to enjoy the eclipse and have it be a day of reflection for yourself, to see what needs to shift, be illuminated in the shadows, and let go of. 

If you are in a location where you can look directly at this solar Eclipse, be sure to use proper eye protection from a trusted astronomy source.

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April 9th - 12th
Mars conjunct Saturn

The following days after the New Moon/Solar Eclipse, Mars will come into conjunction with Saturn from the 9th through the 12th, and it can be a time to get focused and productive. Mars represents the action we take in our lives, and Saturn’s influence can have you honing in on what’s most important to get done. You can feel more narrow or tunnel-vision-focused under this transit on what you gear yourself up to do, so I recommend picking something that requires your dedicated focus to complete and not try to tackle everything you want to do. Your physical energy may also be lower from the 9th-12th. This Mars/Saturn transit is helpful for working on a particular thing, and if you still want to do “all the things” during this transit, you may easily get overwhelmed. Focusing on the most important ones during these dates will help you succeed in accomplishing your goals. 

The 9th - 12th are great days to hone in on an important project and make good headway.

April 15th
​Mercury conjunct Chiron

While Mercury continues to be in retrograde until the 25th, it will go back over the same sky territory of the recent weeks, bringing up similar themes for you that were happening in March. As we are in this rewind retrograde period, Mercury will be making the same conjunction with Chiron (the wounded healer) on April 15th as it did on March 20th. Last month, I wrote about this transit as a time when conversations could open into a place for healing for all those involved. Notice if any conversations you’re having on or around the 15th seem familiar to the ones you were having on 3/20 and the days surrounding. Are you noticing any of your longtime wounds coming up? If so, see how this awareness can help you shift into conversations that foster forward movement with receptivity to healing, compassion, empathy, and understanding.

April 15th is a supportive time to deepen your approach with others and allow yourself to shift into more aligned and authentic soulful places. 

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With astrology, the most helpful advice is always individual and personalized based on your astrology birth chart and life situations.

Astrology readings with Laura can help you:
~ Align with your unique talents and opportunities
~ Move through life's challenges more intentionally
~ Gain a new awareness of major life changes
~ Know when is the best time to take action 
~ Find clarity on self-limiting patterns ​

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