April 2024: Wild Times
This April is livelier than usual. The month begins with the Sun shining its brightest light. That’s plenty on its own. As soon as the Sun lands in Aries on 20 March, Spring is here and everything starts to grow again. It’s the best time of the year to start over and to get shit done.
April 2024
This April is livelier than usual. Starting the month with the Sun in bold, energetic Aries is plenty for starters. As soon as the Sun arrives in the first sign of the zodiac on 20 March until mid-April, the natural world reawakens and our planet is revitalised. It’s the most cosmically blessed time of the year to start over and to get shit done.
This year, there’s a total solar eclipse in Aries (the most full-on kind) on 8 April. It’s like hard reset for the whole world. The eclipse also seeds new directions for individuals whose birth charts are touched by the eclipse. That’s you, Aries and Libra. And anyone else whose life changed under the last solar eclipse in mid-October 2023.
When Mars meets Saturn in Pisces on 10 April things get tougher and messier. The harder you push, the further away you get from what you want. Accepting and working with the chaos enables you to move ahead. Yield to the flow to make your mark.
As if all that wasn’t enough, there’s also a Jupiter-Uranus union on 21 April, which acts as a bonus throughout 18-26 April although its effect is initially perceptible at the eclipse. This wildcard conjunction will disturb the peace most for the set-in-their-ways fixed signs: Taurus, Leo, Scorpio and Aquarius. Virgo and Capricorn may find it easier to welcome the unexpected new options on offer. Uranus likes to shake things up in completely unanticipated ways so it’s bumpy for everyone, but ultimately (fingers crossed) in a good way.
Venus starts the month in Pisces and ends it in Taurus, two of her happy places. Co-operation, ease and romance fare well at these times. Venus is less thrilled about having to spend the bulk of April in Aries, a Mars sign, Aries. Still, April is a mostly Mars-ruled month so feistiness usually goes down well at this time of the year. Except with Mars in wishy-washy Pisces, assertively taking charge or aiming directly at a target doesn’t work. Move indirectly and with subtlety instead. A sharper approach is fine once Mars returns to his home turf on the last day of the month.
Astro Tips
Monday 1 April
Think before you act
Mercury stations retrograde in Aries
Wednesday 3 April
Seduce with (or be seduced by) mysterious charm
Venus conjunct Neptune in Pisces
Friday 5 April
Play with passion
Venus enters Aries
Saturday 6 April
Attract what you want with powerful ideas
Venus in Aries sextile Pluto in Aquarius
Monday 8 April
Be still in the pitch darkness
Total solar eclipse in Aries
Wednesday 10 April
Expect vague blocks to impede progress
Mars conjunct Saturn in Pisces
Thursday 11 April
Seed fresh goals
Sun conjunct Mercury in Aries
Friday 19 April
Revive connections in pleasantly surprising ways
Mercury conjunct Venus in Aries
Sun enters Taurus
Mars in Pisces sextile Jupiter in Taurus
Sunday 21 April
Be open to wildly surprising options with staying power
Mars in Pisces sextile Uranus in Taurus
Jupiter conjunct Uranus in Taurus
Sun in Taurus square Pluto in Aquarius
Wednesday 24 April
Intense finale to an intense eclipse
Full Moon in Scorpio
Thursday 25 April
Speak clearly and concisely to win
Mercury stations direct in Aries
Friday 29 April
Park what needs to done and indulge your senses
Mars conjunct Neptune in Pisces
Venus enters Taurus
Tuesday 30 April
Charge ahead
Mars enters Aries
Astro Request
Share your Jupiter-Uranus conjunction story with me.
These two planets meet roughly every 14 years or so. At its best, this innovative, expansive combination creates more room to be and do good. In April, Jupiter and Uranus meet in cautious Taurus so the outcome may take a little while to find form.
Your personal experience is shaped by how this general forecast connects to your own birth chart, and how you respond to the planetary influences. For astrological guidance tailored to you, email leena@leenachauhan.com.
Eclipse Season and Israel-Gaza
Two eclipses later this March and in early April, mirror the two lunations in between which Hamas attacked Israel last October. As the same zodiac degrees are activated by this year’s upcoming eclipses, major developments in what happens for Gaza and Israel are promised in the coming months.
Photo by Alexander Mils on Unsplash
Two eclipses, one later this March and the other in early April, mirror the two lunations in between which Hamas attacked Israel last October. As the same zodiac degrees are activated by this year’s imminent eclipses, major developments in what happens for Gaza and Israel are promised in the coming months.
In an article in mid-January [1], I noted that transiting Mars was due to meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s natal Jupiter on 5 February. This transit co-incided with Hamas presenting its three-stage ceasefire plan to Israel [2]. The two planets met in Capricorn where Mars, representing Hamas, is markedly more influential than Jupiter, signifying Netanyahu. In this specific context, Hamas were better placed than Netanyahu. Netanyahu probably felt strongly pressured to accommodate the proposal. Not just by Hamas but also by Hamas’ backers (Mars rules Netanyahu’s 12th house of covert enemies), by his own negotiators (Mars also rules his 5th house of agents) and by his international allies (natal Mars in the 9th house of foreign affairs sextiles the PM’s Libran Sun). The concerted effort to press for a truce seems to have reaffirmed Netanyahu’s belief that his way is the right way. More generally, the Sun-Mars sextile in his birth chart also shows that he has relatively easy access to a steady supply of quality arms from abroad. The ethnic cleansing and decimation of Gaza continue.
March and April’s eclipses are notable for Israel-Gaza as they trigger the zodiac degrees activated during Hamas’ incursion on Israel. This carries far more astrological weight than the transit noted above.
The 25 March lunar eclipse at 5° Libra is directly opposite last September’s aggressive full Moon at 6° Aries on 29 September 2023. The 8 April solar eclipse at 19° Aries opposes the solar eclipse at 21° Libra on 14 October 2023.
At the September full Moon under which Hamas struck Israel on 7 October, Mars was at 21° Libra igniting the exact degree, 21° Libra, of the solar eclipse that followed on 14 October. This eclipse landed on the Israeli chart’s ascendant at 23° Libra, the angle representing the population. The darkness that descended on the people was underlined by Pluto’s direct station on 11 October at 27° Capricorn. As Pluto was stationing on Israel’s IC at 25° Capricorn, the angle highlighting land, roots and heritage, the devastating assault was experienced by some as a brutal attack on Israel’s right to exist. Hostages were taken and remain captive reflecting Pluto’s association with abduction. Plutonic themes of indiscriminate annihilation, merciless domination and the primal struggle for survival still prevail in the ongoing genocide in Gaza.
Last September, an afflicted Mars prematurely activated the October solar eclipse. Under this month’s lunar eclipse in Libra on 25 March, an afflicted Venus precipitates April’s Jupiter-Uranus conjunction. The renewal of this planetary cycle is a key feature of 2024’s astrology. Jupiter is good fortune and Uranus is unpredictability so it’s a mixed blessing. Currently inconceivable sudden breakthroughs are promised. Then again, wildly exaggerated benefits are also symbolised and may not materialise at all. Jupiter and Uranus are meeting in practical Taurus so reliable outputs matter. As nearly all the planets are bunched up in one corner of the zodiac at this time, the situation feels hugely imbalanced.
At the 8 April total solar eclipse in Aries, the Sun’s light is totally obscured by the Moon. A total solar eclipse is the most potent variety of eclipse there is. As as solar eclipse, this lunar cycle already has a stronger impact than the preceding lunar eclipse. Mars and Saturn dominate the picture. The Moon carries and injects their negativity into Jupiter-Uranus in Taurus. This gnarly set up promises trouble with a big helping of disruption. Yet, something good can also be freed up. Given the tricky nature of this particular eclipse, the dense earth of Taurus, and the commotion that usually accompanies solar eclipses, any fortunate dimension may not be immediately obvious.
While the upcoming eclipses bear directly on the war on Gaza, April’s solar eclipse also draws in the world leaders named at the end of the January article [3]. As their birth charts were connected to October’s Libra eclipse, they are also drawn into this April’s opposing eclipse in Aries. The two eclipses are connected by sign and degree.
With Saturn at 20° Libra, Chinese President Xi Jinping [4] is one more name to add to the list of world leaders who might feature prominently in the headlines near the solar eclipse. With Jupiter at 17° Libra, Donald Trump also has to contend with April’s eclipse [5] in court as the Sun and Moon meet on the cusp of his 9th house of litigation.
Sunday’s new Moon in Pisces marked the start of the lunar cycle which culminates in the March eclipse. This current new Moon is ruled by Jupiter in slow Taurus and is impeded by resistant Saturn. The stories due to unfold over eclipse season are still emerging, or starting new chapters, with some delay.
A charity aid ship departed a few days late from Cyprus carrying vital supplies to starving Palestinians via a new humanitarian maritime corridor [6]. Pisces is a water sign represented by two fish swimming in opposite directions. This is not a straightforward mission. Nor is it easy, let alone enough, to ease immense suffering given tough Saturn’s presence in Pisces all year. Don’t be fooled by the sluggish start to this eclipse season.
References
[1] https://skyscript.co.uk/inmundo/plo-second-saturn-return/
[3] https://skyscript.co.uk/inmundo/plo-second-saturn-return/ Queen Rania of Jordan is not impacted by this eclipse.
[4] Born on 15 June 1953 in Beijing, China. A noon chart in the absence of a birth time.
[5] Born on 19 June 1946 at 10.54am in Jamaica Hospital in Queens, New York.
[6] https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/3/12/first-aid-ship-to-gaza-leaves-cyprus-port
Astro Note: New Moons and Solar Eclipses | Full Moons and Lunar Eclipses
A note to explain new and full Moons and their heightened versions as solar and lunar eclipses, with Nasa diagrams.
New and Full Moons
A new Moon happens when the Sun and the Moon are at the same degree of the zodiac circle as a new lunar cycle begins. Hidden by the Sun, the Moon is invisible.
A full Moon occurs when the Sun and Moon illuminate each other from opposite sides of the zodiac belt.
Astrologically, the effects of a new Moon last for a fortnight, or for as long as it takes a new Moon to increase or wax the light it reflects until it becomes a fully lit full Moon.
A full Moon is the midpoint or culmination of a lunar cycle, and its effects last for another two weeks until the full Moon decreases or wanes the light it reflects and becomes an invisible new Moon again.
A full lunar cycle takes a month, a term which is derived from ‘Moon’. A month is defined by how long it takes the Moon to return to its starting new Moon position with the Sun after completing a full lunar cycle.
Solar and Lunar Eclipses
Eclipses block solar or lunar light as seen from Earth. They occur when new and full Moons happen on the ecliptic, or the Sun’s apparent path around the Earth.
In a solar eclipse, the Sun’s light is blocked by the Moon [1]. A solar eclipse is a heightened new Moon.
In a lunar eclipse, the Moon’s light is blocked by the Earth [2]. A lunar eclipse is a ramped up full Moon.
At the 8 April 2024 solar eclipse, the light-giving Sun and Moon, or luminaries, will conjoin at 19° Aries. At the 25 March 2024 lunar eclipse, the Moon is at 5° Libra, illuminated by the Sun at the exact same degree in the opposite sign, 5° Aries.
Astrologers have worked with eclipses as reliable markers for turning points in world events for many years. When an eclipse meets or opposes a planet or angle in an individual’s birth chart, that person will also experience the eclipse as a milestone moment in their own life.
Eclipses are spectacular phenomena to witness. Their astrological meaning is equally dramatic. If an astrological chart is a symbolic map of an unfolding path then an eclipse can act as cosmic steer to align with that path.
A solar eclipse is more potent than a lunar eclipse. The Sun is the centre of the solar system so when its light is obscured, darkness pervades more deeply and widely than when the Moon is in the shadows.
The effects of eclipses typically last for much longer than a couple of weeks as they carry more symbolic weight than regular new and full Moons.
References
[1] https://www.nasa.gov/image-article/solar-eclipse-diagram/
[2] https://www.nasa.gov/image-article/lunar-eclipse-diagram/
Photo by Jongsun Lee on Unsplash