As buds pop from barren trees in the Northern Hemisphere, April is popping with planetary activity.
First and foremost, the Sun is setting off the Jupiter-Uranus-Pluto T-square. As it moves through the key cardinal degrees April 8-14th, it ignites our Cardinal Cross issues (see last month’s and February’s Skywatches).
By now, these issues should be pretty familiar. On one level, they constitute the key themes of this calendar year. On another level, they’ve been changing our lives since 2008.
Down in the basement
Starting a week into April, the Sun-Pluto square takes aim at something we have been approaching too superficially. We may find ourselves falling through the floorboards of a circumstance where, up until now, we have been treading along the surface, heedless of underlying forces.
Once in the basement, we find a new richness. But we have to learn to see in the dark. This is about identifying aspects of ourselves that we normally hide from.
As always, the lesson may come from an external prompt. A power play with some person or agency may come to a head: a clash of wills, that reminds us of the importance of unseen energies.
Whether internal or external, the transit teaches us to look below appearances for the meaning of events.
Moral quandary
The opposition of Jupiter (morality) to the Sun is part of this dynamic, so the episode challenges our ethical faculties. The Sun’s conjunction with Uranus (the unpredictable), peaking 4/13-14, adds the element of surprise. Our sense of right and wrong is meant to be jarred, and our worldview deepened.
The best way to approach this configuration is to cultivate ideological openness. The worst way is to try to double down with what we believe.
To anticipate where in your life the transit will appear, check the houses of your natal chart where 18-24° of the cardinal signs reside (Aries, Cancer, Libra and Capricorn).
Changing direction
There are four planetary stations in April.
Saturn stations retrograde on April 5th, at 27 Sagittarius; if you have planets or angles around that degree, be advised that a good hard work is being required.
Mercury goes retrograde on the ninth, until May third: use this time to review the details of whatever you’re working on.
Venus turns direct on April 15th, bringing more directness back into our relationships.
Pluto stations on April 20th, just after the Sun goes into Taurus. If you do ritual, light a candle to the Dark God on this day.Whatever is obsolete wants to be released, and a little consciousness will go a long way to provide the necessary funerary lubrication.
