Hello!
Latter, April 2023 is the end of the beginning. Pluto just moved into Aquarius in late March, and Saturn moved into Pisces. Both planets are slow movers; thus, these ingresses are noteworthy because they will heavily impact planets in fixed and mutable signs over the next few years. But, through all of March, all of the significant planets used in common astrology have been direct, meaning that the month was an excellent time to move ahead with new projects and sow seeds that will come to fruition later this calendar year. This theme of forward motions carries through until April 20th, when the first retrograde of the year happens, and of course, it is Mercury because, well, why shouldn’t it be? I mean, after all, it’s the Mercury retrograde cycles we all know and love, right?
Mercury begins stationing at 4:35 AM eastern time on 4/20 at fifteen degrees thirty-four minutes Taurus and will be retrograde until May 15, 2023, at 11:16 PM eastern time at five degrees fifty-three minutes of Taurus. When Mercury retrogrades in an earth sign, it generally means physical world matters will come up to be addressed. These include such things as vehicular problems, electrical problems, food poisoning, and surprise health issues in general. These are just some random examples I mentally grabbed, but I hope they illustrate the point. Remember, though, that a Mercury retrograde focuses on resolving these things. What this means is, if you have been putting off dealing with physical world matters, during this transit, they will come up to MAKE you deal with them, whether or not you want to. Yes, unknown issues may come up, too, but these will be ones you didn’t know were issues, and now they take priority.
Mercury isn’t the only planet retrograding, though, as Pluto stations retrograde in Aquarius at zero degrees twenty-one minutes at 1:09 PM eastern time and will stay retrograde until October 11, 2023, at 9:09 PM eastern time, at twenty-seven degrees fifty-three minutes of Capricorn. Yes, Pluto goes back into Capricorn, so all of the recent hype about Pluto moving into Aquarius is true, but it does not last for the rest of this year. It won’t be until next year that Pluto does not return to Capricorn via a retrograde cycle. Because of this, this year may be a little bumpy regarding Pluto’s traits. One way you can interpret this is to understand the back-and-forth power struggle between Capricorn (Traditional institutions, long-standing institutions, pillars of society, the establishment) and the inevitable future, represented by Aquarius (Inclusive problem solving, science, groups of people speaking up, metaphysics, visionary solutions, and thinking). So, in other words, as some would tell me, what we have been seeing here in the USA for the last number of years. This is the conflict of progressive vs. conservative, so when you put all of this together, it tells us that the social culture rollercoaster we have been witnessing will continue this year, but once next year arrives, and Pluto seats itself firmly in Aquarius, we will see this power dynamic change to favor the new, progressive, innovative, and inclusive. Of course, personally, I would like to see that list include astrology, too, but that is a rant for another time.
Pluto retrograding on calendar Walpurgisnacht is noteworthy, though, because it tells us that if you plan on celebrating with friends and family, it would be smart to allow extra travel time and be extra alert on your journeys. Accidents may be unfortunately common, as might short-tempers and conflicts. The positive part of this timing, though, is that if you magically work with underworld beings, now is a time during which they will be more responsive. This also means that the morrow’s Beltane fires can burn brighter and stronger than average, so plan your festivities accordingly.
The full moon on April 6th is at sixteen degrees seven minutes of Libra/Aries, and with Chiron conjunct the sun, you may find the path to diplomacy and mediation is harder than normal and may cause to address some of your wounds that have to do with your sense of being, which includes subjects like self-confidence, self-esteem, self-trust, etc.
So, let’s break things down a bit because it’s becoming a more complex picture. From now until April 6th, you have a waxing moon, meaning that the energy is building, which makes this a good time to begin new projects. Then, until the 20th, it is time to get the lead out and get to work on manifesting them. If you are worried that you might make mistakes because you rush through things, don’t worry about it because the Mercury retrograde beginning on the 20th will show you what is right, what is wrong, and what needs to be changed. The procedure I outline here is one of the ways to maximize and de-demonize Mercury retrogrades.
Once the 20th arrives, it is time to begin the review and revisit processes, first focusing on mercurial subjects and then changing your focus to at least give a cursory glance to Plutonian themes as it retrogrades ten days (which is the mid-mark of the Mercury retrograde, making it the most potent manifestation day of the whole cycle) after Mercury does.
Also, on April 20th is the new moon in Aries, which adds some more weight to how the Mercury retrograde begins and how the sun’s ingress into Taurus later that day will occur. So, to sum it up, on April 20th, we have the new moon in Aries, Mercury stationing direct in Taurus, and the sun moving into Taurus. Wow! That’s a lot of heavy, energetic, potent stuff! Because of all of this, I say this month, especially beginning 4/20, is the end of the beginning because once the twentieth arrives, it is time to get back into the regular flow of the year, whatever that may be for you.
Me? Well, I plan on creating like crazy until April 18th because, once that Mercury retrograde hits, I will probably have to dedicate a lot of time and energy to what it brings while juggling the Pluto activity. You may want to consider doing the same. Regardless of how you decide to handle April, you may find that all of the forward momenta that have been present this calendar year, or at least since equinox, are tapering off, leaving you to find your groove and routine to manifest a productive 2023.
Namaste,
Bill