April 2014 Astrology Trends
April is quite an active month, astrologically, with the biggest of the big aspects happening. A seat belt is recommended, along with copious amounts of great self-care, meditation, relaxation, and positive vibing to help all those around you as well as yourself!
Jupiter-Uranus-Pluto
Jupiter has come along in the cardinal sign of Cancer to expand the long term Aries Uranus-Capricorn Pluto square that has been urging change upon us for some time. Personally, we are likely to be playing with changes at every opportunity, or at least quite aware of the impulse to start new things emerging within us. However, we are also aware that we can’t quite get the timing right, or gather together the circumstances through our own means. We are entering a new evolution as a species, so it’s fairly uncomfortable to notice that the old ways of achieving no longer produce the same results in many situations. Learning to relax and make use of subtle senses and attempt to see the previously unseeable makes us all profoundly excited and shaken and various points. It’s as if Uranus and Pluto are letting us know we don’t even know ourselves! And Jupiter brought a magnifying glass to the picnic. With the spotlight on us, we’re sure to make progress, so it’s best to relax and allow ourselves contentment even with discomfort. When we know we are capable of learning, and have faith that all is well, we can see beyond any circumstance into the thrill of a bigger mystery. Let that be the expansiveness of Jupiter that we choose this April! The bigger mystery!
…Enter Mars
Just after the middle of the month, which is tax time in the United States, Mars in Libra also enters the range of the Jupiter-Uranus-Pluto T-square to make it a Grand Cross, so this means we have an amazing amount of Cardinal energy focused from April 17 through May on our actions, impulses, expansiveness, and transformation. You can put these together in a soup of your own making, and it will simmer or boil over depending on how well you manage your stovetop.
In fact, after April 20, Jupiter will make a favorable aspect to Chiron that will activate mentoring and teaching, allowing for us to either get the mentoring/help we need or to give by expressing our own wisdom. The work of the heart has potential to heal olds wounds and issues and leads us to succeed where we once failed.
Eclipse on April 29
The April 29 eclipse touches upon many of the sensitive points in the chart of the New Year. Not only does it add some grounding energy to the cardinal Jupiter-Uranus-Pluto points, but it calls to Venus as well. The effect of this eclipse may have us looking at how we view our individualism vs. our interconnectedness. We may need to work out something around a healthy selfishness, or a healthy expression of individuality. You can use the energy wisely by reflecting on self-care and making sure that you’re balanced—neither overly-responsible nor underly-responsible. You can use your creative expression to release any pent-up energy about relationships. Make sure to balance your finances at month’s end as well.
Learn Tarot
With the Spring holiday season upon us, it’s a great time to talk about gifting Tarot decks. When you are given a Tarot deck, it often makes the deck more powerful. If you have someone in your life with whom you share the passion of Tarot—a friend, a brother, or sister, or another—the gift of a new deck is a great way to offer them something they will love along with a boost of power behind the deck for their readings.
I first learned this from my Tarot mentor,
Susyn Blair-Hunt, who gave me the Robin Wood Tarot deck during one of our first classes many years ago. I’ve given my friends several copies of the Witches Tarot, a deck I find particularly beautiful and successful in my readings.
Is it ironic that I put the Witches Tarot in Easter baskets with pretty pink wrapping? Well, this world is full of contradictions and variety! (Let it never be said that I was one who took religion too seriously, but please do let it be said that I honored spirit with all my heart!)
You can learn so much more from Susyn, my wonderful mentor, in her book,
Tarot Prediction & Divination, Unveiling 3 Layers of Meaning.
Llewellyn also publishes the best selection of Tarot decks that I’ve discovered.
Learn Astrology
The Natal Birth Chart:
The natal birth chart in western astrology is the astrological chart cast for the exact time and place a person is born. The planets’ signs and degrees are stable in a birth chart on a single day, with only the moon being a fast enough mover to be a variable when creating an astrological chart. However, there are many variables when it comes to determining the house placements in a natal chart.
There are several house systems used to run natal birth charts. Koch and Porphyry are two of the most popular systems in current use.
Sometimes, the time or place is unavailable. In this case, the chart is often run with equal houses. This means, each house contains and equal number of degrees—that being 30 degrees. The astrologer uses other significant events in a person’s life to make the best guess at the person’s rising sign and degree. This often takes a significant amount of work and discussion between the astrologer and client. It can be a wonderful exploration for both the astrologer skilled in this art and the client who has never been able to have an accurate astrological chart cast.
Meditation
Meditation is emotional hygiene as well as a neurological rebuilding process. There are so many benefits to meditation that it’s impossible to use language to express them. When I began to seriously practice in 2009, I had a lot of resistance to the actual practice of quieting the mind, because I came from such a strong background of being useful in the world. I wanted to make sure I was productive and on-task, so it took me many years to relax.
Looking back, it’s easy to see how much more supportive I am to every environment I am a part of because I have the ability to soothe myself now. Emotional regulation and equanimity are skills and gifts that a quiet internal space and a quiet mind provide. Meditation is a simple act that takes about 15 minutes before it shifts me into that quiet space (on a good day, less time is needed). I feel grounded—a physical shift occurs within—perhaps that is my parasympathetic nervous system—that gives everyone in the vicinity a break from the anxiety I used to bring to situations.
Like brushing my teeth gives me fresh breath, I feel meditation gives me a fresh, coherent energy to provide to those around me.
***
Thank you for enjoying April's newsletter! You can contact me anytime via email:
domikajama@gmail.com for a reading or for any questions. Visit me at
Intuitivemoon.com.
Be well!
Blessings,
Dominique
