Horoscope: April 1st - 7th, 2019
Astrologer Pam Younghans writes this weekly astrological journal based on planetary influences, and offers perspectives and insights to assist you in making the best use of current energies. This column is not intended as prediction. Your own experience will be more specifically defined by transits to your personal chart.
Highlighted Aspects for This Week
All times listed are Pacific Standard Time. For Eastern Time, add 3 hours. For Greenwich Mean Time, add 8 hours.
TUE: Mercury conjunct Neptune, Venus semisquare Pluto
WED: Mars sextile Chiron
THU: Pluto conjunct South Node
FRI: New Moon 1:50 a.m. PDT
SUN: Mercury sextile Saturn, Mars sesquiquadrate Saturn
APRIL is a time of sharp contrasts. The planetary events this month are one of the main reasons I entitled my recent webinar "Into the Heart," because it is during this month that we are most likely to become aware of issues that are at the heart of current challenges. We are also called to become more heart-centered in how we approach those concerns.
Our experiences this first week of the month will give us a good idea of what we will be working with throughout the next thirty days. We will want to pay particular attention to occurrences on Thursday and Friday this week, as indicators of key themes that will be with us for at least a fortnight, if not longer.
WE START the week on a quieter note, with no major aspects and the Moon in subdued Pisces on Monday.
How appropriate that the Moon is in the sign that specializes in illusions on April Fools' Day! If planning a practical joke, be aware that not everyone will respond kindly, especially around the time of Luna's square to Mars in Gemini (9:45 a.m.).
A Mercury-Neptune alignment occurs in the wee hours of the morning on Tuesday (2:36 a.m. PDT), energetically bridging Monday and Tuesday. This alignment in Pisces inspires a rather mystical or creative Monday evening. It can enhance our intuition and our imagination, as well as our ability to receive messages from spirit throughout our dreamtime and in our meditations.
THE WIND SHIFTS as early as Tuesday, when a Venus-Pluto semisquare is in effect. The tension of this aspect, which calls our core values into question, is felt in our relationships and in our pocketbook, areas ruled by Venus.
Wednesday's Mars-Chiron sextile is an opportunity to reinforce our knowing of our ability to be strong in the face of challenges. This is a healing aspect, designed to be encouraging and uplifting, if we take the time to tap into its potentials.
PLUTO'S alignment with the South Node on Thursday is the big event of the week, and perhaps of the month. The effects of this joining are not limited to the one day, but Thursday is the day that Pluto and the South Node are both at exactly the same degree, at 23°03? Capricorn.
As Lord of the Underworld, Pluto oversees the greatest transition we make as humans, that of death of the physical body. But Pluto rules far more than literal death -- he also rules the transition process that occurs whenever something has reached the end of its viable life span, and must change form.
Pluto's energies are currently focused on the transformation of those areas ruled by the sign Capricorn, which includes governments, politicians, economies, social structures, corporations, and authority figures. In particular, Pluto is revealing ways in which society and governments have abused authority, ignored the plight of those who require protection, or otherwise strayed from highest integrity. It exposes the behind-the scenes strategies of those in power who have yet to learn the lessons of the heart.
THE SOUTH NODE is the Keeper of the Cosmic Law. By the sign it transits, it shows us where we are dealing with karmic issues that require our attention and resolution. The South Node has been in Capricorn since last November, calling us to dismantle old patterns of fear, cynicism, and pessimism. These attitudes are the Achilles' heel of our progress, and must be evolved both personally and globally.
The South Node in Capricorn also reveals how we have allowed the need for control to undermine our capacity for caring. Under severe challenges, it is common to steel ourselves off from the deeper emotions we are feeling.
We resist being truly vulnerable, perhaps seeing it as a sign of weakness, but also fearing that if we truly allow ourselves to experience the true depth of our emotions, we will be taken advantage of.
We may also fear that the feelings will be more than we can handle, and that we will never again emerge from their grasp once they are allowed to come forth. And so, we protect ourselves. We close off our capacity to feel our deepest emotions, which eventually also closes our hearts to the needs of others.
WE MIGHT CONSIDER this lack of empathy to be a core issue that we are dealing with in today's society, and we wouldn't be wrong. But, since each of us believes ourselves to be caring and empathetic, and that it's the "others" that are the problem, "What's a mother to do?"
In essence, Pluto conjunct the South Node is uncovering anywhere that we are choosing fear over trust, separation over connection, suspicion over appreciation, materialism over heart-centeredness, and pessimism over inspiration. This revelation is occurring for all of us -- not just those "others" who we can clearly see making these unevolved choices on a regular basis.
As we work with whatever issues come forth this week and this month, our challenge is to become more openhearted, not less. We may experience the bitter taste of fear and cynicism, but we do not need to let it flavor every meal. If we allow emotional wounds to harden into scars, we will simply be reinforcing the cold-heartedness that we see in the world -- the very qualities which injured us in the first place.THE NEW MOON on Friday occurs when the Sun and Moon align at 15°17? Aries, at 1:50 a.m. PDT. This lunation is notable primarily because it reinforces many of the themes we've just been discussing.
In the chart for the New Moon, the Sun and Moon form a cardinal T-square with Pluto, the South Node, and Saturn in Capricorn, and the North Node in Cancer. In other words, it triggers the energies of that Pluto-South Node alignment and adds Saturn's influence to the mix as well.
To quote myself (!), I wrote in my forecast column for The Mountain Astrologer that with Saturn's involvement: "Chickens come home to roost; the repercussions of our actions (or inactions) can no longer be ignored. Whatever Pluto has revealed, Saturn brings into sharp relief."
IN ESSENCE, this is the energy of April. It will be strong throughout the month, but especially this first week when Pluto aligns with the South Node, and again in the last week, when Saturn exactly aligns with the South Node (on April 30).
As beings who are aware, it is up to us to hold the higher intentions of this time, to consciously choose trust over fear, connection over separation, appreciation over suspicion, heart-centeredness over materialism, and inspiration over pessimism -- in every area of our life experience.
Into the heart we go ...
IF YOUR BIRTHDAY IS THIS WEEK:
This year, you are challenged to get very clear on what you truly want and what you need to do to make it your reality. It is not a time for wishful thinking, but for patient planning. This is energy you work with every seven to eight years, and it provides the opportunity for a course correction, if needed. Any seeds planted now will take until the fall to sprout, giving you plenty of time to do all the necessary work of preparation. (Solar Return Sun square Saturn)
About the Author
Pam Younghans is a professional astrologer, editor, and writer. She lives in a log home northeast of Seattle, Washington with her beloved animal companions. She has been interpreting charts professionally for over 25 years. If you are interested in an astrology reading, e-mail
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