New Moon April 24 2009 11.22 pm EDT Washington, DC
New Moon April 24 2009 11.22 pm EDT Washington, DC
Mars opposite Saturn April 4
Uranus enters Pisces April 4
Sun quincunx Saturn April 6
Mercury enters Aries April 6
Sun enters Aries April 13
Mars conjunct Uranus April 14
Venus turns direct April 17
Venus conjunct Mars April 21
Mercury square Neptune April 25
Mars square Pluto April 26
Most of April will be governed by the Pisces New Moon which occurred on March 26. It will be in effect until April 24, when the Sun and Moon conjoin in Aries. As we saw in the last newsletter, this New Moon featured a very dominant Ketu through the close aspects to Sun, Moon and Venus. Ketu is planet which tends to do poorly in the mundane realm, and is therefore often a disruptive influence in worldly affairs. This can mean that the logical assessment of daily life is harder to achieve and that can lead to confusion, mistakes, or missed opportunities. Ketu’s energy is perhaps better harnessed towards the unconsious and spiritual matters, so those areas may have more resonance during this time.
With the New Moon occurring in the 10th house in Washington, DC, government and leadership may be more in prominent now, perhaps as reflection of the greater powers that the Obama administration is assuming as it comes to grips with the global economic crisis. Since Mars is placed in the 9th house in this chart, some conflict with foreign countries is also possible in April. In last month’s newsletter, I wondered if the Mercury-Pluto square near the 7th house cusp may indicate some kind of tension with a foreign power involving misleading information. This past weekend came news that Canadian IT researchers working on behalf of the Dalai Lama had discovered that the Chinese government had hacked into the Tibetan leader’s computer network as well as many high-level government computer systems around the world. Mercury definitely symbolizes computers and information and Pluto is associated with spying, so the whole notion of deception and misleading (Mercury in Pisces) information fit fairly well.
The Aries New Moon on April 24 also contains several interesting aspects. Venus, Mars, Uranus are closely conjunct in early Pisces, highlighting unusual marriage customs or sexual practices or perhaps some breakthrough artistic endeavours since Venus represents the aesthetic realm. The male-female dynamic is intensified, perhaps indicative of greater friction between the sexes. With Venus hemmed in between malefic Mars and upsetting Uranus, the suffering of women may be more in the news. This triple conjunction is even more greater energized due to Ketu’s close aspect. This may suggest a time when we become more aware of mating rituals, sex and reproduction, probably through some transgressive or shocking behaviour that hits the media. Venus and Mars will also be in a close square with Pluto, so that introduces an element of power and domination into the mix. The notion of’ the battle of the sexes’ comes to mind here, but in a more literal and elemental sense. Think Nietzsche meets I Love Lucy.
The New Moon itself will be in a tight square with the nodes, Rahu and Ketu, so that is very unsettling generally. This may indicate more strange incidents for the month, and create an atmosphere that nothing is working properly and nothing is what it seems — "all that is solid melts into air." Saturn sits high in the 10th house, so that may reflect the image of the US government as a a resolute and determined authority, as it takes the lead and gains respect from the people for its efforts. The retrograde status of Saturn may mean that the "respect" part of that equation is somewhat conditional or fleeting. The Mercury square to the Jupiter-Neptune conjunction is more problematic and conjures up notions of over-confidence in the economy, or even castles made of sand. Mercury to Neptune can be associated with deceitful communications as well as communicable diseases. I realize that these remarks sound negative but in truth the chart doesn’t look all that bad since none of the aspects are close to any angles for Washington, DC. In places like Burma, Thailand, West Africa and Germany, Mars and/or Pluto are angular so some of these effects may be more strongly felt. Nonetheless, it is shaping up as an intriguing and provocative month. The Aries New Moon will be in effect from April 24 to May 24.
On April 1, Mars enters Purva Bhadrapada (20 Aquarius – 3 20 Pisces) and will complete its transit on April 18. This nakshatra is symbolized by the front part of a bed (or sometimes a funeral cot) and has been linked to the deity of Rudra, a storm god who controls destruction. Purva Bhadrapada is also associated with dangerous or risky activities, especially those involving fire and heat. Given the overlap with some of these symbols and Mars’ natural significations for violence and war, it’s hard to avoid thinking that violence will be more prominent during this transit.
A subsidiary symbol for this nakshatra is a two-faced man, meaning either deceptive behaviour where true intentions are hidden beneath a facade, or more symbolically, a person who straddles two directions, forwards and backwards, the future and the past, and life and death. With Mars’ transit of this nakshatra, we can watch for some expressions of this symbolism. Perhaps this might represent someone in the military (Mars) who is exposed for deceitful practices which generates anger or resentment in the public. Or there may be greater incidences of greed (as if!), cynicism, and fascination with the seedier side of human existence. Punishment and facing up to the consequences to these actions may also be more prominent. With Saturn aspecting this Mars transit through Purva Bhadrapada, it seems more likely that some of these more difficult significations may come to light now. Not wanting to be overly bleak here, but there does seem to be some fairly difficult planetary karma happening in April, at least on a general collective level.
In last month’s newsletter, I thought that President Obama may be frustrated around March 12 as some Mars-related transits were hitting his chart. It was shortly after this time that Obama had to deal with the public furor that emerged around the AIG bonus issue, where top executives were taking huge payouts from taxpayer money. Obama said he was stunned by the development, and he had to act (or appear to act) quickly in order to keep up with public opinion. Obama then went on a media offensive including an unprecedented appearance on The Tonight Show to sell his financial package to the American people. This salesmanship phase coincided with the Jupiter transit to his ascendant that I noted would occur around March 21 when he would be feeling confident and being generally successful.
The Mars-Saturn opposition occurs in the first week of April and this can indicate struggles and suffering through the application of power and misuse of authority. In the Houck USA chart, this opposition also activates the natal Venus-Mars conjunction at 20-23 Taurus. We should not be surprised if there are some significant developments involving the military or violence (Mars) and/or women, the economy (Venus rules money), or vehicles (Venus). Given the tense aspects here, these events look quite stressful for the country. With the resignation of the GM CEO Rick Wagoner and the demand for greater restructuring by the Obama administration, some of this afflicted Venus karma is already coming to pass. Transiting Mars makes its exact square to natal Mars on April 1, while Mars squares Venus on April 6, so those are two dates to watch. From about April 5 – 12, Venus will be in a mundane square with Pluto on the angles in the this natal chart. This may reflect a major achievement or event involving women. President Barack Obama’s chart is strongly activated around April 16-20, indicating a time when he will likely receive even more media attention. Venus will station in exact trine to his Midheaven (unequal 10th house cusp) and will be joined there by Mars. Given the Venus-Mars symbolism, this may have something to do with his wife Michelle. Generally, this seems like a favourable alignment.
The India chart looks very troubled this month, particularly from about April 18 to April 24 when Venus goes stationary direct and conjoins Mars and Uranus. What is noteworthy in this alignment is that it will occur in near the 11th house cusp and in very close aspect to the natal Ketu in the independence chart. Since the 11th house represents gains and income, this does not bode well for the economy and finances, presumably also the stock market. There may be surprises here that damage the whole nation, since Venus rules the whole horoscope.
Given that we are currently in a pre-election phase, this suggests there may be some notable incidents of violence that interference with voting. Mars aspects its natal position on April 22-24, so that may be on particularly troublesome time. While this time looks difficult, it is important to remember that a certain level of violence is endemic to Indian elections so hopefully this won’t be much of a departure from the norm.
The underlying assumption of astrology is that the position of the planets at birth is a discernible pattern against which future developments can be read. This principle may also apply to the start of new projects, new companies, new relationships, and new ideas. However, the selection of auspicious dates to begin a new endeavour is rarely straightfoward since the time of day will determine the position of the angles, and hence the orientation of houses. These are at least as important as the geometric patterns between the planets themselves and hence, apparently "good" astrological days can deliver bad results and vice versa. As always, astrology is not an exact science. With that caveat in mind, here are a few dates that stand out this month. New things begun on auspicious dates will tend to work out according to plan, while projects started on inauspicious dates may have disappointing results.
Auspicious Dates: April 9, 14
Inauspicious Dates: April 2, 5, 25