The Astrology of April 2018:
A Significant Healing Shift
April begins with Aries the Ram charging ahead, attempting to lead us toward a fresh start. He isn't getting very far. Mercury Retrograde is still looming, while Saturn conjuncts Mars—both hampering our momentum. Even though spring has officially begun, we may be feeling stuck, frustrated, or overwhelmed—wishing our lives would begin to thaw.
Luckily, yesterday's Libra Full Moon was a reminder to breathe, make space, and find middle ground. Surrounded by flowering buds, we can take our time to organize, recalibrate, and unfurl. There is ample wisdom in slowing down to reflect and decide our way forward. In fact, it's helping us prepare for April's major transit—when Chiron moves into Aries for the first time in fifty years. Our aggression and fighting are beginning to soften as we unlock massive potentials for healing and reconciliation.
As we undergo these major shifts, the key is remembering to love and enjoy ourselves along the way, relishing in our aloneness and the magic of our solitary hearts. In doing so, we will open not only to greater healing, but also to deeper connection, intimacy, and authenticity. With dreams aligned and channels open, we can begin to work together in harmony, building the lives and world we want to see.
MERCURY RETROGRADE
On April 1, Mercury Retrograde crosses the Sun, marking the midway point of a very challenged and frustrating retrograde season, which ends on April 15. The message of Mercury Retrograde is now becoming illuminated. Since Mercury Retrograde began on March 22, we’ve been reviewing many aspects of our lives—particularly our relationships. We’ve been asking ourselves what we want from the world and our connections, and whether we’re heading in the right direction. With the Moon in Scorpio today, we’re going deep, making room for greater intimacy, magic, and reconciliation. Breakthroughs are possible if we continue to compromise, make peace, and own our mistakes. This will not come without struggle. A Saturn square questions our integrity all week, making sure we’re organized and proceeding carefully. Once Mercury stations direct on April 15, we’ll be moving ahead again with full steam, along with greater certainty, lighter loads, and much fresher perspectives.
URANUS CONJUNCT THE SUN
Uranus conjuncts the Sun April 15 to 21, on the heels of Mercury stationing direct. This supercharges our forward momentum as we unstick from Mercury’s backward motion. Feelings of freedom and liberation begin to stir us. If we don’t flow with this potential, we may feel frustrated or uncomfortable. This Uranian energy is helping to usher in the Age of Aquarius, breaking us out of limiting identities—as well as religious, political, and cultural conditioning. We’re finding our own wisdom, values, and spiritual paths from within, while letting go of the notion of a guru-savior. This is not the time to stay caught in old patterns, or to consider only ourselves and material gain. It’s time to orient toward the collective as we fight for greater equality, questioning the status quo as we collectively shift into greater authenticity. It’s the end of many things right now, and key questions are arising: Will we stay caught looking back, with stodginess and nostalgia? Or will we take the leap, offering our hearts and talents to help usher in a new age?
ARIES NEW MOON
An Aries New Moon arrives on April 15, encouraging us to move forward with freshness and courage. Aries is ruled by Mars, who represents the Warrior and the masculine. With the New Moon conjunct revolutionary Uranus, while Pluto and Saturn sandwich Mars, we’re significantly transforming our inner masculine. While the feminine has been reinventing herself, reclaiming her power, it’s now time for our masculine to morph into his next incarnation. Within each of us, we’re making sure that our paths forward align with what we truly want. We’re conjuring our virtue, depth, and fearlessness as we lay groundwork for our future lives and selves.
CHIRON MOVES INTO ARIES
The theme of reinventing the masculine continues as Chiron, the Wounded Healer, moves into Aries on April 17, where he will remain for eight years. This is a chance for all of us to soften. It’s time to work through our issues of anger, divisiveness, and aggression, and to heal the parts of ourselves that are prone to fighting. Through this process, we’re learning to inhabit our vulnerability with much greater commitment. We’re facing our pain with increased bravery so we can heal ourselves—then help others to do the same. More and more healers will unlock their gifts during this transit, as we discover greater connections between body, mind, spirit, and the natural world. Aries is the baby of the zodiac, and the children are also stepping up, as martyrs and warriors—Wounded Healers—lighting the way for the rest of us.
SCORPIO FULL MOON
A Scorpio Full Moon arrives on April 29, plunging us into greater awareness around our emotional lives and unconscious drives. We’re examining our shadows with richer self-understanding, as we continue the work of Jupiter moving through Scorpio—dismantling our unconscious triggers and traumas as we find the courage to look them in the eyes. Intimacy becomes a priority during this Scorpio Full Moon, which requires us to face our fears that we’re unworthy or unlovable. As we do this, opening to self-love, we have the chance now to emerge anew—more available to ourselves and each other.
Forming a positive angle to Saturn, we can harness the power of the Scorpio Full Moon to make significant and constructive changes. We can ask for help and begin collaborating with each other in meaningful ways. We're implementing Saturn's lessons of deliberation, decency, and care as we rebirth ourselves and the collective. "Together alone," we're moving into greater self-mastery and -sufficiency, while stepping into more conscious roles in our relationships, communities, and society at large.
On this powerful note, we leave April behind, having undergone rapid transformation and growth. The month has encouraged better understanding of ourselves, as well as the ability to connect more deeply. We're engaging in challenging personal work—shedding our exoskeletons so we can establish healthier relationships, and from there, a saner and more enlightened society and world.
April Summary
We begin Aries in the midst of an arduous Mercury Retrograde, whose messages reveal themselves at the first of the month. We’re cleaning up our relationships while establishing more peace, both within ourselves and with each other. On April 17, Chiron, the Wounded Healer, moves into Aries for the first time since 1968. Here, we begin an eight-year cycle of tremendous healing and recalibrating our inner masculine—softening our anger and aggression. As martyrs and rebels, the children are stepping into their power, leading us to the next paradigm. It certainly feels like the beginning of the Aquarian Age. A Sun-Uranus conjunction mid-April makes sure we break free of any conditioning holding us back. This way, we can conjure wisdom and revolution from within. Gone is the era of gurus and saviors. With authenticity and integrity, we can root to the earth and open to vastness, questioning truth and the nature of reality on our own accord. Overall, this is an important month for diving deep and asking ourselves what we truly want and which paths we will take. With Jupiter in Scorpio, we’re investigating our deepest layers of trauma, grief, and shadow work, so we can emerge more genuine and available for more meaningful connections. Ultimately, this is clearing the way for us to work together more harmoniously, ensuring that our future is aligned with safety, true intelligence, compassion, and inspiration.
As we wait for warmer days, may we relax, taking pleasure in the in-betweens. May we feel gratitude for the stillness, caring for ourselves before leaping ahead, through forests of flowering trees, the sun breaking through fog.
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