Midlife Transits

A bit belatedly. You can now follow me on Twitter if you are so inclined (http://twitter.com/practicalastro). And I joined Facebook and LinkedIn. We’ll see how it goes.

Apparently feeds are going out with all horoscopes instead of just those for a specific sign. Not the end of the world, but we are working on it.

There’s still energy at your disposal this month, Pisces, as Mars doesn’t finish his bi-annual visit to your sign until April 22nd. Venus will also briefly retrograde into the very last degree of Pisces, and, of course Uranus is still in your sign as he has been since 2004. Just the same,  your mind and conversations are more likely to be centered on money or your possessions than how much energy Mars is giving you. The focus on moola would be thanks to all the Aries energy this month in your financial solar 2nd house, plus some energy in the money-loving sign of Taurus. After the 22nd, when Mars joins the Aries party, it’s time to pour some aggressive attention toward this topic. Astrologically speaking, this would be your best time all year to make rapid financial progress.

Lots of Pisces will be interested in money because they want to make more of it, but other Pisces folks will be more concerned with spending money than with bringing it in. For you spenders trying to boost the economy, the position of Venus in Aries and in your sign this month indicates that now could be a good time to invest in some decorative objects or pretty things for the home, especially after the 18th. The end of the month is also a good time to buy some nice new clothes. If neither of those appeal, you could drop a little dough on stuff that is simultaneously self-improving and fun–ballroom dancing lessons, an appealing exercise class, or other activities that get your body moving again now that spring is here.

Given that Aries energy is compatible with the economically beneficial Jupiter energy in your solar 12th house, you may even decide it would be worthwhile to embark upon self-education in the area of money. Not that you should limit your studies this year to financial matters. In fact, Jupiter in the solar house associated with your sign indicates that you could benefit from self-education in a broad diversity of areas. Pisces who need additional education to compete in today’s job market are also likely to benefit from applying to a suitable college program.

Another way to use the beneficial Jupiter energy is to expand your attendance at church to re-connect with your spirituality. If you don’t much care for attending the services of an organized religion then once again self-education or self-study on spiritual topics is a potentially beneficial way to go.

Literature, literary-type people, words, pens, pencils, reading, websites, blogs, email messages, IMing, texting, cell phones, etc., etc., etc., etc. That’s the vibe for April. This month, the sun’s in Aries, Mercury spends some time there, Venus moves in and out of the sign, and Mars moves in for a little over a month. Aries in your solar chart just loves all that writing and speaking and communicating stuff. I guess the implication is that these next couple of months offer your prime opportunity to capitalize on all these forms of expression. Go for it!

Meanwhile, Mars is also in Pisces this month, actually from March 15 to April 22nd. Here it will meet up with Venus in the middle of April and with Uranus as well. Pisces represents the Aquarian money house. The conundrum thing for Aquarius people is that Pisces as a sign is all sympathetic and understanding of the needs of others. So, given half a chance, it will sneak around behind your back doling out your money to the needy and forgetting to save any for you! Many Aquarians have experienced this in one form or another over the last 5 or 6 years, as Uranus in Pisces has been shoveling cash out their doors or mysteriously refusing payment for legitimate services.

So here’s what you gotta face this month as Mars transits this sector of your chart: the reality that all this Uranus in Pisces energy may be masking a lack of confidence in yourself when it comes to money, possessions, material security, and all that stuff. Now I’m not gonna blame you if you’ve been lacking confidence. I’m just going to tell you that with Jupiter in your sign this year and Saturn bearing down on you like a financial drill sergeant, you’ve got to temporarily get over any fears or misgivings you have. You’ve got to convince yourself that you’re worthy of financial security and stop worrying about all those other poor people these days with troubles of their own.  Their problems are their business; yours are your business.

One of the things that makes 2009 interesting astrologically is the large amount of time that Venus spends in Aries this year. For you, the Aries emphasis represents family in your solar chart. Venus as a rule symbolizes the human desire to achieve agreement and harmony, shared feelings, coordinated action and partnership. So that would seemingly mean you’d be spending a large amount of time in 2009 (including most of April through early June of this year) feeling all agreeably harmonious with your family.

The huge emphasis on Aquarius energy this year would seem to make that even more likely, even in financial ventures with a group of family members. Jupiter in Aquarius loves harmonious groups! But…Aries is an aggressive sign, and the only kind of group coordinated action it really resonates to is war action. It almost makes it seem as though your family (including extended family) will feel happiest if you all pick someone or something else to gang up on and get all hot and bothered about.

This is known in political circles as a tactic for increasing national cohesiveness by trumping up the dangers of a common enemy. It works pretty well and is not necessarily a bad tactic for getting through a crisis. If your family is facing a crisis, you might just want to help yourselves get through it by agreeing on something (or someone) to blame. This will be especially true as the month winds to an end (after April 22nd) for aggressive Mars himself will join Venus in Aries to cap off an extremely family-oriented month.

Before the 22nd Mars will be in Pisces, where it will be all grumpy and just itching to attack something. Short-term and short- distance travel aren’t really advised, especially around the middle of the month, unless you are hankering for a chance to yell at a rental car agent or something. Mars may be mad because spring hasn’t come fast enough, because your neighbors are devaluing your property by being all foreclosed on and stuff, or for no rational reason whatsoever. Mars in Pisces doesn’t need a rational reason to try to cause a feud with someone; it’s just a way of discharging emotion.

In other words, if you put the Aries and Pisces influences together, you get the rather unusual chance to choose your enemies to benefit the emotional health of your family. I’m not quite sure what to make of that, and this energy doesn’t occur all that often, so I leave it to you to make of it what you will.

Whole lotta Aries going on in April, Sag. The sun, Mercury, Venus, and Mars all drop by for a visit to this, one of your favorite signs. Aries in your solar chart represents things like children, fun, self-expression, spontaneity, and doing the stuff that makes you feel whole again after a long bout of winter (or, if you live in the Southern Hemisphere, a long bout of summer). That sounds pretty good to me, and the energy is there at your disposal all month long.

Also take note that there’s a nice harmony of Venus and Mars in this sign occurring from the 24th on. Given the way the fast-moving planets are transiting this year, you have an unusually long period of time in which to take advantage of solar 5th house energy–all the way into early June. Some people feel that the 5th house is the most important house in the horoscope because it’s the natural house of the sun. Planets in the solar 5th are naturally in harmony with your own sun, and a long bout of 5th house activity can make you feel as though everything is revolving around you for awhile.

Meanwhile, in the middle of the month, Venus will spend a couple of weeks hanging out at 29 degrees Pisces. If you are born very late in the sign of Sagittarius, this is likely to affect you the most, although it is not supposed to affect you in a negative way. Mars will also be in Pisces at this time, and it will conjoin Uranus in Pisces too. If you were born in the middle of December, you may feel somewhat wired in mid-April, or even overly hyped up.

This rather intense Pisces energy is most likely to affect you on the home front. You may need to briefly drop all that fun Aries stuff to concentrate on being of service to your family. Mid-April is not really the time to try to get away from family obligations. Even if you decide to take a trip, the issues will still try to follow you. But that’s a minor complaint in an otherwise great time of year for you.

Even Steven. That’s the phrase that comes to my mind as I look at your solar chart. There’s your natal sun in Libra, and there are all these counterbalancing or even-ing out planets in the opposite sign of Aries. Venus is in Aries this month, and the sun, Mercury, and Mars drop by too.

No one planet is in the sign all month long, so things kind of spread out with a more or less steady dose of counterbalancing energy all month long. It’s sort of like–you give to other people, they give back to you. Reciprocity. Just the thing your sun sign loves the very best.

The other sign highlighted this month is Taurus, symbol of your solar 8th house. The sun and Mercury will be in this sign for awhile, and there’s a new moon in Taurus on the 24th. This can mean about 250 different things, so I’ll pull out one to contemplate for the moment: the past. Every year, for a brief time, you get a chance to take stock of your past and either enjoy it (scrapbooking!), wrestle with it, or figure out how to integrate outstanding issues into your current identity.

The 8th house is thus the house of psychotherapy, which is essentially an arena in which you can reminisce with support while healing any old wounds. Of course, these days the 8th house is just as likely to symbolize money matters. Debt, investments, joint finances, taxes, insurance payouts, all that stuff. At any rate, it looks as though something 8th house-y is likely to be on your mind during the last 3 weeks of April, and you may even make some great progress with your issues.

There are a couple of energies I suspect you’re going to want to pay attention to in April, Scorpio. One is the Aries energy. There’s a new moon in this sign on March 26, the sun is in the sign until April 19, Mercury’s in it until April 9, and Mars from April 22 on. Meanwhile, Venus retrogrades through Aries until the 11th.

Venus then hangs in suspended motion at 29 degrees of Pisces for two weeks before moving back into Aries in direct motion on the 24th. If you know your own chart and have a planet at 29 degrees in any of the signs, pay particular attention to the energy of that planet. Otherwise, just take note of the abundance of Aries energy. The new moon in Aries will supposedly make you instinctively want to express yourself via a job, a service or volunteer project, through becoming more efficient, or by focusing on how you can maintain or improve your health.

Since Venus rules the appearance, it may also make you want to improve how you look as part of your health endeavors or as part of your efforts to secure a job. The best time for an appearance upgrade or makeover would be after the 24th of April. Whether or not you choose to get all Venus-y about beautifying yourself, the strong energy around jobs and health continues throughout April. I personally recommend taking advantage of it as early in the month as you can.

Then there’s  Pisces energy, which consists of the aforementioned Venus influence, plus Mars in the sign until the 22nd, and Uranus throughout the month. The days around the middle of April are particularly energetic. The Pisces influence is also supposed to instinctively make you want to express yourself, even re-create yourself, again in some sort of service-oriented way. You can see the trend–this is the month to figure out how you can be of service to others and perhaps land a job or improve your health in the process. Bottom line–what you want comes through contributing to others.

One final P.S. Pisces energy also relates to your children if you have any. They may benefit from involvement in service, just like you!

April is one of those very mixed months. The three dominant signs as far as personal planets go are Pisces, Aries, and Taurus. Aries energy will get along well with the Jupiter and Neptune in Aquarius vibrations that play such a big role this year. It won’t have much in common with the Saturn in Virgo or Uranus in Pisces influences that we’re all contending with. And it positively doesn’t like the Pluto in Capricorn energy that we’re also all contending with.

The Taurus energy on the other hand will mix smoothly and graciously with Saturn, Uranus, and Pluto, while not mixing at all well with Jupiter and Neptune. Mars and Venus in Pisces will play the wildcard roles and probably confuse everybody.

So what does this mean to you?

Well, the Aries energy is potentially a healing energy for you, and you can take advantage of its pleasant mood with Jupiter and Neptune in your solar 6th house of health to do things to make yourself feel better physically or mentally (such as, you know, actually staying home from work or school if you’ve got one of those nasty cold/flu things that’s been going around). You could also indulge in deliciously healing and sensible things like sleeping when you’re tired (hint, hint). If that sort of thing doesn’t appeal to you or seems unnecessary, April is also a very nice month to take a stroll down memory lane to sort out how you got to where you are now. And you can take advantage of the Taurus energy to make realistic and sensible plans about how to make your life better in the long run (as in maybe you need more recreation time and less work time, hint, hint).

The unpredictable Pisces energy, on the other hand, represents the love and anger that others give or take away from you at this time, and I’ll leave it to you to figure out how to handle that. The days around April 4 are heavier on the anger side of the equation, while the days from the 11th to the 23rd a little stronger on the love side of the equation. In other words, it’s a typical April month. A little sunshine, a little rain, some unpredictable gusts of this and that, some nice bright flowers, and some fleeting dark clouds.

If you need more money (and your chart says you do), April will be of interest to you. The money problem in your chart stems from two things. One is Saturn in Virgo in your personal money house. Saturn is notoriously stingy here, although he can also be useful.

The second money problem your chart has relates to your partner’s finances, which are just as notoriously unreliable. Lately, they’ve been not only unreliable, but problematically so. If you haven’t got problematic partner finances to deal with then it’s likely to be things like taxes or debt or big expenses or other annoying obligations. April’s astrology can’t do anything about those two problems.

But it can do something about your career, and in the world of Leo solar charts, the career is a potentially big money maker. Your personal career new moon for 2009 takes place on April 24. Note the date and follow the money or the opportunities for money or the career opportunities or basically anything you can spy out of the corner of your eye that looks like it might mean money or career enhancement somewhere down the line. This energy is good for a couple of weeks, so jump on it.

If you want to be super-smart, use the days preceding this new moon to think real hard about what you can do to take advantage of it. You’ll have Mercury (thinking planet) in Aries (planning for the future sign in your chart) until the 9th. After that, you’ll have Mercury (still thinking) in Taurus (your career and money sign).  You’ll also have Venus (money planet) in Aries (planning) for much of the month. If that doesn’t sound like your chart’s in ‘show me the money mode’ then I don’t know what does.

There’s a little bit of home-related energy in April, Cancer, at the full moon in Libra on the 9th. But most of the month’s energy revolves around your interactions with the outside world. There’s Aries energy throughout the month. Aries in your solar chart represents how you define yourself in the world, usually through professional or career activities, although any highly visible role will fill the bill.

There’s also a lot of Taurus going on in April, and that has more to do with making a positive contribution to others or society. This can be done through friendships, charity work, donations to worthy causes, working with others in an association or group and so on. The new moon in Taurus occurs on the 24th, a perfect opportunity to turn over a new leaf in this area if you’re of a mind to. The sun and Mercury are also in Taurus from the 19th and 9th respectively.

Put the Aries and Taurus energies together and you get things like a good month to run for office in a professional association, club, or other organization that could help you increase your stature. Mercury is also good for things like socializing with one’s siblings. If you haven’t had a chance to catch up with yours lately, April might be the time to do so. Yet another use of the month’s energy would be to join an exercise group or class (Aries loves exercise, Taurus in your chart loves groups, Mercury loves classes!).

There’s also a bit of Pisces energy in the air, still. (Mars, Venus for a couple of weeks, and Uranus). Pisces represents your solar chart’s attempts to make plans for the future. Around the 17th, there’s a combination of Mars and Uranus energies in this sign that could really goose up your energy as far as boosting your resolve and determination to stick with whatever plans for the future want to make.

The month begins under the influence of a new moon in Aries on March 26th and the sun in Aries through April 19. The sign of Aries represents your social solar 11th house, which indicates that your planets are inclined to have you be, well…social. The full moon on April 9th is pretty social for you also, falling as it does in the solar house that governs your love life. Venus is in Aries at the beginning and the end of the month, generally indicating more sociability.

Things get more interesting and complicated, though, when Mars enters Aries on April 22. Mars in Aries is more a stir things up type vibe than an uncomplicated socializing one. In your solar 11th house, it often has a tendency to want to play itself out in terms of a grand idea or hotly contested cause, as in encouraging you to get into heated political debates, just because you’re feeling bored and you’re good at that sort of thing. Jupiter and Neptune in Aquarius in your solar 9th house would probably love that kind of heated discussion, since they’re inclined to amuse themselves by contemplating big ideas about society these days.

If you just hate that sort of thing, on the other hand, it’s an influence that lends itself to raucous partying. If you like both types of activities, perhaps you could do both! If you can’t find an outlet for this restless energy, be aware that Mars in Aries is perfectly capable of  trying to pick a fight with your friends, just for something to do.

More complicatedness comes courtesy of the sun in Taurus at the same time that Mars is in Aries. The sun in Taurus represents your chart’s annual desire to just be a hermit, and, like Greta Garbo, it just wants to be alone.  The sun here also wants to contemplate big ideas, but they’re more of the spiritual or religious type than the political or social type. Personally, I think the sun in Taurus is outgunned by the more social planets this year and that you’ll be socializing away even if you kinda sorta want to just retreat. Last but not least, April also sees some residual career energy, so if you’ve got professional stuff on your to-do list, go ahead and tackle it.

The sun is in your sign, Aries, as you may already know, from March 20 to April 19. This essentially puts you in the leadership position for awhile. The fact that a lot of outer planets are in your solar 4th quadrant only makes this leader-y stuff more potent.  (If you want to know what outer planets are in your 4th quadrant, they are: Pluto in your 10th house, Neptune and Jupiter in your 11th house, and Uranus in your 12th house).

As it happens, Mars is in your 4th quadrant as well, zipping through Pisces before it enters your sign on April 22nd. Planets in the 4th quadrant are up at the top of your chart, where they like to be seen, and, indeed to put themselves above other planets, influences, and people. They’re not so much into that whole equality thing or even the co-operation thing. They want to run the show themselves.

This is a long-term trend in your chart, one that’s just gotten a tad bit more prominent this year. You may have noticed yourself over the course of several years hankering with greater and greater urgency for more control of your own destiny. Some of you have crept toward greater autonomy and some have been pushed. But the bottom line is that you are gradually getting your chance to be known for your own achievements.

What happens this month is that this long-term energy gains a bit more steam with the sun and then Mars in your sign. It’ll get boatloads more steam in a couple of years. But for now, just know that this particular time is all about you, not about the people you may have left behind or who may have been holding you back. Right now, the planets are calling on you to act with urgency on your own behalf.

The sun enters your sign on April 19 this year. The sun in a person’s sign tends to make him or her more goal oriented and willing to undertake new projects or endeavors–or more willing to devote renewed effort to existing ones. In your case, the existing goal that could probably benefit most from your attention is the goal of finding or enhancing a suitable career position. If your job or even your professional field is not ideal (translation: driving you crazy and making you wish you could quit if it wasn’t for this darn economy), then the stars are of the opinion that you need to hop to it in terms of doing something about that situation.

How can you find the better position the stars are trying to lure you toward? Oh, it’s that same old advice–networking and hitting up everyone you know for assistance. Really. It truly is who you know that matters this year.

If you’ve already got the perfect career position, then the advice is still the same actually. Keep up and build your network of relationships, help others and ask for help. This just ain’t the year to sit on your laurels (or your backside). ‘Why?” you ask.  ‘Because I’m going to lose my job?’

Well, you might (as you well know if you watch the news), but that’s not why. The why is because Neptune and Jupiter in Aquarius in your solar 10th house believe that you can make a bigger and better contribution to the good of society as a whole, right now while the whole thing seems to be caving in. Your Taurean stablity, common sense savvy, caring nature, and general touch with money and practicality are exactly what’s needed these days, and you’ll do the most good in a position that suits you and allows you to function at your best.

So put on your thinking cap ASAP and figure out how you can improve your working life.