Midlife Transits

In honor of my Venus transit, I’m posting a couple of podcasts and something that Venus just loves: jewelry and pretty things. This week’s podcast has a fascinating interview with Alicia Katz of wearyouruniverse.com who is a former astronomer turned astrology fan. That doesn’t happen too often! She makes astrologically correct jewelry. You can get an actual representation of your birth chart in the form of a necklace or bracelet. She also designs and sells a number of other astrology-themed baubles and adornments. Some of them can be used to up your manifestation mojo in a desired area.

Next week, we delve into Vedic gemology. Vedic astrology has a long tradition of using jewelry and gemstones to correct problems in a birth chart, enhance luck, overcome difficulties or bring about desired results. Our guest is a Vedic astrologer specializing in Vedic gemology, Alan Schoenfeld of vedicharmony.com.  A former jeweler, he talks about the ins and outs of choosing Vedic gemstones, how to use them, how they relate to the colors of the spectrum and other fascinating stuff.

Gotta love the pretty rocks!

This April is almost entirely about Aries, Aries, Aries, with a little bit of Saturn and Pluto, and tinge of Neptune in Pisces thrown in. Six, count ‘em six, planets will transit Aries this month, which is a couple more than a whole bunch, plus the new moon in your sign happens on the 3rd. The new moon is when the little bit of Saturn action takes place, because Saturn will be all contrary and oppose both the sun and Moon. Mercury in Aries will also be contrary until the 23rd, going backward while all the other Aries planets are going forward.

So what does this mean? First, it means that April is an intensely ‘I’ focused month for Aries folks, which is good because Aries is good at that already. It may also be a chatty month, what with Mercury going backwards and forwards. It’s not a particularly reality-based month for your sign either, what with Jupiter bouncing around exaggerating and trying to go over the top. Finally, Uranus will be encouraging the kind of keen insight that leads to seeing things as they actually are, which is not exactly the same thing as being realistic.

Put in typically blunt Aries fashion, Uranus is about seeing how things really could be if people will stop being stupid and scared and unite against their fears for the common good. You can help Uranus push things along in your life and in the general life of the planet by telling your own personal stories, enthusiastically and with great drama, as a kind of inspiration to others to stop being wusses. Tell people what you want, because this month, other people want the same things. Talk success and help it materialize.

The outlier during all this is Neptune sliding into Pisces almost unnoticed amidst the general Aries hubbub. For the moment, Neptune is the voice of anxiety and ‘don’t-ness’ whispering in the back of your head. This will have its usefulness in times to come, but for the moment, it doesn’t hold a candle to the push to ‘go ahead and give it a reasonable shot’ that the universe requires at the moment.

As for the Aries year ahead, it’s actually rather bright unless you have personally difficult transits from Saturn or Pluto. You’ll have the planetary support of Uranus in your sign for seven years. And in June Jupiter will move into your solar second house of possessions and money, hopefully bringing an increase in both to your door.

April is almost all about the paradox of having 6 action-craving planets in Aries tumbling through the part of your chart that relates to rest and relaxation and not being all that active. These planets want attention at the same time that Pluto stands back in your chart trying to get the big picture and prevent them from sabotaging you or goading you into violating your basic prudent principles.

It may all be a bit hard to sort out, especially as Mercury spends until the 23rd going backwards. That wouldn’t be so bad, but Mercury is traveling through the part of your chart that already has a slippery grasp on what’s actually real and what’s just inside your own head. ‘Now, now, now!’ the Aries planets will shout (especially Mars), even when they don’t know exactly what they or you want.

It’s like you’re being forced to feel like taking action when you really probably shouldn’t right yet. Things will get better, especially when Mars moves into your own sign after the 10th of next month. You can, however, use Jupiter’s influence in Aries to plot your course for the future, which may pick up considerably especially on the financial front when Jupiter enters Taurus in June. You can also look for the hidden gold in any troubles you may have, because this is one of the metaphysical meanings of having powerful planets in your solar 12th house.

On the good side, the sun enters your sign on the 20th. Neptune also enters Pisces on the 4th. At that time, you’ll see an increased emphasis on your friends and friendships.

Six planets transit through Aries this month, which concentrates a lot of energy in one area of your solar chart. This sector is traditionally said to symbolize friends and allies, and you can use the new moon on the 3rd of the month to make a wish or set an intention regarding this part of your life. This is an intensely people-oriented set of energies, including groups of people. It’s also a willful, courageous energy more focused on saying things like “I will do this,” rather than “I might do this.”

The traditional downside of Aries energy is that it has a fondness both for destruction of various sorts and for outbursts of temper. On the other hand, it gets over its anger quickly and is generous at heart. Its best use is probably acknowledging all the friends and allies you already have and adding more to the list.

If the friends you add would like to destroy the same things you would and have outbursts of temper over the same types of world issues that you do–so much the better. It might be good to avoid going too deep with these new friends; you don’t need to get into their heads, just enjoy their company as acquaintances. This should be easy for you and will help you avoid complications, I think.

The heavy hitter in the Aries lineup is Uranus, and he will not go until 2018. Uranus in this position in your chart can contribute quite nicely to your success, partly by encouraging you to try new things. The other heavy hitter this month is Neptune scooching into Pisces when it thinks no one is looking.

Neptune in Pisces is like a scary rising tide of excessively deep water washing over your career. It’s almost like the opposite of the Aries energy, but the Aries energy can help. The long-term task is going to be to acquire the ideal career for yourself by whatever means it takes, including jumping off the boat into those aforementioned deep waters. In this endeavor it will help to have forceful Uranus in Aries by your side as well as those casual friends and allies you are busy compiling right now.

A whole bunch of planets (technically 6) with a great enthusiasm for silly arguments will be tumbling through your career sector in April. One key to your sanity will be remembering just how silly the disputes really are. The other key might well be to embrace your inner or outer arguer by making a resolution at the new moon on the 3rd to get real good at arguments. You’re going to have Uranus in the argumentative sign of Aries in your career sector for 7 years, so you might as well figure out how to enjoy it.

It might help to think of an argument as simply a discussion, not necessarily involving anger, that explores differing points of view. Arguments are often really good things, especially in career matters, because they help lead to better decisions than any one point of view can produce alone. Start learning to love them right now, and you’ll be way ahead of the game. Using your words (instead of your emotions) constructively can also help establish you as an equal among people who were previously kind of above you. And it can help hone your leadership skills and put you in charge of projects or people.

The other nice thing about Aries energy is that it is a ‘go’ energy rather than a wait around and hesitate energy. Over the long haul, Uranus in this spot in your chart can help you develop a real passion for your career. That’s good for Cancer, and there is nothing wrong with loving your career for anyone.

Neptune also moves into Pisces this month. Neptune in Pisces energy is like the opposite of Aries energy and it will be pervading your solar 9th house of journeys. It can provide a nice break from the Aries onslaught but don’t expect it to do too much, as it is quite the lazy and unambitious vibe.

Adventures of the mind or body are on tap during this, one of the most super-charged Aries months you’ll ever experience. At the Aries new moon on the 3rd, it’s time to go somewhere, get moving. If you’re passionate about something, even briefly, now’s the time to explore the passion. Lead, follow, join the group; do a bit of all three.

The energy is about love. Not love for a person, but for ideas, for experience. The energy is strongest for you around the 6th, when Jupiter and the sun meet. Although the part of your chart where the planets will meet is a philosophical house, concerned with the big questions of life, don’t feel that you need to go deep to benefit. The idea is more to get yourself out of a rut than to explore some idea in depth. Even a short trip to a new destination will perk up your chart’s spirits this spring, especially around the weekend of the 9th.

You could center your activities around travel, around educational experiences, even around exploring your belief system. The energy this particular month is very hot, but you’ll continue to receive inspiration via these areas on a long-term basis, as Uranus in Aries will spend 7 years in your solar 9th house of journeys. Let your mind travel, even if your body can’t.

The other main influence of the month is intangible. Neptune moves into Pisces on the 4th. Whereas the Aries energy is about exploring new passions, the Neptune influence is about exploring the inner space of intimacy. It’s about feelings rather than actions. So you have a little bit of both during this interesting month.

Ah, Virgo, the month of April is packed with more Aries energy than you can stuff a bus with. This is an energy your sign loves, hates, or alternates between loving and hating. You may find it narcissistic or inspiring or both at once. It can overwhelm you with stuff like taxes, insurance matters, investments, joint finances, divorce proceedings, even matters related to death, such as inheritances and wills. These are all 8th house matters, which is where the energy will be concentrated in your solar chart.

On the other hand, the 8th house is also the house of sexual intimacy, and all the Aries energy can also overwhelm you with love and passion. Especially after the 20th, when Venus will be transiting Aries, you may find the love and passion outweigh all the other stuff that might be going on. Mars, the planet of sexual desire, just so happens to be transiting your 8th house as well, making this a month to be with someone, not alone. Add humongous Jupiter to the mix (yeah Jupiter is there too), and you’ve got both light and heat at your disposal when it comes to sexuality.

I should warn you that Uranus is in your 8th house, too, in for a long transit of 7 years. Uranus has a reputation for being a bit kinky and adventurous and it may suddenly seem like a good idea to engage in lovemaking in places that you would normally be too prudent to consider. Just saying.

The kicker in all this is that Neptune moves into Pisces on the 4th, lugging his big nebulous self into the part of your chart that governs relationships. This is the kind of influence that makes it hard to tell if you’re coming or going with regard to relationships–a sensation that may make the Aries energy all the more poignant.

When it comes to love, things are intense for Libra right now. A whole mess of Aries (your relationship sign) energy is stacked up in the skies throughout April, beaming itself right at you. You can use this energy or let it use you. If you’re going to use it, you can start right on the 3rd, which is the date of a new moon, a conjunction between Mars and Uranus, and oppositions between Saturn and both the sun and moon.

The essence of this potentially tense energy is singleness versus coupleness. Some Libras were born accidentally thinking that singleness is against the laws of the universe. It isn’t. That’s the paradox of Aries energy in your chart; it knows that people in couples are really still just individuals, still immutably, eternally single. That doesn’t mean that some couples aren’t destined to be together; it’s just that even when they are, they’re still separate.

If all that makes sense to you, then you’ll have no problem with the month’s energy, which is partly about moving you to a point of equilibrium when it comes to relationships. When you can take ‘em or leave ‘em, you’re at a point of equilibrium with regard to relationships. Being able to leave them doesn’t mean you won’t have any relationships or a primary relationship. In fact, with Jupiter in Aries until June, you will probably have a relationship if you want one. With Uranus in your relationship sector for the next seven years, you’re likely to have rather extreme relationships during the coming period of your life. The idea instead is to come to terms with the paradoxes of relationships rather than abandoning them altogether.

Meanwhile, Neptune slides into your work and health sector. Neptune will be bringing a magic touch of uncertainty to this part of your life, but really, that’s nothing new. Your work and health sectors have had uncertainty built into them when Uranus was here for the last 7 years. It’s all about going with the flow.

Adventures in work and/or health–the Aries theme continues into April. The key to an adventure is you can’t know the outcome when you start. It requires a risk, trying something new. It might be doing something outdoors when you’re an indoors kind of a person. It might be accepting a job that requires travel, even though you don’t normally travel for work. It might mean becoming a commuter again if you’re used to working at home or switching to a home office for the first time. Even a very small effort toward adventure, change, newness will pay off now.

The other key to the month is definiteness and determination. Mars in Aries all month long is a like a super-shot of definitiveness and determination. It’s as though the universe is trying to shake every single person on the planet out of bed and get humanity to make up its mind and do something. If you can’t actually start a new job or a new project or a new health regime this month, at least do the stars the courtesy of educating yourself about one. Prepare for an adventure at the very least.

Furthermore, I should let you know that if your current job or routine is deadly dull and offers no scope for adventure, the universe may eventually start trying to nudge you away from it. Uranus, change-meister of the planetary pantheon, does not like to be bored. He’s parked himself in your work life sector for the next 7 years. He’ll start kicking old routines to the curb and dragging new technology into your life by force if you don’t keep him happy by incorporating innovation into your life voluntarily. Just a head’s up.

Finally, I have to mention Neptune moving into Pisces this month, on the 4th. This energy you can use on creative projects because Neptune in this part of your chart generally adores creative projects. He thinks they’re just fabulous and he’ll offer all kinds of encouragement to your personal muse. Sweet.

Happy days are here again for Sagittarius. Your sign is experience oriented and in April, 6 planets are in similarly experience oriented Aries. They’re all jumping up and down and shouting ‘Let’s help Sagittarius have some new experiences! Yay!’ Your greatest difficulty might be coordinating all the adventures and experiences your chart wants to pack in.

If you have kids or are dating someone, they’ll be on board the new experience bandwagon too. Make it your new moon resolution on the 3rd to personally try at least one thing you have never tried before in April. If you can travel, that would be fabulous. I’m not saying you won’t get lost if you go somewhere new; I’m suggesting that not only will you find your way back eventually but that your whole chart will be energized by the brush with the non-routine.

If you refuse to take a spring break and you have to stay close to home, well then try being adventurous in your love relationships. You can do that anyplace. If you don’t have a love relationship, take heart. Jupiter in your solar 5th house is dying to help you make new connections. If you don’t quite know where to look for your next paramour, try joining a group or an association or a club devoted to participating in fun things you like to do. Uranus likes to make new friends and do things in groups, and Uranus is planning to be good to you for the next 7 years.

The other heavy hitter of the month is Neptune, who is moving into Pisces on the 4th. Last time we saw him, he was in Aquarius planted in the sector of your daily experience. Now he’s moving into the part of your chart that deals with home. He’s literally moving in! You just got Uranus off your couch and now Neptune’s moving in! At least you are used to house guests by now.

What will Neptune being doing in your home other than taking up a lot of space (literally, people often get bigger, more spacious homes when Neptune is in this sector of their charts)? Probably, he’ll be bringing a touch of mysticism to your living quarters. This is part of Neptune’s plan to permeate your life. He softened you up by introducing you to mystical thinking when he was in Aquarius (admit it, you loved it), and now he’s subtly but persistently encouraging you to allow the mystical approach into your inner sanctum. Stay tuned for more details.

Relationships with family members are highlighted in April for Capricorn. There’s a lot of Aries energy banging around the enclosed space that is your home throughout the month. Even if you live alone, it is important to make the vital connections with your family a priority right now. In fact, make that your new moon’s resolution on April 3–stay connected to family members.

The truth is, you may already know what’s up on the family front. As the month opens, the sun, Mercury, Jupiter, and Uranus are already in Aries, the sign of family for the Goat. With Mercury retrograde until the 23rd, maybe you will be dealing with some ongoing situation with a sibling. Another possibility with Mercury retrograde is that words said previously led to a misunderstanding or anger that now reveals itself so it can be straightened out. Or perhaps you are in the midst of important discussions with family members about the future. There may even be an ongoing family issue that you’ve been wrestling with since last summer. Whatever the situation is, it needs your attention in April.

Of course, Pluto is still in your sign, so you have your own personal agenda to attend to as well. It’s just that with 6 planets in the domestic sector of your chart this month, the requirements of others take temporary precedence.

There is one area of your chart that’s not so duty-oriented this month, that requires no heavy obligations. That’s the Neptune in Pisces sector after the 4th. Neptune encourages you to vent your feelings in words, maybe a journal, a few scribblings, a chat with a neighbor, a casual conversation with an acquaintance that allows you to process all the domestic drama. Feel free to take advantage of Neptune’s help.

When I was a teenager in college, I arm-wrestled my way to fame and into the arms of the heartthrob of my dreams. Literally. I won an arm-wrestling contest. Not because I was the best arm-wrestler; I wasn’t. Not because I was the strongest. I was strong, but not the strongest. No, I won because I wasn’t afraid to win. My future boyfriend was eternally impressed.

That’s kind of the mood your chart is in all April. It needs to arm-wrestle. To win. To impress. It needs to be not afraid.

All of this is due to the sun, new moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Uranus transiting through Aries in April. That’s a lot of things transiting through Aries. The energy actually began in January, and it’s been building ever since.

The thing is, you’re going to arm-wrestle with words instead of your body. As of the new moon on April 3. Mark the date. You’re going to set an intention to use your words in April.

You may already have an idea brewing in the back of your head from March. You may already have word-y projects on your plate that you are required to complete. You may even be drowning in words by the time the bulk of the energy subsides by mid-May. But stay strong and healthy; you have a lot to say.

After mid-May, the emphasis on words in your chart will continue, although at a less frenetic pace, as will an emphasis on casual connections. Uranus will be in the communication sector of your chart until 2018. You’ll be busy; you’ll have a lot to coordinate, and yes, you will win and you will impress. A new era is dawning in your life.

Speaking of which, Neptune sneaks into Pisces for awhile this year, starting April 4. I would like to say that Neptune will bring with him certainty to your finances. But Neptune is a doubting planet, and he will be examining your money situation with a certain anxiety. He’s made a reservation to stay in your financial guest room for 4 months this year, trying to figure out your next moves. In the meantime, deal with the communications imperatives first and let Neptune ponder your cash flow in the background.

It’s a weird month for Pisces. Six planets pass through the sign of Aries, shouting ‘Wake up!’ while your ruler Neptune rumbles into your sign whispering “Go to sleep.” The Aries planets are examining your financial situation. So the first thing you should probably do is examine your finances too. Perfect day to get started is April 3, date of the Aries new moon. Mercury will be retrograde until the 23rd, so you may find that you need to go through your old financial records, which is pretty common during tax time anyway. Look for connections and patterns in your fiscal status, both positive and negative. Mars will help you ferret out the evidence you need to figure out what kind of circumstances have the biggest impact on your money.

If things aren’t what you want them to be, you should probably set up a system of automatic savings that puts at least some of your money out of reach. With Jupiter in Aries until June, this is the perfect time to squirrel away a bit of extra cash. This is especially important because Uranus will be in the money sector of your chart until 2018. Uranus has a way of getting dollars to leave your bank account, and you need to be prepared for the ups and downs this planet brings to finances.

As for Neptune moving into your sign on the 4th: Neptune is planning to take you somewhere, probably somewhere you’ve never been. The catch is that Neptune is literally the planet of sleep. To take a Neptune journey, you need to rest, relax, stay still, and wait. These aren’t exactly the things our frenetic society values. But if you find you need extra sleep or rest during the next 4 months, well then you need it, and that’s that. Don’t stint yourself on downtime; it will only catch up with you later.

Practically every damn planet in the pantheon is in your sign or in Aries this month. The sun, the new moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Uranus, and Chiron all spend time in these two signs. Paradoxically, even though the character of your sign is different from that of Aries, when planets are in your sign, they’re in your solar first house–and they kind of act like Aries planets. Some of this energy isn’t new (Jupiter moved into Aries in late January), but a lot of it is.

The big change is Uranus moving from your sign to Aries on the 11th of March. So what does all this mean–especially the switch in signs by heavy hitter Uranus? It means the word of the time is courage. You may have noticed the individual people in a number of Arab countries showing incredible courage in standing up to their own governments. That’s Aries energy.

Aries energy–courage–faces difficulty with a spirit that does not run away. It stands there peacefully, stays there determinedly, believes in itself and doesn’t back down. It’s not that it goes looking for trouble; it just faces the reality of the troubles that have been there for a long time. This is the exact same job you have,  Pisces. To face your own difficulties.  And what an incredible lineup of support you have to do so in March. Incredible!

Maybe your difficulties are financial (Aries represents your solar second house of money). Or maybe the dangers you face are more personal to you. The word of the day is still the same–courage. Put a sticky note on your desk and look at it at least once a week this month to remind yourself.

Your new moon is on the 4th; this is the time to look at the whole of your situation and make a wish for your coming solar year. I’ll give you a clues as to what to wish for–because it’s a theme all through the coming year what with all that Aries energy dragging you into a new era in your life–quantity. More-ness. Abundance. Lots of-ness. You know it scares you. You know you’re afraid of overwhelm. You’re afraid of asking for and getting more money. You have a right to be scared. But you no longer have the astrological right to avoid the situation or the fear. Courage.