Author: Ingrid

“The fight is won or lost far away from witnesses – behind the lines, in the gym, and out there on the road, long before I dance under those lights.” Muhammed Ali

Holly Cow! April 2014 has received some astrological hype as if we were approaching doom’s day prophesy. This month is the astrological equivalent of Dec 31, 1999 (also known as Y2K) or Dec 21, 2012 (aka the end of the Mayan Calendar/end of the world). We could react like those who were part of Heaven’s Gate – they checked out wearing their very stylish Nike running shoes, convinced that Haley’s Comet was the end of the world. Alternatively, we can  stand back with some objectivity and just remember Harold Camping, the man who felt no shame after his original ‘end of the world’ date fell through – he simply revised it!

In any event, I’d like to call April 2014 the astrological equivalent of Rumble in the Jungle.  Yes, there is a lot of hype and build up. Yes, there will be an event (or two) and yes, someone will get the beat down.  Because I don’t have your chart in front of me, I cannot say much about its effects on you personally, but don’t worry –  it’s likely you already know its focus. It’s been building for quite some time. A situation likely felt really intense at the beginning of the year with the New Moon on January 1; this month, we’re finally just jumping into the ring to hash it out.  So, it’s not the end of the world (at least I think)!

If April does knock you out (if you have any planets in Aries, Libra, Cancer, or Capricorn, it will be more intense for you)  just remember – even though George Forman got the beatdown in that fight, he still won in life. After all, who doesn’t have a George Forman Grill?  It’s also likely that you could be Muhammad in this scenario. Go ahead, float like a butterfly and sting like a bee but bear in mind Muhammad’s condition after the fight – he sustained too many blows to the head and it altered his life forever.

Since we cannot escape the tension in April, we need a fighting strategy. This plan can range from the famous rope-a-dope strategy (protecting yourself while your opponent wears themselves out), the David and Goliath strategy (think underdogs, misfits, and the art of battling giants) that Malcolm Gladwell so brilliantly turned on its head.  The best strategy, however, may be fighting like a girl (or Goddess)!

Fight Like a Girl!

So here’s what we have this month: a cardinal square, a solar eclipse, and a lunar eclipse… basically a one, two, three punch.

A boxing match is a great metaphor for this energy because there is a major clash between the masculine (Mars and Jupiter) who are transiting in feminine signs (Libra and Cancer, respectively) and the outer planets, Uranus and Pluto, who are working very hard on the transformation of our ego identity and structures.  Uranus, Pluto, Mars, and Jupiter want to pull us into an old fashion fight, but that strategy knocks everyone out.

It all starts on April 1^st when Venus and Pallas oppose each other. Something is a little off with our presentation. For example, maybe you put on black leggings only to realize that they’re brown by the time you get to the office so your outfit clashes. The whole experience could throw you for a loop, leaving you with thoughts like “I know this is gonna be a bad day (or month).” The real issue? The Sun is squaring Jupiter and Uranus.  This positioning means that events from the beginning of the year will be triggered again.  On April 1^st, you get to decide how your experience will develop – if you tell yourself that you’re going to have a bad day (or month) then you will. Happiness is a choice.

Goddess Strategy #1 – Happiness is a choice

On the 6^th, Venus moves into Pisces making love very dreamy, idealistic, and spiritual. On the 11^th, she will meet up with Neptune in a conjunction. I am so glad that this will happen at the beginning of the month just before situations really heat up as it allows us to tap into unconditional love and a connection to the Divine… IF we are open to it. So, the first Goddess strategy (fight like a girl) is to embrace love and hold on to that energy all month long.

The Lunar Eclipse on the 15th is purely a conversation with the feminine. It’s  both in Libra and opposing Juno. Bernadette Brady says the energy with this Eclipse cycle can be filled with sudden inspiration; it can also result in wasted energy, misdirected motivation, and a sense of unfulfillment. During this Eclipse, Juno (the marriage asteroid) stands by her man, the Sun, but opposes Ceres (her children) and the Moon (her emotions). Something has got to give.  Sometimes we get confused about wifehood and motherhood. Woman stay in relationships for the children, confusing the need be a good mother with the need to be a wife. On a social level, energy is wasted as they struggle to maintain these roles. Incidentally, at the Pluto/Uranus conjunct in the 1960’s, Betty Freedman wrote The Feminine Mystic wherein she discusses of “the problem with no name” before naming it. This 1960’s union of Pluto and Uranus while in the sign of service (Virgo)saw those who were forced into “service” or “servant” roles (black, women,etc.) rise up.

Once again, we find ourselves at the Pluto-Uranus square and our story continues. Uranus is now in Aries. The definition of self is changing which causes tension with Pluto in Capricorn: the structure, the patriarchy, the Institution, etc. Mercury is square to and triggering Pluto’s influence, so we can get locked into negative mental thoughts and communication – it may even sound like an argument pulled straight from Jerry Springer. At this point, Mercury pulls us into our head, causing obsessive thoughts, paranoia, and twisting of the truth. But to combat this, we can turn to Pallas, the goddess of warfare.

Pallas reminds me of the kind of advice and wisdom my friend’s granny would give. She once said, “Children are a blessing, marriage is a sacrament.” Hmmm… A sacrament is the construct of the church’s “institution” which is facing some change as a result of Pluto in Capricorn… food for thought! Seeking advice from someone like granny will help us sort out the conflict, causing us instead to defer to Pallas’ wise counsel. Pallas will be in a trine to the Sun and a sextile to the Moon. Pallas is at her best in mediation situations like this. She sees the big picture and she can lead you to see it, too. She’ll point out the pros and cons of future action, reminding you of the big picture while helping you to build the best strategy for both parties or parts of yourself.

Goddess Strategy #2 – Seek Wise Counsel

If we go with Mercury, we’ll stray too far into the head. The Pallas warfare strategy brings both the heart and heat together for a positive future.

From April 20-23^rd Pluto, Uranus, Mars, and Jupiter will move into a cardinal Grand Cross. The cardinal signs encompass the basic struggle of being a human being. The self and identity is always in opposition to who “we” are when in relationship and career needs are always opposing family needs.  We are struggling to redefine these areas in order to be our best self. On a normal day, we may face these concerns with mild discomfort but when the cardinal cross appears… Well, everyone has needs, everyone has an opinion, so EVERYONE jumps into the ring and all hell breaks loose.

The first opposition lies between Jupiter and Pluto. Muhammad Ali was known for two things: his mind games/“trash talking” and his political stance/passion for human rights. On one hand, he was egotistical and would threaten his opponents by saying, “If you dream of beating me, you better wake up and apologize.” He weakened them by playing mind games – just like Pluto. On the other hand, Ali was heartfelt and political, saying things like “service to others is the rent you pay for your room here on Earth.” This sentiment matches Jupiter.  The second opposition occurs between Mars and Uranus. This energy is startling, volatile and impulsive  .  For example, imagine that you’re planning to fight a good, old fashion duel. You get the dueling pistols, stand back to back, and take your ten steps. Just before you reach the tenth step and start firing, an elephant foot comes out of nowhere and squashes both of you.  Not only do we have those two oppositions going on but they simply don’t get along: Mars ‘bitch slaps’ Pluto, Pluto sticks out his foot to trip Uranus, Uranus blows up in Jupiter’s face, Jupiter pokes Mars in the eye – it goes on and on! This tension represents the squares themselves.  For this reason, the best strategy for dealing with the Grand Cross may be to just to stay out of the ring.

Just before all of this happens on April 17^th, Venus trines Jupiter. If you can, stay connected to this energy of following your bliss. After all, Venus makes love, not war! Venus does not attack, she attracts. In fact, she attracts love and money; a trine to Jupiter expands that potential. The other strategy to staying out of the ring lies with Pallas once again. Pallas also does not attack. Juno is now conjunct Mercury and the South Node which combines old thinking with old marriage/partnership patterns. Opposite is Ceres at the North Node, pushing us toward harmony in nurturing.  Again Pallas comes to the rescue. Pallas is in Leo and demonstrates her leadership and prowess by weaving the old thought patterns with a trine to Mercury and Juno to the new ways of nurturing with a sextile to Ceres and the North Node.  Remember, you can make quit a beautiful quilt by weaving together old fabric in a new way.

The month ends with a solar eclipse in Taurus on April 28/29^th. This solar eclipse may upset our financial structures. It may not be bad as it’s only an upset but Taurus dislikes change. Its conjunct Mercury (associated with business and commerce) and it features a tense angle to Venus which also rules money. With a trine to Pluto, this positioning could mean financial reforms. The general feeling of this Eclipse cycle is one of both inspiration and exhaustion. With a sextile to Neptune, it may be that we’re doing something good but the exhaustion stems from a lack of boundaries regarding how much we do for others. I suggest reading Arianne Huffington’s new book Thrive – it could really help you find balance during this time.

Find out what each sign has in store for you:

 

 

 

March is all about making love, not war! 

Vesta, goddess of the hearth and keeper of the sacred flame, gives Scoprio a brief kiss and then goes retrograde back through Libra on March 1st. Mars, also in Libra, decides to go retrograde as well. Mars and Vesta are within two degrees of each other on March 1^st , so they are traveling together. Both Vesta and Mars are pretty intense and retrograde forces their intense energy inward. Both also possess a fiery sexual nature.  With the two joining hands and moving backward together through Libra… Well, I would call this an extreme, raise-your-kundalini kind of energy. “Extreme” always means that there is some danger. It is said that raising our kundalini has the potential to pushes us toward enlightenment, awakening the psychic within us and putting us in touch with the Divine. Sounds good, right? So why are we warned against raising our kundalini energy?

Well, it’s due to something called Kundalini syndrome otherwise known as a “spiritual emergency.” Kundalini syndrome arises when the energy is misdirected or unsupervised which leads to negative experiences such as accidents, near-death experiences, emotional trauma, and/or extreme mental stress.  Some people pursue the experience of raising their Kundalini without being ready because it is said to awaken a sexual kind of experience. Others get to brag that they have “raaaaised their Kundalini”… but really, that comes from a place of ego – and that Ego vs Spiritual enlightenment will be the focus of this Mars/Vesta energy from now until May.

On March 2^nd, Venus will square Mars and Venus will square Vesta on March 5^th, thus putting a little more detonation to the passion. It is highly possible that the ego could get in the way during this time. Venus is still in Capricorn so she can be very status, material, and success-conscious.  The good news is that all of that sexual energy can be sublimated into our collective spiritual growth and toward universal love. If we are successful, the result may be a quantum leap. If not, then this will become a bit of a war scenario.  It’s fairly significant that this is all happening in Libra as Libra is the sign of balance and it is clear that we are all being called upon to balance.

Balance can be achieved in a number of ways. Some of the most successful methods are related to self-mastery, ones in which we can stand back from our emotions, look at whatever we are experiencing, and, from a place of objectivity, calculate our future moves. We’ll be helped in this venture by a New Moon on March 1^st.  The New Moon is conjunct Chiron, the wounded healer, meaning that a spiritual awakening is being beckoned forward. Both the moon and Chiron are in spiritual Pisces, putting us in touch with deep emotions and allowing psychic material to float to the surface.  The New Moon/Chiron conjunction is sextile Pluto and trine Jupiter. Pluto and Jupiter are still opposite one another, pushing for transformation and change while idealizing the whole thing. When we bring this New Moon into the mix, the flowing energy from these two to it gives us the potential to bring about new ideals and transformation in collectively healing ways.  Also the north node is sextile pallas, helping us to see patterns and sending us in the right direction on March 2^nd… if we take the time to stand back, master ourselves, and truly look.

So you can see that March hits the ground running with some intensity!  On March 5^th, Venus will enter Aquarius, cooling her off a bit. From there she will square the north node, helping us see who’s on our team and who is against us. On the 7^th, she will square Ceres, separating the unhealthy from the truly nurturing. By the 9^th, she will trine Juno, now in Aries, helping to form a dynamic relationship duo.

Saturn goes retrograde on March 2^nd , directing us to review our commitments and responsibilities. Jupiter finally goes direct on March 6^th which has been retrograde since November. During that time, we likely focused on introspection regarding our belief systems – once it goes direct, we can move forward with our new insights.  We can then use these new insights to do a further assessment using Saturn’s retrograde energy.

We also had around three weeks to reflect on our thinking and communication processes during the Mercury retrograde cycle which ended Feb 28^th. Now that Mercury is moving forward in March, we can start putting our thoughts into action.  Mercury squares Saturn on the 13^th, helping us to reap the rewards of past decisions.  Mercury is trine Mars on the 14^th which pushes us in to act on our practical decisions. The very next day, Mercury is opposite pallas and we may hit a momentary block in our creative thinking. Luckily Mercury trines Vesta on the 16^th, helping us to refocus.

Mercury then enters Pisces on March 17^th and trines both the North node and Ceres (which are conjunct at 0^o Scorpio).  I am always amazed at what happens when the North node conjuncts a planet! When these two come together at the critical degree of zero in Scorpio, I think we might see some more scandal come to light. Ceres has a long history with the underworld and she will stop at nothing short of starving herself and others in order to uncover the truth. Fortunately the trine to Mercury in Pisces will highlight bang-on intuition!  Mercury will conjunct Neptune on the 22^nd, trine Jupiter on the 26^th conjunct and Chiron on the 29^th, which will help to move along the energy of the New Moon. Communication will either be insightful or illusory, seeing potential or taking the easy way out, healing or a repeat of patterns. We get to choose.

The Full Moon on March 16^th is in Virgo. On that day, the Sun forms a Yod with Pallas in Leo and Mars Rx in Libra. Pallas and Mars are sexile, creating a nice flow of energy for political activism. A while back, we were seeing quite a few celebrities voicing their political concerns , so we may see these guys speak up again and maybe even take action. The two planets are slightly out of sync with the Sun, which is in Pisces, and may cause overwhelming emotion or wavering indecisiveness. Luckily the Sun boomerangs this need for adjustment back to the moon, which is full and in Virgo. I don’t often talk about Sabian symbols, but this one is just too good to pass up: the Sabian symbol for this full moon is “elderly ladies drinking afternoon tea in a wealthy home.”

Ah, the ladies who lunch! Don’t be fooled. The ladies who lunch are a powerful bunch.  Think of Diana, think of Michelle Obama, and think of all of the first ladies, who to my knowledge do not work but do! Another example can be found in Violet, the woman who holds the power in “Downton Abbey.” I just loved the episode when Tom Branson, the fiery Irish political activist, who was to attend a wedding refused to wear “tails” because of the repression they symbolized – Violet set him straight by asking if he was done. Guess who turned up in ‘tails’ at the wedding? Even though it’s just a TV show, Violet’s character symbolizes this powerful elderly women, gifted with both time and money. Family and morality reside at the centre of her concern.  Yes, there are other bunches who lunch like the Real Housewives, some of the Kardashians, etc., and they have a lot of power too (media power), but I’m really referring to the Clan Mothers . These women have the wisdom, power, and the money to make a difference.  The key to the resolution of this disjointed Full Moon energy will lie with them.

Toward the end of the month, there will be some relationship stuff coming up. Juno in Aries loves her independence and that get’s kicked up a notch on the 23^rd as Jupiter squares Juno. We might be pushing for inequalities to be corrected in our relationships at this time; we could also become very idealistic.  On the 25^th, Juno and Uranus conjunct. This conjunction will bring about a surprising upset to the relationship structure, one that is most likely needed. On the 28^th, Pluto squares Juno which brings out power imbalances in relationships including possible power plays and manipulation. These upsets could be in marriage relationships, but I also see it playing out in the way we sociologically define marriage and the role of marriage.

The second New Moon is in Aries on March 30^th. Venus is in a trine to Mars and square to Saturn that day and, though they are not aspecting the Moon, the Moon will be within degrees of Uranus and Juno. They will also resonate with the marriage drama of the last couple of days.  With an Aries New Moon, we can set intentions for new beginnings and new directions in this area. Venus/Saturn will help us to sober up and give us the ability to realistically re-evaluate our relationships. The Venus/Mars energy will add an ability to meet our needs and the needs of others in new ways.

All in all, March is the awaking of old wounds and new possibilities.  If we can use the intensity of the energy for enlightenment and growth, we will be moving in the right direction.

 WHAT’S GOING ON FOR EACH SIGN: