Forecast

Astrology of 4/12-4/18: Imagination into Being

We have a relatively calmer week ahead after last week’s building of activity (nothing like a Full Moon directly activating a Grand Cardinal Cross with Pluto, Jupiter, Uranus and Vesta!). While that grand cross alignment is still active and the rabbit hole of it still exists, the Moon cycle is settling into its waning phases and we may have more space to emotionally integrate the shifts that have occurred.

Here’s our week:

April 13

Sun in Aries conjunct Uranus in Aries: 10:29 PM PST

One Aries reaction to shock, trauma or disruption (Uranus) is to be like, “Fine… I didn’t need ya’ll anyway. I’m going to do my own thing!” and emerge on one’s radical self-individuation without the support one desired or imagined. While this is a wounded stance, sometimes it is a disruption to the status quo or our plans that allows us to step into a more active, leadership dimension of oneself, even if this aspect of oneself is still immature in some ways. If this is how one is introduced to their inner-leadership qualities, it’s not so bad – but this defensive stance has a limited purpose and one day it will become an obstruction if one does not de-armor themselves.
In the radical present moment though: yes, individuation.

(Image: Jean-Pierre Arboleda)

Experiencing an interior or exterior call to align with the blueprint of one’s heroic archetype, wherever one places themselves along the Hero’s Journey. This might be a lens to compliment any current challenge or adversity and create a way to celebrate it or mark its passage with dignity.
This signals a kind of initiation that occurs when one is new to an experience they assume will alienate or isolate them, when in actuality this new experience invites them into a new sphere of humanity in which they may relate to others they never before related to or were even aware congregated or have the ability to “see” one another.

April 15

Venus in Pisces stations direct: 3:17 AM PST

Our Venus retrograde is almost over! Some may see this as a cause for celebration, but I savor this one. Venus will not leave retrograde shadow until May 18 at 10:00 AM PST. Venus will remain in Pisces until it enters Aries on April 28 at 6:13 AM PST. Here’s what to pay attention to while Venus stations:

Have we received any potent insights about our own love natures during this cycle? Venus retrograde through the sign of Aries may have encouraged us to separate from parts of ourselves or from others who represent those internal spaces we were moving away from – we may have felt more called to develop our own personal space or destiny, and needed the freedom to do that. While no one is essentially blocking us from doing that, sometimes our relationship patterns or the amount of time we spend with another can take up so much space that we have a difficult time accessing our autonomy or inner-guidance. Venus in Aries highlighted the ways in which relationship thrives off of individuals having a sense of self and a degree of freedom such that their dance with other is based upon excitement and free will. This kind of magic is not just some mystical thing we are bestowed – sometimes we have to engage ourselves in the work of discovering what love really means and who we really are such that we can connect with others with this degree of fiery honesty and presence.
Now that Venus is in Pisces, the focus may be less on how we want to separate (Aries) but how we want to dissolve. What is it that we yearn or long for? When Venus is in Pisces, our hearts can open to our longing. Our yoga, in that sense, is to expand our sense of self-worth and readiness to receive that which we are longing for. This is not a time to close off to longing because it hurts too much – this is a time to feel desire and to sit with that burn and let it light up everything immediately present. Perhaps the energy you long for or seek is not entirely present or relevant to this moment in space-time, but you begin to imagine it into being (Pisces) by regarding your environment in a new way both in your perception (viewing reality more tenderly) and in action (cultivating your aesthetic, ex. placing flowers in the house).
Venus retrograde can leave wreckages: there is something about Venus retrograde that embodies some of the more destructive feminine deities such as Kali. Consider however this passage from John Welwood’s “Journey of the Heart: the Path of Conscious Love”. I made a blog post on it this week titled “When Venus Has No Taste for a Bloodless Life”.

April 16

Venus in Pisces sextile Mars in Taurus: 6:24 PM PST

Venus and Mars harmonies can symbolize greater resonance between relatedness and individuality, such that people feel freer or more themselves while relating to others; so at this moment in the dance there is a sense of easefulness in terms of connecting while still feeling like an individual. Or even we might say the path of the hero (Mars) is in alignment with the path of love (Venus).
It may be more rewarding to stand one’s ground rather than go along with something out of laziness – Venus in Pisces may surrender to the way it is misunderstood (and it is easily misunderstood, like a person who’s holding out a mirror in front of their face while interacting with others, so others only see themselves), while Mars in Taurus is slow to anger or get fed up. Instead of adding karma to that bank of hiding inwardly only for it to blow up later, consider the small and ordinary miracle of being assertive and having that be lovingly received and adjusted to, even if that results in the end of relating where there is not honest chemistry.
Mars in Taurus can be a great ally in terms of actively cultivating Venus in Pisces’ manifestation. Venus in Pisces manifests its desires by imagination. It might ask, “What does the (insert desired quality here) version of myself do or think?” and then begins to do or think those things habitually, engaging in Pisces polarity sign of Virgo, which represents how we practically show up for a process (or alternately how we avoid the process). On a psychological level, we are likely to follow through with new goals or visions that align with our self-schema, our internal values (Taurus). So a person who thinks of themselves as athletic is more likely to keep up with a new fitness routine even when resistance like some ache or pain appears. It is important to recognize that our self-schemas are not set in stone, and by virtue of Pisces, they can be imagined up. Our showing up for our imagination with real action is how we create positive feedback loops relative to what it is we are trying to create in ourselves.

April 17

Sun in Aries trine Saturn in Sagittarius: 5:43 AM PST

(Image: Georgia O’Keeffe)

Positive Sun-Saturn contacts empower us to take our self-actualization and our creativity seriously: it is like an artist who learns how to show up and be productive regardless of feeling inspired. They condition themselves to be inspired all of the time. And they realize that being prolific or creating frequently is a way to produce quality work – not every venture has to be a raging success.
In these signs specifically, there is potential for a broadminded vision or gazing into the future return of a prospective venture (Saturn in Sagittarius) and for this to inspire courage or taking first steps on the part of Sun in Aries. Likewise, the enthusiasm, innocence and daring of Sun in Aries can inspire more idealistic or bold visions in terms of what is realistically possible in the bigger picture. These planets together say to dream big and to seek tracks within reality to make that happen. It is not as concerned with what has been done before, unless what has been done before can somehow be in assistance to the future vision. It does not assume that the impossible is a real construct.
When these energies are suppressed or restricted, it has the vibration of a sprout in the ground not believing it can ever grow into a tree, and therefore never pushing through the ground to meet the air. It doesn’t believe in its own right to exist.
Concerning the right to exist and the right to emerge, this would be a time to consider where we source our permission, to what inner and outer authorities, and to check in with how this is assisting one’s self-actualization or if it is hampering it. Do we have mentorship (a la Saturn in Sagittarius) that sparks our courage and inspires us? Or is our mentorship conservative and not willing to foster our creative impulse? This mentorship can take the form of a literal mentor, friends, community, information we surround ourselves with, or any other way we seek guidance. There is a value in having an alchemical container for one’s personal development – a strong support that can hold space for one’s creativity, likened to having a strong character or community in your life that truly believes in you. If this does not exist, this is Sun in Aries’ adversity: the need to seek out support and the need to resource oneself for that given quest.
Attention can be drawn to the phenomenon that where we condition/train ourselves or enter training, we access enhanced speed, impulse and creative freedom. The notion is highlighted as well, that accessing new layers of freedom may require discipline. There are many ways which we are historically free (already conditioned to be free) and are cruising on the reward layer of that – you know, what worries or concerns never seem to cross your mind. The Saturnian forging process is there for what is not yet conditioned into a state of relative, apparent permanence.

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~Sabrina Monarch

Sabrina Monarch is a soul-centered Evolutionary Astrologer who publishes weekly astrological forecasts. She has been collecting astrological experience for over a decade. She also enjoys kundalini and ashtanga yoga, hiking and creative writing. You can subscribe to receive her weekly forecasts by email here.