Mercury retrogrades until the 25th, Solar Eclipse in Aries on April 8th, Jupiter and Uranus meet on April 21st, bringing a new sense of freedom and positive revolution
“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way--in short, the period was so far like the present period that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only.”
― Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities
Living in the midst of historical, dramatic, and contrasting times, as we are now, it may feel as though all future plans have been thrown out the window. Indeed, climate change and artificial intelligence have introduced entirely new phenomena and challenges to humanity. It's hard to even imagine what our world will look like in 20 years. However, as the famous quote from Dickens's novel that takes place during the French Revolution suggests, we realize that time is cyclical. In many ways, there is still nothing new under the sun.
April 2024 is unequivocally the most dramatic and chaotic month of the year. Mercury retrogrades from April 1st to 25th, we experience a rare, Chiron tinted solar eclipse in Aries on April 8th, while Mars meets Saturn in Pisces, initiating a new two-year cycle. Jupiter meets Uranus on April 21st, and finally, the full moon in Scorpio on April 24th squares Pluto.
April 2024 marks the beginning of changes and events whose consequences we will see and experience over the next couple of years.
The Worst of Times; A Solar Eclipse to Remember
Have you felt great unrest, emotional fluctuations, or found yourself unintentionally in the midst of dramatic events? Especially with past events, things, and people you thought you had moved past? Have there been major or minor accidents to yourself or those close to you? Do you feel an almost compulsive rush to make dramatic changes? If you answered yes, you are simply in the whirlwind of eclipses. For many, these unusually dramatic eclipses have been felt weeks in advance, which is not unusual. If the winds of change did not start blowing during the Venus-ruled lunar eclipse on March 25, 2024, in Libra, then at the latest on Monday, April 8, 2024 a total, dramatic solar eclipse and new moon in Aries will be felt in everyone's life, at least through the news, and for most people also in their personal lives. Such a dramatic solar eclipse is felt a month before and after. Its immediate effects can last until September and October 2024, when we reach the next eclipse season.
Adding to all this, Mercury retrogrades in April, and adds irritated communication, confusion, delays, and even violence in a sign ruled by the god of war, Mars. Should we try to move forcefully forward into our own direction, Saturn will mostly likely make it very challenging and will ask us to mature first. This is not a light and positive month, but dramatic and heavy. Eclipses often unearth things from the past that we've tried to hide or were unaware of, which are now dramatically revealed to us. The time between eclipses distorts the passage of time - time seems to either slow down or speed up dramatically. At the same time, it feels like we are thrown into the future with big changes or decisions, ready or not. In 2004 and 2005, we experienced a similar astrological sky - it's possible we will experience similar personal events as back then.
For a small portion of people, this eclipse may also be lucky. Some may benefit from surprising turn of events in society or their personal lives and start a completely new era in their lives. Especially for those rare individuals who live a completely honest, totally brave life, without any compromises, and who thrive during dramatic changes, this may symbolize fortunate turns on a personal level. (But how many of us can say we live such a life?)
A Wounded Warrior's "blackout"
What makes this eclipse especially rare is the Chiron asteroid, which is at the exact same degree (to the minute!!) as the new moon and solar eclipse. Chiron, the wounded warrior from Greek mythology, reminds us of deep personal and societal wounds. Chiron was a famous healer who, however, could not heal himself. Chiron's wound is shown on everyone's chart and usually shows the wound we cannot heal ourselves. For some, this wound appears as a surface wound, for others as a deep trauma. But we can at least learn to live with it and deepen our life experience. In the best case, when we have been able to process and experience life and new positive experiences, at some point, it is no longer our entire identity, but just a small part of our life and personality. Then we can say that we have "healed" our wound to the extent we can, and help others process a similar wound.
The solar eclipse is like a blackout. It's like a break in the normal broadcast. The lights go out, and when we see again, everything may seemingly be in the same place as before, but something invisible has changed. We are no longer quite the same person and the earth is not the same as a moment ago. We are completely dependent on the sun. Normally it is one of the things in human life we can always rely on: the sun will surely rise and set. A solar eclipse is then the universe's way of reminding us how much we take the sun for granted and how little control we ultimately have, no matter how clever we are. It's also the universe's way of pushing us forward on our life path. A small shock wakes us from slumber and forces us to look both inward and around us. We're not the same person we were 10 years, a month, a day, or a minute ago. Most people resist changes and make them only when forced. The unusual, exact proximity of Chiron to the solar eclipse may remind us of an old wound, create a brand new one, but potentially also give us a chance to heal an old wound and help others.
Adding to the excitement, a comet will pass by Earth during the solar eclipse. Comets mostly have an ominous reputation, adding to the drama of this solar eclipse.
In my last blog, I mentioned that it's always good to brace yourself before the eclipses, to be aware of the direction of your life, and to decide at least in your mind where you want to go. Without awareness, decisions are made for us. Wherever the eclipse then throws us, it's much harder to work our way back from there. If, however, we had chosen our path ourselves and had already boldly started walking in the direction our heart guides us, even if the plans were not quite right yet, we would already be halfway there. If we don't really know our direction, the second best advice is to be flexible and not make hasty conclusions and decisions, even though the eclipses make us feel a compelling need to make dramatic, emotionally charged decisions. Look and wait until the dust settles, especially since communication complicates, slows down, and distorts during Mercury's retrograde.
The Best of Times: a Hopeful End of the Month
In my last blog, I referred to Venus's quiet revolution in the background. While the above-mentioned solar eclipse in Aries grabs most of the attention this month, everything ultimately leads to the much-anticipated meeting of Jupiter and Uranus on April 21, 2024, in Venus-ruled Taurus. Jupiter symbolizes optimistic expansion, Uranus unexpected, revolutionary changes.
The meeting of Jupiter and Uranus symbolizes technological and artistic breakthroughs (the opening of the AI program OpenAI's Sora would be almost a perfect symbol for this aspect), related to money, women, relationships in general, food and agricultural production, and medicine. This is a dramatic, usually very lucky aspect that occurs every 14 years and is likely to appear in the news as a surprising, good news. It might also be that a technological invention first appears as a small mention somewhere in the recesses of the net, but ends up completely changing human history within a couple of years. Many also connect Bitcoin to this astrological aspect, and everyone is watching with great interest how its value will fare towards the end of April and beyond.
I mentioned in my previous blog that if we have felt stuck in relationships, creativity, financial matters, or in developing a sense of self-worth, now these Venus-ruled areas will no longer settle for the same old stagnation. The archetype of Venus in us desires independence and freedom, especially as Venus moves into independent Aries on April 5. As the Goddess of Love also hosts Jupiter and Uranus in the Taurus house she rules, Venus is truly ready for innovation in love and money. We will experience huge breakthroughs and insights in these areas and move forward at an incredible pace. Stagnant relationships have started to move with a bang. It can feel simultaneously scary, liberating, and like a flood of creativity. It helps if we are brave, alert, flexible, and ready for change. It's good to be prepared and jump in, if we happen to get a fabulous, lucky opportunity.
The full moon in Scorpio on April 24 squares Pluto, and Venus is still in Aries. We will still be recovering from the events of the Solar Eclipse. This full moon is therefore still tense and stressful, but nothing compared to the difficulties of the beginning of the month. When Venus enters into her ruling Taurus house on April 29, we will mostly surely experience it as a big relief, and things will start to look positive again.
Lucky May
May turns out to be one of the luckiest months of 2024. The presence of both Jupiter and Venus makes the new moon in Taurus on May 8th particularly fortunate and an excellent opportunity for new moon manifestation. May is a good month to start new projects and dreams, especially now as our relationships and financial matters have undergone a complete overhaul in one way or another.
Namaste,
Ursula
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