April 1 2021
April brings along Mars-Neptune aspect and Saturn and Uranus continue to do their terrifying and beautiful thing…. The Pluto return of the US is in full swing…
And why aren’t things better if the Sun and Venus are moving in tandem?
I have a lot to say this month. I have been analyzing the planets to see what is up with these mass shootings, with the terrible uptick in anti-Asian violence, Georgia’s passage of Jim Crow voting restrictions, etc, especially against the backdrop of the Sun-Venus conjunction which is in its 2nd week. I think of Sun-Venus aspects as being very positive and indicating a strong sense of connection and interrelatedness, and so it has been hard to figure out. Is all the violence a manifestation of the bellicose side of Aries? That feels too simplistic.
Taking a step back, here is what I found: the Saturn-Uranus square—although visionary in many ways—can be a violent clash of ideas and structures. Keep in mind that right now, there are volcanoes erupting all over the world – from Italy (Mt Etna, no less!) to Japan to Iceland to Peru, and in many more places. Volcanic eruptions are fiery and violent. Uranus is in Taurus, and as it approaches the earth axis in the next few months and continues its square to Saturn, we are likely to see more earth and climate events.
That so many people are acting so badly right now is nothing new. And of course, Pluto, at 26 degrees Capricorn, is just a degree away from where it is located in the birth chart of the US. I have been talking about this Pluto return for a while because it is letting the demons out of our collective psyche. We should not be surprised by new and awful expressions of racist violence occurring, in light of the US’s long history of oppression of Asian immigrants (remember the internment camps during World War II? — to name just one-way anti-Asian sentiment has long been embedded in the structures and attitudes of our society…) Similarly we should not be surprised by the brazen attack on the US Capitol on January 6th by white supremacists. This is our shadow side as a nation, and Pluto is making it obvious. Things in this regard will get worse before they get better, and I believe they will get better and that we will face our shadow.
What is new – and this is the Sun-Venus part– is the response to all these things. Venus, after all, does have to do with women, and with relatedness. In regard to the terrible Atlanta shooting, our response forced us to look at the intersections between racism and misogyny. Those two things were actually named and discussed in the mainstream media. In England, after the abduction and murder of a young woman walking home at night, women all over England rose up in protest. Women are on the frontlines of the resistance in Myanmar.
So the Sun and Venus are bringing a different consciousness and response to the normal litany of awful events. The response to the repressive voter suppression enacted by the Georgia legislature has sparked a cascade of criticism – over 70 African American corporate leaders joined together to condemn the bill, and what do you know, Delta Airlines and Coca-Cola had to step up.
Joe Biden and the Saturn-Uranus square
Then there is Joe Biden, who is moving forward with plans that are much more progressive than many expected. The Saturn Uranus square falls exactly on his Mars. He’s just doing it, taking action after action, rolling out plans to address child poverty, racial justice, climate change—whether the Republican senators are on board or not. Yesterday his presentation of an infrastructure plan reflected values of people over profit. He talked about workers and worker’s rights – not only Amazon workers but women of color who work in home care.
Damn! What’s up with this guy? I’m not saying he is perfect but the Sun-Venus conjunction in his chart grounds him strongly in his values.
If you want to understand the Saturn and Uranus square, look at what he and his administration are trying to do. It is one manifestation of this square, especially the Uranus in Taurus part, which has everything to do with money and economics. He is trying to dismantle the Trump tax cuts and attempt to hold corporations accountable, as well as create union jobs. Clearly there is some serious vision behind this plan, which is exactly what we can get from Saturn and Uranus: big progressive vision and restructuring. In his rollout yesterday, he said – and I paraphrase– that 50 years from now, people will look back at this moment and say this is when America’s future began. That is Uranus talking—looking ahead, not back!
The US Senate?
The other side of the square is Saturn, of course, which does look back and often wants to hang onto the structures of the past. Although there is plenty of Saturnian concreteness in
Biden’s proposals – and plenty of lessons learned from the Obama administration — the way Republicans are digging their heels in to obstruct the Democratic agenda reeks of Saturn -Uranus polarization. The Republicans are also aligning themselves with the most overtly racist parts of their so-called base, in quite a squaring off against moderates in their own party. They are reaching way back, to Saturnian structures from the Confederacy.
The month ahead: Mars squares Neptune for 10 days!
What a powerful and weird aspect. It is like having a fire hose that spreads Neptunian energy around with a lot of force. Mars is in Gemini, and so its mode is ideas and communication. This will be a time of Biden and the democrats needing to convince as many people as possible about the values of the infrastructure plan. Mars and Neptune can also have to do with deception, so the disinformation campaign run by corporations and others will be intense. Jupiter in Aquarius will make a nice angle to Biden’s Sun-Venus during the second half of April. Hopefully it signifies fulfillment.
Unfortunately the Mars-Neptune angle could also portend a surge in Covid infections. Mars and Neptune sound like a superspreader event to me…Let’s hope I’m wrong.
April’s important astrological dates (all times EDT)
April 4 Mars square to Neptune begins Recommit to yoga or another healing physical practice!
April 11 1032 pm New moon at 22’25 Aries Reevaluate your commitments of time, emotion, and resources
April 19 4:35 pm Sun enters Taurus
April 22 Happy Earth Day! Venus is conjunct Uranus and squares Saturn! Restructure your life!
April 26 11:33 pm Full moon at 7’06 Scorpio Hang out, conversate, be convivial.
