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In the
last
episode,
we followed Venus and Mercury off into a
sentimental liaison in Pisces, and left Saturn
having a rather lonely, uneventful time in the
office. Jupiter, having provided gifts of
productivity and motivation early in the year, had
lost some of the energy behind his efforts as his
planetary helpers turned their attention to other
matters, although he did received a little boost of
insight from Venus and Mercury at the end of the
month.
Now, as
April comes, the most important news is that the
wayward couple of Venus and Mercury are seeking a
more independent approach to their activities, and
leaving Jupiter irritated and perplexed. They head
off into Aries together during the first few days
of the month, becoming quite sure of themselves and
forceful in their dealings. Mercury, in particular,
is moving full-speed ahead, and has his own ideas.
He's energized in Aries now, and starts to lose
touch with Venus, who was his constant guide
through the Piscean waters. Mercury's new ego-focus
culminates in a major row with Jupiter in
mid-month. The confrontation begins on a verbal
level, as Mercury finds it all to easy to
articulate what is wrong with Jupiter's business
plan. Venus joins in toward the end of the month,
echoing Mercury and adding emotion to the dramatic
words he had spoken earlier.
April also
finds the Sun square with Mars, but it's a struggle
the Sun easily prevails at, Mars being almost
helpless in Cancer. There may be some moodiness and
uneasiness, though, about life choices and the
difficulty of implementing them with sufficient
energy and assertiveness. This background struggle
contributes to a difficult time around the 10th of
April, when the Sun and Jupiter find themselves at
cross-purposes. Jupiter's ambitions, which seemed
so clear and useful just a few months ago, now seem
to be getting in the way of a more immediate
mission.
For the last
half of April, Saturn suddenly finds himself with a
host of new allies: Mercury and the Sun enter
Taurus and become more grounded. They are
eventually joined by Venus as well, in early May.
She's delighted to tend to her beautiful garden and
be everyone's provider of material pleasures. It's
a short-lived party, but it presents some fine
opportunities for an otherwise murky and uncertain
Saturn to accomplish some things. He confides
gently about the virtues of follow-through and
dedication, and his three younger pupils put some
serious efforts into laying a groundwork for future
efforts. Mercury, however, unable to stand still
for long in his relationships now, quickly tires of
plowing Saturn's fields, apologizes to Jupiter, and
chips in on his behalf, briefly, during the last
week of April.
Mars escapes
from his Cancerian purgatory on May 9, taking on a
Leonine machismo that delights him tremendously.
All the other planets have been ignoring him for so
long that his new energy may come as a surprise.
His outbursts of boastfulness and well-meaning
competition are not always well-received, as he
hasn't yet taken the time to place them into the
big picture.
By mid-May,
the Sun and Venus are following Mercury's example
and befriending Jupiter again. It's somewhat
ironic, though, since he has just gone retrograde,
and his usually buoyant personality is somewhat
subdued now. Still, this is a relatively happy
time, as things seem to fall easily into place and
produce perhaps a bit more than we might expect.
The spring air and blossoming Earth have everyone
feeling that life can be pretty gratifying after
all.
The final
week of May, though, sees the Sun and Venus leaving
Taurus for Gemini. They seem to have quite lost
track of Saturn's sage advice about getting things
done, and instead take to substituting idle talk
for actual accomplishment. They've become traveling
companions now, and will be through the end of
June. Together, they tend to approach goals from an
esthetic point of view, which is not always
pragmatic or rational, but it feels good. Mercury
goes retrograde on the 26th, having gotten so far
ahead of himself that he's become dizzy and needs a
break. The Sun and Venus are looking to him for
advice on presenting their ideas, but he's not a
good speech coach at the moment. This is a
particularly awkward retrograde for Mercury, as he
is in the sign of his rulership and should be
sailing through in splendid style. He's feeling
like a great intellectual who has lost his ability
to articulate his thoughts.
The
retrograde does give poor Venus a chance to catch
up with her erstwhile companion, however, and
provides a welcome opportunity to bring poor Mars
back into communication with others. The approach
is tentative at first, but Mars learns to listen to
the grand plans that the Sun and Venus have been
carrying on about, and finds ways to promote them
and bring new attention to their ideas. Mercury is
still not saying much, but he welcomes the company
and finds that he can safely delegate some of his
role to his three allies.
The end of
June finds Mars's collaboration with the Sun and
Venus running out of steam. The Sun and Venus have
entered Cancer now, and turn to more domestic
interests. Both are content there, and Mercury is
happily back to himself again, with his retrograde
ending on the 19th. The Sun turns a sympathetic ear
to Saturn once again, and finds his advice useful
for maintaining stability and safety at
home.
*
The larger
life issues presided over by Saturn and Jupiter are
less in the forefront this spring, becoming a sort
of stage against which more transient passions and
motivations play themselves out. It's a time of
vitality, daily pleasures, and waves of different
energy, passing away almost as soon as we get used
to them. Career is probably not uppermost in our
minds during these months, and need not be. In May,
Venus in Taurus presides over a sensual enjoyment
of the warm weather and flowering Earth. When Mars
enters Leo, we will enjoy opportunities for
physical activity, and by June the Gemini energies
will be encouraging us to spend more time with
friends and thinking of ways to make life more fun
and appealing.
Although no
period of time is without its issues and concerns,
these months invite us to live lightly for awhile,
and gently process the lessons that seemed more
intense during the long winter.
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