Note: how Astrology individually affects us depends on the placement of planets in our birth chart. This forecast assumes an uncomplicated interaction between the transiting planets and a birth chart, which means parts of it may not apply to you (or may only apply to certain degrees). To learn about your specific chart, I encourage you to book a session with me. Also, this article was written for the Northern Hemisphere.

On this Friday, April 5^th at 1:50 a.m. PST we’ll experience the New Moon in Aries. I wrote pretty extensively about Aries last month, but to summarize, Aries is a sign of courage, adventure, and soaking up what life has to offer. Being the infant of the zodiac, Aries is unafraid to champion their self-interest. Aries is also the archetypal warrior, and Aries season can be a time where we’re called to stand up for ourselves, particularly on the New Moon, since both luminaries are radiating this Aries energy upon us. This can be a powerful opportunity to ask ourselves where we could benefit from being more assertive or courageous.

The annual lunar cycle of New Moons begins with this one. Every month, our core sense of self (Sun) and emotional, subjective, and subconscious nature (Moon) unite in quiet darkness. We’re positioned to hear them both, sometimes gaining profound insight, especially if we use this time for reflection. The New Moon in Aries (and Aries in general) teaches us that it’s healthy to accept, honor, and follow our bliss, provided we aren’t harming others. This particular New Moon occurs at the peak of Aries, with the Sun and Moon at 15 degrees, grandly stoking the fires within. This is a time of beginnings and putting ourselves first (in a healthy way). Something thrilling and invigorating that stretches us and demands bravery may be calling us, and it’s likely healthy for us to heed that. This is a profound opportunity for alchemy in terms of intention-setting regarding who we want to be, and how to be more authentic in our life – two things Aries is instinctively good at.

Aries isn’t shy about living its best life!

One interesting facet of the current Astrology is that no planet is retrograde until April 10^th (at which point Jupiter goes retrograde, followed by Pluto on the 24^th and Saturn on the 30^th). This is an opportunity to blaze Full Speed Ahead with the energy of Aries season, working on goals, projects, or whatever we want. This New Moon lends itself well to magic related to these things (and the matters that follow). It’s a powerful time to journal about and declare what we want.

The Sun Battles for Authenticity and Truth

Otherwise, the Sun is saddled with additional planetary activity (and the Moon with it, while in Aries). I find that solar transits, despite lasting just 16-20 days, can be potent since the Sun hits us in the core. This time, we find a beneficial trine from Jupiter in Sagittarius to bolster our intentions for ourselves and growth processes alongside a friction-provoking square from Saturn and Pluto conjunct in Capricorn. This Saturn/Pluto conjunction will fade soon as Saturn retrogrades away from it, but it’ll be one of the most prominent transits next year, at which point I’ll address it in-depth. In a nutshell, Saturn conjunct Pluto can involve a shattering of boundaries and limits and a reformation of them in alignment with our now. The relentless light of Pluto shines on the restrictions we feel, and any areas where we’re being inauthentic or tolerating inauthenticity (or experiencing unhealthy power dynamics), and presses them uncomfortably against the glass of our awareness. It calls us to transform these areas – to live in greater alignment with our sense of truth and purpose – and the pragmatic talents of Saturn are available to us to aid in that. It’s up to us whether any changes we make accordingly come out of love or fear, whether we grow freer or more bound. This month’s transit is the appetizer however. 2020 is the main course.

Saturn conjunct Pluto can be like inner composting.

Another aspect of Saturn conjunct Pluto I see at play now that fits with the challenging yet healing energy we’ve been experiencing this year is pragmatic shadow work. Skins may ask to be shed, deceptions may be exposed, and denial and avoidance will not be easy options. A Sun/Pluto square can drive us into our shadow, whether via external or internal agents, and a Sun/Saturn square can make us acutely aware of our limits, strengths, and weaknesses, again externally and internally (but related to us as individuals). Throw them together with the Sun in the home of personality (with a boost from Jupiter), and we have an opportunity to develop ourselves more fully. To continue healing in the way we began to when Chiron entered Aries on February 18^th, launching an eight plus year cycle in which our wounds of personality surface that we may heal, transform, and ultimately offer something by virtue of them.

As always, compassion for self and other, openness to change, and a willingness to face difficult matters can see us through here and help us maximize the potential benefits of this transit. There’s a palpable opportunity this Aries season to take something from our past that held us down and throw it into the alchemist’s forge. Maybe it’s a time to stand up for yourself or your wants and needs, and in doing so, some deep healing or inner wisdom will result – even if what you’re standing up against is your own limiting self-concepts.

Mercury in a Surrealist Groove

If Mercury took a selfie right now.

After going direct on March 28th, Mercury in Pisces continues to dance with a variety of planets. It has a strong but fading conjunction with Neptune in Pisces, a weak but steady conjunction to Venus in Pisces, and a growing square to Jupiter in Sagittarius and sextile to Saturn and Pluto in Capricorn. In addition to pragmatic shadow work, vision, expansion, art, and epiphany could all be on the table now (or altar, since we’re talking about Pisces. Although, isn’t every table kind of an altar to Pisces anyway?). If you’ve been waiting for a breakthrough moment in consciousness or healing, this could facilitate that, especially with Mars in Gemini strongly sextiling the wounded healer Chiron. Mercury rules Gemini and this transit can aggressively surface ideas about our personality wounds (or bring experiences to us that salt them), feeding them into the dance of aspects Mercury and the Sun are engaged in. This can be a moment to work toward healing via art (or art may be our entry point for deeper understanding of the issues at hand). This is also a powerful time for journeying, and the New Moon might be ideal for diving into the Underworld to see what’s trying to surface. The sextile to Saturn and Pluto in Capricorn suggests we’ll be able to do something pragmatic with all of this if we choose.    

Alternatively, if we don’t harness this transit effectively, it can foster deception, obfuscation, mixed signals, unfocused thinking, confusion, or illusions about self and other, which is Neptune’s shadow. We may feel unsure, unsteady, or even rudderless, though we’ll likely feel substantial friction if we go the shadow route. There’s simply too much Plutonian action pushing truth to the surface. For mystically-inclined people, Neptune transits are often moments of heightened awakening. When we lack metaphysical discernment though, these transits can involve seeing what we want to (or don’t) in the visions and activity of our conscious and subconscious minds. On the 17^th, Mercury will enter Aries, followed shortly thereafter by Venus, putting an end to this year’s Pisces season.

I drew a card for this transit and pulled the Wheel of Fortune. On one level, this can mean things are taking a fortunate turn for us (a welcome change after the trials and tribulations of Mercury Retrograde and the earlier transits highlighting Chiron, Saturn, and Pluto!). On a deeper level, it can also indicate that the tides of our lives are more apparent – that we’re in a clearly Karmic moment if we choose to appreciate that (which I see as supported by all this Neptunian/Piscean energy). These are moments when it’s like we’ve zoomed out from our life and look down at it from above. Also, “fortune favors the brave” may as well be a slogan for Aries season, and a maxim to embrace for this time.