April 19: The Sun enters Taurus (05:51 pm).
April 20: Full Moon at 00:43 Scorpio (11:26 am); Sun trine Pluto at 01:04 Taurus/Capricorn.
April 21: Sun trine Saturn at 01:48 Taurus/Virgo.
April 22: Mars trine Uranus at 21:02 Cancer/Scorpio

Click here for natal charts of Hillary Clinton  - Barack Obama

This very powerful set of transits points to important developments in the political power structure of this planet with very strong overtones in terms of economics and banking. In addition to the current hot spots of Iraq, Gaza, Israel, and Zimbabwe as well as the forces at work to help free Tibet, in the USA the Pennsylvania primary is on April 22nd, so all the players are getting ready. I would imagine that some very potent political power moves will be made in these areas during these first days of the Bull. In terms of the USA elections, even though this Full Moon falls right on Sen. Clinton’s Sun at 2° Scorpio, there are many powerful transiting aspects on the 22nd that are very favorable to her chart, not the least of which is the Mars/Uranus trine that make a Grand Trine with her natal Mercury at 21°19 Scorpio with transiting Jupiter at 21° Capricorn in sextile to that position. In addition Venus on the 22nd is at 20° Leo (will be at 21° when the votes are finally tallied), making an exact trine to her natal Saturn at 21° Leo.

Sen. Obama’s chart does not get such favorable results that day although he also has some supportive transits: tr. Jupiter is trine his n. Mars being the most notable. He has to be careful on the 21st when t. Mercury opposes his 12th house Neptune. This is a day when he could say something that could be harmful to him or more likely, some “hidden ghost” will emerge that could cause unfavorable ripples. It should be kept in mind that the Full Moon and the Sun are square to his n. Mercury in Leo. In addition Pluto opposes his natal Venus ruling his 7th house of opponents. My sense of it is that he will not win the Pennsylvania primary but Jupiter might help him to take away a larger percentage of the votes than many of the polls predict.

Those of you with any important points in 20-22° of the watery signs will get quite the “cosmic vitamin-B shot” when Mars trines Uranus in the sky and this happens to fall strongly in your natal map. Look for an urge to move suddenly forward into a new direction in terms of the planet(s) being touched by this trine. If this position happens to be in Scorpio for you, look for a tidal surge of that planet’s energy as it seeks to express itself as it has never done before. Please keep in mind that Uranus is moving over these degrees through March of 2009, so this is a very long process of individuation of that planet and its purpose in your life. The individuation planetary energy indicates that you will seek to develop the potency and meaning of this planet in a way that is totally your own or at the very least, the very, very least, in a way that you have never expressed that planetary force before in your life. As Mars touches this position for the two or three days it will be in aspect, this sense of “unusual, forceful, individualized” expression will be accelerated and more strongly projected than before. Such a sensation will not last obviously because Mars moves relatively quickly over this spot, but such a marital transit will give you a change to really come into contact with the longer Uranus transit over these same degrees, so stay objective and enjoy the ride.

April 23: Venus square Mars at 21°07 Aries/Cancer.
April 24: Venus square Jupiter at 22°00 Aries/Capricorn with Mars opposing this very same position from 22°01 Cancer. Thus we have a Venus (Aries), Mars (Cancer), Jupiter (Capricorn) T-square at 22° of the Cardinal signs.

In terms of the world situation, this is a very difficult period for making any form of economic agreements. There is also the possibility that some more dismal news may emerge relative to the world food crisis. On a more personal level, this T-square affects all cardinal positions from 21-23°, especially planets or important points placed at these degrees in the sign of Libra. In terms of the latter, very strong complications and blocks in terms of relating through the planet in question. Arguments and challenges occur in the house where that 21-23° Libra planet is located. Remember that Venus is in Aries, which is not the best transiting place for Libra (or Libra rising) in the first place. This position definitely shifts the balance of any situation to the other person’s favor or at least works to put one at odds with others. In general terms, anyone with any important placement in these degrees in the cardinal signs will find certain interpersonal challenges that may easily involve finances or forms of nurturing and support within the context of relationships.

April 28: Mercury trine Jupiter at 22° Taurus/Capricorn.
April 29: Mercury square Neptune at 23° Taurus/Aquarius.

Agreements made on the 28th may fall apart on the 29th. This represents quite a challenge between communicating more realistic views about economic policies and philosophies and an idealistic one that holds no weight in the practical world. People with important natal positions at 22-24° in the fixed signs (especially Leo and Scorpio) take note!

April 30: Venus enters Taurus at 02:35pm making lots of Bulls very happy (the Goats and the Virgins will benefit from this position as well).

May 1: Venus trine Pluto at 01° Taurus/Capricorn and Venus also trine Saturn at 01 Taurus/Virgo.

Well it would appear that all of you who have planetary positions from 0-2° of the earthy signs are getting some real cosmic goodies these days. First you have the solar trines at the outset of the Bull’s month and now its ruler, Venus is also blessing you. Enjoy your abundance and have a great time sharing.

May 2: Mercury enters Gemini at 09:00 pm. That will keep the Twins rather busy as you had to slow down a bit since April 18th when the Messenger was in Taurus. Mercury will be in this, his own sign until July 10th, part of which time he will be retrograde (May 26-June 18). I will be commenting on Mercury retrograde in Gemini in next month’s Newsletter. In the meantime, we should expect to see a huge amount of data bombarding us over the media for the next couple of months or so. Geminis (and Virgos too) will be really moving around, making up for all the (relative!) sitting-in-one spot time that Mercury in Taurus engendered. This is also true for Gemini or Virgo rising and Moon people.

May 3: Mercury square Saturn at 2° Gemini/Virgo. Especially rough square as Saturn is in Mercury’s sign as is Mercury himself. Can give a lot of confusion about details and the way communication on the job is handled. People with important positions in the mutable signs at 1-3° should take especial note.

May 5: New Moon at 01:19 pm at 15°22 Taurus.

May 9: Mars enters Leo at 09:20 pm. Yes! Aries are celebrating as we are finally out of that soupy Mars in Cancer position that dragged on for sooooo long (well, everything for Aries is a long time if it isn’t happening right now) and we can get on with pushing our creative plans and projects forward. Mars in a fiery sign should also give cause for celebration amongst the other fiery sons and daughters of the zodiac.

May 12: Sun sextile Uranus at 22° Taurus/Pisces and Sun trine Jupiter at 22° Taurus/Capricorn.

May 14: Sun square Neptune at 24° Taurus/Aquarius.

A bit of a fog hangs over the planet, especially for people with important positions in their natal chart at 23-25° of the fixed signs. The house positions of where this transit falls will point to where you need to hang your fog lights.

May 18: Venus sextile Uranus at 22° Taurus/Pisces and Venus trine Jupiter at 22° Taurus/Capricorn.

All of those with 21-23° prominent in their horoscope are really benefiting from a lot of astrological goodies this month. Venus in positive contact with Uranus and Jupiter can easily bring about interesting social encounters with people who are philosophically potent and spiritually aware. At the very least, this is a good combination for meeting harmoniously with people of different ethnic and religious backgrounds. I am very happy that 22 is my lucky number even though I have nothing at 22° in my natal map. 22 is the number of the “Master Architect” and speaks about the creation of perfect structures. To get there we have to work through the vibration of “4” the number of Saturn and the square—a little hard word and applied self-discipline.

May 20: Venus square Neptune at 24° Taurus/Aquarius.

A great day to listen to music, visit art museums, recite poetry, even make love—all that is fine even for people with strong positions in their natal charts at 23-25° of the fixed signs. But one word of caution if this is the case—make sure that the art work you may buy this day is not a forgery, and that you do not think that the love making will continue on forever and ever this way.