printable version

Dear Friends,
These words are being written to you from the beauty and serenity of Santa Fe, New Mexico where everything is calming hues of brown, green, and yellow. Jean Redman and I have come home after years in Portugal (me) and Bali, Indonesia (both of us). What an amazing change from where I wrote my Aries newsletter to you a mere month ago where the view from my office in the jungle was to my pool and tropical garden in colors of luscious green, pink, red, and purple. Now I am facing and living in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains.

My physical transition from living within the Ring of Fire to the high deserts of northern New Mexico, I believe (and hope) is reflective of the planetary transit pattern, at least temporarily. During the past month there were 5 and sometimes 6 (if you include the 2.5 day transit of the Moon) planets in Aries, far too many for peace in the world as the horrendous violence in North Africa and the terrible earthquakes and tsunamis in Japan testify. Things will become calmer I trust now that the Sun is in Taurus where he is soon to be joined in May by Mercury, Venus, and Mars.

Please note: all dates and times are in GMT so please adjust accordingly for your own local time zone.

April 20—The Sun enters Taurus at 10:19am and is sextile Neptune at 0.26 Pisces.

What a soft entry into the fullness of spring (or autumn for our southern hemisphere readers)! Although the “running karma” of nations and individuals cannot bring the type of gentleness of this Taurus/Pisces combination, this day in itself can be a “breather” for many people.

April 21—Venus enters Aries at 4:07am while retrograde Mercury opposes retrograde Saturn at 12 Aries/Libra.

Venus in this sign excites the need to make relationships and brings Aphrodite into the sign where Eros loves to dwell. Venus remains under the influence of the Ram (and thus Mars) until she happily enters her own sign of Taurus on May 16th where her distinctly erogenous urges are calmed into a deep sensuality.

April 21/24:

As for Mercury and Saturn, well for the next four days they will indeed be in opposition and on April 21st and 22nd they will both be retrograde. This means there is “dues to pay” especially if you have any planets or important points in your natal chart between 11 and 13 of Aries, Cancer, Libra, or Capricorn. This is a time to “budget the mind” or to prioritize activities, travels, and interests. Such an urge will be difficult to accomplish. Arguments in relationships over “contract terms” (human relationships on the level of the personality are always a series of contracts) is highly likely. Treaties and documents signs during these two days are highly likely to have to be renegotiated. Mercury goes direct on April 25th at 10:05am and for this man with a Gemini Moon and a Virgo Midheaven, is not a moment too soon for me! But what with Mercury still in opposition to Saturn and in “stationary direct” mode, things will not be able to really pick up until after the 25th or 26th. Benefits from this retrograde opposition: get your schedule and priorities in order.

April 27-28: Sun trines Pluto at 7 Taurus/Capricorn.

The world’s stock markets should rise today and if you are fortunate enough to have important placements at between 6 and 8 degrees of the earthy signs (especially Virgo) and to a somewhat lesser extent in Scorpio or Pisces, then your personal fortunes should take a positive hit as well.

April 30: Venus is opposing Saturn at 11 Aries/Libra.

Not the most pleasant of indications as Venus disposits/rules Saturn and is herself in poor placement in Aries. This will make relationships, social contracts, and the long range planning of finances quite difficult in general. If you have 10-12 degrees of the cardinal signs (Aries, Cancer, Libra, or Capricorn) strongly placed in your chart, you will confront these situations in a much more personal manner.

May 1-4: Mars is conjunct Jupiter from 22 to 24 degrees of Aries.

This aspect brings out the urge for adventure, especially if there is some educational, religious or ideological reason behind your travels. This combination when negative leads to martyrdom, so I would expect that somewhere in the world a suicide bomber or two has just earned his or her way into Paradise. On a more positive note, should this conjunction fall positively into your personal natal chart, advances in your life pursuits and visions quests are likely. On May 3rd at 6:52am, there is a New Moon at 12.31 Taurus, a great time for planting either vegetable seeds or mental seeds for financial prosperity.

May 3 to 20: Mercury and Venus are conjoined from 17 of Aries to 6 of Taurus.

These two planets like one another. Mercury is useful to Venus to convey her messages of love and abundance. Venus is useful to Mercury to sweeten his path as the Celestial Messenger. While in Aries (until May 15th), such messages will be direct and to the point when it comes to interpersonal relationships. When they both move into Taurus, these interchanges will take on a more financial nature.

May 4-7: Jupiter in Aries is trine the Northern Node at 24 Sagittarius.

This is a fine indication for education and foreign travel. Naturally, this aspect becomes more positive if 23 to 25 degrees of the fiery signs figure prominently in your natal chart. It is quite possible that good or at least interesting news comes forth from educational or religious leaders. PS. It would be a lovely thing if there really were some truly spiritually endowed people among the world’s religious leaders. I have yet to see one emerge in recent times—other than Oprah of course, but then she is like most of us, more spiritual than religious. It would also be wonderful for our beloved president (whom I really do support and admire) to move publically outside of the confines of his religion and make more pronouncements based on his deeper spiritual understandings. Well maybe that will happen after he hopefully wins the 2012 election as to do so beforehand might be political suicide given the times in which we live.

May 11: Venus, Mercury, and Jupiter all conjoins at 24 degrees of Aries. At approximately 4am GMT the Moon is at 23 degrees of Leo and thus trine this triple conjunction for about 3 hours.

Interesting…The conjunction is great for just about everything that has to do with personal and international relationships and communication. It is basically very friendly unless its energy is wielded by egocentric people and politicians who will insist more than ever that they are “right” and everyone else is “wrong.” O foolish people who live in polarity and not in solution! But then we are all not soul-centered as yet. When the Moon trines this position, it will give a genuine feeling of good will for those fortunate enough to be in a position of receptivity to these good feelings. It is hard to see the world as positive when you are hungry or in mortal danger, this state transcends any and all positive planetary aspects! For those who are in a position to do so, especially if 23 to 25 degrees of the fiery signs (or to a lesser extent these degrees in Gemini), this is an excellent time to make travel or educational plans or the best scenario: travel plans for educational purposes.

May 16: Venus and Mercury conjoin at 0 Taurus.

Please see my comments under May 3-20 above.

May 17: Full Moon at 26.13 Taurus/Scorpio at 11:10am. IMPORTANT

This is the most profound Full Moon of the esoteric calendar of the Ancient Wisdom Teachings. Known as the “Wesak Festival”, this Full Moon commemorates the birth, illumination, and death of the Buddha. Meditating at this time (ex. 7:10am EDT, 4:10am PDST, 12:10pm GMST) is will be a most potent experience. If the exact moment is impossible for you, then meditating within a 24 hour period surrounding this exact minute will also be of benefit to you and the world. I will be conducting the Wesak Full Moon Meditation that evening in Naples, Florida, followed on May 19th by a full day workshop. For further information on this event, click here.

This should be another good day for the world’s stock markets, especially in terms of commodities and land values. If these degrees fall into your personal horoscope, including and especially 6 to 7 degrees of Virgo, then you may well have something enriching to celebrate, If your Midheaven is at one of these degrees, then this is an excellent time for career planning and advancement.

Alan is available for individual consultations and mentoring. Please go to here for details or contact him personally via email.