Dateblog: April 2015

 There are a lot of things I could say about April 2015 even if we’re just limiting that to the astrological in nature. For instance, I could point out how all that fresh green in the ‘April 2015 by Sign’ graphic - an increasing green which increasingly asks ‘how Taurean is my outlook?’ as the month goes along.

And for the uninitiated (or merely forgetful), ‘more Taurean’ means stubbornly peaceful on the positive side ... and perfectly placid about anything and everything up to (and possibly including) that which grows out of nurtured resentments and steadfast (even stubborn) allegiances to judging everything on a physical basis to the negative side. (Aren’t you happy you asked?)

I could also point out how the whole of April’s second half - as always - is going to be sprinkled (literally, on the metaphysical level) with asteroids, those ‘sparks of insight or inspiration’ and on occasion those ‘shots in the dark’ we not only take and see others taking but associate with the two meteor showers (the Lyrids and the Eta Aquarids) which happen every year about this time.

But no, that wouldn’t be where I would think we should start with considering April, as a personal astrological ‘ranking’ (i.e., how my big dog brain sees it) would start with the Lunar Eclipse at 14 Libra which will occur on April 4th with barely a hiccup in time passing before Jupiter goes direct four days later, on April 8th. And while I was saying that, I would point out that Lunar Eclipses represent ‘feeling’ or emotional times, and how while they’re neither as magically life transformative if spectacularly hard to see (in our own lives, at least for a while) as solar eclipse effects, lunar eclipse are at least polite enough about our time and effort to exude their effects downright promptly - which means that anyone with a major (planet, dwarf planet, node or axis) point between 4 and 24 Libra, Aries, Capricorn or Cancer (the cardinal signs, in other words) ... those people should not be expected if something arises or originates in the area(s) of life associated with those lunar eclipse “sensitive points.”

And then there’s Jupiter, for which the same suggestion goes, with the difference being that Jupiter is going direct at 12 Leo, which means the degree spread is from 2 to 22 degrees of Leo, Aquarius, Taurus or Scorpio should take special note.

More on both subjects in individual posts, of course - but that’s where I was thinking we should start. While not precisely a symbol of emotions or feelings, things which are associated with Jupiter  ... the effects, the opportunities, the encounters, the challenges, the news, the discoveries and enlightenments ... those Jovian (Jupiter) things tend to be associated with emotionality.

So how interesting that these two things are laid out (eclipse first) so that as we enter April things get more interesting and expressive, whatever else that may mean!

Plus Pluto will be going retrograde this month. And that Pluto does that (on the 17th) as Planet Earth (our lives) moves into the ‘meteor zone’ suggests a time when many things are being considered, parts or pieces or segments of which has us the (Taurus) necessity or value involved in doing or even thinking that we need anything other than the being content in any ... or every ... or various given moments.

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Maybe with so little in the way of air sign influence in this month’s mix (not to discount the Libra lunar eclipse or Venus’ impending transit of Gemini - shown above in light blue) ... maybe that will cause people to stop talking about the ‘idea of the thing’ or spending time and energy dissecting notions in favor of dealing with (earth sign) facts, evidence and history.

Then again, with as much fire sign energy (above, in golden yellow) being present in the mix, maybe what we need to deal with is how many people are simply unable to deal with realities - and why that is, or has come to be true. Fire plus earth influences tend to trend either towards the highly dynamic and often creative, or forms of what we might call ‘scorched earth’ policies as we simply discard or disregard all manner of facts, realities and necessities as, blind to all else, we follow some notion which may or may not have any real world basis or application.

How all these things are going to work out in - and through each one of our lives is still a mystery, of course. And in the wake of the 29 Pisces eclipse, some part of that is likely to be lived out through the (lunar eclipse) relationship venue or through how we (do or don’t, can or can’t) relate to someone. With the solar eclipse having occurred on March 20th, as April begins a good number of us are going to be coming to the ‘end’ of some alliance, relationship or  need to attend to a particular issue. Or their tolerance is wearing thin. Or they’re disenchanted (disappointed) with someone or something for having not lived up to some internal standard which isn’t about them at all, but rather about something we long to delude ourselves about as if we don’t ... well, then we’d have to feel all some sort of negative we really (REALLY) don’t want to feel.

That ‘thing’ ... if there is one ... we will project and ascribe to being about ‘them’ or ‘that.’

But it isn’t. It isn’t about ‘them’ - it’s about us ... which would be why this month being so Taurean holds so much promise, and a chance for much insecurity - not with ‘them,’ but as (or because) we finally figure out how the security we seeking so ardently is never solidified or damaged by things or people on the outside.

It’s all about who we are - and how we got that way, which is plenty to think about (and live the experiencing of) throughout April.

Bon voyage to us all!
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Atropos-Lyrids: New Ends

 The Three Fates by Christian Friedrich Staizel (1797)

In Greek mythic terms fate is a process, not a single or finite thing. That we know because there are three ‘Fates’: Klotho (inceptions or beginnings), Lachesis (duration, extent) and Atropos (endings). Together they describe the whole experience arc, however that may come to happen and whatever it may apply to.

This version of ‘fate,’ in other words, is about how we deal with facts as they come to be presented - an idea which mirrors the idea that the astrology of asteroids refers to life factors we encounter along our ‘path.’ The asteroids - specifically here asteroids Klotho, Lachesis and Atropos - whether aspected in our personal natal chart or 'bestirring' us to take note as they go in and out of retrograde - so we are given basic notice about moments, situations, meetings and such things as relationships, negotiations, efforts, feelings - as each goes through its 'process' of inception to end.

How we respond to such moments and that 'thing' and what we experience through such responses, these are the things which, in teaching us that life is not entirely “up to the Fates,” empower us to become that we should be.

Or at least that's what we think. Somewhere along the way something may occur. Maybe you'll get diverted from one thing to another, effectively 'ending' the original effort. Maybe you'll just give up on something which has outlived its use or usefulness.

And there is that other little matter...the one which says that when it comes to the Fates, we have no control. In that, Greek Fates are just like any other tale of the inevitable. And we humans don't like not having control.

After all, if you don't have control, you don't know which emotional button is going to get pushed...which is the emotional side of Atropos, Klotho and Lachesis as they represent what we must contend with along our merry (or even not so merry) way.

Yes, we can learn from such moments...or not. And what we learn may help us...or not. In general, its probably safe to say that where Atropos is concerned we cannot hold on.

Then again, maybe we don't want to.

Either situation is equally likely as Atropos enters the station 'allowance' on April 14th in anticipation of going retrograde on April 16th. Some of us will meander through these days, some will confront some ‘fateful’ sort of moment in time. Atropos can represent losing something, finishing something, terminating something, changing our mind. It can even refer to finding something which fills a gap, ‘ending’ some sort of personal, group - even societal deprivation.

It all depends.

In going retrograde at 27 Leo, that which happens involves others…and what we learn from it, or what we need to do (or not do) because of it involves others – and often the world or society in which we live. As a degree of influence, 27 Leo tends to be hasty and is known for causing things to ‘blow up in one’s face,’ creating injuries and resentments which given Atropos’ influence may require taking a step back or reconsideration.

As in all things Leo, the idea of the thing…the ‘vision’ is powerful and sometimes magical, thought it isn’t always practical or well received – particularly when we aren’t taking the perspectives and agendas of others into account. So with Atropos going retrograde this year one day after the joint Pluto station and Libra lunar eclipse…

- link to -

A Plutonic Lunar Eclipse

…that suggests many a change of direction, attitude or perception reflecting either situations which ‘move’ us or those which – in keeping with the incoming Taurus solar eclipse – evoke or refer to values which stir emotions or which are typically (even known to be) emotionally sensitive.

If we were only to think of this ‘teaming up’ of events in terms of Pluto’s station, we would say that Atropos turn to retrograde in Leo denotes the beginning of some internal transformation – one involving some personal ‘vision.’ And purely in Plutonic terms, that would bracket us into an April 2014 to mid/late September 2014 timetable as once Pluto goes retrograde it will be in retrograde until September 23rd.

Pluto transformations are metamorphic. They take time and they involve pressure…most of all that internal pressure which gets us to back away (retrograde away from) one thing so that we can take on something else. Or maybe both things in tandem or synthesis.

Pluto represents the energy of tearing one thing down and purifying the concept so that something better can be put in its place. Whether associated positively or negatively Pluto times displays of passions – even obsessions – because we don’t want the alternative.

And the real Pluto question is that: what’s so wrong about the alternative (and) why are we reactive to that alternative?

Those insights…plus whatever feelings have been (or are being) touched on as we move into and through the April 15th lunar eclipse will play out initially in the three months yet to come on a primary level – and evolve from there.

It’s not necessarily a scary process – just one we need to attend to, which in true Plutonic manner will become more ‘sticky’ the more we try to avert, avoid or control it to our pleasure.

Nothing Scorpio is ever simply about us – and that includes Pluto, symbol of all outcomes Scorpio and Scorpionic. We may want to control the outcome – in fact, most Scorpio situations will define, regulate or place constraints of some sort on us. Such measures can be perfectly simple, such as learning how to bake a cake, work a latch or otherwise conduct yourself in sensible company…or they can be exotically trying to one’s ability to negotiate.

War, surgery, debt, taxes and sexuality are all Scorpionic subjects – need I say more?

But they reason they are Scorpionic? That’s the important part here – and important to keep somewhere on our mental desk over the next few weeks as new input, new ideas and more insights are likely to be in the offing.

Why?

Because it’s meteor shower time.

Produced by Comet Thatcher (which is currently still moving away from Earth as part of its 400+ year-long orbit) the Lyrid Meteor Shower begins April 16th and extends through April 25th as part of whatever Aries-Taurus themes have us dealing with who we are not to others in this world, but in our own eyes.

Such insights may or may not be major. And if you’re wondering why Scorpio and Pluto seem so important here as we consider Atropos and the Lyrids, that would be because comet Thatcher’s origination point – it’s ‘radiant’ as seen from Earth is in constellation Lyra.

And guess where Pluto is?

We think of Pluto as being in Capricorn because Capricorn is the constellation which intersects Earth’s path around the Sun – the ecliptic. That’s the rule for constellations being included in our zodiac. But apart from that, as of 2013 Pluto came into standard 5-degree orb of Lyra’s best-known star, Vega – our symbol of charisma and charismatic communication, indicating a period when many people and ideas we were taken by will lose their appeal or validity as we discover new ways of thinking and new priorities to go along with those new approaches and aims.

Constellation Lyra

Pluto’s primary conjunction of Vega will be completed by the end of 2016, though the changes which will inevitably occur between now and then will take several more years to play out. For some, the overall effect of this time will bring them more into line with a flesh-and-blood (Capricorn) reality they’ve been less than fully affected by. For others, needing to consider (or reconsider) how they’re going about embodying some goal, persona or message will become a focus worthy of time, dedication and effort.

It all depends. On what? On you, and where you are right now, coming into this time. Whoever we are and whatever we’re trying to do, this long-term, multi-year Pluto-Vega conjunction will challenge many a notion of identity, structured values and worth, particularly in light of how we ultimately regard our Self as a citizen of, and in this world.

It’s all just to...think about.
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