Forecast for week of April 16-22, 2012

By Kathy Biehl

The pause button is off. The brakes are being released. All manner of developments are creaking forward and gaining slow but rolling momentum. That’ll mount and speed up next week. What’s important now is that mobility has returned.

That’s because two bodies in the sky have regained ease of motion. One is Mars, the planet of action, who ended his nearly three-month retrograde over the weekend. Matters that have been stalled are moving into position for something, anything, to happen with them at last. Mars will not clear the degree of his turn-around until Monday of next week, which gives us one last, solid week of fiddling with details, fixing, organizing and tidying up.

Mercury, ruler of communication, transportation and the technology that has become so pervasive in our lives, is the other body moving more comfortably. The week begins with him leaving the all-connected, sometimes confusing waters of Pisces for the fiery impulsiveness of Aries. Some of that recent brain fog will be dissipating, thank gawd, and we’ll be getting our mental groove back. Mercury is far more compatibly and comfortable in Aries, which encourages bold, independent leaps of thought and action. He was last in these parts in the beginning of March, before his retrograde, and instances may arise now of picking up pieces from them and moving ahead.

With Mercury back in Aries, he is resuming a special relationship with Mars. Each of these planets is in a sign the other governs. This relationship is called a mutual reception, and it blends their energies and influences, so that anything that happens with one resonates with the other. With both of them moving comfortably now, everything that breaks loose or inches forward will have an added oomph, excitement, exhilaration … or maybe just impulsiveness.

Not all of the impulsiveness is going to be pretty, or sweet, or fun. Mars is approaching a clash with the nodes of the Moon, which represent the path to the future, on one end, and instinctual, past behaviors on the other. This clash will dislodge more angry bursts from masculine forces attempting to drag the collective back decades. (Mars is moving into a showdown with Chiron, too, so a lot of wounds are getting salted and irritated.) On a personal level, watch for situations to impel you (not compel — you have a choice) to ditch old ways and step into ones that can carry you into the future. Healthier habits, healthier eating, healthier boundaries, healthier thought patterns, more efficient systems — those are just a few ideas of where the pressure’s heading.

The point is to settle more fully into physical experience and live fully and sensually in the moment. On Thursday, the Sun enters the enjoy-the-earth-mode of Taurus and resuscitates the foundational shoring up of the earth grand trine that took place in mid-March. The Taurus New Moon follows on Saturday, in a tight, easy flow to Mars, a tight cooperative link to Neptune and an easy flow to Pluto that will intensify as the Sun and the Moon move apart. (Read more in my mooncast, which will be posted by Friday.)

This progression is making personal and internal the gifts of last month’s grand trine. At that point, three areas of your life locked together and firmed up, into a supportive patch of ground, tiny as it may be, that is beginning to flourish. Mystical, transcendent Neptune is watering that patch of ground now — perhaps with compassion (toward yourself, first of all), perhaps with artistic inspiration, perhaps with spiritual guidance and insight — and nurturing further growth. This is the platform on which you will stand when Uranus and Pluto go at it in June and September . It’s the promontory that will remain beneath your feet when other parts of your surroundings and life break away.

Ponder the nature and parameters of this patch on a symbolic level. Then go outdoors and immerse yourself in the physical world around you.

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Monday: Hyper-fantastic dreams fill the overnight hours and leave you disinclined to push against the tide….for a while. Interpersonal static, or inner friction, will interfere with that and point out where key relationships are out of balance or harmony. Hold your tongue. After Mercury enters Aries late in the afternoon EDT, impulsive but meaningful conversations come naturally. Wait too long, though, and receptivity will give way to more and more static … and possibly ultimatums.

Tuesday: Uranus is highly active today. The agent of unpredictable, radical change is working his special magic primarily in the realm of thought and words. Communication bombshells are likely. Frames of reference will tilt. And then — nothing. You’re hanging. Even if you want to act on the bolts, it’s futile. Instead you have until tomorrow lunchtime to sit with the reverberations and ponder them. That’s because the Moon is void of course from 10:35 AM until noon tomorrow. Ask for alternative viewpoints. Stand on your head if need be.

Wednesday: The Moon is void of course until noon EDT so no pushing; no shoving. Striving isn’t going to get you anywhere but tired. Besides, all that hanging loose and floating could give you a good hard look at where unreality and deception are clouding your perception of yourself. If the look goes from hard to harsh, tap into that Neptunian compassion and take some for yourself. Once the Moon clears the void, the urge to share explodes, with a big side of self-indulgence. You always have choices. Harness and channel your drive, or unload frustration on someone is on this afternoon’s menu. Second winds are likely late in the evening. You can channel that vibe, too, by asking to see another way of looking at a matter.

Thursday: Ideas, messages and information mushroom today. There’s no point in holding back or keeping quiet. Speak boldly. Pursue answers. Ask follow-up questions. Your mental processes can work in cooperation with your instincts, intuition or guidance (your choice of label). Take the information you receive and … well, digest it. The Sun moves into Taurus and begins completing the grand trine in earth. What’s the practical upshot of everything you’ve learned and heard today?

Friday: The morning is all gung ho and then blam! We hit and wall, and the work week ends with another leisurely, unforced stretch of time. The Moon is void of course from 3:36 PM to just after midnight. Inside the void you hit a crossroad. One direction leads to aggression, confrontation and fighting words, the other to healthy assertiveness. Either way, conversations could clean up some unfinished businesses (and messes)(thought one choice could create new messes, too). It’s a tricky night for socializing. Relationships are edgy-to-demanding, and then everyone wants to settle into something comfy and snack out.

Saturday: The New Moon occurs halfway between midnight and dawn EDT. A new tangible phase launches in your psyche and has you taking action and implementing all morning. (More in my mooncast, which will be up by Friday.) Beware mid-afternoon burnout. If you want to stretch out on the coach, or have a snack, or have several snacks, do it. You’re not likely to spend the rest of the day sacked out. A new round of energy is surging to take you into the evening. Look for the focus and stick-to-it-iveness to make noticeable, tangible (that word again) progress.

Sunday: The dreamworld jumps on the enjoy-your-earthly-existence bandwagon and issues its own invitation to climb aboard. You could wake up humming, or smiling, or having a work of art full blown in your mind. (There are tales of a couple of singer-songwriters in the 70s waking up with songs that had written themselves in their sleep.) Surprisingly, the day that follows is not leisurely and comfortable. You could experience it as edgy and unsettling. Or you could take the internal jiggles as incentive to get out and exploration this great and wonderful world. The road less traveled is the preferred path of the day. Wildly unexpected news could launch you on it. Be open to the new, the different, the unknown.

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Astro-Insight