The Astrology of April 2023
April 2023 Astrology is going to be interesting. March brought huge changes but April has its notable events as well, namely a solar eclipse and the first of the Mercury Retrogrades. My sign by sign videos are up on my channel.
Mars
Mars moved into Cancer on March 25th. He’ll be there until May 20th and will not retrograde in 2023. So wherever Mars is in your chart in 2023, that’s full steam ahead energy. Mars is a motor. He likes the cardinal energy of Cancer, which starts things and takes initiative, but Mars’ drive can be through an emotional lens in this water sign. Cancer is related to feeling secure and is assigned to the 4th house of home, so our safe space. Mars, the god of war, makes us assertive and ready to stand up for what we believe in, but in Cancer this may be subjective and we can feel easily slighted. We have a warrior that’s getting emotional!
Mars Trine Saturn
Mars will trine Saturn the first week of April. This can feel like one foot on the gas and one of the brake. Saturn says ‘Go slow, think about it, pay attention to the details’. Mars is more of a ‘Hey you! Outta my way!’ energy. Both in water signs. But a trine is an easy aspect that is favorable. So this combination, well done, is energy and forethought combined. Not too slow, not too reckless.
Saturn
Saturn has just arrived in Pisces at the start of March. He will only move from 2 to 5 degrees in April. Saturn will conjunct Pisces Suns, born the 20th-27th of February or early rising, from 0-7 degrees. You may feel as if life is more serious and may want more limits and structure. More yes/no and less maybe. Saturn slows things, imposes boundaries, makes us sort through what stands the test of time and is worth it and what is not. If Pisces is your Sun, people will notice your attitude, if you are a Rising, this will be a more internal dynamic.
He will also trine Cancers and Scorpios, again with birth days on those same dates, 20th-27th of June or October or early risings. You will feel the seriousness of Saturn also but there is a flow with a trine. Saturn makes us do the hard work and is related to time. So again, what stands the test of time, where you focus your energy. This may be clearer now and priorities can be aligned.
Virgos, this is an opposition (same dates again: 20th-27th of August or early rising, from 0-7 degrees), a quest for balance between self and others. Saturn may have you examining your committed partnership. Virgos like when things run smoothly. This is also opponents or rivals. Are they worth your energy? Do you put time and work there?
Saturn Energy for All of Us
I wrote of Saturn in Pisces energy for all of us, in my Saturn in Pisces blog. The sign by sign video is on my channel.
Venus
In Taurus
Venus is in Taurus to the 11th of April, having arrived March 16th, then Gemini for rest of month, to May 7th. She is at home in Taurus. A planet in their home sign can be themselves. The good and the bad. This is all about tangible pleasures. Good food, comfy surroundings, nice things, pampering: bubble baths and essential oil massages. Romance too. This is a feminine energy, the female archetype in terms of tangible beauty: we like what looks nice, smells nice, feels nice. It’s creature comforts. And Venus can have us spending money to obtain this. There’s an overarching theme of luxuriousness, of beautiful quality things that last. Taurus is antiques and collectors items, things we treasure for a long time. The downside is overindulgence.
Conjunct Uranus at the very start of April, the 1st and 2nd (also March 30th and 31st), this can be out of the blue romance, or impulsive spending is likely. Uranus wants to break free, rebel against rules and structure. Venus can manifest as a woman or a person with strong female energy, appearing in a sudden way, and it’ll have a liberating effect. Maybe trying to show you the way out or through something.
Uranus is the unexpected and also unexpected ideas or new way of seeing things. Uranus is all about moving past Saturn’s boundaries and evolving. There’s sudden insight and lighting inspiration. Sometimes with a technological side or using technology. A good example is going on a dating app (romance, technology), when it was something you never even considered before (breaking free of a ‘rule’).
In Gemini
In Gemini, Venus has to be more mentally agile. We are very communicative and charmingly so. We explore romantic ties or socialize, but on a curiosity level. It is a more intellectual approach. Gemini likes to discover and compare. That earthy sensuality is not present with she is in Gemini. The downside is an energy that is fleeting and unattached.
The Sun and Jupiter
Jupiter is still in Aries until May 16th. The Sun is there until April 20th. They are conjunct the 7th to 17th. This is strong energy. Jupiter is opportunity and solutions, wisdom and expansion. Jupiter is beneficial and we not only benefit from his energy but grow. And this goodness is increased by the Sun’s proximity. The downside can be something so big it is unmanageable and fails to be grounded in reality where it can be useful. This energy can make us boisterous and over the top. Jupiter is a gas giant, so this can just be a lot of hot air.
Solar Eclipse
The first solar eclipse of 2023 in at 29 degrees of Aries on the 20th of April. There is only a few hours between the eclipse and the ingress of the Sun into Taurus. This eclipse also marks the beginning of the shift of the nodes to the Aries-Libra axis, from the Taurus-Scorpio axis. So a change from fixed signs (stability), related to money houses, to 2 cardinal signs (starters, initiators) related to self (Aries) and Other (Libra). This will be you and those across from you. The significant other in your life. Those across the table, the room, the desk or the bed. Being in opposition is always a search for balance. Through that balance comes a united front, a partnership that is something stronger than the individuals who make it up.
Those at 27 to the last degrees of the Cardinal signs (Aries, Cancer, Libra, and Capricorn) and 0 to 2 degrees of the Fixed signs (Taurus, Leo, Scorpio, and Aquarius) will feel the effects of the eclipse the most. Remember an eclipse is something, information or a person, eclipsed out. You are not seeing it because it is in shadow. Making decisions around the eclipse is not advised because not all the facts are there.
Mercury Retrograde
Mercury is retrograde April 21st to May 14. Or April 7th to May 31st if we include the shadows periods pre and post retrograde. And you should if you are thinking of starting something related to Mercury ruled things: buying ground transportation, cell phones or laptops or anything to do with commercial agreements. If not, check everything closely. Things change up, go back to the drawing board, get revised or redone, until the cycle is completed.
There’s more in the videos, for each sign. Watch your Sun and Rising and also for someone else. Have a wonderful month.
Image: Aziz Acharki on Unsplash