Important astrological energies for the month of April 2016

• New Moon with Sun and Moon in Aries occurs on April 7, 2016.
• Mars in Sagittarius turns stationary retrograde on April 17, 2016 and re-enters the sign of Scorpio on May 27, 2016. It will turn direct on June 29, 2016.
• Full Moon with Sun in Taurus and Moon in Scorpio occurs on April 22, 2016.
• Mercury in Taurus turns stationary retrograde on April 28, 2016. It will turn direct on May 22, 2016.

Moving Forward with Confidence

By Misty Kuceris ©2016

The month of April 2016 seems so calm compared to the previous month even with many of the energies moving into the sign of Aries. As April begins, Venus forms a conjunction to Ceres in Pisces on April 1st before moving into the sign of Aries on April 5^th.

Venus in Pisces represents the desire to help other people and find compassion in the world. Ceres in Pisces represents the desire to compromise so everyone feels they can win. Perhaps it bodes well that the month starts with this conjunction. You feel more tolerant of other people. You seek ways to win without injuring others. And, you understand the importance of your private space.

If you don’t have a sacred space in your home, today is a good day to create one. A sacred space is where you place important objects in your life to remind you of how wonderful you are. It’s where you go and relax when the world around you seems to be in chaos. It’s also a place that you can use for meditation and reflection. This sacred space can be inside your home or outside in your yard. It’s your personal definition of spirit and reflects the importance of spirit in your life.

Venus enters Aries and Mercury enters Taurus on April 5^th. While Venus may not be totally comfortable in the sign of Aries, there is still a lot of positive energy that surrounds this placement. You understand the importance of independence and doing things your way. You realize that you don’t need to rely on another person to validate your importance. You may even decide that it’s time to give up relationships which demand too much of you.

As Mercury enters the sign of Taurus later in the day, you realize that it’s important to listen to what others are trying to tell you. When Mercury is in Taurus you tend to hold on to your belief system to the point that other people feel that you’re being stubborn. There may be some truth in that statement. But there’s also more. You’re willing to listen to new opinions if other people don’t try to force you into any immediate action. Rather, you need to take any new information and think about it for several days. Once you understand all the implications, you’re ready either to take action or just pull back and continue observing. The key is to understand everything possible so you do the right thing.

When the new Moon occurs on April 7^th, you are ready to move on with your life since the Sun and Moon are both in Aries. You feel excitement around you. At the same time you need to be very careful because this new Moon forms a quincunx to Jupiter retrograde and a square to Pluto.

With Jupiter in retrograde motion, you’ll find a lot of past situations coming back into your life. Because this is occurring during a new Moon, you’ll have the opportunity to correct any past problems. You may even find people from your past returning; again for the purpose of correcting any past mistakes.

With the new Moon forming a square to Pluto, you may feel that other people are trying to force you into situations which don’t fit your lifestyle. It’s important that you move slowly with any new ventures until you understand how the facts will impact you. Tap into the essence of your own personal power.

It does help that the new Moon forms a trine to Saturn retrograde and a conjunction to Uranus. This will give you the strength you need to remain true to your personal ideals. You’ll understand why the foundation you built and cultivated is so important. You’ll realize that you have the strength to take action that can bring future success into your life. Whatever thoughts you have about your future, write them down in a journal. Even if you decide to wait a while until you take action, writing down your thoughts will help you solidify any future plans.

April 12^th is a good day to meditate on the thoughts you wrote down during the new Moon time period (which occurred on April 7^th) since Mercury is forming a sextile to Neptune. You’re able to tune into the spiritual side of your nature and feel one with the universe. Your ability to sense the direction of situations in your life is heightened. You feel compassion for people. You may even be able to resolve personal problems because you understand the meaning behind the words when others communicate with you. This is even a day for approaching life in a creative manner. Even if you’re not an artist, you’ll be able to use a more intuitive approach to circumstances that occur today.

Where you do need to be a little more careful is hearing new information that is not supported by the facts. Even if facts are presented, take time to research them to determine how true they really are. If it doesn’t feel right to you, it may not be. Or, if it appears too good to be true, it’s not true. So, if you decide to maintain a bit of skepticism today, that’s all right.

On April 14^th, Ceres enters the sign of Aries and Mercury forms a trine to Jupiter retrograde less than an hour later.

When Ceres is in the sign of Aries, you decide to take charge of everything. You don’t want other people to tell you what to do. You feel that it’s very important to stand up for your rights. You’re even willing to fight for the underdog if necessary.

In many ways, Ceres in Aries can be difficult because you really don’t want to compromise. Yet, one of the greatest powers that Ceres has is that of compromising and knowing when to pull back. Be very cautious because you don’t want to start fights needlessly. The odds are very high that you’ll lose if you start a fight. On the other hand, maintain the emotional attitude of a warrior. Be vigilant. Pay attention to your environment. Realize that you have the power to make independent decisions when necessary.

It helps that Mercury forms a trine to Jupiter retrograde less than an hour after Ceres enters the sign of Aries. When this trine is formed, you feel more optimistic about life. You feel as if you can accomplish a lot. You may even find people from your past surfacing. While Ceres in Aries may be willing to fight for what she wants, Mercury trine Jupiter retrograde would rather joke her way through difficult circumstances. And, with this trine, you may be able to find ways to solve problems through using humor.

Communications could be very difficult on April 15^th when Mercury forms a quincunx to Saturn retrograde. You may actually be talking at cross purposes with other people. It’s important not to start with criticism when you discuss matters with others. It’s also important that you don’t let other people criticize you. At this point, there’s no such thing as constructive criticism. It’s more important that you just pull back if you don’t have anything good to say.

Where you can use this critical approach in a positive manner is in reviewing your own tasks for the day. You’ll be able to see where you missed some small, but critical, details that need to be address. This is a great day for editing those details because you’ll find the mistakes and be able to correct them.

When Venus forms a quincunx to Jupiter retrograde on April 16^th, you may feel optimistic about your approach to life and feel as if you can accomplish anything. But you need to be careful. Life is not as easy as it seems. You’ll start moving forward, trying to do things, and suddenly your direction needs to change. You need to make adjustments in your approach. You want to think about the way to do things, especially as it relates to your finances and relationships. You can’t take anything for granted today.

April 17^th is a day where you need to move slowly as Mercury forms a trine to Pluto and Mars turns stationary retrograde. Don’t be at all surprised if you feel a bit sluggish.

With Mercury forming a trine to Pluto you’ll find that it’s easy to focus on projects and complete tasks even if you do feel a bit sluggish today. You’re able to push beyond your normal limitations as you concentrate on projects. You just need to be careful that you aren’t so focused on your tasks that you miss important opportunities other people may want to offer. Sometimes when your head is down in concentration you forget to look up when someone is trying to communicate with you. If you feel someone tapping on your shoulder, look up and pay attention. There may be something important that you need to know.

Mars in Sagittarius turns retrograde a few hours after Mercury forms the trine to Pluto. It will remain retrograde until June 29, 2016. However, because Mars is now at 8º54’, it will re-enter the sign of Scorpio while in retrograde motion on May 27, 2016.

With Mars in Sagittarius, you want to rush into situations and even try new experiences. With Mars turning retrograde, you find that you are a little more cautious than normal. It’s a good thing to be circumspect at this time. This Mars retrograde will probably be a blessing in disguise and give a lot of people a respite from the chaos in the world.

Spiritually, it’s important to understand that Mars turns retrograde about every two years. Why this is so important on a spiritual level is that when Mars is retrograde you tend to move a lot more slowly. You think about the way you use your energy to advance in the world. This is a good time to meditate on your actions and determine if you were pushing too hard and not taking enough time to relax and enjoy life.

The day after Mars turns retrograde another planet which rules the sign of Scorpio also turns retrograde. Not only does Pluto turn stationary retrograde on April 18^th, but Venus also forms a trine Saturn.

Perhaps this can also be seen as another spiritual blessing in disguise. With Pluto retrograde you may feel as if you need to reach inward to understand the depths of your being. You want to pull up as many subconscious problems that you can resolve them. You also want to get in touch with your true nature so you can be comfortable with your personal power.

One of the public ways that this retrograde tends to manifest is to pull up scandals from the past which others tried to hide. While it may sound counter intuitive, it’s more difficult to hide matters from the public. If there are any scandals lurking, they will be revealed between now and September 26, 2016 when Pluto goes direct.

A few hours after Pluto turns stationary retrograde, Venus forms a trine to Saturn retrograde. While some people feel that a Venus/Saturn retrograde aspect can be difficult, it can actually work in your favor. You’re able to see situations as they really are. You can use a critical approach which makes certain all the details are recognized. You might even meet someone who is special in your life. Or, you might run into an old friend you haven’t seen in years.

This is a good day to review your financial obligations because you’ll be able to develop some great plans for improving your finances. You’ll also be able to negotiate good deals with other people.

In your current relationships, you’ll feel as if you can move on to the next level and really grow the relationship. You’ll be able to create the right foundation you need in that relationship to develop better understanding between each other.

While yesterday was a good day for relationships, today, April 19^th, is more difficult as Venus forms a square to Pluto retrograde. You may find yourself in power struggles with other people. You may find that you don’t want to compromise in any situations; you are so focused on your own ideals.

The best way to use this energy is to realize that you need to throw out the garbage which stands in your way. That may be the relationship: It may be your attitude about the relationship. This is not a day to hold onto anger because it will only hurt you in the long run.

One other good thing about today is that you’ll be able to understand your subconscious need for certain relationships in your life; even those difficult relationships. With this understanding, you’ll be able to make better choices when it comes to interacting with people.

The full Moon that occurs on April 22^nd has the Sun in Taurus and the Moon in Scorpio. Usually the full Moon indicates that it’s time to end events which weren’t supportive of your actions in life. During this full Moon, you may actually feel that you need to get certain things done in order so you have your security intact. This is really a full Moon where you need to review your financial matters and make certain everything is in order. You also need to take time and throw out garbage which is standing in the way of your success. That could be people; that could be material items. The more you clean, the better you’ll feel.

As Venus forms a conjunction to Uranus after the full Moon which occurred earlier in the day, you’ll see how easy it is to let go of things that stand in your way. You’re not willing to tolerate anyone who doesn’t accept you. You’re also unwilling to put up with other people who seem to want to latch onto you but who don’t offer you anything in return.

Sometimes you meet a new and exciting individual when Venus forms a conjunction to Uranus. If that happens, move slowly into the relationship. You may find, as Mercury turns retrograde on April 28^th, that having a relationship with this person was a big mistake. Or, you may find that you are now on one of the most fun adventures you ever experienced.

On April 28^th, Mercury turns stationary retrograde. It will remain retrograde until May 22, 2016. With the full Moon occurring in the Taurus/Scorpio access, this retrograde Mercury is more important because Mercury is in Taurus. During the time period that Mercury is retrograde, you need to start placing more priority on areas of your life which are important. You need to throw out what’s not important. You need to clean your space. You may feel a little scared about making changes, but don’t let that fear stand in your way. Keep thinking about how wonderful you are and move with that energy.

As the month of April 2016 ends, Venus enters the sign of Taurus on April 29^th. Venus is happy in the sign of Taurus, its ruler. Here you can understand how important things are in your life. You can look at your accumulations and decide whether they really are important to you.

If you had difficulties with relationships, you’ll try your best to resolve them. You really want to hold on to people and circumstances in your life; hoping that by doing so, you can find value with people and situations. By finding that value, you can move on with your life in a confident manner.