April 3, 2014
Howdy Everyone,
And welcome to Action Month 2014. This year, April reminds me of a Merle Haggard song. It’s actually a hopeful lyric, but it’s realistic too. Just substitute “April” for “December:”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=beazFnCT5KA
The next month and a half (April 6th through May 14th) will feature another Grand Cardinal Cross—plus two eclipses! If that doesn’t deserve an exclamation point, then surely nothing astrological should have one. A grand cross can be thought of as a lot of internal tension ready to explode into outward manifestation. Does that sound like a recipe for change or what? A grand cross is a combination of outer stimuli and inner dissatisfaction. Hence, change. (Repeat after me: “change is positive, it ultimately allows us to progress.”)
The eclipses will occur on April 15th (lunar; see chart), and April 29th (solar). Within a few weeks of these, look for unexpected news and lots of extra surprises and changes in direction. In the meantime, things will happen; cardinal signs indicate action. As with all cardinal aspects, this is an opportunity to change our direction.
A Grand Cross is made up of a square outlining a cross, indicating tension all over the place. (At the time I’m typing these words and looking at this chart, the song “Wheel in the Sky” comes on my iTunes. Seriously. Yes, I put the song on the computer but I had no conscious idea it would play anytime tonight. Synchronicity Is!)
Planets create their effects by connecting geometrically to other planets, for good or for not so good. During the next few weeks, the most-connected planet (the one making the most angles to others) will be Jupiter—the Protector, meaning we ought to get out of this all right. Unless we want nothing to change. The second most-connected planet during this period is Pluto, which indicates deep transformation; change cannot be evaded now.
The United States in particular is going through a heck of a rough patch. Pluto is opposing the U.S.A.’s Sun in its “birth” chart right now, showing that the nation is grappling with opposition from pretty much the whole world, calling upon it to change. It’s a ginormous power struggle. Moreover, the U.S. is heavily involved in this Grand Cross, showing great opportunity but great tension. Jupiter, therefore, is right there too, serving as an overall protector for the U.S. But again, the nation will be opposed, and its role will change accordingly. Things cannot go on as they recently have been for the U.S.
(This is all connected to the Uranus/Pluto square you may’ve been hearing about. We are in the middle of this square’s duration: June 2012 until March 2015. This period will contain the beginnings of the most deep and fundamental changes we will see in decades. For a review of this biggest current happening in the sky and what it means for the world, see here: https://transcendentalastrology.com/?p=104)
If we have been out of balance—especially if severely so—things often need to fall apart first, in order to clear a space for something better to follow. So it’s a blessing that during this next seven weeks, Mars will be in retrograde, meaning we will all have trouble acting out our difficult feelings aggressively. I don’t think there will be any real big, bad violence breaking out (i.e, wars), but we may have to wade through a lot of sabre-rattling and macho gesturing before higher values prevail. It’s a good time to protect yourself with a robe of white light. But then, that’s always good to do.
I have the feeling we’re getting close to the global turning point; now is like December was for Merle. Something truly magical may be about to happen.
Let’s stay positive, as there may well be events around the world that will impose much stress upon us all. Be on the lookout for global financial changes very soon. Did you know that several nations are moving to step away from using the U.S. dollar for valuing their own currencies, in favor of China’s yuan? Did you know that there have been sizable anti-government protests in just the last month in Venezuela, Turkey, Taiwan and Thailand? Most Americans do not. (And yet we do know everything there is to know about that plane—you know, the one nobody can find.) The mass media quite simply is not covering a lot of important events.
Jennifer Hoffman puts it very clearly:
“From governments that engage in illegal and secret activities against their own citizens, to banks that destroy economies, media that doesn’t report the news, corporations that write laws for their benefit, a poisoned and toxic food supply, the strong that prey on the weak, and greed that blinds humanity to the simple truths of compassion, trust, and love. We have discovered, in the past few years, that we have let the fox have its run of the chicken house, something we allowed to happen in the belief that it was being done for our benefit and that we would be taken care of. And now we have to take our power back but that comes at a cost, in which we have to choose between convenience or empowerment.” http://enlighteninglife.com/energies-april-2014/
“You get what you settle for.”–Susan Sarandon as Louise Sawyer, in Thelma and Louise
The need for change has never been so clear, and it is all around us. We are waking up as a planet. Are we strong enough to let go of what we had grown so used to—without knowing yet what might replace it?
Nora Yolles-Young says:
“…we as a whole are in uncharted terrain. And this is a good thing! We now have the opportunity to participate and build the kind of world we all want to live in. There’s much energetic and collective support for the formulation, actualization and implementation of these new ways of being. The time is now. There’s no need for perfection. What’s needed is a simple desire to start reaching out with new ideas and connecting with people who are supportive, creative and inspired. Action will follow inspiration.” http://chrysalishealing.org/
So, seek out your vision for an almost unimaginably brighter future during the next six weeks. Sooner is better than later. If you’re not sure how to go about that, or even exactly what it is or how it might look—or feel—I urge you to “give it a deep think,” so you can begin taking steps toward your better future around the time of the grand cross/eclipse. That means getting away from dis-tractions [dis = against; traction = ability to move forward]. Go into nature, or to a quiet or peaceful spot. Take your time, let the deeper desires and ideas bubble up while they’re not being suppressed by the typical “more urgent” thoughts of our day-to-day civilized insanity. Take a note pad or a voice recorder.
What I did one recent morning was take a long walk to a favorite cafe, sit for a long while in a pleasant, natural-type patio setting with the best mocha in town and relaxing music, and sat and focused on four or five words I wanted to clear up my progress on, each of the major areas that need change: housing; work; vacation, etc. I focused on just these, and just one at a time. No electronic devices, no wandering thoughts. When I left over an hour later, I had a 3×5” card with a few specific action steps—something I could do to further the progress I want to see in each of the areas I had sat down with the intent of clarifying. Then I took a longish, meandering walk home. Three hours total. Can you find three peaceful hours for your future?
We have entered a very exciting time. To everything there is a season. Now is not the time for external calm, but please remember you can always create and carry with you an internal peace. You have a chance to use the considerable energy of this time positively. Holding a space for love and light will be very important. If you fail to act on pressure inside you, the Universe will supply you with an external force that behooves you to move. But if you take the initiative and use this opportunity to create a step toward positive change, then you can take much better charge of your destiny. Don’t let the decision be made for you. This too shall pass.
(Everyone is facing these factors in your unique way, based on your birth chart. If you would like more perspective on how what’s happening in the sky is affecting your life and how to better dance with it, please call or e-mail me for a reading.)
Namaste, Rich
P.S., since it’s been in the news and as an FYI, April 15th will see the first of four “Blood Moon” Lunar Eclipses to happen over the next year and a half (named because of their color, which is due to their exact positioning, only somewhat unusual, but four in a row is quite unusual). These have been tied by some to the Biblical prophecy of the return of Christ. Or will it be a Christ Consciousness? How would that manifest to us?
