Riding the storms; detail from artwork by Kinuko Y Craft. Photo by National Geographic/Corbis

Dear Friends:

Sometimes its better to know what lies ahead, rather than be blind-sided.

If you have been feeling irritable, spread thin and/or at odds with key people in your life….do read on.  It’s not just you.

Wanted to give you all a heads-up about the upcoming month of April, which my favorite  astrologer, Susan Miller, has called a cosmic “Hurricane Katrina,” “unusually rocky and unpredictable” and a “box full of firecracker aspects”.   Regardless of your personal thoughts on Astrology, this is worth a read.

I’ll try to keep the “astrology-speak” to a minimum and stick with what it all means so we can all make the most of the month ahead.

Think of April like an astrological “juice cleanse”.  It doesn’t taste good and the detoxing part is no fun, but when its over –  you will feel glowing, light and free.

Here is what the month holds: it begins with a monster New Moon on 3/30,  a Full-Moon Lunar Eclipse on April 15th and a New Moon Solar Eclipse on April 29th.  Sandwiched in between the eclipses is the culmination of a Cardinal Grand Cross (see below).

The cardinal signs of Aries, Libra, Cancer and Capricorn will feel the events of April the most, but EVERYONE of every sign will notice and feel the effects to varying degrees.

If your birthday falls on or close to the eclipse dates, your life will no doubt change dramatically.

On a personal note,  I am a cardinal sign (Libra), and also have several planets in the same degrees at which these events are occurring.  Needless to say I will be keeping a VERY low profile the month of April.

ECLIPSES

October 2013 was the last eclipse month.  Some of you wondered what was going on planetary-wise because of the weird, unusual events that took place.  For the last eclipse, I myself thought to “lay low”, stay at home and not interact with anyone to keep my exposure to a minimum.  That was the night I was flossing before bed and my brand new permanent crown wound up on my bathroom counter.

We cannot plan for eclipses.  They are “wild-cards” that we don’t see coming.  According to Susan, they “look for weak links in all circumstances and bring information to us so we can decide what to do.”

The mission of an eclipse is to uncover truth and clear out what is unproductive and unneeded.  At the time, we might feel that what is being taken away or changed is something we thought we needed, but we don’t.  This becomes clear to us later.  Anything not relevant will be ended, allowing new opportunities for growth to come into our life.

In my particular situation with my crown, that event led me on a path of self-healing that I never thought possible.  My old beliefs about medicine and healing were radically changed – “eclipsed” into something new that now serves my highest good.

Eclipses always come in pairs – two weeks apart. The first eclipse on April 15th, a lunar eclipse, will be in a full moon and mark the ending of a situation or relationship.  The second eclipse on April 29th,  a solar eclipse,  is in a new moon and will be mark a new beginning and set up a long-term trend.

We forcibly learn lessons at eclipse time.  As emotions are likely to be running very high, especially with the Lunar eclipse on 4/15, take time to think about things before responding and reacting.

These April eclipses are unusual because they are on either side of  a “Cardinal Grand Cross” in the sky.

And just to spice things up—Uranus, the planet of unexpected change, is most prominent in this …. meaning that nothing that occurs will be expected.

CARDINAL GRAND CROSS – A 4-WAY SHOWDOWN.

In simplest terms, a “grand cross” is formed when four planets are 90 degrees apart in the sky: composed of 2 oppositions (oppositions call for balance and integration) and 4 squares (squares represent turning points).   The four planets involved are Uranus, Pluto, Jupiter and Mars.  They are all opposing each other.  This is called  a “cardinal” grand cross because each of 4 planets involved are in the Cardinal signs (Aries, Libra, Cancer, Capricorn). These signs are leadership and identity driven and affect four different areas of our lives:

1) Aries / Self-identity: the self, the ego, individual concerns

2) Libra / Relationships, compromise

3) Cancer / Home life – family, roots, security, emotional foundation

4) Capricorn / Work, career

Cardinal signs touch all the major aspects of our life– so during a Cross, we feel stretched between events touching all of these primary areas at once.

The cross formed in late December 2013 and will cycle out in May – with the most intense time being April 20-24 – when all planets will be within 1 degree of each other.  The closer these plants get to each other, it feels like 4 people in a tiny cramped elevator – we feel  friction and irritation.

The gift of the four squares is that they force us to deal.  Whatever has been “stuffed down” or ignored will surface. This Grand Cross will, in effect,  force us to make internal/external changes in our lives.

This month is best to observe, listen and avoid ultimatums.  Try not to judge.   Also, allow space BEFORE taking action and reacting.  Take note of ALL news and signals you get near eclipses.

This too shall pass. April’s planetary purpose is to help us “clean our our closet” and let go of what no longer serves us.  Wherever you are feeling “stuck” in your life, not happy or “going through the motions”, is likely to surface and change.

Be as aware as possible each day.  Listen and pay attention to your surroundings.  Resentment potential is extremely high.  This is an excellent month for meditation and to be calm, direct, and polite.

Here we go.

xo