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saturniandevil · 24 days

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April 2024 Important Dates

AKA my notes on The Astrology Podcast's April forecast, hosted by Chris Brennan and Diana Rose Harper (Austin is away on paternity leave). This is one of the most astrologically active months in the year. In addition to planetary movements, there's a comet that will be visible soon in the night sky and a nova.

We're going into the month right off the tail of a Libra lunar eclipse on March 25th. We're in "eclipse season," the time between eclipses, with much activity to report. Starting off, Baltimore's Key Bridge collapsed after a container ship crashed into it, which Austin called last forecast when he said that Mars's entry into Pisces (approaching a conjunction to Saturn) would involve a sudden halt in maritime trade. Astrologically it's quite on the nose, with a Libra (associated with trade/commerce) moon conjunct the South Node (symbolizing lack and decrease). We even have a chart for the opening of this bridge: it was an exact Mars return for this bridge, as well as its Uranus opposition and nodal opposition. Also on the Libra eclipse was the UN Security Council's vote for a ceasefire in Gaza. The April 8th eclipse will show us whether this resolution is successful, and a final Libra eclipse in October will tie these events together.

In celebrity news, we had obviously doctored photos of Kate Middleton prompting increasingly wild speculation on what the British royal family was hiding, culminating in Kate announcing her cancer diagnosis & chemotherapy plans on the March 22nd Venus(women, exalted in Pisces = royalty)-Saturn (slow illnesses) conjunction. She was also born on a lunar eclipse & announced this right before one. Just 3 days after the eclipse, on March 28th, Sam Bankman-Fried of FTX was sentenced to 25 years in prison, the newest development in a story that began on an eclipse when BitCoin crashed and revealed his role in one of the biggest instances of financial fraud in US history.

In smaller news, a nova in the T Coronae Borealis system will be visible as a new star in the night sky this year. This nova is visible every 76 years or so (the last time was 1946), and has been observed as far back as the Middle Ages. Add this to the eclipses and the comet, and Chris hasn't seen such an astrological buildup since forecasting 2020. As the eclipse hit his 3rd house Donald Trump published a book combining the Bible and the US Constitution, while in other news an orca was stranded in British Columbia, another dolphin & orca-related development in the (Mars-)Saturn in Pisces in cycle and Arizona announced Pluto as their state planet.

April Overview: with significant activity in Pisces, Aries, and Taurus simultaneously, we'll be getting hard aspects to every modality (and trines to every element)--everyone will be getting hit with some kind of change (but will have opportunities for growth as well). Chris makes a distinction between the challenging first half of the month, and a second half which will see more clarity.

April 1st - Mercury stations retrograde By time of posting this retrograde is in full swing: disruptions in communication, plans, travel and technology. Diana describes this as especially frustrating in Aries, trying to go one way but some huge miscommunication gets in the way. We may have to walk back on words spoken in anger and renegotiate situations where we identified the wrong target as our enemy. With the eclipse's ruler Mars conjoining Saturn on the 10th, anyone who travels for the eclipse and hangs around for a few days may run into blockages, likely due to rain and floods. Other general Mercury retrograde significations: people come back into your life, unfinished projects become relevant again, and situations from the past resurface. For example, Sagittarius risings often see the "duderang" effect where male lovers come back into their lives, as Mercury rules their Gemini 7th house. Mercury rx also brings delays and slowdowns, and is generally a good time for introspection and "emotional alchemy."

April 3rd - Venus conjoins Neptune This occurs right as she leaves the sign of Pisces. Venus-Neptune keywords: dreamy, fantastical, imaginative (especially with art), compassionate, and opportunities to find new avenues of enjoyment and pleasure. Saturn's copresence in Pisces can bring us some grounding and reality. This can also bring unclear boundaries, uncertain relationships, and idealizing one's lover--like using the soft lens. In events, AI images and videos and toxic synthetic dyes also fall under Venus-Neptune. Is the siren's call too good to be true?

April 4th - Venus enters Aries Chris hopes that Venus's copresence to the eclipse will mitigate some of its effects, but on the flipside this means she's left Mars and Saturn alone with each other in the Pisces chart of our house.

April 8th - Total Solar Eclipse in Aries This eclipse will be visible over much of the (particularly eastern) continental US:

Diana calls it a chiron eclipse, so here's the chart with chiron:

The Moon will eclipse the Sun at 19 Aries, which is where Chiron will be as well. Mythologically, Hercules brings back the head (North Node, Aries) of the hydra to Chiron, whose poison causes him incredible pain because he is immortal and cannot die from it. He eventually trades his immortality for Prometheus and Zeus puts him in the heavens as a constellation. Narratively, eclipses invert what we expect: it becomes dark in the middle of the day! Prominent people fall suddenly from grace and new rulers skyrocket to power during eclipses. Because the eclipse occurs in the sign of the Sun's exaltation, leaders and heads of state/organization/etc will be especially affected. A similar Chiron-influenced Aries solar eclipse occurred in 1968 when Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated. Nelson Mandela was sent to jail under an eclipse, but was also freed under another eclipse and elected to office under yet another eclipse.

For individuals, make note of what house this occurs in for you; this will be the end of one chapter and the opening of a new one in this area of life. Anything close to 19° of Aries will definitely feel it, as will any placements at that degree of Cancer, Libra, and Capricorn (hard aspects to the cardinal signs), while 19 Leo and Sagittarius (trine to fire signs) may feel some support. Generally, this series of events in Aries-Libra began a year ago, and will have its final eclipse on this axis in March of 2025.

This eclipse is ruled by a Mars (♓) who's just about conjunct with Saturn (♓), grinding things to a halt. Whatever's happening in the Aries and Pisces place is going to take some extra time. Other keywords: the end of a life cycle, matters of great importance & turning points in world history, major disasters as well as scientific discoveries. Eclipses highlight just how much is out of our control, like being on a teacup ride that's going too fast and being unable to stop unless something hits you. 6 months later, we'll get an eclipse that connects to some of these events:

Diana also points out that there will be an influx of tourists to rural areas of the US, advising travelers to stay courteous and noting that many local municipalities advise residents to stock up on basic supplies so they won't be lacking when a small area is flooded with new people & their needs. Generally, the eclipse will be a very creepy experience, with the Sun going completely dark, colors becoming muted, and stars may even be visible--some cultures have warnings against going outside during eclipses. Back to metaphors, Chris points out that the small seeds of much larger events are often planted during eclipses. Sometimes you don't know until later just how important this obscured implantation is because, like the Sun, our vision is occulted. Take notes, even of subtle things.

April 10th - Mars conjunct Saturn in Pisces We expect the two malefics to bring us challenges: their conjunctions in late Capricorn & early Aquarius heralded the first COVID lockdowns, and other hard aspects brought new variants and similar pandemic news. In 2022 a Mars-Saturn conjunction occurred with an epidemic of ebola. However, note that these are all airborne viruses, and these movements occurred with Saturn in the air sign of Aquarius. What will this look like in Pisces, a water sign? Chris predicts that existing Saturn-Pisces issues with water pollution and maritime trade/travel will have destructive moments as Mars comes in, while Diana thinks about water as a vector of disease, such as cholera & sewage treatment. Now that deep permafrost is melting due to climate change, we may also see new pathogens or substances released, as well as complications from farm water runoff. We'll definitely see the effects of this Baltimore bridge collapse, and, with the outbreak of dengue fever in Latin America, may see developments around diseases borne of insect bites. We may also hear about the ill effects of microplastics, lead, and asbestos as a result of this conjunction. More generally: pollution, ocean, liquids, extremes of hot and cold, feelings of constraint (and literal constraint), and spiritual or emotional burnout. Pisces is a sign of inescapable enmeshment with each other, so we'll likely deal with compassion fatigue and emotional isolation (especially involving social media). Questions of whether or not something is "real" remain relevant as ever.

On the positive side, Mars-Saturn brings discipline and self-control. Sometimes Mars and Saturn can temper each other to give us self-sustaining focus. We can combine hard-won wisdom with the drive we need to achieve it, like a martial arts training montage. Do we have the belief and conviction to achieve mastery? With determination we can reach heights we once only imagined. There's also stamina, resilience, and rigidity. Overlapping with the Mercury retrograde, we can also see delays and obstructions. If there are boundaries you've been meaning to enact, now is the time. We can see potential pitfalls, but beware of pessimism and not believing in yourself. Resentment and pent-up anger can also come into play as Mars's impulse butts up against Saturn's inaction, but incremental progress adds up.

April 11th - Sun conjunct retrograde Mercury (Cazimi) This marks a turning point in the retrograde. Diana uses a spelunking metaphor: during the retrograde we're diving into the cave, and at the cazimi we've found our treasure...but we still have to make our way back out. Our personal eclipse stories may become clearer during this time as well.

April 19th - Sun enters Taurus, Retrograde Mercury conjunct Venus Venus will help sweeten communications during the last week of Mercury's regression.

April 20th - Jupiter conjunct Uranus This brings freedom, liberation, and sudden rapid growth--completely different from the Mars-Saturn activity earlier this month. This may also set us up for the Jupiter-Mars conjunction later this summer. The Uranus in Taurus story has brought labor organizing and unions to prominence, so expect those stories to intensify during this conjunction. General keywords: technological breakthroughs and scientific discoveries, sudden revelations and growth, revolutions, rupture, and unexpected shifts. This conjunction takes place every 14 years, so Chris expects new discoveries, optimism and "quantum leaps" or new precedents in some fields. In Taurus this is related to food and agriculture--in addition to new technologies we'll likely see further developments with the farmer's protests in India and Europe. Finance and money is another Taurus signification, so disruptions in banks & questions about decentralizing currency may arise. Freedom, rebellion, and general eccentricity become important. We'll feel like anything is possible, but in disregarding the rules and refusing to compromise we may make rash decisions.

The comet Pons-Brooks may also start to become visible during this time. It comes by about every 80 years and is named for its 18th century discoverers. Ancient literature on comets is similar to that of eclipse: an ominous phenomenon heralding the deaths of rulers and falls of kingdoms. However, they note the color and appearance as indicating some positive effects when associated with Jupiter, and the planets whose path it crosses are relevant as well. Pons-Brooks passes closely by the Jupiter-Uranus conjunction, putting an exclamation point on the planetary significations.

April 23rd - Scorpio Full Moon

We're finally out of eclipse season, so things are starting to calm down. However, this lunation (04♏) squares Pluto (02♒), bringing some conflict in. It'll be stabilizing, but not necessarily comforting. Acceptance is bittersweet medicine. The full moon illuminates the deep transformative experiences Pluto brings to the early degrees of fixed signs in our charts. We're really getting to the bedrock of things. When Venus enters Taurus she'll square Pluto, and Mars will trine Pluto when he enters Aries. With those personal planets in domicile, it'll feel like coming home, but home is a little different. Pluto will retrograde soon and Chris predicts this station will bring major events in AI and related technologies. Mars is also quickly nearing his conjunction with Neptune, bringing the weaponization of these technologies.

April 25th - Mercury stations direct

April 28th - Mars conjunct Neptune (typo in image) Aside from weaponization of AI and social media, Mars-Neptune also connotes the manipulation of reality for political purposes. Revealing that a shocking news story was actually false wont necessarily diffuse the feelings it arose. Even if it didn't happen, you may still hold resentment towards the wrong target. Think the "fog of war" or shadowboxing. Other keywords include conflicts in or about water, idealism & ideologically-charged conflicts, confusion, acid, corrosion, lethargy, sapped vitality, and unnecessary martyrdom.

April 29th - Venus enters Taurus She immediately squares Pluto. Venus in domicile brings us to the election for the month:

April 29th - Selected auspicious election (not pictured)

Set the chart for about 12:55PM local time, which gets you Leo rising with the Ascendant ruler Sun in the 10th whole sign house in Taurus, where it's copresent with Jupiter, Uranus, and Venus. This chart is good for 10th house matters like career, reputation, social standing, overall life direction and accomplishing goals. The Moon is in Capricorn, applying to a trine with Jupiter, bringing support. Mercury has stationed direct, bringing us away from some of the delays and issues we experienced earlier. Even the Mars-Saturn conjunction is about as far away as we can get, and a day chart Jupiter conjunct Uranus brings creativity to our efforts. Diana associates the 10th house with the gestating parent and thus recommends doing something nice for your mom now.

April 30th - Mars enters Aries Entering firey and decisive Aries, Mars is no longer encumbered by slow Saturn and diffuse Neptune. This complete chapter change comes with a sextile to Pluto--the tone shift will feel like getting our oxygen back. This opens us up for a lot of quick movements through Aries and Gemini in May.

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saturniandevil · 25 days

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April 2024 Important Dates

April 8th - Total Solar Eclipse in Aries This eclipse will be visible over much of the (particularly eastern) continental US:

Diana calls it a chiron eclipse, so here's the chart with chiron:

April 19th - Sun enters Taurus, Retrograde Mercury conjunct Venus Venus will help sweeten communications during the last week of Mercury's regression.

April 23rd - Scorpio Full Moon

April 25th - Mercury stations direct

April 29th - Venus enters Taurus She immediately squares Pluto. Venus in domicile brings us to the election for the month:

April 29th - Selected auspicious election (not pictured)

#astrology #forecast #the astrology podcast #april 2024 #solar eclipse in aries #saturn conjunct mars in pisces #venus conjunct neptune in pisces #mercury retrograde in aries #mercury retrograde #great north american eclipse #jupiter conjunct uranus in taurus #jupiter conjunct uranus #mars conjunct saturn #venus conjunct neptune

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saturniandevil · 26 days

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☿♈R

Just in time for April Fool's Day, Mercury has stationed retrograde at 27°13' of Aries just now (6:14PM EDT). He'll continue backtracking until he reaches 15°59' on the 25th, keeping the retrograde all within the month of April!

#transits #station #mercury's motion #mercury retrograde

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saturniandevil · 29 days

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Looks like my notes on the April forecast may be a little late, as The Astrology Podcast's forecast isn't up yet and I've got plans tomorrow!

#housekeeping

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saturniandevil · 1 month

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The nature of Venus

The reasonings behind the temperaments of the planets

My boyfriend had an epiphany about Venus's temperament and he gave me permission to write about it as he doesn't intend to. He's not an astrologer, he learns a lot of astrology from me and as a Venusian he was baffled to know that some astrologers understood Venus as a sanguine planet. This is at least what Ptolemy says and he is just the most influential astrologer in history. This got personal when we did his own temperament calculations and learned that he can be either phlegmatic or sanguine depending on what you consider Venus to be (he's clearly very phlegmatic). As a Libra, the ambiguity was torturous. My boyfriend is convinced that Venus is phlegmatic and not even Ptolemy's authority will convince him otherwise. I don't know if traditional astrologers think about this or are aware of what I'm about to explain, but I myself have never seen any astrologer talking about that and pointing out the pattern he saw, so I think it's worth sharing.

He was just learning about the temperaments of the planets and he was questioning why Jupiter, for example, has domicile in Sagittarius and Pisces, which are choleric and phlegmatic respectively, if Jupiter is a sanguine planet? And why does Mars have a domicile that corresponds to his choleric temperament and then another in a phlegmatic sign? It didn't make sense to him, since the Hellenistics seem to love symmetry very much. The sudden lack of symmetry was unacceptable. To him, everything had to have a pattern and logic, and I think he found them and was able to make a very good defense of the phlegmatic Venus.

The Thema Mundi

For credibility in hellenistic astrology you have to justify things using the Thema Mundi, so if you're not familiar with what that is, this other post by @saturniandevil will help. When we study the Thema Mundi, we say we put the Sun in Leo first, because that's the height of the mythic summer, the Moon stays behind it in Cancer, because things have to start with the luminaries and the Moon is best represented in its phlegmatic phase when it's waning, when it's behind the Sun. The Sun has to see the other planets on its right, while the Moon sees them on its left, of course. And then the planets are arranged in Chaldean order from fastest, Mercury, sitting next to the lights in his role of assisting power, to slowest, Saturn, opposing them.

If you notice you'll see that the Sun and the Moon have temperaments that correspond to their domicile signs. The Sun is hot and dry, as is Leo, the Moon is cold and humid, as is Cancer. Next comes Mercury, the dual planet that is either melancholic or sanguine depending on its phase, cold and dry when it's after the Sun, and hot and humid when it's before the Sun, as illustrated below. It has domicile in Virgo and Gemini, which are melancholic and sanguine. If it stopped here everything would be already perfect, the Sun, the Moon, Mercury number one and Mercury number two cover all 4 temperaments and make sense in their domiciles.

But things have to change when we get to the malefics and benefics, because they don't work in the same way, because they're not supposed to. They're also 4 planets and in their scheme we have to consider that malefics are malefics because they're considered to be extreme, and benefics are benefics because they're considered moderate; this is one of the few consensus in astrology. Mars is considered mostly too hot and it has one domicile with the same temperament, Aries. And Saturn, considered mostly too dry, has one domicile in Capricorn. Because they're extreme, naturally they should have domicile signs compatible with their natures and other ones that are of the complete opposite nature as theirs. Choleric (hot and dry) is the antithesis of phlegmatic (cold and humid), and melancholic (cold and dry) is the antithesis of sanguine (hot and humid). The fixed water sign is considered the main house of Mars traditionally, while the fixed air sign is considered the main house of Saturn, signs where their natures are alien. This highlights even more their extreme natures, they're either here or way over there.

But benefics are considered moderate, temperate, so it makes sense that their houses correspond to only one of their lords' primary qualities individually. They are always in the same quality of either temperature or humidity when in domicile, never both and never neither. Jupiter as a hot and humid planet has domicile in Sagittarius because that's a hot sign that isn't humid, and in Pisces because it's humid without being hot. They don't need to be in domicile in a place that is of the same nature as them, just one that has one of their primary qualities.

This scheme is also more interesting, because it makes the malefic and benefic of the same sect have opposing natures. Jupiter is hot and humid, contrasting the malefic cold and dry nature of Saturn. Venus is cold and humid, contrasting Mars' hotness and dryness. If Venus is considered sanguine the entire scheme collapses. This is why Venus is phlegmatic in our opinion.

The Ptolemaic view

But why does Ptolemy say Venus is sanguine? Or what do I think is his reason? As we all know, Ptolemy created the geocentric system that defined astrology for centuries and continues to be a reference. Here's what he says about Venus's nature:

Venus has the same powers and tempered nature as Jupiter, but acts in the opposite way; for she warms moderately because of her nearness to the sun, but chiefly humidifies, like the moon, because of the amount of her own light and because she appropriates the exhalations from the moist atmosphere surrounding the earth. (Ptolemy, Tetrabiblos Book I chapter 4)

He gave astronomical rationales for everything, including for the primary qualities of the planets, using his own cosmogony. He's giving his astronomical reasons based on his geocentric system he's created, he's not the one worried about symmetry in this. He gives the nature of the planets based on their distance from the Sun, or from the Earth or Saturn, or based on them being in between two specific other planets etc. And there's nothing wrong with that, of course. He implies he's taking from "the ancients" the idea that Jupiter and Venus are both sanguine (Tetrabiblos, Book I chapter 5), he's following his teachers, he's not building everything from the ground up, obviously, so Ptolemy himself might not have even noticed how a sanguine Venus is the only loose end breaking a pattern. I'm not all against breaking rules, but if we use the Thema Mundi as a reference for everything in Hellenistic astrology, and we use it to justify criticism of modern rulerships, with the argument that those who use them don't know the rules to be breaking them, then I think we could see sanguine Venus in the same light.

#thanks for the shoutout!#temperament #domicile

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