We move through the first quarter of the lunar cycle this week, gathering the tasks to be completed and problems yet to be solved.   This Sun in Aries works against a square with small, dark Pluto, casting a shadow over the week. Meanwhile Mercury, still retrograde, slows down in preparation for next week’s direct station and emerges once more into skies of twilight, making a pleasant sextile to Venus along the way.

There is a movement toward the resolution of ongoing concerns this week, but it will take Mercury’s direct station next week and Mars’ the week after that before the route forward is truly clear.

Return Flight

This is the last full week of this Mercury retrograde period.  The planet slows in preparation for its direct station next Tuesday (Apr. 4th) and returns to visibility, seeding the aethyrs with possible solutions and insights coagulated out of the last 3 weeks’ confusion.  Nonetheless, these seeds of clarity will still take a week or more to bloom.  In the meantime, expect steadily improving but still retrograde conditions- a scarcity of the right words, a tendency for missives to go awry, internetz to misbehave and plans to take unexpected routes.

In the midst of this backward journey, Mercury in Pisces  makes a very pleasant sextile to Venus in Taurus.  This configuration with lesser benefic in one of her favorite signs helps smooth out miscommunications and money problems as well as stabilize relationships.

The Shadow Knows

This week the Sun leaves behind it’s weekend conjunction with Uranus in Aries and encroaches on a tough square with Pluto in Capricorn.  The Sun’s Thursday square with Pluto in Capricorn (March 29th) chills some of the revolutionary enthusiasm of last week’s New Moon, shadowing hopes with fears.

This configuration puts the weight and inertia of how-things-are against the radical growth inspired last week.   This tension brings us back to the evolutionary principle of the year- the structural resistance of established systems to our hopes for positive change.  View Full Article about this particular tension in this excerpt from my 2012 Astrological Almanac: The Uranus-Pluto Squares.

The ones who cross this gate successfully will be those who can bridge the gap between idealistic fervor for change and a blunt, brutally realistic appraisal of what is and is not possible.  Hold onto your ideals, but leave your illusions at the door.

Horoscopes

Horoscopes are not a thorough chart reading by an experienced astrologer. However, they are fun and can be reasonably accurate. In addition to referring to your Sun sign, read your from Ascendant and Moon if you know them. If you don’t, find out. I’m a long time fan of the free chart generation software at astro.com.

Oh, and if you’re still concerned that your sign has changed, get a little clarity here.

Aries: The Ram

The Sun’s square with Pluto this week highlights the pressure professional ambitions and obligations exert on the process of personal mutation you’re in the midst of.  Answers as to how to balance these issues emerge slowly from the shore of your conscious mind.  Give yourself enough space to discover them.

Taurus: The Bull

The Sun’s square with Pluto this week highlights friction between your need to experiment and your increasingly realistic long term plans.  Meanwhile, Mercury’s approach to his direct station suggests that some clarity can be brought to confusion amongst friends and contacts this week.  Look past how you would like to see yourself and others and you’ll find the actual outline of the dynamics in play.

Gemini: The Twins

The Sun’s square with Pluto this week highlights the price of collaborating with people.  Meanwhile, Mercury’s approach to his direct direction helps re-wind your chatterbox,  putting the right words back in your mouth.  Some clarity about indeterminate professional situations may also begin to emerge.

Cancer: The Crab

The Sun’s square with Pluto highlights the tension between your changing professional outlook and significant relationships.  Business relationships are particularly spotlighted. Meanwhile, Mercury’s movement points toward increasing clarity as to your long term goals, making planning easier.

Leo: The Lion

The Sun’s square with Pluto highlights the tension between your mutating long term goal goals and the pressure of practical necessities.  Meanwhile, Mercury’s movements indicate increasing clarity as to what resources you’ll have to draw on to pursue said goals.

 Virgo: The Virgin

The Sun’s square with Pluto highlights your creative energy and how you’re sharing or combining with others.  Especially highlighted are creative partnerships.  Meanwhile, Mercury’s movements suggest an emerging clarity within relationships and the opening of confused channels of communication.

 Libra: The Scales

The Sun’s square with Pluto highlights the pressure of living conditions on your relationships.  Draw upon what Libran grace you possess to diffuse ambient tensions.  Meanwhile, Mercury’s movements suggest increasing clarity about your fiscal and work situation.

Scorpio: The Scorpion

The Sun’s square with Pluto highlights the toll your schedule is taking on your fiscal and physical health.  Consider how to make things a little easier on yourself, as well as how to cope with and counterbalance the tensions in your life.  Meanwhile, Mercury’s movements suggest increasing clarity as to how and where to apply your creative energies.

Sagittarius: The Archer

The Sun’s square with Pluto highlights the tension between your financial means and creative desires.  You may want to consider spending more love and less money on your projects.  Meanwhile, Mercury’s movement suggests that ambiguities surrounding your living situation will see some clarity emerge this week.

Capricorn: The Goat

The Sun’s square with Pluto this week highlights the tension between the slow process of transformation you’re in the midst of and unsteadiness in your living situation.  Evolution demands not only that we change, but that our surroundings reflect those changes.   Meanwhile, Mercury’s movement suggests increasing clarity about short term tasks and growing order in your regular schedule.

Aquarius: The Water Bearer

The Sun’s square with Pluto this week highlights the wear and tear on your mental health that dealing with an unstable schedule of tasks is creating.  Consider ways to reduce the friction, such as drinking motor oil.  Meanwhile, Mercury’s movements see clarity emerge in financial matters, as well as greater certainty about the resources you do and do not have to draw upon.

Pisces: The Fish

The Sun’s square to Pluto this week highlights the tension between your social obligations and the creative and financial experiments afoot.  The question is ultimately a matter of freedom vs. what is expected of you, and the answer will inevitably be a compromise.  Meanwhile, Mercury’s movements suggest improving insight into your own position and condition, and where to go from here.

Private Consultations

If you find yourself a little confused by the strange waters of the season, or interested in a personalized map of those yet to come, consider a consultation. For details, click here. Send inquiries to ac@austincoppock.com.