SATURDAY APRIL 2. Moon continues in workaholic Capricorn, although it is VOC after 9:34 a.m. EST. Today and tomorrow, Venus and Sun oppose Jupiter exactly, and this can induce much good feeling for the weekend. With Jupiter, there can always be too much of a good thing, however. Balance is important. We may be torn between work and play. The planets can help us to work during the day, and play tonight. With Moon VOC, and Mercury still retrograde, this is not a good day to commit yourself, although you may have the urge to do so.

A new level of victimization, perhaps connected with the military, is occurring in U.S. foreign policy. Much of it occurs behind the scenes, while overtly the U.S. is displaying its authority.

SUNDAY APRIL 3. Moon is traveling through Aquarius, and both energy and good feeling are heightened. Adventure calls. Get out and about today. Daylight Saving Time begins this morning. Don’t forget to turn your clocks ahead one hour.

MONDAY APRIL 4. Feelings of good will and good fellowship permeate this day. We are very conscious of the wide world, and at the same time can see its impact on us and on our personal world. Moon conjoins Neptune to widen our vision. This meeting also gives us a preview of the big Mars-Neptune conjunction next week.

TUESDAY APRIL 5 and WEDNESDAY APRIL 6. These are easy, flowing Moon in Pisces days, with love and inspiration dominating. Both nights, however, are exciting—Tuesday with revelation, and Wednesday with intensity and transformation.

THURSDAY APRIL 7. Moon has entered Aries, and now we begin the countdown to tomorrow’s Solar Eclipse in Aries. This is perhaps the best day in the year to consciously envision the future, your personal future. What are your personal goals? How do you want to create, and recreate, your personal life during the coming year? This is your focus for this day. Try not to let yourself be distracted by the busyness of life. Take time to just really be with yourself. We have visionary aspects throughout the night, and sleep may be difficult. Pay attention to your dreams; they are significant.

FRIDAY APRIL 8. The Aries New Moon Solar Eclipse at 20 Aries occurs at 4:37 p.m. EDT. This is a rare hybrid eclipse, a combination of total, annular, or partial, depending on pathway location. It is visible in New Zealand, Antarctica, South America, Central America, the Caribbean, and the southern half of the U.S. In the U.S., it is partial. Even so, it should be viewed only with a special safety lens. The entire eclipse lasts nearly six hours.

It is likely that an Aries eclipse over Latin America is giving a push to the independence which is unfolding in those countries. This eclipse, in fact, is very close to the Ascendant of Mexico. And the Lunar Eclipse due in two weeks conjoins the Mexican moon. (There is, in fact, much ferment occurring in Mexico now.)

Eclipses are like catalysts in the areas which they contact, in this case the Aries domain of pioneering in self-determination. I have learned through research that their effects last a very long time, but often particular signal events occur within a few weeks of the actual eclipse, either before or after, sometimes on the day of the eclipse. Often situations or people are literally eclipsed.

This Aries eclipse works in tandem with the Libra eclipse of last October. Many partnerships began to wobble then, and now the individualistic end of that polarity comes to dominate. People are more independent. One obvious such circumstance is the great downward shift in popularity of GW Bush since his election last fall. Another similar public example is the growing unpopularity of Gov. Schwarzenegger in California. He took office with great promises of getting "special interests" out of Sacramento. Since then he has made it clear that for him, special interests are groups such as nurses, teachers, and firemen. Many voters are now becoming disillusioned.

Sun and Moon are now supported by Venus, which is self-appreciation, a retrograde Mercury who is rethinking the Libra-Aries balance of self-other, and North Node, which shows new pathways into the future.

Saturn is the big guy now. He is a builder, and now Saturn in Cancer is building a new foundation for security. The coming Lunar Eclipse in Scorpio will help us shift our resources to support this new project.

This eclipse conjoins the U.S. Chiron. Historically Chiron relates to new gateways for the nation.

There are many aspects now. This is an active new moon day, with stimulation all over the world.

The Sabian Symbol for 20 Aries is

"A YOUNG GIRL FEEDING BIRDS IN WINTER. Overcoming crises through compassion. THE TRANSMUTATION OF LIFE INTO LOVE."

SATURDAY APRIL 9. Moon is VOC this morning, and we can assimilate yesterday’s intense eclipse energy. At 11:50 a.m. EDT, Moon enters Taurus. This is a fine weekend to plant your garden and let it unfold into its new season. This is a good metaphor for your own fresh beginning.

Pallas Athena opposing Juno is the big news today. Pallas is a strategist. Her mental creativity is great, and she is an excellent problem-solver, and skill-learner. Her qualities are enhanced by Virgo, where she is now traveling. Juno, who reaches for relationships, is now in Pisces, the martyr sign. This is a victim-savior opposition. It tends to not work well in relationships. However, it can be used for service work where the goal is healing, as in the medical profession.

See if you can see the brand new delicate crescent moon low in the west tonight.

SUNDAY APRIL 10 . Moon is in productive Taurus. At the same time, Sun squares Saturn to illuminate authority. This is a very constructive workday, where practical idealism prevails. Tonight the arts are featured.

The Solar Eclipse of April 8 connected Sun and Saturn with the North Node of the Moon in Aries. Saturn is fate, North Node is a destiny point, and Sun lends vitality to this "meant to be" configuration. Today the manifestation begins, with Sun square Saturn. On May 10, Saturn and Node square one another to complete this dynamic process. There will be another step on April 12, when Sun and Node conjoin to move destiny into action. Notice what this means for you, especially in your consciousness. It’s important. It seems like a combination of seed-planting, and deconstruction.

The very new moon should be apparent tonight. Look for it as a bright arc, with the dark part filled with blue-gray earthshine.

MONDAY APRIL 11. Moon travels VOC in Taurus until 6:54 p.m. EDT, when it enters sparkly Gemini. Nevertheless, there is an aspect of strong love and creativity which prevails all day. This is a fertile day, and we can give our values, those things we love and appreciate, a strong forward push. Tonight is mercurial, and we are apt to be restless. Certainly we will want, at the least, to stimulate our minds. Mercury turns direct early tomorrow morning, and we may be wakeful. Moon tonight is near the Pleiades—should be a beautiful sight.

TUESDAY APRIL 12. The big day has finally arrived! Bright and early, at 3:46 a.m. EDT, Mercury turns direct and gives us the go-ahead signal. Fittingly, Moon is in Mercury’s sign, lively Gemini. At the time Mercury makes its turn, Moon is on the nadir in Washington, showing a heavy emotional involvement for the nation. Mars in Aquarius, pulling Neptune along, is about to rise over the eastern horizon. There is excitability and impulsiveness here, along with rebellion against restrictions.

Mercury makes its turn at 2 Aries, in the second house of money and resources. That is a full house, with Node, Sun, and Venus also there, and conjunct. This has been a long-lasting Nodal-Sun conjunction, and Venus-Sun conjunction. It indicates a dynamic situation with some endurance—not a flash-in-the-pan event.

Most of the planets at this time are connected with this U.S. second house energy, and it looks like U.S. financial problems may be coming to light. Mars-Neptune is another such indicator. Saturn is in the sixth house of problem-solving, of service, and of the services.

Mercury itself is now right on the nadir of the U.S. chart. This is the heart of the nation’s security

Uranus, full of surprises, is busy this morning. Tonight we are very sociable.

WEDNESDAY APRIL 13. Moon is still in Gemini, with aspects which encourage independent thinking. The day’s feature, Mars conjoined Neptune, can be magical, but it requires care and discrimination to use well. It can be magical, because Mars, the actor, can combine with the cosmic channel, Neptune, and let the universe do the work. "Let go and let God," we used to say. Care is required because with Neptune, unseen or unconscious complexes can undermine Mars. This combination works best when the goal is clear, straightforward, and uncompromising. Neptune needs channeling to be effective. Listening to intuition is also essential. Get Gemini, the head-tripper, to quiet down so that the universe can speak through you. Some time in simple meditation could be very useful.

This is a stimulating time. Aspects continue throughout the wee hours.

THURSDAY APRIL 14. Moon enters Cancer, the family sign, at 5:03 a.m. This is another day of fertility and easy growth, great for gardening. Cancer is emotional, and our feelings will show. Communication is on the schedule this morning. Tonight we may want some excitement.

FRIDAY APRIL 15. Money, and financial security, is on our minds. We may feel keenly some lack in this department, and we will work at building personal security. Tonight, after sunset, look high into the southwest sky and find the First Quarter Moon. You can see Saturn just below it, and the Gemini Twins, Castor and Pollux, above. They are all girded for fighting for home and family.

SATURDAY APRIL 16. First Quarter Moon at 27 Cancer occurs at 10:37 a.m. EDT. We have begun the adventurous, rash, self-centered Aries Moon cycle. Now it’s time to ask, How does my family belongingness fit into this new cycle? How can I find security, and at the same time do what I want to do? What compromises do I need to make to complete this cycle successfully?

Moon has just passed over Saturn, and is filled with its energy of contraction. Pulling in, pulling back, putting on the brakes, then, is one answer. This is the adjustment that impetuous Aries must make. This is particularly true for the U.S., for Moon now opposes U.S. Pluto, and Sun squares it. The U.S. Pluto in Capricorn is in the natal second house of money, and refers to the plutocracy of the nation. The squeeze is on. Pluto tends to extremes, and this extreme of corporate power is running into obstacles. (It’s interesting to notice that in the U.S. chart, Scorpio is the sign on the cusp of the 11th house. Pluto is associated with Scorpio, and this means that Pluto rules this house, like a landlord. The 11th house is the area of corporations and of Congress! They are joined at the hip. And they are both run by the powerful plutocrat—Pluto in Capricorn in the second house of money.)

Short-term history: Saturn, moving rapidly through Cancer, traveled over the place of this Moon last October. It stationed there in November, just after the election, and backed up over this point during November and December. The final push of the squeeze on U.S. Pluto started then. Saturn will finish up this cycle of paring down U.S. power during this coming June.

I can picture that the Administration last year, as the signs of grave U.S. financial problems became apparent everywhere, became frightened. What are we going to do to prevent this mess, and to prevent the public from realizing the nation’s dire financial straits? One answer: get GW Bush re-elected, and rob the lucrative Social Security System.

Pluto in the heavens turns direct next September 2, and much will be revealed as it moves ahead. At that time, Mars is moving very slowly through the money sign of Taurus, and on October 1, Mars retrogrades at the vital degree of the last Jupiter-Saturn conjunction in Taurus in May of 2000. Those conjunctions set the operating tone of society for a 20-year period. This retrograde of Mars is like reviewing, reworking, redoing the direction of this current Taurean money cycle which began in 2000.

After the Quarter strikes, Moon goes VOC for several hours. At 5:17 p.m., Moon enters Leo, the drama sign, and tonight can be pleasurable and entertaining. It can be healing as well.

SUNDAY APRIL 17. Moon is in fun-loving, exuberant Leo, and the day is to enjoy, preferably with a compatible partner.

MONDAY APRIL 18. We had our weekend of reprieve. Now it’s time to really start carrying out this Aries Moon’s marching orders. Moon in energetic, confident Leo can help us get in the mood. Wounded Healer Chiron, freshly into Aquarius, has been the focus of attention for the last 24 hours. Early this morning, Venus in Taurus squares it to set up a power struggle between the old and the new. The deck is stacked in favor of Chiron’s push to disrupt the status quo. This is a harbinger of the fixed squares to come beginning next August. Fixed squares show a push for creative change, along with great resistance to change.

Again, in the Washington DC chart, the money-resource houses are heavily occupied.

TUESDAY APRIL 19. Moon is traveling in busy Virgo for the next two days, and we get out our to-do lists. Sensual Taurus Venus, whose energy dominates this day, likes this combination. Taurus indicates what she wants, and Virgo works to get it. It’s a great combination for food and for cooking. Tonight Sun enters Taurus to vitalize this earthy combination. We can take the time to enjoy beauty in all its manifestations.

WEDNESDAY APRIL 20. This is a superb day for gardening and for planting. And we all have our gardens—our lives, where we are growing what nurtures and pleases us. Tend your personal garden on this fecund day. From it will grow abundant fruits, each in its season.

THURSDAY APRIL 21. Moon is VOC in Virgo for much of this day. Clean up loose ends. At 3:27 p.m. EDT, Moon enters Libra, where she promotes togetherness and lively conversation for the next few days. In fact, we may be up late tonight socializing.

FRIDAY APRIL 22. Moon continues in Libra, and we may want to be out and about, taking the time to chat with people as we meander. Connecting with the world attracts us today. If you are in southern Africa, early tonight you can watch the Moon cover Jupiter at 12 Libra. This occultation will relate to resources and to climate changes, particularly in the southern hemisphere. Aspects continue through the night, and may keep us more alert than we’d like. The almost-full moon also tends to excite us, especially since it will be an eclipse.

SATURDAY APRIL 23. Morning is a time for hard, goal-oriented work which connects with other people. A situation related to values and/or to health may take our attention. Protest is likely. In general, this is an optimistic day, one which opens new doors for reform. Moon enters Scorpio at 10:25 p.m., and we gear up for tomorrow’s full moon transformations—which are actually beginning today.

SUNDAY APRIL 24. Full Moon Lunar Eclipse at 5 Scorpio occurs at 6:06 a.m. EDT. This eclipse complements the Lunar Eclipse of October 28, 2004 at 6 Taurus. Together they deal with joint resources, possessiveness, secrecy, and transformation. They are both visible over Central and South America, and the eastern half of North America. In fact, wherever it is dark, this eclipse is more or less visible. Its total time is four hours.

This is a penumbral eclipse, which means that only the outer part of the Earth’s shadow covers the moon. The moon is not darkened as with a total eclipse, and the observer may have to search it out to be aware of it.

One of the very visible concomitants of these eclipses is the loosening of the yoke of globalization, as in rebellions against CAFTA, against corporations such as Bechtel and Coca-Cola, and against IMF monetary policies.

Chiron is the star of this eclipse. Sun squared Chiron yesterday, and Moon squared Chiron earlier this morning. They are both freshly filled with Healer Chiron’s energy. Chiron is the wounded healer, and there are plenty of wounds to heal.

In Aquarius, Chiron is connected to wounding of ideals or beliefs. Healing is achieved through working and fighting for one’s ideals. Mentality is very strong here, as is the idea of truth, one’s own truth. We are given windows into the future, and the strength to move ahead, even though it may be an isolating and nonconformist journey. Chiron in Aquarius raises our vibrational levels, and this is apt to feel uncomfortable, especially at the beginning of this trip, as now. We are apt to be tentative and experimental.

About what? About making our ideals practical, about living in tune with our values. Chiron was just in Capricorn. There the wound was in control, and the struggle was to control. Now we can let go of that urgency. We can loosen up and open to insecurity as a price of living by our principles.

This is an interesting development just as Sun, Venus, and Vesta are joining in Taurus to increase a focus on finances and territory. And just as the U.S. is approaching its Vesta return in early May. Then the nation begins a new four-year cycle in regard to territory as security, as well as regarding money and investments, also from the focus on security.

It will be 2008 before Chiron by degree squares the U.S. Vesta in Taurus, to vociferously question national values. However, this Eclipse is a tiny beginning step indicating challenges to come.

Pluto, Mars, and Saturn all have leading roles. This is a very hard-line combination, and it is likely that force or "persuasion" are being used somewhere to bring recalcitrants into line. The U.S. chart is very stimulated now, and it will be interesting to see the dynamics.

In general, resources are the issue for all of us.

Since war is about resources, its pace will step up.

The Sabian Symbol for 5 Taurus is

"A WIDOW AT AN OPEN GRAVE. The impermanence of all material and social bonds. 'All natural compounds decay,' said the Buddha. Form is withdrawn, leaving the Void—'the open grave' that ends all attachments. The Void is the great challenge. What next? One must begin anew and if possible at a less egocentric level. Beyond the personal attachment rises the possibility of participating in a larger sphere of existence. This possibility rarely manifests itself except when one is ready to DISCARD THE PAST."

This is a most appropriate symbol for our new awareness of Chiron in Aquarius.

This is a day of emotional intensity.

MONDAY APRIL 25. Today’s rather pushy energy allows us to complete yesterday’s unfinished business. This is a serious day.

TUESDAY APRIL 26. We can climb out of the emotional straitjacket of the last few days into fresh, clear air. What a relief! Moon is in adventurous Sag, and we may want to travel—or at least move around.

WEDNESDAY APRIL 27. Moon continues in Sag, with excellent travel energy. Power, and using it well, is also in the air, Late tonight Venus and Vesta conjoin at 15 Taurus to begin a one-year cycle in guarding and protecting those things which we value—including money. This is a full and exciting day.

THURSDAY APRIL 28 and FRIDAY APRIL 29. We can finally buckle down to the job at hand. Moon travels in industrious, persistent Capricorn with excellent aspects, including connections to productive, patient Taurus. We can accomplish wonders on these last two days of the workweek. On Friday night, we’re ready for some special entertainment. It could be love!

SATURDAY APRIL 30. Moon is in independent Aquarius, and we go our own way. We’re interested in thinking about and discussing the affairs of the world. Tonight Mars enters Pisces to stir up the waters for the next few weeks