The Astrology Blog 26 April 2021
All times in BST
“Everybody has a little bit of the sun and moon in them. Everybody has a little bit of man, woman, and animal in them. Darks and lights in them. Everyone is part of a connected cosmic system. Part earth and sea, wind and fire, with some salt and dust swimming in them. We have a universe within ourselves that mimics the universe outside. None of us are just black or white, or never wrong and always right. No one. No one exists without polarities. Everybody has good and bad forces working with them, against them, and within them.”
– Suzy Kassem, American writer and poet, b 1 December 1975, Sun Sagittarius, Moon Scorpio
“Everyone is a moon, and has a dark side which he never shows to anybody.”
― Mark Twain – Sun Sagittarius, Ascendant, Mercury, Saturn Scorpio
https://www.astrotheme.com/astrology/Mark_Twain
URANUS DOMINATING – LAST WEEK & THIS WEEK
Mercury and Venus are the leaders of the pack of personal planets as they are the closest travelling companions of the Sun. They all take a year to travel through the 12 signs of the zodiac, therefore all catching up with the slower moving outer planets once a year.
Last week Mercury (winged messenger, news, info etc) and Venus (love, relating, money, women) both caught up with Uranus in Taurus (who takes 84 years to make the same journey) and this time around it was especially noticeable as they made their conjunctions to Uranus within a day of each other.
To recap from last week, the nature of Uranus and the nature of Taurus are a mismatch –
URANUS co-ruler of Aquarius is the planet of rebellion, anarchy, social advancement, ecology and technology. In mythology Uranus is the sky god and he rules all that comes “out of the blue”. He challenges all that the preceding planet Saturn stands for, such as hierarchy and traditional rules, and his nature is innovative, explosive, sudden, unexpected, erratic or unpredictable.
TAURUS is the sign of Fixed Earth, think Rock of Gibraltar, and favours safety, routine and predictability. This is at odds with the nature of Uranus, the astrologer’s nightmare, essentially unpredictable, the rug puller, the unusual as opposed to the norm, the thing you couldn’t possibly have seen coming.
On the plus side Uranus can also be surprises of the exciting kind, and can be brilliant for your social life and meeting new people unexpectedly, but you just never know which way he’s going to swing.
This was so true of last week’s events. The worst of it was tragic news, from one student and one friend, of losing a close girlfriend and a younger sister respectively, the first months ahead of her prognosis and the second totally unexpectedly. Both carry those Uranus hallmarks of shock and disbelief. A Taurus friend in the middle of a string of Uranus transits a couple of years ago said that suddenly the ground that had always been solid under her feet had turned into shifting sands, a perfect description of Uranus in this sign.
Trivial by comparison, a moment of drama here when a friend left my gate open and Lola escaped from the garden, and she wasn’t wearing her identity tag as I’d taken her collar off (too tight now as she’s put on weight). Rescue dogs who were chained up in their former lives rarely lose the Houdini instinct, even after being in a loving home for nearly a year. My heart was in my mouth but he found her and brought her home safely. In terms of the unexpected this was also the same friend who had made the sign for the gate saying don’t let the dogs out!! I don’t say that in a blaming way, hands up anyone who hasn’t slipped up through a moment of inattention.
I had to do some serious “thought stopping” (she might have run up to the main road, but she didn’t, she might have disappeared, but she didn’t.) This is one of those valuable snippets from the psychotherapeutic tool bag taught to me years ago by my psychologist friend Paul Hitchings, a technique that I’ve never forgotten. It’s amazing how easy it can be to freak out about something that didn’t actually happen, so thought stopping is a neat device for fending off unnecessary drama or panic, enabling us to let go of the “what ifs” more easily. It still took all afternoon for my blood pressure to return to normal though!
In the world of prediction we often joke about lottery wins with the combination of Uranus/Venus/Taurus (the sign that rules the 2nd House of money, ruled by Venus planet of money) but this time it actually happened and very close to home. The best of the Uranus stories was from a friend in London, whose friend won £300,000 on a scratch card bought from their local corner shop. It could’ve been any of the women in this particular local group of friends and one of them was having a very hard time with the “why wasn’t it me?!!” scenario. Which just goes to show that thought stopping can be useful for amazing events as well as terrifying ones!
ANTHONY HOPKINS – URANUS RETURN
At the Oscars last night Anthony Hopkins became the oldest actor to win an Oscar. He’s going to be 84 this year and is having his Uranus Return. In other words Uranus has come full circle in his chart as his natal Uranus at 9.51 Taurus (in a harmonious trine to his Sun 9.18 Capricorn, Mercury 6 Capricorn and Part of Fortune 7 Capricorn).
https://www.astrotheme.com/astrology/Anthony_Hopkins
PREDICTION
If you’re interested in prediction significant life events are shown by the combination of a progression, transit and lunation (New or Full Moon). In Anthony Hopkins’ chart –
- The transit is the Uranus Return
- The relevant progression is his progressed Moon at 10 Capricorn (so conjunct his natal Sun and trine natal Uranus)
- The lunation is tomorrow’s Full Moon at 7 Scorpio, falling opposite this grouping, lighting them all up
If I’d thought about the astrology for the Oscars sooner and seen this lineup I would’ve put a bet on him to win. Damn!
A testimony to achieving at an advanced age is the fact that he’s a double Capricorn (Sun and Ascendant) and is therefore ruled by Saturn, planet of time and age, who often features in tales of longevity. Hopkins’ Oscar was for the role of a man suffering dementia in his old age. This is the Queen’s Ascendant too and Saturn dominates her horoscope, no surprises there then. Both of their horoscopes also have the sign of Aquarius intercepted in the 1st House, the other sign ruled by Saturn and co-ruled by Uranus. So these two planets share the job of being the chart ruler.
Another Saturn factor is that Anthony Hopkins won his other Oscar for The Silence of the Lambs 29 years ago – which is Saturn’s cycle.
WHAT’S HAPPENING WITH THE FULL MOON/URANUS THIS WEEK?
Keep all of this wild child Uranus info and unpredictability in mind as he continues to dominate the picture. We start this week with the Full Moon opposite Uranus, and then the exact Sun – Uranus conjunction at the end of the week –
Tuesday 27 April
- Full Moon 7 Scorpio 04.33
Friday 30 April
- Sun conjunct Uranus 10 Taurus 20.55
The time of the Full Moon is the exact moment in each month when the Moon lines up opposite the Sun, so this month’s is formed when the Moon reaches 7.06 Scorpio, exactly opposite the Sun at 7.06 Taurus. It’s the ultimate polarity, hence the choice of quote from Suzy Kassem for this week. Uranus is in on the act being only 3 degrees away.
At a universal level this is not an easy Full Moon, firstly because it’s in Scorpio – the Moon’s sign of “fall”, most difficult combination, and secondly because it falls opposite volatile Uranus. Full Moons can be times of craziness (lunacy) in themselves (in any sign) which often relates to matters being at full stretch. Full Moons illuminate or bring a matter full circle.
I don’t normally list the Moon’s aspects because there are so many of them (as the Moon travels through a sign roughly every two days this translates into well over 100 aspects a month) but keep an eye on these that immediately follow the Full Moon, picking up Mercury and Venus who are now both ahead of the Sun, halfway through their journeys through Taurus. Towards the end of this sequence you’ll see that Pluto is turning retrograde –
Tuesday 27 April
- Moon opposite Uranus 10 Taurus 09.52
- Moon opposite Venus 16 Taurus 18.36
- Pluto turns retrograde at 26.48 Capricorn 21.00
- Moon opposite Mercury 18 Taurus 21.25
In traditional astrology Scorpio is ruled by Mars and is co-ruled by the modern/outer planet Pluto. As I was saying in last week’s blog, this is important because it’s a theme – Pluto switching to reverse on the very day of the Full Moon in his own sign. Double whammy of Scorpionic/Plutonic concerns. The outer planets stay retrograde for months at a time, that isn’t such a big deal as it’s the norm, but the turning points are when things get sensitized.
So what are Scorpionic/Plutonic concerns? Well, they’re not for the faint hearted as this sign and planet are linked to power, sexuality and survival and they rule the 8th House which is where we also locate death. Top of the list in the world spotlight is anything life threatening, such as the horrific Covid situation in India.
At a less alarming level be aware of any kind of transformative process going on in your own life, especially if you have planets or Angles between 7 and 10 degrees of Taurus/Scorpio polarity or the other Fixed signs of the Leo/Aquarius polarity. In symbolic terms Pluto rules death/rebirth themes when we replace the old with the new, and the seeds of a new life are often sown when we experience any kind of loss.
FULL MOON MUTUAL RECEPTION WITH MARS
- Moon enters Scorpio at 17.19 Monday 26 April to 16.44 Wednesday 28 April
Here’s the welcome helping hand bit that starts later today and lasts for two days. While the Moon makes her monthly trip through Scorpio she will be in mutual reception with Mars, who moved into Cancer at the end of last week. In other words, these two planets will be in each other’s signs as the Moon rules Cancer (where Mars is now) and Mars rules Scorpio.
When two planets “receive” each other this indicates a “swapping over” that can be mutually beneficial. This is another factor in play for the story last week of the friend doing a council house swap – a single guy taking her two bedroom house in exchange for his three bedroom house which UK law says he is “over occupying”, ie there’s only one of him, so he is having to pay bedroom tax. He can now ditch that and pay less rent too. My friend gets separate bedrooms for her teenage son and daughter. Win win. The symbolism is especially appropriate here as the Moon is the natural ruler of everything to do with home, family and property.
The main point about a mutual reception is that it’s a rescue job as so often it takes two planets out of their signs of detriment or fall and into their signs of dignity, as is the case with this Moon – Mars. A situation is helped or even transformed through the means of cooperation or exchange. This is key symbolism for the world finally waking up to helping other countries, even though India had to reach the point of collapse first (Pluto) and send out an SOS. The timing however is described perfectly by the astrology, with UK aid due to arrive on the Full Moon and to be implemented throughout Tuesday, as that list of lunar aspects and Pluto’s turnaround play out –
The first consignment of aid left the UK on Sunday and is due to arrive in India on Tuesday. Further shipments will take place later in the week. The aid includes 495 oxygen concentrators – which can extract oxygen from the air when hospital oxygen systems have run out – as well as 120 non-invasive ventilators and 20 manual ventilators. (BBC News)
Last word on the Scorpio Full Moon is that feelings are likely to be running extremely high and any scenario that is already being fuelled by fear, anger, jealousy or control issues is ready to explode. Any kind of “no going back” situation is definitely not worth holding onto. There’s no point in trying to breathe new life into anything that is already dead, you can’t pour from a glass that is already empty.
Focus on anything that links you to a psychologically and spiritually enriched life. This Moon carries secrets but also the gift of deep insights or psychic moments. Nostradamus had natal Moon in Scorpio.
WHAT ELSE IS HAPPENING THIS WEEK?
Mercury and Venus were exactly conjunct each other last night and are now both aligning with Neptune and Pluto (the Venus – Pluto is next week). Remember that these aspects are wrapped around the Sun – Uranus conjunction that is exact on Friday evening so look out for those twists and turns, but otherwise these are harmonious aspects and bode well for social events, meeting people, connecting with friends, getting good news or taking a new relationship to a deeper level.
Note that Mercury is picking up the newly retrograde Pluto so also look out for someone getting back in touch or for anything involving a rethink. And the Venus – Neptune is a lovely combination as both planets are in their sign of dignity –
Friday 30 April
- Mercury 22 Taurus sextile Neptune 22 Pisces 03.28
Sunday 2 May
- Mercury 26 Taurus trine Pluto 26 Capricorn 10.18
- Venus 22 Taurus sextile Neptune 22 Pisces 23.40
A quick heads up that next week is likely to get off to an awkward start as the Sun is going to square up to Saturn who is now slowing down in readiness for turning retrograde in a month’s time. I’ll be talking more about this next week but for now get ahead, plan ahead and throw in plenty of extra realism when it comes to mapping out your time or making commitments,
Until next week, with love from Greece
Joanna