The Astrology Blog 10 April 2023
All times in BST
“I don’t feel like the ‘first,’ or the last, or a lady. I am Brigitte Macron!”
Brigitte Macron – 13 April 1953 – Moon, Venus, Sun in Aries
https://www.astrotheme.com/astrology/Brigitte_Macron
“I like to be loved by my children, and I quite like the ‘Guardian’ hating me. I like it when I read they want me to die painfully. Then I think I’ve really got under their skin.”
Jeremy Clarkson – 11 April 1960 – Sun, Venus in Aries
https://www.astrotheme.com/astrology/Jeremy_Clarkson
If you’d like to receive the weekly blog straight to inbox on Monday mornings, it’s free, and you can either send an email address to me joannaw@otenet.gr to be added to the mailing list or anyone can sign up from the website. Here’s the link for the sign up box –
You might remember that last week I quoted Marlon Brando, born on a New Moon in Aries, as an example of stories from Aries individuals about their rebellious early lives – “I was a bad student, chronic truant, and all-round incorrigible. I was forever being sent to the principal’s office to be disciplined.”
This week we have another Aries born on a New Moon (Sun and Moon in same sign) with Venus thrown in for good measure. Brigitte Macron turns 70 this week and I chose the quote above from her as it’s quintessential Aries. The key phrase for this sign representing the self, the ego and the beginning of the zodiac is “I am”. Think about Rene Descartes the French philosopher immortalized for his “I think therefore I am” on the nature of being, with his stellium of Aries planets in the 3rd House of the mind. Here’s the full list –
- Aries – I am
- Taurus – I possess
- Gemini – I speak
- Cancer – I secure
- Leo – I create
- Virgo – I serve
- Libra – I relate
- Scorpio – I regenerate
- Sagittarius – I seek
- Capricorn – I master
- Aquarius – I understand
- Pisces – I redeem
Two other quotes for Brigitte came up, and again we see the early hallmarks of the Aries spirit – “I wasn’t a very well-behaved girl. I was often in detention for impertinence.” She is of course famous not just for being Macron’s wife but for being 24 years older than him. She must surely have had some initial qualms about the age gap but, if she did, these weren’t enough to stop her. Aries can break taboos.
Brigitte with her Venusian New Moon is a follower of fashion and also known for her French chic look. I loved this for the Virgo Ascendant, which is the beginning of every horoscope and the cover to our book – “I would never leave the house before choosing an outfit and doing my hair – the results may vary, but I cannot do otherwise.”
So not all the “bad girls and boys” belong to just Aries of course but a surprising number of them do! This sign generally has a hatred of being controlled in any way. As leaders of the pack they thrive on doing things in their own individual way.
Second quote of the week is from the love him or hate him Jeremy Clarkson, of Top Gear fame, known for his love of fast cars (Mars and speed) and his opinionated style (Sun square Saturn, and trine rebellious Uranus) that has cost him several jobs – “I’ve been told by the BBC that if I make one more offensive remark, anywhere, at any time, I will be sacked. And even the angel Gabriel would struggle to survive with that hanging over his head. It’s inevitable that one day, someone, somewhere will say that I’ve offended them, and that will be that.” And it was.
WHAT’S HAPPENING THIS WEEK?
Here’s your “at a glance” look for the coming week and we can see immediately that it’s Venus’ turn to steal the headlines, changing sign and making two major aspects, which fall either side of the annual Sun Jupiter conjunction –
Tuesday 11 April
- Venus ingress Gemini 05.48
- Venus 0 Gemini trine Pluto 0 Aquarius 11.13
- Sun conjunct Jupiter 21 Aries 23.08
Friday 14 April
- Venus 4 Gemini square Saturn 4 Pisces 17.40
Sunday 16 April
- Moon conjunct Saturn 4 Pisces 06.59
VENUS INTO GEMINI
Any planet changing sign between now and 11 June will automatically make an aspect to Pluto who is “stuck” at 0 degrees Aquarius until that date. Yesterday I posted on my Facebook group The World of Astrology –
The coming week is dominated by Venus’ change of sign and new journey, first date is with Pluto, who is the subject of this post.
Astrology is such a complex subject at one level, but a very simple one at another. But I’ve learned over the years that one of the biggest stumbling blocks for students is the amount of wrong or misleading information online. When I started my own studies we didn’t have the internet! By my wonderful teachers I was taught, and steered towards the right books to read.
There’s a very obvious example going on right now, so many posts making the assumption that Pluto’s arrival in Aquarius means Plutonic events for all Aquarians. This is not how astrology works.
Any planet, not just snail’s pace Pluto, is meaningful for you ONLY when it lines up with your natal planets or Angles (Asc/Desc or MC/IC). This is one of the golden rules of prediction, stick to it rigidly if you want pinpoint timing instead of generalities.
This year it’s only 0 degrees of Aquarius and the last three degrees of Capricorn that count. Here’s a reminder of Pluto’s journey that will take the whole year. This includes a correction as I’d previously stated, wrongly, that Pluto wouldn’t return to Capricorn again after getting back to 0 Aquarius next January –
- 23 March – Pluto enters Aquarius for the 1st time
- 1 May – gets as far as 0.21 Aquarius and then turns retrograde
- 11 June – retrogrades back into Capricorn
- 10 October – turns direct again at 27.53 Capricorn
- 21 January 2024 – Pluto enters Aquarius for the 2nd time
- 2 May 2024 – turns retrograde at 2.06 Aquarius
- 1 September – retrogrades back into Capricorn again
- 12 October – turns direct at 29.38 Capricorn
- 19 November – Pluto enters Aquarius for the 3rd and final time
These degrees are prominent in some very high profile people. I’ve posted this list before but here’s a reminder of some of the ones to watch:
- Ascendant 29.52 Capricorn – Emmanuel Macron
- Sun 0.16 Aquarius – Sophie Rhys-Jones
- Sun 29.26 Capricorn – Dolly Parton
- Moon 29.52 Capricorn – David Beckham
- Moon 29.00 Capricorn – Judi Dench
- Mercury 00.27 Aquarius – Jennifer Aniston
- Mercury 00.55 Aquarius – Kate Moss
- Mars 00.12 Aquarius – Matthew McConaughey
- Jupiter 00.52 Aquarius – Barack Obama
- Jupiter 00.32 Aquarius – Meryl Streep
- Jupiter 00.19 Aquarius – Jane Fonda
- Saturn 29.51 Capricorn – George Clooney
We should also note those who have planets in the opposite signs, ie at the end of Cancer or beginning of Leo, will also be having Pluto transits this year and for some the finale won’t be until November of next year.
THE NATURE OF VENUS IN GEMINI
From Be Your Own Astrologer (being relaunched in July btw under the title of Essential Astrology) –
Venus is Aphrodite, goddess of love. Your Venus sign tells you about your relating skills, what you are looking for and how you approach relationships. She is feminine and rules women, all pleasure seeking, lovemaking, beauty, art, music and the fashion industry. She also rules sustenance, everything from food to the money we make in order to live.
In a man’s chart, regardless of sexual orientation, she often describes the kind of partner he attracts or to whom he is attracted.
Venus herbs and foods:
Anything sweet, delectable and more-ish. Chocolate is definitely Venusian and many Venus types have a sweet tooth. Venus’ produce is fragrant or delicious, such as jasmine, apple blossom, all roses and all soft fruits.
In a natal chart Venus in Mercury’s sign of the Twins often indicates at least two major relationships in the course of a lifetime. Love Tom Hanks for this Venus, his quick and animated style, and two marriages with two children from each. In terms of how Venus symbolizes that which brings us pleasure, and Gemini being the sign of language and communication, Hanks’ top hobby is the avid collecting of manual typewriters.
In terms of our own lives and the world around us Venus will be travelling through Gemini until 7 May. Look out for the hallmark of “doubles” or even multiples, your choices and options, two things coming along at the same time, such as job offers or themes of plan B.
Venus in Mercury’s masculine sign is playful, sociable and talkative, so get together with your “up for anything” friends if you want to pep up your social life or find someone to join you on anything connected to your interests. Two’s company. In business get networking, especially with women, and freshen up your use of social media.
If it’s your love life that needs a shot in the arm this Venus is great for flirting and chatting. Any romantic possibility that starts with a meeting of the minds as well as physical attraction gets a double tick. If you’re in a flagging relationship it’s time to get creative and proactive. Don’t leave it all to your other half. This is a time when new ideas could prove to be their weight in gold.
VENUS – PLUTO/SATURN
Affairs! Venus in Gemini is textbook for having two relationships simultaneously and Pluto often looms large in triangular setups, especially when it comes to crunch point. Astrological literature just loves to talk about Pluto as the planet of transformation, but I prefer the term transformative processes. Plutonic changes are not magic wands, they can be lengthy and ruthless, he’s the planet of death and rebirth, but we have to go through the wipeout bit first.
In mythology Pluto wears the helmet of invisibility, so be mindful of the availability issue, especially as Venus is moving on this week to square Saturn, which is the stuff of barriers, denial, dead ends and other such delights. Someone charismatic and charming may conceal their true status or situation.
The classic abuser – Pluto and the rape of Persephone – also hides their true nature in public. Only the person being abused knows how awful they can be, everyone else thinks they’re wonderful. But Venus in Gemini is great for doing the most important thing – talking about it, or any relationship issue – and for realizing that there are options.
The Venus – Saturn combo at the end of the week is heavy going. In a natal chart Saturn linking to the feminine Venus or Moon are, in my experience, amongst the toughest aspects and generally reflect stories of things like early neglect that does a lot of damage.
As events, especially at the end of the week, think roadblocks, delays, disappointments or any news that is difficult to come to terms with. Be realistic about anything that’s simply not working out in the way that you’d hoped, and think twice (Gemini) about anything that’s going to be too time consuming (Saturn) or too expensive. And remember that there’s no such thing as a free lunch!
PLUTO – SATURN & THE MACRONS
From the list above you’ll see that Macron has his Ascendant at 29.52 Capricorn so he’s got Pluto going backwards and forwards over that point for a very long time, up until the end of next year. Whatever hits the Ascendant also automatically hits the opposite point of the Descendant, the me/you horizon.
If you want to find out more about what’s going on for someone then also look at the charts of those closest to them. Usually that means looking at the partner’s chart and here’s the key synastry between Macron and Brigitte, and both points are now being picked out by transits –
| Macron | Brigitte |
| Saturn 0.27 Virgo | Asc/Desc – 4.00 Virgo – Pisces |
| Moon 14.29 Taurus | Mars 17.32 Taurus |
His Saturn on her Ascendant is a textbook contact for the older partner. But this point is significant now as Saturn entered the opposite sign of Pisces 7 March, will get as far as 7 degrees and then turn retrograde 17 June, and will then turn direct again at 0.30 Pisces on 4 November.
In other words throughout this whole year, while he’s having Pluto over his Asc/Desc horizon, he’s also having Saturn opposite natal Saturn, and Brigitte is having Saturn backwards and forwards over her Descendant, the super sensitive Angle that marks the beginning to the 7th House of marriage. If nothing else that shows her husband having a hard time.
Their other point of synastry is his Moon conjunct her Mars. Uranus has been travelling through the middle degrees of Taurus for the last year and will clear her Mars for the third and final time next week, 15 April. Uranus is erratic by nature but can work out to pinpoint accuracy by transit.
Obviously we can’t know what goes on behind the Elysee walls but if this is about anything in relation to his public life then we will get to hear about it. Worth noting too that the Sun – Jupiter at 21 Aries falls conjunct Brigitte’s Sun – Moon – Venus triple conjunction, all between 19 – 23 degrees Aries.
SUN – JUPITER CONJUNCTION
In the middle of all the hoo-ha of Venus’ difficult start to her new journey we have the fabulous Sun – Jupiter conjunction that happens once a year. As Jupiter himself changes sign every 12 months then the Sun catches up with Jupiter every 13 months. That mostly means that this conjunction happens in consecutive signs, but you can see from this list that Gemini misses out (because of the previous one being late in Taurus and the next being early Cancer) –
April 11, 2023 – 21 Aries
May 18, 2024 – 28 Taurus
June 24, 2025 – 3 Cancer
July 29, 2026 – 6 Leo
August 31, 2027 – 7 Virgo
September 30, 2028 – 7 Libra
October 30, 2029 – 7 Scorpio
November 30, 2030 – 8 Sagittarius
The Sun – Jupiter get together in any sign is celebratory. This one feels powerful as Aries is the Sun’s sign of exaltation and Jupiter is a big fiery planet, ruling Sagittarius, but generally happy in the fire signs. I noticed on the news this morning that they’ve started to report on plans for the coronation on 6 May, now suddenly less than a month away. The huge Gold State Coach was pictured, but Charles and Camilla are being spared the trip to Westminster Abbey in this as it’s notoriously uncomfortable, but will have to ride back in it.
Look out for the Aries themes of fresh starts and firsts, especially if you have planets or Angles at or very close to 21 Aries or the opposite sign of Libra. Add in the list of subjects ruled by Jupiter, traditionally known as the Greater Benefic –
- New faces, those who are good for us or who benefit us – our benefactors
- Opportunities
- Good luck, especially of the 11th hour variety
- Liberation, including blessings in disguise – the full benefits may show at a later date
- Higher education
- Justice and all legal concerns
- Foreign travel, people from another culture
- Publishing
- Generosity, giving or receiving
- Anything that makes your world bigger and better
May Jupiter luck come your way! The monthly Moon – Jupiter conjunction will fall at 23 Aries next Wednesday, which could be another high spot. But take note that it’s followed by the Solar Eclipse square Pluto and Mercury switching to retrograde at the end of the week, and I’ll be talking about these things in more detail next time,
Until then with love from Greece
Joanna
