Daily Astrological Currents

Venus moves into Taurus early (4:31 AM PDT) this morning. The Moon sextiles Saturn later this morning and moves into trines to both Uranus and Jupiter by this evening. All of these developments seem to offer a satisfying sense of progress as well as significant comfort but there are some complications. Today's freedom and optimism could be a bit intoxicating. The forming Venus-Pluto square suggests a tantalizing temptation to squeeze a bit more satisfaction through manipulation or some kind of deception. Ultimately most of us seem to be motivated by protectiveness and possibly suspicion. Managing defensiveness is perhaps today's biggest challenge.

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Weekly Summary

"Well, I see black and white and red and yellow, even green — getting together. And their weapons are shining clean — but I'm not talking about swords, knives, and guns. I'm talking about the power of God and the new rising sun."

— Jimi Hendrix, Cherokee Mist: The Lost Writings

Venus gets 'home' to Taurus and Mars gets 'home' to Aries this week. There is a sense of relief that accompanies these developments.The relief is punctuated and inspired by a precipitous Mars-Pluto sextile that completes by Friday. A quiet awakening occurs with little fanfare — a rebirth of idealism that is unfettered by the baggage of the past — old illusions and outmoded ideals. Mercury, now direct in Aries, picks up speed this week. Our confidence builds as Mercury approaches another conjunction with Chiron, which will complete just before next Tuesday's Taurus New Moon (May 7th, 8:21 PM PDT 18° Taurus). Self-doubt seems to somehow melt away in an atmosphere where we are increasingly determined to simply speak our mind. Assessments are raw and the idealism that we see emerging is both steady and fierce. Much of this week's actions are rather 'matter-of-fact'. There are surprisingly few inclinations to go on the defensive or try to protect our position — the attitude is simply "this is how it has to be". The Mars-Pluto sextile is especially potent because Pluto is stationing to go retrograde (on Thursday). The imperatives we feel to take action and firmly break with the past are determined, quiet and steady. A New Day has Dawned — there is no going back. Pluto will retrograde back into Capricorn for just about two and a half months, from September 1 until November 19th. However, this brief 'Capricorn Survey' will not have the same feel or 'flavor' as the approximately 18 year 'era' that we have just emerged from. Our perspective on the crumbling structures of the past have changed dramatically just since Pluto's ingress into Aquarius last January. We are more likely to recoil from any suggestion that we might return to the collapsed, outmoded and unworkable structures of the past. We will see even more evidence of a determination to embrace the future (and not the past) when Jupiter moves into Gemini (trining Pluto) and Mars moves into Taurus (squaring Pluto) in June. Next Tuesday's Taurus New Moon may begin to stir up some tumult or conflict that we could see culminate with that Mars-Pluto square in June. However, this week's atmosphere is far more muted and offers important opportunities to set a powerfully peaceful tone for the rest of the year's changes and challenges. It is essentially an opportunity to gather up the lessons of our personal, societal, and cultural histories into a new and novel approach to pursuing our 'future-focused', idealistic intentions and aspirations.

There is a rather lazy, dissolute abandon on Sunday which may actually allow us to let go of some unnecessary baggage. In fact, significant, grounded progress may happen quietly, without any apparent effort. There is a comfortable sense of relief on Monday. However, we may be tempted to squeeze just a bit more by using deception or manipulation. We feel a newfound sense of freedom on Tuesday. We find an atmosphere intent on exposure and a distinct search for truth. We are seeking to enact and enforce 'change' on Wednesday. We feel increasing determination to 'speak our minds'. A heady sense of power emerges on Thursday with a strong emotional commitment. A social component encourages us to share our ideas with others. There is an imperative to take action on Friday. Our attitude is quite 'matter-of-fact' with little attention paid to any emotional responses or push back. A feeling of destiny, fate, or mission comes forward on Saturday. We sense that there is 'no going back' and believe that there is little left to fight about.