April 2025

Wreckage and Wonder: Rising Through the Undertow

April arrives like smoke still hanging in the air after a fire. We step into the month on the heels of a partial solar eclipse in Aries and the epochal ingress of Neptune into Aries, both of which occurred in the final days of March. These transits do not end as the calendar flips — they stretch out like seismic aftershocks, coloring every planetary drama this month with a tone of fuzzy aggression, ideological confusion, and the ember sparks of impulse and initiation.

April opens with a rare moment of morning clarity — Venus’ heliacal rise at 27° Pisces on April 1. This is the morning star reborn, emerging from the beams of the Sun with a quiet, reflective radiance. Retrograde and approaching her conjunction with Saturn, she surfaces like a relic pulled from the deep — not necessarily broken, but weathered and weighted with meaning. For some, this may be the rediscovery of forgotten strengths: gifts of endurance, loyalty, or creative clarity long buried beneath distraction. For others, this may be the reckoning with a dream that no longer holds — distorted hopes illuminated by the absence of Neptune, now departed from Pisces. Whether it’s a treasure recovered or an illusion dissolved, this Venus does not rise for romance alone. She rises for the work of discernment — and the grace of knowing what remains.

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The Aries / Pisces Divide

The boundary between Pisces and Aries remains the most active and unstable fault line in the sky. With Neptune’s recent ingress into Aries, we are entering an era defined by ideologically-charged action — often impulsive, frequently unexamined, and driven by a deep need to make meaning through movement. Neptune in Aries magnifies the archetype of the soldier and savior, infusing it with conviction but little restraint. This can result in misdirected aggression, or cause battles to be chosen for symbolic weight rather than strategic necessity. In some cases, this will be a literal call to war — in others, it will be the rush to take a stand, make a statement, or claim moral ground before the situation is fully understood. Reflection may be seen as weakness in this new terrain.

April 1–3 perfects the ongoing trine between Mars in Cancer and Saturn in Pisces, aligning two water-bound forces that normally resist direct confrontation. What they share here is a capacity for disciplined, emotionally-rooted persistence. This is action that comes not from impulse, but from care, loyalty, and quiet resolve. Mars in Cancer defends what it loves; Saturn in Pisces endures for what it believes must be carried. At their best they enable relentless caretaking, tenacious advocacy, or private endurance in the face of loss. This could show up in the persistence of caregivers, whistleblowers, or artists refusing to abandon their work despite overwhelming tides. It’s a form of labor that doesn’t ask to be seen — but won’t be stopped, either.

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April 7 – A Solar Apex and a Quadruple Convergence

• Sun in Aries reaches its degree of exaltation, highlighting themes of courage, decisive leadership, and self-assertion. A moment of renewal and personal ignition.
  
• Meanwhile, a quadruple conjunction unfolds in Pisces:
  Mercury (stationing direct) + North Node + Venus retrograde + Saturn.
  This cluster creates a dense, emotionally-charged atmosphere where forward movement requires nuanced navigation, lest we get mired in melancholy or dopamine-fueled distraction.
  
• Mercury stationing direct suggests delays or revisions begin to resolve — but slowly, and not without confusion. Expect messages or realizations that shift long-term direction.
  
• Venus conjunct Saturn marks a sobering checkpoint in relationships, values, and creative pursuits. Commitments may deepen or dissolve.
  In some cases, this transit calls for a balance: responsibility without austerity, joy without recklessness.
  
• Altogether, this day represents a crossroads of clarity and complexity — the Sun in Aries urges forward motion, while Pisces pulls us inward. The confluence will likely land in two distinct houses of a person’s individual chart, showing up in separate areas of life that may feel in tension: one demanding initiative, the other calling for emotional discernment and commitment.

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Mid-month: A Full Moon with Teeth

The Full Moon in Libra on April 12 conjoins benefic Spica, a fixed star tied to refinement, talent, and the harvest — the chaff of wheat. But a sharp square to Mars in Cancer brings disruption, making this lunation less about elegance and more about conflict, particularly around protectionism and emotional territory.

Given Spica’s agricultural symbolism and the square from Mars, we may see instability in food supply chains, especially as global shipping routes remain stressed and tariff tensions flare. This moon may echo broader concerns about the security of essentials — not just wheat, but trust and faith.

The ruler, Venus, is stationing direct in Pisces, still near Saturn. The atmosphere is delicate, restrained. This Full Moon may surface tensions in partnerships or artistic efforts, but also offers a moment to rebalance — to decide what’s worth sustaining, and what must left fallow for the new season.

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Shifts and Closures: Mercury, Mars, and the Return to Fire

Mercury enters Aries on April 15 and conjoins Neptune the following day — a flash of inspiration, but one that may outpace discernment. Words move faster than facts here, and instinct can easily outrun clarity. This transit may bring bold declarations, impulsive decisions, or the urge to act before the full picture is revealed.

Then on April 17, Mars re-enters Leo, marking the final act in a retrograde cycle whose shadow stretches back to early October and now sees Mars retrace his path original laid from mid-December to mid-January. In Cancer, Mars has been bogged down in emotional terrain — concerned with home, origin, memory, and legacy. It has not fought in open battle, but dug trenches around kinship, protection, and ancestral entanglements. For many, this has been a time of fatigue, caretaking, and quiet resentment — a slow burn rather than a blaze.

This period also coincided with the devastating fires in Los Angeles, a literal manifestation of Mars’ conflicted condition — fire on the Ocean’s edge, smoldering action stifled by smoke and grief. As Mars now re-enters Leo, we may see the first signs of rebuilding and renewal, both in physical landscapes and in personal resolve. The internal becomes external, and the frustrations or insights gathered over the past several months begin to assert themselves in the visible world. While the transition may feel abrupt, it’s not without consequence — the scars of recent months still ache. But from here, agency returns, and with it, a renewed drive to lead, act, and defend with clarity of purpose.

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The Final Week: Intensity Reaches a Crescendo

• April 21 – Saturn conjunct the North Node in Pisces
  Saturn’s need for order meets the insatiable hunger of the North Node. In Pisces, where boundaries dissolve, this creates tension — a push to structure the uncontainable. Efforts to compartmentalize emotion may feel like drawing lines in water. Expect themes around limits, discipline, and emotional overreach, especially where ideals confront reality.
  
• April 24 – Moon conjunct Venus, Saturn, and the North Node in Pisces
  This lunar alignment intensifies the ongoing emotional weight in Pisces. Feelings may rise to the surface without clear resolution. The urge to care, commit, or hold on may conflict with a need to retreat. Quiet reflection may offer more than action.
  
• April 26 – Mars in Leo opposes Pluto in Aquarius
  The final Mars-Pluto opposition marks a clash between personal drive and immovable systems. Mars demands expression; Pluto enforces control. This moment brings power struggles, confrontations, or standoffs that test individual will against entrenched authority.
  
• April 27 – New Moon in Taurus
  This lunation offers a desire for rest and simplicity, but it doesn’t come easily. Though Taurus seeks grounding, opposition to Mars and square to Pluto suggest an undercurrent of lingering tension. The past still echoes, and future demands are stirring. Even so, this is a time to begin again — to plant with intention, even in unsettled soil.
  
• April 30 – Venus re-enters Aries
  Venus departs the sanctuary of Pisces — a place where she has been exalted, able to attract what she desires through grace, receptivity, and deep emotional wisdom. As she re-enters Aries, she returns to territory first crossed in early March, now with the hindsight of her retrograde journey. The tone shifts from contemplative to impulsive, and where she once waited, she now acts — sometimes before thinking. But Aries does not forget. Consequences from choices made earlier in the year may be waiting. This ingress marks not just a change of pace, but a return to unfinished storylines, where desire moves quickly — and resolution may demand more than momentum.
  

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Closing Reflections

April 2025 is a crucible. We are still reeling from March’s eclipse and Neptune’s ingress. The long Pisces narrative — featuring Saturn, Venus, the Nodes, and the lingering retrogrades — continues to press on the dissolving edges of reality, responsibility, and faith. Mars, completing his retrograde cycle, signals the end of a long confusion around courage, yet immediately faces down Pluto before moving forward.

We may not find clarity this month, but we will begin to sense which illusions can no longer hold, and where endurance of spirit must replace wishful thinking. In the Aries-Pisces terrain, the journey is mythic: a call to move forward even while carrying the mysteries we cannot yet resolve.