Your April Horoscope for RUSSH Magazine here. With the Sun in Aries for most of the month, April will heat up fire signs more than usual. Virgos will need to learn to speak up, Taurus will be in deep thought over secrets and falsehoods and Leos may have some travel on the horizon - and we'll all be feeling an emotional change when the Full Moon arrives on 27.
Aries
Mercury joins the Sun and Venus in your 1st House of Self on the 3rd of April, forming a potent trifecta until Venus dashes off to Taurus mid-month. Mercury is usually associated with speech and communication, but it also deals with legerity of mind--intelligence, calculation, logic, and business sense. It is a clever planet, which, when brightened by the Aries Sun, will have you finding satisfaction in the life of the mind and creative problem solving. Another way of thinking of this triple conjunction: Sun (career)+Mercury (business)+Venus (money) suggests a transit that could be lined with savvy business decisions.
Taurus
You could be feeling a bit more introspective and haunted by yesteryears at the beginning of April, since the Sun will be energising your 12th House of the Unconscious. You may, therefore, find yourself ruminating on secrets, lies, and dreams deferred (this sounds like a Fleetwood Mac song). You will perk up, however, starting on the 14th, as glittering Venus, the ruler of your sign, comes home for a nice four week stint. Venus at home in Taurus is like Mariah Carey at home in New Jersey: a time of luxury and splurging. When the Sun moves into your 1st House of Self on the 19th, the darker days that started the month will yield to a more powerful and auspicious Venus-Sun conjunction.
Gemini
Mars will be in your 1st House of Self until the 23rd, and it won’t be back for a couple years, which could be a good thing, as this might be a bit of a rocky transit. Traditionally Mars has been known as “the Knife” because it cut things apart--friendships, partnerships, and political alliances. Mars in Gemini is doubly exacerbated, then, since the Twins are by nature divided, as well. To triple the problem: when fiery Mars is in one’s Sun sign, it heats up even more, meaning increased temper, harsh words, and arrogance. Be extra careful around your crew this month, since the Aries Sun transits your 11th House of Friendship until the 19th. Butting heads, competition, and anger (all symptoms of Mars/Aries) might slice into your relations with others. Thankfully Mars exiting on the 23rd will leave you feeling less heated by month’s end.
Cancer
You’ve got Aries Sun--which is all about charging forward and being direct--in your 10th House of Career until the 19th. This energy, which in a fire sign could make one aggressive and competitive amongst co-workers, might actually do your watery, gentle nature well. The directness of the Ram might prompt you to ask for that raise after 8 years at the company. On the 19th, the Sun shifts to Taurus and your 11th House of Friendships--a much gentler and welcomed placement for you. When Mars, the soldier, enters your sign on the 23rd, you will be feeling extra protective of your BFFs.
Leo
Aries Sun heats up fire signs even more than usual, and Leo will be welcoming this raised cosmic temperature, as the Lion has been in an astrological rut this year. But things are finally shifting, especially in your 9th House of Spirituality, Education, and Travel, where the Sun is energising you until the 19th. Time to take a trip, either spiritually or physically. Recall, too, that the 9th House is ruled by Jupiter, which is all about expansion. Jupiter, Sun, Leo, Aries, Fire--all these elements are combining to make you feel like your big cat-self again. The last 11 days of the month will be more focused on the workplace. Taurus Sun, Venus, and Mercury will be highlighting your 10th House of Honour and Prestige. This is a very strong triple conjunction indicating largesse: Venus (money), Sun (career), Mercury (business), Taurus (material comfort), 10th House (career).
Virgo
It's time to speak up, especially in a public context. Until the 23rd, Mars, the mansplainer, is in vocal Gemini, a sign, which, like yourself, is Mercury-ruled. So this is a very talkative transit. But with battleking Mars involved, you will be feeling braver than usual and more inclined to get your twopence across. Mars can quickly go from passionate to aggressive, though, so be aware of that as you engage your negotiating skills or broach pet peeves that have long rankled. The new Moon on April 11th should be seen in a romantic light--voice your feelings for that girl or guy you see at the coffeeshop each morning, the one with that little puppy s/he calls Hotspur.
Libra
If you are romantically engaged to some special soul, this Aries season could finally be an auspicious month for tying the knot. Until the 19th, the Sun will be activating your 7th House of Marriage, suggesting a strong moment to make things official in love. Since the 7th House also deals with partnerships more generally, solidify business relations with contracts signed, sealed, and delivered. If you are married, however, this could be a time of ego-clashing, so make sure that the man-cave is stocked with beer: indeed you may need a bit of space from you-know-who. After the 19th, the Sun moves into the witchy 8th House of Sex, Birth, Death (the best house really), so bring those beers into the bedroom and get your freak on.
Scorpio
Mercury enters into the 6th House of Wellness on the 3rd. Mercury loves this 6th House placement, as its emphasis on health and body helps ground the intellectually inclined planet. You will likely have an impulse to work extra hard during this short transit--on your soul (the Sun is conjunct Mercury until the 19th), on your body, and at the office. Your ruling planet, Mars, lights up your 9th House of Philosophy and Knowledge on the 23rd, so expect a big surge of courage to finally approach Wittgenstein’s Philosophical Investigations. The end of the month is where things get interesting, as bulldozer Pluto, your other ruling planet, goes retrograde on the 27th for six months. While the rest of the zodiac will be fearing Pluto’s backward motion, which will turn all our dreams upside down or inside out, your inner life and fantasies, by nature dark and twisted (in the best way), will feel more right side up.
Sagittarius
Until mid-month (the 14th to be exact, because Astrology is an exact science), perfumed Venus is clicking through your 5th House of Pleasure and Romance--doubled amor vibes for two weeks. Enjoy this placement because Venus is happy here, especially with the Sun further lighting up the 5th House until the 19th. As an added bonus, silver-tongue Mercury will be hanging around in House 5, aka Pleasure Dome, so you may have a bit more sass to your texts and boudoir chat. On the 19th, the Sun switches to sybaritic Taurus--so you’re all up in the lap of luxury this month. Let the good times roll.
Capricorn
You’re going to be feeling many different influences this month. For the first part, you’ve got the Sun in your 4th House of Family, so you’ll be bonding with kinfolk, remonstrating the class clowns of your life to do homework, and mostly daydreaming about the second part of the month. That’s when the Sun moves into your 5th House of Pleasure, Fun, Entertainment. Then you’ll be the life of the party, drinking with friends and not thinking at all about the chores or responsibilities at home at all. Just make sure that you don’t have too much fun and imbibe too much because bad boy Pluto goes retrograde on the 27th. Pluto is all about torment and conflict and guilt--turning you inside out.
Aquarius
You’ve got the two heavyweights in the boxing ring of your sign: in one corner, Saturn, the lord of the rings, the ruler of Aquarius, the ice-king.; in the other, Jupiter, the party animal, the bestower of largesse and grapes, and, for now, Saturn’s house guest/captive. Sure, there are other transits happening for you, but the real tension is between the opposing, titan forces of Saturn and Jupiter. If you’re feeling weighed down, it is understandable. We all are feeling heavy because of this grand conjunction in the Waterbearer. The weight will lighten up when Jupiter heads to Piscesnext month. Until then, on the 19th, we pass into Taurus season, and the Sun will limn your 4th House of Home, warming it up a bit, because right now it’s a cold, cold house with Saturn who keeps the air conditioning on even at night.
Pisces
You and Aries don’t get along well. You’re like step-siblings forced to live in close proximity on the zodiac wheel because your parents did something banal, like fall in love and get married. Now the aggressive Ram is blasting its sun-energy all around, and you’re not feeling it with your dreamy ways. Unlike most romantic comedies, where the jock (Aries) and the artsy girl (Pisces) eventually bond after initial misunderstandings (the jock is actually a poet), this scenario won’t ever happen between you two in zodiac life. Just wait a bit until the 19th, when you can luxuriate in tony Taurus, a sign much more amenable to you than the Ram next door, blasting Metallica.
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