*Eleditor’s note: Astrology isn’t a religion. We’re not sure it’s a science, either. It’s magic, maybe. But, as with feng shui, say, things affect things. So as long as we don’t go blaming our problems on the stars, as long as we assume responsibility for our own actions…well, hell, a little auspicious coincidence and applicable wisdom can’t hurt. 

For an explanation of how energy affects you please click here.

Currently both Saturn and Jupiter are in retrograde and Mars is in the retrograde shadow, and will be turning in Sagittarius on April 17^th.

On April 12^th Mercury sextiles Neptune and Venus trine Mars igniting our intuitive abilities, giving us mental alertness and an enhanced insight and awareness about every aspect of our lives. It is the perfect time for meeting people and planning ventures. We will feel level headed with a heightened perception so social encounters should be high on our agenda.

There is also a Sun/Eris conjunction on April 12th. Eris, named after the Greek Goddess of Discord, is a dwarf planet that rules Libra, the sign of opposites and indecision. Therefore, we will be encouraged to become far more compassionate and understanding in our dealings with others so that we avoid fall-outs through differences or clashes of ego.

Eris has a troublesome, challenging, but transformational influence that empowers us to reach towards our dreams and fulfill our ambitions. It may bring to the surface egotistical elements of our personality as we feel we are finally unstoppable, charging straight through any obstacles with disregard and ease.

This contradictory phase can make us temporarily feel a little chaotic and as though we are going through an internal identity crisis. Fortunately though, it won’t take long for us to reflect, center and make sense of the sharp burst of courage and determination we have received.

We will very quickly rationalize that feeling fearless as well as proud of our achievements is perfectly acceptable, and as long as we don’t get too far above or ahead of ourselves, everything we are aiming for will naturally fall into place.

Overall, this is a liberating eye-opening period that will make us question, “Who am I?” as we begin to accept new aspects of ourselves that we haven’t yet consciously seen, explored, felt or connected to before.

Once we embrace and accept these bolder and braver qualities and when we have questioned the sincerity of our values, motives, intentions in detail, we will align and bond very firmly with this new side to our authentic self. Very similarly to how the dwarf planet Erin was quickly and lovingly “accepted” into our solar system, after its discovery in 2005 initially caused a little volatility, confusion and disruption.

On April 12^th there is a trine between Venus in Aries and Mars in Sagittarius, which provides a seductive, sensual and passionate flow of energy. If we tune into and align with this energy, our romantic relationships will reach an emotional and physical peak.

Due to this affectionate energy we may feel strongly magnetized towards others who are on a similar vibrational frequency to us and this could bring about new and long-lasting friendships or we may even attract soul-mate connections.

The energy from Mars and Sagittarius encourages us to burst through anything that has been holding us back, although, the energy may be a little volatile so we should try to rein it in a little if we feel that it is causing more conflict than peace.
Within our romantic relationships or with people we are closed to we may be facing a battle with either inferiority or superiority complexes. Our own complexes will be mirrored when we communicate with others and we will be forced to question our intentions and also face up to the health of our self-esteem, whether it is feelings of unworthiness or grandiosity.

April 14^th begins the first quarter Moon in Cancer. This can push us to us reface the energy that Erin brought in on April 12^th. We will be asking ourselves if we are being too aggressive or forceful in our interactions, or it may be the opposite, and we might be feeling disempowered, meaningless and insignificant. Whichever of these opposing ways we are feeling, they will be enhanced so that we receive the opportunity to focus on them, rationalize with them and then rebalance emotionally.

April 14^th-17^th brings a Grand Earth Trine, with Mercury in Taurus, Jupiter Rx in Virgo and Pluto in Capricorn. This is a period when we will feel fully grounded and connected to Earth. Our intuition will be heightened, creative endeavors suddenly become effortless, and artistic gifts, talents, and skills shine brightly so we can finally recognize our unique personal brilliance. We will begin to see a “bigger picture” form, as anything that we have been focusing on easily manifests, so it is the perfect day for putting plans in place and taking action on anything we have previously not felt confident enough to unearth.

On April 17^th Mars turns retrograde in Sagittarius. Mars only retrogrades once every two years. Mars is named after the God of War and pulls out our assertive, aggressive, warrior type energy. Due to the Sagittarian influence we will be confronted with various conflicts of interest that will make us question not only our own beliefs and values, but also those of the people we are close to.

We may find we impulsively get passionately involved in heated debates, especially if we feel that we are somewhat responsible for restoring peace and balance. It will benefit us to realize that fighting fire with fire has never once put out a blaze. When we simmer and see situations without our emotions clouding the scene, we will be in a far better position to tackle any disputes so that serious and permanent damage is not caused to any personal, business or financial matters.
We may lose patience very quickly with aspects of our lives that we have tolerated previously. Those who are in the firing line may be shocked and disgruntled at our sudden and apparent change of mindset. Tensions during the retrograde will build, although, if we remain consciously aware throughout, and very mindful of our dealings with people, it is possible that we can ride this retrograde smoothly and find alternative ways to release our aggressive pent up energy.

Mars is in retrograde for approximately 11 weeks, so if anything that might be highly conflicting can be shelved and dealt with after this irrational period, it is highly advisable. If there is one word to remember over these next weeks, it is patience. On the plus side, it offers us a great opportunity to slow down so that we can consider how we express ourselves and we can then learn new strategies for dealing with those who temper our frustrations.

This overall energy may be causing restlessness not only in our daily lives but also causing havoc with our sleeping patterns. We may either be sleeping far more than normal or finding it difficult to reach a sleep state during the night. Currently dreams may be vivid, leaving a lasting effect. We will possibly be receiving subliminal messages during our dream-state, essentially so that we wake up to what is harmful or no longer serving us in our personal life.

As the surrounding energy is very heavy at the moment, we will be going through stages of extreme revolutionary change, so we may feel exhausted and want to sleep during the day more than we usually would. It is possible that due to the intensity of these naps we will feel zoned out when we wake. We will likely be reaching a far deeper level of sleep than we are throughout the night.

It is also possible that there are different times throughout the day we will have a burst of energy that feels as though it comes out of nowhere. The more attuned and sensitive we are to incoming energy, the greater disturbance we will experience with our personal energy levels as we integrate the two.

Due to feeling frazzled recently we may have been struggling to communicate effectively. We may have chosen to avoid certain conversations that we know need to be addressed, purely because we have felt fatigued and drained emotionally, mentally and physically.

One of the reasons this is happening is that we are overloaded and overwhelmed by external cosmic stimuli. Our bodies and minds are saying “enough already!” This is signaling we need to regularly seek out escapism from the rollercoaster energies all around us.

We can ease this energetic burden by reducing the amount of time we spend around highly stimulating appliances, such as, televisions, laptops, mobile phones and environments were we feel as though our energy is zapped. Rest, recharge and recuperate is the message for this week.

We may be feeling highly sensitive, raw, vulnerable and our physical bodies may be experiencing aches and pains that have been caused by empathetically attuning with others. This will cause us to crave healing therapies or pampering, relaxing alternative practices. We can choose to seek out professional treatment, however, there are plenty of ways we can realign and soothe ourselves from the comfort of our own home with either Yoga, meditation, cooking, creating, or we can take a short trip out to the countryside.

We can try to focus on looking after ourselves and taking time out to replenish ourselves either alone, or surrounded by people whose energy feels calm and harmonizing.

Nature will be calling us, so hikes in the forest or across a mountainside, trips to a lake or the beach, or any pursuit that takes us far from all the electrical smog will help to cleanse our aura, clear our mind, recalibrate our emotions and rebalance and rejuvenate our energy levels.

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Relephant:

Synchronicity & The Connection to 11:11—Listening to Signs from the Universe.

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Mindful offering:

Amethyst Bracelet Stack

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Author: Alex Myles

Editor: Travis May

Images: Image Catalog/Flickr