Venus is at the forefront of this week’s astrological news, and already I’m seeing subtle signs of transitioning into a “higher vibration,” in New Age speak.

Venus, of course, is the planet of love. There are many kinds of love, some of which aren’t really love at all. True love is inextricably linked with higher consciousness, and with Venus heading back into Pisces this week, I see a huge opening for any of us who are ready to jump up a level. I’ll write more about this below, but first let’s have a look at the week’s aspects.

The Mars-Saturn opposition, which was exact on April 4, continues to reverberate in the first part of this week as the Moon conjoins Saturn in Virgo on Monday and then opposes Mars and Uranus on Tuesday. The headlines over the weekend were rife with fatal shootings. My bus never showed up on Friday afternoon because the driver allegedly was assaulted. Mount Redoubt, which had been quiet all week, erupted on Saturday. On Sunday, North Korea launched a rocket it says was for peaceful purposes but that the international community charges was for testing long-range nuclear capability. This event most certainly is going to have consequences, especially as Mars approaches conjunction with Uranus on April 15.

But perhaps diplomacy will prevail, with Mercury entering Taurus on Thursday, half an hour before the Full Moon in Libra. Both Taurus and Libra are ruled by Venus. Whereas Taurus represents the sensual side of Venus, Libra symbolizes peace and reconciliation. Fortunately, there has been a lot of that in the news lately, too. As usual, Neith will enlighten us further about the Full Moon, so watch this space for her update in a day or two.

On Friday, the Sun in Aries forms a dynamic sextile with Jupiter in Aquarius, with the Big Guy making his final approach to conjunction with Chiron and Neptune. Here we see more healing energy being channeled into the collective, with the potential for huge breakthroughs. Pay attention on Friday when Mercury trines Pluto, and you will see precisely how this background energy is affecting you personally. If you’re a fairly evolved soul, you’ll feel it internally more than externally, but often there is an immediate reaction in our outer world when we change on a personal level.

Also on Saturday, Venus re-enters Pisces, where she’ll remain at 29 degrees for nearly two weeks. During that time, she’ll conjoin Mars, who has another two and half weeks to go in Pisces.

I’m watching this conjunction closely, as 29 Pisces is the omega, the final degree of the zodiac, sometimes called the “weeping degree” (some astrologers refer to the last degree of any sign as the weeping degree). Despite the potential for suffering, I also see this conjunction as holding much potential for resolution, especially since it feeds into the greater energy pattern that has dominated the sky for weeks. As I’ve mentioned before, that’s the mutual reception between Uranus in Pisces and Neptune in Aquarius.

It’s generally accepted that Uranus represents individual freedom and remaining true to oneself at all costs, while Neptune is about dissolution of the ego and merging into the collective. However, Uranus also represents synthesis, and this is, I believe, the key to reconciling what would appear to be mutually exclusive goals. Not only can we fit seamlessly into the collective as fully realized individuals, but the whole becomes greater than the sum of its parts. There is real magic and healing here, and I’m excited to see where it’s leading.

Although she’ll be in the final degree of Pisces, Venus is exalted in Pisces, and she’ll be feeding into higher love of Neptune. Some see this love as spiritual and therefore unsullied by bodily desires, but this is unfortunate. It’s well-established that sex can be a vehicle to higher consciousness, and that is what makes it sacred. As I see it, the conjunction of Mars and Venus under current astrological conditions creates a huge window for a jump in consciousness through intimate love relationships.

Not to be neglected, Ceres turns direct on Sunday. For me, the jury is still out about the meaning of Ceres in individual and mundane charts, so I continue to observe and record. As always, if anyone has thoughts about this, please leave a comment.

Love and blessings to all,
Pat

Image: Sleeping Beauty, by Maxfield Parrish, 1912. In some ways, Venus will be “sleeping” as she stations for two weeks at 29 degrees Pisces. We might imagine a kiss from Mars waking her up as they both move forward into fiery Aries.