This week is mostly about the blossoming of last Saturday’s New Moon in Taurus. I hope you all remembered to write your abundance checks!

In the New Moon chart, the Sun was in a lovely earth trine with Mars in Virgo and Pluto in Capricorn. This week, the Sun’s aspects to Mars and Pluto are exact – the Sun-Mars trine on Monday and the Sun-Pluto trine on Sunday (April 29).

Each of these trines has its own correlations, but I think they should be read as a whole and not as three individual trines. To view this configuration holistically, we need to look all the way back to November 23, 2011, for the earliest developments. That’s when Mars made the first of three trines to Pluto. The second pass occurred on March 14, when Mars was retrograde. On the same day, Mars made an exact trine with Jupiter. So, essentially, the trine we have now is a reflection of the one we experienced in mid-March. The difference is that Mars is now direct – and that really is a big difference. Mars is the action planet, and when he’s in reverse motion (that’s what it looks like from our position here on Earth), we can end up spinning our wheels and not having a lot to show for all our energy and effort.

More importantly, the cycle is now complete. It’s as though the Sun’s trine to Mars and Pluto is the “seal” signing the deal. Your biggest clue about the effect on you personally is probably your own experience, so think back to the most significant event in your life in mid- to late November, and then look at related events in mid-March. You may have had even more than one major development, although they probably are related. For example, if the planets in the trine have been transiting your second, sixth, and tenth houses, you may have been promised a promotion and maybe even got it, but finally you’ll get the raise and a bigger staff that were supposed to come with the title.

As nice as all of this sounds, it isn’t coming without a fair share of turmoil. The metaphorical cow pie won’t really hit the fan until this summer, but we’ll likely get a big whiff of what’s to come mid-week, with Mercury’s square to Pluto. As you’ll recall from Mythology 101, Mercury is the Messenger, and in this case, he’s going to be bearing some announcements of what to expect when the Uranus-Pluto square makes its first exact pass on June 24. This is a Very Big Deal. And while it likely will manifest more on a societal and cultural level than in our individual lives, we’ll do well to sit up and take notice of events this week that involve political rebellion, cultural revolution, and backlashes against same.

For me, situations have been developing right on cue. With Mars recently retrograde in my ninth house, I dropped some classes so that I could devote more time to my astrology clients. Right as Mars was stationing direct, I was asked to return, and so I’ll be back to carrying a heavier academic load and lighter astrology schedule. On the positive side, my work in class is centered on an exciting astrology project, about which I’ll be able to say more in a month or two.

In the meantime, the StarGuide monthly forecasts for May are ready (please note that the StarGuide Spring 2012 forecast included the May report in its entirety, so if you’ve already ordered the spring StarGuide, you don’t need an additional report).

I’d like to end this week’s forecast with a stunning video from Ole C. Salomonsen in Norway, who spent all those dark winter months filming the incredible auroras generated by this year’s heightened solar activity. Indeed, I’m starting to wonder if we’re not feeling this phenomenon physically and psychologically. It makes sense. Solar flares disrupt the Earth’s electromagnetic field, so why wouldn’t they have an effect on our individual electromagnetic energies? As far as I know, though, no one has auroras like this streaming around their heads – even while listening at full volume to the suitably awe-inspiring soundtrack by Kai-Anders Ryan.

Celestial Lights from Ole C. Salomonsen on Vimeo.

Much love and courage to all,
Pat