April will be a somewhat intense month. Until Pluto turns retrograde late in the month, there are no retrograde planets to slow us down. However, transiting Pluto is still closely opposing (a 180 degree aspect) the USA’s natal Mercury and forming a conjunction (a zero to 10 degree aspect) with natal Pluto. Since Mercury rules communications and public opinion, this could cause segments of the population to be obstinate, hyper-reactive, and defensive. It will also add fuel to the “us vs. them” mentality,” and I believe we will continue to see increased racial and political tension.
Transiting Neptune is opposing the USA’s natal Neptune and this increases the likelihood that misinformation and conspiracy theories will overtake the truth. In the nation’s chart, natal Neptune squares (a hard 90 degree aspect) natal Mars. This is a very repressive influence in the country’s chart. It means the country’s self-talk isn’t always accurate. An aspect like this indicates the exploitation and victimization of minority groups that characterized the founding and expansion of the country and continues to this day, almost as a matter of habit. We are being challenged to improve this destructive attitude.
Transiting Neptune opposing the USA’s natal Neptune is not a new aspect. It has been hanging around for a while now. The difference in April is that the aspect is now exact at 22 degrees. In hard aspects, such as the USA’s natal Neptune/ Mars square aspect, Neptune can generate feelings of anxiety and paranoia. Because Neptune rules hard to diagnose diseases, it probably also contributed to the 2020 virus’ surge that remains persistent despite the increase in vaccinations.
Saturn and Uranus remain in a tight 90-degree square aspect to each other. As I said last month, Saturn and Jupiter aspects occur at fairly regular intervals and are harbingers of societal change. Without difficult aspects to push humanity into new territory and new levels of consciousness, there would probably be very little deviation from the past.
Two vulnerable groups that are likely to gain more attention in the next few weeks are women and children. I am thinking, in particular, of families that were separated at the border, Transiting Jupiter will conjunct the USA’s natal moon in an exact aspect later this month and then go on to trine natal Venus. All women, women’s groups, and child advocacy groups are likely to become more visible and vocal. I see this as a very positive trend. We need more female leadership. As Forbes and US News and World Report magazines point out, the countries that best handled the pandemic were led by women.