If you were expecting some kind of sun sign nonsense, forget about it. This is real astrology for the real world. If it's real astrology for yourself that you want, you can get it by phone or in print. And if you need help deciphering the astrological glyphs in the graphics accompanying this article, see Astroglyphs: Astrological Symbols Guide. Please note: this forecast is expressed in terms of Universal Time (UT).
I have been over into the future, and it works.
-- Lincoln Steffens
 

Geocosmic currents stirring up powerful tides in Earth's oceans of air and water as well as the planet's crust remain stronger than usual this month - although there are signs of relative easing, compared to the first quarter. After all, this will be the first month of the year without a SuperMoon or an eclipse (or both). But lunar declination remains at or very near its 18.6-year high this month, so Mother Nature is still a bit wild-eyed. Once we get through April, - and particularly, away from the first of the month - the disturbances should ease off a bit. The year as a whole will still rank high on the storm and seismic danger scale, but with any luck at all we could be in for a bit of a respite next month (except for the period around May 4, I suspect).

Expect the land and sea and sky to be on the dicey side early in the month, as the SuperMoon solar eclipse effect from March 29 unwinds through the 4th. The April 13 full moon effect kicks in on the 10th, and doesn't ease off until early on the 20th, thanks to the lunar south declination extreme on the 18th. Perhaps the second most intense geocosmic stress window runs from the 24th on into May, judging from the lunar perigee (closest approach to Earth) on the 25th, the Moon's northward crossing of the celestial equator the same day, the full moon on the 27th (at 7° 24' Taurus, squaring Saturn), and the May 1 north declination extreme. All of the aforementioned periods are times when destructive storms and tides, heavy precipitation leading to flooding, mudslides and the like, and moderate to severe earthquake activity (Richter 5+) and volcanic eruptions will grab more than their usual share of headline news. Be prepared for bad weather, allow extra time if traveling, and have your emergency supplies handy just in case.

Mercury's intersolar cycle wraps up on the 8th, when the little Sun-grazer as morning star reaches its maximum elongation west of the Sun. Until then, Mercury remains on the same side of the Sun as Earth, but it will soon pass behind the plane of our local star. Likewise until then, expect a continuation of one of the major celestial themes at work since February 23. All things mercurial - thought, communication, commerce and transportation, primarily - take on greater than usual importance at times like this. Know it and prepare for it, and you prosper. Fail to step up, and it feels like everything goes wrong - a Murphy's Law miasma of lost or misplaced stuff, missing information, missed connections and all kinds of messes and delays. So double-check everything, have a back-up plan, take nothing for granted.

As predicted, this particular Mercury intersolar cycle already has been marked by notable strikes and other disruptions affecting transportation and communication (e.g. postal, phone, mass transit, trucking, airline, shipping, dock and warehouse workers, teachers and all manner of media). Hang on until the 8th, at which time the disruptions should drop back to a more or less normal ratio of signal to noise. Until then, be prepared in case weather (terrestrial and solar, including geomagnetic storms) or human misfeasance (and sometimes malfeasance) tips off power failures or other infrastructure breakdowns (including computer network disruptions caused by hacker attacks, software vulnerabilities and the like).

Pluto's March 29 retrograde station at 26° 45' Sagittarius, and Saturn's direct station at 4° 23' Leo on April 5 are both within a degree of being exact for the entire month of April. The combination points to a peak in most major equity markets, and a take-off in mineral commodity markets (including precious metals, but not limited to them). As I pointed out last month, both Saturn and Pluto are so slow in apparent motion at their station points, that this combination has been in effect for most of March already. Given that the metals and many other mineral commodities have already taken off, while many of the major equity markets have already peaked and fallen back, it appears clear that this part of last month's forecast is already in play. Further shake-ups that shake down the equities and drive up commodities are likely off and on throughout April. Buy the precious metals on the dips, is how I read this. And don't get so greedy as to tell yourself only a big dip will do, or you'll end up stuck on the sidelines.

One of the shake-ups I have in mind here is due early in the month, within several days either side of the 8th - the day of Mercury's maximum western elongation as well as Mars' opposition to Pluto. Breakdowns in negotiations and break-outs of violence - criminal, terrorist and military - are the kind of things that shake confidence at times like this . . . maybe even set off a panic. Fires, explosions, chemicals, crashes and good old-fashion shoot-outs look like a part of this. On the personal front, discussions can turn into arguments, deep-seated differences can emerge with surprising intensity. Think balance, listening, explaining, compromise.

The year's keynote T-square raises its head again this month, in the form of the Sun's square to Saturn on the 25th, followed by its opposition to Jupiter on May 4 and square to Neptune six days later: a series of tremors shaking confidence in the social, cultural, political and most especially economic substrata of civilization. These shocks are starting to come more often and closer together, as you may have noticed. And they make it more and more clear to more and more people that this is a system on the brink, and it won't take much to put it into a spasm. More than just the mineral commodities, this is about banking, credit, and the financial system; about confidence and trust, and how these things erode in time if they're not cultivated and reinforced. Savvy observers and participants are coming to see that these things aren't being cultivated and reinforced - instead, they're drifting farther out of control. Reminders of this quandary are starting to appear almost on a daily basis in April.

Don't get grim, there's always an opening for enjoying the finer things in life - like that Venus-Mars trine late last month. This month, the pleasure principle comes to the fore around the 17th, give or take a few days, as Venus lines up with Uranus. Parties and other festive occasions, flirtations innocent or otherwise, hedonistic adventures . . . this is no time to be a wallflower.

SPECIAL FEATURE: This month's birthdays of the famous and infamous (with astrological birth charts)