If you were expecting some kind of sun sign nonsense, forget about it. This is real astrology for the real world, not some mystical mumbo-jumbo psycho-babble word salad. 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, aka GMT). Also please be aware that, while I never change a forecast once it's published, I do post errata to acknowledge typographical errors and the like.

PLEASE NOTE: This month’s forecast incorporates elements of (and refers to) my complete 2012 World Forecast Highlights (34 8-1/2 x 11” illustrated pages), focused, amplified and elaborated with details for the month as appropriate. If you’d like your own copy of the full 2012 World Forecast Highlights, it’s available in hard copy by mail ($75) or as a PDF document by email ($50). Orders may be phoned in (toll-free from anywhere in North America to 800-527-8761) and charged to any major credit card. PayPal orders may be placed direct from your own PayPal account page to rnolle@astropro.com – or by using the AstroPro PayPal order page.

It always looks darkest just before it gets totally black.
-- Charles M. Schulz
 

April brings the year’s first SuperMoon; the first in a series of three consecutive full moon SuperMoons, in fact. This ups the ante for strong storm, seismic and tidal action, as usual. There are three notable Max cycles going on at once this month: Mercury (through the 18th), as well as Venus and Mars (both in effect all month). There’s also a Saturn and a Pluto Max going on, but these tend to be less sharply focused than those of the planets closest to Earth; namely Mercury, Venus and Mars.

March, as promised in last month’s forecast (published in February), ranked high on the "haste, heat, fire, danger, belligerence and conflict" scale, with a "spike across the whole spectrum of violence, from the individual to the collective, from domestic, school and workplace violence to mass murder and spree killings all the way to suicide bombings and other terrorist atrocities." These are typical during this kind of cycle, as described in my article on Mars Max (and in the full copy of my 2012 World Forecast Highlights.)

The skinny on Mars Max this month is that the lion won’t be lying down with the lamb in April – unless they’re engaged in a death-roll on the ground. You should know what to look for by now: a surfeit of fires, crashes, clashes and explosions; more than enough danger to go around. Be cautious; steer clear of conflict and other dangers as best you can. And if you can’t dodge ‘em, at least try your very best to come out safe and sound – and victorious, if that’s at all an option. Remember that this operates at all levels, from the personal to the geopolitical; and that Mars messes like military clashes and oil infrastructure accidents (like the Gulf of Mexico BP disaster, a 2010 Mars Max phenomenon) and attacks can play havoc with international markets and economies.

If you can’t keep your guard up throughout April’s month-long Mars Max, at least be aware that the peak Mars vulnerabilities this month will tend to focus on the 14th. That’s the day of the Red Planet’s direct station (the point where the Mars retrograde comes to an end, and direct motion resumes). Mars spends the whole month within a degree of this point, so newsworthy mayhem can erupt not only on the 14th, but pretty much anytime this month . . . maybe especially around the 14th in particular, but also on or about the 4th (when Mars aligns with the Moon, as it did during the Mars Max of 2010 when the BP oil rig exploded in the Gulf of Mexico). Also keep a watchful eye out between the SuperMoon full moon on the 6th and the Pluto station on the 10th. (The latter is in effect all month, frankly.)

The continuing Mars Max aside, April is more than a white knuckle ride. The Venus Max that began on March 27 continues throughout April. Just as Venus is in many respects the very antithesis of Mars, Venus Max puts a spin of its own on the trends and events of the day. It’s the close approach of Venus, and it emphasizes love, romance, sensuality and all the finer things in life – including gain and prosperity, incidentally. I’ve already detailed this cycle in my article on Venus Max. It’s a celestial marker that augers well for equities and the economy in general, all else being equal. All else is likely not equal around the time of the April 15 Sun-Saturn opposition, a time (give or take a few days) when apprehension tends to send people running for safety for some reason. (A good buying opportunity for brave, patient investors, most likely.) That one defensive pothole aside, April looks good for love and money by and large – perhaps especially around the 25th, under the aegis of a Moon-Venus conjunction.

Mercury Max is also a major theme for the month. (See my article on the terrestrial meaning and celestial mechanics of this cycle; or the full version of my 2012 World Forecast Highlights.)

The main thing to keep in mind is this: stay sharp, stay on top of plans and processes – otherwise, they’ll turn to custard. Assume that nothing will come off as planned without constant attention, and you’ll be more right than wrong. Forget this, and you’ll be at the head of the Murphy’s Law parade. Schedules, connections, travel, communications, networks and other infrastructure are an errant keystroke for a deliberate sabotage from a breakdown during Mercury Max cycles like this one, which lasts until Mercury as morning star reaches maximum elongation west of the Sun on the 18th. Keep your wits about you and your focus sharp throughout this period, but most especially on or about the 4th (Mercury’s direct station) and the 18th in particular, given a few days either direction.

In addition to strikes and other human action, weather – including solar weather, such as flares and CMEs – will likely play a part in disruptions to travel, communications and power around the 3rd to the 11th. Remember that solar flares pump Gigawatts of energy into the upper atmosphere. When this happens in conjunction with major geocosmic tidal surges – which will be in effect during the April 3-11 SuperMoon period – the storm factor is a greatly elevated risk to all kinds of infrastructure, travel, etc.

Speaking of that full moon SuperMoon, it’s exact on April 6, at 17° Libra. (Watch for it rising huge in the eastern sky at sunset, conjunct Saturn and below Mars.) You’ll see it the headlines as well as in the sky. Strong storms with high winds and heavy precipitation are on deck, plus extreme tidal surges and moderate to severe seismic disturbances, including magnitude 5+ quakes and possible tsunamis, as well as volcanic eruptions. This one gets the usual three days either way geocosmic shock window, plus an extra two days at the end in observance of the Moon’s south declination peak on the 10th. That makes April 3-11 the time to watch for newsworthy storms, extreme tides, and moderate-to severe seismic activity (magnitude 5 and higher earthquakes and volcanic eruptions.

WAs previously mentioned, since this window falls in a Mercury Max cycle, it could play havoc with infrastructure, communications and travel: if you must be on the road, in the air etc., at least allow extra time in your itinerary for weather delays, missed connections and the like. You may be among the lucky ones who escape tangles in transit – but then again, you may not. And if you’re waiting on a delivery, a letter, an email etc. – well, be prepared is all I can say.

Of course, because this is an astronomical alignment, it’s planetary in scale; which is to say that the whole of Planet Earth is subject to the kind of disturbances I’m describing here. Obviously some areas carry more risk than others. (A tsunami in the Great Plains, the Outback or the Congo? Forget about it!) The sky on the other hand is everywhere, and so it pays to keep a sharp eye on the weather during this SuperMoon shock window Apart from the normal geographic risk factors, a look at the astro-locality map for this SuperMoon suggests a few areas of heightened susceptibility. These include a longitudinal (north-south) swatch through the Pacific coast of Mexico, the US/Canadian Great Plains and western Asia; as well as a horizon arc through New Zealand and Japan, far east Russia and much of coastal Northern and Western Europe (including England, the Channel and Spain) and West Africa. These aren’t the only target zones in the map, as you can see from the lines there; but they are the major ones, as far as I can tell.

Finally, there are some lesser storm and seismic warning signals in effect late this month, which are worth a mention here. These include April 16-26, associated with the Moon’s northward crossing of the celestial equator on the 17th, the new moon on the 21st, and the lunar north declination peak on the 25th. This isn’t SuperMoon-class, and therefore doesn’t include as extreme a tidal component; but it’s still likely to be accompanied by headliner storms and seismic action (volcanic eruptions and magnitude 5+ earthquakes).

Acknowledgments

All astrological charts as well as eclipse and astro-locality maps are calculated and produced using Esoteric Technologies’ Solar Fire Gold Version 7.0.8 Sky map images are screen captures from the Pocket Universe app for iPhone.

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