A Moment to Breathe

Astro Notes for New Moon in Taurus monthly cycle (April 27-May 26)

Let’s zoom out once again to the big picture to understand the context of this monthly cycle. Since 2020, we’ve been engaged in an epic struggle to mid-wife the birth of a fundamentally new era for humanity. The period from November 2024 to July 2025 represents the final push out of the birth canal, with Pluto, Neptune, Uranus, Saturn, and Jupiter all changing signs — marking the most concentrated period of cultural change in our lifetimes. In my annual astrological year-ahead overview, I named this first quarter (from the Spring Equinox to the Summer Solstice in the northern hemisphere and from the Fall Equinox to Winter Solstice in the southern hemisphere) Crowning, the phase when the shape of the new era will first come into view.

Pluto’s ingress into Aquarius in November 2024 signaled the beginning of this culminating sequence. Yet just as the contractions started to intensify, Mars moved retrograde (December 2024-late February 2025), applying a cosmic brake, and inviting us to slow down, recalibrate, and come into deeper alignment before the final push. Venus followed with her own retrograde (March 1-April 12), drawing us inward to reflect on deeply personal issues regarding love, relationships, and self-worth.

March also brought a powerful eclipse season marking the end of long-standing karmic cycles and the release of deeply embedded patterns and scripts. Then, at the end of March, Neptune entered Aries — the second major planetary shift in this birth sequence — rekindling our spiritual flame and calling us onto the path of the soul warrior. March and April also saw an extraordinary alignment of planets in late Pisces — Venus, Mercury, Saturn, and the North Node — bringing profound soul lessons, weighty decisions, and karmic completions. The new frequencies, directions, and soul assignments have been arriving thick and fast — exhilarating, yes — but with all the Piscean energies in play it’s like we’ve been asked to run at full speed in soaking wet clothes. It’s been inspiring, demanding — and at times utterly exhausting. And there’s still a way to go before the baby is born.

The good news is that the intensity will likely ease noticeably during this month’s cycle, especially toward the second half. It’s not a total release — we are still in labor, after all — but we’ll have a welcome chance to catch our breath after a couple of pressure-filled months.

Yet to gain entrance into this more spacious realm, we first have to pass through a fiery gate of initiation.

Since early November 2024, Mars and Pluto have been engaged in a tense oppositional dance. They first came into exact opposition on November 1, then again on January 2, and for the third and final time on April 26 (with Mars at 3 degrees of Leo and Pluto at 3 degrees of Aquarius). The Mars-Pluto oppositions on November 1 and April 26 bookend the most intense and trying phase of the birthing process.

When the God of War and the God of Death do battle, it’s no small matter. A profound conflict must be resolved between our survival instincts (Mars) and our need to transform and evolve (Pluto). Mars doesn’t want to reflect, it wants to act, move, do. It wants to gratify its impulses. But Pluto demands consciousness: that we become aware of our deeper drives and heal the wounds that cause us to act out destructively. Ultimately this transit calls for a deeper integration between our personal will and the collective will, so that what we want for ourselves aligns with what the universe wants for us. With Mars in Leo and Pluto in Aquarius, we’re being asked to mold our creative self-expression and desire to be seen into forms that serve the greater whole.

At the New Moon on April 27, this Mars-Pluto opposition forms a t-square with the Sun and Moon in Taurus.

New Moon in Taurus April 27 - t-square highlighted

This tense aspect pattern, active since April 20, reaches a climax with the New Moon. With all planets in fixed signs, we may feel compressed into a very tight, pressurized place, pulled in different directions by powerful forces unwilling to budge an inch. Alongside the fireworks of the Mars-Pluto clash, the Sun in Taurus adds a strong determination to stay put -- to seek peace, comfort, and stability. Pluto in Aquarius compels transformation. Mars in Leo drives us toward self-expression and visibility. Yet another part of us just wants to sleep in, eat comfort foods, and stay cozy.

It’s a very uncomfortable jam.

The way out is offered by Venus, ruler of the Taurus New Moon, who is conjunct Saturn and the North Node in Pisces. Venus calls us to draw from our spiritual maturity and act from the highest consciousness we know. Maturity here means embodying the wisdom we’ve already realized, however imperfectly. All we can do is our best. This conscious effort unlocks the gate, allowing us to absorb and integrate powerful archetypal forces and realize our capacity to be a steady rock in times of crisis.

From April 27 to May 4, all planets are moving forward, generating considerable momentum for our life and projects. Pluto stations retrograde on May 4, which may intensify themes of power, control, and the need to release compulsive patterns.

But when Mars finally moves out of opposition to Pluto, which it will by May 6-7, we may feel that we have passed through a storm into calmer waters. The astrology for the remainder of the cycle is relatively quiet compared with recent months, dominated by harmonious aspects.

The Full Moon in Scorpio on May 12, opposite Uranus in Taurus, could bring unexpected developments — particularly around financial or material matters — leading to emotional disruption. However, the overall trajectory this month is calmer and lighter. For the final two weeks of the cycle, Mars in Leo forms a flowing trine with Venus in Aries, while the Sun, Neptune, and Pluto create an auspicious Minor Triangle from May 19-25.

In the background, Saturn moves through the final degrees of Pisces, closing out a thirty-year cycle of manifestation. On May 24, Saturn enters Aries — the third major planetary shift in our birth sequence. Saturn in Aries will play a pivotal role in the massive changes to come, anchoring the revolutionary energies with patience, discernment, and grounded wisdom. As the Time-Keeper, Saturn reminds us that true creation cannot be rushed, but comes through alignment with diving timing and awareness of consequences. With Saturn’s entrance into Aries, many of the nascent dreams and visions seeded during these intense months will start to take concrete form.

(I’m excited to announce I’ll be offering a live, experiential workshop on the archetype of Saturn in Aries with internationally-renowned channel Kahreela An-Ra on May 19 — announcement coming soon!)

Amid the monumental shifts unfolding, this Taurus New Moon cycle offers us a precious opportunity to catch our breath. While profound changes continue to unfold within and around us, we are invited to find moments of peace, ground ourselves in what is true, and gather strength for the path ahead.

Entering the Rapids

Astro Notes for New Moon in Aries cycle (March 29-April 27)

Firstly, my apologies for posting these notes later than usual. I convened my annual ORACLE event on the day of the new moon in Aries and have since been immersed in a flurry of activities related to the launch of several new initiatives all at once. Such is the nature of this mid-March to mid-April period, one of the busiest and most intense passages of the year. (If you missed the ORACLE event — my highlights of the astrological year ahead — and want to watch it you can do so HERE.)

It’s been Aries season since March 21, so we are in that first phase of the annual cycle associated with fresh starts and new beginnings. Yet this year the feeling is a little different — at least at the beginning of this monthly cycle — because there is just so much happening on multiple levels. We are still catching our breath from an extraordinary eclipse season in March that signified a profound moment of karmic completion. Just one day after the solar eclipse, on March 30, Neptune entered Aries, marking the end of one 165 year cycle of Neptune around the zodiac and the beginning of another. For the last fourteen years Neptune has been completing this long cycle in the sign of Pisces, where it has been deep sea-diving in the infinite ocean of consciousness. For much of this period we've explored expanded states of consciousness, dissolved into something greater than us, opened to big visions -- yet also drifted somewhat on the currents of being. In this light, the movement of Neptune into Aries may feel like we are waking up from a long dream. The consciousness that is awakening in us is much sharper, more defined, more lucid, more action-oriented. We are being called into our spiritual sovereignty, so that we can step into the archetype of the soul warrior and take bold action in alignment with the spiritual truths we have realized.

But while we may sense that an immense shift has just occurred, the changes are not visible yet. Neptune is subtle but profound in its effects. Its entrance into Aries is like a deep ocean swell that is barely perceptible at first but will inevitably elevate everything on the surface.

The fire of Aries season is also muted somewhat by Venus and Mercury moving retrograde in late Pisces, where they meet up with Saturn and the North Node. All this Piscean energy could leave us feeling heavy, water-logged, and exhausted, even while we are also being uplifted by the first intimations of the new energies now coming in. This is especially so because Mars, the ruler of Aries, has been moving through Cancer — another water sign — since early January (much of that time moving backwards) and won’t leave until April 17. This extended odyssey of Mars in Cancer has been quite the emotional slog. For the part of us that likes to move into action (Mars), it may feel like we’ve been running a marathon in water.

At the same time, for sheer density of significant astrological action, the period of mid-March to mid-April is exceptional. Despite our fatigue, we are being called to take a number of important steps in alignment with our soul path and the new codes just arriving. Similarly there is a flurry of activity taking place on the world stage.

If we are tempted to throw up our hands in despair at being able to keep up with all these developments, we would do well to realize that the passage we are going through is not leading to breakdown, but breakthrough. Neptune entering Aries opens the floodgates for the most concentrated period of change in our lifetimes. By July 7, Neptune, Saturn, Jupiter, and Uranus all will have changed signs within a little over 4 months of each other, resulting in a cascade of major shifts in the cultural zeitgeist in a cosmic nanosecond. The good news? As these outer planets change signs, they form a rare and auspicious pattern -- known as a Minor Triangle -- made entirely of harmonious aspects. This pattern will form the dominant motif for the next three to four years, indicating that we are now on the very cusp of a period of extraordinary collective breakthrough. (I’ve written about this configuration before and will do so again when it comes closer to full power this July/August.)

One of the components of this Minor Triangle aspect pattern that comes into exact alignment at the beginning of this new moon cycle and will remain a strong influence throughout the month (indeed for most of the next year) is a sextile between Saturn in Pisces and Uranus in Taurus. With all of the dizzying changes occurring in our world this year, this transit brings a welcome balance of stability and innovation. It will provide an important check to the radically new ideas, systems, and technologies that will be coming online, grounding those innovations in reality and testing them for lasting value. It will support responsible experimentation and bring a sense of steady progress. After the intense trials and tribulations of the last several years, we might experience with this transit a sense of hard-won liberation from our suffering.

During the first week of April, Mars joins Saturn and Uranus in a harmonious Minor Triangle, with Mars in Cancer in a trine to Saturn in Pisces, and both Mars and Saturn in a sextile to Uranus in Taurus.

With Mars interacting creatively with Uranus and Saturn, we might receive revolutionary yet practical solutions to upgrade outdated structures in our lives, not by burning them down or making drastic changes but by reconfiguring them from within. We may be surprised by how easily and profoundly we find ourselves elevated, as if we have suddenly jumped back on track with our Golden Timeline after years of struggle.

From April 4-7, Venus joins the party, forming an exact conjunction with Saturn in Pisces, a trine to Mars in Cancer, and a sextile to Uranus in Taurus. This configuration could see breakthroughs (Uranus) in matters of the heart (Venus), especially those that follow the courageous expression of emotional truths (Mars in Cancer) and a soulful commitment to one’s partner or loved ones (Venus-Saturn in Pisces). Take a mature risk with your heart at this time and the Universe may meet you with surprising grace.

On April 7 Mercury comes out of retrograde and on April 12 Venus follows suit. We then have a three-week window from April 13 to May 4 when all the planets are moving forward. By mid-April we may, therefore, finally feel the heaviness and pressure start to lift and be able to move forward more easily. This will especially be the case after April 18, when Mars finally leaves Cancer and enters Leo where it is free to act with much more warmth, positivity, daring, and fun.

From April 18-22, Saturn forms an exact conjunction with the North Node at 26 degrees of Pisces. Saturn in late Pisces is now in the very final stages of a thirty year cycle, bringing closure and completion to a major chapter of our lives and helping us to see how far we’ve come in our evolutionary journey. With the conjunction of Saturn and the North Node, we may be asked to make a substantial soul decision to align with our karmic path and destiny. It is advisable to take this process seriously and to choose the path of the highest integrity, for this decision will have enduring consequences. On April 22, Venus joins Saturn and the North Node in a triple conjunction, suggesting that a beautiful seed can be planted at this time. When Saturn joins Neptune in Aries at the end of May, the new dreams that are currently invisible will start to take form in manifest structures; thus the decisions we make at this pivotal time (April 18-22) will shape what’s possible then.

The last week of this cycle, April 20-27, promises fireworks as it features the last of three Pluto-Mars oppositions we’ve experienced since November last year. Pluto in Aquarius opposite Mars in Leo brings searing intensity, with Pluto having a cosmic mandate to demolish any egocentric expressions of willfulness that do not align with the evolutionary intentions of the universe. This transit could easily trigger explosive events on the world stage as nations and leaders jostle for power in an increasingly unstable global political environment. On a personal front, the best way to approach this transit is to embrace the intensity as a fiery initiation into your next level of power and integrity. We cannot avoid the crucible, but we can sincerely wish to grow in alignment with our soul. In this way, we can welcome the purifying flames when they come and even find enjoyment in their intensity, knowing they are bringing us closer to our essence.

The bottom line: With this Aries new moon cycle, we have crossed the Rubicon. The floodgates of global transformation are opening, the final push out of the birth canal has begun. Yet there is good reason to trust the process. Steady as she goes, following our own guidance as to what brings us the most authentic joy, we can each now start to step more fully into the roles we were destined to play at this historic time of great change.

(Karmic) Endings and Beginnings

Astro Notes for New Moon in Pisces Cycle (February 27-March 29)

I truly feel honored and deeply excited to share about this month’s astrological cycle, initiated by the New Moon in Pisces on February 27. Regular readers of my Astro Notes will know that I have been emphasizing for many months (if not years) the historic nature of the passage we are about to enter. I think the astrology clearly indicates that the next 12-15 months will see the most concentrated and dramatic period of cultural change in our lifetimes, representing our final push out of the birth canal and emergence into a fundamentally new era for humanity.

It could be said that this final push began in November last year, when Pluto entered Aquarius, signifying the beginning of a twenty year period of revolutionary cultural change. But although we have already been experiencing dramatic cultural shifts since then, ‘we ain’t seen nothing yet’ in comparison to what is to come.

From early December through to February 23, Mars was moving retrograde, dampening our forward progress and putting many of our ambitions on hold. (I spent almost the whole of February sick in bed watching re-runs of old tv series! Those last few weeks of the Mars retrograde felt to me like being in a SWAMP.) This long Mars retrograde period has meant that the start of this year has been like the (relative) calm before the storm.

FINALLY, on February 23, Mars stationed direct at 17 degrees Cancer. Then we immediately had a week — from February 23 to March 1 — when all the planets were moving forward (this ended on March 1, when Venus turned retrograde). If you reflect on that week, you may remember noticing a jump start in your projects, as if a window suddenly opened that finally allowed you to move forward on multiple fronts.

(It should be noted, however, that even though Mars has now stationed direct, it will remain at 17 degrees of Cancer until March 11. So it’s not like we’re being shot out of a cannon — it will still take a little time for our drive and momentum to really get going again.)

But with this month’s new moon cycle — and the next — we are now set to truly take the plunge into irreversible systemic change.

On March 30, just after the next new moon, Neptune enters Aries. It’s hard to overstate the significance of this shift. Neptune will be crossing the Zero Point of the whole zodiac, the threshold of creation where spirit becomes matter, when the formless becomes form. It’s a moment of profound spiritual rebirth, signifying the beginning of a new 165 year cycle (the time it takes for Neptune to travel around the zodiac). In the following months, Saturn, Jupiter, and Uranus will also change signs, so that by mid-July we’ll be truly in a different world.

So, for me, the ingress of Neptune into Aries on March 30 is the real ignition point of the most concentrated passage of change in our lifetimes.

Between now and then (i.e., during this new moon in Pisces monthly cycle), the overarching theme is a profound process of karmic completion and letting go, in order to make space for the tidal wave of new energies coming in.

Every Pisces season (the annual period when the Sun is in Pisces) is a time of closure. It is the final phase of the annual cycle when we’re able to reflect on our journey over the previous 12 months, acknowledge how far we’ve come, release any attachments we no longer want or need, and come to some form of completion so that we can be ready to begin the new cycle afresh.

During this year’s Pisces season, however, this dynamic of completion and release takes on a much more profound meaning due to there being an extraordinary gathering of planets in late Pisces.

Chart for March 14, 2025, with Saturn, Sun, North Node, and Neptune in late Pisces

With Neptune at the 29th and final degree of Pisces almost throughout the whole month of March, we are talking about completions on a soul level — the closure of cycles we may have been involved in for lifetimes. With the North Node in the mix, it deepens the karmic significance of these endings. We may become suddenly clear that we are simply done with parts of our lives that previously held great interest.

This dynamic may be especially strong from around March 11-20, when the Sun will move through late Pisces, joining first Saturn, then the North Node, then Neptune — illuminating what attachments in our lives need to be released.

During this period, we enter into eclipse season, with a total lunar eclipse at 23 degrees Virgo on March 14. This is the final eclipse season taking place with Neptune in Pisces. The day after this eclipse season ends (March 29), Neptune will move into Aries. The two weeks of the eclipse season are thus something like a cosmic womb for the profound process of karmic completion we will be going through at this time. With the lunar eclipse forming a tight opposition to Saturn and close trine to Uranus, we can expect major structural shifts that, though disruptive, may feel long overdue and ultimately very liberating.

The other significant influences that I want to highlight for this monthly cycle are the Venus and Mercury retrogrades. Venus moves retrograde for 6 weeks, from March 1 through to April 12, moving back from 10 degrees Aries to 24 degrees Pisces. Mercury retrograde is from March 14 to April 6, from 9 degrees Aries to 26 degrees Pisces. These cycles thus overlap in time, and also cover the same territory of the chart.

Venus retrograde is highly personal, encouraging us to be more introspective about our love life and what we truly value. We might find it more difficult to give and receive affection during this period, requiring us to reflect more deeply on our patterns in love. This can include examining any of our limitations in relation to self-love and self-confidence, and connecting more authentically with what we truly desire.

On March 21, the Sun enters Aries, and we begin a new annual cycle. Just as Pisces season and its theme of endings is much more profound this year because of the presence of so many planets in late Pisces, so too is the theme of new beginnings made much more powerful this Aries season by Neptune's ingress into Aries on March 30.

Yet even though there will be a tremendous wave of inspiration coming through, Venus and Mercury will still be moving retrograde at this time. There may be delays or setbacks that require us to slow down, and ensure that the new actions we feel inspired to take are truly aligned with the novel energies coming in, and not unconsciously repeating the old patterns we have just released.