Introduction to the April Grand Cross

Unlike recent months which have been full of minor planetary aspects that move quickly and don’t create lasting impressions, April’s big news is the Cardinal Grand Cross which will be building throughout the month but will peak in the middle of the month beginning with the lunar eclipse on April 15th and continuing through the following week.

Some of you will remember back in 2010 and 2011 when there were similar alignments as Uranus and Pluto began their dance and other faster-moving planets joined in.  At that time many astrologers called this dance the “Cardinal Crisis” or “Cardinal Climax” because the planets were in cardinal signs, the signs that initiate the seasons (Aries, Cancer, Libra, Capricorn).  I used the term “Cardinal Drama” instead, because to me this was neither a crisis or a climax but just one stop along the way of personal transformation.  At one point there were seven planets in a nearly exact alignment.

At the core of this drama is the square between Uranus and Pluto (see the sidebar for more information if this is new to you).  This intensely transformational planetary system has been operative since 2010 and in April we have the fifth of seven exact alignments.  Pluto, representing the destructive/regenerative force, turns retrograde in the middle of April so its influence is particularly powerful right now.

In April both Uranus and Pluto join three other planets in a Grand Cross alignment: Mercury and Uranus are aligned in a conjunction in Aries and they oppose Mars in Libra.  Jupiter in Cancer is opposite Pluto in Capricorn (see the sidebar for more information about this alignment) and both planets are in a square formation to the other planets.  For a few hours on April 14th the Aries Moon is also involved as it approaches the lunar eclipse on the 15th.

The energy now is a push to awaken from the struggle of the past few years.  The pressure for change is powerful and many of us have resisted the call to surrender the shackles that hold us to the earth (Pluto in Capricorn) and let go to a new energy that is breaking down the old ways so that something totally and radically new can replace it (Uranus in Aries).

Planetary cycles are opportunities for transformation.  It is the resistance to transformation that creates difficulties in our lives.  During this month of intense planetary energy, find time and space in your lives to be aware and awake.  Look at the problems you are facing with new eyes.  Open your mind to the possibility of new solutions that can change your world forever.  And most importantly: surrender your idea of What Should Be.  Generally, we are the co-creators of our lives.  In April 2014, we are being shaped and molded by Universal Wisdom.

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