What Lies Beneath— Full Moon in Scorpio— April 24th.

What Lies Beneath— Full Moon in Scorpio— April 24th.

It’s not the conscious changes made in their lives by men and women which really shape them… but a long, slow mutation of emotion, hidden all-penetrative—Nadine Gordimer.

All-penetrative change is inscribed across the heavens this month.

The sun slips into sensuous Taurus on April 19^th and a Scorpio full moon on April 24^th supports the transformative power of intention to clear the clutter from not only our physical space, but what is outworn and unfulfilled in our hearts, so that we can move more freely again.

This month’s lunation squares Pluto, primeval god of destruction and regeneration, emissary of hard truths. As we sort through those sentimental things that bind us to a past we have outgrown—dusty ornaments, clothes that no longer acclaim the person we have become, shoes that torture our toes, books that now offer no sustenance or new learning, beliefs that mire us in regret or resentment—this lunation offers the impetus for cathartic release. Taurus is a dependable earth sign. Although “being grounded” can seem like one of those self-help amorphisms, grounding, rooting, being in the power of now, affirms the richness of our ordinary lives. Scorpio involves a confrontation with destruction and darkness, and like the mythical phoenix rising from the ashes, we gain insight, healing, and renewal when we drink Scorpio’s strong medicine.

This is the month of truth or dare. Mercury turns direct on April 25^th and celestial lightning rods, Jupiter and Uranus, partner up between April 18^th-26^th at 21° Taurus, prompting us to dare greatly.

This once every 14-year union offers a powerful boost of energy, an opportunity to slice through ambiguities, renew our resolve, realign with what we truly value. Jupiter, “Optimus Maximus”, philandering god of the Romans who presided over laws and agreements, represents our search for meaning, faith and hope, yet also accompanies bloated optimism, grandiosity, and greed. Uranus, ancient sky god Ouranus, catapults us into alien territory of unexpected change, with rude awakenings, abrupt events that separate us from what once we thought we valued, often constellating a frisson of anxiety, even fear that undulates through our nervous system.

Uranus transits so often accompany a sense of alienation from bedrock aspects of life and thrust us into the unchartered terrain of choice and crisis that we’ve been doggedly resisting. Expect the unexpected with Uranus. It will shatter stability, overturn what we thought was safe and sure. Jupiter expands the bitter and the sweet, lack or largesse. This is a celestial push for concrete change and innovation.

The Sabian Symbol for this degree of Taurus is “A white dove over troubled waters”, a hopeful image of peace and calm as the waters of society churn darkly and the devastating conflicts in the Middle East, Sudan, and Ukraine shape world politics for decades to come. This is a beautiful invitation to look for guidance in the signs symbols around us.

Jupiter-Uranus conjunctions occur every 14 years, but they haven’t aligned in Taurus since May 1941, when incendiary bombs plummeted from the night skies, raining death and destruction over London. On December 7^th that year, America declared war on Japan, one day after the attack on Pearl Harbour. Social structure was upturned as women left their homes to work in factories. Unspeakable horrors were inflicted on millions of people in the name of war.

This Jupiter-Uranus conjunction in Taurus coincided with a slow economic recovery after the longest and deepest depression in the US which lasted more than a decade.

Jupiter-Uranus in earthy Taurus symbolise the acceleration of extreme weather events like the flash flooding in Oman and UAE, and climate break-down which has resulted in a wet winter in Europe and UK and drought in places like Morocco.  Expect to see stock markets shudder, food prices rise—Taurus is an earth-bound sign encompassing those things we value—money, property, sensual pleasure. Depending on where this conjunction falls in your own birth chart, we might ask ourselves, what is it I truly value? Is it worth my investment of time and energy?

This conjunction follows the turbo-powered solar eclipse in Aries of April 8^th  (reminiscent of the solar eclipse of 2017 which also sliced a path across America, the cross point in Texas,) and the arrival of a Green Comet, unimaginatively-named 12P/Pons–Brooks which orbits the sun every 71.18 years. This space traveller sails close to the sun on April 21, 2024, and to close to our earth on June 2^nd, its ever-changing taillight, blue, its swirling outer coma, green, as it plummets across the heavens.  Ancient sky watchers associated comets with the bloodshed and plague. They were “vile stars” that foreshadowed war and disaster.  As the light and dark, death and rebirth symbolism of the solar eclipse on April 8^th still lingers like the fragrance of a sweet perfume, in world events and possibly in our own lives, we may invoke the symbolism of the full moon in Scorpio to clear and release anything vile and putrid from our own orbit and take a fresh look at what drains our energy, diminishes our capacity for joy and gratitude.

Major planetary conjunctions are usually easier to observe in retrospect. They represent important cultural shifts that shape our lives personally and collectively. The Pluto/Saturn conjunction of early 2020 heralded a year of restrictions, polarised viewpoints, cultural change, as authorities imposed lock-down and nature breathed out. The great Saturn/Jupiter conjunction on the winter solstice of 2020 was a pivot point that will affect us all for decades to come, and as Jupiter merged with apocryphal Neptune in April 2022, floodgates opened (Neptune was an ocean deity) and a sea of misinformation washed away familiar shorelines.

This full moon offers a moment of refuge amidst the distractions and the to-to-lists, a wonderous moment to commit to our own desires, to sense the thrilling return of joy after a period of arid disappointment or despair.

Although nothing and everything has changed around us, quite suddenly our heavy heart feels lighter with no more room for secret sorrows. Tonight, may a slow mutation of emotion flow through us.

Whatever you’re meant to do, do it now. The conditions are always impossible—Doris Lessing.

Please get in touch if you would like to book a private astrology consultation: ingrid@trueheartwork.com