Summary
Venus Transits Pisces March 31 – April 24
Mercury Retrograde April 1 – 25
New Moon in Pisces/Revati April 8 (Total Solar Eclipse)
Mars + Saturn Conjunction April 10
Sun Transits Aries April 13 – May 14
Mars Transits Pisces April 22 – June 1
Full Moon in Libra/Swati April 23
Venus Transits Aries April 24 – May 18
May 2024 Headlines

Summary

For an in-depth analysis of specific planetary placements, please continue with the full planetary forecast.

Venus Transits Pisces March 31 – April 24

Pisces is the nexus of activity in April, with Sun, Venus, Mars, retrograde Mercury, and occasionally the Moon making an appearance in Jupiter's watery final sign of the zodiac. Pisces is the environment in which we make a study of dissolution, expansion of vision, and actions which finalize with the implication of moving into new territory. On March 31st, Venus moves from Aquarius into Pisces, making a quick sail through the high seas and transitioning into the new frontier of Aries on April 24th.

Venus in Pisces is considered quite positive, reaching exaltation at 28 degrees Pisces, expressing the beauty of fully blossoming with wisdom and grace, absorbing the essence of the universe and simultaneously letting it go, flowing effortlessly. We look to Venus to inspire our creative juices to flow and to spark our desire for connection and oneness.

The main influence in Pisces at this time comes from Rahu, whose transit there stretches from November 2023 through May 2025. Rahu's influence can create a wild energy, which in an oceanic environment like Pisces, could feel like big waves. Big waves can be dangerous, fun, and unpredictable.

Venus' exaltation in Pisces could be both boosted and scrambled by Rahu's influence there. Rahu will also be the mastermind behind the total solar eclipse on April 8th, which is already becoming a thing to watch as we see April unfolding. Venus' presence will likely be a stabilizing force during this event, but we could also be dealing with those big waves, nonetheless.

On April 18-19th, Venus will have an encounter with retrograde Mercury as they meet in the late degrees of Pisces. This could be a short stretch where knowing what you want is difficult and expressing it is even more challenging. Perhaps avoid making these two days deadlines or planning important transactions. Taking a walk by the water with a friend could be much more productive!

As the main indicator of relationships, Venus transiting through Pisces could signal chapters closing in the realm of connections. Rahu with Venus could signal that there are also new connections that may already be pulsing beneath the surface. This could be a time to take the risk and leap into things heart first. Overanalyzing could lead to mistakes! Trust your gut.

Mercury Retrograde April 1 – 25

Venus' best pal, Mercury, moved into Mars' fire sign, Aries, on March 25th, but not to stay. On April 1st, Mercury stations direct at 4 degrees Aries, in the nakshatra of Ashwini, associated with the Ashwin Kumars, twin horsemen who carry the power of magical healing. Almost as if Mercury realizes that he's forgotton something back in Pisces that will be a dealbreaker going forward if he doesn't remedy the situation, he begins to walk back into Pisces, re-entering the wave pool on April 9th.

As Mercury returns to Pisces, the Sun will move ever forward toward Aries, leaving Pisces on April 13th, and leaving retrograde Mercury, Rahu, and Venus to right the sails. This creates an interesting set up that will prevail for about ten days, from April 13-23, when Mars then joins the party, changing the vibe, after which we see Mercury regain direct motion at 22 degrees Pisces on April 25th, right on top of Rahu, and just after Venus exits to Aries on April 24th. All this to say, this could feel like a shifting time, around April 24-25th, when Mercury goes direct, face-to-face with Rahu, Venus and Mars both change signs, and we find ourselves playing a new hand.

During the time when Mercury is in Pisces but retrograde, we may actually find ourselves finding the solutions and answers that we are wanting. Jupiter's water sign Pisces is the debilitation sign for Mercury, but the retrograde status, especially combined with the presence of exalted Venus, could be quite positive. This would be from April 9 – 24th.

The last week of April, clicked into our new setting, will see us preparing to witness the moving of Jupiter from the sign of Aries to Taurus on May 1st. Pisces will be the main place to watch, as Mercury, Mars, and Rahu occupy that final sign, cleaning up, cutting ties, and recognizing what we really, really want.

With the image of Mercury crossing the border back into the past in order to integrate a final lesson and then preparing to move forward once again, we could translate that into using this upcoming Mercury retrograde to take care of business that may be impeding forward movement. Edit your game plans, let go of the tools that aren't working for the new vision, and find enthusiasm for how to forge new connections.

New Moon in Pisces/Revati April 8 (Total Solar Eclipse)

In what is being called the Great North American Eclipse, we will see the joining of the Sun, Moon, and Rahu in the late degrees of Pisces, causing the Moon to pass in front of our view of the Sun, blacking the light of the great Sun temporarily as we experience a total solar eclipse, visible primarily in North America.

Sun and Moon join at 26 degrees Pisces, in the 3rd pada of Revati nakshatra, with the shadowy Rahu just a few degrees away, allowing for that near perfect lineup of Earth, Moon, and Sun that blocks our view of Surya (Sun) for just a few minutes. The small slice of Pisces that we call Revati, which stretches from 16 degrees 40 minutes Pisces to the border of Aries, will be the scene of this dramatic eclipse, bringing our attention to the matters we explore in Revati.

The environment of Pisces is a water sign lorded by Jupiter. Revati marks the very last slice of the zodiac and is ruled by the planet Mercury. The last nakshatra of each water sign is ruled by Mercury and leads up to the gandanta, or joining point of the water and fire signs, known to signify challenging situations or transitions. Mercury will be crossing this gandanta three times: March 26th, April 9th, and May 10th.

The April 9th instance will be when Mercury is retrograde and just after the eclipse, again marking a point in April that we may feel a shift. At the eclipse time, which is also the dark new Moon time, with Mercury retrograde and falling backwards into the pool, we may suddenly be dealing with a set of circumstances that feels like a setback, with perhaps unexpected expense, or the disappointment of having to start over again when the planning has been so intense.

With this in mind, create space in your schedule starting on Friday, April 5th for about a week, giving yourself more time to think, make adjustments, clear out the detritus, or whatever other activities may need your attention.

This is the second eclipse in the pairing that kicked off with the lunar eclipse in Virgo on March 25th. The first half of April could feel like a very low tide reveals so much that has been under water, giving us more information about what to dredge out and what to leave behind. We may feel as we are stretched to the limit of our elasticity. Be ready for the slingshot effect that comes when that stretched material is released. Things may begin to move faster as the Spring season progresses.

Mars + Saturn Conjunction April 10

To add to the excitement of the second week of April, we have eclipse on April 8th, retrograde Mercury returning to the scene on April 9th, and then in neighboring Aquarius, we have the exact conjunction of Mars with Saturn on April 10th.

Saturn has been enjoying the status of transiting his own signs since January 2020, when he entered Capricorn. In January 2023, he moved to his adjacent air sign, Aquarius, where he will continue to cruise in first gear through March 2025. That's a solid five years of Saturn being in dignity, which means that we all get to learn his lessons of slowing down, building responsibly, detaching from things that harm us, and facing the cold, hard facts of life. Only one more year of this master's program! Let's make it good.

Since Saturn moves so deliberately, it may be helpful to also pay attention to his transits of the nakshatras, which will move a bit more quickly than the signs, as they occupy a smaller space. Mars entered Aquarius on March 15th, and by March 24th had entered into the nakshatra of Shatabishak, where Saturn has been slowing advancing since mid-November, when coincidentally Rahu and Ketu also changed signs.

Rahu rules the nakshatra of Shatabishak, which sits entirely within Aquarius, co-ruled by Saturn and Rahu. The point to get here is that since mid-November, slow and steady Saturn has been double dipped in Rahu's instability, which could be manifesting in many of us feeling the need to pivot or to deal with unexpected developments, despite our strategy and planning.

As Mars closes in on Saturn, we may feel more and more the push-pull dynamic that arises when these two workhorses get into the same project. Saturn's deliberate and slow approach can be quite frustrating to strategic and prepared Mars, who tends to blast through problems and projects.

On April 6th, Saturn shuffles into Purvabhadra nakshatra, which covers the final ten degrees of Aquarius and spans into Pisces. Purvabhadra is ruled by the planet Jupiter, who is also about to move out of Saturn's gaze on May 1st. Underneath this conjunction of Mars and Saturn, which will actually occur in the first pada of Purvabhadra, we may fee l that the tide is turning, also echoed in the eclipse of April 8th.

Saturn and Mars in the same space create friction. After Mars moves past Saturn on April 10th, that may reflect in feeling a sense of moving forward being possible. After some years of feeling sluggish, delayed, and blocked, we may collectively and individually begin to see the road forward and enjoy the experience of planting seeds with hope.

Sun Transits Aries April 13 – May 14

On April 13th, the Sun sidesteps the shadowy eclipse axis and enters into Aries for his annual tour of Mars' fire sign which exalts the Sun. For the final two weeks of April, we may begin to feel the heat, with Sun and Jupiter in Aries.

Since April 20, 2023, Jupiter has been transiting through Aries, preparing to move to Taurus on May 1st, 2024. Jupiter is expansive, positive, and growth oriented and Aries is the first sign of the zodiac, associated with engineering strategies and pushing forward. The promise of Jupiter in Aries has been somewhat suppressed this past year, first by the confusing conjunction with Rahu through November 2023 and also by the aspect of a strong Saturn from Aquarius, putting a stay on any big growth that we may be expecting from Jupiter.

With the powerful Sun taking up residence in Aries as Jupiter moves on to his next station, it may be a signal that the growth we've been hoping for and preparing the ground for may have a better chance at manifesting during the next few months.

The Sun's transit through Pisces included a couple of eclipses, and in a watery environment, could have felt overwhelming, as if too much shifting too soon was occurring. Sun in Aries could give us some traction, but don't expect to win a race easily, with Saturn still aspecting Aries and all of the planets that pass through there this Spring season. Keep it slow and steady, but put one foot in front of the other with the Sun as he marches through Aries from mid-April through mid-May.

Mars Transits Pisces April 22 – June 1

Mars represents power, force, and strength. With these things in hand, we can advance our plans, protect ourselves, and consolidate resources. Mars' natural friends include Sun, Moon, and Jupiter; when Mars is transiting through the signs ruled by those planets, Mars can do his job a bit more effectively.

While Mars isn't a natural friend of Saturn, they do have a complicated relationship that results in Mars gaining exaltation in Saturn's sign of Capricorn. Mars passing through Aquarius wasn't as efficient, with Saturn actively stalling Mars' power.

On April 22nd, Mars moves into Pisces, scene of the recent eclipse drama and still host to chaotic and unstable Rahu. The last transit of Mars through Rahu occupied territory was June 27 – August 10, 2022, when Rahu was in Aries, which could have yielded fiery and aggressive situations. July 2022 was marked by political unrest in Europe; the war in Ukraine was fierce, and the UK struggled under a political crisis.

By April 24th , the stabilizing force in Pisces, Venus, will move out, leaving Rahu, Mars and retrograde Mercury splashing about in the vast ocean. The lord of Pisces, Jupiter, will also be in transition as he crosses the border into Taurus at the beginning of May. This adds up to a potentially unstable environment in Pisces from late April through May.

While instability isn't always welcomed, there are positive facets to this state of affairs. If what is desired includes transition, change, upgrades, or finalization, this could be just the energy you are looking for. If those things aren't desired, but are happening anyway, dive deep into what may be coming into play outside of your awareness. There are big messages in the troughs of the waves we will be navigating, including the ironic necessity of making plans while also not being wed to them. Mars' head for strategy will be challenged by the erratic influence of Rahu. We may prosper from a combination of logic and luck with this planetary combination in Pisces. Keep swimming and keep breathing!

Full Moon in Libra/Swati April 23

The Moon becomes full at 11 degrees Libra, in the second pada of Swati nakshatra, on Tuesday, April 23rd. Swati nakshatra is ruled by Rahu, and Ashwini nakshatra, where the Sun is placed, is ruled by Ketu. This brings a wildcard energy into this full Moon, with the recent memory of eclipses, as well as the Rahu and Ketu nakshatras that are coming into play.

Bringing the nodal axis and eclipse energy into the philosophical realm, we have been traversing this eclipse pairing as explorers of the shadow realm and through the modality of reversing the expected.

For example, we count on the Sun to rise in the east and set in the west each day, each day progressing about one degree through the zodiac. Very reliable! Even the Moon's constantly shifting phases and changes are predictable. When the nodes line up with these predictable illuminators, the lights go out for a short while, as two bodies pass through an alignment that changes the predictable schedule by affecting the play of light and shadow.

On an energetic level, this type of disruption could have occured as we watched the eclipses; the Moon reaches peak brightness and strength on April 23rd, in contrast to the full Moon eclipse in March. This time, the Moon stands opposite an exalted Sun paired with a positive Jupiter. It will be time to initiate new cycles here, bathing in moon-drenched creative ideas and finding the spark of life that advances what has been long sitting in the potential zone.

This is post-eclipse, but that wild energy of the nodes is still simmering and expressing through Swati and Ashwini during this full Moon. Even Venus, ruler of Libra, is enjoying peak exaltation during this full Moon. Fill yourself up with all the nourishing inspiration!

Venus Transits Aries April 24 – May 18

Just after hosting the full Moon; Venus gathers her belongings and disembarks into Aries on April 24th, moving through Mars' fire sign quickly, exiting to her own farmstead in Taurus on May 18th, where she will join newly established Jupiter.

As the Sun enjoys his exaltation in Aries, flaming with little effort as the days become longer in the Northern Hemisphere, Venus emerges from the appropriately watery environment of her exaltation sign, Pisces, and bravely moves toward the powerful Sun. This will put Venus into a state of combustion, when we are no longer able to observe the planet due to proximity to the Sun, from April 28th through July 10th. Venus will pass behind the Sun on June 4th, forming a “superior conjunction,” thus becoming the frontrunner of the inner planets for a short time as she transitions from morning star mode to evening star mode.

When Venus and Sun have these interactions, we experience a shift of Venus' appearance. In this case, we had been seeing Venus appearing in the morning before sunrise, in the eastern sky, but Venus disappeared from our view starting in March. This marked Venus' approach to the Sun. By late April, Venus is within 10 degrees of the Sun and will slowly move past him in the zodiac, moving out of combustion by mid-July, when we will be able to once again see Venus, this time in the western sky, after the Sun has set.

This disappearance of Venus can sometimes correspond with a stronger emphases on individual needs, desires, and actions, as the Sun takes precedence. May, June, and July may carry strong themes of balancing individual and collective needs, which often expresses in managing relationships. It may be a good idea to prepare for this in April by becoming clear about what those individual and collective needs may be, re-organizing and re-balancing where necessary, before the rubber hits the road.

May 2024 Headlines

Jupiter Changes Signs to Taurus May 1
New Moon in Aries/Bharani May 7
Mercury Transits Aries May 10 - 31
Sun Transits Taurus May 14 – June 14
Venus Transits Taurus May 18 – June 12
Mars Conjunct Rahu May 19
Venus Conjunct Jupiter May 22
Full Moon in Scorpio/Anuradha May 23