In honor of Mercury Retrograde, I decided to take my own advice and "practice the pause."

Sometimes it's nice to just be. . . especially at the beach.

I celebrated the Libra Full Moon in the company of some of my favorite people. It was a truly special week.

In all honesty, I had hoped to produce a proper Astrological report for April, but I've been getting a lot busier with other horoscope columns (for some bigger names than little ol' me). And since I write this column in my free time and had none to speak of in March, it just didn't happen. So I took my first AstroLuminus vacation in nearly 3 years!

You better believe it when I say that I enjoyed every moment of this trip to Mexico - my favorite country to visit. 

So without further ado, a few notable dates:

Mercury Stations Direct at 5⁰ Aries on April 15th. This is an auspicious day to move forward with something... Especially since this is also the ARIES NEW MOON. Action, initiative, self.

Chiron enters Aries on April 17th. This is a big deal, which I will later elaborate on. But I see this period to bring more healing from violence, and perhaps even a bigger movement to regulate firearms.

Also on April 17th, Saturn stations retrograde at 9⁰09' Capricorn, retrograding back to 2⁰33' in September. It's been a long time since we experienced a Saturn station in Earth. It's going to feel a lot different from the spirited fire sign stations we've had in Sagittarius the last 3 years. This should be a sobering period, where more realities become crystal clear. The truth isn't always pleasant, but it will be helpful to see things for what they are. Think back to what was going on from February until now. Where did you get lost in your blueprint? Time to go back and rework the rendering.

April 19th: Sun enters Taurus. Spring is in full bloom and the 5 senses activate. Appreciate the smell of the air, the beautiful flowers, the feeling of grass in your toes, the taste of your first beer on a patio...

April 22nd: Pluto stations retrograde at 21⁰17' Capricorn. Pay attention to what is coming up for you. Truths are revealed on a personal and collective level. Opportune for deeper shadow work, spiritual practice and purging - so time to do that spring cleaning

April 24th: Venus enters Gemini. Summer socializing begins. Emerge from your winter shell and embrace the social butterfly in you! Honor your curiosities and try something new.

And speaking of Mercury retrograde, has anyone else been more injury-prone than usual???

(My Goddess, we were getting hurt left and right on this trip, only a couple of us unscathed. Stubbed toes, inflamed tendons from running on the beach, a rolled ankle, noogies on a sunburned scalp, roadrash from too many innertubes on the lazy river, head colds, a weird sunburn mistaken for staph and mistreated accordingly, water stuck in the ear for days on end, and someone got stuck in an elevator! - while no one missed their flight, a Mercury retrograde vacation for sure!)

Aries is a sign of impulsiveness, running in headfirst and sometimes making decisions too quickly.I bumped my head ridiculously hard at one point on the trip (ok twice), and while my head is usually pretty sturdy, this time I did some damage.

I made a special trip to my Chiropractor once I got home. Having some astrological knowledge himself, he asked me how my Mercury retrograde was going. He, being an Aries, confided that while he usually isn't accident prone, he'd been involved in a little fender bender (not his fault), which resulted in a bit of whiplash. This is an example of how we can find the blessing in some Mercurial mishaps: feeling the symptoms of his patients upfront, he might have a renewed sense of why his work is meaningful.

Peace, Love and Stillness,

Catherine

Still hungry for more?

Hold yourself over until May with these ::