Radio Astrologer

Some visitors here may already know that last week I popped in on Judith Conrad's radio show on 1320 AM radio in Eugene, Oregon.  (Thats http://www.1320inforadio.com for those not in beautiful Eugene, Oregon.)  I'll be joining Judith for the next few weeks on her 10 AM to 11 AM Wednesday show.  Although I was only on the show for about 5 minutes, I listened to the rest of the show and can highly recommend Judith's program.  She's a very energetic, engaging host and managed to have a varied, interesting group of guests to explore issues of self-awareness, healing and personal growth from a sensible, pragmatic perspective.

We talked a bit about the "Mercury Shadow", or the point at which Mercury begins it's retrograde cycle, crossing the point where it will return when it retrogrades later in April.  The retrograde period is from April 18th to May 11th. Although Mercury looks like it's moving backward for only about 3 weeks, I find that from the time it goes into the sign where it will retrograde, it's a good idea to watch out.

Of course, I'm a Virgo, so I do tend to worry alot.  And so I started to watch out for signs of reversals as soon as Mercury got to Taurus on April 1.  Mercury is retrograding in Taurus and squared Mars and trined Pluto when it hit the "shadow" on Saturday April 3.  My impression is that this retrograde period will be a challenge to inertia and procrastination.

I'd suggest keeping an eye on projects that are scheduled to begin in the next couple of weeks.  Don't count on the steady course you might be establishing in the first part of April since you will probably find some cracks in your foundation that need to be repaired later in the month.  And the cleanup will continue for most of May.

Mercury Retrograde is always a good time to go back and fix the things that you've been ignoring.  Wherever you feel stagnant or stuck, look for ways to break up the routine or the routine will most likely get broken up for you! Personally, I've already started to revise and re-examine the way that I organize and manage my time as I feel the stress easing from that incredibly intense New Moon back on March 15th.

The next New Moon on April 14th, by the way,  is quite a doozy too! Saturn gets back to Virgo tomorrow and begins a significant setup involving a quincunx with Neptune.  Qunincunxes are about making adjustments, turning a blind corner into a new reality. Ultimately, I think the next lunar cycle is going to help us understand how vast the changes we are undergoing really are.  Its scary, yes, but all of the information we need is going to be at our fingertips and the retrograde Mercury should give us some time and some cover to go back and sort out any lingering obstacles that we've been avoiding.

April is always really tricky for me.  I don't do well with the all of the energy spawned by the Sun in Aries.  I usually duck and cover until the Sun gets to Taurus.  I feel very vulnerable during the Spring transitions.  This April doesn't seem to be shaping up much different for me except for a glimmer of awareness that major changes are just around the corner.  That lends an excitement to the atmosphere that I can identify with.

Usually, it seems to me, the Aries energy is rather unpredictable and unfocused.  In other words, for all of the excitement in the air, follow through on the grand schemes are unlikely.  But this year, and particularly under the April 14th New Moon, the follow through seems unstoppable and once we make the turn, for better or for worse, there will be no going back.