Astrology Stress Zones in April-May 2007 - Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius, and Pisces Squares, T-Squares, and a Grand Mutable Cross

by Robert Wilkinson

With Venus now entering Gemini, we begin a series of squares and oppositions between Gemini, Sagittarius, and Pisces that will dominate from now through mid-May, with a very important Grand Mutable Cross formed between April 26-28 by the Moon in Virgo. This marks radical shifts in the areas ruled by these signs, as well as Taurus, Cancer, Libra, Capricorn, and Aquarius. Thus 3/4 of our reality will be going through major change and perhaps stress, depending on your circumstances. The rest of the article is dedicated to explaining how we can best deal with these fragmenting energies.

Venus is now forming a square to Mars. This challenges us to make sure we're using the right means to accomplish our ends, not get deflected by momentary distractions, and fit things into a long range perspective. It usually shows gear grinds between the Aries/Scorpio sectors with the Taurus/Libra sectors in our charts as well as others, so try to be more gracious, patient, and pleasant as you navigate the challenges you encounter. Keep in mind that though it's building in energy until it's exact between April 19-25, it will be a potent force to reckon with from now through mid-May.

This square will primarily affect planets in early Gemini, Virgo, Sag, and Pisces through April 20, and affect planets in the middle third of these signs from then to the end of the month, after which they affect the latter part of these signs the first half of May when Venus opposes Pluto followed by Mars square Pluto, unleasing powerful energies that may spin things out of control.

This Venus square Mars will be mitigated somewhat by the Grand Fire Trine formed by Mercury to Jupiter and Saturn in effect through April 25, so we can still get inspired despite the overall friction of that time. Use mind, reason, logic, communication, and coordinating skills to keep things on track. This will expand into the realm of ideas the vitality set when the Sun was in the Grand Fire Trine the first part of April.

On April 26, Venus squares Uranus in Pisces, followed quickly by Venus opposed Jupiter and Mars conjunct Uranus on April 28. This challenges us to make things definite and not jump to conclusions. Open to unusual opportunities and connections, but defer doing anything too quickly. Stay conscious of ultimate ends, keep putting your best self forward, and don't settle for lesser things when greater rewards are at stake. There is going to be high nervousness and/or erratic tendencies which are leading us to do our thing before a greater public with style and depth.

This is the heart of the Mutable Grand Cross, and most affects 16-20 degrees of the Mutable signs. Before then, the T-square is made by Mars conjunct Uranus square the Venus opposition Jupiter. This is acutely focused by the Moon in Virgo, which will fracture many things as a prelude to recombining the pieces in new ways in the near future.

Mars square Jupiter is exact at the end of April, while the Jupiter square Uranus is exact on May 10. Obviously we'll be dealing with aftershocks for some time afterwards, so be aware of temperamental tendencies, try not to mess up perfectly good chances through petulant or erratic behavior, and stay open to being a good juggler while ordering the details according to whatever process will provide the most effective results. Refuse everything that is lesser, including getting involved in dramas and struggles that don't concern you. If things get overblown, best to withdraw.

Venus opposition Jupiter puts our Taurus/Libra planets at odds with our Sag/Pisces planets, while bringing some Jupiterian things to the surface wherever we have Gemini in our chart. Mars square Jupiter puts our Aries/Scorpio planets at odds with our Sag/Pisces planets, and marks a point of first emergence in the cycle that began when Mars conjuncted Jupiter in December 2006. Jupiter retrograde waning square Uranus brings the echo of whatever we set into motion in late January, with the final payoff to come in early October 2007 at the final square.

All of these aspects mark points of major change, with some things emerging, some things surfacing, and other things culminating, depending on which planets are making which aspects. And of course, it will powerfully affect the houses these planets are transiting, as well as those they rule, and any planets that are caught in the squares and Cross. Plan accordingly to expect transformations in all those areas.

On a final note, there is good that can come out of these stress zones. Venus in Gemini is favorable to Saturn in Leo and Neptune in Aquarius, so there will also be a Rectangle formed the end of April and beginning of May, showing we can turn every opposition into multiple productive opportunities and understandings.

The joker in the deck will be the Sun in early Taurus forming a septile to Uranus and then Mars, showing major emergent forks in the road precipitating important choices wherever they fall in your chart. It may be conflicted and crazy, but there are definite advantages to be captured. I'll comment more as the time draws nearer.

© Copyright 2007 Robert Wilkinson

Comments

[Katrina]

Hi Robert,

I was wondering if you could give me any insigths on the Uranus transit which is going to be exact soon and hit my Mercury in my 10th house and oppose my Pluto at 18 Virgo in the 9th house and the whole stellium I have there. When you talk about escaping from a narrow destiny, I can say that certainly applies exactly to my situation in the last few month. But now it has come to a point where the situation either gets resolved and I´ll be freed or I could lose my whole existance.
Thank you, Katrina (28 september 1966 12:30pm München)

[Robert]

Hi Katrina - Well, Uranus opposed Pluto requires you to give up whatever you need to, while conjunct your Mercury with NN shows you're open to unexpected innovations and perceptions. Regardless of what's up now, it's important for you to remember that you're being prepared for a new way to do your Uranus/Pluto when Saturn enters Virgo which will be harmonized and expanded by Jupiter beginning December, based in whatever you began back when Jupiter was in Virgo.

[Vahana]

Hi Robert, In my progressed chart, it looks like there are a lot of planets on the cusps of signs, including my north node. I have just started a new job and want to make the most of it. Is there any advice that you can provide? As always, thank you in advance for your guidance and words of wisdom.
11/11/62
6:35 PM
Northampton, MA, USA

[Katrina]

Hi Robert,

thank you for your continous support and insights. It certainly has been a long preparation. More than eagerly, I now look forward to the rebirth phase! I have you on my list for the celebration.... Thank you, Katrina.

[Robert]

Hi Vahana - Well, any time a progression is on a cusp, meaning the beginning or end of a sign, it shows either that you're just beginning a long term shift in those planetary energies, or finishing up a long term stay in a sign and getting ready to shift filters of expression. Open to new ways of doing your being, and especially for those planets at the end of signs, open to the highest spritiual understanding, since that's what the end of signs can bring.

Hi Katrina - I'll definitely participate in celebrating the rebirth/renewal of a person's life. Been through enough of my own that I know "up close and personal" what a dawn looks like after a dark night of the Soul. Everything that used to be black and white takes on hues of color almost forgotten to the wanderer, like distant memories of ancient times one isn't sure one even lived. Then as the light gets brighter, there are a thousand things to do. Welcome to pending renewal.

[cassandra]

Where is astrological help for humans interacting with earth flora and fauna? I do what is wrong when I want to help earth often. Is there any way to know how to be what earth needs humans to be in astrology perspectives? Thank you for being here, Robert

[sunshine]

Hello Robert,
Hi Katrina,

About 'escaping from a narrow destiny' and the situation which doesn't seem to get resolved soon..
I want to tell you that i'm exactly in the same position, all applies perfectly to what i'm living since october 2006, and i'm trying hard to hold on, waiting to see the 'light'.

I completely agree the rebirth worths a great celebration.

Sunshine

[Robert]

Hi cassandra - Well, first, it's important for us to stop thinking we know better than Nature, and so learn to listen to what we're being taught about Nature by Nature. And of course, much that we've learned is unhelpful so we have to suspend some ideas before we can learn the unreal from the Real. Why not start with "The Secret Life of Plants," as well as taking a look at the life of Luther Burbank, a human who knew more about the life of Nature than anyone before or since. As for fauna, well, we live in barbaric times, though we can still learn from animals if we don't take anything for granted. Much comes from learning to listen the the Voice of the Silence.

Hi sunshine - Just keep breathing and loving, breathing and loving. Move with the changes, and to be boringly repetitious, practice detachment, dispassion, discrimination, and generate as much goodwill as you can. Eventually things get clearer, we haven't done anything to mess up karma, and have grown in strength and clarity through our practice.

[Dara Van Arsdale]

Hi, Robert.

My Birthday is OCTOBER 13,1960. I have had some upsetting situations starting on April
sixth.Can you please tell me what else can I expect?
Thankyou Dara.

[chickie]

In the middle of all this, your Highness I will have Mars conjunct my Jupiter in the 12th pisces trining uranus 6 degrees in cancer in 3rd for the next 2 days.....can you take the lead here.....cuz I feel like an accident waiting to happen.

Thank you
chickie

[Don]

Robert-

Is this correct; california college student-residents pay roughly $30 dollars per 1 credit hour? For an out of state student to benefit from this they must be a CA resident for 9 months?

This information is word-of-mouth, not researched. What is Santa Monica like, nice? There is a U.C. Satelite school there I think.

Gotta go,
Love and Blessings,
Don.

[Robert]

Hi Dara - Well, there could be any number of reasons things were kicked off that day. Among other things, Saturn is exactly square your Venus, and has been for a few weeks. Pluto is also conjunct your Jupiter. Around 6 April, Venus was square your Uranus. As for what else you can expect, pay close attention April 15-18 and have a sense of humor. Also May 5-7 and 11-13, don't let things go to extremes. You'll get lots of insights beginning 2nd week of June as to why things are the way they are, and may need to rework some of how you "do your Mars."

Hi Chickie - Mars in the 12 is great for meditation and reaping harvests of old cycles preparing for the new. Trine to Uranus in Cancer is good for purification, regeneration, flashes of brilliance when you're in seclusion and not letting Jupiter run you in 12 directions at once. Things should be on track by May at latest.

Hi Don - I have no idea what CA charges per credit hour. You can find that on-line. I do know to establish CA residency you need to be here for a year. Santa Monica is gorgeous, expensive, but there is no UC school there. UCLA is it for these parts. UCSB is 90 miles up the road. There are Cal State schools in Northridge, Long Beach, and Dominguez Hills, but none of these are on the west side. Santa Monica has Santa Monica College which feeds UCLA, but I believe it's a Jr. College.

[Vahana]

Thank you Robert, again and as always, for your wisdom. You are one of the blessed!

[Larissa]

Robert, how about writing an articles about love for a change instead of "stress zones"?

[Robert]

Hi Vahana - You're welcome. Glad it helps.

Hi Larissa - Actually, love is a constant, so I believe it can be cultivated at any time. Stress zones, on the other hand, are transitional matters and can be devastating. (So can love, but you know what I mean...) I try to give people a heads up so they don't get jammed up by the stress zones, and thus are able to be loving in the midst of what otherwise would be a mess. Sidestepping the bullet is better than taking one you didn't see coming! That said, I will post some good articles about love in the near future.

[Larissa]

Hi Robert -- Love is a rare certainty, sometimes comes once in a life time. Some of us who think they feel constant/universal love are not able to love anyone at all, but themselves.

Unless we do not understand each other and talking about different things.

[Robert]

Hi Larissa - I believe we have moved from discussing "Stress Zones" to discussing conditional love (and its distorted forms) relative to Unconditional Love. In my life, I have loved too well, if not wisely, on many occasions over 40+ years. I have found that Love is an absolute, though infatuation bears its own price. Love comes everywhere, though some forms of romance are but pale comparisons to Divine Love, which pervades all that is.

We yearn, and strive, and usually fall short of the Divine Ideal, since who of us is as pure as the world assumes we should be? If we are not perfect, how can we expect perfection, even relatively, in another? We dance with those we dance with. We volunteer for experience, and those who do not want to be close to others can certainly refuse relationship. So we go for who we are attracted to and those who are attracted to us. Much can be written off as "it seemed like a good idea at the time" and inexperience about how to respond to the arousal of the subconsciousness.

Can anyone truly live the archetype of an abstraction we call "Love?" If so, what would it look like in its worldly form, other than pure ectasy and tragedy? And of course, much of what we assume is love in its Earthly appearance is but a pale shadow of what Love truly is. That is why I accept many things as one form of love or another.

I have known conditional and unconditional love and Love in many forms in my life. Many close relationships are proof of the willingness of the heart to become stronger. The love we all feel for life is a constant, or else we would cease to exist. So Love Absolute truly is a constant, if only for oneself and the clinging to sentient existence and sensory experience.

The dance of Love Absolute is known as we let go of our reservations. Our perceptions of It are never constant, as all things in this world fluctuate except our Inner Flame, which is only glimpsed as we willingly cut loose from the known. This is beyond judgment. This is Life Itself.

[Don]

I figured it is a year. There is usually a catch. Cali's credit costs are lower but living expenses seem to balance that right back out!

Living in a place like Long Beach is on my dream-list. A place where people give some conscience attention to their environment and can openly practice their "progressive" spirituality is important to me. That is my ideal for California.

Have a beautiful day,
Don.

[Robert]

Hi Don - Long Beach is a very polluted port with lots of semis and tankers, not exactly progressive spirituality with an environmental focus. You're describing more a Northern California vibe, or maybe Malibu/Santa Monica or even San Luis Obispo. Unless you're into West Coast Choppers, that is, which is definitely a form of yeehaw spirituality with ZZ Top as High Priests... ;-)

[unukalhai]

Love is not only a constant, but the natural state of mankind. If, as humans, we can avoid being sucked into the convolution and delusions of the stresses, we will find our natural state of love and be led by natural gravity to compassion for our fellow brothers and sisters. It's not that we have to find love, but that we have to overcome the opposite of love, which manifests in many forms.

Mars conjuncts the March 18th 2007 Solar Eclipse on May 12th, adding more energy to the early May timeframe, already highlighted by Jupiter square Uranus and Mars square Pluto. It should be an exciting time, full of chances to move forward and plenty of energy to overcome that which holds us back!

[Robert]

Hi unukalhai - Exactly, and well put! We are living, radiant sentient eternal energy fields of consciousness we call "Love." Everything else is appearance tinted by perception resulting from contact with matter in one form or another. In learning how to recognize the real from the unreal, the permanent from the impermanent, we come out of suffering into Unconditional Love. How we get there may or may not feel very good at the time, but as long as we don't get trapped in unfortunate judgments, we can always find our way to the light. And how would we ever know we are the Love that can maneuver through any goopy dark spaces, internal or external, if we were not tested from time to time through resistances? Ultimately, it's ALL an experiment in Truth teaching us how to move out of "death" to immortality.