April begins with Mercury and Jupiter in Aries, Ketu in Virgo, Moon in Sagittarius, Mars and Saturn conjunct in Aquarius, Venus exalted with Sun and Rahu in Pisces.
April Transits:
Mercury retrograde on the 1st
Saturn moves to Purvabhadra Nakshatra on the 5th
Vedic Lunar New Year begins on April 8th
Chaitra Navaratri begins on the 9th
Mercury retrogrades back into Pisces on the 9th
Saturn and Mars in exact degrees on the 10th
Mercury and Sun in exact conjunction in Pisces on the 11th
Sun exalted in Aries on the 13th + Vedic Solar new year
Chaitra Navaratri ends on the 15th
Ram Navami on the 17th
Mercury and Venus exact degrees on the 19th
Mars in Pisces on the 22nd
Hanuman Jayanti on the 23rd
Venus in Aries on the 24th
Mercury and Rahu in exact degrees on the 25th
Mercury direct in Pisces on the 25th
Jupiter in Taurus on April 30th
New Moon in Pisces and Revati Nakshatra on April 8th at 12:21 PM + Total Solar Eclipse
An interesting and challenging combination of planets is ripening at the time of the new Moon and solar eclipse. The Vedic Lunar New year and Chaitra Navaratri begin with this powerful new Moon. A cycle of big planetary energy is stirring. Listen to your heart and honor this transition point. What is ending and what are you making space for in your life?
This is the final month of Jupiter in Aries. After a year of one pointed focus, conflict, and new self awareness, the guru emphasizes a different kind of learning and growth. Jupiter in Taurus will be a remarkable shift away from the self, and create a stronger connection with relationships, nourishment and pleasure. My new article about this unique transit will be coming soon.
This month brings two planets in full exaltation, promising expansion, power, and big momentum. Venus exalts just as April begins. Typically, when Venus transits the watery nature of Pisces, it feels expansive and abundant. In this cycle, Venus also conjuncts shadowy Rahu, bringing possible confusion and illusion. Sun is at the edge of Pisces, bringing heat and fire. Relationships may feel uncertain. There may be challenges with all things Venus. Endings, beginnings and sudden changes may occur. Watch for excess and over indulgences. Venus/Rahu conjunctions can bring problems with spending, sugar, intoxicants, and soul avoidance. If you have a history of addiction, this is one of those cycles to be mindful of. Moderation and constraints will be important for the month ahead. Be firm with your boundaries and contain the excess.
Sun exalts in Aries on the 13th, bringing a new solar cycle. As Sun enters the first sign of the zodiac, a fresh start occurs for the light of the soul and your dharmic path. The Sun and Jupiter conjunction in Aries offers introspection and wisdom. New light may emerge, as well as insights and understanding from the past year. You may notice a clarity and focus that energizes and uplifts. There is a rebirthing quality taking place right now. Nurture this phase of tender transformation.
Mercury continues his unusual transit in and out of Aries and Pisces. During his retrograde dance out of Aries and back into Pisces, this gandanta stirs up endings and beginnings. Pisces brings the endings, while Aries offers fresh starts. The mind needs extra support and integration time. What is being uprooted on the psyscho/emotional body level? What needs are surfacing? It’s time to make some changes.
The new Moon in Pisces and Revati Nakshatra comes with the Lunar New Year and Chaitra Navaratri. This is a powerful and sacred time in the Vedic Calendar.
April begins with a poignant new Moon that also opens the nine day and night celebration of the Divine Feminine, Navaratri. This is an important time in the Vedic Calendar that acknowledges the awakening taking place in Nature. Shakti is increasing and the power of the Divine Mothers is enlivening. It is a turning point, a transition- ripe with potential and possibility. Use this time wisely to start creating, growing, and stretching yourself in new ways. The Divine Feminine is with you!
Moon is at the edge of the zodiac in the last constellation, asking you to find closure and release. Attending to grief, loss and hidden emotions will be important at this time. Be willing to look at your shadow and lift the stones of illusion keeping you stuck in the darkness. Doors are closing. Are you honoring the process of letting go properly? Are you making space for the new? At the same time immense potential is available. Be intentional with what you are creating.
Revati nakshatra is the last constellation of the zodiac. Its ruling deity, Pushan, helps make travels prosperous and nourishing. He supports the path and allows receiving, abundance, and offers resources for greater support and guidance. As an Aditya, he is a provider of prosperity on the material plane of existence. He helps those that are lost find their purpose and he will redirect you towards your path. He is the shepherd that finds the lost sheep and brings them back to the herd. He protects and nourishes all paths and will help you find the hidden treasures on the journey. Honor his wisdom and acknowledge his support for your path. He especially likes to be fed easily digestible foods like porridge. Bring some to your altar and ask for his blessings during the new Moon.
This new Moon is an opening- awakening the power of the Divine Feminine and the nourishment of Navaratri. This year spring Navaratri (for the Northern Hemisphere) begins April 8th and completes on April 17th with Ram Navami, the celebrated birth day of Lord Ram.
The Navaratri celebration is an expression of what is taking place within Nature, through the Laws that govern Nature, marking an important transition within us and around us. Align with Nature and Her powerful energy of change and transformation during Navaratri. Ritualize your connections with Nature and the ancestors- in order to land more closely to your own inner wisdom, to Her wisdom. Strengthen your connection to self and Spirit.
Navaratri is a poignant time in the Vedic Calendar. This ancient calendar is one that is dedicated to Nature and her cycles and rhythms, the planets, and most importantly the Moon. In the Vedic Calendar, time is connected to what Nature and the cosmos are doing as these elements are intimately related. The main Navaratri celebrations occur twice a year- in the “gap” seasons of spring and fall. These times are considered sandhi times; delicate times that feel like you are neither here, nor there. We might call it the netherworld. This time, though delicate, is considered sacred.
Use this sacred cycle to nurture the seeds of your creations and desires. Activate and align with your dharmic path. Take steps that move you closer to your nourishment and inner wisdom. Connect with your ancestors and Spirit in intimate ways. Think big and allow your transformation to take place. Where are you settling and resisting change?
The Divine Mothers are supporting your growth and transformation process. Nature is awakening her wisdom- within you and your life. Are you allowing this change process to take place? Are you actively engaging and participating in this awakening process? Don’t keep sleeping. It’s time to wake up!
Vedic Lunar New Year:
The Vedic Lunar new Year begins when Moon and Sun align in the sign of Pisces during the Vedic month of Chaitra. This is when Lord Brahma created the universe from his navel. It is still celebrated as the beginning of new life every year. Use this sacred awakening for renewal, creativity, transformation and planting new seeds.
In the Vedic calendar, there are 60 different lunar years, or Samvatsaras, based on the cycles of Jupiter. Each one has a distinct quality and will predict the nature of the year to come. As the Vedic new year begins for 2024, a Krodhi year starts. Krodhi translates from Sanskrit as “an angry man.” The nature of this cycle will be difficult and aggressive, bringing with it qualities like violence, arrogance, greed, betrayals, dishonesty, increased natural disasters, wars, conflicts and difficulties. This Krodhi cycle will end in March of 2025.
The blessing is that this difficult cycle begins with the sacred nine days of Mother Divine, offering the grace and wisdom of the Divine Mothers.
As the Moon shifts into the first tithi of the waxing Moon cycle, the sacred nine day and night celebration of Maha Navaratri begins.
Nava means nine and ratri means night in Sanskrit. Each day and night of this powerful junction point, correlates to the epic battle between the goddess Sri Devi Mahatmyam and the demon Mahishasura. Maha Devi Mahatmyam is connected to both Durga and Shakti, powerful forms of divine feminine energy that awaken, clear, transform and heal. Sri Devi is understood to be the supreme creation power of the universe, the Tridevi, or triple goddess, as she expresses the creation, sustaining and destructive energies that perpetuate all forms of life. In the sacred text known as the Sri Devi Mahatmyam, composed between 400 and 600 CE, the many forms of the goddess are expressed.
“She is presented, through a language of praise, as the one who dwells in all creatures, as the soul, as the power to know, the power to will and the power to act. She is consciousness of all living beings, she is intelligence, she is matter, and she is all that is form or emotion.” – Via Wikipedia
READ MORE ABOUT THE POWER OF NAVARATRI
Solar Eclipse Wisdom:
This new Moon brings the close of an intense two week eclipse portal. Solar eclipses tend to intensify our relationship with power, the masculine, authorities, and purpose. Confront undigested emotions, fear, resistance and inner conflict directly. Likely your personal mythology will be intensifying at this time so you can clean up any shadows that are keeping you in the dark. Pay attention to what is emerging from your depths.
This solar eclipse closes a two week cycle of intense shadow work. Eclipses intensify everything and tend to make mountains out of mole hills- so we can see what we have been avoiding or negating within the unconscious realms. Stay positive and look for solutions rather than focusing on the darkness, but do not bypass the necessary inner work that you are being asked to show up for right now. This is a powerful time to address inner shadows head on and release inner blockages that you’ve been overlooking.
Your willingness to honor your big emotions will support their release. Stay present and willing to be with your challenging parts. There is something trying to push through and come to the surface. Are you listening? What needs to change? Your emotional body waves are asking for more nourishment. Be willing to support the release so that you have space for more of what you truly want and need.
The solar eclipse begins at 09:42 am MT and ends at 02:52 pm MT. The maximum eclipse will be at 12:17pm MT. This eclipse is visible from North America. The majority of North America and part of central America will experience the shadow of this eclipse.
A reminder that this closes a two week cycle that has not been good for starting new projects, new endeavors, or relationships. Emotions tend to intensify during eclipses and shadows are much stronger. You may have been less clear and focused the past few weeks. Let the shadows clear over the coming days before making big decisions. Challenges often intensify so we can see them more clearly and make the necessary changes that will support new growth. This can be a time of immense inner transformation if used properly.
From a Vedic perspective, it is not advised to be outside during an eclipse- or to look directly at the eclipse taking place. Wear a head covering if you have to be outside so you don’t absorb the shadow. Ideally, this is a time for spiritual practices such as meditation, chanting and fasting. Set intentions and honor the sensitivity of this time. It is also widely recognized that during and between eclipses, starting new endeavors will not bring positive results. No new projects, relationships or activities should start during the eclipse. Notice what needs are arriving, then take action after the eclipse portal closes. Best to lay low, attend to spiritual pursuits, get extra rest and work with your inner shadow very consciously during this cycle.
This is a powerful time to honor your emotional body wisdom and confront your inner shadows. Make necessary changes in your actions and choices. Release negative thought patterns, behaviors and inner dialogue that is keeping you stuck in patterns and cycles of lack. Clear, release and let go so that you have even more space for your deepest nourishment.
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Full Moon in Libra and Swati Nakshatra on April 23rd at 17:49 MT
Relationships, balance, and harmony come to the forefront as this full Moon in Libra arrives. There are transformations, changes, and challenges with relationships surfacing. What needs to be transformed in order for greater alignment? On the other side of the eclipse cycle, notice what feels clearer and more refined now. What did you learn and what has strengthened inside of you?
Mars has just entered Pisces at the time of the full Moon. He joins Rahu, exalted Venus, and retrograde Mercury here. This begins a clarifying month of precision, focus, and navigating losses. There is incredible creativity activated right now. Use this time wisely as this combination of planets won’t come again like this. What needs to be improved right now? What action steps need your attention? How can you improve your relationships and spiritual commitment?
Mercury continues an unusual transit back into Pisces, his sign of debilitation. While retrograde, this partially cancels the debilitation. As Mercury goes direct on the 25th, he becomes debilitated once again. Mercury returns to Aries April 10th, crossing the challenging gandanta between endings and beginnings once again. There is a cosmic request to transform the mind and release unnecessary thought patterns. Notice what is softening on the mental body level.
Jupiter is only days away from beginning a brand new year long cycle. On April 30th, he enters Taurus. The guru will expand earthly desires, nourishment, wealth, and self expression. This coming year will be a potent time to learn new skills, adjust your spiritual practices, and align with your creativity in fresh ways. My new article is coming soon.
Full Moon in Swati nakshatra brings a cycle of movement ahead.
Change, travel, and wind come with this constellation. Vayu, the wind god, rules this portion of the sky and brings all kinds of movement with him. Subtle and small breezes, powerful gusts, and everything in between, are all within his domain. What is your relationship with the wind right now? Vata may be particularly imbalanced in the coming weeks so be mindful of your prana. Avoid excess movement, travel and pushing to accomplish. Right now, less is more. Silence and rest are the best use of your time and energy.
Vayu means air in Sanskrit which brings movement, change and increased strength. This cycle will bring changes both big and small as Vayu stirs big, forceful movement, or small and gentle stirring. Just as wind can arrive in large gusts or soft breezes, Vayu instigates a variety of weather- internally and externally.
As a Rudra, strength and power come with Vayu as well. He brings storms, upheaval and force with him. He likes to move, travel and change location. Emotional intelligence will be required in this transit as Swati nakshatra can cause detachment from feelings and the body. Breath is the pranic force that supports deeper connection with the bodies. Use it as a resource in this cycle to help you ground, land and root. This is a good time to focus on pranayama and meditation practices.
Notice where you are disconnecting and detaching. Why are you afraid of going deeper? How is your fear keeping you from creating deeper connections? Use the body as the primary resource for embodiment, connection and integration.
The April full Moon takes place with Hanuman Jayanti, celebrated birth day of Lord Hanuman, the beloved monkey god. He and his monkey army saved Sita from the wrathful demon, Ravana, and brought her home safely to Ayodhya and Lord Raam. Hanuman is a Rudra- meaning he has immense strength, power and sheer force available to him. This strength was given to him by Vayu, the wind god- father to both Bhima and Hanuman. Hanuman reminds us of righteous action and that we must use our power and strength for conquering evil and restoring balance- while always upholding dharma. His devotion to Lord Rama expresses deep bhakti, and the power of leading with the heart. Hanuman reminds us that our true strength is our heart wisdom.