Several people have asked me about particular dates, whether there was anything astrologically significant about them. I have decided to comment on all these questions together.

Soul Astrology Answer:

It is always tempting to look up the positions of planets when any event is happening that we don’t understand, or when we want to see the broader implications. Looking back is generally more fruitful than scanning the future, because we have some experience to relate the planets to, and that gives a sensible ground for discovering reasons and purposes for events that have already happened – the value of hindsight! However, the chart of the moment of an event is not always particularly significant.
(In traditional astrology, there are rules about how to evaluate the extent to which a chart is ‘radical,’ that is, significantly connected to our life. Every event has a chart for the moment and place it happened. Millions of events are happening all over the world at any moment, all having the identical chart, apart from their geographical location. The location of the event gives us a horizon against which to place the sky, giving the four ‘angles’ of Ascendant and Descendant, Midheaven and IC. When planets fall exactly on these points, it indicates the potential importance of an event at that place on Earth. Towns, countries and organisations, like people, have birth charts, and another pointer to the significance of a relevant event is how its chart connects with the birth chart. Suppose we are fearful of an upcoming interview, and we find that its chart is not radical – no planets on ‘angles,’ or connecting to our birth chart. This is suggesting that the fear is anticipatory, and does not mean that the interview itself will be fearful when we get to it.)

In my experience, the timing of an anticipated event is often different from what was planned. I like the astrology of the change in the wedding date of Prince Charles and Camilla, which resulted from the funeral of the last Pope being arranged for the same day. The wedding was planned for 8th April, when there was a New Moon later in the evening. As that was the day of the funeral, the wedding was postponed to the following day, after the New Moon. Had the wedding taken place on the 8th it would have been while the Moon was still ‘old,’ and also before it squared Saturn in Cancer, a sign of discomfort. The closing phase of the Sun/Moon cycle is much more relevant to an ending, like a funeral, than the beginning of a marriage. The beginning of the new cycle on 9th April was more appropriate for a wedding. The fact that the uncomfortable Moon/Saturn square was over by the wedding date suggests that Prince Charles and Camilla’s troubles are largely in the past, that the wedding is the beginning of a better time for them. The beauty of this wedding date is that it was ‘arranged’ by life itself!

Personally I try not to get involved in anything that could lead to blaming the planets for our experiences. To put great store by planetary positions, at all times, leads to the superstition that the planets are making things happen, rather than setting the stage for what we do. We can find ourselves trying to create specific outcomes by choosing the moment we do something because of its chart alone - choosing for instance to wait until Venus is on our Ascendant to have a haircut so that the result is attractive! It may almost look as if this is possible, but there are too many threads in the weaving of any moment to control the picture. And even if it were possible, it is not necessarily useful to do it. If you are the kind of person who usually ‘falls on their feet,’ you might be able to use astrology this way. When choosing a moment for an event, it is my belief that life/spirit leads us to choose appropriately for what we need to learn from the experience. I think that, in life, it is most important to be responsive to the moments as they arrive. If we have expectations of how our experiences should be, when life steps in and surprises us, we tend to be disappointed and miss the gift within the moment.

Looking into the future through astrology has never given me a sight of events to come. People who work with Vedic Astrology, or who are clairvoyant, may be able to do this. What astrology shows me is the likely quality of the future, and the timing of windows of opportunity. It can be useful to know which planet is ‘strong’ at any time, so that we can adopt an appropriate attitude – for instance, when Neptune is in a ‘strong’ position, the best attitude is to trust in the flow rather than trying to pin things down; we get confused because new layers of life are revealing themselves, so we don’t immediately understand. When the ‘strong’ planet is Saturn, the most helpful attitude is one of ‘completing all the bits to the best of our ability,’ because this is a time of consolidating and manifesting what we have been aiming for. Although I never predict events from the planets, I usually like to view a person’s unfolding life process, and I do sometimes question a chart about the general unfolding quality of a specific situation.

The planets continually orbit through the Zodiac signs, in and out of aspect with each other. Any moment could be interpreted in many different ways. The general movement, however, gives clues to the quality of the unfolding times we are in, the background atmosphere of all our lives. This April does have a certain general quality that many people are noticing. It is represented in part by Mercury being retrograde up to 12 April, and then moving forward through Aries for the rest of April and early May. This can be interpreted as feelings of frustration when communication and movement are not as fast or as smooth as we would like. Astrologically, what I think best describes our difficulties is that Saturn in Cancer is being squared by all the planets moving through Aries; this includes the Sun, Venus, Mercury and the New Moon itself. As there are no planets softening this aspect at the moment, we are more likely to notice any blockages, hold-ups, misunderstandings, a sense of unfairness, and so on. On some days in April the Sun, Moon and planets in Aries have been exactly square to Saturn, which increases the possibility of awkwardness. And with every aspect between Saturn and the Moon, in its monthly circuit of the Zodiac, any difficulties tend to be emphasised.

However, there are other planetary connections in the pattern, and our focus doesn’t have to be on difficulties. Our personal reactions to events have a lot to do with who we are, and what we are dealing with in our own life process, seen in our birth chart and its progressions. When Saturn’s movement is not connecting sympathetically into our birth chart pattern, it is a time to focus on using all experiences to assist our growth to greater maturity. For instance, we do better when we approach all situations without any particular expectations. When in doubt, I have found that wondering ‘What would the Dali Lama do?’ triggers my inner understanding of what to do for the best. Any difficult experiences during this April and early May could be opportunities to learn about, and understand, the balance between caring for others (Saturn in Cancer), and being ourselves (Aries!). Patience and a sense of humour always help!