TAURUS

April 20 through May 20

April 2011

MONTHLY OVERVIEW:
You’re on an extended vacation from reality, Taurus. If you had any hopes of making a big splash this month, you might want to postpone those plans until May, or even June. A record-breaking SEVEN planets will visit Aries in April, your twelfth house of closure, healing, and hidden influences. Rarely do so many planets gather in one sign, but this month brings the Sun, the April 3rd new moon, Mercury (communication), Mars (drive), Venus (love), Jupiter (expansion) and Uranus (radical change). The twelfth house is a foggy, dreamy, and mystical place, where the boundaries of the imagination overlap into daily life. It’s also where our subconscious impulses live, and even some of the “shadow” parts of our personalities, such as addictions and obsessions.

Being out of control is NOT your idea of a good time. As a stubborn Bull, you like things your way, right away. However, the lesson of April is this: surrender. Trust-fall into the unknown and believe that the universe will catch you. We’ve been saying this to you since last June, when Jupiter and Uranus first dipped into Aries for the summer. Forcing things will only make them backfire, so tumble down that rabbit hole and explore your own personal Wonderland. There are matters from your past that no longer serve you and must be put to rest. Have a tea party with your inner demons and bid them farewell. The April 3rd Aries new moon is a perfect date for this, when six planets are in this red-hot sign. On June 4th, expansive Jupiter will enter Taurus for a year, setting off a new twelve-year life cycle. April is your chance to clean the slate and make way for an exciting chapter. Life gets a little more real after April 20th, when the Sun enters Taurus for a month. But don’t get too focused on starting anything until the Taurus new moon in early May.

Special note: in April, expansive Jupiter will be opposite restrictive Saturn. We will all feel a push-pull between risk and caution. If you plan to take a leap of faith, make sure you look both ways before diving off the cliff. You may want to wait until Mercury ends its retrograde on April 23rd before implementing any big life changes.

LOVE & ROMANCE:
Saying goodbye is never easy, but a big chapter of your life is coming to an end. With seven planets visiting Aries in April, your twelfth house of closure is activated in a major way. You might leave a relationship, or you may simply break a longstanding toxic pattern in your love life. An ex-partner may still have energetic “hooks” in you, even if you broke up long ago. Perhaps you’re just “doing” relationships according to an outmoded script, protecting yourself with old defenses and resisting vulnerability. Clinging to the past is taking more of a toll than you realize, and it’s hogging space on your romantic hard drive.

This month, it’s time to get clear on what’s your issue and what’s theirs. Projecting, blaming, finger-pointing—or expecting the other person to change to suit your demands—well, these strategies won’t lead you to relationship success. Taurus, you have a habit of being self-righteous at times, even if you don’t want to admit it. A “my way or the highway” approach will no longer fly. Chances are, you’re simply trying to insure yourself from getting hurt by ordering things on your terms.

What you really need is less control and more surrender (there’s that word you hate again). Instead of huffing and puffing and delivering a fire-and-brimstone lecture, name your emotions. Say “I’m hurt” or “I’m sad” or “I’m scared”…whatever you’re feeling. This level of vulnerability takes true courage. It’s what builds intimacy and trust. You must dive below the surface to investigate your heart and soul. Whether you’re single or coupled, this is the key to lasting love. Allow yourself to receive and be guided—not only by your partner, but by your intuition and divine forces. Your guides are conspiring to send you a soulmate, a baby, or some sort of gift—just stop stop meddling in their work!

MONEY & CAREER:
Although major launches are suspended until May/June, there’s some good news. On April 4th, foggy Neptune departs Aquarius, your career sector. Neptune has been here since 1998, turning your work life into a theater of karmic lessons. You may have gained and lost a few jobs in the past 13 years, or weathered some tough experiences with untrustworthy colleagues. Neptune shows where we heal, but also where we can be gullible or overly trusting. You’ve been working through this with authority figures, employees and colleagues, and there have been some painful moments, even losses. Because Neptune is famous for keeping things undefined, it’s been tough to answer the question “so, what do you do?” You may have a few stacks of business cards from vastly different industries lining your desk drawer.

From April 4-August 4, Neptune enters Pisces, your eleventh house of group activity and technology. Expect to meet some fascinating characters or to collaborate on some creative, out-of-the-box projects. The eleventh house also rules technology, so you may work virtually, even conducting Skype meetings from exotic locations. A web-based business could prosper, and you might even work in the arts or adopt a more spiritual approach to work. In the last year, two Taurus friends of ours left high-paying corporate gigs in New York and moved to Maui, swapping the rat race for surfing, sacred intimacy workshops, and life in paradise. Neptune will return to Aquarius from August until February 2012, a chance for you to put your lessons into practice. Perhaps you’ll integrate the more laid-back “yin” lifestyle into your professional path.

Mercury, ruler of contracts and communication, is retrograde (backward) in your foggy twelfth house until April 23rd. Signing on the dotted line isn’t advised until this cycle ends. However, Mercury retrograde is a favorable time for putting closure on any projects you haven’t finished (or have been avoiding). Clear the energetic space of guilt and unwanted ties. Either make good on those obligations or stop stringing folks along. At the April 17th Libra full moon, tackle your integrity: make a list of unfinished projects, unpaid debts, and anything in your life that’s out of order. It’s a great day to haul some trash bags into your office, shred old papers, or clean out that storage space. Be careful whom you trust in April. With seven planets in your hidden agenda sector, someone may not be totally upfront with you. New details could emerge, so trust your intuition if you get a strong gut feeling and do some further investigation.

HEALTH: MIND, BODY & SOUL:
April is a month of deep healing. Seven planets visit Aries, your therapeutic twelfth house, helping you purge any emotional residue or toxic situations. You’ll need a lot of extra sleep—stay tuned for some seriously visionary dreams that could border on psychic. In fact, those REM moments could be a lot more interesting than waking life. Meditation, energy healing, and therapy are helpful this month, too. It’s also a good time to face any addictive patterns and break them. If you have talent in the arts, get creative. Painting, dancing, music, photography—all of these are powerful channels for expression.

When transformational Pluto goes retrograde from April 4-September 15, you could travel to an old place or resume a course of study. In some way, there could be a “charge” around this activity that forces you to look within. You may need to reassess your values and beliefs. Question the things you normally take for granted, Taurus. Notice how many times you use that favorite Taurus expression, “it is what it is.” You have a lot more power at your disposal than that. There’s a difference between radical acceptance of what “is” and just plain-old resignation stemming from laziness, resistance to change, and a stubborn refusal to challenge yourself.

Lucky Days: 6, 24
Money Days: 9, 27
Love Days: 16, 20
Off Days: 4, 18
Filed under: Taurus Monthly