APRIL 2000 FORECAST
¸2000 by Richard Nolle
last revised UT 22:56 MAR 29, 2000
If you were expecting some kind of sun sign nonsense, forget it. This is real astrology. See the section
above. Please note: this forecast is expressed in terms of Universal Time (UT). Current UT date and time
appear at the top of this page. (To update display, use your browser's reload/refresh button.)
THE NIGHT TRAIN
Mars dominates April, and not only in terms of the triple
alignment gracing the evening skies for most of the
month. Lining up with Jupiter and Saturn - the other two
naked eye superior planets - the Red Planet sets up a
celestial troika that makes for real visual drama
throughout most of April. The trio will be aligned within
not more than five degrees from one another April 7-23.
(This configuration takes place in the constellation Aries,
the sign Taurus: see my article on Signs & Constellations
if you don't know the difference.) If you look to the
western horizon in the evening twilight on April 6, when
Mars aligns with Jupiter, you'll see a real wonder as the
Moon joins these three planets all in one tight cluster in
the night sky. Triple conjunctions of Mars, Jupiter and
Saturn are exceedingly rare: this will be only the third
one this century. The last was in November 1921 (Libra),
and the one before that took place in December 1901
(Capricorn). There won't be another until the August 2040 triple alignment in Libra, so don't miss the
night train this time around.
That night train rumbles across the headlines this month, as martial themes, hot blood, rash impulses and
raw avarice well up like the spring sap in the trees. Crashes - including a rash of air travel disasters and
other fiery accidents - add to a sense of danger to the left, danger to the right, danger up above. (This is
part and parcel of a surge in air travel mishaps begun last month and continuing into early May.)
Statistically speaking, commercial airlines are still your safest travel bet. But a lot more people than
usual are going to end up statistics over this period.
MOONTIDES
Some of the Mars mayhem in April is bound to
be a case of Mother Nature on a rampage. For
example, a combination of notable lunar cycles
occurs on the 4th, when Luna crosses the
celestial equator northward less than eight hours
after the new moon at 15 Aries. Although far
from being in the same league as an eclipse or
SuperMoon, this is a potent new moon in its own
right. Mars and Jupiter being less than a degree
from their exact alignment on the 6th (squaring
Neptune), and Saturn less than four degrees
from an exact square to Uranus at the same time,
look for this new moon to usher in more than the
usual increase in natural disasters. The headlines
from the 1st through the 7th will be replete with
stories of flooding (both coastal due to higher
than normal tides, and inland due to heavy rain),
as well as strong storms and moderate to severe
seismic activity (including volcanic eruptions and
Richter 5 or greater earthquakes).
The new moon risk window is one of many this month. The Moon reaches perigee (closest approach to
Earth) April 8, and hits maximum declination north of the celestial equator on the 10th. So no sooner than
we finish up with the new moon than we're into another period of strong storm and seismic potential that
lasts from the 8th through the 11th.
THE BEAR & THE BULL'S EYE
The Red Planet's prominence throughout April
paints a picture of a time when more and more
people feel unreasonable, tense and irritable;
jumpy, greedy, angry and avaricious. Blessed
is the peacemaker - let alone the innocent
bystander - who picks out a safe path through
such challenges. A current of criminal violence
and all manner of conflict runs strong just about
all month, from the Mars-Neptune square only
minutes from exact arc on the 1st through the
Mars-Uranus square that finally leaves five
degree orb on the 26th. And that's just on the
personal level. On the collective level, a
resurgence of collectivism and militarism,
terrorism and ethnic cleansing, saber rattling
and outright bloodshed: these and like uglies
would be par for the course during such a string
of Mars alignments.
Speaking of avarice, the early part of April
looks like a feeding trough for the hogs on Wall
Street and other major equity markets. This is bound to be especially true for the first week or so in
April, a time when the Mars alignment with Jupiter is the major keynote out in the heavens. But after the
12th or so there's a perceptible change in prevailing conditions, as the Red Planet moves in on its April
15 alignment with Saturn. It's a kind of an animal farm cycle of metamorphosis in the markets: the bulls
become greedy hogs in the first half of the month, and then the bears slaughter the hogs in the second
half. A hedge fund in trouble, a legal decision that jeopardizes the survival of a company (or even an
industry) . . . Remember: over-valued speculative issues remain in a bubble bursting phase this month
and next. Look for real value, and be especially careful of Internet high-fliers. The portals and
"e-tailers" are especially vulnerable, while the infrastructure builders and suppliers are less so. Saturn's
square to Uranus is within three degrees or less of being exact from mid-April onward, so the big
adjustment is so near at hand that it could happen any day now.
The psychology of the markets aside, the human race is not alone in being cranky under this kind of
Mars activation. Brute matter has a way of screwing things up at such times: accidents, material failures,
explosions and natural upheaval are going to figure larger than usual in the headlines of the day for April.
Most of us will escape unscathed through sheer dumb luck - but some because alerts like this one
conjured up a little extra awareness and caution. Most especially, keep focused and watch your back
throughout the middle third of the month.
IN THE CROSSHAIRS
While none of us is too far from April's Mars
in Taurus bull's eye, people with prominent
chart features in the fixed signs - Taurus,
Leo, Scorpio and Aquarius - are especially in
the crosshairs this month. The President and
Mrs. Clinton are a couple of obvious
examples: the Mars-Saturn conjunction of the
15th falls right on the eighth house Moon in
his natal chart, opposing Mercury and Venus
in hers. (Both charts get follow-up activation
from the Jupiter-Saturn alignment in May.)
Looking for other famous horoscopes getting
similar activation? Consider the usual
suspects: Pope John Paul II, Iran and Iraq
(both with the Moon in Taurus in their
national charts), Israel, Japan, China, India
and Pakistan, Russia and her Presidents - just
to name a few. Crackdowns and paybacks,
slips from grace and karma catching up . . .
Of course, everyone's potentially in harm's way when the Moon is full at 29 Libra on the 18th. This is
another of those risk periods for storms and seismic upheaval, and it's in effect from the 15th through the
21st. Days when such risks look highest include the 15th (Mars conjunct Saturn), the 17th (Moon crosses
the celestial equator southward), the 18th (the full moon itself), and the 20th (Mars squares Uranus).
The last storm and seismic risk windows of the month are in effect from the 23rd through the 25th (30
hours either way of Luna's maximum southern declination on the 24th), and starting up again on the 30th
(in advance of Moon crossing the celestial equator again on May 1). Geophysical storm warnings aside,
the great geopolitical and economic turning points signified by the Jupiter-Saturn conjunction and the
Saturn-Uranus square coming up in May will cast their shadows ahead into April. There's a growing
sense this month that things won't be the same again in a fairly short time . . .
SPECIAL FEATURE: This month's birthdays of the famous and infamous (with astrological birth charts)
Richard Nolle, Certified Professional Astrologer
phone or fax 480-753-6261 - email rnolle@astropro.com
Box 26599 - Tempe, AZ 85285-6599 - USA
on the World Wide Web at astropro.com
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