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Astrological Forecast
March—April, 1990
By Terry Lamb, M.A.
Major Planetary Events
Full Moon 2037' Pis/Vir Mar. 11
Sun conj. Mercury 28 Pisces Mar. 18
Sun enters Aries 000' Aries Mar. 20
(Spring Equinox)
Moon occult Mars 804' Aquarius Mar. 22
Sun square Jupiter 153' Ari/Can Mar. 22
New Moon 553' Aries Mar. 26
Mars square Pluto 1716' Aqu/Sco April 3
Resurrection Full Moon
2000' Ari/Lib April 9
Uranus sta. retro. 935' Capricorn April 13
Neptune sta. retro. 1435' Capricorn April 14
Sun enters Taurus 000' Taurus April 20
Mercury sta. retro. 1732' Taurus April 22
New Moon 443' Taurus April 24
During March and April of 1990, we experience both a peak and a lull in planetary activity. In March we will get a well deserved rest. In April the planets again ask us to meet their challenge. The "Right Human Relationship" lunations (full moons) begin, and the Sun squares Jupiter and the planets in Capricorn.
During the coming months of 1990, we experience several striking phenomena. The first is the "Right Human Relationship" lunations (full moons) revolving around the Wesak Festival, an event celebrated around the world by Hindus, Buddhists and students of esotericism. This yearly event potentiates our planet with powerful energy reinforcing the will-to-good on the planet. Although we all experience it, not everyone is capable of understanding and handling the energies. Just as too much light can blind the eye, so these energies are to the souls of many. The cycle begins with the "Resurrection" lunation, the full moon which comes directly before the Sunday of Easter. Although in the Christian world this is celebrated as the resurrection of the Christ, there has been a resurrection (rebirth) ritual at this time of year since prehistory. The word "Easter" itself is the name of the Saxon goddess Eostre, the northern counterpart to the Mediterranean Astarte. The celebration of Easter was the first Sunday after the first full moon after the spring equinox. It was a celebration of the resurrection of life after the long winter-death. Before the late Middle Ages, the Christian holiday (holy-day) was called Pentecost. This was also the time when Attis, son of Cybele's virgin conception, died and was resurrected. This also symbolized the rebirth of spring, when the days are finally longer than the nights.
The Wesak Festival is the time that the energies of Buddha and the Christ enter the earth. A great celebration takes place in a valley in Tibet. Many people make pilgrimage to this valley to share the celebration. The energies of Christ and Buddha are very high cosmic energies that are shared through food, water, breath and unseen patterns of energy flow. From this location, they disseminate around the world.
The impact of the energies brought in through the Wesak is felt throughout the next year, but it has special impact on the Gemini Full Moon (in June), when we are imbued with the goal of right human relationship. At this time, this is the single most important area of growth for our species.
To celebrate these events, it is important to know the times of the Full Moons, especially the Wesak Full Moon in Taurus. If you can be in meditation at these times, it will help to bring this greater awareness into our planet. The times (Pacific Standard Time) of the Full Moons are:
Resurrection Full Moon April 9th 8:18 pm
Wesak Full Moon May 9th 12:31 pm
Brother/Sisterhood Full Moon June 8th 4:01 am
Often there are group celebrations that you can participate in at these times if you desire.
The second major phenomenon of the coming months is the retrogradation (reversal of apparent direction through the heavens) of the "Three Bears," as a friend of mine calls the planets transiting Capricorn. Saturn, Uranus and Neptune are still closely bundled, although Saturn, with its faster motion, is now outdistancing its compatriots. Since none of these planets move quickly, their effects are quite noticeable and long-term. Furthermore, as you faithful readers of my column may recall, their triple conjunction marks the beginning of a new 1542-year cycle. During this period we will begin to feel the effects of Uranus and Neptune as they begin their passion play together. Indeed, we can already see the impact of these Great Actors, since they have been interacting more loosely for several years now. They typically represent broad changes in perspective that have a socio-cultural influence. A gradual return to family values IS taking place. The freeing of the Eastern bloc countries, the growth in awareness of the need for more nurturing values (with the recent focus on more subtle forms of addiction and abuse)—these are all a part of this growth in consciousness. With Uranus and Neptune, we experience more emphasis on ideas and understanding, especially that of a spiritual nature. Even religious boundaries are dissolving as people discover that we have a commonality of shared spiritual understanding, regardless of how we arrive at it. (Ideally this will spread to the Muslim world, no) This also relates to the crisis of planetary survival that we face.
The third phenomenon of this spring is the "waking of the Three Bears." (Should we call this the Goldilocks syndrome in reverse) Both the Sun and Mars are waking Saturn, Uranus and Neptune by squaring them—the Sun during April and Mars during May and June. The Sun, Mars and Jupiter are the 3 Fire planets that trigger major effects by transit. Keep in mind therefore that all the while Jupiter is opposing the Capricorn trio and will also be squared in its turn by the Sun and Mars. These events will fairly light the skies with events around the world. Although their impact in your personal lives may be more subdued (depending on their location in your chart and what natal placements are being triggered), we will certainly be able to watch the world with amazement.
All these events must be placed in the context of the most recent eclipse cycle, and this began in February of this year, falling on the Leo-Aquarius axis. Does this not suggest a theme of greater personal understanding and higher ideals of humanitarianism of dreams becoming reality I sincerely hope that this is so.
One theme that has struck me time and again this year, and I do not think it is merely a personal lesson, is the theme of becoming aware of and overcoming denial. This results in an individual taking personal responsibility for his life. One who takes responsibility for his actions does not need someone or something to blame and becomes a truly functioning (and positive) influence on our world. There are no small roles in bringing ourselves and our planet out of our crisis of survival — whether we are helping a child to grow up in this confusing and stress ridden place, or whether we sit on the council of the United Nations. If we try to see through our denials and take responsibility for our lives (no easy task!), we have helped to precipitate this for every other human being. It is a sad state of affairs that our President and most of those in power around the world live in denial. This is the only way that they could allow the destruction of the planet, allow the homeless to exist, say that hunger is not a problem in our country. It has a terrible impact on those who are at the receiving end of that denial—it leaves a feeling of nonexistence.
Still, my perception is that we are coming out of it, as a culture and as a species. The time will come, not to long from now, when it will be almost impossible to be in denial.
March: The Full Moon in Pisces-Virgo (March11th) brings a culmination in work- and service-oriented activities. Finally, the eclipses have left Virgo and Pisces, and this Full Moon could be considered uneventful in comparison to those in previous years in these signs.
The Sun enters Aries on March 20th and marks the time when the days and nights are equal in length. The Vernal Equinox is celebrated the world over as a time of the triumph of light over darkness. This theme is of course present in the celebration of Easter (ancient Eostar, the ritual of the Star Goddess, also called Astara, Aster, Esther, and the source of our word `star'), when we recall the resurrection of the Christ. The Sun's transit through Aries is typically a time of "spring fever" and early blossoms in the temperate zones.
On the 22nd of March, there is an event which occurs monthly—the conjunction of Mars and the Moon. However, this month, it is worth looking for in the early morning sky because they will be close to occultation. An occultation occurs when a planet passes over and blocks out another planet or a star. The influence is considered to be stronger, but in this case, it is certainly more an event of beauty than anything else.
The 22nd of March brings an event of greater import—the square of the Sun to Jupiter. This will activate Jupiter's energies of expansive growth. The stock market may push upward and interest rates may rise again after the doldrums of the winter past.
The New Moon in Aries on the 26th starts the Easter cycle, when the Wesak celebration begins. This is the time to begin a special effort to bring in energies for the uplifting of humankind by heralding the rebirth signaled by Christ's (Attis/Mars') resurrection.
April: April brings us out of a lull in planetary activity (a chance to resolve some of the situations that came up in January and February) and into a 6-week period of rather regular celestial events. The first (actually in March) is the square of the Sun to Uranus to activate the first of the Three Bears. Rather than suggesting events for this time, I would like to suggest that you just watch what occurs, since this will trigger a drama that will last into the fall. The 3rd and 4th see other momentous events as Mars squares Pluto and the Sun squares Neptune (the 2nd Bear). If you will recall, we had the Mars-Pluto conjunction right before Thanksgiving. This heralded such experiences as the real peoples' revolutions in the Soviet bloc. Accordingly, there should be further developments in Eastern Europe during this time. The big question now is: They have freedom, but can they survive Personally, what began for us before Thanksgiving will develop further in a rapid fashion during this time. The effects of this aspect typically last 3 to 5 days but may last longer since it is not long before a Full Moon.
The Sun square Neptune is another time to watch. The influences will be very subtle, the event perhaps insidious, and we may not find out about them until July.
The Resurrection Full Moon is a time to celebrate the beauty and wisdom of the teachings of the Christ and the beginning of a new astrological year. Christ stood for the balance of the masculine and feminine and represented truth and wisdom. He brought to us the capability of becoming ensouled, truly linked with the Higher Self. The Heart is the altar of the Higher Self upon which the Lower Self (personality) is sacrificed, as the Sufis say. This is a time to celebrate a resurrection of consciousness and a time to transcend the illusions of daily physical reality. We can all benefit by finding something that we wish to transcend and blessing it as it leaves our life at this time.
Uranus turns retrograde on the 13th. Here is where we should begin to really encounter the lessons that the year will bring to us, both as world citizens and as individuals. It will no doubt challenge our ideologies, beliefs and spiritual understanding.
The Sun squares Saturn on April 14th, awakening the last Bear. This one will ask us to find a new structure to how we are manifesting our lives.
Neptune's station to retrograde on the 16th could slip by unnoticed, as many Neptune events do; but it is still a good time to plant seeds for Neptune's backward motion. Because Neptune rules timelessness, it is never too late to create a miracle. Expect new spiritual understanding and clarity to come out of Neptune's regressive sojourn. Recall if you can what seeds you planted at the beginning of January when Neptune and the Sun conjuncted.
The Sun enters Taurus on the 20th. This is the time of the full florescence of spring. The promise of great abundance lies in the soil and air and flowers during this month. Look for the signs around you and bless the Mother who brings them to you.
Once again Mercury turns retrograde, this time on April 22nd. I have come to understand Mercury's retrograde transit as a "time of promises kept." Naturally, this can appear good or bad. During the period of Mercury's forward motion, did you say "I'll have to take care of that bad tire," or "I must do this filing one of these days" These are promises that Mercury will likely ask you to keep. You may find yourself on the side of the road with a flat tire, or frantically searching through that pile of papers. It can also bring the fulfillment of rather nicer promises (vacations, a time of rest and relaxation, the job you've been waiting to come in). In Taurus, expect the retrogradation of Mercury to bring up fixity in ideas and beliefs, the shifting of previously stable situations and processes, and the perception of greater beauty and consciousness of values in the world inside and around us.
This time period will show the promise of the coming year. It will contain all the joys and virtues, trials and tribulations of the year to come. Many blessings in fulfilling the energy of this time of new beginnings.
Blessed be! | 
