April belongs to you, dear Aries, and life feels sweet. Venus will move into your sign on April 5 to April 29, giving you the competitive edge in having some of the most compelling good luck, great style, and the magnetism you need to do well in the dating scene. If you are attached, you too will get plenty of attention from the one you love. Venus only comes to your sign once a year, so this is good news.

Mars, your ruler, is in Sagittarius, a sign that blends beautifully with Aries, so with Mars supporting your Sun and Venus, you can't lose. On April 12, Mars and Venus will be in ideal harmony in what is called a trine position, making that day, a Tuesday, quite divine for you. Mars, however, will go retrograde soon, on April 17, so work hard to get important decisions and actions done early in the month, well in advance of April 17. Mars will retrograde until June 28, and this piece of news is important to you, dear Aries, because Mars is your ruling planet, the planet that has the job of protecting you. Mars will go retrograde this month, which means he will begin to orbit at reduced power.

For your key actions, you will need a strong and powerful Mars behind you. Mars rules courage, power, energy, and drive. Warrior Mars also rules sharp instruments, including surgery, so ideally it would be best for you to have your surgery - IF you have a choice (and that would be a big IF), after Mars goes direct. Sometimes we cannot control the time we schedule operations or procedures, so in that case, we go with the flow.

Later in the month, Mars' brother, Mercury will go retrograde from April 28 to May 22. As you see, we are going into a tunnel. In May, no less than five planets will be retrograde, so it would be best to hurry things along now or schedule things for July or August. For you, I like fire-sign August (Leo) for big initiations. I am holding back my website design now that IT is late. I told the design team to slow down, test everything like crazy, and to take it easy. I do not want to launch while Mars is retrograde, and certainly not while Mercury is out of phase too.

I will not be debuting it until mid-year, and I am not even a member of your sign. I don't think anyone should unveil projects or plans of great importance during the coming months while many planets are retrograde. Next month I will speak of this, but to give you an idea, Mercury, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, and Pluto will all be out of phase, but the ones that count most are the planets that orbit closest to earth - Mars and Mercury.

Let's go back to this month, for we have a powerful new moon, April 7, in Aries, 18 degrees. This new moon is mixed in outlook. Pluto will be in hard angle, and the degree is in tight mathematical aspect, so you may have a disagreement with a power player at your company - most likely a financial person at the top. You may be pushed to accept a decision that you will most likely not like one bit. You'll feel compelled to follow the dictate.

The new moon will also be conjunct Uranus (exact, mathematically), so it's a new moon that will open the door on a surprising situation. Some might call this new moon unstable, but there's something about this new moon that I like. It's creative, a little wild and unpredictable, and we need surprise in our lives. The best part of this new moon is that Saturn will be beautifully angled to it, adding the stability lacking in Uranus, and also protecting and, further, boosting your career reputation. Mars, your ruler, will be within ten degrees of this new moon, and although many astrologers require a tighter mathematical placement to be within orb, I allow ten degrees. In my mind, Mars is squeaking in at a fine angle to that moon. Mars' position is important because this new moon is in Aries and as Aries' ruler, Mars will play a starring role at this new moon.

New moon in Aries is a great time to send up an entrepreneurial idea or to begin to forge a new path. You may be entering into an area that is completely new, where you will have plenty to learn or you may be given a challenge to take on and have a team of people under you - just like the story of Jason and the Argonauts. (Jason was known to put together the dream team and find the Golden Fleece. On the way, our hero had to fight monsters of the sea and all kinds of conditions. It's a great story - I won't give away the plot. I bet you can find the myth online if you search for it.)

If your birthday falls on April 7 plus or minus four days, it means you will have a year filled with opportunity. The same would be true if you have Aries rising at 18 degrees, or a natal planet at that degree (in both cases give a plus or minus five degrees) in the fire signs of Aries, Leo, or Sagittarius, or in the air signs of Gemini, Libra, or Aquarius.

It appears you will be traveling far and wide this month, as Mars has moved into Sagittarius and is brilliantly lighting your ninth house of distant travel. See if you can go prior to April 17 for best luck and happiness on the trip, and if possible be back by then too. I know I am asking a lot. See how your schedule fits. With an impending Mars retrograde, you may run into delays on the trip or difficulties you won't quite anticipate. The ninth house also rules broadcasting, publishing, the legal system, and all matters associated with higher education. One or two of these areas may be important for you, too, not only now but all the way through to September 27, with a small break from May 29 to August 2.

The first, April 5 will bring Saturn in ideal aspect to the Sun. This would be a fabulous day to speak to a VIP to gain special favor. Or, you might want to give a presentation, contribute an entrepreneurial idea, or get involved in a very new area of your field. You name it - and you will have four extra days to take full advantage of these vibrations. This day you will find that your actions will add to your feelings of career security and comfort because Saturn is so harmoniously angled. The Sun also rules your solar fifth house of love and creativity. You might make a long-term promise to your sweetheart, take an action to benefit a child, or make a decision about a creative project that stabilizes it.

On Saturday, April 9, the Sun and Uranus will be conjoined. That's a perfect day for coming up with breakthrough ideas. Be sure to sit down and think, or have someone with you to act like a sounding board. This is also a day to circulate if you are single, for the Sun (as said earlier) rules your fifth house of true love. While it's true that anything can happen if Uranus is active, let's be open to good surprises. Uranus is known to bring a twist to events that you'd never imagine happening.

You already know about the sparkling aspects of April 12, when Mars and Venus will be in perfect mathematical harmony. What a day to have a first date or to meet someone new and interesting! Also, see about dressing up your appearance!

I also love April 14, when Mercury and Jupiter will be so beautifully angled. What a great day to sign a contract, lease, or any other legal document! It's so good that it's likely to bring you financial benefits. This day would also be a fine one to go shopping or to take a short trip, especially for business purposes.

Speaking of money, the full moon of April 21 in Scorpio 2 degrees may bring a financial matter to culmination. This full moon will be unusual in that Neptune will be very friendly, suggesting you might sell a creative idea or an actual piece of art that you (or someone you represent) created. Venus will be conjunct Uranus, so the money you see seems to come suddenly and could be quite generous. (Venus is not only a love planet, but also a financial planet, something some readers will be surprised to hear. Venus was famous for being depicted in paintings carrying gold coins in her silk drawstring purse.) This full moon might coincide with surprisingly happy romantic developments too, because Venus will continue to be in Aries almost all month, until April 28.

This is all good and will bring lots of happy experiences, dear Aries. The month closes with Mercury retrograde, April 28, to stay that way until May 22, so finish up all you have to do early on! I know I said this before, but it bears repeating! If you want to go back to an old love, you can with these retrograde planets at play, because the universe will be urging you to go back, rethink, re-examine, and re-contact people and projects from your past.

As you enter April, be determined to make all your key initiations early on, for Mars and Mercury will begin to retrograde, April 17 and April 28 respectively, and slow your progress. When you act during a retrograde, the planet is in a weak state, so if you take action or start a relationship, the birth of that action or relationship will have those weakened planets in its DNA. This means you will be hampered by the retrograde for the life of your endeavor or alliance. For this reason, act early in April, before these planets settle down for a nap. With your ruler, Mars, to retrograde soon, you may find you will be looking back to an earlier time to analyze what happened and why you did what you did.

A very important date this month will be the new moon in entrepreneurial Aries, April 7. This new moon may bring a possibly shocking or surprising development, but it could be very positive. You won't be able to guess what will come up, as the incident will come out of the blue. With Pluto simultaneously in hard angle to Uranus at the time of this new moon, you may be subject to an unfairly strong pushy VIP in your career. This is not to say that the challenge will have merit - it likely won't, which only explains why this episode may leave you a bit enraged, especially if your birthday falls within days of April 7. No matter what your Aries birthday, you can outwit this person, and with Uranus (rebellious, independent behavior) conjunct the Sun at this time, you will likely do what no one expects you to do. That will be the secret of your success assuming you won't carry things too far.

Last month, Mars entered Sagittarius on March 5, and remain in that sign until September 27. The typical time Mars spends in one sign is seven weeks, not nearly seven months, as it will now, with a short retrograde into Scorpio from May 27 to August 2.

Mars will focus you on distant travel, or alternatively, give you the motivation to go back to a university for an advanced degree. With Mars in slow motion, you'll need to be flexible during parts of this trend, particularly in late April and May (when five out of nine planets, including Pluto, will retrograde). Add, too, late August as possibly difficult (when Mars will conjoin Saturn), plus most of September (when Mercury will retrograde again). Be glad your ruling planet will be in a fellow fire sign, to allow Mars to support you, even at reduced power. It's a year that will encourage everyone, but especially you, to slow down and analyze the past so that you can reassess priorities and spot damaging patterns.

The full moon in Scorpio, April 21, will bring a financial matter to fullness. With Neptune so beautifully angled to the full moon, you may be given the go-ahead on a creative idea, or sell an artistic creation.

Romantically, Venus will glide thorough Aries this month, from April 5 to April 29, adding to your charm and charisma. A standout day for love will be when Venus and Mars collaborate perfectly and set sparks flying on April 12.

On April 5, when the Sun and Saturn are in sync, you can stabilize a relationship. On Saturday, April 9, when the Sun conjoins Uranus, expect the unexpected. Finally, April 22 should be outstanding too, when Venus in Aries will be in ideal harmony with Uranus.

In all, birthday month should be very special, even with the few crosscurrents the month holds. The smart money has bet that those challenges will only fuel your determination. Happy Birthday, dear Aries.