This is a month to enjoy life. Last month you focused strongly on money matters, but this month promises to be more carefree than last month. You seem ready to expand your horizons, take in information, and experience more of the interesting cultures, history, and facts about the various parts of the world. This month will emphasize intellectual pursuits, so you seem to spread your wings and find ways to see more of the world.

You have the Sun, new moon of April 7 (Aries, 18 degrees), Uranus, and Venus all crowded into your ninth house, which covers travel, higher education, the media, legal matters, and the courts, as well as philosophical, spiritual, and religious matters. Aries is a pioneering, brave, and even risk-taking sign, so you will feel more confident to delve into new territories, either literally in the physical sense, or metaphorically.

Your mind will be hungry to soak up new concepts, and to share them with others too. Early April will be the ideal moment to send your final application to a college for entry toward attaining your undergraduate / graduate degree, or to defend your thesis. You might take a qualifying test, like the bar exam or other such test to get your credentials. It would also be a good time to start a legal action, but if you do, you will have to face stiff opposition. (I will explain that when I get into discussing Pluto's role in this new moon.)

The ancient astrologers always felt that travel to a foreign place was a fine way to increase one's education. This month you may travel for pleasure (seems more likely, now that Mars will be touring your house of love) or for business. The new moon is in Aries, a fire-sign like your Sun sign, so that's a sign of compatibility and fun. You will likely enjoy the effects of any trip you take in early April. The new moon April 7 should begin to help you put the puzzle pieces in place for any trip you want to take. If you get a call from overseas asking you to see if you would like to do work with a client there, look closely at it - it looks to be something special that would interest you. (I can't see your precise chart, but from where I sit, it looks good.) Any news at the new moon is likely come very suddenly, out of the blue, as the new moon will be conjunct unpredictable Uranus. The Sun is your ruler, so you will be filled with ideas in the new area that appears to be opening up for you.

This new moon will be in hard angle to Pluto, however, so work may be strenuous and one person who reports to you a bit cranky or cheeky. Or, it may be a co-worker who gets on your nerves by pretending she (or he) is your boss and will be ordering you around. You'll have to handle this person diplomatically, although doing so won't be easy. This person may find a way to press all your buttons. Remember to take the high road - you need not to give in to this subordinate. Actually, if you have the perspective, this person is a bit of a funny cartoon, wearing big britches or mommy's high heels, shouting demands, but not near to have the ability to fill your shoes.

If your birthday falls on August 10 plus or minus four days, you will feel, and benefit from, this new moon the most. Yes, it is true that Pluto will be in hard angle, but overall, you will be holding a winning hand. The same would be true if you have Leo rising at 18 degrees (plus or minus five degrees) or a natal planet at 18 degrees (within five degrees) of Aries, Leo, Sagittarius, Gemini, Libra, or Aquarius.

Let's now talk about money. If you did not have any considerations or talks about a financial matter last month with your spouse, business partner, insurance company, bank, investor or sponsor, tax man, accountant, or other person or company that you might share or owe funds to last month, you might near April 8, plus or minus five days. That is because we can feel an eclipse - in this case, the March 8 eclipse - one month to the day later, plus or minus five days. If you did have news, you won't likely hear any more this month, but if you didn't, watch the days that circle April 7.

A highly romantic day to be on foreign shores would be Tuesday, April 12, when Venus in Aries will be in ideal angle to Mars in Sagittarius. This would be a great day to travel and to go shopping for new clothes. Female Leo might want to shop for new colors in makeup and if you are a male reader, consult with your barber stylist for a new way to wear your hair. If you were born at 8 degrees Leo - that is, born on or near July 29 - you will have a double dip of pleasure.

If you are single, you will love the mix of Venus and Uranus on April 22. No matter what you expect to happen won't - something better will! If your birthday falls on or within four days of August 22, oh-la-la, this aspect has your name on it. Enjoy it!

Another day that deserves a gold star for a different reason will be Thursday, April 14, when Mercury and Jupiter will be in lovely alignment. This is a perfect day to ask for a raise or negotiate a financial deal. Jupiter is now in your financial second house of earned income, and Mercury is now transiting your tenth house of honors, awards, achievement, and fame. It looks really positive for you to walk away with quite a bit of more money in your pocket. This is money that you will earn, not win or given as a gift, so keep that in mind. You will feel wonderful when you receive the generous check and know you earned every penny.

Going back up the month for a second, the Sun is your ruler and will be very active, meeting with several other planets, as you will see below. When the Sun is involved, your name is written over the aspect involved.

As said earlier, the Sun rules your sign, so take special note of Tuesday, April 5, when the Sun and Saturn will be in ideal angles, providing you with a superb opportunity to create stability by signing a legal document. Be sure you want to stay in the relationship a long time - Saturn will make it so. This day should add to your sense of security.

Do not seek favor from a VIP on Wednesday, April 6, when Pluto will hassle your Sun. It will feel like you are fighting city hall. Sit tight. Even though the new moon is mixed in outlook, you need the support of any new moon to get ahead - new moons are times of action. Bide your time, as better days will follow.

On Saturday, April 9, your ruler, the Sun, will be conjunct Uranus, making you a whiz at creative ideas. By all means set aside time to brainstorm a creative idea. It is alternatively possible that you will be off on a spontaneous trip to an exciting location.

Mars, the action planet that tells me where your focus and activities will be directed, is now in your fifth house of love. Mars settled into this house last month on March 5, but this month, from April 17 to June 29, Mars will be retrograde. You can feel a slight slowdown already, but you will definitely feel it by April 17. Any retrograde planet is a weak, sleepy planet that needs rest and that won't be delivering the high-octane energy you are used to getting from Mars. You may wonder that is wrong, but in truth, nothing will be wrong. It just is the way things will be now, and we all are in the same situation. It is best not to launch any competitive venture while Mars is languishing. You will have to supply the energy, but no matter how you try, Mars retrograde in the DNA of your launch will not provide a positive long-range outlook for this planet. See if you can delay your launch to July, or preferably August or October.

Mars will be retrograde in your love sector, so you may waffle about whether to continue dating a certain person you have been seeing, and you may change your mind about this relationship more than once. You have until June 29 (the date Mars will turn direct and be out of retrograde). Don't feel that you have to rush to get to a final answer. The same type of meditation you might have could involve whether to have a baby now, or later. (Consider that babies bring luck!) Saturn is also in this same fifth house as Mars, so you are apparently taking a very serious approach to love and pregnancy / children these days, but Saturn can, at times, show you the glass half empty rather than the glass half full. In other words, you may be viewing love through a dark lens because you are fearful of getting into a serious relationship now or wonder if you can handle having children. Give yourself time to think, and again, you have no reason to rush.

At the same time, when it comes to love, with Saturn there, you will want your time to count. Mars retrograde brings less energy, so ancient astrologers felt it was not a time to launch a new relationship, business, or service or to be involved in any new competitive situation.

I did move Astrology Zone on The Walt Disney Company website on March 27, 1999, when Mars was retrograde, and kept my site there with an exclusive license for three years. (Prior to that I had been on the Time Warner website, in a similar exclusive licensing arrangement.) It was a good move, and I learned a lot from the Disney Company. I worked extremely hard to meet new standards, especially in terms of customer support, but admittedly, it proved to be costly, as I had to hire many people to answer massive amounts of consumer mail. If you are willing to work your fingers to the bone, you can win!

On September 10, 2001, I left and brought my site in-house, hiring my own team. After that, I no longer licensed my material to the big media companies. Despite Mars retrograde, I did feel the move was a good one for the time I spent there. As you see, the adage if you do anything with Mars retrograde you will lose has exceptions - the day I moved on March 27, 1999, Jupiter was conjunct the Sun (a five-star day) and Pluto was trine Jupiter (another five-star aspect on the very same day)! Like anything else, you have to look at the entire sky and make a judgment!

This month, May and June, there aren't stellar aspects like the ones that I had in March 1999. As we go along I will tell you, and if you are curious, and if you have my Year Ahead 2016 Astrological Wall Calendar, you can see for yourself the kind of days that are coming up, with my explanation in easy-to-understand words for each day. Your very best aspects start in August, and come again in late September. I also like October and November.

Let's now look at the full moon, April 21, in Scorpio 2 degrees. This full moon will bring a home-or-family related matter to fullness. If you hope to find a new apartment, close on a house, get a refinancing plan, or find a roommate, you can at this full moon. If you have had contractors in to do a renovation, it looks as though you will see a wrap up of work happen within four days of April 22.

If you are instead focused on a family member, you will come to closure at this full moon. For example, you may be able to help your parents move to a new house, or find the right doctor to help your mother. If your sister is pregnant, she may have her baby at the full moon.

This full moon of April 21 will be quite special, for Neptune will be beautifully oriented to it. It seems the right time to give a party. Invite many friends to show off your considerable entertaining skills. This could be one of the most tender, soft, and enchanting weekends of the year for a party. Consider doing this if you are not moving or renovating! Your timing would be ideal! Remember too, as I had mentioned earlier, Venus will be cooking up all kinds of surprises with Uranus on this full moon date, April 21. You have so many elements working for you!

The month closes with Mars' brother, Mercury, going retrograde too, from April 28 to May 22. This would be a dreadful time to buy a computer, smart phone, TV set, new headphones, an iPad, kitchen appliances, or other fun item. You need to do that in the first two weeks, staying far away from Mercury retrograde. Mercury's brother, Mars, rules iron, sharp instruments, and all gears in machines (not electronics), so it's not wise to buy machinery from April 17, either. In a nutshell, do all your purchases early in the month.

The three planets that affect us the most here on Earth are Mars, Venus, and Mercury when retrograde, because they orbit closest to us and we strongly feel their energy slow down. This month would not be ideal for surgery, as Mars rules the surgeon's instruments. If you need the surgery, do it now. Sit tight - this too will pass.

Enjoy travel near or far, and if you didn't notice anything happen at the lunar eclipse, March 23, you may feel it on April 23, because as said an eclipse may deliver news one month before or after it occurs. Your third house of negotiations and short distance travel was accented, as were your siblings. Keep an antenna up, and enjoy taking your most important initiations early in April.

You appear to be very active in April. The new moon in Aries, April 7, will make a grand entrance, flanked with the mighty Sun on one arm, and Uranus on her other, indicating that you may travel to a distant location quite suddenly after that new moon arrives. Venus is also accompanying those planets in your ninth house of travel, so it appears you'd enjoy your travel experience immensely. You appear to be traveling to show someone a creative project or artistic creation (not necessarily yours) or to take a romantic getaway.

Saturn will be in good angle to the new moon too, suggesting that what you achieve on this trip, whether for business or pleasure, will have long-term benefits and add to your sense of stability and security. Pluto, however, will be cranky, so your health may be a concern, perhaps making you feel like you are coming down with a cold or generally feeling fatigued. Be sure to shore yourself up as you enter April. Keep an eye on subordinates and co-workers who may be tempted to be bossy and difficult, but if they are, don't inflame things further - use a light touch.

This month you may need to do part of a project over again, or run into budgetary overages, especially if you are working with a foreign client or for a company that's has its flagship base overseas. Your creativity will run very high, not only now, but also for months ahead. You seem to have a great deal of enthusiasm for what you are doing. Be aware, however, that projects will likely require more time and money than you would normally estimate, due to Saturn's position in your fifth house of creative work - correct for that.

On April 14, ask for a raise or score a career victory, for Jupiter will be touring your second house of earned income. This will be a four-star day for reward for your fine performance on the job. This is also a day for making a presentation or having a job interview. You can sign a lucrative contract on this day or a contract that will likely later show you how wise you were to go into this venture.

Mars will retrograde on April 17 until June 29, but even after Mars goes direct at end of June, it will take Mars additional months to be fully rejuvenated and be back to former strength - that will occur by August 22. Another planet, Mercury, will retrograde from April 28 to May 22. A retrograde planet is in a weakened state, and often ineffective, so be sure to finish your most pressing and important initiations early in April.

Romantically, Venus will be touring a sweet spot in the sky for you in Aries, a fire sign like Leo from April 6 to April 29. When Venus conjoins surprise planet Uranus on April 22, you may find love strikes in completely unexpected ways.

Home, property, and family matters will culminate and bring resolution at the full moon, April 21. You appear to have been trying to find the ideal solution, and this full moon may offer it to you. You seem to settle things for now. With Neptune's beautiful creative beam to the full moon, it will be a perfect time to wrap up a home decorating project by adding final touches that make a difference. With Neptune lending such silvery rays, also consider giving a party on the weekend of April 22 - it is sure to be bewitching and quite a dream of an event.