The Sun’s visit to fiery, feisty Aries is poised to be one of 2024’s most exciting cycles. Not only will it contain the year’s first eclipses and a Mercury retrograde in Aries, but it will encompass the buildup to the much anticipated Jupiter Uranus conjunction in Taurus. Interestingly enough, while the sign’s intrepid, independent spirit soars, several key planets, including Aries’s ruler Mars, will hang back in mellow Pisces. Traversing both spheres and bridging the gap between reflection and resurgence, Venus will move from Pisces to Aries on April 4th. It all gets underway on March 19th when the Sun rolls into the cardinal fire sign, marking Spring equinox. On the 21st the instigative Aries Sun will sextile powerful Pluto in revolutionary Aquarius, followed shortly by a Venus Saturn conjunction in peaceful Pisces. The day is a great example of the dance the planets are doing between the combustive and contemplative signs. Leading up to the lunar eclipse on the 25th, Venus, while still in gentle Pisces, will sextile abundant Jupiter in grounded Taurus on the 24th. This may be a cosmic cue to remain relaxed while full Moon fireworks erupt.
On April 1st Mercury will begin a retrograde that will last until the 25th and see the Messenger travel from 27º Aries 13′ to 15° Aries 59’. This retrograde may slow the heedless side of Aries down, at least long enough to help many think before texting/talking. In impetuous Aries, any brakes on Mercury may make this Rx feel more frustrating than others. A helpful Venus Neptune conjunction on the 3rd will add further support for tapping into greater guidance before making bold moves or statements. That combo can also help clean up any messes made by saucy Aries outbursts. On the 6th, from Aries Venus will form the same sextile to Pluto that the Sun made on March 21st, when Venus was comparing notes with Saturn back in Pisces. This meeting is another sign that inspired intentions are ready to be seeded on the 8th, under the new Moon and solar eclipse at 19º Aries 24′. The 19º point of this eclipse is noteworthy because Jupiter will be at 19º of Taurus on the eclipse, heading towards its April 20th conjunction with Uranus at 21º Taurus 49′.
Richard Tarnas fans will already be familiar with the historic significance of this dynamic, groundbreaking pairing, which occurs approximately every fourteen years. These conjunctions track tightly with consequential cultural, scientific and technological breakthroughs. For those who haven’t worked their way through the voluminous and sentinel “Cosmos And Psyche”, the shorthand goes something like this. Jupiter enlarges, expands and elevates and Uranus illuminates, innovates and liberates. Also, Uranus is one of astrology’s transpersonal planets, meaning that its influence is far-reaching and global. For example, 1969’s conjunction in Libra reached exactitude on July 19th, the day before the dramatic Apollo 11 Moon landing and first space walk. Woodstock took place from August 15th-18th. With prompting from planets in provocative Aries, 2024’s conjunction is poised to be as epochal as any of its predecessors.
