April 1: Libra Full Moon
"What fools these mortals be!"
-Puck, A Midsummer's Nights Dream by William Shakespeare
We're all fools under the Libra Full Moon at 10:12PM ET on April 1st. This lovely lunation is ruled by a sensuous Venus in Taurus and in a square with a caring Jupiter in Cancer. The Moon waxing to fullness illuminates the Libra area of life and invites us to consider choice. The chaos of Aries season has put us in reactive patterns, but the breath of Libra invites pause and connection with truth.
In the tarot Major Arcana, the Fool is an open hearted, flexible figure that isn't attached to outcome. They are moving but have no particular direction they need to go. They are simply enjoying being alive and are curious about where the day might take them. Their trust in the world makes them excited to discover what the world has to offer. Their adventure doesn't cost anything so they have no need for money and no care about how people will judge them. They are free.
Aries season (March 20-April 19) activates our inspiration and motivation to manifest something new, but the presence of Saturn indicates we are facing a barrier and challenge until 2028. What do you hope for this Spring? Consider the intentions you set at Ostara: what did you hope to bring into the world during the growth period of the next 6 months?
If life has felt like a crushing defeat lately, use this April Fool's Full Moon to shake loose whatever has been weighing you down. The Full Moon at 12°21 Libra, the midway point of the sign, offers a balancing point, a reconsideration of what we're initiating. If things have felt hectic or out of order, this is your sign to "let go and let goddess" to allow something beautiful to flow through. Throw your plans out the window and let yourself blow in the breeze for the next month.
Motivation is wonderful but the competing egos of fire can bring conflict, and the skies are rife with anger and unrest once Mars enters Aries on April 9. It's important to take this moment to connect deeply with your own sense of ethics and integrity before the rubber hits the road when Mercury, Mars, and Saturn all conjoin in Aries on April 19. Ouch. The troubles last until the end of the month so let yourself go slowly until May Day. Unfortunately, this aspect is influencing the Aries New Moon on April 17, but more on that in the next newsletter.
Libra is the archetype of the artist, diplomatic mediator, and wise judge who is motivated by a love of beauty and so strives to create pleasing forms and harmonious alliances. Their task is to bring harmony and alignment to what is discordant. Libra believes in the goodness of people and the world, as well as the power of unifying forces, like love, truth, and justice. The great deliberating mind processes all arguments like scales weighing each side; equally considering all points of view.
Air signs invite us to reflect on the way we think and Libra encourages us to stay open minded. The wounded healer, Chiron, moving through Aries since 2018, has asked us to reconsider our relationship to conflict. Do we as humans need to continue to dominate each other to survive? Who gets hurt the most in war? Who profits?
There is a belief that humans must compete to survive; that our inherent cruel nature will cause us to harm one another given the opportunity. Warfare has always been part of our evolutionary history, but so have peace, equality, and fairness. The Saturn-Neptune conjunction in Aries could lead us into a different way of relating to each other, based on shared goals, mutual concerns, and collective welfare. It is never too late to improve bad situations. This Moon invites us to put a light touch on what has felt harsh.
This Holy Week when people are celebrating Passover and Easter, is a beautiful time to proclaim to our community the values we hold most dear and how we intend to embody them. At his palm Sunday sermon, Pope Leo cleared stated that God does not listen to prayers of war. There has been an escalation of war since the Libra-Aries eclipse axis was activated in 2023. We have witnessed untold horror and atrocities on all sides. Over the next month, the empowered Venus in Taurus will seek to balance the rage of Mars. We should not minimize the importance of goodness and kindness right now. We need sweetness to remember the positive or else we will become lost in the malevolent; the fascists want the scales to tip to despair because then they have broken our spirits and we will become easy to control and manipulate.
The Fool invites us to enjoy ourselves, even amidst all the chaos, pain, and heartbreak. Aries season aligns us with purpose and drive; but we also need pleasure, whimsy, and a capacity to accept folly, as we trudge the road of happy destiny. If you like, make the Fool your guide for the next month. Pull the card from your tarot deck and put it on your desk or altar table as a reminder to laugh when you fall down, and then get back up again. When we take good care of ourselves, or keep a level of optimism, we model energetic resilience without saying a word.
The artistic Libra wants to create something aesthetically pleasing for everyone to enjoy. This Moon puts a spotlight on whether we feel good in our body, clothes, and within ourselves. If you're still trying to shake off the winter doldrums, give yourself a fresh cut for spring and consider upgrading your wardrobe, as long as it won't break the bank. The need for refinement could help improve your living space by getting rid of anything that doesn't make you feel pretty.
The Libra scales are connected to the kidneys, renal pelvis, bladder, and skin. We're all encouraged to drink more water and keep the Spring detox going. Consider what health issues need attending to create more holistic wellness? Maybe schedule that facial you've been wanting (my esthetician suggests once a season to help skin adjust to the shifts in moisture and temperature), and even that pelvic floor appointment you've been needing because the lunar nodes are still in Virgo and Pisces for a while longer.
If you celebrate Passover or Easter, pick flowers or take time to create a sublime experience that will infuse your family and community with a dash of beauty to sustain them in the coming weeks. Libra enjoys luxury and elegant experiences, but it also wants to get things right and doesn't love a mess. The Fool not only makes a mess, but is a mess sometimes, and that's alright.
Our April Fool's Full Moon is a reminder that grace, ease, and joy are not the result of stress, punishment, or overworking. There's no such thing as perfect balance on Earth. No one gets it right everyday. Sometimes you land on your face and feel defeated. During this time of collective social collapse, when hateful hypocrites are leading us into violent and morally bankrupt situations, it's OK to flop, flounder, and feel foiled. That's the truth and being with that is better than pretending you know what you're doing when no one really can right now.
World class dancers achieve flawless poses in fleeting moments of high performance, which is beautiful and inspiring. We can glimpse what is eternal and true in the excellence that dedicated artists bring forth. But, for most of us, taking ourselves too seriously and endless striving for perfection just causes burn out and a sense of inadequacy.
Watching the Olympics, it was obvious that the competitors who appeared to be having fun also earned high marks. Figure skater, Alysa Liu, performed with suppleness and style while seeming completely detached from the outcome of the medals. She is a big Leo (Sun, Mercury retrograde, and Saturn) who knows how to enjoy herself and put on a dazzling show, with an exacting Moon and Venus in Virgo, but she also has peace loving Jupiter in Libra helping her achieve those poetically poised forms.
The only perfect we should strive for right now is the place in between holding on and letting go. Over the next month, balance isn't going to mean sticking the landing each time, but, rather, acknowledging when you've had too much, and taking a rest before you get back to it.
Blessed be.