April 17: Aries New Moon
We find ourselves at a crossroad for the next two weeks that will define how we move forward over the next two years. This crossroads may look like a battlefield with six planets in Aries Aries–Neptune, Mercury, Mars, Saturn, the Moon and Sun (!!!)–forcing us to find choices that lay at the heart of calamity.
The New Moon at 27°29 Aries that dawns at 7:52AM ET on April 17, with the wounded healer, Chiron, is a confrontation with how we respond to war in a world that desperately needs peace.
This lunation is ruled by Mars, in a harsh conjunction with Mercury and Saturn that peaks from April 19-20, triggering incendiary words, cruel consequences, and the strong sense of being stuck. The combination of Mars (will, force, and drive) and Saturn (obstacles, barriers, and struggle) brings situations of impasse where we can't get out, under, or over it.
This is an endurance test designed to fatigue us and lashing out will only make things worse. Don't do anything you won't wish to pay the price for many times over. The Aries assembly is some of the most difficult astrology of 2026, and it's going to last until the end of the month. We are in a Hanged Man period and the best course of action is to try and remain calm while deciding what to do next. Remember to refer to your Aries season guide for more help unpacking it all.
The risk doesn't mean we should do nothing. Mars entered Aries at 3:36PM ET on April 9, activating our fight, drive, and ability to stand up for our rights. The crumbling structures of our democracy are represented by a fallen Saturn in Aries, who comes into a confrontation with the will of Mars from April 15-30. We have a choice to continue to watch things get worse, or to rise up. There are more of us who believe in freedom, truth, and justice than there are people who wish to endlessly harm.
Mercury enters Aries at 11:21PM ET on April 14, passing the mic to the most disruptive and bombastic elements of our psyche/collective/self. We are under pressure and tension could easily boil over when the Moon sails through this mix on April 16. The upside is that the thrice great Hermes can lead us to find our voice in situations where we feel powerless. The Moon then meets with a combustible Uranus-Venus conjunction on April 19. On this day especially, its best not to pop off if we can't foresee the long term implications.
The nervous system gets hyperactivated during these kinds of stressful periods, and sensitivity to loud sounds and light are not uncommon. We must remember to self-soothe, even when the world is on fire. Their explicit agenda is to destabilize. They are waging a war of attrition, and they want us all to go away and give up, but the good news is that Aries is stubborn, resilient, and indomitable. We can choose to respond, rather than react, and to take skilled action in strategic moments of impact.
Anyone with a heart has been outraged by the violence and torture that has been unleashed on innocent people since the Aries-Libra eclipse cycle from 2023-2025. This lunation returns us to the first eclipse at 29°50 Aries on April 20, 2023, and the last on March 29, 2025.
Astrology is always personal and collective. Big events impact us as part of the human family and they may also hit close to home. What house has Aries on the cusp of your birth chart? How has this area been challenged over the past three years? How have you responded and how do you wish you could react?
Take special note if you have planets or points in the last or first decan of Aries because this energy will land most intensely for you:
April 17: New Moon at 27°29 Aries (pinging eclipse of April 2023)
April 19: Mars conjunct Saturn at 7°52 Aries at 6:44PM ET (happens every 2 years)
April 20: Mercury conjunct Saturn at 7°55 Aries at 7:22AM ET
April 20: Mercury conjoins Mars at 8°36 Aries at 5:44PM ET (pinging eclipse of March 2025)
Saturn's transit through Aries, from May 2025-April 2028, represents the degradation and manipulation of political systems by warmongers and incompetent authority. Our internalized anger at repeatedly having our boundaries violated is triggered by Chiron in Aries.
The Wounded Healer pricks at the source of our pain: the abuse, domination, and violence that continues unchecked by unethical leaders. While millions have stayed silent and complicit, brave people of all ages have dared to express their outrage at the corruption at the highest levels of society, such as the dance troop of fifteen year old girls who performed with Epstein file documents on their leotards in Washington DC.
The astrology of April has loomed large with words of war and inciting aggression. The invasion of Iran, which conveniently distracted from Trump's involvement with Epstein's underage sex trafficking, has reached catastrophic levels. Unfortunately, we can expect the situation to escalate over the next week.
The combination of Mars and Mercury can result in ugly uncouth language. In the days before Mars entered Aries, on April 5, Trump tweeted: "Open the Fuckin’ Strait, you crazy bastards, or you’ll be living in Hell - JUST WATCH! Praise be to Allah." This is believed to be the first time an American president has deliberately used the phrase "fuck" in a public political communication. What a disgrace.
Then, on April 7, Trump threatened the 93 million people of Iran with genocide and the death of their civilization. It seems unfathomable that he has faced no consequences or censure, but politicians continue to do nothing to stop him. And, on April 13, he ordered a naval blockade in the strait of Hormuz to which Iran has promised to retaliate.
We have truly reached a new low and are scraping along the bottom of the hell he has promised and created. We can expect to see more of this kind of language once Mercury enters Aries on April 14. The question that emerges is whether we will allow such a despot to continue to enact terror globally, or will we rise up in a skilled, intelligent, and necessary manner?
Neptune in Aries has often triggered spiritual conflicts with religious leaders. The call for holy war of Pete Hegseth, who says the US troops are fighting for Jesus, has been condemned by Pope Leo. In his Palm Sunday homily on March 29, 2026, Pope Leo denied such claims:
"Brothers and sisters, this is our God: Jesus, King of Peace, who rejects war, whom no one can use to justify war. He does not listen to the prayers of those who wage war, but rejects them, saying: 'Even though you make many prayers, I will not listen: your hands are full of blood.'"
Pope Leo has also refused to visit Trump and will not return to the US for the 250 birthday celebration on July 4, 2026. He will instead spend it on the Italian island, Lampedusa, where thousands migrants land on their perilous journey to Europe. In response, Trump attacked the Pope on April 12, calling him a “very liberal person.”
We should not continue to accept unacceptable behavior. Each of us has power, even in the smallest of moments and ways. Even if it's just the choice not to respond to someone who is being hurtful, intentionally or otherwise.
There is no rulebook for the next month, other than do your best to survive. For some of us, it will be necessary to hold our tongues and find a harmonious compromise. Yet, others will be called to put their lives on the line and risk it all to stop the abuse.
Wherever you find yourself from now until May, try to take breaks so you don't crash and burn. This too shall pass, and then we won't have to live it again. There are better days ahead in June.