April's Grand Cross

It is not very often that I write a separate article on a cosmic event and in fact the last time I did that was for the Venus transit, in June 2012. One reason is that I have so many other writing commitments that I just don’t have time, but the other is that I bombard you with so much information that I’m keenly aware of avoiding a case of information overload.
 
However, every now and then a cosmic situation comes along that is so important that I can’t explain fully within the scope of the Horoscopes and the Monthly Reports and also is likely to be felt so keenly, that I have to provide you with the information needed to not only navigate safely and sanely through this, but to use it as the advantage that it ultimately is.
 
What I’m talking about is this month’s Grand Cross or as I affectionately call it – ‘the beast’. This is it below or at least a snap shot of the most severe point, when for a few brief days a confluence of different challenging planetary aspects, come together at the same time, creating some very challenging conditions.
 
 2014 GCross
 
 
A Grand Cross is formed when two oppositions take place at the same time, on opposite sides of the sky, forming a cross formation and it creates a lot of pressure and tension. However, not all Grand Crosses are created equal and it depends on where they fall. To have an exact Grand Cross, where all the planets are at exactly the same degree, at the same time, is extremely rare and it means that all four planets will be in the same ‘mode’ or ‘quality’.
 
In Astrology there are what is known as Seasons and they correspond to the real seasons and in each ‘Season’ there are three Signs. The first Sign in each Season is known as a Cardinal Sign (from the Greek word for pivot and from the French word cardo for hinge). This is the Sign that kicks off a new Season, so it’s a time of change and new beginnings as these are the Signs that lead us into each new Season; Aries leads us into Spring (both Astrologically and otherwise in the Northern Hemisphere and just Astrologically in the Southern Hemisphere), Cancer leads us into Summer, Libra leads us into Autumn and Capricorn leads us into Winter.
 
The next Signs are the Fixed Signs, in that the Season is established, there is no change and things are literally ‘fixed’. Those Signs are Taurus, Leo, Scorpio and Aquarius and represent the middle and fixed times of Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter. The final three Signs of each Season are known as the Mutable Signs, bringing in the end of a Season – Pisces is the last of the three Winter Signs, Gemini is the last of the three Spring Signs, Virgo of the three Summer Signs and Sagittarius the three Autumn Signs. Things are ending and there is change ahead, but that will be for the Cardinal Signs to usher in; the Mutable signs are about endings.

The four Cardinal signs are also known as the Cardinal points of the chart, situated on the Winter/Summer solstice and the Spring/Autumn equinoxes - so literally the points where the seasons change.
 
April's Grand Cross is between the four Cardinal Signs and is therefore a Cardinal Grand Cross, ushering in change and new beginnings and this is where luck is on our side, for if you’re going to have a Grand Cross, this is where you want it, for it is bringing in new life, growth and most of all change. However, this is going to see a period of compressed and fairly radical change and it is not going to be felt on a personal level and in our personal lives, but within society as a whole. Anything that has been brewing or building behind the scenes will come to a head.
 
The good part of knowing that there are cosmic challenges coming up is that you can prepare for them, can find out the nature of the beast before it strikes, you know you're not in this on your own and you also know that it will end, that this is a finite experience and not a new reality. If you know when something is going to start, you also know when it's going to end.
 
The best way to describe what is happening this month and the dynamics of this particular Grand Cross is to imagine a boxing ring, because as you can see from the picture above, their standoffs are creating a perfect square.
 
Now imagine that in each corner of the boxing ring stands a planet. When I first got into Astrology it was a very sharp and steep learning curve. What I found, is that if I thought of the planets as people or characters, I could better understand how they would react in different Signs and situations, so I’m going to describe the players like that, in hope that you’ll better understand this major cosmic event, the biggest of 2014 and how to work with it.
 
In one corner you have Uranus, planet of surprise, synchronicity and the unexpected, as old and wise as time itself, but modern in the way he operates. Uranus represents new and unconventional ways of looking at things, always challenging the status quo and always championing the truth. Uranus is the truth that at some point will find its time and operates through Eureka moments and those sudden shifts or developments that can turn a situation on its heels, sending you in a completely different direction. If that requires radical change then so be it, for that’s the truth, but while Uranus is often known as the planet that can bring dramatic change and incite revolutions, this is not for the sake of it, but because this is the truth of a situation.
 
In another corner is Pluto, planet of change and revolution and while Uranus needs a cause, often the only reason Pluto brings change is ‘because he can’. Pluto doesn’t need a reason, has no truth to uphold or cause, for he is charged with making sure that we don’t stagnate. Humans are hardwired to change and never stay still, otherwise we’d still be wrapped in animal furs, painting pictures on cave walls. Pluto is that force that says ‘I don’t know why or how, but I’m compelled to seek change'.
 
In the other corner is Mars, planet of passion and the warrior planet of the cosmos and Pluto’s protégée. Here Pluto is the old gun and Mars is the young gun, equally hot headed, rebellious and out to cause trouble for the pleasure of it, but in a way that is about seeing results. Uranus and Pluto are both outer planets and with Uranus in Aries from 2010 to 2019 in Capricorn from 2008 to 2024, they know that change, evolution and revolution take time, until things come to a head as they do this month. Mars, on the other hand, usually only spends 6 weeks in an area of our chart so he can’t muck around, getting in, firing up our passions and fighting spirit and then moving on. Mars is full of testosterone and is like an impulsive youth, full of exuberance but devoid of patience. However, in retrograde motion in Libra he’s being held back and he’s getting impatient.
 
In the final corner is Jupiter, king of the planets and the planet of luck and expansion. Jupiter brings growth, expansion and opportunities and the fact that he’s part of this show down means there is bound to be opportune outcomes come out of this. While the other three planets break down old barriers, Jupiter is ready to create new growth on the other side.
 
All four are looking at each other menacingly, not because they have any particular gripe with each other, but because they are getting in each other’s way. Like a car that cuts in front of you in traffic, whether the person driving the car is a perfectly nice, kind and friendly human being or not no longer matters, you're mad as hell and you’re thinking extremely unkind thoughts about them and chances are your blood pressure has spiked.
 
You could say that this is a case of cosmic road rage, but it’s creating the kind of pressure required to produce major change, transformation and breakthroughs. It is also part of a much bigger pattern, that has been building ever since Pluto returned to Capricorn in 2008 and even more so when Uranus returned to Aries in 2010, was compounded when Jupiter returned to Cancer in June 2013, with the final piece of the puzzle being Mars and his extended visit to Libra, his longest in over 30 years. In every sense of the word the planets have aligned to make this Grand Cross possible, the most exact and powerful Grand Cross in our lifetime. What is going to make this intense is the fact that it is compressing so much, into such a short period of time, but according to Steve Judd (a UK Astrologer) the upside is that 80 percent of 2014’s challenges will be over by the end of April. In fact, I suggest that you take the time to watch some of Steve’s YouTube videos on the Grand Cross. What I like about Steve is that he is an honest, down to earth and practical Astrologer, giving you the facts, minus the New Age or spiritual layers. The two I would suggest watching are “The Coming Grand Gross” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LL24kqOby_Q and “Yet More on the Grand Cross” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zzy7z4jUk0s – no doubt, the closer we get to this the more posts Steve will make.
 
If you do watch them, you’ll hear Steve talk about the Moon and what this alludes to, in that while the Grand Cross is slowly forming, the Moon very rapidly moves through the sky and every 4 weeks will visit Libra, Cancer, Capricorn and Aries, so 4 times a month or once a week on average, we have a mini Grand Cross forming – not exact and not to the degree it will come to a head as, but a practice run and triggering the same points. When you read your horoscopes, I will be paying particular attention to when the Moon reaches these points.
 
So what is actually happening?
 
Mars, Uranus, Pluto and Jupiter will all be in this intense standoff, peaking on the 22nd/23rd/24th April, but it will be building all month and they will form different relationships.
 
At the core of this Grand Cross is an opposition between Jupiter and Pluto that will run from the 16th/24th April, peaking on the 21st April and another opposition between Mars and Uranus, that runs from the 22nd April/25th April, peaking on the 23rd April. At the same time Jupiter moves into a square aspect to Uranus from the 7th/12th April and then again from the 16th/24th April, this time peaking (to the minute) on the 20th April. At the same time Pluto is in a square aspect to Uranus from the 12th/30th April, peaking on the 22nd April and with Mars from the 22nd/25th April, peaking on the 23rd April. At the same time that Mars is in a square aspect to Pluto, he’s in the same square aspect to Jupiter and while they are in opposition. Sound like a mess? It is a mess, for it’s as though tired of steering menacingly at each other from their separate corners they’re independently deciding that they’re not prepared to wait, they’ll barge through any opposition and push their own agenda, all meeting in the middle in one giant cosmic bar fight.
 
Yet nothing we will face this month is anything we haven’t faced before and on multiple occasions. The only difference this month being that it is all coming back into play, at the same time. We have had two Jupiter/Pluto oppositions before, Pluto, Mars and Jupiter have all moved into a square aspect since Mars returned to Libra in December and it is the fact that Mars is in retrograde motion that makes this Grand Cross possible. At the same time we are now familiar with the Pluto/Uranus squares of recent years and when this forms again, it will be their fifth tangle with each other. Pluto and Uranus first moved into this square aspect in June 2012, again in September 2012, May 2013, November 2013, again this month and will move into this aspect twice more, again in December 2014 and finally in March 2015.
 
Not everyone will be impacted equally by the Grand Cross. Obviously those with your Sun in Cancer, Libra, Capricorn and Aries will be affected, but there are more planets than your Sun in your chart and if you have significant planets, such as Saturn or your Moon at these points you will be significantly affected. At the same time, if you're lucky enough to have your Sun or other planets in these signs significantly out of range, i.e. the very early or later degrees, this will be minimised. In essence, you’ll know how you're affected and if you do find that you are being impacted, then the Individual Monthly Horoscope Reports will provide more insight into the area of your chart this is having the biggest effect on.
 
Astrology is a mathematical science as much as anything else and because of that, by the number of planets involved and the degrees that are impacted, we can work out how many people are likely to be impacted. In the past when we experienced major aspects like the Jupiter/Pluto opposition and the Pluto/Uranus squares, this will have directly impacted around 10 to 12 percent of people, which is still significant and enough to make a social and global imprint, but when you crunch the numbers on the Grand Cross it will impact 30 to 35 percent of people, including the number of people who will have their Sun or other significant planets in the 13 degree range, in a Cardinal Sign and in aspect. That’s roughly a third of us that will feel a great deal of pressure, others that will feel it slightly less and others who won’t feel it at all, because this luckily falls clear of any important points in your chart. If that’s the case, we’ll all be leaning on you during April, so be compassionate for those not so fortunate! Unfortunately, that's not me and I am right in the firing line for this.
 
If you are part of the third of the people on the planet being directly impacted, then rest assured you are part of a very big club and you’re not in this on your own. Because different arms of this Grand Cross have played out before, whatever is going to come to a head in April has most probably come to a head before, so will be familiar.
 
What I am doing, so that you can get advice on how to understand how this is impacting your chart and how to work with this constructively, is that I am making myself available to do eReadings, for a very short period of time. Because of my writing commitments I don’t have the time to sit down and look at specific charts and answer specific questions, but on average twice a year and always when I know that a lot of ‘stuff’ will be coming to the surface, I ‘make the time’. This isn’t something that is usually available, but as I post this I will also restore the links to this order form. What I do when I get your order is create what is called a ‘bi wheel’. This is a double chart, with your chart in the middle and the conditions in April (centred at the peak of the Grand Cross) on the outer circle and it shows me all the points where you are being impacted. Then, with the questions and comments you have provided I can get right to the heart of exactly how you are being impacted, what this means and how to work with it. If you’re going to go through a tough month like April, you want to get something out of it, otherwise it will be nothing more than a tough month and that would be the real tragedy.
 
To find out more about how to order an eReading click here
 
Finally, I need to bring home the fact that this is temporary, that the skies are going to clear and while tensions will take a while to ease right back, that it makes way for the middle months of the year, that are extremely positive.

One thing to be aware of and it might pay to take note of, is that when the Moon makes his monthly visits to Aries, Cancer, Libra and Capricorn this will trigger a mini Grand Cross. These are likely to present as days where a lot of things seem to be going wrong, there is a lot of tension and things come to a head. These are the foreshocks of the Grand Cross, but rather than write these off as 'bad hair days', this is a valuable chance to recognise and welcome the change that is trying to break through. Each time the Moon moves into the four Cardinal Signs (once a week) the planets will be that much closer. Those dates are as follows:

24th March - 26th March
30th March - 1st April
6th April - 8th April
13th April - 16th April
26th April - 29th April

All the very best and remember that I am always here, through the Daily, Weekly and Monthly Horoscopes, the Monthly Horoscope Reports and the eReadings. At the same time, remember that we have a team of psychics on standby, that you’re able to call 24/7, from anywhere in the world. To find more information on how to call – click here
 
Regards
Anne Macnaughtan
anne@forecasters.co.nz
 
 
 
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