The Daily Astro for April 12, 2012

The Moon remains in Capricorn today, and it’s a placement which can tend towards serious and even ‘dark’ thinking and feelings being gnawed at by worries. It joins Pluto (A/K/A Ruler of the Underworld) in Capricorn, and as Mercury (the mind/communication) is aspecting Saturn, Capricorn’s ruling planet, so we may find ourselves awash in fears, and deep, intense or even obsessive thoughts that we cannot seem to let go of. (The 9 of Swords/Knight of Swords tarot combo today, see below, echoes these themes.) Throw in the Sun/Chiron and Venus/Chiron aspects and all the painful ‘stuff’ we’ve been trying to sit on (especially as related to our innate sense of self and our relationships and values) may reappear today for review and release. (Though we feel it’s showing up just to torment us!)  Or as Simon and Garfunkel once said, “Hello darkness, my old friend”. Mars is still a little wacky–it turns direct tomorrow, so we may have a strange feeling of needing to act on something that’s driving us insane, yet the time isn’t really right yet. Sit tight! The Moon trines Jupiter at 4:44 PM EDT, which help lifts the murky mood.  Try to change perspective at this time if you’re feeling beleaguered–go for a walk, contact someone far way, get out of your standard routine.  Try to raise the vibration a bit and aim for the cornucopia (a very Jupiterian image), illustrated in the Sabian Symbol for today.
Sabian Symbol for today’s Sun: “An open window and a net curtain blowing into a cornucopia.”
Kozminsky Symbol for today’s Sun: “A youth grasping a beautiful woman, who turns into a skeleton in his arms.”
The Keyword for the Sabian Symbol is “Munificence” and for the Kozminsky Symbol it’s “Illusion”.
If you combine the symbols, it looks like a bit of a “Don’t Fear the Reaper”  vibe going on here today! The Sabian Symbol invokes images of bounty, deserved rewards, a positive connection to the outside world that leads to the reaping of all good things, a sort of spiritual ‘communication’ with the universe and an ability to “listen to the winds”. The Kozminsky Symbol shows a passionate, enthusiastic gent in pursuit of love and beauty who winds up with a bag of bones. His connection to others is flawed and based on an illusory mindset–of not seeing what is really there, or of not understanding that what you are chasing is a dead end, that you’ve been obsessed with something that turns to dust in your hands. It can also reflect an aspect of the Knight of Swords (see the tarot cards for the day, below): rushing after something that’s a mental construct, that exists only in your own mind (and in connection with the 9 of Swords, the way these mental constructs can infiltrate us and create endless worry, fear, and non-stop recycling of negative thoughts).

Born on April 12:
Christian IV (Denmark), Lyman Hall(signed U.S. Declaration of Independence), Henry Clay, Aleksandr Ostrovsky, Lily Pons, John Hagee (US televangelist), Tony James (Sigue Sigue Sputnik,(Alexis Arguello, Will Sergeant (Echo & Bunnymen), Tom Noonan, Karel Kryl, James Hillman, Ferdinand I, the Good Natured (Austria/Hungary), Guy Berryman (Coldplay), Jon Krakauer, Igor Volk (cosmonaut), Antonio da Sangello the Younger, Scott Turow, Beverly Cleary, Pat Travers, Billy Vaughn, Jane Withers, Alan Ayckbourn, Charles Ludlam, Dan Lauria, Ed O’Neill, Herbie Hancock, Dennis Banks, Vince Gill, Tiny Tim, Ann Miller, John Kay (Steppenwolf), Amy Ray (Indigo Girls), Mahavira, 24th Tirthankara of Jainism, Tom Clancy, Brendan Urie (Panic! At the Disco), Claire Danes, Nicolas Brendon (Buffy’s Xander), Shannen Doherty, Nick Hexum (311), Art Alexakis (Everclear), Andy Garcia, David Cassidy, David Letterman.
Tarot Enhancer/Antidote: 9 of Swords/Knight of Swords
Here’s a combination that shows the screaming mind in full force! At this time it’s necessary to trace your thoughts back to their source and see if you can discover why you’re feeling as though there’s no hope, why you’ve rushed out and gone on a quest that ended up with a pile of bones lolling in your arms (note the Kozminsky Symbol, above). The 9 of Swords relates to Venus in Gemini, and the Knight of Swords also relates to Gemini, so the theme of twins, of duality, of the ‘split mind’ is highlighted here. There’s a need to look at the light side and the shadows as well, and to see if you can get them to talk to each other, as there’s a dissociation caused by having too many choices and too many options. There may be a need to seek counseling, to find someone to talk to, especially if nervousness is leading to bad habits, addictions or obsessive thoughts. The Sabian Symbol points to the positive aspects of Air (both the 9 of Swords and the Knight of Swords are Air signs)–opening the window, letting new ideas waft through that open window and circulate through the house. Opening the mind, relaxing the mind and being open to the gifts that this world has to offer is key here.

–Valerie Sylvester, April 12, 2012–