The Sun enters Taurus at 12:12 PM EDT today.

The Daily Astro for April 19, 2012

The Sun enters Taurus today at 12:12 PM EDT, stabilizing the energy flow and hinting that we need to ground ourselves, work in a practical way or towards practical ends, and try to slow down a bit (though with the Moon, Mercury and Uranus in Aries, we’re still going to have a little ‘zing’ in our speech and in our step). The day opens with a Moon/Pluto square so there may be some “heavy issues” to deal with. (Today is Holocaust Remembrance Day). As the day progresses we might find we have to stop to help someone who’s feeling a bit down or who’s currently going through a confusing phase. The Moon/Venus sextile at 2:40 PM EDT, working with the Sun in Taurus, urges us to set our creative selves free–it’s a good combination for hands-on work (crafts, gardening, painting, ceramics, sewing, creating scents, perfume or candles).
Sabian Symbol for today’s Sun: “A duck pond and its brood.”
Kozminsky Symbol for today’s Sun: “A man endeavouring to subdue a raging forest fire with a pail of water. ”
The Keyword for the Sabian Symbol is “Reliability ” and for the Kozminsky Symbol it’s “Unreadiness”.

These two Symbols both feature water, but in very different forms. In keeping with the entry of the Sun into earthy Taurus today, the image of a duck pond (a small body of water, usually calm and serene) and its denizens brings to mind the primacy of the powers of nature. The ducks are doing what ducks do–the ducklings swim along with their mother and learn how to be ducks. All is well in the universe and nature proceeds apace. There’s a pattern to it, and a sense of predictability as well–something that can be relied upon. The Kozminsky Symbol illustrates a man, a bucket, and a raging forest fire. Though water puts out fire in sufficient quantities, he is clearly outmatched by the intensity of the blaze. This Symbol hints at improper preparation, of not realizing the nature of a task or underestimating the opposition. He is not really ready, and may have to stand back. The cycle is against him, and the forest fire will continue in its natural progression (destruction/eventual re-growth) as it has since the earth began.

Born on April 19:
Pedro I, King of Portugal, Lina Basquette, Hugh O’Brian, Hayden Christensen, Kate Hudson, James Franco, Ashley Judd, Dar Williams, Eliot Ness (“Untouchable”), Frank Fontaine (“Crazy Guggenheim”), Roger Sherman (signer of US Declaration of Independence), Suge Knight, Al Unser, Jr., Mukesh Ambani (biz tycoon), Rod Morgenstern (Winger), Ruby Wax, Andy (Adny)Shernoff (Dictators), Constance Talmadge, Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney, Jayne Mansfield, Tim Curry, Viktor Viktorovich Zablotsky (cosmonaut), Bernard Worrell (Funkadelic), Mark “Flo” Volman (Turtles, Flo & Eddie), Alan Price (Animals), Dudley Moore, Dickie Goodman, Alexis Korner, Dick Sargent (a Darren on “Bewitched”), Paloma Picasso, Elinor Donahue, Maria Sharapova, Luis Miguel Basteri, Deaf Smith (frontiersman/revolutionary), Ferdinand I of Austria, Anna Lee Aldred (US: first licensed female jockey), Fernando Botero, Genya Ravan (Ten Wheel Drive), Mswati II, King of Swaziland, Jesse James ( Sandra Bullock’s ex, not the Wild West one)
Tarot Enhancer/Antidote: Death/10 of Cups
Looks like the last part of October this year is going to somehow reflect or show the end results of things initiated as the Sun enters Taurus (Scorpio, associated with the Death card, is the opposite sign of Taurus and as Taurus begins the growing season in many areas, Scorpio ushers in the harvest). This pair seems quite karmic to me, reaping what you sow, finding that the end of something brings you to a new understanding and helps you grow (like the forest fire imagery in the Sabian Symbol). This would also seem to reflect a peaceful death–it’s time for someone to leave, and they’re at peace with it on a deep level. (It of course reminds me of a song title: “Death May Be Your Santa Claus” by Mott the Hoople). There’s a sense of that kind of release here, a mix of the contentment of the ducks in the Sabian Symbol with the inevitability of death and change as part of a natural cycle we all take part in.

–Valerie Sylvester, April 19, 2012–