Many of us have a sibling, and they may drive us nuts, be our best friends, be our worst enemies, or be our best competition. What can show how we are with our siblings, and what kind of relationship we'll have? Look to Mercury, the 3rd house, and Gemini. Siblings and Mercury, the 3rd house, and Gemini:
In astrology, siblings are ruled by Mercury, the 3rd house, and Gemini. You can be more focused on your sibling - talk with them, spend time with them, fight with them, feel distance with them - with aspects to your natal or progressed Mercury, 3rd house cusp or ruler, or natal or progressed Gemini planets.
Hard aspects (squares and oppositions) to Mercury by Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto can often bring difficulties in your relationship with them. Saturn or Neptune can drive you apart, while Uranus and Pluto can bring power struggles, control issues, changes you don’t like, or unexpected problems. When Saturn is in your 3rd house, you may feel more distant with your sibling, or you may have to take on more responsibilities with them. When Uranus is in your 3rd house, you may feel that your sibling has become too erratic and unpredictable, or that your relationship with them suddenly changes. When Neptune is in your 3rd house, you may drift apart from your sibling, or feel that more compassion is needed between you. When Pluto is in your 3rd house, you may fight over power and control, and need to work on transforming your relationship to avoid it becoming destructive. Good times to work on your relationship with your sibling or to spend more time with them usually come with sextiles and trines by Mars and Jupiter to your natal and progressed Mercury, 3rd house cusp and ruler, and Gemini planets, or with your progressed Mercury sextile or trine any of your natal or progressed personal planets (Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars). The Sun, Moon, Venus, Mars, or Jupiter in the 3rd house can also be very helpful, and you can bring more attention to your sibling with the Sun, connect emotionally with the Moon, meet in the middle with Venus, feel more driven to focus on them with Mars, and find a more happy place between you with Jupiter. Transit (moving) Mercury in the 1st house (of the self) can also be a good period, and as he moves through your houses, you can focus on different aspects of your relationship with your sibling (making things more stable in the 2nd house, working on communication in the 3rd house, trying to get emotional understanding in the 4th house, enjoying one another in the 5th house, paying more attention with the 6th house, meeting in the middle with the 7th house, digging deeper into your issues with the 8th house, having new experiences together with the 9th house, finding the best part of your relationship with the 10th house, coming together as friends with the 11th house, and eliminating past issues with the 12th house). Whether or not you get along naturally is usually found in the natal charts between you using synastry, where you compare your charts. If there’s a lot of elemental affinity (so you have planets in the same or complementary elements), this can be very helpful. I f you find a lot of your planets square one another, you may butt heads a lot and lack understanding, and if your planets are mostly opposite one another, you may be total opposites. The composite chart (the chart of the relationship which merges your chart with another) can also tell you come more about your relationship and how easy or complicated it is. If there are multiple planets in the composite 8th house, especially personal planets, a prominent composite Pluto, or lots of Scorpio in the composite chart, this can be the most challenging. Helpful energy in the composite chart is seen with planets in the 3rd, 5th, and 11th houses, a well-aspected composite Mercury, or composite Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus, or Jupiter in Gemini. I also find that siblings who tend to be close usually have a strong 3rd and/or 4th house connection in the natal or composite charts. The 3rd house rules siblings and the 4th house rules family, so this isn’t a surprise. Suggested Reading: The 4th House: Your Home & Family 
When we are told it is all coming in divine time, the mind can get intrusive and want specific answers. The need to know with certainty is common but it is not the way things work in the realm of spirit. Before incarnating, our souls, wise and all-seeing, planned certain events, meetings with people, karmic connections, plans for the evolution of the soul, and so on. These are large events, like markers along your path. The rest is dependent on your free will. You don’t have to take up a marker event, you can walk right by it or even sit right in front of it and not budge. I am sure you have witnessed others doing this, and opportunity comes along but they can’t or won’t proceed. In any event when we, or someone else in our lives, does this, we are exercising free will. It is also our free will in play when we want a certain outcome to happen in a certain way or time. When we do this we force restrictions onto the situation and we can impede our progress. What is divine timing?
Divine timing happens when the energetic forces around a situation (such as twin flames coming together) are a vibrational match. This is when we experience the outcome we desire but only after we have surrendered that event - most importantly, how it will happen and when.
It’s difficult to let go of something that you want badly, to trust that it will come. The mind fights us every step of the way. Yet, for all our energetic expenditures, in the end, the outcome comes no sooner, and we have only exhausted ourselves in the process. Try not to overthink, to control. Find certainty in the unknown. This is a great lesson that we are all undergoing in mass, twin flames, light workers and others who are awakening. We are, all of us, letting go of the old conditioning of needing certainty. In truth, we gain nothing but an illusion of certainty through control. Grace is required to embrace what is possible through surrender. I tell you anything is possible, but we must let go of how and when. How to surrender with grace
In order to surrender with grace, it is necessary to clear. If you should notice some area that creates resistance for you - for example in love, resistance might look like this: you want answers now, you want to know who and when and where you will meet your twin flame.
But what does this information really give you? An expectation, something that you can control at the level of the mind; but what if instead you were told that you will meet your twin in this lifetime, it will happen when things in both of your lives match, when you are both ready and that this is for the best possible outcome for your union. Can you notice the difference in the feeling of the two actions? One is forced, controlled and somewhat desperate because it is fear based. The second is free, based in love. This is the best approach when dealing with love and preparing for it to arrive in one’s life. Whether it is love, abundance, life purpose, having a child, anything in life that we are strongly drawn to and want in our lives. It can fall prey to our strong desire to have control over it. When we allow this part of ourselves to dominate, we actually push the very people and situations we want in our lives away, or we attract ones that we think are the answer but they fall short. The art of surrender
The art of surrender has to do with seeing what you resist and working with it.
First, accept it and then surrender so that it can be cleared. This activity promotes healing and raises your vibration. You learn to see things from a higher perspective. The act of surrender is one that gives you the chance to fulfill your life’s mission and to live in a state of well-being. It is not one that keeps you in a pattern of upset like the old ways, but rather it lifts you up and inspires you to live in ways that are expansive. This is when transformation occurs and it all starts with surrender. Surrendering to a higher power, whatever problem, issue, dream, meeting your soulmate or twin flame, relocating, a job, abundance or anything at all; taking the path of surrender clears a path for it to come in when it vibrationally matches you. The more you clear, the sooner this can be. In the end, it comes down to two things: free will and divine timing. You have the free will to choose, as everyone does. You also have the wisdom to choose divine timing, to choose to surrender and trust that the thing you want, wants you too, and it is just a matter of getting out of your own way. Step aside from the old way of control and fear to the new way of trust and unconditional love. This is the art of surrender in action, unconditional love. We all must undergo this transformation, to turn to the unconditional because we are unconditional beings. We are simply returning to our authentic state. Too long, we have been isolated, afraid, living lives of inferiority and angry for it or depressed and feeling helpless. Return to your authentic state of being, surrender the old and welcome in the new. It is time, yet the choice is always yours to make. The marker is upon you. n What decision will you make? Suggested Reading: How to Release Energy Cords: In 4 Easy Steps About the Author:
General horoscopes are always meant for entertainment purposes only. For a more accurate view, read your Sun sign, Rising sign, and Moon sign.
Aries April 2017 Monthly Horoscope Venus starts April retrograde (appearing to move backward) in your sign, Aries, but quickly moves into water sign Pisces on April 2nd, and you can go from feeling off in general to having difficulties with issues from the past, seeing recurring relationship issues, old enemies coming back, or becoming aware of what’s been hidden to you in a relationship. You may want more time alone but feel smothered by others, or feel more alone and isolated. You can also be more exhausted and easily drained now, and need more time to rest. The retrograde ends April 15th, and you can start getting back on track and letting go of what you need to in relationships, moving on from the past, and feeling more rested. Venus moves back into your sign on April 28th, and you can become more affectionate and expressive in love, enjoy getting attention from others, and can be more charming, pleasant, and compromising. 
Full Moon in Libra: April 11th 2017 A full moon occurs in Libra on April 11th at 2:08AM ET. Libra is the sign of equality, compromise, fairness, and justice, and we can be more emotional and worked up about these things with this full moon. We can work harder to try and make everyone get along, and we can feel more stressed out and out of balance if everything is chaos. Middle ground, that’s the Libra way! Libra is also the sign of relationships, so we can be more focused on our relationships with this full moon. We can show more emotion with the people in our lives, invest more time in eliminating the bad from a relationship, or consider eliminating people from our lives who are no longer good for us. This is elevated by the fact that the ruler of Libra, Venus, is retrograde (appearing to move backward) for this full moon (and is actually getting ready to end the retrograde 4 days later). So we’re super focused on the Libra-Venus issues and everything that has come up over the last month+. We can really evaluate and feel that now is the time to make some sort of definitive statement or take more solid action. We tend to be more lazy and inactive with Venus retrogrades, but this full moon might drive us to do more. This full moon squares (hard aspect, 3 signs away) Pluto in Capricorn, and this can add to emotions and bring about some conflict, some struggle for power and control, and we can see some issues really come to a head, especially in our relationships, the way we connect to one another, how we relate to each other, and our struggles for peace in the world. This aspect calls for us to make a transformation that’s deep and profound and will ultimately make things better in the long run. We’ve just gotta make sure we don’t try to exert dominance and squash others while we do it. The full moon occurs at 21 degrees 32 minutes Libra. The major aspects to this full moon are: Conjunction: 19 degrees 32 minutes - 23 degrees 32 minutes Libra Sextile: 19 degrees 32 minutes - 23 degrees 32 minutes Leo or Sagittarius Square: 19 degrees 32 minutes - 23 degrees 32 minutes Cancer or Capricorn Trine: 19 degrees 32 minutes - 23 degrees 32 minutes Gemini or Aquarius Opposition: 19 degrees 32 minutes - 23 degrees 32 minutes Aries New Moon in Taurus: April 26th 2021 We’ll have a new moon in Taurus on April 26th at 8:16AM ET. This new moon in Taurus can help us to find some more confidence where it may’ve been lacking, some more stability and security where we’ve been feeling a bit uncertain, and some calming energy where there’s been some chaos. This new moon comes in the other sign Venus rules, Taurus, after the Venus retrograde ends, so we can have an easier time dealing with the Taurus side of Venus and feel more stable, secure, and can especially focus on financial matters. This new moon also comes after Mercury retrograde leaves this sign, so we get a shot of good energy to try and right the ship that may’ve been steering off-course for the last couple weeks. Taurus likes to keep things calm, subdued, and grounded, so this new moon can be a great time to do just that. Calm down areas of life that have been chaotic, take a more subdued, practical, easy-going approach to situations and problems, and get grounded so you don’t feel like you’re getting whiplash from the planets so much (something we’ll all be dealing with during this period of Venus and Mercury retrograde!). Slow it down and find that quiet center, and build from there. There’s no need to rush and fuss, go wild or get crazy. Take your time, enjoy the moment, and take it slow and steady. The new moon occurs at 6 degrees 27 minutes Taurus. The major aspects to this new moon are: Conjunction: 4 degrees 27 minutes - 8 degrees 27 minutes Taurus Sextile: 4 degrees 27 minutes - 8 degrees 27 minutes Cancer or Pisces Square: 4 degrees 27 minutes - 8 degrees 27 minutes Leo or Aquarius Trine: 4 degrees 27 minutes - 8 degrees 27 minutes Virgo or Capricorn Opposition: 4 degrees 27 minutes - 8 degrees 27 minutes Scorpio Suggested Reading: The New & Full Moons page for general interpretations 
The basics: A retrograde occurs when a planet appears to be moving backwards from our vantage point here on Earth. It isn't actually moving backwards, it just appears that way. Mercury turns retrograde most often, about 3-4 times per year, and lasts for several weeks. When a planet retrogrades, what that planet rules tends to be thrown off, along with what the sign it's retrograding in rules. With Mercury retrograde, we experience a shadow and a storm. The shadow period starts when Mercury first hits the point in the Zodiac it will turn direct at, and ends when it last hits the point in the Zodiac it will turn retrograde at. Most people don't feel the effects of Mercury retrograde until it enters the storm period though. The storm period of Mercury retrograde is when Mercury is moving at its slowest, less than 40 minutes per day. Mercury is a fast-moving planet and hates it when he's moving slowly. There's usually two storm periods, one around the time Mercury turns retrograde, and one around when it turns direct. Mercury Retrograde: April - May 2017 This Mercury retrograde begins on April 9th at 7:14PM ET and ends on May 3rd at 12:33PM ET. The shadow period is March 27th - May 20th. The first storm period is April 4th - 18th, and second storm period is April 24th - May 13th. The next round of Mercury madness starts in April, and in earth sign Taurus. Here comes the laziness - sit down and take a nap! We’re extra lazy with Mercury retrograde in Taurus, lacking any energy and drive to get started or get things done. We just want to kick back with a big bowl of ice cream in our pajamas and binge watch some old TV shows, then fall asleep with drool. Why rush when there’s no need? Why push when you can just relax? Of course, there’s taking your time and there’s taking a lifetime. We may be taking several lifetimes! We can find we’re much more stubborn, unwilling to budge from our positions, and much more indulgent, especially when we feel challenged. We can butt heads over our morals and beliefs, and we can feel insecure, unstable, lack confidence, or lack safety. Plus, Taurus rules our finances, so we may be splurging too much and spend ourselves into a hole, or we can be such misers that we think we can take our wealth with us. We need some moderation. To add insult to injury, Venus is already retrograde when Mercury retrograde starts, and Mercury retrograde starts in one of the signs Venus rules (Taurus). Oh boy! So we’re extra off, feeling extra backward, and we can experience major communication and focus issues in our relationships and with our finances. Gotta work extra hard to keep the lines open. Venus isn’t retrograde the entire time Mercury is though, and ends April 15th, so they won’t overlap for too long. But a short time can be enough to drive you bonkers! Mercury won’t retrograde entirely in Taurus for this round though. It’ll go backward into Aries on April 20th (1:37PM ET), so the rest of the retrograde occurs in Aries. Aries is a fire sign, a cardinal sign, and the sign of action. So we may be jumping to take action with things we haven’t done our homework with, don’t know enough about, but we don’t care, we just want to jump! And we jump right into a ditch, right off of a cliff, right out of an airplane without a parachute. No good! We go from extreme laziness and complete lack of drive to extreme impulse and doing too much. The retrograde starts and we need energy, the retrograde ends and we need to slow down. Aries is the first sign of the Zodiac, so we may be focused on new beginnings. But with retrograde energy, brand new usually isn’t great, so it’s a better idea to focus on second chances instead. Think about something you’d like another shot at starting again with, and then take steps to get moving with it, but be smart about it. If you have to rush, listen to your gut as much as you can. Tempers may flare much more with Mercury retrograde in Aries, so watch what you say and do. We can inadvertently hurt people and not be able to take it back. Hold back if you don’t have anything nice to say, and then scream into a pillow so you don’t explode on anyone. Mercury will be anaretic as he enters Aries. The anaretic degree is the very last degree of any sign and a point of crisis energy, and Mercury will be anaretic in Aries April 20th - 22nd. Aries is the sign of action anyway, so anaretic Aries can REALLY make something happen. We’re pushed to do something fast, and we’re impulsive about it, impatient about it, and not thinking things through. There may be more violence, uprising, rebellion, or general unrest. Be calm, be calm. Aspects: This Mercury retrograde will make 3 major aspects, first being a conjunction to the Sun on April 20th (1:54AM ET). This is actually RIGHT before Mercury exits Taurus and goes back into Aries, so there could be some sort of big, last-minute, all-of-a-sudden development, decision, action, and a feeling of, now or never. Personally, you may experience this with the areas of life ruled by the house this conjunction occurs in. Mercury then trines (positive aspect) Saturn on April 24th (4:15AM ET), helping us to be a little more focused, disciplined, and responsible, trying to keep the ship from sinking. Mercury conjuncts Uranus on April 28th (10:49AM ET) in Aries, and this can bring about a big change, something unexpected, some randomly bizarre. We may all be feeling a little strange, do something a little strange, think of something a little strange, and this can play out with the areas of life ruled by the house location this conjunction occurs in your chart. Final Notes: The retrograde begins at 4 degrees Taurus, so those of you Taureans born April 23rd - 27th can feel the start of this retrograde most. The retrograde ends at 24 degrees Aries, so those of your Aries born April 12th - 15th can feel the end of the retrograde most. For the rest of you, check the house(s) Mercury will be retrograding in of your own natal chart, and any aspects Mercury will make during its retrograde to your natal planets, to fully understand how it will impact you personally. If you have Mercury retrograde in your natal or progressed chart, you may not feel the worst of this. Those individuals generally don't experience the difficulties of the retrograde because it feels more natural to them. Of course, chances are everyone else around them doesn't have the same aspect, so they can still experience difficulties brought on by others. Suggested Reading: Mercury Retrograde Preparedness 
Retrogrades occur when a planet or body appears to be moving backward through the Zodiac. Retrograde planets operate differently from usual since their normal motion is forward, and some can really throw things off (hey Mercury, Venus, Mars!). But it doesn't have to be that way at all. Astrology always offers a way out, and you can learn how to make almost anything positive. Even if you didn't get to do much at the start or during the retrograde, you can still make it work for you coming out of it. So what is the best way to emerge from a retrograde? Let's explore! First: Prepare
First, you want to prepare yourself. Be mindful of when the planet ends its retrograde, and know that anything that’s going on at that time can be reversed once the retrograde is over. You should either finish things quickly before the planet is moving forward again, or be super flexible once it is moving forward, ready for adjustments.
Look at what is ruled by the house the retrograde ends in, and what aspects it makes to your chart (within 3 degrees). These are where you can focus your attention to finish, or to plan to be more flexible. Second: Slow Down
It’s usually a good idea to slow things down in your life around the end of a retrograde so you can handle whatever monkey wrenches the end of the retrograde throws at you.
When a planet ends its retrograde, the energy can be supercharged, so we can all be a little frazzled and exhausted anyway, and need the extra time to rest so we’re not completely burned out. Once the retrograde is over, work on replenishing your energy levels so you can quickly get back on the right track. Taking things slower also helps you see things more clearly and get your head back on straight. You can pinpoint what will need your attention, what you've been missing, and what solutions are available to you. Third: Plan Solutions
The areas of life ruled by the house the planet retrograde's in tend to get the brunt of the problems during the retrograde, so start to make plans for how you can right whatever went wrong, and get everything back to normal (or better than normal) soon after the retrograde ends.
The problems that come up during retrogrades don’t have to remain once they’re done, but if you don’t tackle them, they can last for a while. So, don't stick your head in the sand, hoping it'll go away on its own. Be proactive! Suggested Reading: Mercury Retrograde Preparedness |
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