Cancer Horoscope April 2008

April 2008 Astrocast

Key Events:

New Moon: 04/06/2008

Full Moon: 04/20/2008

RX Planets: Pluto 04/02/2008

Saturn until 05/03

This month will focus on your relationships, your expectations of others, changing some long-standing beliefs, and also your short and long-term career ambitions or goals. You'll find yourself pondering the past, particularly any mistakes or old issues that are as yet unresolved, and perhaps how they've affected your sense of responsibility or pursuit of your ambitions. There will be various opportunities for change, possibly due to unexpected events or what may come disguised as a disruption. These may be annoying at first, but give the events time to play out before deciding whether they're beneficial or not.

Mars is in your Natural 1st House, which represents your personality and how you present yourself to the world. Mars isn't particularly strong in Cancer, his raw drive, energy, and impulsive nature largely dampened by the Cancer environment, which has vibrations substantially differently than his own. If you consider that Mars rules Aries, another Cardinal Sign, and think about how you get along with any Aries you know, you might get a little bit of an idea why these two aren't overly compatible. This is not to say that this is a bad thing, however, because you can still use all that energy and drive, though you may also find during this transit that you get angry more easily. Maybe it's time that you took a good look at some things about yourself as opposed to always being so concerned with the effect everyone else's activities have on you. You're sensitive and emotional by nature, being rules by the Moon, and this reactive nature tends to blame others for your hurts and give them credit for your happiness. In reality, however, we're the only person who's responsible for our own happiness. The key to controlling our emotional reactions is to control what we think of the events that occur and the spin we place upon them.

Cancers are very connected to their families, first and foremost, and while in most cases this is commendable, there are times when you need to not expect others to be as tied into you as you may be to them. I've seen too many people who have Cancer family members, usually parents, who have suffered greatly because unrealistic and controlling expectations were imposed upon them. Loving someone does not give you license to control them and you need to remember that if they behave contrary to your wishes it doesn't mean they don't love you, only that they're making their own decisions. Withdrawing your affection from them as a means of control, which Water Signs do so well, will simply drive them further from you and no one wins in the end. Mars in Cancer could stimulate some independence on your part, perhaps to the point that you resent someone telling you what to do, and that may help you relate to how you may have imposed similar opinions on others.

Pluto moved into Capricorn, your Natural 7th House of one-on-one relationships, back in January. If your birthday falls between June 22 - 27, he's going to be opposing your Natal Sun, which is going to stir up old issues relative to your relationships that need the ol' Plutonian back-hoe routine. In other words, if you've buried old hurts and problems hoping they'd rot and go away, you're about to find out that they don't. Another analogy would compare this process to a blockage of some sort in your sewer line, where it makes a big mess getting Roto-rooter in there to clean things out, yet when all is said and done, you're much better off than you were before. Pluto is really good at transformations, and your relationships will be his area of focus for you for several years to come.

Now is when you may be forced to look at yourself as well as your roles and responsibilities toward family members in a way you never have before. It won't always be painless, but, like surgery, it will heal in due time and you'll be healthier and happy because old, diseased elements will have been removed. Jupiter is also in your relationship House and he's all about expansion and often brings good luck. He's in cahoots with the planet of change, Uranus, to bring some surprises your way that will more than likely cause you to let go of some long-held beliefs. From April 15 until the first part of May, when Mars throws some of his energy into this game, you're likely to be more impatient than usual about moving forward toward change. However, there will probably be opposition of some sort as well, which will require negotiations in order to resolve any problems once and for all.

Mercury, the communication magnate, will be spending most of the month in Aries, along with the Sun. Aries is your 10th House, which includes your career and reputation, and is probably the one area where you tend to exert your independence. The Sun brings attention to the House in which he's residing, somewhat like turning on the light in a windowless room, and Mercury opens up the lines of thought and communication. Thus, it's likely that you'll be doing quite a bit of thinking about this area of your life this month. If there is anything about it that isn't quite right, that you don't like, or want to change, it will surface now. This is further reinforced by the New Moon, which also occurs in Aries, on April 5.

Venus is in Aries, also, and the Goddess of Love influences your possessions as well as your affections. In this case, both will be directed toward your career. Venus is generally a benefic planet, so you should see some favorable developments in this area, but they won't necessarily come easily. Between April 5 - 10, she'll be squared off with Pluto, which could bring about a conflict or power struggle of some sort, possibly with a business partner or close family member, relative to your career. If you've made any mistakes that you've tried to cover up, or perhaps someone else did and up until now you didn't know about, they're likely to surface at this time. Any secrets out there are likely to come out, whether they're yours or someone else's.

These may necessitate an adjustment in how you're managing your relationships or responsibilities on the job or could also relate to finances. It's important to make an effort to be realistic, because there may be a tendency to stick to your own opinions beyond the point that the facts can back you up. Between April 20 - 30 there could be additional conflicts regarding how you feel about these financial matters, whether they're personal or work-related. Male - female relationships are likely to be tense at this time as well. The Full Moon, which usually stirs things up and indicates a culmination of some type, occurs on April 20th in Scorpio, your 5th House of creativity, children, ego, speculation and love life. It may tie into this as well in some remote way, but not necessarily. Nonetheless, this should all work out the last few days of the month when lessons from the past, your sense of responsibility, and any financial issues come together in a harmonious way and are ultimately resolved.

All in all, this month should be active as far as relationships are concerned, perhaps transforming one or more of them into something entirely different than it was before. There is also a fairly strong career emphasis, though this could also play out as your standing in the community. It looks like it's time to confront some issues there as well and perhaps make some decisions regarding whether you're headed in the right direction or not. These changes should ultimately turn out to be quite positive, though there will be a few potholes and speedbumps along the way. Nonetheless, when all is said and done, you should look back on this month as a positive one in the greater scheme of things.