April and Aries

Let's look at the transits to my chart for 10:30am on April 16th 2026. The activity in Aries in intense as Figure 1 shows:

Figure 1

Figure 2 focuses on the planetary positions:

Figure 2

We see the following transiting aspects:

• Sun and Chiron conjunct my natal North Node
• Moon and Saturn conjunct in 7 degrees of Aries
• Mercury and Neptune conjunct my natal Mercury
• Uranus conjunct my natal Moon

It's certainly a busy time, certainly for the world and possibly also for me. I guess the Uranus conjunction to my natal Moon is most concerning. When Uranus stationed on my Ascendant in late July of 2016, my gall bladder died. At least this time, the planet is not stationing but it's still a concern.

Revisiting Spiritual Discipline

On Sunday February 15th 2026, Saturn will enter Aries for a two year stay. It already popped in but then popped back into Pisces. I asked Nano Bananas to create a graphic using this prompt:

Create an image around the theme of SPIRITUAL DISCIPLINE. The image should contain the astrological glyphs and physical images of Saturn and Neptune. The emphasis should be on the synergy between these two very different planetary energies: the materialism and concreteness of Saturn meets the etherealness and diffuseness of Neptune. The image should be in a 1 : 1 aspect ratio. Colours should be warm and a golden brown should suffuse the scene.

Here is what it came up with:

A conjunction of the two planets will occur on February 20th 2026 in the first degree of Aries. The last occurrence was about 9000 years ago.

Looking ahead to my 77th birthday, a chart drawn up for that time is shown in Figure 1.

Figure 1

Outstanding features are:

• transiting Uranus conjunct natal Moon
• transiting Neptune conjunct natal Mercury
• transiting Chiron conjunct Ascendant

Saturn in Aries: A Personal Overview

With so many planets and sensitive points in Aries, the 29.2 year cycle of Saturn through this sign should have a major impact on my life. Let's look back and review. In my lifetime, Saturn's first entry into Aries occurred on March 4th 1967 which was close to the time that I started my University education at the University of Queensland. See Figure 1.

March 1967 to April 1969

Figure 1: Saturn enters Aries 1st cycle

This was obviously a big deal. Saturn left Aries on April 30th 1969. A year later I would be in the army but that period, covering my initial two years at University, was very important to my growth. I made new friends and enjoyed novel experiences even if my academic performance was woeful.

Saturn's next entry into Aries occurred on April 8th of 1996, soon after I arrived in Singapore. This was a major turning point in my life as I embarked on a new life abroad. See Figure 2. Saturn later turned retrograde in Aries until it stationed in 0º36' on December 4th 1996. It did not reenter Pisces and left Aries for the final time in that cycle on March 1st 1999. The next year my new life in Jakarta would begin.

April 1996 to March 1999

Figure 2: Saturn enters Aries 2nd cycle

As Saturn leaves Aries, if spends the next two and a half years in my first house. The passage of Saturn through Aries seems to usher in a new era that sweeps aside the old way of life and thus makes way for even bigger changes less than a year later. To go back to April of 1969, it was clear that I was not going to graduate from the teacher's training college at Kelvin Grove. I was still sleep-walking through life. My transition from school life to a leisurely and lazy lifestyle was drawing to a close. I was on a collision course with the Army and we would collide a year later. Going back to March of 1999, I knew my life in Singapore was coming to an end and I was preparing for a transition. I didn't know where but eventually I was to land in Jakarta in early January of 2000. 

Of course I won't see another cycle of Saturn but if things follow the same pattern then there should be significant changes coming up for me in the next couple of months. What sort of changes remain to be seen. We are already contemplated visiting Melbourne in June but we've done that twice before so that's hardly something new. See Figure 3. This time around Saturn only spends a brief amount of time initially in Aries. On July 13th, it stations in 1º56' and then crosses the First Point of Aries again on September 1st before returning (moving forward) on February 14th 2026. Saturn leaves Aries on April 14th 2028.

May 2025 to April 2028

Figure 3: Saturn enters Aries 3rd cycle

Chiron Active

Over the next week, Chiron will move to an exact conjunction with my Ascendant. It will reach exactitude on May 7th when it will also be joined by fast moving Mercury. See Figure 1.

Figure 1

Now Chiron has an orbital period of 50.71 years but, because its orbit is highly elliptical, the time it spends in the various astrological signs varies considerably. It spends the most time in Aries (about eight years) and the least amount of time in Libra (less than two years). This conjunction with my Ascendant is the second such conjunction during my lifetime. The last occurred in July of 1974 (before Chiron's discovery) when it turned stationary retrograde dead on my Ascendant. After retrograding into Aries it crossed again in late April of 1975 when it was also conjunct Ceres. This period, from July of 1974 to April of 1975, marked my transition to life in Sydney (in late April 1974 Raelene and I moved from Adelaide to Sydney).

This time around transiting Chiron will continue to move forward until it turns stationary retrograde in 27º10' of Aries in late July of 2025 before retrograding and crossing my Ascendant again on October 22nd 2025. It will turn stationary direct in 22º36' of Aries and then cross my Ascendant for the last time on March 9th 2026 with Ceres again close by. However, even in January of 2027, it will be conjunct the North Node of my Moon. Chiron is important in my chart because of the very close trine that natal Chiron forms with my natal Mars-Venus conjunction. It is also closely sesquiquadrate my Ascendant (less than a degree) and it is located firmly in the centre of my eighth house. Suffice to say that this astrological body will be influential over the coming year and even beyond.

Looking at late May there are some interesting aspects in addition to the previously mentioned Chiron. See Figure 2.

Figure 2

We see the following:

• Transiting Chiron is conjunct my Ascendant and sesquiquadrate its natal position
• Transiting Mercury, the Sun and Uranus are very close to my natal Moon
• Transiting Jupiter is conjunct natal Uranus
• Transiting Venus in Aries is trine transiting Mars that is conjunct my natal Pluto
• Transiting Moon is conjunct transiting Saturn in 29º Pisces close to transiting Ceres and Neptune in 1º of Aries conjunct my natal Mercury

This looks like a very active time with nearly all transiting planets active. I've tended to fixate on June 22nd because that is when transiting Uranus will be exactly conjunct my natal Moon but really Uranus even now (May 1st 2025) is only two degrees away from the Moon's position. Uranus will retrograde when it passes into Gemini and then it will pass over my natal Moon twice again during the coming twelve months, once when retrograde and once again when moving forward. 

More on Neptune into Aries

 Here is a summary of the passage of Neptune into and out of Aries in the coming years.

• Enters Aries on the 30th March 2025
• Retrogrades into Pisces on the 22nd October 2025
• Re-enters Aries to stay from the 26th January 2026
• Dips into Taurus on the 21st May 2038
• Final visit to Aries from the 21st October 2038
• Enters Taurus to stay on the 23rd March 2039

Source

This blog gives a good account of the passage of Neptune through Aries from an historical perspective. For me, this transit of Neptune marks its passage through my twelfth house and its consequent conjunctions with Mercury, Venus, Mars, the Sun and my Ascendant. Of course, Neptune takes 165 Earth years or 60,190 Earth days to orbit the Sun and so this is its first passage through my twelfth house. 

In my natal chart, Neptune is located in 13°50'R of Libra and so transiting Neptune will reach an opposition to its natal position when I'm about 82.5 years old. When it finally leaves Aries and enters Taurus to stay, I'll be almost 90 years old if I'm still about. Prior to that however, it will have crossed over my Ascendant. For the remainder of my old age then I'll be under the auspices of Neptune.

The transit could mark a lapse into senility or it could herald a renaissance of an interest in psychic healing and psychic experiences. It will be interesting to see how it all plays out. The first planetary contact that Neptune has with my natal Mercury will be in 2°15' of Aries. Significantly, Neptune will turn stationary retrograde in 2°11' on 4th July 2025 and this should correspond with a crucial inner or outer contact that will orientate me as to how to harness the energies of Neptune for the benefit of those around me.