Here is the Ask the Astrologers Weekly Forecast for the week of Apr 27, 2020 – May 3, 2020:
This week we have a planet (Mercury) and an asteroid (Pallas Athena) changing signs, an out of bounds Venus, and the second of two first quarter Moons. We start with Mercury leaving Aries (thus leaving us without any fire-sign planets for most of the rest of the week) and moves into Taurus on Monday.
Mercury in Taurus is patient, practical and serene. It can be slow and methodical, mainly because it doesn’t see the point in getting its feathers ruffled over things that are likely to iron themselves out over time.
Mercury is also now in mutual reception with Venus, with each of these planets in the other planet’s ruling sign. The mutual reception can activate the positive energy for both planets, making for enhanced communications, especially where cooperation and collaboration are concerned.
Speaking of Venus, it will be at its brightest (for all of 2020) on the evening of the 27th, This is due to the amount of light Venus reflects back to the Earth based on its phasal relationship with the Sun — much the same way as our Moon. Since it’s also conjunct a relatively New Moon, it will be well worth stepping out under the night sky and seeing it for yourself.
On Tuesday, Mercury squares Saturn and sextiles the North Node. The square to Saturn can be a bit of a buzz-kill. It can see you wanting to crawl back into bed and pull the blankets up over your head. This aspect can bring feelings of melancholy to the surface. It can manifest as boredom or apathy. It can leave seeing the glass as half empty rather than half full.
If you find yourself asking “what’s the use?” or “why even bother?” try to shift your thinking, as this transit can see you wallowing in your own misery. The good news is that this aspect is relatively fast moving and should see you back in business in no time. Especially with the sextile to the North Node (and accompanying South Node), which emphasizes meaningful and potentially karmic connections with others.
On Thursday, the asteroid Pallas — named after the Greek goddess Pallas Athena — moves into Aquarius. Athena is often depicted wielding a sword, and is seen as a warrior and an advocate for truth. This asteroid is associated with wisdom, strategy, self-empowerment and creative intellect.
It works very well in Aquarius, the sign most associated with progress and social change. This placement can bring issues with humanitarian causes to the forefront. and can signal a need to stand up and defend those who’ve been marginalized, or who could use some guidance in reclaiming their power.
Mercury conjuncts Uranus on Friday. This transit is great for brainstorming and thinking outside the box. It’s about innovation, progress and change. Radical ideas and flashes of brilliance.
As the higher octave of Mercury, Uranus is also tied to flashes of genius and insight. It’s inventive, progressive and forward thinking. It relates to expressing your own personal opinions (in contrast to Mercury’s penchant for absorbing facts and ideas that have been gathered from other sources).
This combination is bolstered by Mercury’s mutual reception with Venus in Gemini. It lends some diplomacy and persuasion to the mix, making it easier to get others to see the value your point of view.
Venus has been “out of bounds” all week, and will remain so until early June. It’s slowing down (in anticipation of going retrograde on May 13th) and by Saturday, it’s within a degree of squaring Neptune which may just be seen as adding insult to injury. While there are some nice Venusian attributes too (its greatest illumination, its esoteric dignity and its mutual reception with Mercury), we can’t ignore these other factors.
The out of bounds condition famously coincides with conflicts in relationship. It can manifest as one partner suddenly expressing an urge to break free or engaging in reckless behaviors. It can be erratic and unpredictable. It can see you responding to ambiguous social cues, or sending them out yourself. This can be especially problematic with Venus slowing down and squaring Neptune.
At least by then we’ll have a little fire back in the picture — in the form of a Leo Moon — but by Sunday the fire has gone out again and the Moon — now in Virgo — brings the number of planets in earth signs to six. It’s also forming one favorable (harmonious) aspect after another, from trines to Uranus, Mercury and the Sun early in the day, to trines to Jupiter and Pluto late in the evening.
Yes there’s a brief mutable t-square in there too (involving the Moon, Venus and Neptune, with Venus at the focal point). And you don’t want to make any major life-altering decisions during that time. But even that t-square is passive and should be relatively conflict-free. Combined with all those other earth sign trines, we can hope to end the weekend on a more calm and comfortable note.
That’s it for this week. See you next week!
Here is this week’s astro calendar; click on it to view it full-sized.
Weekly Astro Forecast —
Apr 27, 2020 – May 3, 2020
By 
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This article also appears on the Psychic Scoop website.