Horoscopes for April 2011

by Eric Francis Coppolino and illustrations by Emil Alzamora, March 31, 2011

Aries (March 20-April 19)
Two questions for you: What do you really want to be doing, and what do you think is stopping you from doing it? The first involves your volition, your sense of potential and whether you feel like you can make a decision about it. The other involves what you perceive as an obstacle in your way. Let’s handle them one at a time. It looks like you know what you want, and you feel like you’re in a position to create it. Your will power and sense of drive seem to be at an all-time high. You may even mistrust your own impulses, but you know what you want and it’s true that you’ve waited long enough. Yet you seem to have an idea that some external circumstance is holding you back. It looks like a relationship. Indeed, it looks like the usual human paradox of having two different things, a relationship and a life. This comes with the idea that you may not be able to reconcile the two. Yet at a certain point you have to be yourself no matter what you think someone else’s expectations may be; that’s another way of saying you are free to not use that as an excuse. Anyone who loves you loves you as you are. On the deepest level this is not about a relationship at all; it’s about you having the self-respect to live honestly.

Taurus (April 19-May 20)
You’re coming under a significant bit of psychic pressure, which you may just be feeling as a sense of being pushed, overwhelmed, or confused. The astrology says this whole situation is brewing from the inside out; your psychic state, which may involve a good bit of fear and sense that you’re carrying a lot of baggage, is manifesting as disturbances in the world around you. But you may not be able to parachute directly into all of that. It may be easier to use the external world as a frame of reference for what issues, themes or circumstances to address. Your circumstances present a useful map, and as you give attention to what is calling for healing or evoking fear, you will be able to follow those situations into what I will call root ideas that will help you get an understanding of yourself. One thing you can study is the nature of fear. Note that you may be prone to spikes of anxiety or even panic attacks over the next few weeks. They may seem to have “no cause” or you may attach them to certain individuals in your life. Be mindful about noticing what you project onto whom (i.e., assuming someone dislikes you or is untrustworthy)—and then notice what the truth turns out to be. Then go deeper and figure out why you perceived what you did in the first place. There is a reason, and you can work it out.

Gemini (May 20-June 21)
You may seem to be moving against the current of so much that’s happening around you, but you can trust that this is your role in the great journey of life. I suggest you not worry if you’re being contrary, or if you think people perceive you as being so. Part of what you must do is lay an energetic foundation for your own individual will, and for your perception of the world, regardless of what others think. This is not done merely by making up your mind about it; there is an experience factor that’s necessary. And there is a confidence factor. They are all related. As you go through this journey you may encounter pockets of self-doubt, despite your considerable knowledge and awareness. One not-so-small issue is that we are rarely taught how to actually handle peer pressure, a force that is responsible for all kinds of sorrow. We see examples of this all over the place, from the most trivial issues to some of the most important global issues to who refuses to get in a car with a drunk driver because of what others might think. Therefore, if you find yourself learning how to be autonomous of mind, if you find yourself engaged in a struggle to honor your own ideas, you can trust that this is one of the most significant growth experiences that we can have on Earth. Whether you turn out to be right or wrong, you will get the same benefits.