THE NEXT STEP BLOG - April 2023

Entering Eclipse Season

Welcome to the April 2023 newsletter, and here are some highlights of manifestations of planetary patterns for March.

However, I post these as it is insightful and educational for us to see how astrology is constantly manifesting in the world in many different ways, weaving a tapestry with its constantly changing symbolism over time. Ultimately I hope this will serve as a historical record. 

Copyright Pam Gregory, no part to be copied or used elsewhere without my strict permission, thank you.

March Review

March 5th: This is remarkable that after 20 years of discussion the UN has finally agreed a treaty to protect the international waters, just as Saturn is at 29°59’ Aquarius and entering Pisces on the 7th. Pisces is of course linked to the seas and oceans, and Saturn to boundaries and responsibilities. I was speaking in the Saturn in Pisces video recently about exactly this issue, as to who owns or has responsibility for the oceans – and now we see this. 

“Covering almost two-thirds of the ocean that lies outside national boundaries, the treaty will provide a legal framework for establishing vast marine protected areas (MPAs) to protect against the loss of wildlife and share out the genetic resources of the high seas. It will establish a conference of the parties (Cop) that will meet periodically and enable member states to be held to account on issues such as governance and biodiversity.

Ocean ecosystems produce half the oxygen we breathe, represent 95% of the planet’s biosphere and soak up carbon dioxide, as the world’s largest carbon sink. Yet until now, fragmented and loosely enforced rules governing the high seas have rendered this area more susceptible than coastal waters to exploitation”: see link

March 10th: Today Silicon Valley Bank collapsed, the second biggest US bank failure in history: see link. Following this, serious doubts have been raised about the solvency of Credit Suisse and Deutsche Bank. Banking issues are likely to come to the fore in a bigger way during the Eclipses in April and May, especially around the Lunar Eclipse in Scorpio on May 5th. On March 19th UBS bought Credit Suisse which was in extreme financial difficulty. With Uranus on the World Axis (15° of the Fixed signs with an orb of 2°) = midpoint of Saturn/Pluto, we still have some volatility to come in the financial world.

March 16th: In a shock vote, the pro-farmers party in the Netherlands, the BBB, have just won in the national elections: see link. The farmers here have been protesting vigorously for months against the government’s draconian ‘emissions policy’ whereby the government would be taking control of many farms and radically cutting the number of livestock as they are said to produce too much nitrogen (!). We will see an increasing momentum of people taking back their power, a gradual shift of power to the people and away from government top-down control with Pluto’s transit through Aquarius over the next 21 years. Aquarius represents freedom, equality and the people, and is very revolutionary energy. 

March 21st: Tragically at 22.22 (!) local time close to Delhi there has been a huge earthquake estimated to be 7.7 magnitude, this has also affected Pakistan. The chart cast for that time in Delhi gives an angular Uranus, and Uranus planet of earthquakes tightly semi-square today’s New Moon: see link

March 23rd: Massive protests in France, with buildings being set alight, in protest against President Macron’s proposed increase in the retirement age set to 64: see link. These protests have spread all over France. Flights and trains have been cancelled, schools and colleges closed, and the protesters are demanding the resignation of President Macron. With transiting Pluto which has a 248 year orbit entering the sign of Aquarius the sign of freedom and the people, exactly today, and square to the Nodal Axis, this is exactly the astrology of 1789 when the starving peasants stormed the Bastille on 14th July that year, took down the monarch and the monarch was executed, and France from that time became a Republic. The parallels are chilling. Again in 1789 the people were rebelling against the massive inequality and abuse of power by their leader, the King, just as the ordinary people in France are today. 

President Macron was born on 21st December 1977 at 10.40, Amiens France. His Ascendant is 28°49’ Capricorn, so Pluto will be criss-crossing this during 2023 and 2024, bringing up big issues around power and how he uses it. However 2024 may be irrelevant here with the upcoming Solar Eclipse at 29°50’ Aries on April 20th exactly squaring this Ascendant, and the Lunar Eclipse of May 5th at 14°58’ Scorpio (a big ending, closure) conjunct his Uranus which co-rules his first house of identity, opposes his Moon ruler of the 7th house exactly at 14° Taurus, and squares his Mars at 11° Leo, in the 7th house. The 7th house especially with a prominent figure is linked to your relationship with the public. The upcoming Eclipses will be very powerful in determining his future. Even this month of March, transiting Saturn is opposing his natal Saturn at 0° Virgo, and Saturn is his chart ruler. This is always a reality check. My estimate is that as we move further into Aquarian energy and the power gradually shifts to the people, anyone who is seen to have abused their power will not do well.

March 26th: There have been many hundreds of protests in Israel, which are growing daily, as President Netanyahu appears to be further eroding democracy in the country as part of his proposed judicial reforms: see link. This is the biggest protest movement in Israel ever, and Iran is watching closely as what appears to be internal weakness unfolds. Israel’s chart is set for May 14th 1948 at 16.32, Tel Aviv. The Ascendant here is 29°49’ Libra, and the Solar Eclipse of April 20th at 29°50’ Aries will exactly oppose this on the descendant. Similar to France, Pluto will be criss-crossing an exact square to this Ascendant during 2023 and 2024. Transiting Pluto at 0° Aquarius is on the IC, opposing the Midheaven (government, leadership) of the country at 2° Leo, and just beginning an opposition to the Moon (the people) at 4° Leo, which will become more exact in 2024. This is likely to become an overturning of the status quo and leadership in the country, and continues into next year. 

April 2023

April is another game-changer month as we move into Eclipse season. During March, Saturn and Pluto both changed signs, changing the astrological energy and landscape. This will intensify further as we move into the second half of April with the Eclipses.

The ancient peoples knew the power of Eclipses in their lives and always held ceremonies at these times, and equally they tend to enter our lives like ‘wild cards’, bringing endings, beginnings and opportunities that seem to come out of the blue. They tend to change our lives forever, especially if they are aspecting an important part of your birthchart.

Just a few days before April begins, the planet Pluto moved into Aquarius where it has not been since 1798. Pluto astrologically represents power; since 2008 it has been in the sign of Capricorn, and this is linked to governments, big corporations and institutions that ‘hold power over us’. It is linked to a vertical structure in society, where we have wealthy powerful people at the top setting the rules of how society operates, and poor people at the bottom. This energy has strengthened since 2008, especially in the last three years, so inequality has grown.

However with the shift of Pluto into Aquarius the power will gradually shift to the ordinary people. This will not happen in a week or a month, but will gradually grow from the grassroots up. This is just the beginning of Pluto’s move into Aquarius, it does it more fully in 2024 and will stay there for 20 years until 2044. So this will bring about a major shift in how societies are structured. We will see them becoming much more decentralised in all respects, and many communities will be formed by ordinary people who may buy land to grow food and start to become self-governing. Remember this is a gradual long-term process. 2023 will see much demolition, and 2024 will see more rebuilding.

Aquarian energy is more revolutionary and rebellious and we may see more of this energy playing out in the world; it is the sign linked to freedom, equality, humanitarianism, technology, science, and aviation. We will see many amazing new technologies and advances in space travel and medicine over the coming years, as well as more equal societies.

Our first lunation in April is the Full Moon at 16°07’ Libra. This is the 7th (!) Full Moon in a row of seven at 16° of its sign, and again I refer to the 16th card in the Tarot being the Tower, as this so very clearly is a tower moment for humanity as the old world collapses. We are entering a very different episode for humanity now, with the foundations of New Earth having been laid.

Libra is the sign of relationships, and especially with Pluto having just moved into Aquarius, the other social sign, we will be reassessing many of our old relationships to see if they are still right for the you that is evolving. Are they still a frequency match to who you are now, or do you need to wish each other well and move on? This is a period in history where we are coming together with our soul tribe to start to form communities and New Earth in a stronger way.

The initiatory energy at this Full Moon is very strong, with four orbiting bodies in Aries: the Sun, Jupiter, Chiron and Eris. As Jupiter is conjunct the Sun at 20° and 16° Aries respectively, this encourages us to expand our courage, bravery, autonomy and independence, and our pioneering spirit. This is continuing the energy of the Aries Equinox and within hours of that, the Aries New Moon on March 21st. Where are we initiating a new episode in our lives?

Jupiter conjunct the Sun here (exact on the 11th) also helps us to seek wisdom, to connect to our higher consciousness, to have bigger braver future visions, and to pursue those with confidence and energy. It feels visionary. Jupiter is also conjunct Eris at 24° Aries, which will expand the fiery, revolutionary nature of that dwarf planet. Look at what is happening in France today, and Israel, see above in the Review section. This rebellious energy is reinforced by Pluto having just moved into Aquarius, and Mars being out-of-bounds all month. This represents people taking to the streets who feel they are not being heard by their leaders. This rebellious energy may also be high on the 14th when the Sun is conjunct Eris. Eris always stands for natural law, not man-made law, and will always fight for those people it feels are excluded from the system and have no voice. This would actually be true of many citizens in the world who live with autocratic governments.

Eris is warrior energy, sister of Mars in myth and known as the goddess of discord and chaos. She will deliberately cause chaos in order to get to the truth of a situation. She is raw, radical, uncompromising feminine energy.

At the Libra Full Moon Uranus the planet of rebellion and revolution is in an tight quincunx to the Moon, representing the people, and this reinforces this theme of protest against top-down authorities. These are in their dying days with Pluto transiting the last couple of degrees of Capricorn during 2023 and 2024.

The Moon in Libra is a call for more fairness, equality and mutual respect, the importance of finding balance amidst so much social unrest. The way to that may be via the law, as the two signs linked to the law are Libra and Sagittarius.  You may be aware that there are some very big legal cases progressing in various geographies at the moment that are likely to change the social and political picture further in the coming months, especially around the Eclipses.

Pluto here is square to Mercury, encouraging us to dig deep in our research to find the truth. Very importantly, Pluto is square to the Nodal Axis and this will continue until November, but strongest from now until mid-July. The North Node represents our future collective destiny, where we are headed. Pluto will fundamentally change the current ‘direction of travel’ with this, reinforced by Pluto having just moved into Aquarius which will encourage people to demand more equality and freedom. As mentioned above, this aspect occurred in 1789 with the taking down of the French monarchy. In the months and years that followed, French society changed radically. The tax (Pluto is linked to taxes) laws changed to benefit the poor, and reduce them to the rich. Small farms started to be set up, small businesses and social enterprises, and it saw the beginning of a middle class that I don’t believe had existed anywhere in the world until that point. 

Remarkably, within a month of the execution of the monarch, the Assemble Nationale in France had published the Declaration of Man which gave rights of freedom and equality before the law to ordinary people. Such legal granting of rights to ordinary people had never happened before. Indeed, this became the foundational document for democracy across Europe. 

The same year, 1789, saw the publishing of the US Bill of Rights which were additions to the US constitution. This gave specific guarantees of personal rights and freedoms to ordinary people, and limitations on government power. I’m sure you’d agree that democracy and individual freedoms have been severely restricted particularly over the last three years, but remember that we are re-entering this cycle of freedom now with Pluto’s ingress into Aquarius, not leaving it.

Another aspect of Pluto beginning its move into Aquarius is that it will start to reveal any corruption and lack of integrity around science and technology.

The other aspect of note at this Full Moon is Venus is conjunct Uranus at 24° and 17° Taurus respectively. If this is falling in your 5th or 7th houses this can bring in a sudden romantic relationship, or a desire for more freedom and independence from a current one. It may also bring in some turbulence in banking, currencies and the stock market, although that potential becomes stronger as the month goes on. 

Uranus is now starting to move much more rapidly now, going beyond the mid-degrees where it has been hovering for some months. So if you have planets between 17°-19° of the Fixed signs Taurus, Leo, Scorpio, or Aquarius, you may start to feel more restless and urgent, that time is running out and that you need more freedom and independence from a situation, depending on where this falls in your chart. By August Uranus is at 23° Taurus.

Also note that if you have any planets between 27° of the Cardinal signs (Aries, Cancer, Libra, Capricorn) to 2° of the Fixed signs, transiting Pluto is likely to be bringing some intensity in your life, depending on where this falls in your chart and which planets it is aspecting. Pluto will not start to move beyond 0° Aquarius until February 2024.

We now have Saturn transiting Pisces until February 2026. One of the effects of this is that it may start to dissolve a sense of linear time (Saturn) and 3D reality. We may begin to experience time slippage, or even reality slippage, where past or future lives start to leak into our current time, or we feel much less anchored and grounded. It’s important to ‘ground’, ie have bare feet on the grass as often as you can to give that sense of anchoring, but also recognise that this is to be welcomed as it is evidence that you are moving beyond the limitations (Saturn!) of 3D reality into the higher dimensions that are now available to us.

We will start to feel the building of intensity of the Eclipses from the beginning of the month. 

We had a New Moon in Aries just within hours of the Equinox at 0°50’ Aries, and now we have another in the form of a Total Solar Eclipse at 29°50’, just 10’ away from leaving Aries. This is exact on April 19th at 9.12pm PST and 5.12am on the 20th UK time. 29° is the critical or anaretic degree. This can often express as the less positive side of the sign, so we may see more aggression in the world, and with Mars still out-of-bounds this could be very forceful indeed. Remember to stay in peace and calm yourselves to diffuse this.

This Solar Eclipse is actually what is called a ‘Hybrid Eclipse’ which is very rare. It only occurs in 3% of cases. It begins as an annular (meaning ring of fire) around the Sun and then moves to a Total Eclipse over Australia, Eastern Indonesia, and East Timor, although it will also be seen as partial over SE Asia, the Pacific, the Indian Ocean, the Philippines, New Zealand and Antarctica. The path of the Eclipse is often where important news and developments will occur in the months that follow.

This is an incredibly powerful Solar Eclipse, not only because it is in Aries the sign of initiation, dynamism and new beginnings, and is as North Node Eclipse which means we are very focused on a new future, but what galvanises all of that is that Pluto is square the Nodal Axis as described above. With this powerful new beginning we will start to see some radical changes in the way our social and political structures operate. This is reinforced by Jupiter being very tightly conjunct Eris at 23° and 24° Aries respectively, expanding the revolutionary energy of the dwarf planet.

Pluto is in an out-of-sign square to the Solar Eclipse. This brings something very powerful and fundamental about a death, rebirth and transformation period that this Solar Eclipse is initiating. Pluto transits bring about permanent changes in our life and here we have a sense of urgency but also ‘no going back’. Pluto-Moon aspects always bring great emotional intensity too.

It is a big New Moon, so a new beginning, but often there are important endings that come along with it. Personally, it can bring in out of the blue opportunities, especially again if you have any Aries planets in your birthchart. It can even bring people to prominence, quite suddenly. Eclipses operate like ‘wild cards’.

This Solar Eclipse initiates the shift from the old world to the new in a big way. Old structures, ways of governing, financial, medical, educational and even legal systems may start to crumble as the life-force moves towards creating a more loving and equal New Earth. This will continue through 2023, so don’t fret as you see the old ways not working properly; this is all part of a divine plan to get us to a much better place. We are now on the timeline of moving towards the prophesied Golden Age, and just a few years from now we will be experiencing that, and it will be very beautiful and very different to anything we have ever known in our lifetime.

We are likely to have many people awakening to the truth of many aspects of society at this Eclipse with Mercury tightly conjunct Uranus at 15° and 17° Taurus respectively. So expect shocking news and revelations. In Taurus we may are likely to see issues in banking, currencies, money in general, the stock markets, food and survival issues of various kinds. This is emphasised by Mercury moving retrograde in Taurus just a few hours after the Eclipse.

The stellium of planets in Aries does give the potential for a lot of anger, including the people being intensely angry (Pluto square the Moon). Will this be as a result of the shocking news and revelations around this time, and will they be in some way connected to health issues with Mars, ruler of Aries, square to Chiron, the wounded healer? Mars is in Cancer now, the sensitive Water sign of emotion that feels things deeply, and is connected to our sense of emotional security. We always want to protect our family and loved ones with any emphasis in Cancer, and Mars suggests fierce protection.

Aries can be very impulsive, quick to react, especially when Mars is in Cancer and emotions are felt so deeply. With the Eclipse being at the very last few minutes of Aries, this also suggests that we may be at the end of our tether, or that some recent event or information has taken us to the tipping point – this far and no further, we now have to stand our ground. I recommend that this is done peacefully but with conviction.

The wonderful news at this Solar Eclipse is that the Sun and Moon are in an out-of-sign but tight opposition to the dwarf planet Haumea at 0°30 Scorpio. She reinforces the regenerative energy of Pluto, as she is linked to the Hawaiian goddess of fertility who could birth babies from all over her body, and produce wild food even when the land had been laid waste by poor agricultural practices. She is one of the most powerful symbols for New Earth, and is bringing in a strong sense of balance with such a concentration of planets in Aries and Taurus. In Scorpio, she will help to ‘lance the boil’ of any toxicity in our bodies, the financial system (Scorpio) but also in our seas as Scorpio is a water sign. When dwarf planet Sedna enters Gemini in June, these two planets will be in sextile and much will come to the fore about the power of our oceans to be cleansed, but in some way the oceans themselves can cleanse us – in a way that I am barely intuiting now.

The final aspect of note in this huge month astrologically is that on April 24th Jupiter conjuncts Eris exactly at 24° Aries, expanding the fiesty, warrior energy of that dwarf planet. She will be demanding equality, social inclusion of all, and justice. She will stands for natural law and against man-made law. 

The energy of Eclipse season is always powerful and intense, and this Solar Eclipse – and maybe the shocking and surprising revelations coming around this time – set us up for the Lunar Eclipse on May 5th. This will also be powerful as it is closely conjunct Uranus, planet of revolution, shocks, earthquakes, radical change and awakening, in the sign of Taurus on the financial axis. 

Keep your focus on a better more loving world. Turn off the news. Do not engage in the drama. When enough of us come together in the same frequency we create an energetic wave of love, a hologram, that becomes our future reality. Remember that the future is not set;  it is like jelly, not fully formed. It takes us as co-creators to interact with it to make it real in our world. Never forget how powerful you are.

Blessings to you all.

“The future is not something we enter. The future is something we create.”      Leonard I. Sweet

TEACHING VIDEOS:

With my good friend Sue Stone we held an Afternoon of Empowerment in September 2022 in Bournemouth England, and now you can purchase the recording of that. It was a high energy afternoon with over two hours of rich information. Pam Gregory covers the astrology of our times, mainly focused on now to 2026, and Sue Stone shares the practicalities and philosophy of how she turned extreme circumstances into a magnificent life and how you can do it too: https://pamgregory.gumroad.com/l/urmqqx.

Please note that Pam’s video is a presentation, not a teaching video. Two hours of content in total, including Sue’s presentation. Funds going to the local People’s Health Alliance.

Recently I filmed an Advanced Nodes Webinar with Bracha Goldsmith, covering the Transiting Nodes through the Houses, Nodal Returns, Squares and Inverse Nodal Returns, and the Nodes in Relationships. It offers over 2 hours of concentrated teaching: pamgregory.gumroad.com/l/ljgsf

Separately, I have filmed around two and a quarter hours of concentrated teaching called Astrological Synthesis. This is the video explaining these: https://youtu.be/EwDyUCdC3r4. These videos are not for absolute beginners, you should at a minimum understand the meaning of the signs, and the house rulerships. If you want to understand these further, I have an Astrological Signs video and my two part Tutorial Video Series, both available via the Products page on my website. The contents covered in Astrological Synthesis are 1) Planetary Symbolism 2) Where Planets Become Stronger 3) Aspects 4) Blending Archetypes 5) Life Theme/Story in the birthchart. These videos do not pretend to offer exhaustive natal chart analysis, but will help to give you some powerful insights that you may not find elsewhere. 

The video called The Alchemy of Relationships is all about the astrology of relationships, and is 90 minutes of concentrated teaching. Relationship astrology can be very complex as you are comparing two birthcharts, so I have shared some big principles that help to cut through the complexity so you can more clearly see the energetics between the two people. I’ll be covering a very important ‘relationship point’ that many of you may be unaware of. These are NOT for beginners, you will have to have a good basic understanding of the symbolism of the planets, the aspects, the meanings of the signs, and the sign and house rulerships to follow these videos. If you do, and are interested, here is the link: https:// gumroad.com/products/NlLC

My two books ‘You Don’t Really Believe in Astrology, Do You?’ and ‘How to Co-Create using the Secret Language of the Universe are both available from my website www.thenextstep.uk.com/books, and Amazon. 

How to Co-Create using the Secret Language of the Universe is a workbook focusing on the most mysterious and profound part of your birthchart, that is also considered the most important in Indian astrology. This is your Nodal Axis. It represents your soul’s path in this life, your path of destiny. More than any other part of your birthchart, it answers the question, ‘why are you here, what is your purpose in this lifetime?’ You’ll be working with your own birthchart, downloaded free from my website www.pamgregory.com. The writing of this book took me on a profound journey, and I hope and believe that will throw your life and your purpose into high relief. 

I have also produced a companion set of videos to go alongside this book to answer other questions you may have on your Nodal Axis. 

Here is the video explaining these and giving the purchase link: https://youtu.be/ 3MxYVU8Xxik. Essentially the three videos cover natal conjunctions to your Nodal Axis, the transiting Nodes, and the transiting planetary conjunctions to your Nodal Axis. These videos comprise 75 minutes of teaching, packed with information about the Nodal Axis. I will also now regularly post the transiting North Node position with the other planetary transits in this newsletter, so you can track it yourself. This transiting North Node only moves around 2° each month, always retrograde. 

Videos on Jupiter and Saturn transits through your birthchart: these are such important cycles in everyone’s life at any time. You will need to have a copy of your birthchart, which you can now download from for free (www.thenextstep.uk.com), then the tutorial should give you some very rich information at any time in your life about where you are expanding, and can 

expect success, recognition and opportunities, and where you need to apply focus, work and discipline. These cycles are one of the first things I look for in preparing a chart. You will know from my updates where the positions of Jupiter and Saturn are in the heavens, and then can work out what that means for you in your life, and you can constantly refer back to them over the years. Here is the link to my store: https://gumroad.com/products/VsrvP. Enjoy! 

My audiobook: https://gumroad.com/l/QNjf 

The two part video tutorials on how you find aspects in your chart, and meanings of the houses in your birthchart: https://youtu.be/ 6D2mBJ78dV4. This will help you understand where all the New and Full Moons and aspects I mention in my updates fall in your own birthchart, and what that means for you in your life. The tutorials will last you a lifetime, as you can always refer to them. 

Once you download a free birthchart from my website, you can start to use the tutorial videos straight away. There is a description that comes with the chart on the website (which I did not write), and people have said this is very accurate. However, please remember that a computer- generated description with a list of characteristics is a very different experience to having a full consultation with a professional astrologer,  who through synthesising this matrix of meaning, can give you profound insights into who you truly are. 

You can find my recent video on the elements, modalities, rulerships and astrological signs at this link: https://youtu.be/QbQfkg1_PKQ

I am going to post the planetary positions each month. I will not include the Sun and Moon as they move too quickly, but will post the others so you can work out the transits to your natal chart: 

Mercury – 26° Aries – 12° Taurus, retrograde on the 21st
Venus – 18° Taurus – 22° Gemini

Mars – 3° – 18° Cancer

Jupiter – 19° – 26° Aries

Saturn – 2° – 5° Pisces 

Uranus – 16° – 18° Taurus  

Neptune – 25° – 26° Pisces

Pluto – 0° Aquarius all month

North Node, always retrograde – 4° Taurus all month

Chiron – 15° Aries 

Chariklo – 12° Aquarius