Daniel Solewu looks at the stars for April 2007.

In January, we found that one of the main themes of the year is about breaking away from some of our more conservative life patterns in order to create a life that is more in synch with our essential individuality and its life purposes. The latter was represented by the transiting North Node of the Moon getting progressively closer to the idiosyncratic Uranus in the sign of Pisces. This month these two bodies come together exactly, bringing the energy and the inner longing of this line-up to a head. With Mercury and Hygeia as well, they are also at the head of a brilliant kite configuration.

If your world is anything like mine, there are people all around making radical re-orientations of their life direction, whether manifest as a change in career, a sea change or a stepping towards something that was only considered a dream not too long ago. If one is unwilling or unable to hear the call of this, Uranus has a tendency to throw a dramatic and unexpected crisis or loss, in order to force some major re-evaluation of one's current goals and values.

Even though this is coming to a head energetically, it doesn't necessarily mean you have to make it happen right now, although there is often a sense of urgency if inner decisions haven't been made. But once that has happened, when a commitment to change is made, then the energy is honoured and the pressure diminishes. The manifesting can come later, and if you are truly on track, you get supported, even by the old Saturn, who paradoxically has often acted as a dream-stealer at other times.

There is always a degree of tension between the Nodes, between past and future. Leaping too early to escape the tension is often disastrous if we are not emotionally and psychically ready. We can't simply ignore the South Node as what's unhealed from the past will trip us up. Without bringing the wisdom and depth of the feminine with us, what gets produced is another great idea with no real foundation to ensure its long-term survival. On the other hand, to hang on too long allows the resistance and fear to exhaust us while missing the quintessential moment of perfect timing.

All in all though, this month's chart is one of the better monthly ones I've seen for many, many months. A kite, a number of grand trines and multiple sextiles easily outnumber the squares and oppositions. To start with, a grand trine in fire between the Sun in Aries with Jupiter and Saturn allows the brilliance and individualism of fire to be expressed in a balancing of expansiveness and self-discipline. This is great energy for expression and getting things done.

Similarly, a normally tricky conjunction of Mars and Neptune is getting multiple sextiles from Jupiter and Pluto. What's tricky about the former is that it tends to bring up some distorted expressions of unexpressed anger, assertiveness and desire, leaking out to produce confusing and disturbing experience that make anyone involved feel irritable, done in, abused and undermined. With the supportive sextiles though, it can allow a more positive situation where Martian drive can be tempered and more creatively expressed by the intuitive and sensitising effects of Neptune. As in unstructured, creative dance, we can draw deeply from the archetypal and mystical realms to inform and guide our actions.

The Moon in Virgo is conjunct the South Node and forms another grand trine with Venus and Eros, which in turn is part of the kite, with multiple sextiles from the latter to the North Node, Uranus, Mercury and Hygeia. The Moon/Node connection speaks on one level of the need to let go of old emotional patterns from the past that inhibit and make us fearful of unexpected change and growth. With the South Node involved, we know that some of this resistance comes from even more ancient origins than just our childhood, and on this level the same is a calling to own the earthy, sensual, potent wisdom of the deep feminine, whatever its origins. The grand trine connects and spreads this potency to Eros and Venus/Aphrodite to empower and deepen our connection to both masculine and feminine faces of our sexuality. This is a quiet, yet very juicy combination to bring into our relating.

It's not all smooth sailing relationship-wise though, as Venus is in a T-square with the ongoing Neptune/Saturn opposition. Even though there are some great openings from the trines and sextiles to the lovely Venus in Taurus, the t-square is a tricky one, one to make us watchful of slippery and seductive individuals and situations. This arrangement often provides some hard but necessary lessons around boundaries, or the lack of them, sexually and emotionally. For some, it can mean being drawn into situations that initially feel great, but end up slamming them. Whatever the case, it can teach us the difference between accurate intuition as opposed to self-delusion, which is always a fine line.

Overall, then, April is a much better month. Here's to be able to hear the calling of our truest self and to be able to leap at the perfect time, perfect for each of us!
Daniel Sowelu (B.Sc. Dip Ed) is a therapeutic astrologer, primal therapist and groupleader in his 21st year of private practice.