The Grand Cardinal Cross of April 2014 - Fireworks are coming…

The year 2014 has already been a very interesting one with three consecutive periods of retrograde planets coming along to dominate the early months. First up was Venus throughout January, then Mercury in February and now Mars that turned retrograde at the start of March and it will remain moving backwards for the next two and a half months. Also in the past month, Pluto Jupiter and Uranus have been in a tight t-square formation and whilst this was forming the Ukraine revolution took place and Russia sensing a power vacuum in her smaller neighbour dived in to take effective control of the region of Crimea. In the next month this t-square with the aid of Mars will turn into a grand cardinal cross. This formation will dominate the spring of 2014 and will drive the agendas of the world. How is it going to affect us. I give some thoughts on the matter…

Spinning like a Catherine Wheel for nearly a month, the cardinal cross of 2014 is one of the most significant planetary formations that many of us Astrologers have seen in recent years. The one thing you notice about the cross is that is shows balance and strength, two oppositions and 4 squares neatly spaced out. One influence plays against the other and when things are in balance then funnily enough nature says that stability will eventually come. The major players within the cross however are ones of change, revolution, expansion and force. Immediately one thinks that a major shift and changes galore will have to take place before the future stability that the cross promises can be fulfilled. Yes this is a significant moment that will motivate the world and individuals alike on a grand scale. The fireworks are about to be let off and the sparks are going to fly.     

You can see above the culmination of the cardinal cross that begins to come into formation in early April and holds in place until the end of the first week of May. It sees Pluto in Capricorn opposing Jupiter in Cancer and Uranus in Aries opposing Mars retrograde in Libra. As a general rule cardinal crosses are impatient and assertive influences and they tend to encourage positive but sometimes reckless actions. The cardinal nature is one of getting up off one’s backside and going and doing something, but the energy is all in the initial impulse unless the planets in the cross say otherwise and often there is a lack of staying power to get the job done in a complete and satisfactory manner. It’s like firing a rocket at a target but only putting in enough fuel to last three quarters of the distance to actually get there.

This cross though does have plenty of fuel in the tank with Pluto and Jupiter in opposition. This opposition comes around every 12-13 years or so and it urges empowerment (Pluto) through a hope for some kind of reward or expansion, in short you know what you want to achieve to improve your life or standing and it allows you to realise how to go about getting it. The axis being activated here is the Capricorn Cancer one, so we have ambition and administration pitted against what we hold dear in emotional terms, our family, our loved ones, our home, our nation and our security. How far do we have to change and adapt and what prices will we have to pay to get what we want in moving forward? The case in Ukraine and the Crimea is a perfect example. Russia had always had desires on the Crimea since the break up of the old Soviet Union because of the ethnic make up of the region and the fact that it’s warm water port facilities were based in Sevastopol, and through the revolution in the past few months destabilizing Ukraine (Uranus the planet of revolt squares this Jupiter Pluto opposition) Russia saw a chance for expansion of it’s territory and it knew exactly how to use is power control and influence to go about getting it.

The other opposition in this aspect is very fiery. Uranus opposing Mars retrograde highlights relationships as this opposition cuts across the Aries and Libra Axis. Acting positively, rebelling against the establishment and overturning the status quo is rebel raising Uranus’ aim as it moves in Aries, but in the excitement of the moment, Uranus will lose perspective and all sense of the bigger picture. Mars in Libra shows a lot of frustration in relationship issues. Yes Mars wants to get going as well but the retrograde motion holds back one’s need to fight for justice and equality and where one does act it may be misdirected or aimed in completely the wrong direction. The potential for aiming the rocket but missing that target completely because one is in a rush to do things will cause a lot of frustration and this may lead to mistakes being made, causing anger and annoyance through the Mars Uranus opposition. Accidents and injuries often happen when one does not prepare properly or one acts erratically out of spite or frustration. You can see the instability and the need of the individual to do one’s own thing and to break out of old habits and behavioural patterns pitted against fighting for your relationship, for balance and for what you think is right. It’s a difficult balance to achieve. Some of us will be able to make the changes we need to make in our lives in moving our own individual lives forward, but we may risk our relationships, our families, our security and what we hold dear to ourselves in the process. Some of us will end up making the wrong call or decision and the wreckage that these four planets could wreak on our behalf could be enormous and far reaching. 

Again using the Crimea as an example, the Ukrainian People were concerned about a relationship in their fight for a new administration. They were looking West and for a new start but Yanukovych, the President was looking east looking back at old powers, expansion and hope (Jupiter) versus power and control (Pluto). Tensions are high there right now because of the illegal annexation revealed by the Virgo full Moon on the 16th March, and as Mars in reverse comes into the mix I have a feeling that some kind of conflict may rear it’s ugly head. The Uranus Mars opposition may see someone taking some impulsive action that is not very well considered through mirroring the impulsive nature of the cardinal cross. My thoughts on this are based on the existing Pluto Jupiter Uranus t-square that we have already been experiencing and adding a rogue Mars in a sign of justice into the mix during a time of high tensions and conflicting desires is like adding gasoline to an already raging fire.

Change is definitely coming though and not many of us are going to be able to avoid it, so the test is how we handle the vibrant energy swirling around us. Mars retrograde in all of this suggests that the initiator of any issues while this planet is moving backwards may well end up losing out in the end, the martial energy is misplaced and misdirected. Rather than forcing the issue despite all the temptations around us, I would suggest that you react to what is going on around you if you can, go with the flow and wait your time to make your move – you will probably regret things if you try to force the pace, and why would you need to anyway? Uranus after this formation has passed will still be moving forward in Aries square to Pluto pushing us constantly to update ourselves. Saturn not connected to the cross is also retrograde and these two planets suggest reviewing what is going on rather than pursuing new agendas and Jupiter powerful and moving forward strongly in Cancer through May, June and July will be there to help us to be more outgoing and yet also more secure. The cardinal nature of the cross will naturally move issues forward anyway and once Mars slows to a stop and begins to move directly on 21st May, then may be the time to take up the baton and move onto new challenges.