The Week Ahead (4.1.24 through 4.7.24)
Mercury Retrograde, The Fool, & Chicken Little
Notable Astrology Happenings
Monday, April 1 6:14PM ET: Mercury Retrograde (27° Aries)
Wednesday, April 3 9:10AM ET: Venus conjunct Neptune (28° Pisces)
Friday, April 5 12:00AM ET: Venus enters Aries
Saturday, April 6 1:46PM ET: Venus (1° Aries) sextile Pluto (1° Aquarius)
Today, Mercury goes retrograde. In the middle of Eclipse Season. On April Fool’s Day. Is the joke on us?
I’ve never been a big fan of April Fool’s Day—namely because I’ve never really liked pranks. My Pollyannish Leo Sun is too gullible; my delicate Pisces Moon too sensitive. And, on a day dedicated to tricks and fibs, this translates to me falling for every gag and then feeling personally attacked. Not a great combination.
But, this year, I decided to look at April Fool’s Day from a different point of view. First, historically: I was surprised to find out that, while its exact origins remain unknown, literary references to April Fool’s Day date back to the middle ages—there’s even a potential reference to it in The Canterbury Tales. Then, I was very intrigued to discover that April Fool’s Day isn’t just a strange anglo holiday; it’s actually celebrated all around the world. In fact, even if it’s not April 1, reserving a day for pranks or jokes appears to be a cross-cultural phenomenon.
And, from this vantage, I started to consider the value of April Fool’s Day. Life is hard. It’s exhausting, intense, and sometimes cruel. So if we’re going to survive—and if we’re going to continue to choose to be alive over and over again (the theme of Aries Season and, not coincidentally, Easter)—we have to be willing to have a little fun with a couple of laughs, a couple of silly goose pranks. I suppose we all need a day of mischief. A day when we take ourselves—and this strange thing called life—a little less seriously.
Naturally, this theme shows up in the mystical realm, too. The first Major Arcana card in the classic 78-card tarot deck is the Fool. In fact, the Fool is card number zero; it actually comes before the beginning. This card depicts a young, ostentatiously dressed adolescent—head held high towards the heavens, contemplating the beauty of a rose—one step away from falling off a cliff.
This might seem like a terrifying scene, but this card isn’t about bodily harm. It’s about the power of innocence. The gift of fearlessness. The incredible optimism required to begin anything at all.
Is this kind of blind faith foolish? Absolutely! What a blessing it is to be the Fool! If we knew the outcome of every situation, nothing would ever get done, so must rely on our little joys—the tricks we play on ourselves—to get started. What a privilege it is to surrender and trust that, at the end of the day, everything will work out. Because why shouldn’t it?
Perhaps this is the cosmo’s invitation. This week, as Mercury goes backwards in Aries, sandwiched by a Lunar Eclipse and Solar Eclipse, there’s certainly an intensity in the air. But there’s also an inherent Fool energy about these cosmic happenings—we are on the precipice of so many unknowns, why not embrace the possibility of (gasp) good news? What if everything goes better than expected? What if—thanks to Mercury in Aries’ impulsivity and the back-to-back optical illusions of retrogrades and eclipses—we saw things from a completely different perspective? What if we unlocked opportunities more fabulous than we could’ve ever imagined possible? What if everything is more than okay?
But there’s another type of fool. A fool with a lowercase f. A fool that is anything but aspirational. I mentioned this the other day on my Instagram stories, but it’s worth reiterating here, as well. Because the astrology of the moment is so incredibly juicy (Retrogrades! Eclipses! Conjunctions! Oh my!), TikTok is allegedly filled with fear-mongering videos prophesying doomsday scenarios about the current cosmic happenings.
Sigh.
Do you remember the story of Chicken Little? (Recalling children’s parables is very Aries Season coded.) Here’s a refresher: An acorn drops on poor Chicken Little’s head and—despite this being a totally normal seasonal occurrence—dude loses his damn mind and goes from zero to full-blown apocalypse. He starts running around in a panic, screaming “the sky is falling, the sky is falling,” and gets all the other barnyard animals freaked out. Naturally, a sly fox takes advantage of this frenzy by assuring the animals that they’ll be safe in his literal bunker. But, of course, they aren’t. The fox lures the foolish animals into his den, where he eats them all. The end.
Yes, these barnyard animals were foolish. But not foolish like the Fool. Chicken Little and friends exhibited the bad type of foolishness.
In 1895, the term “Chicken Little” was entered into the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, as "one who warns of or predicts calamity, especially without justification.” Interestingly, fear mongering elicits a response known as “Chicken Little syndrome,” described as "inferring catastrophic conclusions possibly resulting in paralysis.” (Read more about it on here on Wikipedia.)
So don’t be like Chicken Little and his beloved barnyard friends, may they rest in peace. Please remember that shocking, extreme content (read: conspiracy theories) always generate the most views, likes, and follows on social media, so there’s an incredible incentive for thirsty creators to post outlandish, wildly unethical (and comically incorrect) takes on notable cosmic happenings (though this, of course, doesn’t just apply to astrology). Ask yourself who these “astrologers” really are—how long have they been practicing? What’s their experience? And what’s their motivation?
Astrology is a powerful tool for self-actualization. For growth. For healing. For pattern recognition and confidence building. For kindness and compassion. Learning and studying the magic of the stars is empowering—it helps us tune into the cosmic cycles that inform our own rhythm. It illuminates the dynamic connection between all beings, across all dimensions.
Astrology is a connective tissue; a sort of arcane fascia.
But if astrology is feeding—or even amplifying—your own anxiety, tune into that. Astrology is not superstition. Don’t treat it as such. Keep perspective; just as acorns always fall from trees, this isn’t the first time we’re expecting the Mercury Retrograde and Eclipse Season double feature. In fact, it happens quite often.
So, right now, as we navigate these proverbial choppy waters, be extra careful with your nervous system. Don’t let your precious mind-body-spirit get flooded with literal bullshit. And don’t let yourself get eaten by an opportunistic fox.
Remember, you are not Chicken Little. You are a different kind of Fool.
And that, my friend, no joke.
We’re midway through Eclipse Season.
Notice if there are any areas in your life going through a transformation.
This will inform your Eclipse Story.
Join me on Thursday, April 4 at 8PM EST for our Solar Eclipse Coven Meeting, where we’ll be untangling, writing, and rewriting our Eclipse Story. Only $20 to join. Register here.
This & That
UPCOMING EVENT: In Constellation Club, I’m hosting a virtual workshop to explore this powerful Solar Eclipse in Aries. Join our Coven Meeting this Thursday, April 4 at 8PM ET. Can’t wait to see you there! (P.S. replays are available!) Click here to register!
My original astrology mentor and dear friend, Annabel Gat, launched her Substack today! Many years ago, I remember asking her if she was worried about over-saturation within the astrology field. Annabel said “no, think about music. You never listen to just one artist—the more artists you know, the cooler you are.” And this is the type of wit and wisdom you grow to expect from Annabel. So be sure to subscribe to her Substack!
Who’s watching Curb? Once you realize that Larry David is a Cancer, everything makes perfect sense.
Aliza’s Mommy Updates
Katrin and I connected to get the inside scoop on my life with newborn Talula.
How are you and Talula doing?