Dear Fellow Star Gazers,

Happy Lunar Eclipse and Hello from a beautifully sunny day in London.

PISCES-ARIES

Virtually from the moment on Sunday April 14th when Mercury left Pisces and moved into Aries there was a decided change of energy and vibration. As we all saw through television bulletins, the alignment a few days later of the Sun and Mars, and then Mercury with both Uranus and Pluto coincided with shocking and appalling events first in Texas and then in Boston and now in Bangladesh. Each event was characterised by urgency, explosion and fire - words often used in relation to Fire sign Aries.

At a different frequency and within my business, excess Aries energy resulted in an unusually large number of requests being marked 'urgent' leaving little time for usual research and writing. Some people sounded 'panicked', others were caught up in debates that came under the heading of 'political' whilst others seemed to yield to a flow of creative energy that resulted in an extraordinary flux of ideas and projects.

I am tempted to describe this Aries energy as having unleashed a virtual torrent of courage in clients. Some are most definitely stepping far from their usual comfort zones and embracing the desire to 'do things differently'. It is perhaps not insignificant that all have planets around 8-9 degrees of the Cardinal signs.

Four of my clients are launching new business ventures in the coming weeks (ventures and launch being good Aries words too). In each case these clients have done their homework and are now well placed to seize the moment. The Sun's move into Taurus, where it joined Venus and Mars has resulted in their plans being 'grounded': a characteristic of Earth sign involvement. I am hopeful that these commercial adventures will bring reward.

VENUS AND GOLD

That said Venus' move into Taurus proved an unhappy move for those holding positions in gold with the price falling as Venus moved from Aries into Taurus. I expect the price to rise a little post today's lunar eclipse. There may be some who think it's all over for gold but I'm not one of them: there should be some recovery in June.

MARKETS

Today is the first of two lunar eclipses. The next is on May 25th. Half-way between the two we have a solar eclipse on May 10th - and in the sign of the bull, Taurus.

It seems reasonable to expect that from May 1st, with Mercury, Venus, Mars and the upcoming eclipse all in Taurus that the bulls will enjoy a ride in the markets which I think could reach a high mid-May. In the US, May 6th could be a day of some significance (high). In the UK, it could be the following week.

Many of you will have heard the adage of 'sell in May and go away'. The lunar eclipse on May 25th could bring lows on both sides of the Atlantic. That said, there are, as always, some companies who will outride these storms. Food retail and home improvement all get my planetary 'thumbs up'.

As we know, the period between eclipses tends to be eventful. Much of recorded history shows events coinciding with eclipse degrees. With today's eclipse and the solar on May 10th featuring Fixed signs of the zodiac, I am expecting those born under Taurus, Leo, Scorpio and Aquarius to be affected. Of these, perhaps the most dramatic moves will be made by Aquarians. By May 20th many of this group will surely be embarked on extraordinary adventures.

POWER SHIFTS

I think we all now recognise that a global shift is taking place. As you may remember, Uranus and Pluto are now at right-angles - and for the first time in our life-times. History shows that this angle coincides with political, social and economic upheaval when then the balance of power shifts.

The angle first formed in 2010. It was around this time that oil reserves off the coast of Israel were discovered. Though it will be some time before these yield their treasure, the very presence of these reserves could be something of a game-changer in the Middle East by the time the aspect wanes from Spring 2015. I am working on a paper on these developments which I will upload to the website when it is completed. 

My Astro-trading manual has turned into a training course. Yes, that came as a surprise to me too. It's just proved so very difficult to deal with all the graphics. So, I'm going to offer it in webinar format in September. I would like to get started sooner but haven't managed to find a series of weekends when I'm free. If there is enough interest I would be happy to do something on Wednesdays or Thursday afternoon or evenings GMT. Please email me at office@cityscopes.com if you are interested.

The present plan, whilst there are so many planets in Taurus is to get back to the practical and painstaking work of research - both for the lecture at the Astrological Lodge in London on the evening of Monday June 3rd and for the NCGR workshop in Philadelphia in August. (Info at  www.astrolodge.co.uk and www.ncgr2013.com)

 I am also delighted to report that plans for an event in Canada at the end of August are now well underway - more on that next time.

MUSIC OF THE SPHERES

It's lovely to see the Sun after so many weeks of dark skies, yet apparently we should be on alert for difficulties associated with solar flares today. This will presumably be audible. If you are interested in hearing the sounds of the universe, do look at the work of Honor Harger:  http://www.ted.com/talks/honor_harger_a_history_of_the_universe_in_sound.html

Frequencies from the Sun vary and would seem to be affected by the position of the planets - which also emit their own sounds. Yes, it seems there really is 'music in the spheres'.

For now,

Yours from the stars,

All good wishes

Christeen