Spring 2019 Horoscopes for Writers

In spring, all things are made new — but this is also an opportunity to review the intentions we set at the beginning of the calendar year.

In April, outer planets station retrograde, where they will be for the entirety of the summer, into autumn. This isn’t going to be quite like last summer, where practically every planet in the sky was retrograde, leading to a sloggish summer where all we did was turn over the same soil. This time around, it’s just three retrograde planets: Jupiter, Saturn, and Pluto. How we expand and where we find our faith, how we work within and create structure, and where we are undergoing transformation are all up for review. You may be most familiar with retrogrades via your Twitter friends blaming every kind of wackiness on Mercury being in retrograde, but retrogrades are normal, and are just one kind of energy to work with. When it comes to astrology, knowledge is power: if you know it’s happening, you can use it to your advantage.

Meanwhile, Venus, the planet of love and value, will zip through four different signs — and four different areas of your life — asking you to consider how you bring beauty to your life, how you value different parts of yourself and those you love, and how you take the time to nurture your creativity.

At the very end of spring, just as the summer solstice approaches, Jupiter, the planet of expansion, and Saturn, the planet of responsibility, will both connect with Neptune, the planet of vision and dreams, offering blessings in kind, asking how we are going to work with the dream this summer. Jupiter (by then retrograde) amplifies the dream; Saturn asks us whether and how the dream needs revising.

This is a time of preparation. The summer will bring more eclipses, and more rooting out. Spring is a time for renewal, a time to work with retrogrades, a time to bask in the varying Venus energies, a time to use Aries fire, Taurus seed sowing, and Gemini fast-flying energy to your advantage.

ARIES

Feeling energized lately? Spring is your season, a time of new beginnings, new ideas, planting seeds and breaking free after the long winter. The vernal equinox on March 20 ushers in Aries season and with it, your birthday: new year, new you.

This is a time to harness as much of that fiery, buoyant energy into your creative projects as you can. On April 5, a new moon in Aries offers you the opportunity to set powerful intentions for this new zodiac year, and for your own birthday season. New moons are all about new beginnings and new projects: what have you been muddling through this winter, having difficulty getting off the ground? Now is the time to put some fire behind that idea. (Also, this new moon will be at 15 degrees — those of you with your sun, ascendant, or other personal planets or angles within one to three degrees of the moon will be particularly impacted.)

On May 15, Venus goes into Taurus, where she is at home in its earthy sensuality — and in your house of resources and value. While Venus is in Taurus, she brings a touch of grace and nuance to how you handle your resources (as well as how you value yourself). Now is a time to pay extra attention to the give and take of the flow of money and time and exchange of resources in your life.

Writing Prompt: What project have you been meaning to get to, and just putting off? Brush it off, and make a date night with yourself to work on it — perhaps around the new moon.

TAURUS

The big news for you in the early months of this year was Uranus, the planet of change and revolution, going into your house of self and identity. It’s going to spend the next seven years here, turning over the soil. While Uranus can take a minute to get going, if you’ve got planets or your ascendant at early degrees (check your birth chart), you may be feeling these effects early. What does that mean for your writing? Uranus coming through this particular part of your life shakes up how you conceive of your very identity. That could mean what you write about, or how you think of yourself as a writer. The key is rocking and rolling with the changes Uranus throws your way: stay flexible. Not always your first instinct, Taurus: you like comfort; you like to root down. You like stability. You are an earth sign, after all.

Your birthday season kicks off on April 20. There is a new moon in your sign on May 4; a time for planting, growing — everything that Taurus loves to do. Use this energy to really focus on gathering and growing those seeds that you kicked off in Aries season, and put them down in the fertile Taurus earth. Saturn, the planet of responsibility, will have just gone retrograde a few days before; this project may, in some way, have to do with reconsidering or revising an aspect of an old project idea. The next few months under Saturn Retrograde are a ripe time for revising and re-envisioning, for making all things new.

Writing Prompt: Uranus wants to change up that topsoil and sift through, finding what still serves you — and what doesn’t. What parts of your identity are calcified — what is past its expiration date? What is it time to let go of? How does this letting go affect your creative self, your work?

GEMINI

If winter was all about working with your long-term goals, spring is all about digging in to your community and, ultimately, taking care of yourself. The season opens with planets hanging out in your house of friendships, social consciousness, and the internet: social networks like Twitter are playtime for you, and a gathering like AWP offers you the chance to truly shine. In March and early April, don’t lose the threads of new, budding relationships you are building with people. Winter can be cold, and SAD is real, but keep those new flames burning. The people you’re meeting right now will be good for you (and vice versa).

Gemini season — your birthday season! — arrives on May 21, heralding with it the winds of spring, spreading new ideas and inspiring people to travel, to share, to connect. Gemini is ruled by Mercury, the messenger, who can zip around the world and also dive beneath to Hades’ realm: Mercury is surefooted, and able to chameleon into any environment they need. This ability to adapt is a gift, but be sure that, as your season unfolds, you are standing on solid ground. When you feel rooted, your work is more rooted, as well. There is a new moon in your sign on June 3, offering the chance to set new intentions and put new plans into place.

With both Venus, the planet of love and value, and Mars, the planet of action, lighting up your house of self and identity, you’ll attract attention in a good way. This is an excellent time to continue to nurture and invest in your creative communities: Gemini delights in sharing ideas, and Venus and Mars work to put extra wit in your words.

Writing Prompt: Think of the last few gatherings you were a part of where other creative people were present. They could have been centered around writing (like a literary reading), or not. What did you like, and what did you not like? Now: how can you cultivate — and seek out — the things that you liked, the things that were nurturing, in your creative communities, moving forward?

CANCER

Summer will be here before you know it, and with it, your birthday season — and some powerful eclipses. Utilize the energy of this spring to lay track for the train that’s coming.

This spring is a time to take stock of what’s working in your life, and what isn’t. Who is working in your life, and who isn’t. In April, both Saturn and Pluto will begin a retrograde in your house of committed partnerships. These planets are in serious, empire-building Capricorn — your opposite sign, which shares similar values as you do when it comes to things like security and long-term planning. While this part of your chart governs committed romantic partnerships (certainly, something that affects the creative life), it also governs committed business partnerships — say, with an agent, an editor, or a writing partner. Writing is considered a solo enterprise, but we know it’s not. The people we love, and the people we are in this business with, significantly affect how we approach the work: what we write about, when we write, how much we get for our writing, our general emotional state. Saturn and Pluto are both heavyweights that deal with life’s responsibilities and transformation, respectively, and they are here to help you clear out any patterns that aren’t working to your highest good.

Your career gets a boost from Venus, the planet of love and value, which travels with the sun through Aries and your house of public image and fame early in the spring. Here, Venus is fiery, brazen, and no-nonsense, helping you to trust yourself — to value yourself — and to feel confident about the choices you are making in your work and how you are putting it out into the world. Venus in Aries is Wonder Woman energy — and after this winter, you could do with some Wonder Woman energy, Cancer.

Writing Prompt: Venus asks us to consider our worth, to look into the mirror and say I am worthy. I am worth it. Do you believe your work is worthy and worth it, Cancer? How have you struggled with seeing the value in your work this past year?

LEO

You love spring, Leo. It’s light, independent, sunny — much more your speed than winter, when the world is resting. Spring feeds your energy, and no wonder: Aries is your fellow fire sign, a kindred spirit. This spring, the sun and Venus travel together in Aries, lighting up your house of travel, philosophy, and long-term plans. For you, this is the time of year when all the world’s a stage, full of new life and possibility, just waiting for you to be not only the lead, but also the producer, the writer, the director. For you, this time of year is about the vision. So get out the vision board — or the notebook. Go on a walk. Take an impulsive weekend trip somewhere that’s outside your normal surroundings. Get out of your head, and tap into that big heart. You may not like the word manifest, but that’s exactly what you’re good at doing, and it’s exactly what can happen for you right now.

Meanwhile, your daily routines are about to get an upgrade. Saturn, the planet of responsibility, and Pluto, the planet of transformation, are hanging out in your house of health and day-to-day work stuff: decidedly not long-term vision, but the kind of chores and routine scheduling that helps those big plans get accomplished. We have to pay attention to the little details, too, and these major planets are about to spend the entire summer (and some of the fall) in this part of your life, turning over the soil and making sure that your habits are serving you for the better. (Have you been meaning to start ordering a meal service so that you eat better — or even just purchase wrist support for your desk to help with carpal tunnel? This retrograde is gonna bring all of that up for review.)

Writing Prompt: Write out a typical daily schedule for you, then a typical weekly schedule. What parts of this could stand to be upgraded? What do you wish you had the time to improve, or to add in? (You might be surprised what the next few months bring.)

VIRGO

Where do you find your creative inspiration? Over the next few months, Saturn, the planet of responsibility, and Pluto, the planet of transformation, will be sifting through your creative consciousness, encouraging you to dive deep into your reserves. This spring, these planets will be reviewing (and perhaps also revising) how you typically find entry points into excitement. This is the part of your life that is creative, but also flirtatious and romantic — a part of your life that’s about being inspired by life’s joys. If your emotional well has started to feel stale lately, spring will bring new opportunities for change: but you might need to put in the effort. Saturn and Pluto are in Capricorn, after all: earthy energy that requires effort to build something new that lasts.

You understand how to utilize earthy energy, Virgo. You’re comfortable with the harvest, with the end of a season, but perhaps less so with the new beginning. And Aries — the fiery start of the zodiac year — strikes at a particularly deep part of your chart, in your house of intimacy. This is introspective energy. You’re comfortable in the details: with organizing, with a mind toward healing. Aries’ single-minded, laser focus on the parts of yourself and your work that you would rather not lay bare to the world? That’s less comfortable. But sit back, and consider: what discomforts is this season bringing up for you? What parts of yourself do you prefer to keep hidden — from yourself, from your professional network, from intimate partners? What is okay to keep to yourself, and what might be worth taking a second look at? Confession to others may not be the solution to everything, but self-awareness and a bit of journaling (or therapy) might be.

Writing Prompt: What parts of your life has 2019 brought up for review so far? What has felt comfortable — and what hasn’t?

LIBRA

Aries is your opposite sign: the individual to your balanced, relationship-focused scales. Libra craves harmony and delights in its ability to see (and debate) all sides to an issue. You take your time, patiently researching and assessing the information before deciding your mind. Ruled by values-driven Venus whereas your sister Aries is ruled by action-driven Mars, you truly are two sides of the same coin. You kick off the autumn; Aries starts the spring. Opposites, in every way.

So what is a Libra to do during Aries season? Well, enjoy full moons, for a start. Yes, you read that right: moons, plural. The spring starts with two full moons in Libra, on March 20 (at 0 degrees) and April 19 (at 29 degrees). Having two full moons in one sign is a relatively unusual occurrence, so enjoy this double dose of your energy! Full moons are about releasing, culmination, fulfilling. What projects or ideas have you been fulfilling, personally, lately?

Aries also governs your house of committed partnerships. This isn’t just romantic; it’s also business. The sun and Venus will both spend time in this house, highlighting what you want in the long-term (are you happy with your agent, your editor, your writing group? Are these things you’re looking for?). This spring, your relationships are up for review — even as the sun and, then, Venus go into Taurus and your house of intimacy — and those relationships continue to deepen and unearth the most uncomfortable parts of your psyche. Are you bringing people into your creative life who share your vision: who are compatible with you on personal and professional levels, and who can work with you for the long term? Time will tell.

Writing Prompt: What kinds of people most rejuvenate you, creatively? What kinds of events, what kinds of engagements, what kinds of partnerships?

SCORPIO

Your big story, Scorpio, is that your writing and short term projects are getting major shakeups this spring. Buckle in. Saturn, the planet of time and responsibility, and Pluto, the planet of transformation, are leisurely sifting through this part of your life, and when they turn retrograde come April, they will bring all kinds of long buried things up for review — and revision. You may quite literally end up revising an actual project over these next few months: specifically, its boundaries or your time commitment (Saturn) or even its very essence (Pluto).

In a similar vein, spring kicks off with rather literal spring cleaning. In your chart, Aries is your house of health and daily routine — all that day to day stuff that makes up the big picture. But the little things have to be in order in order for the big picture to flourish, yes? Use the Aries new moon on April 5 to set intentions around health, wellness, and a daily schedule this season. In many ways, your body is your instrument, and it’s important to take care of it.

Finally, you have a full moon at 27 degrees of Scorpio on May 18. Full moons are for culminating, for releasing, for letting go. This full moon is highlighting your house of self and identity — what aspects of yourself have you been working on over the last six months, and what are you ready to let go of?

Writing Prompt: What parts of your life (or creative life) feel like they’ve been undergoing a spring cleaning?

SAGITTARIUS

Have you been feeling lucky, expansive, like nothing can touch you? It might be because Jupiter, the planet of expansion, has been hanging out in your house of self and identity. Jupiter is home: Jupiter rules and loves Sagittarius, where its yearning spirit that craves intellectual stimulation and new experiences can go wherever free-roaming Sagittarius fires off to. In April, Jupiter goes retrograde. Keep in mind, retrogrades are a regular occurrence and they aren’t a bad thing! Just a time to do anything with a re- in front of it: review, revise, rethink. Because Jupiter is going to be retracing its steps over this part of your chart, this spring might bring up ideas or beliefs about yourself and your life path that you thought you had figured out, just for reconsideration. Jupiter is a joyful, bounteous friend and is on your side — they’re just going to sit with you for a little while and make sure that you’re sure about the next steps.

In that vein, Jupiter will square off with Neptune, the planet of dreams and all things subconscious, on June 16. Jupiter blows up anything it touches, and since Neptune’s energy is nebulous on a good day, when it connects with Jupiter, whew — watch out. At best, this energy is dreamy, allowing you to ideate without commitment. Mark your calendar for a bubble bath or maybe a creative, “wander the streets (or the woods) with yourself and see where it takes you” date. But keep a skeptical mind about people coming out of the woodwork with opportunities that seem too good to be true.

The next day, June 17, there is a full moon at 25 degrees of Sagittarius. Full moons are completing energy, and they are also excellent times for releasing. If the spring, and Jupiter retrograde, have brought up issues that you thought were long since resolved, this might be a good time to have a night in, treating yourself to some take-out and Netflix (and perhaps some journaling, too). Whatever helps you to let go, and know that you are walking on the right path, even when the journey curves unexpectedly.

Writing Prompt: What goals did you set for yourself at the beginning of this year? What have you achieved so far? What are you still working toward? What needs to be revised?

CAPRICORN

You’re comfortable with the serious side of life, Capricorn: with making a plan, with keeping a schedule, with committing. You understand how to finish things. But even for someone like you, having Saturn, the planet of time and responsibility, and Pluto, the ever-so-slow moving planet of transformation, rock and roll and retrograde through your house of self and identity, over and over and over, can be tiresome. Are we there yet?

No, unfortunately. Your relationship to yourself — how you conceive of yourself (how you conceive of yourself as a writer, how you write about yourself) — is shifting, dramatically, with these planets hanging out there. They are digging and planting and harvesting and sifting again, a farmer with a plow. There is fruit on the other end, if you work with this and really lean into experiences you’re having and the lessons you’re learning. You might not write about them right away. This might be one of those “five years from now” essays. Be present in your body, be present with what you’re feeling, and (for once) don’t try to take the clay that’s molding you and form it into art too soon.

Of course, you’ve still got irons in the fire and creative energy to spare. Use the new moon in Taurus on May 4 to set intentions around your new ideas and projects this spring. Taurus energy feels more playful and heady, more sensual and grounded, and this part of the spring will be a particularly fruitful time for you.

Writing Prompt: Make a list of those “five years from now” stories and essays that you know you’ve got in you, that you can feel yourself working toward. And now: what feels doable now? Make that list, too.

AQUARIUS

For you, Aquarius, spring is literally about new ideas and writing a new essay or a new story. Aries season, ushered in by the vernal equinox, lights up your house of communication and short term projects, inspiring you to take action and get shit done with those projects that have been, perhaps, on the back burner this winter. Mark your calendar for the Aries new moon on April 5, an auspicious day when the juices will be flowing: an ideal day to get a new project off the ground.

Even if projects have been a little slow to pick up speed this winter, you’ve definitely been meeting a lot of people and making exciting connections — or at least, have had the opportunity to do so. Jupiter, the planet of luck and expansion, has been blowing through your house of friendship, social consciousness, and the internet — a big ol’ party-hardy tumbleweed. Look who I want to introduce you to! It’s on you, of course, to actually pick up what Jupiter throws down — to make that coffee or drinks date, to DM that person, to follow up — but if a few folks have floated in and out of your orbit, you’re about to get the chance to get a do-over. Jupiter goes retrograde this April, offering you an opportunity to reconnect and redo. Who has popped up who you missed the first time around? Who have you been too intimidated to reach out to? Now’s the time, Aquarius. (And if you’re going to AWP, all the better: don’t let them pass you by!)

Meanwhile, Saturn, the planet of responsibility, and Pluto, the planet of transformation, are sifting through your house of rest, spirituality, and unconsciousness. Not the most comfortable place for these heavyweights to hang out, you know? If you haven’t, spring is an ideal time to get into therapy, book a reiki session, or schedule that mini personal retreat. At the very least, start blocking out intentional alone time for yourself.

Writing Prompt: Something else that comes up during a Jupiter retrograde in your house of, umm, the internet? Your online presence. Time for a quick reevaluation of your Twitter brand, of the platforms you’re using, of your website. How is your online presence serving you? Is it working for you, or against you?

PISCES

Pisces energy carries us out of the last recesses of winter and into the heady dawn of spring. Fresh off your birthday season, you go into Aries more energized than most, renewed in your self and identity and ready to translate that personal rejuvenation into value, both internal and external. Aries season brings multiple planets — the sun, Mercury, and Venus — into this part of your life and chart, which for you is about understanding how you value yourself and how that extends into material value in your life. Mercury, the planet of ideas and communication, inspires you to imagine new paths for revenue streams, while Venus, the planet of love and value, asks you to both ask for what you’re worth and intrinsically know your worth.

We live in a white supremacist, heteronormative, patriarchal capitalist society, where the monetary value of creativity and ideas are ever shifting, and the very idea of attaching money to art and people can be problematic at the best of times. But this spring, the energy in the air is pushing you to take the steps to ensure that you and yours are provided for, to the best of your ability, and that that provision comes from a place of self-assurance and self-worth.

This energy carries you through the entire spring, into Taurus season, where those seeds of value you planted in Aries time are nurtured into literal manifestations of new projects: new stories, new essays, new newsletters, perhaps even new a new job in writing and communications. Who knows? The energy is yours to work with (or not): ultimately, you are the arbiter of your own life.

Writing Prompt: There is a new moon in Taurus on May 4, a moon that will provide excellent energy for starting a new story, essay, or other project. So your prompt is this: begin at the beginning.