New Moon in Taurus, Mars Faces Pluto, Saturn Judges, & the Shepherd Falls! Collective Horoscope (April 21st-27th)

Dear NightFall Astrology readers,

The stars don’t weep, but they remember. And this week, they remember Rome—and more.

On April 21st, 2025, as the city of Rome marked its mythic birth, Pope Francis died. The same day, the sky drew a rare fixed-sign T-square, the kind that doesn’t whisper but indicts. The Moon conjoined Pluto in Aquarius, Mars stood in opposition from Leo, and the Sun in Taurus held the apex like a verdict.

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But the sky’s tale did not end there. Days later, under the weight of this alignment, the New Moon in Taurus arrives on April 27th, forming the very cornerstone of this week’s reckoning. In the sign of foundation, wealth, and endurance, it signals the sober beginning of something that must be built carefully—or not at all. Taurus is fixed Earth, and Earth cannot pretend.

Add to this the rare conjunction of Venus, Saturn, and the North Node in Pisces, and the heliacal rising of Saturn himself, and we are not just in a week of consequence—we are at the gate of a new order.

This is not a time for spectacle. It is a time for judgment, construction, and choosing what lasts. Let us read the stars not as causes, but as reflections of what is unfolding—both here below, and far above.

I. Venus, Saturn, & the North Node: A Triple Conjunction in Pisces

April 17–29 | Exact Venus-Saturn on April 24:

Venus is exalted in Pisces. She seeks not romance, but redemption. She yearns for the beautiful and the sacred, often confusing the two. Yet now she is tightly bound to Saturn, the great restrictor, and conjoined with the North Node, which devours all it touches.

This triple conjunction is no garden stroll. It is the grief of the faithful, the gravity of choices made in the name of mercy, and the cost of ideals that were never grounded.

Venus and Saturn together suggest love laced with duty, beauty constrained by doctrine. The presence of the North Node magnifies this imbalance. The signs point to institutional values being rewritten in real time: art, diplomacy, relationships, and religious conduct are under review. This is not romantic exaltation; it is devotional endurance. It is the discipline to love what does not reward you, to commit where the glamour has faded.

In Pisces, all forms melt—and Saturn hates melting. But here he must swim, not walk. He must rule over rituals that no longer work and systems that cannot be restored. The result?
A reckoning over what is true love, and what is sentimentality masquerading as virtue.

The exalted Venus may wish to dissolve into divine compassion, but Saturn holds her hand steady. The North Node, like a vacuum, pulls both toward exaggeration. This week reveals the price of misplaced softness, whether in diplomacy, theology, or personal relationships. There is a call to mature: to choose clarity over indulgence, and sacrifice over performance.

Valens described the 27th degree of Pisces, where Saturn becomes visible on April 25, as a bound ruled by Mars: “active, naval warriors, bold guides, attaining success in mystic lore, plundering but then restoring, varied, not dying a natural death.” Saturn emerges from the beams of the Sun and becomes visible again—a phenomenon ancient astrologers saw as the return of authority. In Pisces, that authority wears the robes of humility. But the degree tells a different story.

This is not a passive Saturn. This is Mars-bound Saturn: ruthless, secretive, and spiritually fierce. He is no longer hidden. He will demand accounts.

This is a Mars that fights not with the sword but with command, with sacred restraint. Those who lead now must be warriors, not wanderers. Not every battle is public. Not every restoration is gentle. This conjunction does not merely signal consequences—it holds the door open to redemption through responsibility and love that requires backbone.

This is a poetic, if brutal, image: the old man with the scythe, rising from the sea mist to declare who stands and who falls. Saturn emerging here signals a reassertion of sober responsibility, especially among those claiming moral or spiritual authority.

We may see the rise of more austere figures—less charming, more doctrinal—emerging in religious or legal contexts. The funeral pageantry won’t matter as much as the question of what replaces what has died.

This conjunction will be most significant for Pisces, Sagittarius, Gemini, and Virgo placements.

II. The Sun in Taurus Squares Pluto in Aquarius:

April 21–25 | Exact April 23:

This square is the bulwark of the old against the machinery of the new. The Sun in Taurus upholds continuity, the sacred right to inheritance, and the security of what is tangible: land, laws, gold, grain, the bloodline. Pluto in Aquarius, on the other hand, questions the very premise of permanence. It dissolves centralisation and whispers the gospel of decentralised power, data sovereignty, digital identity, and ideological consensus.

When these two meet in tension, leadership is tested through transparency, and transparency—let’s be honest—is the executioner of legacy. What cannot stand open scrutiny is unlikely to stand at all. The square reflects a loss of public patience with silent authority. Titles are no longer enough. Deeds are demanded. Proof is king.

The symbolism is naked in the death of Pope Francis. This isn’t just the end of a man—it is the end of a style, one that sought to comfort rather than command. A papacy that interpreted mercy as a PR campaign now closes under the eye of Pluto, whose only agenda is disclosure. Taurus preserves tradition; Pluto unmasks what tradition has protected.

On a broader level, this square signals a collective reckoning with material legitimacy: Who truly owns what? Who deserves the right to rule, to possess, to influence? It reflects the tension between the entrenched holders of wealth and the impersonal, technocratic systems rising to unseat them. Bureaucracy turns into algorithm; crowns become logos. The square shows us how the old guard is being audited, and not all inheritances will survive the check.

In personal terms, this week reveals where you are clinging to old power structures—be they financial, relational, or ideological—that no longer serve you. Ask yourself: Is this tradition, or just habit? Is this honour, or simply inertia?

Pluto doesn’t negotiate. It exposes. And it just did.

This square will be most potent for Aquarius, Taurus, Leo, and Scorpio placements.

III. Mars in Leo Opposing Pluto in Aquarius:

April 21–30 | Exact April 26:

This is the final confrontation in a three-part drama that began in November 2024, continued in January 2025, and ends now.

• November: Mars at 29° Cancer opposed Pluto at 29° Capricorn—an anaretic crisis of dying orders.
• January: Mars retrograde at 0–1° Leo opposed Pluto freshly in Aquarius—ideological rebellion meets personal chaos.
• Now: Mars direct in Leo stands his ground. There will be no retreat.

This signals personal sovereignty battling systemic control. Creative integrity against collectivist dogma. The individual against the mob, the king against the algorithm. And it isn’t theoretical—it’s visceral, public, and loud. Mars in Leo wants to declare, perform, protect. Pluto in Aquarius cares little for expression and even less for pride. It dismantles through indifference, not drama.

This third opposition is the showdown—the moment when the curtain either rises or drops. You’ll know it by its refusal to compromise. There is no negotiation between a solar will and a subterranean force. One seeks honour; the other insists on revelation.

We’re looking at outbursts in public life, confrontations with authority, and bold moves that test loyalty, leadership, and legacy. Some will take their stand and be remembered. Others will fall—dramatically, humiliatingly—but also truthfully.

The transit reflects both creative courage and self-destruction. For those clinging to power, it’s a crisis. For those who’ve already burned, it’s resurrection. This is the astrology of heroic defiance, tragic pride, and myth-making decisions. And it echoes in every figure who refuses to be domesticated by consensus.

The Pope, once again, becomes the symbol. The Leonine papal figure bows out under the watch of a Plutonian eye. But this isn’t just biography—it’s archetype. He leaves behind a question, not a doctrine: what is the worth of mercy without truth?

History writes its own epitaphs. But Mars delivers them in gold leaf or blood—depending on who stood tall, and who hid.

This opposition will be most significant for Leo, Scorpio, Taurus, and Aquarius placements.

IV. T-Square on April 21: The Day the Shepherd Died

As Pope Francis died, the sky arranged a rare and sharp-edged T-square:

• Moon conjunct Pluto in Aquarius
• Opposed Mars in Leo
• Sun in Taurus at the apex

A fixed-sign T-square of this kind reflects inescapable judgment, crisis in leadership, and death that reverberates into systemic change. It is the celestial version of a conclave, with no cardinals required—a sky-chosen council demanding accountability from figureheads both sacred and secular.

This isn’t just astrological poetry—it’s political gravitas cloaked in stellar geometry. The Moon, emotional and reflective, clutches Pluto’s relentless appetite for truth in Aquarius: a sign that values systems over sentiment. Opposite, Mars roars from Leo, charging with ego, heat, and visible will. The Sun in Taurus, practical and immovable, forms the fixed apex: a test of endurance, not flair.

Together, this configuration signals that moral ambiguity has reached its breaking point. The Pope’s death marks the close of a chapter that tried to spiritualise compromise. His legacy—praised by some as compassionate, criticised by others as doctrinally hollow—now becomes a mirror for all institutions that tried to please both Caesar and God.

This T-square also represents the compression of choice: when there is no exit but through action. The Sun in Taurus, steady and unyielding, becomes the fulcrum between martial defiance and Plutonian excavation. It suggests a turning point where either one defends what is real, or loses everything in the name of appeasement.

Expect this energy to ripple far beyond Vatican walls. Political leaders, CEOs, cultural icons—those who’ve coasted on charisma or curated softness—now face their trial. There is no room left for double-speak or spiritual posturing. Only what is rooted will stand.

And what is not rooted? That will be burned, revealed, or simply ignored by a world no longer willing to believe without proof.

V. New Moon in Taurus:

On April 27, 2025 at 9:31 PM (CET), a New Moon rises at 7° Taurus, a sign of earthy solidity, ruled by Venus and steeped in practicality. New Moons mark beginnings, but this one is laced with tension. You may feel pushed, pulled, or outright manipulated—pressured into decisions under the guise of stability.

The Moon and Sun conjoin in the first decan of Taurus, a zone ruled by Mercury, bringing a cerebral undercurrent to an otherwise earthy lunation. This decan is where the mind must reckon with material concerns—decisions that involve logic, calculation, and often quiet worry. Mercury’s rulership here doesn’t signal fast thinking, but thorough thinking. It’s the decan of those who plan slowly, speak cautiously, and make decisions not from inspiration, but from necessity. This New Moon isn’t about chasing a dream. It’s about securing a foundation under pressure—measured, deliberate, and informed by both fear and foresight. The question isn’t what do you want?—it’s what can you realistically sustain?

{ If you’d like to know where and how this New Moon is showing up in your own chart and life,
order your personal “New Moon in Taurus” forecast HERE! }

Overlaying this is a T-square involving Mars in Leo, Pluto in Aquarius, and the New Moon in Taurus. Mars opposes Pluto—conflict versus manipulation, bold action versus covert agendas. And this tension squares the lunation, placing the New Moon in the hot seat. You may be trying to start something grounded, but it feels like you’re dodging power plays on all sides.

Venus, ruler of this New Moon, is exalted in Pisces and conjunct Saturn. This brings a dignified, sober, and deeply mature tone to the entire configuration. Even if your intentions are soft, your execution must be firm. Venus–Saturn whispers: commit not to what glitters, but to what endures.

There’s a sense here that you’re not entirely in control of the circumstances. This is a New Moon for sober beginnings. For doing what’s right, not flashy. Not popular. But steady, rooted, and real. So the question is: What are you building that will still matter five years from now, no matter who tries to steer it off course?

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This New Moon will be felt most intensely by Taurus, Leo, Scorpio, and Aquarius placements, particularly if you have planets and/or important chart points around 7 degrees of these signs (give or take 1-5 degrees).

What the Stars Suggest This Week:

• Expect institutional announcements, especially from religious, cultural, or financial bodies attempting to stabilise their narratives amid shifting ground.
• Old alliances fracture, particularly those held together by sentiment rather than shared conviction.
• Efforts to begin anew will demand personal sovereignty and measured logic, not reaction or bravado.
• Individuals and institutions alike will be judged not on intent, but on structure: What have you built that holds?
• This New Moon in Taurus insists on practical re-founding—but within a landscape charged by power plays and ideological shadows.
• This week is not gentle. Nor should it be. It signals a correction. And correction, in ancient thought, is an act of mercy, stern, necessary, and ultimately redemptive.

A Pope dies. A planet rises. A square tightens. A warrior stands his ground. If you were waiting for the world to return to softness, to nuance, to the soothing fog of grey areas, this week suggests otherwise. We are in the age of consequence, and the stars are no longer subtle. What survives now will not be what is fashionable, but what is fortified.

The shepherd is gone. The stars are watching. “Fiat voluntas tua.”Let Thy will be done.

Thank you for reading. Let me know your thoughts about this week’s astrological weather in the comments down below!

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Your Astrologer – Theodora NightFall ~

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