I’m in Washington, and it’s spring. I haven’t visited the mall, but I’ve seen cherry trees everywhere else. They float alongside the traffic lights and the fuming cars, looking like scraps of old Japanese paintings. Day by day, I’ve watched them fill out until they seem ready to burst and release all the sunlight they hold.

There are some on my dad’s street. And yesterday, I passed some on my way to the storage unit, where I stashed all the junk I’ve been keeping in my dad’s basement. The storage facility is close to his new, streamlined, one-level, retirement-community apartment. He’ll be strolling among the flowering trees, and then the lilacs and lilies of summer, as he approaches his 90th birthday. When next winter comes, he can mosey down the hall to visit the exercise room, or strike up political arguments with the people in the lounge.

Things are going well, although my dad is currently living among piles of cardboard boxes. It’s been a month of choices for him. I’ve spent the whole of March handing him objects and asking, “Take it with you, or give it away?” He’s done a beautiful job paring down, releasing the clutter. Having moved many times, I know how hard that can be. Every time you let go of an object, you let go of the self that was formerly convinced it needed that object.

This is a time of movement for the world, stimulated by the new moon stellium in Aries. The new moon in late March sets the tone for April, and it’s all about taking the initiative and getting things done. Aries can give a sharp, uncompromising tone. It wasn’t surprising to hear President Obama demand that General Motors and Chrysler ditch their restructuring plan and try again. He needs to affirm that he’s in charge, that he’s getting something back for all the money that the public is spending.

And now he’s off to Europe, to attend the G-20 Summit in London. Will that Aries momentum carry Obama – and the other leaders attending – into new ground? Or will all the activist energy come from the demonstrators outside?

Even with the spirited fiery energy of Aries, there could be some roadblocks in the beginning of April. This is because there’s an opposition between Mars and Saturn early in the month, and this slows everything down. Mars is in Pisces, so it’s all about intuitive, fluid action, and Saturn is in more practical and (dare I say?) anal Virgo. So there’s a lot of skepticism, negative thinking, weighing and measuring, especially when it comes to financial strategies. Are they working? Are they not working? Will they ever work? Who the hell knows?

The global economy is like this gigantic whale. In your heart, you know it’s harmless. Whales only eat plankton, and the economy is just a symbol system, representing one part of our social web of connection. But have you ever tried to herd a whale? That’s what everybody is trying to do, especially as April begins. Saturn in Virgo is like a little anxious barking dog, standing on a small raft and trying to get that whale to go in the approved direction. Maybe it will happen, but it’s anybody’s guess whether the barking did the trick or not.

So should we just flow with it, and hope it all works out for the best? It’s almost impossible to do that, with all this Aries energy. Aries is all about making a mark on things, getting something done. Obama, with his fiery sun, really wants to be the hero and to save the day, but this is definitely a frustrating time for him.

President Obama’s aspects are not particularly favorable all through April, and this could mean that some of his golden light disperses. Of course, there are a lot of people out there who are still petrified by his middle name, and are looking for the right sound-bite to destroy him. I’m not saying that will happen in April, but damage could definitely be inflicted. Uranus opposing his Mars is prone to accidents, conflicts and confrontations.

Obama will feel the pressure, fear, and anger from all sides, and the left will be as problematic as the right. The labor community may get into the streets, making the point that the government needs to focus on the workers, not the institutions.

The energy shifts with the full moon on April 9. Some of the blocks disappear, but the energy becomes choppier and more unstable, as Mars approaches the planet of change and rebellion, Uranus. This will be exact on April 14, so the middle of the month looks pretty fierce. If you go back to our whale/dog metaphor, this is the point where the lightning forks, the waves grow to a hundred feet high, and the little dog gives a yelp and falls off its raft. Meanwhile, the whale gets picked up by a wave and deposited on top of somebody’s yacht.

So will there be a revolution in April? Mid-April is the time when the cries for justice ring the loudest. It’s also the time when people are most extreme, most likely to do reckless things. Everyone needs to watch for accidents, particularly people who have planets around 24 degrees of mutable signs (Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius and Pisces).

Then on April 22, Mars enters Aries. It’s as if that big, bumbling but harmless whale suddenly turned into a tiger. The energy is sharper, stronger, more focused, more powerful. The economy is not just a symbol system. It’s not magic, it’s not blind faith. It’s a tool, and the question is: whose tool is it? It will show its teeth as April comes to an end. And as Mars squares Pluto late in the month, the inner workings become visible. We will get an x-ray view of the power elite, as they maneuver in this time of real shifts.

Symbolically, the cherry tree is about the transience of life. These lush blossoms are heartbreakingly ethereal, and all we can do is breathe them in to the fullest. Some of us, like my dad, are making an absolute break with the past. We are all making choices, though. Our revolutionary fervor will be evident in April, but are we brave enough for true change?

Index of Jenny Yates' Writings on Lesbian.com