This month we have a new contributor to Planetary Diary. Have a look what Bernie's take on the planets are for April 2007.

Hello, this month we celebrate a new astrological year. On 22 March the Sun entered Aries at 0h59'16" where, in the Southern Hemisphere, it is the heralding of autumn. This is a time where we all feel the need to bunker down, start changing our diets to include more warming foods and even have a few days fasting during the change of season.

At least let us have a day or two of vegetable soups and no meat fish or egg that would result in a fair cleanse to herald the new astrological year. Add leeks and onions to the soup as well as some peppers and a chilli or two, as all these foods are fall under Aries's rulership.

Mercury has been direct in Pisces since the 18th March until the 11th April when it enters Aries at 0deg3'5".

The picture that I have for Mercury in Aries is a very good communicator, chatty and up to date with all the latest news! On the 11th of April, Mercury is sextile Venus at 28'48" Taurus, where he is in dignity. So can you just imagine the beautiful words and ease of communication that will abound? We need to watch the smooth talkers though, as Mercury the trickster may well be in full fettle on that day.

On the 2nd of April we have a partile square from Venus in Taurus to Saturn retrograde in Leo. Now, that could mean that we will be more deliberate and feel less confident in the matters of beauty, love and our own values. It could also mean that we will be modest about our creativity, or for those who are creative, this will be a good time to use this energy to plan and conceptualise your next project.

On the 7th April 2007 Mars enters Pisces and is then known to be in fall. I wonder if this will indicate a lack of energy and general lassitude, or if the energies will "miss the target"?

This may well be a good time for introspection and meditation, and as this falls during the Easter weekend most people will be on holiday, so it could be a slow weekend. At the same time that Mars the ruler of Aries is in fall, the Moon is square Mars and Mars is square Venus, so emotions run high and many people will feel vulnerable.

Just to top that, Jupiter in Sagittarius goes retrograde on the 5th April at 19deg46'7 (this happens approximately 4 months of the year). But it appears that when Jupiter is retrograde, the opportunities available for us to grab may require a bit more coaxing and more effort to help manifest.

On the 8th of April the Moon is squaring Uranus in Pisces, so there could be quite a few emotional upsets taking place during this time. We could harness this energy and make arrangements for some unconventional ways of dealing with our feelings, such as hypnotherapy or hydrotherapy.

On the 10th of April we have a beautiful grand trine in Fire, Jupiter retrograde, in Sagittarius, in dignity, Saturn in Leo, and Sun in Aries. It looks like things may well brighten up around us and that we should "seize the day" - using the pioneering archetype of the Aries Sun, harnessing the philosophical wounded healer of the Sagittarian myth (Jupiter) and encompassing the disciplined energy of the Saturn in Leo. I think that we could all make a commitment to spend more time on becoming responsible [Saturn], introspective [Saturn] and spend time [Saturn] on more philosophical pursuits [Jupiter] in an endeavour for personal growth [Jupiter], in a revolutionary way [Sun in Aries]. Well, there are a whole lot of holidays here in South Africa in April, so the planets may well lend us the energy to enjoy these holidays. If we can harness a bit of Saturnine restraint and honour the Jupiter retrograde we may well drive slower, and not indulge ourselves too much!

With Moon in Scorpio partile square Neptune in Aquarius on 6 April, we can acknowledge the religious fervour that Christian believers will experience as they observe their holy day. It may well be a highly emotive time for many people all around the world. We can only hope that this is not a time for high drama, in the area of spiritual beliefs and religions.

Venus moves out of Taurus and into Gemini on the 13th April, so she is will no longer be in dignity as she was when in Taurus.

With Pluto [in Sagittarius 28deg] partile trine the Sun in Aries 28deg on the 19th April, we can hope for great transformation to take place in the areas of philosophy and religions.