DR. G’s FLUTE HOROSCOPES April 2022
by Rachel Taylor Geier
Happy April! As Spring begins to bloom, the Universe is poised to melt the remaining proverbial snow covering so much drama. This month is all about coming to terms with the difficulties in your life. It won’t be easy. In some cases, it won’t be pretty. But, as the saying goes, the truth will set you free. A Full Moon begins this time of reflection, asking you to end circumstances that no longer have a place in your life. A Solar Eclipse on April 20th will demand that you finally put your happiness and creativity before all other competing priorities in your life. Finally, the month ends with a dreaded Mercury retrograde, encouraging you to reflect and reimagine your world. Think bigger. Think better. Overhaul your flute life so it brings in more peace and prosperity than ever before.
Aries (March 21-April 19) HAPPY BIRTHDAY!
April 3rd – Mercury moves into your 2nd house of income. This is a great time to ask for a raise at your current position or to absolutely crush it at an audition or interview. Mercury will help you make a case for yourself and your unique gifts as a flutist. Rock it!
April 6th – A Full Moon appears in your 7th house of relationships. A toxic relationship in your life will need to be addressed, or possibly even abandoned, around the time of this Full Moon. Is there a colleague that makes you feel bad about your flute playing (as if it is never enough)? Meet up for coffee and talk things out or, if not possible or practical, shake it off and spend your time with other supportive colleagues.
April 11th – Venus moves into your 3rd house of communications. Write about what you love when Venus moves signs. Do you have a flute blog yet? This is the perfect time to start one. Write about a piece or composer that you really enjoy. What inspires you and why? Share it with the internet!
April 20th – A Solar Eclipse appears in your 1st house of identity. In the movie, Legally Blonde, there is a scene where the main character, Elle Woods, after being told by her cringy ex-boyfriend that she is “just not smart enough, sweety,” marches out of a house party saying, “I’ll show you how valuable Elle Woods can be!” Take a page out of Elle Woods’ book this month and show the world how valuable you, and your flute playing, can be. Reinvent whatever is tired and old. Rethink your sound. Is there an artist whose sound speaks to you? Take a deep dive into new music with creative extended techniques. Think outside the box.
April 20th – The Sun moves into your 2nd house of income. Your focus will shift onto your job when the Sun moves signs. This is a great time to pursue a challenging new position. Is there a local orchestra you always wanted to perform with? Contact the conductor to inquire about the sub list. Get your foot in the door however you can.
April 21st – Mercury goes retrograde in your 2nd house of income. Try to remain as flexible at work as possible when Mercury goes retrograde. You may find your students canceling their lessons on very short notice, or that gigs are rescheduled out of the blue. Whatever you do, try to keep that Aries temper in check and roll with whatever the Universe throws at you. It will get easier next month when Mercury goes direct.
Taurus (April 20-May 20)
April 3rd – Mercury moves into your 1st house of identity. Use this energy to ask for exactly what you want and need, regardless if it creates inconveniences for others. I know that seems a bit selfish, but Mercury is asking you this month to put your needs (flute or otherwise) first. If you need more time to practice, tell others you are unavailable during specific time blocks during the day. If you need more students, start marketing to middle school and high school band programs.
April 6th – A Full Moon appears in your 6th house of daily work and health routines. Something in your daily schedule is just not working for you anymore. Are you on a committee or board that drains you rather than creates valuable opportunities to collaborate with others? It is totally okay to shift your focus elsewhere. Say no to responsibilities that no longer serve you and hello to those that make you feel like a fierce creative genius.
April 11th – Venus moves into your 2nd house of income. Venus will help you ask for a pay bump. Are you being paid what you are worth? Have you recently taken on a lot of extra work for little in return? Make a case to the ones holding the purse strings. If you are self-employed, consider raising your rates. Yes, you want to be competitive, but you also want to earn what you are worth. Reexamine your market value!
April 20th – A Solar Eclipse appears in your 12th house of behind-the-scenes activities. You may need to reschedule a recital around the time of this Solar Eclipse. Be a bit honest with yourself as you prep for this performance – Are you truly ready or would postponing for a month or two give you adequate time to prepare all of your repertoire?
April 20th – The Sun moves into your 1st house of identity. Makeover time! This might mean a makeover for your flute playing (how would you like to change your sound, articulation, recital music), your flute (in the market for a new instrument?), or even your entire approach to music. What do you valuable about being a flutist? Is it teaching a younger generation? Is it performing? Do more of what you love!
April 21st – Mercury goes retrograde in your 1st house of identity. Mercury will ask you to review and reflect on the things that matter most to you. How have you created your flute life until now? What have been your ambitions over the past few years and have you achieved them, or have you been distracted by other things? Take an inventory of your goals. Are they still as important as they used to be?
Gemini (May 21-June 20)
April 3rd – Mercury moves into your 12th house of behind-the-scenes activities. Do you have a flute blog, YouTube channel, Instagram, or Tic Tok account yet? This is a great time to share some of your best kept practice secrets. Or you might be inspired to post daily improvisations or excerpts from etudes you are working on. Mercury is asking you to be bold and fabulous!
April 6th – A Full Moon appears in your 5th house of creativity and joy. This Full Moon will draw your attention to your own sense of happiness and well-being. Are you happy right now or do you find yourself struggling just to get through the daily grind? How much time do you devote to self-care? The Full Moon wants you to practice self-care overdrive this month. Be good to yourself so you can be excellent to others.
April 11th – Venus moves into your 1st house of identity. Venus will encourage you to invest in yourself. Do you need a new flute? Start shopping! Do you need a new recital outfit? Try a few options on with a wide price range. Do you need new gear? Pop on over to your local (or not-so local) music store and see what the newest inventory is like.
April 20th – A Solar Eclipse appears in your 11th house of groups and communities. The Solar Eclipse will ask you some tough questions about your role in your current ensembles. Are you wearing yourself out jumping from one rehearsal to the next? Are you subbing for too many groups in addition to your regular commitments? You may need to pare down the number of groups you perform with. Can you skip a concert cycle here or there?
April 20th – The Sun moves into your 12th house of behind-the-scenes activities. Your attention will shift back onto the practice room when the Sun moves signs. Practice literally of the things during this time. Find those scary etudes you swore you would never touch again. Practice that challenging piece that you watched your flute idol absolutely crush. If you like it, make a plan to perform it. If you don’t, move on to the next piece.
April 21st – Mercury goes retrograde in your 12th house of behind-the-scenes activities. Mercury will ask you to reconsider how you practice. Change up your routine! If you are a morning scale-driller, switch to sun-sunset sight reading sessions. Program more frequent, yet shorter, mini sessions. Change where you practice – You might be surprised by the way your sound reverberates in the garage or attic space.
Cancer (June 21-July 22)
April 3rd – Mercury moves into your 11th house of groups and communities. This is a great time to host a sectional or masterclass. Listen carefully to the suggestions made by others. Your way may not be the best way, Cancer. Keep an open mind as you work on tricky passages or difficult intonation. Patience is the name of the game at the beginning of the month.
April 6th – A Full Moon appears in your 4th house of home and family. Something in your home environment is about to change. Perhaps you will be moving to a new house or relocating your primary teaching space to your home studio. Make sure your family is on board with these changes. How will your studio impact their day-to-day schedule planning? What is the win-win situation for them in this scenario?
April 11th – Venus moves into your 12th house of behind-the-scenes activities. Venus will ask you to practice some old favorites this month. What pieces do you love to play no matter what? Are there pieces that hold really important memories for you? Is there a piece that always makes you sound fierce and your tone sound ethereal? Play it out! You might even find some new magic in it.
April 20th – A Solar Eclipse appears in your 10th house of career goals. This Solar Eclipse will ask you some tough yet honest questions about your flute career. This is a great come-to-reality moment. You can’t keep trying to fit a square peg in a round hole. Are you trying to make your way into an orchestra and just finding yourself disappointed and miserable? Do you keep scheduling recitals but playing to empty auditoriums? More importantly, are you happy with what you are doing, or does it make you sad? Whatever is not working will be canceled from your life during this transit to make way for bigger and better things in the future!
April 20th – The Sun moves into your 11th house of groups and communities. Your focus will shift onto performing groups when the Sun changes signs. This is a great time to hit the audition circuits, even if just locally. Audition for sub placements. Consider starting up your own chamber group. Wedding season is just around the corner. Prep up a demo recording for potential customers.
April 21st – Mercury goes retrograde in your 11th house of groups and communities. Be as patient with your colleagues as you can during this retrograde. You may find it difficult to collaborate in sectionals or smaller group rehearsals. Folks are not hearing each other clearly and egos may be getting in the way of making music. Keep convos short, sweet, and to the point. Be flexible and understanding.
Leo (July 23-August 22)
April 3rd – Mercury moves into your 10th house of career goals. Mercury will ask you to sit down with a trusted mentor or colleague to discuss your career goals. Are you on the right path or have your interests changed? Do you have an idea of an exciting new direction but are scared of doing things a bit outside of the flute playing box? Are you tired of trying to fit into a magical job formula that just isn’t suited to you? Discuss your options moving forward.
April 6th – A Full Moon appears in your 3rd house of communications. Are you working on a book, blog series, or article? Finding yourself a bit stuck? Experiencing writer’s block? This Full Moon will ask you to take a step back and do some serious proofreading. Where can you streamline your ideas? Remember: Sometimes less is more!
April 11th – Venus moves into your 11th house of groups and communities. Venus will have you genuinely enjoying the time you spend in rehearsals. Find the joy in just creating beautiful music with the talented musicians around you. Leave that pesky perfectionism at home and stay in the moment. You might find that your playing retains a bit more sparkle when the pressure to play everything “right” is taken off your plate.
April 20th – A Solar Eclipse appears in your 9th house of travel and higher education. You may discover that an important trip, or series of trips, has been postponed or canceled around the time of this Solar Eclipse. Try to remain calm – There was likely something that just did not work about this trip given your current docket of performing responsibilities. Try to envision a bigger and better trip in the future.
April 20th – The Sun moves into your 10th house of career goals. Your attention will shift onto your career when the Sun changes signs. Take this time to write down all of your short-term and long-term goals. Where would you like to be in the next year? Playing in a different orchestra? Teaching more students? Performing at the NFA? What about the next 5 years? 10-years? Create an action plan.
April 21st – Mercury goes retrograde in your 10th house of career goals. This is a great time to look back at your flute career. Create a scrapbook of some of your favorite memories. Frame pictures from your most important performances. Finally display that music diploma that you worked hard to achieve. Revise your bio – You might be leaving out some key information about interesting accomplishments in your career.
Virgo (August 23-September 22)
April 3rd – Mercury moves into your 9th house of travel and higher education. Mercury will ask you to start planning your summer masterclass schedule. What masterclasses are you planning to audition for or teach at? What repertoire will you be focusing on? What aspects of your flute playing are you hoping to work on this summer? Create an itinerary and start planning your adventures.
April 6th – A Full Moon appears in your 2nd house of income. This Full Moon will ask you some tough questions about your current job. Are you happy? Are you fulfilled? Are you challenged? You may be stuck in a rut right now. Not to worry – Ruts are an indication that you are ready for the next chapter in your job. Start perusing new opportunities that will utilize your flute playing skills in new and interesting ways.
April 11th – Venus moves into your 10th house of career goals. Venus wants you to be happy in your career. Your flute career does not need to look the same as your previous flute teacher’s career or even your closest flute colleague’s career. You don’t need to follow the magic formula of teaching + playing in an orchestra + performing solos = flute career. Dare to pursue something new and exciting. Your flute career is whatever you want to make it! There is no one-size-fits-all.
April 20th – A Solar Eclipse appears in your 8th house of banking and finance. This Eclipse may inspire you to invest in something very important (a new flute perhaps). You might have been playing on the same instrument for years and even decades. It is time to make a major upgrade! Start creating a budget and brainstorming a practical savings plan.
April 20th – The Sun moves into your 9th house of travel and higher education. Your head will be in the clouds dreaming of your next adventure when the Sun moves signs. Where are you planning to go this summer? Is there a great masterclass that you interested in performing at? Apply and start putting together your dream itinerary.
April 21st – Mercury goes retrograde in your 9th house of travel and higher education. Try to remain calm if travel plans are delayed or even canceled. Mercury likes to create chaos on what otherwise would be perfectly planned adventures. Remain flexible. Can you plan a bigger, even better, trip for a future date?
Libra (September 23-October 22)
April 3rd – Mercury moves into your 8th house of banking and finance. Sit down with your local banking institution or financial advisor when Mercury moves signs. You may be working on your taxes and have a lot of random expenses that need to be organized in a way that will maximize any refund that is otherwise owed to you. Save everything and document all of the income you took in from various sources during the previous tax year.
April 6th – A Full Moon appears in your 1st house of identity. You are bored with your flute life, Libra. Time to change it up! Great artists are always reinventing themselves – How can you reinvent yourself as a flute player? Perhaps you are in need of a career shift (ex. move away from teaching to focus more on performing). Or maybe you just need a better advertising team or social media structure. Start thinking bigger and better.
April 11th – Venus moves into your 9th house of travel and higher education. What new ideas would you most like to learn about it? Would you like to take a foreign language class to better understand all the wacky Latin phrases we see in our scores? Or are you interested in taking a history class to connect what might have been happening in the world during the time some of our symphonic masterpieces were composed? Take the first steps and sign up!
April 20th – A Solar Eclipse appears in your 7th house of relationships. This Solar Eclipse will demand that you remove toxic people from your life. Haters be gone! You are officially done with negativity and competition. You really just want the flute world to get along. Take the first step to make that happen. Connect with positive-minded flutists and share ideas. Remove any toxic relationships that otherwise drain your motivation.
April 20th – The Sun moves into your 8th house of banking and finance. This Sun will shift your focus onto your finances at the end of the month. Chances are, you might have found some money owed to you. Put it to good use! Want to invest in a new gadget or add-on to your instrument. Go for it! But remember to stay practical and shop around first. Don’t spend all your money in one place!
April 21st – Mercury goes retrograde in your 8th house of banking and finance. Watch your bank accounts when Mercury goes retrograde. Keep track of any incoming deposits and outgoing expenses. Mercury likes to mess around with identity fraud and random charges to keep you on your toes. Set a daily reminder to check your balances.
Scorpio (October 23-November 21)
April 3rd – Mercury moves into your 7th house of relationships. Network. Network. Network. And then network some more. And I’m not just talking about online, behind your computer, in your cozy Scorpio cave. Get out and connect with your colleagues in person. Enjoy the Spring sunshine and meet up outside a local coffee shop. Discuss current projects and brainstorm creative ways to pool your talents on future endeavors.
April 6th – A Full Moon appears in your 12th house of behind-the-scenes activities. You may be working on a piece of music that has plagued you for quite some time. You’ve tried everything and yet something about this piece just doesn’t sit well under your fingers. Perhaps you are about to perform or record the piece and are psyching yourself out. Take a step back and practice it super slowly. You are likely over-thinking the tricky bits.
April 11th – Venus moves into your 8th house of banking and finance. Venus will help you attract some great new financial resources into your life. Perhaps you will invest in a creative new venture or start your own business. This is a great time to think about short-term loans or other resources to help fund the start-up of your new project. Think big but spend practically.
April 20th – A Solar Eclipse appears in your 6th house of daily work and health routines. This Solar Eclipse is about to completely change your daily schedule. You’ve been on a hamster wheel for a while now – One that spins out of control with no time to hop off and just chill in your cage. You don’t have to be everything to everyone. Cut down your schedule dramatically so you have more time for self-care and happiness.
April 20th – The Sun moves into your 7th house of relationships. You will likely make an important new friend when the Sun shifts signs. What makes this person interesting? What is their story and how does it relate to yours? How can you collaborate on projects or joint performances? Use the power of the internet to set up Zoom meetings.
April 21st – Mercury goes retrograde in your 7th house of relationships. Be very careful with your words when Mercury goes retrograde. You may find that others are not understanding where you are coming from, and you may say things that you don’t mean. Try to keep messages short, clear, and simple. Avoid overexplaining anything until Mercury goes direct next month.
Sagittarius (November 22-December 21)
April 3rd – Mercury moves into your 6th house of daily work and health routines. Schedule all of the meetings you need to schedule at the beginning of the month. Time-batch those pesky make-up lessons from Spring Break. Organize those project team meetings and set clear agendas. Sit down and discuss practice expectations with the parents of younger students if you sense a lapse in progress.
April 6th – A Full Moon appears in your 11th house of groups and communities. You may be saying goodbye to a performing group around the time of this Full Moon. Remember: It does not need to be forever. Perhaps the rehearsals do not quite jive with your already booked schedule or the performances conflict with another group. It is okay to seek a better balance and return to the group later.
April 11th – Venus moves into your 7th house of relationships. You will really enjoy spending time with trusted colleagues and friends when Venus moves signs. Organize a flute group get-together. Read through some fun flute choir repertoire. Play musical Bingo. Improvise. Just have fun sharing your gifts and good humor with others.
April 20th – A Solar Eclipse appears in your 5th house of creativity and joy. This Solar Eclipse will lead you on a journey towards happiness. It won’t be easy but, in the end, it will improve your life (and flute playing) tenfold! Take stock of the flute activities in your life. Which ones bring you joy? Which ones drain you? Which ones make you feel great, and which make you feel like a failure? Ditch or delegate anything that makes you feel bad about yourself. You deserve to be happy!
April 20th – The Sun moves into your 6th house of daily work and health routines. Your attention will shift back onto your newly reorganized schedule. Now is a great time to experiment with new ways of organizing your time. Remember: Nothing has to be set in stone. If your self-care routine ends up stressing you out, change it or abbreviate it. If delegating is difficult, find a coach. Keep an open mind.
April 21st – Mercury goes retrograde in your 6th house of daily work and health routines. You may find that meetings, rehearsals, and other activities are unexpectedly canceled during this retrograde. Brace yourself during this time by always having a plan B. Try to be as flexible as you can with your schedule and plan more time to get from Point A to Point B or even to transition from one task to the next.
Capricorn (December 22-January 19)
April 3rd – Mercury moves into your 5th house of creativity and joy. Have you been thinking about a really great creative project? A composition, perhaps? Or a performance in a really unique outdoor space? Start chatting with all of your various collaborators (publishers, accompanists, etc.). What do you need to kick-start your idea? What does a realistic project timeline look like?
April 6th – A Full Moon appears in your 10th house of career goals. Something in your career is just not working like it used to. Perhaps your interests have changed. Or maybe you have been pursuing something that isn’t quite right for you. Use the energy of the Full Moon to ask yourself these tough questions. Just because you set a goal in the past does not mean that you need to see it through now.
April 11th – Venus moves into your 6th house of daily work and health routines. Venus wants you to spend more time doing the things you enjoy and less time doing boring work stuff. Yes, we all have our daily grind and mountain of responsibilities, but Capricorns often find themselves buried in the caves with little time to enjoy the Sun. Save the caves for the weekdays and use your weekends to embrace life.
April 20th – A Solar Eclipse appears in your 4th house of home and family. This Solar Eclipse will ask you to make some dramatic changes to your living space. You may be moving during this time. Start looking at houses in your area. Are there options for a great home studio space that keep your flute business and your home life separate?
April 20th – The Sun moves into your 5th house of creativity and joy. Your focus will shift onto your creative project when the Sun moves signs. This is a great time to roll up your sleeves and get to work on your masterpiece. Just start working. Experiment with new ideas but be flexible enough with your work to abandon approaches that don’t work in favor of more streamlined processes.
April 21st – Mercury goes retrograde in your 5th house of creativity and joy. Now that you’ve made some great headway on your project, the Mercury retrograde will demand that you take a step back and revise your work. Streamline what can be streamlined. Rethink areas of your work that don’t seem to mesh with the project as a whole. Remove a movement here or a theme there to make a more impactful artistic statement.
Aquarius (January 20-February 18)
April 3rd – Mercury moves into your 4th house of home and family. Mercury will ask you host a family meeting at the beginning of the month. Brainstorm ways to get to summer vacay with the least amount of drama possible. You will all be busy, no doubt. What do performance, work, and other event calendars look like for the next few months? Are there schedule conflicts? Most importantly, where does everyone want to go on vacation this summer? Give your family something to look forward to.
April 6th – A Full Moon appears in your 9th house of travel and higher education. This Full Moon might create some travel delays or force you to postpone important trips. Try not to panic – There is a good reason that traveling is not working out. What can you instead do remotely? Can you move your travel to a more convenient time in the future? Try to remain as flexible as possible with these delays.
April 11th – Venus moves into your 5th house of creativity and joy. Whenever the planet of love moves into the house of love, true love is sure to follow. This does not necessarily need to a be about a person. It could set the stage to fall back in love with your flute playing. Or with practice. Or with life in general. This is a great time for a gratitude list. What are you most grateful for in your life?
April 20th – A Solar Eclipse appears in your 3rd house of communications. You may be working on a book or article that just isn’t coming together. Suffering from writer’s block? Or have you found evidence that your theory is just not quite correct? This Solar Eclipse will uncover the cracks in your research. Try not to panic! Take this as an opportunity to transform your work into something different and better.
April 20th – The Sun moves into your 4th house of home and family. You focus will shift back onto your family when the Sun moves signs. This is a great time for a weekend getaway. Book a trip to a theme park or take everyone to a national park for a hike and a picnic. Enjoy the Spring air and forget about the flute for a hot minute.
April 21st – Mercury goes retrograde in your 4th house of home and family. Be careful with this Mercury retrograde as it has the potential to cause some miscommunications and disagreements in your family. Try to be as patient as possible with them during this time. They may have an issue with your crazy rehearsal schedule and the disruptions it causes in the household. Compromise wherever possible.
Pisces (February 19-March 20)
April 3rd – Mercury moves into your 3rd house of communications. Write. Write. Write. Then write some more! Mercury loves being in the 3rd house as it provides the very best opportunity to be in the zone with your writing. Have you ever considered writing a book about the flute? Do you have a composer whose life and works really speak to you? Do you have flute exercises that you have developed that really work for your students? Write about it!
April 6th – A Full Moon appears in your 8th house of banking and finance. This Full Moon will see you making the final payment on a loan or financial agreement. Congrats! That new flute you purchased last year is finally yours! Make sure to sign on the dotted line with any closeout paperwork and save your receipts for any possible tax deductions.
April 11th – Venus moves into your 4th house of home and family. Venus will ask you to spend some quality time with your family. Book a family vacay to a theme park or beach. Leave your flute in its case and just have fun with your loved ones. Eat good food, listen to good music, and enjoy the Spring sunshine!
April 20th – A Solar Eclipse appears in your 2nd house of income. This Solar Eclipse will ask you some tough question about your job. This could be your day job or even the time you put into your flute work if you earn an income from teaching lessons, performing, or any other music-related activities. Something isn’t making you happy or providing the income that you need. You may need to think bigger. Which also means you will need to abandon status quo. Gather your courage and apply to other jobs. You are worth more than you are often given credit for.
April 20th – The Sun moves into your 3rd house of communications. You focus will shift again to your writing project. Now that you have made some fantastic headway on your writing, this is the best time to submit your work to potential publisher. Be bold! Submit your work to even those organizations that you think will take one look and say, “no, thank you.” You might be surprised. There are many publishers out there – If one says no, simply submit to the next one on the list.
April 21st – Mercury goes retrograde in your 3rd house of communications. Chances are good that you have found a place to publish your work, but in order to see your name in print, you will need to make a lot of changes. Proofread everything! Streamline whatever can be streamline and remove any examples (musical or otherwise) that do not add much to your overall theme. Be flexible with the changes asked from the publisher – The end result will be worth the time that you put into making every word perfect now.
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Happy April!