As May begins, we are still feeling the euphoria of the now-separating Jupiter/Neptune conjunction, but the desire to DO something with our dreams, beyond just reverie and imagination, takes root this month as 3 personal planets, Venus, Jupiter, and Mars, each cross the Aries Point, the potent beginning degree of the zodiac, bringing a sense of renewal and new beginnings with the cardinal energies of Aries. This signifies ACTION, so we can now begin initiating our summer dreams into actual plans and moves.
Mercury Retrograde
Mercury and the Sun already passed the Aries Point in late March, as we began thinking about what we wanted to make happen this summer, but Mercury turns retrograde from May 10th through June 3rd, so giving our plans a thorough review before applying them is good advice. With only Pluto currently retrograde among the outer planets, our eagerness to burst forth is slightly retarded by the effect of a retrograde Mercury, heading back into slow Taurus on the 24th along with the gradual deceleration of Saturn as it approaches its stationary point and change of direction in June. So proceed at a steady pace and blossom yourself and your projects early this month, cautiously applying any inspiration received last month. It’s time to stick our heads out from under the cozy covers of winter and actively greet the Spring!
Venus
Romance is in the air as Venus kisses Neptune during the last days of April, conjuncting Jupiter in dreamy Pisces on May Day, favorably aspecting the Moon’s Nodes. This could bring a significant person from your past back into your life for a brief reunion, or a colleague may appear as Venus enters Aries and sextiles Mercury on the 6th. Lively conversation and intriguing messages emerge under a waxing crescent Moon.
Sun
The Taurus Sun, and with it our creative output, is strong during the first 2 weeks of May, excited by Uranus on the 5th, activated by Mars on the 6th, and encouraged as Jupiter enters Aries on the 10th, bringing expansive and bountiful energies to us all. Then the Sun harmonizes with the Moon on the 11th, an especially inspiring day to open our hearts and connect with others or nature. On the 13th, Sun conjuncts the North Node, reinforcing our sense of ‘right direction’. On the 15th, the Sun squares Saturn while sextiling Neptune, which is good for blending reason with principle and compassion, and for discerning fact from fiction. Then the Sun trines Pluto on the 19th, helping us get to the core of our motivations, and conjuncts Mercury sliding into chatty Gemini on the 21st, expanding and diversifying our thinking, our plans, and our visions.
Mars
Mars will go through a transformation this month as it completes its awkward passage through emotional and visionary Pisces and enters the action-oriented sign it rules, Aries. Although NOT in his element in watery Pisces, important inner discoveries may be revealed as Mars stumbles through a fog of uncertainty when he encounters Neptune on May 17th and 18th. Arising confusions may magically reveal hidden secrets, so use your intuition to penetrate deep within for profound insight. Have faith that the fog will lift soon. However, this conjunction of Mars and Neptune mid-month causes physical lethargy and fatigue, as well as disorientation, so get plenty of rest as your body will need it.
By the 24th of May, Mars will be resurrected into Aries, where his normally outgoing aggressive energy will re-emerge, along with renewed confidence, as Mars conjuncts Jupiter in Aries on the 29th. The War in Ukraine may get even more fierce and brutal, I’m afraid, but this could lead the US to take more definitive action against Putin.
Lunar Eclipse
The 25-degree Taurus Sun/Scorpio Full Moon of May 15-16 is a fixed Lunar Eclipse, T-squaring Saturn, marking the serious and stubborn nature of this lunation! The Scorpio South Node conjuncts the Moon with big emotional releases and karmic completions during the ~6-month period between eclipses. Advice: Take responsibility and keep your commitments, while avoiding clashes with authority figures. More importantly, the world needs to let go of some serious planetary karma (like Putin’s war, in fact, ALL WARS!) Eclipses are lunations linked to the Nodes, and therefore carry a fated quality, but this one has the Sun, Moon, and Saturn all at 25 degrees of fixed signs, which are called Pleiadian degrees, giving this eclipse a galactic signature! Will some significant galactic event occur later this year? Keep watching…
Decisions
As the Sun enters Gemini on May 20th, Moon-conjunct-Pluto (intense emotions) trines Sun-conjunct-retrograde Mercury (rehashing old ideas) which sextiles the Jupiter-Mars-Neptune stellium, which instigates strange feelings that amplify confusions and delusions while simultaneously seeking higher objectives. It’s a tricky time that stretches through the 22nd as Mars sextiles Pluto (new war considerations), and into the 24th and beyond, when Mars enters warrior Aries. Additionally, Venus squares Pluto on the 27th, as important societal issues are discussed and extreme options are considered. By the 29th, abrupt actions are taken when Mars conjuncts Jupiter in early Aries, ending the month on a note of new dynamism.
New Moon
The unusual thing about this lunation is that besides Sun and Moon conjunct each other, the Sun/New Moon lunation at 3 degrees Gemini does not hold ANY major aspects to any other planets in the chart, with the exception in the USA that the Sun and Moon aspect the angles. The lack of planetary aspects to Sun-conjunct-Moon presents a largely unaspected condition, which reveals a state of non-integration with other planetary energies. This tends to reinforce singular and non-cooperative energies in general so that individuals become more self-focused and to hell with everybody else!
Let’s look at the New Moon as it expresses in the various US time zones.
- East Coast (above chart) looks the most likely to experience social or governmental upheavals due to the New Moon & Sun squaring the Midheaven with Mars conjunct Jupiter in Aries in the 10th house (public protests or outrage) as Pluto semi-squares the Midheaven, adding to the possibility of public violence.
- The Central Time zone looks much more tame, with the Sun/Moon trining the Midheaven while conjuncting the Gemini Ascendant from the 12th house side which is packed with Mercury, North Node, Uranus, and Venus all in Taurus. Perhaps whatever progress or changes are being made, are happening behind the scenes.
- Mountain Time puts the New Moon into the first house trine the Midheaven where a lot can be accomplished for the betterment of humanity (Aquarian Midheaven).
- The West Coast looks mixed with a hard aspect from Sun/Moon to Pluto on the Midheaven (support for Plutocracies like Hungary and Russia), yet there is a triangle of 2 sextiles and a trine between Pluto/Neptune/Mercury which suggests compassion for the underdog and the down-trodden.
With the Sun/Moon generally unaspected, I would expect powerful people to display their lack of concern for others, covered up with lame excuses. Believe them when they reveal – they only care about themselves!
It’s FINALLY Spring, so enjoy warmer weather, gardening, property chores, and natural outings. In the West, pray for rain, although the East seems to get too much of it, so perhaps pray for a more even and more moderate distribution of precipitation and temperatures across the planet.