May’s Planets
May Day brings enthusiasm with Mercury in independent Aries striking a harmonious chord with light-hearted Jupiter in adventurous Sagittarius. Our minds should be alert and spontaneous, so have some FUN for a few days! By May 7th, androgynous Mercury moves into earthy Taurus, refocusing our sights on more practical matters.
Venus is rather uncomfortable in Aries the first half of the month, but when entering Taurus on the 15th, she will be “in her element” as social hostess and muse. Venus is at ease in her body, eager to please, and gracious in Taurus, so relationships tend to develop positively, at least where grounded, loyal behaviors are appreciated and expensive tastes are tolerated.
Jupiter turned retrograde last month and will remain so until mid-August, so flamboyance is somewhat muted. Expect to see the “teachy/preachy” side of Jupiter during these retrograde months. Expansively philosophical in nature, retrograde Jupiter may also offer some lofty political analysis, as well as self-righteous condemnation of others, depending on one’s world view.
Jupiter is entering a difficult square with nebulous Neptune that will last 6 months. These two planets together represent high ideals and spiritual aspirations, but we’ll have to ask ourselves if our hopes and dreams are even relevant in today’s chaotic and often unreasonable world. The Jupiter/Neptune square warns us that REALITY imposes resistance to our ideals and expectations, yet Jupiter’s generosity and philanthropy will be inspiring, despite challenging situations. Neptune’s delusions are an additional danger under this transit as legal and financial deceptions can sucker the unwary or naïve, so if it’s “too good to be true”, don’t fall for it!
On the positive side, Neptune sextiles Saturn, creating balance between spiritual principles and the material world, bringing breakthroughs in understanding along with greater self-discipline towards achieving our goals. Don’t take yourself too seriously though because “spiritual egotism” or a “better-than” attitude toward those who do not share your beliefs can surface. Fundamentalists of all sorts may promote their agendas this summer.
Except for momentary aspects with fast-moving planets, Uranus is unaspected all month which tends toward unconscious, unpredictable and otherwise unusual events.
Saturn and Pluto are loosely conjunct this May but won’t reach exactitude until January 2020. While Saturn is the planet that rules time, karma, aging, building structures, and wielding control, especially in government and corporations, it can breed loneliness and depression. Pluto rules birth and death, so suicides, abortion (with its underlining control over women) and euthanasia may grab the headlines this year and next. Pluto brings elimination, loss, and deep inner contemplation. Together these two potent planets suggest destruction, followed by rebuilding. We can hope that Saturn/Pluto’s rotor-rooter approach to whatever is not working in government, business, and finance will bring a better day with a better way for us all.
Declination
This month MARS is causing trouble due to its extreme declination. Extreme Mars has a tendency to over-do actions and trigger natal aspects with a vengeance! When a planet’s declination is low (close to the equator), the planet behaves relatively normally. High declination planets (21-23 degrees), whether natal or transiting, often express in alternative and sometimes creative ways. Transiting Jupiter, Saturn and Pluto have all reached high declination this month, leading to excessive and exaggerated behaviors in social and financial situations, so expect the general tone of daily life and politics to be charged with tension and bi-partisanship this summer.
Extreme declination (also called “ex-dec” or “out-of-bounds”) is reached when the planet exceeds the outer limits of the declination range of the Sun (23 ½ degrees), causing a planet to express in an unusually intense and often iconoclastic way. The higher the degree, the more extreme such behavior is likely to be, whether in a criminal way, an unusually creative way, or a saintly way. People with such planets tend to be unpredictable, radical, erratic, hyper-sensitive, gifted, ego-centric, and antisocial. They express themselves in surprising ways, and can be so self-driven that they ignore how their actions impact others. Donald Trump is an excellent example of this with 5 high-dec planets – Sun, Moon, Venus, Saturn and Uranus – plus 2 ex-dec planets – Pluto and Mercury – and his behavior can be truly bizarre, even criminal at times!
Mars’ extreme declination for this cycle is now reaching 24+ degrees where it is causing heated arguments, fights, fires (like Notre Dame in Paris), plus strange behaviors, violence, fanaticism, terrorism and possibly skirmishes of war. Consider that when the Twin Towers fell on 9/11/2001, Mars’ declination reached 27 degrees, contributing to the worst terrorist attack in modern American history! Although it’s not that extreme this spring, we can expect to feel more irritable and argumentative than usual. Life will be interesting but emotions will be volatile with exaggerated impulsive tendencies, so think twice before you jump, and tame your temper!