May is rarely a quiet month. Gardeners and outdoor workers go into overdrive; weddings and graduations multiply like rabbits, endings leading to new beginnings abound. In recognition of this, the cosmos is accordingly calm this May, acknowledging that our plates are FULL. There is more than enough keeping us occupied without excess planetary tricks.
What is usually a bright and beautiful month, a heaviness bears down on us as May opens. The first few days unroll during the dark of the moon, revealing the New Moon on May 4th. Also underscoring the weight we carry, we enter this month in the shadow of cosmic heavy hitters Saturn and Pluto’s (karma and transformation) recent retrograde motion. This occurred right at the end of April in coordinated turns, as though passing a baton one to another. Pluto first, then Saturn, both spin mid cycle through ambitious Capricorn.
On surface levels, we do not feel this shift given their distance from Earth. What we gradually become aware of, however, is a turning inward, a heightened awareness, and slowing down where these two planets cycle through our chart: more careful reflection of our responsibilities and their burden we shoulder, our future ambitions and how we tackle what we seek to accomplish, the signature, all, of Capricorn. For everyone now, individually and collectively, we feel the sheer length of the road ahead, how far we must travel and the amount of work there is yet to do as a result of past actions or inaction.
Our plates are indeed overloaded. The challenge is not to become mired in pessimism or unknowingly add to your burden. If anything, our challenge this month is to enjoy life, our blessings and create play time where we can. And we have plenty of cosmic help to do so.
First, the New Moon on May 4th finds the Sun-Moon (our will and emotions) at a very strong degree of Taurus. Plant baby plant what you seek to grow! The primal earth energy, Taurus rules the money we earn, our skills and talents to draw an income, our possessions, our values and worth. Taurus says: you get what you pay for. And, another day, another dollar. The New Moon is loosely flowing with Saturn-Pluto in responsible Capricorn, emphasizing where there is a will there is a way. The gift of Taurus is perseverance, stamina, old-fashioned stick-to-it-iveness…also its challenge, a.k.a. stubbornness. Be careful to align with the former so you don’t become stuck in ruts, situations hard to break free from, or worse, refusing to change born of pride and ego.
Harness this strong energy to realize your desires. The New Moon contains such fortunate alignments, lending a masterful, peak manifesting power. So plant your handwritten wishes and goals in May’s softening spring earth or cast these in a moving body of water and watch them ripen the rest of 2019.
Building on this two days later, Messenger Mercury shifts into Taurus joining Radical Uranus on May 6th. Your thoughts and mind create unusual connections, generate alternative ideas, link to just the right person for the job at hand, all of which offer incredibly practical solutions. These will be simultaneously wildly innovative AND sleek, simple, almost rudimentary. Applications abound, terrific for science and artistic endeavors alike. Inventors take note. Alternative approaches for ocean clean up, landfill management, climate cleansing, and renewable energy mechanisms and strides all come to mind. Especially as we gradually shift into a dominance of earth energy during May. This is Taurus: Mother Earth combined with ingenuity. YAY! We need solutions desperately.
Also aiding our efforts is the lunar North Node in nurturing Cancer making a helpful angle to Neptune in Pisces. Intuition, for those paying attention and awake: follow it, trust your hunches, avoid doubt or second guessing. Intuition is heart-centered. Your heart and your core being are wired to the Truth; your higher self is also known as your higher consciousness. What resonates and feels real? What feels false or off center/discordant? Allow your heart to lead, to steer. The mind is our instrument to take direction from our intuition. Follow the natural order of things rather than the modern model which puts mind first, rational vs. imagination and creativity. In short, get out of your head and you will get out of your own way.
The theme of May is “getting back to the basics”. Taurus and Capricorn are building block energy, original source material to create our lives from the ground up. It isn’t sexy or glamorous but it does stand the test of time. What is real, what functions well, what do you do well, what makes you feel good inside AND drives your purpose?
The challenge (because there is always a challenge) continues to be Generous Jupiter sparring with Dreamy Neptune. Both in their own signs, these two have been at odds for a while and will be throughout most of 2019. Neptune’s illusion rubs Jupiter’s quest for Truth the wrong way. Jupiter seeks to learn and expand while Neptune spins distraction. Our individual and collective work now is to discern fantasy from honesty, fiction from fact (what really is Fake News?), the way we want life to be vs. the way it actually is. The latter struggle is the root of all suffering. The tremendous boost of grounded, down to earth Taurus and Capricorn energy during May decisively slices through the proverbial B.S.
A caution here: Truth tellers are usually disliked, disavowed or disowned. Don’t expect to be revered for speaking truth.
On May 15th, Venus, the ruler of Taurus, joins the Sun, Mercury and Uranus. Relationships may take an unusual, surprising yet opportune turn. Uranus is the Great Awakener and Venus governs love, money and relationships. Watch for: opportunity, romance, chances given, windfalls, doors opening. Tune into your sharpening intuition. This is NOT a time to ignore your gut. Say YES to propositions and figure the details out later. A boon to the stock market this week which Venus and Taurus rules. NICE! May 15-17 are days to invest in anything or anyone…Especially in promising artists, innovative and entrepreneurial endeavors, home and garden, earth-related concerns, beauty of any kind. This is Venus. Your risk will be rewarded as we head into the Full Moon over the weekend.
The very next day, May 16th, Motivating Mars dials into nurturing Cancer at a very prominent, attention-getting degree. It directly challenges healer Chiron in feisty Aries, both helpfully aligning with Venus-Uranus. The next week affords a real opportunity to heal our wounds, particularly those related to our family, home, food or mother. We can create the private, safe space for our lives, better nurture ourselves with food, cooking, or self-care practices that we need. From there we emerge, rise up and meet the world better.
This applies to our nation as well. We are literally being shown the way if we just pay attention, listen and follow our higher selves. Our inner knowing, heart directions heighten leading into the Full Moon two days later on May 18th. It is a Scorpio Full Moon, forming a grand water trine, a flowing grand alliance with Neptune and the lunar North Node, our directional calling. Our spidey senses are off the charts this weekend! Scorpio reveals ALL that is hidden. The Moon IS our feeling/emotions, family, caring. And this Full Moon pulls every scrap out from under the rug and shines a gigantic light on it, be they secrets, money maneuvers, motives, power plays. No lightweight Full Moon is this for flights of fancy with SIX out of TEN planets in earth signs. You will feel the weight of the real deal at hand and yet be grounded. It will be hard to become untethered to reality now. Fakers and phonies will be shown for exactly what they are while those who have done the work, their work, will be richly rewarded.
A few days later on May 21st, both the Sun and Messenger Mercury shift into communicative Gemini. Endlessly versatile and flexible, Gemini harnesses all of our ingenuity (Venus-Uranus) and applies it liberally to what we seek to change and grow. For the better part of this week, our skills as wordsmith, and powers of persuasion are optimal. Wily, unafraid to relentlessly pursue goals, undaunted by the word “NO”, Gemini Sun-Mercury finds a way to get what it wants. Mercurial by definition, Gemini energy enables us to shape shift and morph at will into who we need to be in the exact moment we find ourselves. There is tremendous power, magic, in this duo. Make sure you know precisely who you are and what you desire before wielding your magic wand, or making your three wishes. Watch for those, and perhaps you, who promise more than they can deliver, or taking on far more than we can manage.
The Sun stretches higher and longer into the sky now, as daytime equal nighttime hours. Plant all that you wish to reap. A promising harvest awaits on the other side of our dreams.