By some measures May is a relatively quiet month celestially. Only three planets move from one sign into another; and there is steady progress forward into growth and development, especially as two key planets turn direct motion. However, at May’s onset you may feel that things you need to get done are sputtering along; that there is resistance, missed connections or tripping over words. Mercury retrograde anyone? The messenger planet that rules thought and speech turned reverse motion in the final days of April. The first week of May, we are in the thick of communication snafu wonderland.
For the next three weeks, Re-member the Re words: restore, repair, relax, read, research, renew, etc. This helps immensely to navigate an otherwise tricky few weeks. Refrain from signing significant documents during this time and instead of racing out to buy a new car or appliance, do your product research as to which one suits you best.
This is not the only fly in our soup during May. The biggest challenge is a month-long throw down between Jupiter-Saturn-Neptune. Three planets tilting at odds. Think of a chair missing one of its four legs: you keep tipping forward or backward where the missing leg is. Feel the imbalance? If I only had two words to describe this month I’d say: off center. Generous Jupiter in Virgo delivers abundant help wherever it falls in your chart – especially in the areas of work, health, pets/animals and service. Feels great right? Not so fast. In Virgo, Jupiter focuses like crazy on the details – the tinier the better. This rubs Saturn in Sagittarius the wrong way. In fiery Sadge, Saturn wants freedom, liberty to go wherever and whenever we want, explore topics of interest to us completely unfettered; to learn and understand and take adventures. Meanwhile, Neptune in Pisces seeks clarification. Neptune tells us to Let Go and Let God, not to worry about the details or worry so much in general. Piscean Neptune focuses on the bigger picture of our lives: Does this [situation/relationship/job] serve our best interests or of those we love? What do we really want? Before we get clear, we have to go through a lot of fog to arrive at the answers we seek.
Feel the conundrum? The push and the pull, the internal tug of war. One thing is for sure: May is rife with second guessing, doubt and insecurity.
My family recently faced our own conundrum. Anyone with a sick family pet can relate to our heartache: Our beloved dog Daisy had cancer. Question was: should we operate or not? Do we put her through misery (and our financial expense) of surgery and post-op suffering…or do we let her slowly decline until she can’t function anymore and then decide when is the right time to put her to sleep? Damned if you do, damned if you don’t. So goes the month of May. Please take comfort knowing there is no right or wrong way, no easy answers or easy ways out of the fix you might find yourself in. There is only learning and understanding: that life is indeed a process of trial and error. If nothing else, taskmaster Saturn in Sagittarius is here to teach us. So you think you know everything? Mmm, perhaps not. Best to open our hearts and minds to new ways of thinking, believing and hearing what others have to say. Try.
Through our struggles we are supported mightily by Transformer Pluto making a beautiful angle to Generous Jupiter and the Lunar North Node in Virgo all month long, in fact, all summer long. Where we apply our energy, time and money solutions can be found. They rise up to greet us. Assure us we have abundant resources if we only look for them and apply the elbow grease to work through the details. We simply have to use that Saturn kick in the pants to explore alternatives. Because: the old ways just do not work any more.
The Republican party is a great example of this. Traditional GOP conservative voters are not thrilled about Donald Trump being their party’s nominee. But they may not have a choice at convention time in July. They will either have to embrace this man or go fifteen rounds at the convention to hammer out exactly who they want for a nominee and what their party stands for now. Should be a very interesting spectacle either way!
The New Moon on May 6th forms an incredibly helpful grand earth alliance to Virgo Jupiter and Capricorn Pluto. We can hardly ask for more: this formation effectively boosts our efforts on the work, health, and resources front, including the actual structure of our lives. Use this energy responsibly as possible and to your advantage to build, renovate, repair, or heal any area of your life. Three days later on May 9th, this cosmic support is underscored by two significant events. First, Generous Jupiter turns direct motion. Hallelujah! You can practically hear the choirs sing! The Titan of Blessings forms a beautiful alliance with beneficent Venus (love, money and relationships) casting a glow of goodness around May 9-11. At the very least, we feel the rough edges of life are softened a bit. YAY!
The second event occurring on the very same day is called the “Transit of Mercury”. This phenomenon happens only twice in a century as the messenger planet Mercury passes between the earth and sun. For us, it means heightened communication. Much. WOW. If you have an important message to deliver or have been waiting for the right time to say something, the time is now. But be careful with your words. Once uttered, they cannot be put back in the mouth. Say what you mean but think before speaking. Ask: how would I hear these words if someone else spoke them to me? Are there kinder word choices to deliver especially difficult messages? This is crucial as this passage falls during the Mercury retrograde phase.
Energy builds like crazy just after mid-month. As we enter the Full Moon phase several planetary gears shift. It is as though the cosmos saved them up to unfold all at once. On May 21 not only do we have a Full Moon but the Sun changes signs, from earthy Taurus to communicative Geminii. Give your gardening tools a rest and strike up a conversation…with anyone. While this particular Full Moon is chatty, it also seeks more lengthy, probing discussions, searching to learn, questing to understand life as the Moon (our emotions) tightly conjoins Mars (action) in spiritual Sagittarius. It appears happy go lucky on the surface but actually wants to take things apart, figure out the why and how of the situation at hand.
The very next day Mercury turns direct motion prompting that Full Moon pursuit of knowledge to churn forward. Get going on all those projects, contracts, relationships and purchases. Two days later, Venus moves into Geminii joining the Sun. Discussions really pick up the pace now, aided and abetted by direct motion Mercury in Taurus which aligns to Virgo Jupiter and Transformer Pluto in Capricorn. Wow. Whatever you have your eye on, person, place or thing, GO FOR IT now. There is nothing holding you back.
This grand earth formation remains with us thru the end of May and into the first days of June. Virgo, Capricorn and Taurus are all earth signs lending grounded realism, practicality and pragmatism to our efforts, noting what functions well in our lives and how to build on that. It is actually very comforting. There is a quiet, implicit certainty. It is not loud and noisy energy but simple, clean, elegant communication. Yes we still have our struggles to clarify and understand that which is a mystery to us, what keeps off off-balance, or does not optimally serve our lives. But we are given immense help, healthy communication, transformative power and detailed work ethic now to create the changes we seek, to create the life we want. Be the change you wish to see in the world.