Nodal Change: Creativity in Motion and the Lusty Month of May

May 2017 astrological outlook

Heavenly warmth, flowers blooming, living outdoors again after months of cooping up inside:  this particular May offers a welcome stretch of grace after April’s planetary frenzy.  Wow.  What a month that was! We need every day of May’s measured strength following the past few weeks’ cosmic jolting to and fro.   The Taurus Sun is known for calm, quiet steadiness; however churning beneath that serene surface is a volcanic power ready to be unleashed.   And we are surely ready to get going.  After the tumult of April’s planetary retrogrades, finally, we are on with it.   Use these strong fires wisely to stoke your inspirations and dreams.

May is slow in terms of cosmic events, with the exception of two celestial shifts, both positive harbingers.  The first event occurs just days into the new month.  On Wednesday, May 3rd, Messenger Mercury, ruler of thoughts, communication and commerce turns direct motion.  Feel the collective sigh of relief as gears are set forward again.  Conversations, anything relayed in writing or verbally, flow smoothly once more.  Be gone communication snafus!  All that pent up springtime energy unfurls now and does so seamlessly, not getting caught or tripped up by the cosmic trickster.

After May 3rd, go ahead with major purchases (appliances, homes, cars, computers), sign significant contracts and make those travel plans you’ve been holding off on. Speeding up our need to act, buy and communicate is Mercury’s tight pairing to Radical Uranus.  Make no mistake, this is duo packs a punch in Aries.  Whatever planet joins Uranus, its energy is ramped up exponentially.   Together these two fire off emails, phone calls, launch projects, seal deals, agreements and more so rapidly your task list will be reduced to rubble in no time flat.  Their combined force is even further enhanced by the gorgeous angle they make to the Leo Moon and Saturn in Sagittarius.  This is called a grand fire trine and under its influence, very, very few sit still.  Be ready to roll my friends.

If you are reading this blog during the first few days of May, prepare to tackle all you have to do:  boom, boom, BOOM!   You will amaze yourself at how much you can accomplish in just a day or two.  What’s more, this fiery surge motivating us to do, do, do, stays with us right through mid-month, until May 16th when Mercury shifts into the more plodding and cautious Taurus.  So pace yourself.  There is no need to push yourself to exhaustion; although the energy is so sharp that you will feel like going til you can’t anymore.

Pacing yourself is one caution with this fiery combo.  Another caution: watch for impulsiveness.  You may receive flash insights and quick thinking on your feet as to how to fix/problem solve or launch an endeavor.  But remember please that Aries is terrific at starting projects yet not so great at seeing things to conclusion.  Make sure your heart is invested in whatever your mind is telling you to do. Aries is the Great Delegator…a fabulous boss or supervisor telling others how to get the job done. Remember, Aries is the god of war and Uranus (change agent) and Mercury (thoughts/words) can be incredibly destructive OR instructive and productive.   So it is vital to direct this energy in healthy ways.  You have free will and the power to shift your thoughts, words and actions in any direction.  Use these strong fires to stoke your inspirations and dreams, and begin new, healthy habits for body, mind and soul.

On May 9th, comes the second of the two cosmic shifts this month.  The Lunar Nodes move from mutable to fixed signs.  Say what?   Let’s break this down:  the Nodes of the Moon are invisible directional points 180 degrees opposite each other.   How do they influence you?  These points mark current events and our evolutionary progress.  Every 18 months the nodes shift clockwise, drawing us forward, bit by bit, toward new frontiers and goals in our lives.  They push us to follow True North by offering fresh focal points.  For the last eighteen months, the Lunar North Node (what calls our name/speaks to us) has been cycling through Virgo:  health, work, animals/pets, planning, detail, service and volunteering; while the South Node has moved through Pisces (music, water, faith vs. fear, belief, mysticism, the One/Universal mind), pushing us to simultaneously answer the call and release the best of ourselves via these traits.  Ten days into May, our directional compass shifts.

The Lunar North Node moves into Leo and the South Node into Aquarius.   Time to set aside work and play, play, play.  So let’s talk Leo.   Fun, festive, and wildly creative, Leo is the life of the party.  This sign rules all forms of pleasure, from vacations and parties to creative pursuits of any kind:  body, mind, spirit.  Leo is grand.   Its energy takes up space, demands to be heard, loves theatre, costumes, makeup and as it rules drama, can be a drama queen extraordinaire.   Are you prepared?  Get your festive best on, Leo says it is time to strut your stuff.   After sitting at home reflecting and meditating (thanks Pisces south node) last winter and into April’s retrograde cycles, planning your future in minute detail (thanks Virgo north node), the Leo North Node calls you out:   outside of your house, out of your routine, out of your head, and bellows take a chance.  Go for it.

Why?  Leo rules risk taking.  Step up and step out.  Now.  Just do it.  Get out of your comfort zone.  Surprise yourself.   Actually live a little.  Play like there’s no tomorrow.   Have FUN.  Enjoy.   The time for thinking (and overthinking) are D-O-N-E, done.  

The lunar nodes’ sign shift occurs on the eve of the Full Moon, too, Wednesday, May 10th.  This Scorpio Full Moon aligns beautifully with Pluto (ruler of Scorpio) prompting emotional transformation at the deepest core level.  While this is not the most challenging of Full Moons astrologically, it will resonate deeply; you will feel this Full Moon’s effects down to your toes.   Pluto and Scorpio are about death and rebirth.  Ask yourself:  how have you changed over the last month, season?  What still remains to change in your life?  Whom do you want to be by the end of spring, summer, this year?   How will you get there?  Become that person?

After the big push to get our task list done during the first half of May, we may feel a distinct satisfaction, a rich inner glow for all we have accomplished.  Yet there is a, “but wait, there’s more” sense attached to this Full Moon.  All Full Moons shine a spotlight on us, our lives.  This particular moon highlights our emotional crevices, shining a big beam on that which we’d rather keep hidden from others, loved ones, even ourselves.  However, the challenging angle now between Neptune and Mars draws us out; these two energies want us to talk (Mars in Gemini) about what we believe (Neptune in Pisces), what information we need to still gather to finish our soul’s work.   Yes.  It is that kind of Full Moon:  profoundly soulful.  Even revelatory.  We are reminded now that yes, we do live in a very material world, but actually, no really, we are in truth spirits on a temporary earthly educational journey.

By mid-month, Mercury changes signs, moving into earthy Taurus.  Our thoughts become more grounded, practical and realistic.  We need this temperance now and how!  Mercury in Taurus wants the breakdown, a business plan to know where you are going and how to get there.  A very good thing too as change-agent Uranus’ exact alignment with Saturn continues to fire our engines to take on the world and new challenges in our lives;  added to their fiery motivation now is the Lunar North node in Leo;  this highly dynamic troika will last through the entire summer.   Additionally, Venus in pioneering Aries hastens our rush, our sense of urgency and immediacy to push forward.  Pay attention to balance, says Generous Jupiter in Libra, opposite Venus May 17-20.  Give equal measure to various parts of your life.    All in good time.   First things first.  First one, then the other, take turns with your projects and relationships, definitely your energy output, so you do not burn out.  Be inspired by the fires stoking inside you but rely on Mercury in Taurus to firmly get things done at an even keel.

The Sun moves into versatile Gemini on May 21st, encouraging us to be flexible, seek and search out information.  Not just written.   Have the conversation.   Look the other guy/gal in the eye.  We can learn so much from each other says the Gemini Sun if we just talk to each other.   Who is that person, that neighbor, living across the fence from you?   Gemini Sun is all about community, neighborhood, talking, information gathering.  Organize a block party, a community gathering.  Ask questions.  In doing so, we learn that we are not all that different from one another.  We actually share similar goals:  clean air, water, safe neighborhoods, good schools for our children…

With this knowledge in mind, these common factors, set intentions on the Gemini New Moon, Thursday, May 25th.  Gemini is the Great Communicator, so be sure to hand write your five or so goals for the next month.   Remember to be careful of spreading yourself too thin:  Gemini tends to over promise or over commit and with the fiery grand troika aforementioned, our vision is grand indeed.  Messenger Mercury in Taurus will temper our aims, helping us to bite off only that which we can effectively chew.  Rely on this increasing pragmatism.  Increasing because through the close of May, from May 25-31, Taurean Mercury aligns beautifully with powerhouse Pluto.  Plant every little seed that you desire (Pluto), to grow and harvest down the road.  Nurture with good intentions and positive, mindful thoughts (Mercury).

Then:   Let it grow, let it grow.  Let it blossom, let it flow… (Cream).

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