May 1st marks the ancient Celtic festival Beltane. It is the Rite of Spring celebrating fertility and welcoming Summer which may find some of us dancing around the May Pole. Camelot’s Queen Guinevere noted how lusty the month of May can be, a time when our “thoughts go blissfully astray.” And after a harsh winter season and particularly difficult April, it will do us a world of good to do just that. Take a day off and play. Play like you mean it: leave the electronics behind, toss off your shoes and go running through fields collecting wildflowers. Enjoy and revel in Mother Earth, a living being who endlessly provides us with food, shelter, life.
So it goes without saying then that this lovely month of May is proverbially great for planting anything. Once you’ve put your shoes back on and placed your gathered flowers in a vase, it will be time to get down to the business of planting. This requires keeping your eye on the ball to manifest your goals. Launching this month, the planets underscore our efforts as our desires (Pluto) align beautifully with our will (the Sun), in practical earth signs Capricorn and Taurus. A few days later, fiery Mars and messenger Mercury align with Pluto to drive us, our quest and messages forward. This is a month of messages and making your voice heard. Continuing to support us are dreamy Neptune and architect Saturn’s harmonious alliance with nurturing Ceres. These three foster our future plans through mid-May even as the “dream-maker” pair of Neptune and Saturn continues well into autumn.
Don’t be shy, they say: go for it. But be sure about what you are seeking. What you are asking for. Mars will make sure of this, directing our actions in earthy Taurus. Messenger Mercury and the Sun join Mars the first week of May, aligning with Saturn in Scorpio. This energy brings to the surface deep-seeded issues of survival, personal power, shared resources, money and wealth, our identity. All is revealed now. You can run but you cannot hide. Those hard at work and following their true path will find ample support. However, anyone ignoring, avoiding or sweeping matters under the rug won’t get away from what must be dealt with. Another way of saying this is: if you’ve skipped out on the bill, it is now past due. Good news is that there are myriad ways to help you earn money to pay it off. Scorpio Saturn is highly intuitive, psychic really. Its alliances with Mars and Mercury tell us: you know what you should be doing (if you aren’t) and how you should be in this world (if you aren’t already). The question only you can answer is: will you? A great example of this energy, of someone no longer able to hide his true self is NBA player Jason Collins who stunned the sportsworld by coming out as gay.
Sealing our fate are the two eclipses this month making sure we own up to who we really are: the good, the bad, especially the beautiful person we’ve been reluctant to acknowledge, and conversely, the stark, raving dark side we’ve refused to embrace which keeps us from achieving our potential… The solar eclipse on May 10th in Taurus marks a time of beginnings. Think about who you can be, where you’ve been holding back, what wealth of talents you can spread around to fertilize humanity. Four planets in earthy Taurus at the time of the eclipse, including Mars at an attention-getting degree, draws our focus to beauty, art, material goods, money, what we can touch. But also: our inner talents. Messenger Mercury helpfully pairs with Neptune now inspiring us to fulfill our potential as well as suggesting the methods to get there.
At mid-month, continuing through May, Ceres, radical Uranus and Pluto challenge us to fix things that were broken over the winter around the house or in the yard; and also, to fix aspects of family relationships or ourselves broken over the years, possibly across our lifetime. These demand attention and require repair and healing. Family situations and dynamics that have withered or been outgrown, or never worked in the first place must now be changed or revitalized. Relationship habits need to either be done away with or reinvented. Planting new ways of being with one another is essential this month.
Relationships are based on communication and the third week of May, Venus joins Jupiter in communicative Geminii, gradually followed by messenger Mercury and the Sun. Together these form a powerhouse of news and information that is highly persuasive. You may surprise yourself at how convincing you can be at this time. If you are in a sales career: bonus! Looking for work? It is a great time to impress employers with your plethora of skills. Geminii also rules automobiles so you may find yourself with a new car…
And while that alluring Alfa-Romeo two-seat convertible is calling your name, you might want to think a bit more practically as the flip side of this period offers a word of caution. Mercury challenges Neptune so beware of building castles in the sky, offers too good to be true, siblings making demands on your time or miscommunicating, overbuying items you really do not need… So you may want to opt for a four-seater American made convertible with a trunk instead of that tiny, impractical Alfa.
The month ends with the second eclipse on May 25th. Foggy Neptune challenges this lunar eclipse in Geminii so watch out for misunderstandings, particularly those of an emotional nature. While it is healthy to fantasize and visualize our future, make sure these are grounded in reality. Wait a few days after the eclipse before signing significant documents. This marks the last of three eclipses since the end of April. Like bookends, something, a passage of your life has come to a close and it is time to move on to the next, new phase. Just look at all the choices abounding! Summer awaits.