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.