A Difficult and Enchanting Month of May

The astrology of May features Mercury, Jupiter, Saturn, Neptune and Pluto. There is quite a bit of emphasis on Neptune in the April 18th New Moon that began the current monthly cycle, with Jupiter also emphasized, being across the zodiac from most of the other planets, in aspect to Pluto, and in a T-square with the Sun and Moon at the time of the May 3rd Full Moon configuration. Later in the month, Mercury turns to backward motion in its own sign of Gemini. This means that that after May 18th we will have all the usual symptoms of the Mercury Retrograde periods, in Air signs all this year, to include missed communications, mechanical breakdowns and plans that go awry without warning. Mercury turns to direct motion on June 11th, still in Gemini, and does not escape its retrograde shadow until the 26th. This second half of May thus represents an excellent time for some constructive introspection, and for journaling or other activities designed to put us into a more complete understanding of our current arc of development, as well as how to give this important inwardly-oriented task a boost where needed.

The transformative energies of Pluto are also still very much with us, even while this month sees a temporary retreat from the recent series of close collisions with Uranus. At the timing of the recent mid-April New Moon, a yod was formed from Neptune and Pluto to positive and expansive Jupiter, bringing a definite sense of serious productive change to the way we see our faith blossoming into a beneficial future for ourselves. There is a strong dose of idealism present in this aspect pattern, and as well the danger of seeing the world as not perfect enough, something to escape, rather than to inhabit. The truth is that the world is what we make of it, meaning that we need not be discouraged when it does not match our naïve vision, but only when we do not live up to our own intention to make the best out of any and all circumstances.

Saturn, located in early Sagittarius, is also featured in this month's astrology, being aspected by the mid-April New Moon that began the cycle corresponding to the month's first half. There is a series of oppositions by personal planets to Saturn at key moments in the lunar cycle: Venus at the recent New Moon, Mercury in close opposition at the timing of the May 3rd Full Moon, and Mars at the May 17th New Moon in late Taurus. Saturn is also sesquiquadrate to Uranus, closest at the beginning of the month, which is also made significant by the antithetical nature of this pairing. While Uranus pushes the envelope in every way imaginable, going all out for freedom, the limitations and restrictions of Saturn represent the envelope itself. Because Saturn is so greatly emphasized in the astrology of the current month, we have a very interesting blend of the practical and the ideal. This is the way of the world as we know it, in that we must live within constriction of its limits while we reach beyond it for the stars.

Another antidote to the nuts-and-bolts reality represented by Saturn is its astrological counterpart, Jupiter, also strongly aspected this month by the other planets. Now in direct motion, Jupiter gets closer and closer to a perfect inconjunct or 150-degree aspect to Pluto as the first half of the month unfolds. And in the Full Moon at nearly the very beginning of the month, the Sun and Moon in opposition also exactly square Jupiter, within minutes of a degree. Jupiter is the wild-eyed optimist and spiritually activated astrological archetype that can be summarized by the keywords faith, reckless positivity, and love of adventure. With Saturn and Jupiter so activated, we must beware of letting despair get the best of us, inhibiting forward motion, or else spurring ourselves on too hard, only to run up against the jarring defeat of ambitious agendas crashing upon the limitations of the physical world. The secret to this month lies in allowing each their due, choosing our balance point somewhere in between.

A Difficult and Enchanting Month of May

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December 2024