Aquarius Horoscope for May 2017

This is a very intense month for you, Aquarius, made more so by the early stationing of Mercury with Uranus, your ruler. Because you are all tangled up in the retrograde in this way, your introspective curiosity could be at an all-time high regarding worldview, intellectual pursuits, and where your life is currently headed. You can expect to an unusual degree the frustrations that this particular retrograde is known for, most strongly from the last week of the previous month right on through to May 10th, at least. It might take until the end of May for you to better understand what is going on for you; and this involves getting to know yourself below the surface layers. What your soul wants you to get out of this is a more solid connection to your deepest values, those that you will defend to the maximum, no matter what. If you can arrive at some conception of these, then the difficulty will have been worthwhile.

The following was written by this month's guest columnist and AstroGraph team member Leslie Benson and edited by Henry Seltzer. To learn more about Leslie's work, visit Astrology for Awakening.

This month is inviting you to depth explorations of many and varied kinds. You could find yourself seeking a deeper understanding of where you’ve come from in this lifetime, and how the imprints of your formative years and family of origin continue to influence who you are today. The New Moon in Taurus that took place just a few days prior to the first of the month invites this sort of conversation forth, and provides an opening for new beliefs about what home and family truly means to you. One of the most significant planetary configurations of this lunation is retrograde Mercury closely conjoining your ruling planet Uranus. Subsequent to the New Moon, Mercury, as it slowed toward the end of April, moved backward across the Trickster planet, and then will station in the early days of the current month to direct motion only a degree away, before re-crossing the position of Uranus just ahead of May 10th. The conjunction thus remains close from the last week of April onward, right to mid-month. This is a very powerful planetary patterning, and it is interesting to note that a nearly identical configuration was present a month prior during the Aries New Moon of late March. This lengthy Mercury-Uranus combination signals that your thoughts and beliefs are being shaken up right now, inviting forth innovative and intuitive ideas. It also suggests that whatever themes and circumstances arose during the prior month of the retrograde will be to some extent echoed in May, in a spiral of increased understanding this time around. This gives you fresh insight into your learning process and communication style, and allows you to reflect upon and integrate new ways of being in these areas of your life.

The configuration of the New Moon time also features Saturn, and this suggests a slowing down and deepening around the pursuit of your goals and dreams. The universe may be asking you to become more methodical and structured around the evolving vision you hold for your life, or perhaps to be questioning what the best course of action is for you there. You could be brimming with brilliant brainstorms, yet it is the gift of Saturn to teach discipline and responsibility that can help you ground your big ideas and sense of purpose into the manifest realm. The invitation here might be to practice focusing and calming the wildness of your mind, to give your ideas a clear shape and container to flow into, so that they can be utilized for practical implementation, rather than sprawling and spiraling out into the ethers. You may wish to experiment with different ways to “capture” your ideas, whether it be with journaling, drawing, video, or word maps.

The Scorpio Full Moon of May 10th signals further depth and transformation, and perhaps the chance to see more deeply into your own motivations around your career and offerings in the world. Your subconscious realms are now stirring with activity, so that you may wish to pay close attention to your dreams, or perhaps take the time to do some reflecting around your inner world and psychological process. You may find a boost of invigoration in expanding your mind, exploring new spiritual teachings, and utilizing the inspiration you find there to feed your creative process. You benefit when you follow your curiosity, allowing it to take you on a treasure hunt in seeking things that really stimulate your mind and, as well, your spirit. In riding the currents of your authentic interest, you could find that you are delighted and surprised to discover a whole new set of perspectives on life, to weave soulfully into your path moving forward.