Thoughts for May 2008

9 May 2008

Graphic Ephemeris May 2008

New Moon 5 May 2008

1st Quarter Moon 12 May 2008

Full Moon 20 May 2008

3rd Quarter Moon 28 May 2008

Funny that I finally manage to find time to write this just as Mars escapes from the embrace of Cancer. In about an hour and a half Mars will move into Leo and out of the sign of its fall where he's been since last autumn.

Mars is about strength, force, masculinity, daring and standing up for what one believes in. Amongst other things. When you wrap up these energies in the soft, yielding and empathetic sign of Cancer you don't see his best side. Mars energies are best expressed clearly and unambiguously and these are not words you associate with Cancer.

Cancer works on the non-verbal, less conscious levels - these are mute signs, thinking is the last thing they're interested in. When you're expressing anger in these ways it feels very uncomfortable - you pick up the message but you're unclear where it's come from.

As Mars moves signs it will for a quincunx - 150° - aspect with Pluto at 0° Capricorn. The quincunx aspect is about adjustment, like looking over your shoulder at someone who keeps moving as your turn round to see him. A very graphic expression of this is seen in the Burmese reaction to the Cyclone which has overwhelmed much of this south east Asian country. Land - Capricorn, Water - Cancer, Mars - Force, Pluto - Death on a massive scale. The exact aspect doesn't perfect until the 11th. We can see that Mars will then be in Leo so we invoke a new keyword - pride.

The beginning of the calendar month saw the perfection of the grand trine in earth - Pluto in Capricorn, Saturn in Virgo and Venus in Taurus. Over that weekend Saturn came to a halt and began to move forward. Mercury squared it from Gemini and made a quincunx to Pluto. What we experienced in London as a chance to speak our minds - Mercury in Gemini - and slap down the authorities - Saturn - who we perceive as being corrupt and self serving - Pluto - was a literal cry for help in South East Asia.

The begriming of May bring the Pagan festival of Beltane, symbolic of fertility, growth and new life. It falls midway between the spring equinox and the summer solstice and, I learned at a particularly fine Beltane party, it can be celebrated on 1st May or on the new Moon in Taurus. This year seems particularly auspicious as the New Moon was on 5th May at 15° Taurus, bang on the middle between the quarter days; truly a start point for the rest of the season, seen in the UK by the splendid spring weather.

The underlying slow moving aspects are changing. When the slower moving planets form aspects the fast ones can form larger aspect patters. The grand trine in earth - formed around the trine between Saturn and Pluto - is breaking up and the cardinal T-square/cross - formed around the Mars Jupiter opposition - is also loosing focus. What we now have for the faster planets to coalesce around is the Jupiter Uranus sextile, which perfects on 21st May.

What also happens is that you get faster moving planets aspecting one slower planet and then the other soon after. For example, on 12th May the Sun trines Jupiter and sextiles Uranus. Venus does the same on 18th.

The Sun moves into Gemini on 21st May, the day of the exact Jupiter Uranus sextile and forms a quincunx with Pluto. This will almost certainly bring an echo of the current events in Burma. Lets hope that it brings some light into Pluto's despair.

The next day sees the Sun square Saturn. This is usually a day where authority is questioned and tested, probably on matters of communication given the involvement of both Gemini and Virgo, the Mercury ruled signs.

Venus is close behind the Sun and enters Gemini on 25th and repeats this pattern of a 150° aspect to Pluto and a square to Saturn the day after. The 26th has other factors to note: Mercury and Neptune both station retrograde.

Mercury stands still at 21 Gemini, close to a square with Uranus but not making an exact aspect. Mercury goes retrograde three times a year for three weeks and these periods are in signs of the same element. This year it's air. The first period was in Aquarius at the end of January. Later in the autumn it will be in Libra.

Mercury retrogrades can send people into a bit of a tizzy but once you understand the nature of the times it becomes a less terrifying process. These are not periods for pushing forward. These are times for review and revision. This doesn't mean nothing happens, it means it's not time to drive your project towards the finish line.

The underlying Jupiter Uranus energy will keep things lively, more likely to be unforeseen needs for innovation or surprises which throw a completely different light on matters. Saturn has started to move forward and this lightens the general atmosphere. Jupiter and Neptune are also turning around which adds another layer to the Mercury note, making us think things through.

Mercury enters his shadow period on 12th. This is when he reaches the degree at which he will later go direct. The end of the shadow is 4th July when he again reaches 21 Gemini.