May Dateblog

Spring Wildflowers in a Kings Park

photo credit: Alfeewusy

May is one of those months which has all the usual nuances and daily details but an overarching quality which will form a backdrop for our lives in the personal and global sense.

That quality comes from the fact that the weeks of May are leading up to the first of three eclipses (two solar and one lunar) which we are soon to be experiencing the full dynamics of.

Not meaning to offend anyone who’s loony for our local Luna Moon, but it’s really the solar eclipses which we’re concerned with here. Lunar eclipses have a very tight little build-up before and after the actual date of occurrence and events tend to go off like clockwork.

But solar eclipses? That’s a whole other kettle of pickles (gherkins, probably)! Solar eclipses are preceded by a six-to-eight week ‘breakdown’ period where things tend to get very mish-moshed and feeling destabilized; you probably felt this begin back around mid-April when suddenly everyone was so tired and confused and disorganized and wacky or out of whack.

That continues now. The effect is greatly mental and affecting the quality of clarity, sharpness, all that stuff because the first eclipse will be in Gemini. While the Sun remains in Taurus (which would be until May 21st, UT/+0) universal values and our feelings of worthiness or ‘is this worth it?’ will undulate like nobody’s business.

Around May 15th we can expect eclipse effects from the second eclipse (in Cancer) to begin surfacing in our lives. Think emotionality, think traditions, think habits, think home life and national pride (or lack of, depending)…think the way I feel life ought to be. 

Also (just for that being-in-a-pickle’s sake…), think nutrition, sleep habits, stomach aches, emotional tantrums and memory or memories.

This overlap gives us a message that the second half of the month is going to be particularly goofy, intense and maybe even filled with a sense of ‘unreality.’

What’s the underlying message? To stop thinking of life as it has been and as we have presumed it ‘should be.’ Eclipses are about eliminating our ‘excuses’ for making do instead of being who we should be.

Just bear that in mind.

May 1 through 6: Venus and Mercury running in tandem though emotional degrees of Aries symbolize a lot of fervency and feelings of urgency which may or may not be actually justified in the worldly sense, but which means quite a lot to us personally. We’re wanting to validate ourselves in some way, shape or form and though we can accomplish a lot it doesn’t quite scratch that itch.

In spite of that or despite that, people will either show a good face…or they won’t face reality at all. This is a period of emotional dichotomy when you shouldn’t trust that things are ‘all right’ just because you want to see them as being all right.

As this period begins, a New Moon in Taurus speaks to the necessity to get things done. Add in Ceres (thoughtful support) standing at 14 Pisces and we have a recipe which says the more we can work together, the better off we’re going to be – providing we’re realistic.

In opposition to this (at 14 Virgo) Atlantis is conjunct protective Juno, a combination which sounds very much like having to let go in order to get where you really want to go – and you may not have any assurances that things will be all right even if you do let go. That Juno is going direct here speaks to a ‘turn of circumstance’ or ‘change of direction’ with regards to (Virgo) efforts being made. Events which happen now will set a tone for some time to come and let’s remember, those solar eclipses unfold over a full 3 years!

Also – if you have a birthday either right at the end of April (say on the 29th or 30th) or the first few days of May this aspect, this effect, this dynamic is going to be with you for the whole of your ‘birthday year.’

One last note, with Echo going retrograde on May 3rd, its station effects begin on the 1st and extend through the 5th. Try to not just repeat what you've been told, even if it's by some authority. Think before you speak and consider all your options - and possible consequences (like, who you could alienate?)

May 7 through 10: Energy abounds now, as does a need for personal caution as Mercury, Venus, Mars and Jupiter all line up in Aries. With the Sun one sign ahead in Taurus, things and people who mean a lot to us affect us emotionally; particularly as these days come to a close matters seem intensely personal.

And they are. So don’t expect anyone else to understand entirely where you’re coming from and don’t project: what you’re feeling and experiencing and thinking about is all about your learning about who you are. You may even remember being told the way life ‘works’ and how whoever it was that said whatever is/was actually right. Honor that.

May 11 through 15: Given how Mars is moving into Taurus now, impatience and not liking how things ‘go’ will typify these days to some extent. Maybe it’s traffic, maybe it’s trying to reach someone, maybe it’s trying to get something done and something always seems to get in your way. Or maybe things just aren’t working the way you want them to.

Life isn’t what we want it to be, but when we accept what it is and laugh at life’s foibles, suddenly we’re free. Try it – people around you (who are all grinding their teeth) may think you’re nuts, but once you start laughing you may realize how ridiculous it is to battle life’s tides. Then you can laugh some more! Silly people!

May 15 through 20: Everyone relaxes and things seem to come into more refined focus as Venus and Mercury enter Taurus and a purposeful and deliberate process begins getting things moving in on or another direction. However – don’t count on giant strides: TNO Orcus going direct now tells us there are new parameters to deal with which are ‘consequences’ of things already done.

This last is highlighted by a late Scorpio Full Moon tests whether we have taken others into proper account. If you haven’t, prepare for objections and to need to try, try again. This isn’t the end of the world but it may be a bit of a personal trial.

May 21 through 23: As the Sun moves into Gemini life’s tempo picks up and people get more abstract. The ‘idea of the thing’ gets more important, but with Mercury, Venus and Mars all in Taurus we can expect people to be anywhere between exacting to persnickety about details.

With Jupiter in the last degrees of Aries there’s a lot of prompting to achieve and get things done – we’re going to feel like we’re racing towards various goals, finish lines, benchmarks and the like. And this is a personal issue.

May 24 through 28: The drive is still there. The sense of abstract consideration is there. Tons of information will be coming and going and being buzzed about every which-way. But where the preceding days were personal, now the focus grows more interactive and finally into the realm of the impersonal ‘we’ and ‘they’.

Some people will feel a lot of pressure now. The deadlines (or whatever) may be true, but the real cause of the pressure is their sense of self worth. To whatever degree that is at a lack, so they will be doing the ‘I have to do xyz’ speech.

Take it as their confession. Yes, they may need to get something done…but the real issue is how they don’t feel entirely equal to the totality of what’s going on in their life.

If you want to earn points or salve a frantic soul, just be supportive. Just tell them you’re with them and that if they need you, to call. Right now that’s a magical sort of gift to give someone – your willingness to be there for them tells them how worthy they are and hey, how you have faith that they’re capable.

Sometimes the option of a resource is all we need to make us strong.

May 29 through May 31: As we close in on the Solar Eclipse of June 1st people are once again focusing on values and what they need to have in life, or get out of life, and part of that is going to be based on old expectations, standards and ways.

You’re going to feel tension now, though you don’t have to participate or catch it like some flu. The dividing line here is all about whether you recognize times are changing and that we all have to change with our evolving world. Both the ‘haves’ and ‘have nots’ are going to feel the shift now, and oddly enough change is likely to be harder on the ‘have’s than those who have little. It’s not some trick or nastiness going on, it’s like what was said in an old episode of M*A*S*H (the television version)…which I very liberally paraphrase: only those who have something to lose can feel in danger of losing  something. 

Don’t clutch – look ahead. Think long term. And whatever you do, don’t hold your breath…no one looks that good in blue!