I’m out of town right now so I’m a bit delayed in posting the full article to my website, but here’s the introduction to help you get started on the month of May. I’ll be sending out my newsletter Sunday so if you want to sign up and receive the translations of these reports into English, visit my website or sign up in the sidebar here. 

As the month of May begins, the opposition between Saturn and Uranus is still very much with us.  This tension between the pull of that which is familiar and known (Saturn) and that which is new and strange (Uranus) will diminish over the next few weeks but the principle of integrating these two opposites will be with us for quite some time.  This is the fourth phase of five, and the cycle will complete next summer.

Mercury is retrograde now, so plan for delays and glitches of all kinds.  Mercury is in the fixed and stubborn sign of Taurus where the flexibility required by the retrograde period is harder to achieve.  Just breathe and relax, and the details will follow eventually.

The element of air is underrepresented until the Sun enters Gemini.  The only planet in an air sign is Neptune, and Neptune’s pressure for transcendence does not encourage the objectivity and reason that the element of air provides.  For the first few weeks of May we may lack some of that objectivity and it will be necessary to attain a more rational viewpoint through the conscious application of mental focus.  This will be somewhat difficult until after Mercury turns direct on May 11.

Neptune’s influence is particularly powerful this month since it is slowing down in preparation for its retrograde turn at the end of the month.  When a planet prepares to change direction its apparent movement (from our perspective here on earth) is slower and the planet beams a more powerful ray than it normally does as it moves through the sky.  With the focus on Neptune we will be called from within to remember that there is much more to life than the physical realm.  Spirituality, poetry, creativity, music, and a general sense of compassion and divine love will be more important right now than usual.

 Saturn also changes direction this month – after a few months of retrograde travel it will begin to station (stand still) towards the end of the month.  As the planet of restriction that creates limitations for us, Saturn’s stationary periods can emphasize that restriction to a greater extent.  If you remember that Saturn seeks structure, order, discipline and hard work, you can avoid some of the more difficult effects of a Saturn experience.

Mercury traveling retrograde can make it more difficult to define our thoughts and ideas, but with a harmonious trine from Mercury to Pluto on the 3^rd we have more focus and there is more power behind our ability to concentrate and communicate.  This is a good time for meetings or difficult conversations as any power imbalances will be harmonized and put to good use.

Mercury is also in a trine to Ceres on the 4^th.  This is a time to take care of ourselves and others – to spend some time in the garden or the farmer’s market, appreciating the wonders of the bounty of the earth.  A square from the Sun to Mars that day presents a chance of some minor conflict but could also energize us to take difficult action.