Tune in later for a post about the death of Osama bin Laden, but for now Skywatch for May has been posted just in time for the Taurus New Moon. You can read the whole article here, or if you’re not on my mailing list you can see what you’re missing here and read the abridged version.

Here’s the important information for the first week of May and the New Moon which occurs on May 3rd (today!):

During the month of May we get a bit of a breather.  The intensity of April’s fire energy, with so many planets in Aries, has subsided and while Mars is still separating from a conjunction to Jupiter which has amplified (Jupiter) the force for activation (Mars), and there are still five planets in Aries, over the past few weeks we have hopefully been able to integrate the power of that fire so that it is less disturbing and perhaps more energizing and clarifying. In May there are no major planetary aspects, and most of the planetary interaction comes from the faster moving planets and last only a day or so.

The image of the phoenix bird (the firebird) is a powerful one for the element of fire.  We usually refer to the phoenix in connection with Scorpio because of the regeneration after death, but it is also a good descriptor of the power of fire which consumes everything in its path and leaves a clean slate behind.  This is the force of the element of fire that we can use for our benefit if we can learn to balance and use the force of fire, which is pure instinctive inspiration and motivation at its core, and not let it overwhelm us with anxiety and rage.

Until the Sun enters Gemini on the 20th there is a dearth of the element of air other than Saturn in Libra which is a bit like negative air since Saturn creates a vacuum in the sign that it falls in.  Air is the element that provides us with perspective and objectivity, but Mercury and Venus travel together for most of the month.  That combination of Mercury and Venus is a great aid for mental stability and inspire a desire for a more balanced (Venus) viewpoint (Mercury) that will assist us in finding that perspective. Venus and Mercury are both in Aries so inspiration is available to us, but it is gentler and affords greater creativity.  If you have plans to make for your life, this is a great time to put these plans into motion.

The Taurus New Moon on May 5th will help to ground us and provide a few days of peace and serenity as we connect to our experience of life on a green planet.  In Taurus the senses are more acute and we find ourselves seeking more balance with the natural world.  The chart for the New Moon incorporates the Mars/Jupiter conjunction, which is separating but still in effect so there is a stabilizing (Taurus) of the fiery blaze that helps us to find greater balance between the volatlity and passion of fire and the dislike of change and need for stability that Taurus engenders.