AstroCast: May 20 - June 3, 2012

**Times where noted are Pacific Daylight Time; degrees where noted are rounded to the nearest whole degree.

Chatter will be in the air on the morning of May 20th when the Sun enters Gemini, the sign of all things communication.  This may be somewhat of a relief from the quieter disposition of Taurus.  If words were secondary to sensing then, they’ll certainly take center stage now!  Information and lots of it will cheerfully pass from person to person when Gemini is strong.  Twitter and social media of all variety could really pop, although with the Moon, Mercury and Jupiter still in Taurus, it may take at least a few days for the shift to be conspicuous once Gemini’s corner of the sky loads up. One of the potential consequences of being so endeared to data is that the act of transferring it becomes the object of desire regardless of substance.  Mental connections become seductive.  Let’s hope we can keep meaning in the balance. The New Moon happens by late afternoon at 0° Gemini within a few degrees of the South Lunar Node and opposite (180° angle) the North Lunar Node in Sagittarius, which makes this a Solar Eclipse and therefore particularly potent.  Signs of endings or beginnings may appear in the arenas of life represented by the house where this degree range of Gemini resides in our individual charts.  Neptune challenges the New Moon to a square off requiring some level of spiritual consciousness to enter the conversation.  It’s when we resist this part of our nature that the shadow side of Neptune appears to cloud our thinking. With the feeling Moon eclipsing the willful Sun and the Lunar Nodes involved it becomes a powerful T-Square that brings destiny into play with a higher vision.

On May 21st Mercury meets up with Jupiter at 25° Taurus.  Abundant thoughts and thoughts of abundance carpet the Earth with a rich philosophical tone.   While Taurus may be practical and concerned with achieving goals in a more conservative fashion, Jupiter here will always elevate the mission to include the search for truth. If Mercury can stretch beyond conventional wisdom to meet this higher octave of mind then profound insights may be had

The Sun makes an exact square to Neptune on May 23rd.  This is a first quarter square that energetically sets off a “crisis of action.”  What seeds were planted at the conjunction of this planetary pair last February, which roughly coincided with Neptune’s return home to his ruling sign of Pisces, may finally become evident enough for choices to be made on what action is necessary to achieve the goals of this cycle.   The beautiful essence of astrology is all the concurrent cycles going on at any given time that weave together the extraordinary tapestry of life.   While our minds are busy developing plans for our careers and other worldly matters, our souls are quietly underpinning our external lives with breathtaking moments of insight and clarity.  Perhaps it is now time to pay attention to that little voice within us asking simply that we Be, because that is how we will find our joy.

Mercury enters Gemini on May 24th and happily kicks off a few days of some serious celestial networking.  Activating our intellects with connection seeking fervor, the Messenger of the Gods is at home in the sign he rules and joins the Sun and Venus here, tipping the balance to this mutable air sign perhaps making us all a bit more restless as the languorous feeling of Taurus fades away.   On May 25th, the mercurial one squares mystical Neptune, making a stronger link between mind and spirit and perhaps turning our thoughts inward to soul concerns.  The Lunar Nodes come into play strongly during this period when first the Sun, representing the creative life-force, touches the South Node at 5° Gemini and opposes the North Node at 5°Sagittarius on the 25th, then perceptive Mercury does the same on May 26th.  Symbolically, the North Node represents the road ahead while the South Node represents the road behind us.  When they figure into the dominant energies playing out they heighten the relationships that represent the past and the future.  They can force us to look at where we are stagnating in a pool of familiarity and where we need to stretch in order to make that next leap in growth. Generally the people who show up now could be the ones who help launch us into our next phase.  On May 27th, Mercury meets up with the Sun for the Superior Conjunction, the culmination of this current Mercury cycle, and beckons us to experience a new level of clarity on whatever has been our focus for the last two and a half months.

Emotions could lead the day on May 28th as the Moon in Virgo makes various aspects to Neptune (opposition), Mercury (square), Pluto (trine), Mars (conjunction) and the Sun (square).  The first quarter square between the two powerful luminaries dominates the pack highlighting the contrast between what we are feeling and what we desire to create.  With the Moon dialing into the other planets, she’ll be at her best in a completely receptive mode, absorbing the rich counsel from mind, body and spirit and allowing the tension from the Sun to pressurize it all into a diamond-studded action plan. This midpoint between the Solar eclipse of May 20th and the upcoming Lunar eclipse on June 4th is the deciding moment of this significant cycle – can we let go of the past so that we may live our future?

Perceptive Mercury will lend support to that question over the next few days as he consults with several planets and decodes their position on the matter.  Brain boxes with brawn on May 30th when Mercury at 14° Gemini squares Mars at 14° Virgo.  Pure reasoning may seem to be at cross-purposes with primal energy but the intellects have it since Mercury rules both Gemini and Virgo.  Best to put the muscle behind the mind on this one.  Mercury conjuncts retrograde Venus at 18° Gemini on June 1st making it an opportunistic day to review the status of our significant relationships.  Anything that needs to be said will have the charm and grace that comes when these two planets meet. Flirting may be in order for any new acquaintances that strike our fancy.  Mercury then builds on the strength gathered from his encounter with Mars and the cultural polish he picked up from Venus as he approaches a trine to retrograde Saturn which becomes exact at 23° Gemini/Libra on June 3rd. With Saturn in the sign of partnership, mental discipline with regards to others should come easily now.  Frivolous thoughts turn fundamental and the importance of duty and responsibility may be realized. Even if just for a brief moment, with all the chaos in the world going on, this would be the time to think of everything and everyone just clicking into its right place so divine order can be restored.