The astrology of May brings significant shifts in the midst of sensual Taurus season. The Lunar Nodes are changing signs, while multiple planets are stationing retrograde—all as we prepare for next month’s eclipse season. Difficult energies are at play at the start of the month. Pluto has just stationed retrograde, confronting us with our internal shadows, while Mercury is conjuncting Uranus, Mars is opposing the Moon, and Venus is squaring Neptune. Some of us may be struggling with profound restlessness, irritation, painful longings, or emotional wounds rising to the surface.

But the beauty of our current circumstances is that we have nowhere to hide. Saturn in Aquarius is teaching us the lessons of isolation. Beyond that, we are wrapping up the journey of the North Node in Cancer, which has helped us feel more at home with ourselves, focused on our inner worlds, families, self-nourishment, and intimate bonds. In the midst of the 2020 paradigm shift, we’ve been powerfully upending an age of materialism and patriarchal hierarchy, no longer defining ourselves by external successes and productivity. Now, more than ever, we’re appreciating the richness of human connection and inner peace. We’re seeing the sacredness that the world provides when we all slow down and stop unnecessary travel, pollution, and consumption. Glimmers of what could be have shone through during these trying times, and now we’re starting to think about how we can return to our lives and relationships with newfound wisdom, innovation, stillness, and understanding.

Love, money, and truth are resounding themes this month, as we begin to sort fact from fiction and deepen our appreciation of one another. We’re listening more and granting our inner feminine a stronger voice. We might stop to ask her what she yearns for, allowing her answers to guide our next steps forward.

Nodal Shift

On May 5, the Lunar Nodes shift from the Cancer-Capricorn axis into Gemini and Sagittarius. Our evolutionary lesson is now changing emphasis for the next two years. We are concluding Cancer’s lessons in self-care and family, home, and true intimacy. At the same time, we’ve been working through our Capricornian neuroses, which prioritized hard work and external success, over our deeper connections and needs. 

With the North Node moving into Gemini, we’re beginning to move toward curiosity, listening, education, and objective truth. It’s time to purify our Sagittarian tendencies toward dogmatic beliefs and lies. We can apply objective reason to sort out what’s true and what isn’t. Meanwhile, we are emphasizing the local tendencies of Gemini, forgoing Sagittarian travels to faraway places. What lessons do we need to learn, right where we are?

Above all, we’re finding ways to stop spouting our rigid opinions at one another. For the next two years, we will dialogue and listen more, applying our logic and open-mindedness to finding fresh solutions. Education is also evolving, as we rethink how we learn, speak, and read, while making more time to pursue our interests.

Scorpio Full Moon

The Scorpio Full Moon arrives on May 7, eliciting passion and intensity. Luckily, the Moon is supported by gentle, dreamy Neptune. We might feel extra attuned to our psychic abilities as truth is revealed, and we are able to love ourselves more. As we face our fears, we can maintain our faith and find balance. Forgiveness is also a theme, both of ourselves and others. We’re learning to blend our passionate longings with open-hearted love.

Saturn Retrograde

Saturn starts his annual retrograde on May 11. We have the chance now to return to the lessons we’ve been undergoing in recent months, since the paradigm-shifting conjunction of Saturn and Pluto in January. We may feel frustrated or heavy now, wishing for greater momentum. The past could be weighing us down, but rather than succumb to our frustrations, we can now do our work to untangle old karma, and determine what we will release and what we will carry forward.

Venus Retrograde in Gemini

Venus stations retrograde in Gemini on May 13, an event that occurs about once every two years. Until June 25, we are entering a period of reflection, review, and recalibration in the realms of love, money, values, creativity, and relationships. We are now considering more carefully how we communicate, gossip, and relate to each other. Our mental connections are becoming more important, as we forge bonds through humor, wit, and shared interests, rather than simply the physical realm. We might consider establishing multiple streams of income now, or at least rethink how we make and spend money. As we learn how little we need, we’re breaking out of a collective mentality that’s been ruled by materialism and consumerism for far too long.

This is also a beautiful period for creating art, completing unfinished projects, and picking up old or un-pursued interests. By the time Venus stations direct, we may experience a flood of new art and music. Different types of relationships could emerge that embody greater depth, stemming from an expanded sense of self-love and respect. At the same time, our inner feminine is finding her voice, as we question her deepest longings and proceed from there. What would our world and connections look like if we better prioritized our feminine desires?

Gemini New Moon

The Gemini New Moon arrives on May 22, bringing a crescendo of Gemini energy to the fore. Trining Saturn, much good could come from our dialogues at this point. We could be constructive in our conversations and begin to build tangible things from our ideas and exchanges. Which direction would we like to pursue for the foreseeable future?

May Summary

The month of May presents profound shifts astrologically, with multiple planets stationing retrograde as the Lunar Nodes move onto the Gemini-Sagittarius axis. Feelings of restlessness and stir-craziness are jolting through us at the start of the month. However, we may have to harness a little more patience, with several planets in retrograde. It’s time to turn inward and review any lessons we’ve learned, while embracing new understandings around relationships, self-worth, and money. Recalibration is key, as we take inventory of where we’ve gone wrong, and where we still have unfinished business, especially in the domains of love and creative projects. Meanwhile, passions could arise during the Scorpio Full Moon on May 7, plunging us into our shadow work while offering us the chance to forgive ourselves and others, with gentleness, understanding, and restored faith.

By the end of the month, the Gemini New Moon is helping us formulate exciting new ideas, and build them into reality. This is an important month to ask ourselves what we truly want, and notice any blocks around feeling worthy of our highest ideals. The future is unwritten. If we want to manifest a better world, we will have to face ourselves honestly and deliberately. We can become clear on what our hearts yearn for—beyond striving toward material success and empty achievement. Then, if we can really listen to one another, communicate openly, and relax our rigid dogma, we have the chance to work together—body, mind, and spirit—to build a future based on mutual respect, honesty, intelligence, and open-hearted collaboration.

Among the calla lilies and honeysuckle, may we celebrate the Earth’s beauty, with our senses awakened, spirits excited, and patience intact. May we open to ourselves and others while generating kindness, curiosity, and forgiveness, forging deeper bonds with warm hearts and clear minds.

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