Celestial Notebook Overview May 2009

The Sun (), the integrating factor in any chart, is for most of May in Taurus (). The Age of Taurus coincided with the development of agriculture and was a peaceful, matriarchal period and was strongly connected to the Goddess and the Bull – the strong, tenacious feminine.

Taurus as a fixed, earth sign is where we find our grounding: Taurus searches for its value and represents the physical, stable expression of the divine. Taurus is tuned into earthly growth processes in a very practical way, honouring the cyclic nature of all things, understanding that beginnings and endings are shifting poles of the same phenomenon - a revolving door between two worlds.

Where Taurus falls in your chart is where the Sun is transiting now and where you are taking inventory of what you have and what you desire to create next – where you are learning to accept a peace that goes beyond understanding.

The entire month, Venus, Taurus’ ruling planet tangos with Mars through Aries. With Venus (), Goddess of Love and Beauty (what we value) and Mars (), Our Inner Hero (directing our passion) so close together, we’re in for a month in which interdependence and an equality between the male and the female will be uppermost in our process of individuation.

A main theme for this year is a triple conjunction between Chiron, Jupiter and Neptune in Aquarius: by 21 May they are all at 26° Aquarius ().

Chiron (), The Wounded Healer, sustained emotional and physical damage, yet he provided his own antidote. By doing so, he provided us with a healing model relevant to our time; conjunct Neptune () the answers lie in our potential return to spirit, oneness and unconditionality.

It is possible that this conjunction represents the outbreak of the Swine Flu we are experiencing: Chiron often depicts physical ailments and Neptune represents fluidity or boundary-lessness. The spiritual guidelines involved probably revolve around the universal law that we are all equal: we are all human and to survive (in order to evolve!) we need to cooperate. In modern times viruses and recessions cannot be isolated.......

This is part of The Great Work and mercifully Jupiter (), The Bestower of Blessings has been added to the equation, smoothing the way and supporting us to open our hearts to the truth of interdependence and interconnectedness – that is if we are prepared to truly share without giving up our centre!

Jupiter, the biggest planet by far, also amplifies everything he touches and perhaps that is why the Swine Flu outbreak is spreading so far and wide. Many are questioning (Neptune) whether the threat it poses is as great as it is made out to be?

Jupiter, Chiron and Neptune in Aquarius actually neons the message that if we choose to tap into the collective momentum, we could do growth work that we would normally do individually. Our progress of seeing our self as individuals within a greater whole contributes to the whole and, guess what, the whole contributes back to us!

The pig flu news broke as Mercury (), Messenger of the Gods, slowed down to go retrograde on 7 May: he dips a toe into Gemini () and retrogrades to 22° Taurus from where he goes direct on 31 May. Squaring the Chiron/Neptune/Jupiter conjunction from Taurus means that any deceit (Neptune) could be brought to light at breakneck speed (over-the-top Jupiter) so that a lesson could be brought home and a healing (Chiron) can occur. Mercury is also the God of Commerce and more information about the state of world finance could come to light.

Apart from the Moon weaving through the signs, the only planet that is in a water sign is Uranus at 25° and 26° Pisces (). Water is boundary-less: it tends to want to flow and merge and we will all tend to have trouble with boundaries this month, liable to merge and flow at inappropriate times and places.

When an element is so far in the minority (or a singleton as it’s called) it becomes the Thirteenth Fairy that is not invited to the party because she is disruptive; she crashes the party anyway and creates havoc (see Daily Guide for 21 April). Water erupting from your subconscious is apt to come in overwhelming waves of feeling: the face is one of dissolution, falling into chaos, drowning. When your feelings spill over at inopportune moments re-mind yourself that your soul knows best and is merely prompting you (or those around you) to bring to light whatever needs to be in the light.

Saturn () symbolises how we relate to our physical reality, to form and to time and this old goat has been retrograde (seemingly reversing) since 31 December 2008. He turns direct on 17 May at 14° 54’ Virgo (). Let’s trust that during Saturn’s retrograde period we have assimilated at a deeper, more introspective level the reality of our human nature – the good, the bad and the beautiful - and that we are now ready to emerge and utilise our fresh insights.

On an external level, matters that have inexplicably ground to a halt will, with patience, thoroughness and a steadiness of focus, start moving forward. Slowly but surely even our energy levels will start improving!

Saturn at 14° 54 Virgo re-visits the degrees of the Uranus-Pluto conjunction of the Sixties (the last pandemic occurred in 1968). Important seeds of the New Age we’re moving into were planted then. There is a profound shift in the collective consciousness towards greater simplicity, sincerity and interconnectedness.

Give the process the attention it deserves.