The month of May 2021 carries some big planetary movement and energy. The overall theme is learning to let go of the past, staying present in the moment, and being hopeful for the future. While we cannot control what reaction or response will show up next, we can make moment by moment decisions based on where we are now.
I continue to be reminded that we are not the same people we once were. The initiations we have all been going through are big. Many of these initiations are quite difficult, and some feel soul crushing. However, I hold the belief that we are getting stronger and that we are not given more than we can handle. Part of my lower mind, my personal agenda/ego wrestled with that belief for a while these past couple of weeks. What my family has endured seems almost unbearable and there are so many questions right now. The answers will be revealed over time, and what matters most is that we are staying grounded in the moment and hopeful in the future.
This is what I believe May will invite for us all. Grounded hope.
The quote for this month comes from one of my favorite children’s authors, Shel Siverstein. My kids grew up with Shel’s books, as they were a favorite of mine to read to them during the cherished before bedtime routine. This quote is a perfect way to invite childlike wisdom, curiosity, and hope into our lives.
“Listen to the mustn’ts, child. Listen to the don’ts. Listen to the shouldn’ts, the impossibles, the won’ts. Listen to the never haves, then listen close to me… Anything can happen, child. Anything can be.” ― Shel Silverstein
Mercury moves into Gemini May 4th and Venus makes her move into the sign of the Twins May 9th. For those who are struggling with relationships, whether single or bonded, please know that things will get better. Clarity comes in present moment awareness. If in doubt, take inventory. Look inside and identify what is true for you right now. Look at your beliefs about yourself, a situation, and your life and identify what you value, what is true, and how that has manifested thus far. After taking inventory, see if there is anything that you wish to strengthen or change. Then one step at a time, take decisive action.
Conversations can become lighter, more flexible and adaptable with all this mutable energy this month. Our social calendars begin to fill up and our minds become more curious and gather information to help inform our decision making process. Very often when Gemini energy is activated, we enjoy connecting with a variety of people and places in our local area. We could find ourselves interacting with others simply for the fun of it, offering advice, or listening to a variety of stories that energize us. The shadow side of Gemini is gossip and backbiting. We do have to be careful about getting so caught up in the stories that we over identify with them and begin to create a world that may not be true or may even cause harm. Reminding ourselves that our words create worlds will go a long way this month.
Before rushing into all the Gemini energy, we enter May with the Sun still in Taurus, giving us a warm, friendly and grounded sense of purpose. We may feel more creative and alive when we are able to connect with our true inner nature and Mother Nature herself. Music, food, and anything that titillates five senses will give us reasons to smile and connect with those we care about. Our focus will most likely be on what we want to build in our lives that have sustainable and nourishing results. It’s a perfect energy to carry us into the Taurus new moon.
May 11th is a new moon in Taurus inviting us to ground our intentions in practical, sustainable, and tangible ways. Creating new habits helps to create new realities.
Answering questions such as the ones below can offer clarity and direction as we set our intentions.
- What might bring comfort, security, and more love to my life and benefit others?
- Where am I placing value? Does it still serve? If not, what do I need to change to align with my values?
- What does security mean to me?
- What is one new habit I want to start?
- Who do I value most in my life and how can I deepen my connection with them?
Continue to come up with your own and notice when the answers and intentions arrive where you feel it in your body. Remember, that our body is a grounded source of intuition that is constantly speaking to us. Our five senses are activated and stimulated by the Taurus and Gemini energy, and as we tap into this energy field we can find clarity, truth, and comfort. This new moon is a great time to do an earthy ritual. Literally getting seeds and planting them in the dirt as a symbolic way of planting your intentions is a great ritual during this time. Working with herbs, oils, plants, and all things natural are wonderful as well.
Two days after the new moon, a beautiful compliment and energizer will be Jupiter moving into its home sign of Pisces.
Jupiter in Pisces expands, blesses, and seeks opportunities for greater hope, meaning, and generosity.
We could find ourselves feeling more hopeful that our intentions will actually materialize, and because they are planted in the fertile soil of our six senses we can trust that the results will be just what we need. While Jupiter will retrograde in June (on the Summer Solstice- let’s not dismiss the timing of these events) and move back into Aquarius at the end of July until the end of the year, we will get a small taste of what 2022 can offer to us. Again, the future while still malleable has some positive outcomes ahead.
Faith and compassion is also a big topic of Jupiter in Pisces. While our faith in something that has yet to be proven over time has been tested in big and powerful ways, there should be moments and conversations that allow us to feel the universe is truly compassionate and on our side.
Many of us will find that our hopes and dreams are manifesting and that we can believe in love again.
A few of us will receive news that something we have wished for, for quite some time is finally manifesting. I see a lot of us will be traveling again, or if separated by space and time from a loved one we can reconnect in a powerful and emotionally strong way.
Keep in mind that Jupiter will be in the early degrees of Pisces and will have a brief encounter with the Sun in Gemini the third week of May. This encounter will be forming a square aspect providing some tension and possibly confusion in our communication, information, or connections. We could find ourselves thinking one thing and saying another out of worry or fear of rejection or feeling insecure. We may find ourselves needing more reassurance than usual so that we can find hope when we feel hopeless, or when our faith is being tested once again. My philosophy on life is that it continues to flow regardless of what we do or what we want. We can either stand in the way of the flow and become an obstacle or jump into the stream and move with it. Shit happens. Life continues regardless of how we feel about it. Regardless of how much we act or talk. So the invitation with expansive Jupiter is to flow and make conscious choices along the way.
Jupiter blesses what it touches and in Pisces our dreams, our psychic gifts, our spiritual nature will be highly active.
Many will be seen as spiritual teachers, step into a spiritual teacher role, or feel the great need to escape into the unseen realm in order to receive wisdom from a higher consciousness. If we are struggling with finding solutions to issues (or shit we have been dealing with) then Jupiter in Pisces can bless us with an abundance of answers through our emotional body and psychic body. We may be particularly challenged towards the end of the month when we have so much wisdom to share and no one wants to hear it (Mercury will go retrograde in Gemini at the end of May…more on that later). We have an abundance of resources and yet the places and people we want to share them with may not understand what we are trying to give or do. It is also possible that a few of us will find it difficult to manage the overflow of emotional energy and put it into some sort of organized mental format that makes any sense at all. However, the overall grace of Jupiter in Pisces is that we should have multiple opportunities to share, connect, and receive the things we have been wishing for.
The Sun enters Gemini on May 20th, activating our social calendars, meaningful connections, youthful and fun-loving conversations and self expression. Collecting and sharing information can give us a sense of purpose, and help us feel more connected to our beloved ones. The challenge during the next couple of weeks will be that…
Mercury (ruler of Gemini) will go retrograde on May 29th, Saturn stations and retrogrades on the 23rd, and we have a full moon Sagittarius eclipse on the 26th. The last two weeks of May are BIG, intense energy.
I will start with the Sagittarius eclipse first as it colors the energy field from mid-May until mid June as eclipses are full or new moons on steroids. Therefore their energies can be felt a month before or after the actual eclipse time. Eclipses tend to bring what we might call “fated” events into our lives. I often see eclipses as a time when we are standing right in the middle of a crossroad and are forced to make a choice. We can either stay where we are, go right or left, or get creative and forge our own path. Either way, there is usually a marked moment of choice.
On a mundane level, eclipses often bring people into our lives that we need to interact with or make a decision about. With this eclipse being a full moon and happening during a Mercury retrograde cycle many of us will have someone from our past returning so that we can close one chapter with them and open a new one. The new chapter could be a new form of relationship with them or it could be cutting off the relationship all together. This could be in a personal or professional way. Consider for example that you have been waiting to leave one job and start another one, or you and another have been “just friends” and now decide to become romantic partners. Some of us are separated by distance and this eclipse (especially since it is Gemini/Sagittarius) could find ways to be reunited. I also feel that we will have quite a bit of information being revealed during this time that either reinforces our beliefs or forces us to let go of a belief we have held onto that no longer serves. Either way this full moon invites a fresh start for us in some area of our lives.
Look in your natal chart and see what house Gemini and Sagittarius rules, and that will give you a good idea of where and what this eclipse might activate. My May video horoscopes are posted on YouTube as well, which will give you more insight.
As I mentioned earlier, this eclipse energy is active while Mercury will move into its second retrograde cycle on May 29th until June 22nd. Mercury will station retrograde at 24 degrees Gemini and go back to 16 degrees Gemini. Mercury will pass through 16 degrees of Gemini starting the evening of May 13th (Jupiter moves into Pisces this day) and then will retrograde back to 16 degrees Gemini before stationing direct on June 22nd. I am pointing this out to bring awareness to the activity, conversations, information, and decisions being made middle of May as many of these things will be revisited, redone, reviewed, or renewed during the retrograde cycle. Yes, Mercury retrograde does indicate delays, miscommunication, misfires, and foggy decisions making or thought processes. So it will be important to give each other a lot of space and grace during this time. Giving each other the benefit of the doubt is a good rule of thumb and the phrase “not everything is as it appears to be” will help to keep us grounded during this time.
Mercury retrograde in Gemini will most likely have us questioning a lot of things, which can ultimately lead to solutions.
However, do keep in mind that when Mercury is retrograde here the Trickster is running amuck and in its glory. Trickster energy is great for levity in serious situations or to help distract us when things become overwhelming and we need to escape through creativity, humor, or just plain fun. However, if we take everything too seriously we could end up being easily deceived or create volatile situations that will need to be cleaned up now or later. PLEASE DO watch what you say and write during this time. I can already see emails, texts or conversations going to the wrong person or what we intended to say being misconstrued because we couldn’t effectively communicate. There is nothing wrong with saying “Yes I would like that, and I need a little bit of time and space before fully committing.” If we have to sign contracts during this time, get another set of eyes to look over the details and be ready to revisit certain details later when Mercury goes direct. I can also see a few of us will be revisiting a situation that was started during the Mercury retrograde in Pisces back in February and changing those dynamics altogether (Sagittarius full moon eclipse).
Key relationships are going to be the biggest theme for most of us the second half of May. Either they work or they don’t. I doubt there will be any middle ground here. While the eclipse should leave us feeling inspired and hopeful, we may have to let one thing go in order for the new to emerge. As one of my Teachers reminds me regularly, “We are always one step from Grace and Grief.” These two friends go hand in hand. It is through our grief that we meet the grace, and through grace that we can sit in the middle of grief and hope once again.
Saturn turning retrograde in Aquarius for the next few months will give us plenty of practice with grace and grief. The energy of Saturn moves inward and invites us to look at certain areas of life we need to master. We may be revisiting social dynamics where we feel restricted or where the rules enforced by others do not line up with our ideas of what the rules should be. Rebellion and restlessness could lead to revisiting certain structures that need to be rebuilt. Consider these next couple of months a test of not only faith, but is reality what it really appears to be? We will be given plenty of opportunities to put our inner wisdom into practice, and knowing that we have stayed in our integrity will be the greatest accomplishment.
April showers bring May flowers dear friends. Believe in love, in life, and hope once again.
For those who read to the end, here is a picture to share with you that gives me hope. The future is bright with these beloveds in it.
