The Cosmic Story For May 2022
The Romans worshiped the Goddess Flora, the flower maiden, in May. For them, May was the time to blossom, just as the Earth was blossoming. Flora was a nymph who became the bride of Zephyr, the god of breezes. As a wedding gift, he gave her the gift of Spring and the Garden. (As usual with patriarchal re-tellings, it is the god’s gift to Flora, instead of recognizing that Flora, blossoming, is the growth aspect of Mother Earth, who also sends the gentle breezes of Spring to awaken that blossoming. In reality, they work together. Equal partners in creating the awakening of new life. Sort of like pregnancy being caused by a penis.)
Flora
Like the cross-quarter holiday of Beltane (May 1-5), May is a time of wild delight, innocent wonder and open sensuality. Our senses come alive as the fragrant blossoms open to the Sun. In May, we are bathed in beauty – our sight is filled with vibrant rainbow colors, our smell is intoxicated by the heady fragrance of lilac, hyacinth and rose, our touch by the feel of the Sun’s warmth and soft breezes on our skins, and our hearing by the sounds of birds, insects and leaves filling our heads with the music of life. My heart is always blown open by the sheer beauty all around me in May here in Rhode Island. But then again, I’m a Taurus. A May baby. I incarnated to embody that season’s beauty.
The Romans honored Maia and the Bona Dea/ Earth Mother in the beginning of May. This time of blossoming was also allotted to girls who were just coming into their sexuality and womanhood, the new beginning which promised them growth and change. But I know all women feel this awakening to life, no matter what our ages. It is the Goddess’ call to us to continually create and grow. As the goddess of flowers, Flora invites us to make flower garlands and crowns to adorn ourselves with the scents and beauty of the Goddess herself.
May and the sign of Taurus exemplify the light-filled side of the Divine Feminine (her dark side manifests in the opposite sign of Scorpio, for She is all things, all possibilities, all mystery) – its beauty, its sensuality and its ability to manifest life. Out of the divine spark of Aries’ fire, Taurus takes that energy and manifests it into something tangible, beautiful and life-giving.
In its truest form, Taurus is The Garden – the earthly paradise that our planet once was. And still could be.
For the most part, humanity experiences the Earth as a Mother Goddess – the One who carries us as we grow, the One who nurtures us, the One who clothes us in our human body. And the One who takes us to our final rest. Most surely, She is the One who embodies Home.
Just so is the quantum field – for it is the most subtle form of Mother Earth – the place where manifestation begins. And so we see the energy we call ‘the Divine Feminine’ as the foundation of the universe. We see it in the Tarot card The World, as the Woman dancing in the snake of time.
The Divine Feminine is not just our physical world. She is the Source of mystery and life, love and wisdom, our soul and its power to manifest. She is the ground of our being. The foundation and cosmic laws of Life.
She has been called many names, for she is Maia, the Magic/Illusion of the world that keeps us from seeing the Cosmic Unity. In fact, She is Life in all its many forms. She is the Goddess with 10,000 names because She is Matter that knows she is also Spirit. She is the mirror of our self-reflection, helping us see who we are. She becomes illusion when we don’t listen to our souls but rather to collective, rigid beliefs.
In Hinduism, Maya is illusion, a veiling of the true, unitary Self—the Cosmic Spirit also known as Brahman. The illusion these religions warn us about are the societal rules and perspective we each live in. Maya is what entices us into life so we get the experience we incarnated for. It’s how we respond to the experiences that make them an illusion, which are meant to trap us. When we see past the illusion, we get past the societal traps, and see ourselves clearly. Then Maya comes alive with the beauty of deeper experiences and lessons. The Buddha had to remember all his past lives before he became an Enlightened One under the Bodhi Tree at the Scorpio Full Moon of May.
In the I Ching, the second hexagram (although some feel this used to be the First) is the sacred Yin energy of life The Receptive. The feminine is open and allowing. It is also the source of Yang energy, since masculine doing is the externalization of feminine being. This is the energy of the Quantum field, the place where creation begins.
It’s interesting, and practical, that the Romans also got cautious by mid-May and knew that ‘lemures’ and other night stalkers could hurt the newly blossoming growth. Birth is always a dangerous time and new growth must be cultivated tenderly.
These ‘lemures’ are our shadows, our old unconscious behaviors that kill off new life and growth. We’ll see this at the Scorpio Lunar Eclipse – a perfect time to look deeply at who we are – our shadows, our fears, our gifts and our desires. Watch that you don’t cut off the new feelings and visions that want to live this year by shutting down that new life.
Mercury retrograde: May 10 – June 3, 2022
Shedding superficiality for self-assurance,
and mediocrity for authenticity.
Our dear traveling companion, Mercury/The Mind, is once again turning retrograde on May 10th. With so much going on in the world, I’m sure most of our minds are spinning. So why not take a break? Instead of looking outside for ‘the news’ why not turn your attention inside yourself and see what you really think about the past few years. To really blossom this May, look at what happened from a deeper perspective, hold on to the lessons learned and then let it go.
According to The Gene Keys by Richard Rudd (a system that unites your astrology chart with the I Ching), Mercury goes retrograde at the 20th Gene Key – The Sacred Om. This retrograde is a call to re-align ourselves with the sacred sound of the Universe. This entails a change of frequency. While we have measured Earth frequency and reproduced it, it’s always best to just go stand/sit/lay on Mother Earth and let yourself get tuned.
The shadow quality of this hexagram is superficiality – an apt description of so much of our cultural conversations and the media. But all too often also a description of our society. One of the lessons we’re being asked to learn this Mercury retrograde is to recognize our shadow behaviors that keep us living superficially, so we can step into the light of our own decisions, our own visions, our own purpose. It’s time to own who we are. And rejoice in it.
The war playing out in Ukraine is happening all over the world. How lucky we are that most of us don’t have to physically fight in a war for our liberty. The old dominator/patriarchal/corporate culture is trying to stop a new world from being born: a world focused on freedom, on diversity, on community, on creativity, on peace. A world in balance, where both Yin & Yang, Feminine & Masculine Spirit are valued equally. Isn’t it time to stand up for what we value? It is the season of Taurus, after all. Taurus asks us to find out what is of value to us and work at it and refine it.
In America and the West, perhaps liberty comes from not engaging in what is expected of us. Freedom comes from putting time into the things and experiences we value (a Taurus trait) rather than shopping (a patriarchal twisting of value and self-worth). One need we all share is our need to value Mother Earth, not only because our lives depend on Her, which they do, but because we are part of Her and of each other. This is our home. Why are we killing ourselves?
What creative options can we come up with to live differently, to enjoy life more, to engage in community? First we have to change our minds – change our perspectives so that we can see ourselves clearly – see what’s important to us. We need to look from the inside out – from the inner feminine knowing of heart and gut that knows what we long for.
The conjunctions between Neptune, Jupiter, Venus and Mars in Pisces this past month opened us to our collective unconscious needs and desires. Those waters are still stirring. While you wait to see what life brings you this year, ask yourself important questions. What is important to me? What do women desire most? What are men willing to do to preserve life rather than kill it? What can I do to make this beautiful world a better place to live in? How can I take up my stewardship of Mother Earth?
If we can hear the Sacred Om in everything (Maya – May), we can change the Story.
So what is it that Mercury is going back to reclaim? Mercury travels from 5* Gemini back to 27* Taurus. This is Gene Kay #8: The Diamond of the Self. This is the point where we either choose mediocrity or our own unique wildness and freedom. If we embrace who we are without fear, if we choose life’s adventure instead of a fake security (see how the money keeps disappearing), we can bring this back to Mercury’s original purpose – to know the truth, to speak the truth, to vibrate to the sacred OM.
Mercury retrograde occurs on May 10, 2002 at 4:48am PDT/ 7:48am EDT/ 12:48pm GMT.
This chart is interesting because the only planet Mercury aspects (just before it turns retrograde) is the Virgo Moon. This shows us a mind at odds with the plans of the heart. It makes sense, since this retrograde is all about deciding what is important to us.
The other interesting thing going on is that Aries Venus is inconjunct the Virgo Moon. They can’t see each other’s point of view. Venus in Aries wants to fight NOW. Moon in Virgo wants to make a plan. Venus might be too impatient to wait for Virgo’s plans to take shape. But to make wise choices, we’ll need to be patient (Mercury is retrograde!) and make sure our hearts are clear.
Pluto, which just turned retrograde April 29th, is in an easy aspect with Neptune, Jupiter and Mars in Pisces. As it retrogrades back to the second hit of the US Pluto return, can we take the concerns of the world’s suffering seriously? Can we leave behind the old divisive wars (so many of which use religion as an excuse), and see that we’re all in this together? Time will tell.
The Pisces trio is also in an easy flow with Uranus, Sun and North Node in Taurus, feeding our soul’s hopes and dreams into the new world we’re building for ourselves and hopefully for the world. While at the same time, Saturn in Aquarius is squaring the nodes, once again questioning us about our desires. Are we fearfully clinging to the Old or will we take the risk to embrace the New?
Scorpio-Taurus total Lunar Eclipse, May 15-16, 2022
The Scorpio Full Moon total lunar eclipse occurs on Sunday and Monday, May 15-16, at 9:14pm PDT/ 12:14am EDT/ 5:14am GMT.
This is a total Lunar Eclipse because the Sun and Moon are quite close to the Nodes. The eclipse is expected to last about 85 minutes. This total eclipse is central, meaning the moon passes centrally through the axis of Earth's dark (umbral) shadow. This is also a super moon, meaning the Moon is orbiting close to the Earth. The eclipse lasts from around 9:30pm to 1:55am EDT, with totality occurring from 11:30 pm EDT to 12:30am EDT, with maximum totality at 12:14am EDT.
The Taurus/Scorpio axis of the zodiac energizes our search for values, for what is worthy of our attention, for what is needed for growth. Both feminine signs, Taurus adds the earth element while Scorpio adds the water. These two signs are concerned with growth – both our physical and emotional growth, which depends on us living up to our values and knowing our worth.
While the Taurus Sun has been dancing on a daring edge with Uranus, Scorpio’s deep waters have been stirred up by the tumultuous energies moving through Pisces. Perhaps if we truly see how it is our culture that creates the traumas we’ve all been through, maybe we can share our grief over those emotional wounds and forgive ourselves for incurring them. And let it all go! While Taurus wants to grow our lives and experiences, Scorpio wants to release emotional pain what no longer serves life so we can grow.
The Full Moon of May/Taurus is also called the Buddha Moon, because it was under the Scorpio Full Moon that Siddhartha achieved enlightenment and became The Awakened One. (I had to bitch for a moment – our superficial culture has even taken this most important aspect of spiritual growth – to awaken to our divinity – and turned it into ‘being woke’.)
This Full Moon deepens our need to polish the Diamond of the Self. If we can do it properly, we will be clear about our goals and desires. The eclipsed Moon will need to work with the idea of compromise – how we continually compromise our beliefs and values by not standing up for them. By working at jobs that don’t nourish our souls. By living without a sense of personal freedom. By being too afraid to really love another. By never developing our imaginations or seeing our own uniqueness.
This is our opportunity to look at those shadow qualities that keep us in our ruts, that stop our growth and leave us dissatisfied with life. We’ve allowed a killing society to shape how we live our lives. This is a good time to break free and rediscover how you want to live your life.
At its best, this lunar eclipse calls us to become a driving force for humanity, to bring something new and vital into the world. When we do, it has the power to attract others, who can help us with the birth. It is time to create something in our lives that can help us blossom.
Saturn in Aquarius squares this Full Moon as well as the Nodes, so we get another challenge to choose between the Old vs the New. What possibilities will help us create a new reality? Saturn is probably part of your shadow. Look to your natal Saturn to see what might be holding you back from freedom.
Mars is about to conjunct Neptune in Pisces, both in a helpful relationship to this Lunar Eclipse, so be prepared to start acting on what Spirit has been telling you. Jupiter leaves Pisces on May 10th after Mercury goes retrograde, adding some passion for action to our self-reflection. And giving us many new opportunities to search for our new identity.
Venus has just danced with Chiron in Aries, so I know she’s feeling healed and self-confident to meet the demands of this eclipse, since she is the guardian planet of Taurus. She’s in charge, and it feels like Chiron was mentoring her on her self-worth, especially after hearing how the conservative judges on the US Supreme Court are about to take away women’s right to an abortion. And yet these people allow their children to be trained in the military as killers, so we know this is not about murder and death. This is about control. Our Aries Venus is not going to stand for it. But she has to remember to have a plan.
It’s always easier to make changes when you connect with the cosmic energies operating at the time. These times are enlivened by many big changing energies. It’s time to fasten your seatbelts – the ride is going to be rocky for the rest of the year.
(There’s a Taurus/Scorpio total Lunar Eclipse on the U.S. Election Day – it should be interesting!)
Blessings of the Season
Cathy
Matins II (excerpt)
I arise today
Blessed
by all things,
Wings of breath,
Delight of eyes,
Wonder
of whisper,
Intimacy of touch,
Eternity of soul,
Urgency
of thought,
Miracle of health,
Embrace of God.
May I live this day.
~
John O"Donohue ~
(Eternal Echoes)
