The Cosmic Story: May & the Divine Feminine Taurus Lunar Eclipse & Mercury Retrograde

 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 10^th. 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 20^th 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 29^th, 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 10^th 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)

The Cosmic Story: Late April Astrology, Earth Day, Taurus Solar Eclipse

The Cosmic Story --

Pink Full Moon 2022

Before we turn to the energies of May and Taurus, I want to recap what’s happening at the end of April. And of course, Earth Day on April 22^nd.

The April 16^th Libra/Aries (Pink) Full Moon was squared by Pluto in Capricorn, which is slowing down to turn retrograde on April 29^th which makes its energy of death and rebirth/evolution even more powerful. This Full Moon was all about POWER and who welds it. In a perfect world, this would be about how we each use power to work with others, and includes self-empowerment (Aries Sun conjunct Eris, the warrior of the heart) as well as empowering others (Libra Moon). 

 

OR, as we’ve seen on the world stage in Ukraine, it is about how the old order uses power to dominate, kill and control others. It’s important to understand that this is the year when the OLD will try to take over and smash all that is new and free. In Russia, instead of excommunicating Putin for pursuing an unjust war, his Russian Orthodox patriarch, along with Putin’s buddies, condone this war: “in reality, we embody the forces of good in the modern world because this clash is metaphysical…. We are on the side of good against the forces of absolute evil…. This is truly a holy war that we’re waging, and we have to win it and of course we will because our cause is just. We have no other choice. Our cause is not only just, our cause is righteous and victory will certainly be ours.”

This ‘battle between good and evil’ is also being played out by the American religious right wing. They are working to take over our government on local, state and national levels, to bring us back to a ‘moral, Christian country’ where we’re not allowed to use contraception or have abortions and where we’re not allowed to talk about our individual rights. While my fellow astrologers have talked about last week’s Jupiter/Neptune conjunction in Pisces as a time a great spiritual awakenings and visions, they didn’t concentrate on the religious fanaticism that could – and did – arise with it. The Religions of the Book – Judaism, Christianity and Islam – all think that their God backs war and murder if it’s in their cause. Shame on them! This is the default setting for all of the wars fought in the last 2,000 years. These religions have become death religions instead of the life-giving ones they were meant to be.

These are the people who believe we’re living in the End Times (which in some ways we are, except not as they see it – we’re at the end of the Piscean Age and at the beginning of the Age of Aquarius). For them, the End Times is a time of being Chosen and of judgment and punishment – of the battle between Good and Evil. That’s also why they aren’t bothering with climate change because they actually believe that Jesus is going to rapture them away to heaven, so why take care of the Earth! (Also check out The Doomsday Clock – how scientists see nuclear and environmental threats in the world.)

 

 Lancelot crossing the sword bridge

We each are being called upon to walk the ‘sword bridge’ – that narrow blade that symbolizes the Mind and how we use it. Can we balance what is going on in the world with our own values and beliefs? Can we look at what is going on without falling into fear and despair? Can we think for ourselves and stand up for our values, even when it gets painful? (it’s the sword’s sharp edge Arthur’s knights had to walk on.)

I was listening to a climate podcast called Climate of Change with Cate Blanchette and Danny Kennedy where they quote Mary Robinson (who has her own podcast on climate change called Mothers of Invention) who quotes Desmond Tutu saying “We are prisoners of hope!”

Can we be prisoners of hope – staying positive in the face of seemingly hopeless circumstances.

While our individual work is to shine our light into this dark work, we are also called to action. What can you do to stand up for the Light? Start in your local communities and your state. Go to school committee or town council meetings and see who is running your town and what they want to do with your tax money. The only way we’re going to change our world for the better is to collaborate with like-minded people. Find your people and work together to bring about change from the ground up!

 

April 22, 2022 is Earth Day. With climate scientists chaining themselves to government buildings to protest the fact that governments are not taking climate change seriously, we the people need to step up the pressure. If governments can shift their economies to wartime needs as they did during WWII, why aren’t we being asked to sacrifice some of our personal habits for the good of the world? Why aren’t we transitioning to sustainable models of life that no longer include conspicuous consumption? Hint: Because our corporate overlords don’t want us to – they already own land that will keep them safe while the rest of us suffer the hardships of climate change.

I can’t get to Washington, D.C. for the climate protest on Saturday April 23^rd, but I can gather my sisters to dance for Mother Earth – to dance in our hopes and blessings. Please take time on Friday to acknowledge and bless our beautiful, wounded planet and its people.

Now back to Pluto turning retrograde. 

 

On Friday, April 29^th Pluto turns retrograde at 29* Capricorn and will back track to 26* Capricorn on October 8^th. The Sabian symbol for 29* Capricorn is: A Woman reading tea leaves. This is a call for each of us to sharpen our intuition and vision. To see the archetypal energies at play in the world. Can we envision a better world?

This retrograde also means the U.S. Pluto return will be revisited. It was just after our first Pluto return hit on February 22, 2022 that Putin invaded Ukraine. While horrific, this invasion showed the world that America’s experiment with democracy did work. That the people of the world will fight for their freedom when under attack by the old order.

So with Pluto retrograde, each of us is asked to take a stand for our freedom. What are we willing to do to create a better world? A free world where each of us is valued? A world where we no longer seek to dominate and control others, but where each of us takes responsibility for ourselves as a member of a free community.

It might seem as if we are far from the horrific war in Ukraine, but here in America, as well as all over the world, the autocrats and corporations want to dominate us. As the old order dies, it is fighting back. So we have to start taking a stand for our values – that’s what this Taurus season with the lunar nodes in Taurus is all about.

Taurus Solar Eclipse April 30^th

Partial Solar Eclipse

The Sun enters the sign of Taurus on the evening of April 19^th here in the U.S. and on April 20^th in the rest of the world.

As Aries is the Fire of Life, so Taurus takes that fire and makes something of it. Taurus is the builder of the zodiac, the energy that takes the fire of life and grounds it and grows it.

Taurus is the sign of embodied spirit.

Taurus is the Garden, the world of Nature that is beginning to blossom now in the northern hemisphere. The green force of Life here on Earth is awake and wants to grow into something of value and worth. Like its ruling planet Venus, Taurus wants to awaken our senses to the beauty and goodness of life.

Venus bestows beauty and truth on new life and asks us to value it. So during this season of Taurus, we’re asked to examine our values. Are we living by them or are they just ideas that we forget to manifest in our lives?

Venus is the Goddess of Love – and love takes work. As the poet Rilke says: There is scarcely anything more difficult than to love one another. That it is work, day labor, day labor, God knows there is no other word for it. … So whoever loves must try to act if he had a great work: he must be much alone and go into himself and collect himself and hold fast to himself; he must work; he must become something! (Rilke On Love and Other Difficulties)

If we love our world, our children and our people, then it is time to take up the work of Love. If we value love and connection, compassion and peace, we have to do the work. No matter how difficult. The future is counting on us!

The lunar nodes, which create eclipses, are moving through the signs of Taurus and Scorpio. With the south node in Scorpio, we have to leave the trauma, betrayals and emotional wounds behind us. They’re to teach us about life, but we tend to hold onto them rather than learn the lesson and let them go. Scorpio is the sign of shared values and I see it as the sign of psychological growth, because it’s the sign where other people impact our souls. So for the next year, our assignment is to let go of these old traumas and accept, as Caroline Casey says, our beautiful, dangerous assignments.

The north node in Taurus asks us to re-discover our own values, to honor Earth’s creative genius (lots of new technology for healing climate devastation is based on Earth’s natural systems), and to remember that we are temples of spirit. So we have to learn, once again, to honor our body, to own our instincts and intuitions, and to follow our heart’s desire, since Venus rules here. For too long, our patriarchal culture has either degraded love into pornography or elevated it to ridiculous romantic proportions.

Work on Love and see what you find.

The Taurus solar eclipse occurs on Saturday, April 30^th (the beginning of Beltane) at 1:28 pm PDT/ 4:28 pm EDT/ 9:28pm GMT. This is a partial solar eclipse.

 

The Sabian symbol for this solar eclipse at 11* Taurus is: A woman watering flowers in her garden. This is a symbol of cultivation, the need to attend to what we want to manifest. And of course, it needs to be beautiful in all ways – sight, smell, touch, taste and sound. We need to pour our love into the life we want. But we have to pay attention!

 

Solar eclipses are extra powerful New Moons. The Moon and Sun come together in a sacred marriage, uniting our conscious self with our unconscious Self. What do we want to plant for this year? What will we take the time to water and cultivate? With the tumultuous energies of change this year, start with grounding into your home, your group, your family – this is not about your work in the world, but your work as a soul.

This solar eclipse New Moon is conjunct the North Node and Uranus in Taurus – opening us to new experiences of life. Uranus in Taurus aligns us with Earth’s creative genius, so expect the unexpected, allow yourself to be surprised by joy. And perhaps if your computer (Uranus) suddenly acts up, leave it inside and go out into Nature. That’s where all the juicy new ideas will come from.

Saturn and Vesta in Aquarius are squaring the nodes at this eclipse, so look at what goals are out of line with the needs of the present state of the world. Saturn transits test our maturity and our staying power, even as they slow things down and limit us in some way. Vesta says, let collective needs inspire your choices. (She the goddess of the village hearthfire.) What do we need to feel stable and secure in these turbulent times? Saturn in Aquarius says find your team, your tribe, your community and they will help you stay safe and secure, as well as work with you to bring in a better world. Aquarius is a group enterprise.

Since the Aries New Moon, we’ve switched from fire and air to earth and water energies. We have our Taurus lineup in earth, and we also have 4 planets in watery Pisces – Mars, Neptune, Venus and Jupiter. This energy in the collective unconscious can help us open our hearts to the real suffering in the world – perhaps suffering we ourselves aren’t experiencing.

With Venus and Jupiter exactly conjunct less than an hour after this eclipse, expect some blessings and spiritual insight into your life. Get out your paints and pencils, move your body and create ART to help you grow your Taurus seeds of life.

The Sabian symbol for Venus and Jupiter at 28* Pisces is: A fertile garden under the Full Moon reveals a variety of full grown vegetables. Here’s another image of gardening and harvest. This conjunction can bring us a big harvest and abundance. So watch for it.

At this New Moon, Mercury in Gemini is squaring the asteroid Juno, the goddess of relationships. What do we need to do about our relationships? Make them stronger? Let them go? Come clear on who you are (Chiron in Aries) and who they are and see how you can change the dynamics by talking to each other. Telling your truth is a necessity in a good relationship. Even better, write a letter – not an email – so partners can re-read what their ears couldn’t hear. We enter the Mercury retrograde shadow on April 24-25^th getting ready for the Mercury retrograde starting on May 10^th. More about that in the May newsletter.

As this Solar Eclipse occurs on the evening before Beltane, this is your chance to ground in the powerful energies of Spring with self-awareness, cooperation and joy. 

 

See you in May!