Heavens Above
Celestial Indications for MAY 2004

By Jani Allan

The world seems rather like a mad woman’s knitting basket, these days. If the collective anxiety about America being between Iraq and a hard place weren’t enough, you may be experiencing upheavals on a scale that could measure by an emotional Richter scale. It is helpful to remember that
the ancient Chinese had a wise word for crisis: wei-chi , a combination of two words – danger (wei) and opportunity (chi).

Crisis plays a crucial role in the process of growth and evolution. Instead of doing your best to avoid change and crisis. but rather ‘how can we understand and use these periods in our lives most creatively?

Jung once wrote that “meaning makes a great deal of things bearable – perhaps everything.”

This month’s celestial indications will provide a guide (and hopefully some insight) into “The times that are a changing” (as Robert Zimmerman poetically put it)

Aries
March 21 - April 19

“There will come a time when we will sit down to a banquet of our consequences” as RL Stevenson once said.

If planetary events were fireworks, they’d light up your sky. This is a planetary power-packed month for you. There will be a big helping hand from Jupiter helping you to resolve emotional issues, which arise around the eclipse on May 4.

Neptune and Venus color mid-month events in an improbably rosy glow. An ounce of realism is worth a pound of regret. The plans you made at the beginning of January are now moving into Phase Two and you’re seeing some results. Expect a trying time with relatives and neighbors when Venus goes retrograde in your third house.

Despite your best efforts, you could be misunderstood. This could be a time to stay silent because nothing you can say seems to have any effect. The sooner you back off the sooner your will get a sympathetic ear.

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Taurus
April 20 - May 20

Uranus has provided you with shock treatment in recent times. Partners may behave erratically. The transit of Jupiter urges you to travel, study, or get published that book you’ve written about New Hope. Chiron challenges you to further your quest for holistic health.

On May 4 a total Full Moon eclipse will have Hollywood-like effects. You may fall deeply in love with an intense Pierce Brosnan look-alike.

The transit of Venus will bring about changes in your financial sphere. You may be lemming-like in your efforts to go out and get what you want NOW, but since Venus, your ruling planet, is retrograde on the 17th you may find yourself thwarted.

At the end of May, tensions and disagreements could erupt, forcing you and your significant other to question whether you are singing from the same song sheet. If you are stripped of certain material benefits it is in order to learn to trust in a higher power.

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Gemini
May 21 - June 20

Things could become a tad alarming when Venus turns retrograde in your sign because this is a powerful transit. Scales could fall from your eyes like the cherry blossoms after a Washington DC rain.

Hitherto fore concealed impediments in your relationship could zoom large. Chiron in your house of relationships indicates that something needs to be healed. Possibly you have a controlling partner who is so mean he wouldn’t give you a fright. Your response to this dilemma will repeat like herring in the next few months. Best you learn to recognize the patterns. It’s a good step to breaking them.

You are entering a period of clarification in your closest relationships this month. Look out for seemingly innocuous exchanges. They could be red-flagging potential future hazards that might act like aggressive Iraqi insurgents around May 17th.

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Cancer
June 21 - July 22)

Planetary events involving Venus, Jupiter, Chiron, Pluto and a lunar eclipse stud the early days of the month and illuminate your whole chart. The secret is to meet any demands with grace and forbearance. Once Saturn leaves your sign in July 2005, you will look back and realize that you have matured and grown in ways that will not have been possible, had lying on the beach for two years been an option.

On May 4th as the lunar eclipse highlights the area related to love and friends, an attractive person you met in March could become more than just a ship passing in the night.

Uranus, now in Pisces, means that for the first time in eight years you can start to move forward and put sensible savings plans into action. Sure, Neptune is still transiting this house and you may not always have as much money as you will like, but at least you can now move forward with the confident knowledge that what is yours will stay yours.

The big events are happening inside you as Venus draws attention to your Twelfth House – the house of the drawn shades and hidden secrets. The drama will play out from the start of the month until the 17th. Then, for good measure, Neptune weighs in as well, making delusion a very real possibility. If your relationship’s success is dependent on its being hidden, your may be found out in the next month.

For the next three months while Venus is visiting in your 12th house, you may feel factors of a confining or karmic nature. Things you were only vaguely aware of may become revealed. This includes any potential health imbalances. Better go to Doylestown Hospital and have those check-ups done!

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Leo
July 23 - Aug 22

Since 1983 your home has been in upheaval as a result of Pluto plodding into this sector of your horoscope. Currently as this planet moves through the area related to children, dramatic and upsetting scenes could occur.

Conversely through marriage and relationship breakdown, dramatic tug of war conflicts and power plays could be experienced. Decisions could also be made to completely relocate verses.

The eclipse on the 4th will be running high with challenges being presented to balance your working life with home.
As this eclipse challenges your sense of who you are in the world, tension and anxiety could have you running for the bar at The Raven.

Neptune’s force creates the Grand Cross in fixed signs, so be prepared for confusing and emotional standoffs.
With the lunar eclipse and New Moon of May 4th and 19 occurring in your house, career opportunities will pile up like poker chips.

You are focused on what is going on in groups as Venus spends a long time in your 11th house – the house of organizations, charities, quilt makers anonymous etc.
Because Venus is interacting with Pluto, you may find that there are hidden manipulations or political dynamics that are undermining the group’s effectiveness. The problem may have existed for some time, but now it must be dealt with.

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Virgo
Aug 23 - Sept 22

A thunderclap is heard in the heavens as most of the planets are highly activated.

Since 1995 you could have found yourself cleaning up after others. Dilemmas created by others may have had you in a spin at times. At the end of 2003, communications with certain people, particularly with those at a distance - maybe overseas or in powerful positions, could have required quite a lot of adjustment on your part.

Dear Virgo, you have every reason to want to do an ostrich. You have been, in a sense, besieged. The way in which you communicate to others could have powerful consequences.
Thankfully, we are always given a lifeline. Yours is Jupiter, which moved into Virgo in August last year.

You are the one sign being protected at the moment. Uranus will bring disruptions and change, creating erratic partners. As Neptune travels through your health area, strange ailments can beset you. Allergies, sudden food poisoning, illnesses recurring from the past could be an offender.

From May 17 opportunities to review medications, X-rays and ultrasound so that you can finally diagnose ailments of long-standing.

Your bonds and agreements with others are changing, both at home and in the workplace. The emphasis is on freeing you to be yourself and follow your true calling. The impetus for growth comes from you, but the complicating factor comes from an issue of authority.

Emphasis is on money coming from others. Hardships endured will allow you to achieve higher goals in the long run. You may set different goals or change jobs during the coming three months. Whatever happens is a step forward. As will all things we usually have to give up something else in return.

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Libra
Sept 23 - Oct 22

Nations fight, politicians take sides and couples argue.
Since Librans spend most of their time being charming and getting along with everyone and with Mars, the ruler of Aries, opposing the Libran Sun, you feel more off-balance than usual and less able to assert yourself.

Venus and Pluto come together on May 1 to bring out challenges in perspective. A lunar eclipse coincides with a Jupiter event on May 4 to usher in a positive change in your financial status.

From May 7 issues could cause disagreements, jealous feelings and upsets. Your partner could pressure you into something you are not comfortable with.

May 17 Neptune and Venus vie for the stage, as they both turn retrograde for a sojourn backward in the zodiac and in our consciousness.

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Scorpio
Oct 23 - Nov 21

As Pluto is in Sagittarius, the sign related to religion, other cultures, and travel, mankind is attempting to reach outwards to the unknown galaxy. This time Mars has been the target.

From the 1st to the 4th, relationships and agreements are emphasized. You may find yourself pressured to sign papers before you are ready. Your home life will also be highlighted as Neptune’s energy peaks, while your efforts in increasing your social contacts are starting to produce results. On May 17 Venus goes retrograde bringing with it disagreements in financial and relationship affairs.

At the beginning of the month there may be a power struggle of sorts. While it may seem inconsequential on the surface, it masks a deeper obstacle that you have the opportunity to work out before the end of June. Related interactions will occur on the 4th and the 17th.

While partnerships are not going well, your ability to connect to others in the professional province has never been better. Several such relationships will bear fruit.

Oh! A problem with water in the home could add a considerable cost to you budget. Make of that what you will.

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Sagittarius
Nov 22 - Dec 21

Feel like you’ve been standing under a tree in a thunderstorm? Scary, innit?

Since 1995 we have seen dramatic upheavals related to religions, travel and places of higher leaning. Sag is the sign related to these issues.

The Lunar eclipse on May 4 combines with Chiron and Jupiter to bring big, big, big new possibilities in your life. From May 5 you will forge ahead content in the knowledge that you have made the right decision.

Career and business options begin to open up as a result of efforts you have made over the last eight months. The ground has been laid for new developments and you will get the chance to see what rewards are in store. There are another 4 months to this phase, so wait to see what manifests.

Around the 17th ideas you’ve put your faith into may come under question, but your health will be back to normal and your vitality will pick up any slack you’ve allowed in your activities.

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Capricorn
Dec 22 - Jan 19

The planets are popping out like May flowers. Around the 2nd Chiron reveals another key to your self-healing. May 4th bring two events – Jupiter pushing you towards your goals and a lunar eclipse changing the tone of your social and creative life.

Venus’ retrograde is highlighted on the 17th, as is Neptune, presenting a dilemma on how to handle your resources.

Try and balance workload and stress with your mental, emotional and physical needs. One of your questions this month will be ‘What nourishes me?” This is not so much a question of food, but of emotional and mental substance.
Are you getting what you need from your loved ones? Do you know how to ask?

Work wisely. Your ambition to reach the prize is high, but it may not be time for the ultimate goal to be realized. If not, there will be time in future Jupiter cycles to get there. For now you have the next five months to reap the rewards of the past 8 months effort.

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Aquarius
Jan 20 - Feb 18

Many Aquarians will find their lives have changed dramatically since 1995 when Uranus moved into their own sign. From 1998 you have felt that you simply aren’t understood.

The planets herald a host of changes in May. Chiron reminds you of the importance of inner heath, around the 2nd. Jupiter will finally enter its reward phase and release the energies of prosperity into your life after May 4. Your cash flow improves and there could be an influx of money. This is a critical time if you are involved in creative pursuits as a livelihood. Explore anything that ignites your interest. You don’t know what the spark will be that ignites the next fire of expression.

The lunar eclipse on the 4th will highlight the importance of your livelihood or business and your may be acutely aware of how vulnerable you are. Venus steps into the spotlight after May 16 leading you to a deeper understanding of your creativity. Neptune picks the same day to highlight your search for meaning, as it turns retrograde.

Any health problems (possibly to do with inflammation) will peak around May 25.

Love (in whatever form) takes center stage this month. The tenor of the situation can be gauged by what you experience on May 1.

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Pisces
February 19 – March 20

The planets are jumping and they will keep you hopping into May. Chiron is activated on May 2 bringing out challenges in your group association

On May 4th when Jupiter and the lunar eclipse link arms. You will be provided with a way out of a relationship dilemma you have been dealing with for several months. Get out of your comfort zone and be upfront. Jupiter will support you!

On May 17 Venus and Neptune bring out hidden factors and emotional energies related to home and your unconscious needs

You are still working hard and your schedule is taking its toll on your private life. If you are required to spend time focusing on your home life, consider it a necessary detour. You’ll be able to make up the difference in other ways.

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