ASTROLOGY THIS WEEK: MAY 20 - MAY 26
Tuesday, May 21st
12:59am PDT: Sun enters Gemini
As the Sun shifts from slow, steady Taurus into quick and cunning Gemini, the garden we tended over the last month blooms a little brighter. Gemini season is sublimely sociable. A period to examine and enjoy the work with which we’ve recently wrestled. A time to fine-tune and tell somebody about it. With the Sun in Gemini, the sign of the twins, we can trust ourselves to see double. To touch down on both sides. To balance what we know for sure with what we know we don’t yet understand. Allow your attention to divert itself. Write down your stories so you also get to read them. Polish the skillset that promotes your ability to change your mind. Develop a relationship with your own process of relating. Seek to understand rather than to be understood.
3:52am PDT: Mercury enters Gemini
As Mercury enters their home sign of Gemini, it’s important to remember that Mercury is not a planet of intelligence but of the means by which you convey your intelligence. Gemini is simultaneously at rapt attention, and easily distracted. Its natural rhythm is to shift from leaving to arriving and back again incessantly. Like a bouncy-ball that touches every surface of a room, Mercury in Gemini is incredibly quick. Makes swift headway on a thousand details in very little time. Absorbs, attaches significance, and sends information on its way. Check your facts twice. Savor superficial fun. Notice the way your own story weaves effortlessly along with others in your life. Gemini is a mirror that Mercury is skilled at staring in. Practice seeing yourself in others. Consider the pain that comes when you compare. Notice how you feel safer when you are able to see how similar you are. When you make friends with your enemies, you are making friends with a piece of yourself. Even in the diversity of our stories, we’re not all that different. Delight in this.
6:07am PDT: Sun conjunct Mercury at 0°Gemini13’
A few degrees away from the Sun, Mercury struggles, blinded by the light. But when Mercury falls directly in the heart of the brilliant beast, it takes on all the power of vision contained in the Sun’s rays. This aspect brings clarity to the pathways between heart and mind. Capacity to translate with lucidity that about which we are passionate. Creative communication flows freely, with curious twists and turns that lead to unparalleled understanding. Find a way, in the few hours of this morning, to transmit your untamed thoughts. Watch as the chaos organizes itself effortlessly. Journal, pick up the phone, draw, dance; whatever it is, trust in the movement to clarify lines and sharpen the edges of any antsy attention.
9:46pm PDT: Neptune in Pisces trine True Node in Cancer, both at 18°28’
Trines to the Nodes bring fated events. In a discussion with another astrologer recently, we teased out the astrological version of chicken or the egg - fate or free-will? We didn’t get very far, spinning out the spiral whose center and outline are infinite. The point though, is that both fate and free-will are inherent to this practice. As Neptune trines the North Node, watch the what floods into your life and the elements that rush away. Sometimes things happen outside of our control but we always have agency in our reaction. Neptune often produces an effect of longing, of deja vu, of a sense of knowing something or someone profoundly, over lifetimes of evolution. This aspect to the True Node in Cancer asks you to trust your souls evolving instincts and to practice climbing into containers that help you feel safe.
Wednesday, May 22nd
7:46am PDT: Mars in Cancer sextile Uranus in Taurus, both at 4°11’
While these planets are traditionally active and mildly explosive in nature, their placements in water and earth put a buffer onto sharp edges. Mars confronts. Uranus enlightens. Cancer and Taurus are both signs that elevate our sense of security and belonging. Use this aspect to confront fears of not having enough. Of betrayal. Of losing something you value on profound levels. Fear is a concept that sometimes gives way to reality. Whether fictitious or real, notice how okay you would be, even if the fear came true. Notice your feet still on the ground. Gravity still holding you here.
On another level, this aspect asks us to wake up to what we might genuinely be losing and to take action that ensures the safety of an earth we care about. In the past month, data has been released that illustrates the terrifying rates at which the polar ice cap is melting. While the US government continues to ignore pending disaster, calling this an “opportunity for trade”, others of us are wondering what we can do to help the Earth when power systems work against it. Cancer protects. Taurus grows. A non-profit organization in the Bay Area called Ice911 has been working on a brilliant and fairly non-invasive solution to re-growing the polar ice-cap. You can read about it here and spread the word.
Thursday, May 23rd
2:05am PDT: Mercury in Gemini semi-sextile Uranus in Taurus, both at 4°13’
9:04am PDT: Mercury in Gemini semi-sextile Mars in Cancer, both at 4°51’
Mercury’s almost simultaneous aspects with Uranus and Mars are reminiscent of their sextile the morning before. Semi-sextiles are blindsiding aspects and as we mentioned, Gemini jumps quickly and effortlessly from one topic to another. Notice how news that arrives this morning has you split in different directions and make an effort to center yourself. Repetitive distraction is difficult to deal with when everything seems pivotal. Can cause us to be reactive, angry at series of events it seems we didn’t cause and can’t possibly be right. But Mercury in Gemini is sharp, a quick thinker. Practice prioritizing rather than doing. Organize your thoughts before spewing. Use Mercury’s skillset to visualize the various actions you can take. Then engage the one that feels like it could have the most impact.
11:04am PDT: Mercury in Gemini sextile Chiron in Aries, both at 5°03’
4:11pm PDT: Mars in Cancer square Chiron in Aries, both at 5°03’
After Mercury’s shocking dances with Uranus and Mars, the messenger and the warrior both begin dialogues with Chiron in Aries. Chiron is a wound around which we are forever mastering the art of healing. In Aries, Chiron speaks to the growing pains of self-identification. Defining ourselves and taking up space isn’t always easy. Neither is the awakening effect of realizing when we’ve made a mistake. Sometimes we stake a claim and then we want to change it. Remember that change is the only constant. That you are ever-unfolding. It’s normal to be wherever you are in the cycle of growth and awareness. Tangentially, we aren’t always friendly when people change their plans. Change themselves. Change their minds. Especially when we’ve made our own commitments and then need to adapt to someone else’s fluctuation. Under this astrology, seek to make the changes that work with the reality in front of you as it evolves, by your own provocation or that of someone else. You can’t hide from change but you can make modifications that protect yourself within it.
Saturday, May 26th
1:39pm PDT: Sun in Gemini semi-sextile Uranus in Taurus, both at 4°21’
With this aspect, the Sun follows in Gemini’s footsteps. Slightly more predictable than the shockwaves that hit two days prior, consider yourself wisened by your experiences. The Sun is the most predictable planet in the sky. We trust that it will rise each morning and set each night. It illuminates us to our own intelligence. Consider what your experiences this week have taught you about what you need to learn. Uranus in Taurus brings exceptional growth opportunities. Jump at the one in front of you.
Sunday, May 27th
9:37am PDT: Sun in Gemini sextile Chiron in Aries, both at 5°09’
This aspect wraps up Mercury and the Sun’s mutual dance for the moment. When the Sun follows Mercury, it gives us the chance to apply what we learned when we received Mercury’s message. Often, after a series of stressful events, we have a chance to share our experience and strength with someone who finds themself in a similar situation. One archetype of Chiron is a teacher or mentor. Where in your life are you being invited to take up space as one who shares life-wisdom? We learn from everyone around us. Gemini reminds us that teaching and learning are not inherently hierarchical processes. Who are you learning from? Thank them for the growth and healing they are helping you with.