waiting for the other shoe to drop

the may 2005 forecast

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jupiter and pluto are retrograde.

saturn squares the moon’s nodes (transiting eclipse pts.)	21°54' cancer/aries-libra	may 2
venus sextiles saturn	22°00' taurus/cancer	may 3
mercury sextiles neptune	17°32' aries/aquarius	may 3
venus quincunxes pluto	24°07' taurus/sagittarius	may 5
mercury squares saturn	22°15' aries/cancer	may 6
jupiter quincunxes uranus	10°10' libra/pisces	may 7
sun squares neptune	17°34' taurus/aquarius	may 7
new moon	17°52' taurus	may 8
mercury trines pluto	24°04' aries/sagittarius	may 8
chiron begins backward motion (stationary retrograde)	3°17' aquarius	may 8
venus enters gemini	0°00' gemini	may 9
mercury enters taurus	0°00' taurus	may 12
venus trines chiron	3°17' gemini/aquarius	may 12
mercury squares chiron	3°17' taurus/aquarius	may 14
mars quincunxes jupiter	9°39' pisces/libra	may 14
mars conjoins uranus	10°23' pisces	may 15
venus trines jupiter	9°26' gemini/libra	may 17
mercury quincunxes jupiter	9°26' taurus/libra	may 17
mercury sextiles uranus	10°27' taurus/pisces	may 18
venus squares uranus	10°28' gemini/pisces	may 18
neptune begins backward motion (stationary retrograde)	17°36' aquarius	may 19
mercury sextiles mars	13°48' taurus/pisces	may 20
sun enters gemini	0°00' gemini	may 20
mercury squares neptune	17°36' taurus/aquarius	may 22
venus squares mars	15°49' gemini/pisces	may 22
saturn quincunxes pluto	23°43' cancer/sagittarius	may 23
full moon	2°47' gemini/sagittarius	may 23
venus trines neptune	17°36' gemini/aquarius	may 24
mercury quincunxes pluto	23°41' taurus/sagittarius	may 25
mercury sextiles saturn	23°52' taurus/cancer	may 25
mercury enters gemini	0°00' gemini	may 28
venus opposes pluto	23°35' gemini/sagittarius	may 29
mercury trines chiron	3°02' gemini/aquarius	may 29
sun squares uranus	10°41' gemini/pisces	may 31

all dates are based on pacific time.

although the month opens on some decisive action, all is not resolved, and the rest of the month is a period of waiting for situations to ripen. mars livens things up early on, when it enters pisces. this usually mild-mannered sign is now populated by unruly uranus, so don’t expect your pisces friends to go with the flow as usual. in fact, they may beat you to the door. however, the big news of the month is what doesn’t happen, and this is due to two yods forming in the heavens all month long.

the yod, or “finger of fate.”

a yod is a tall isosceles triangle that is formed in a chart when two quincunxes and one sextile form between three planets. it’s easier to look at the chart for the month, which is cast for mid-month (may 15). there you can see two such triangles. these have been called the “finger of fate” or the “finger of god” because people identify feeling uncertain, even helpless, in the face of events that occur when a yod prevails. while i can assure you that we have lived through times more “yod-y” than this, it is a good time to identify what yods are like and how to benefit from them.

the conventional wisdom is that yods generate feelings of doubt, guilt, or indebtedness. to them is attributed health problems, financial difficulties, and just plain not knowing what to do. in my experience, yods are like a bunch of “incompletes” or “overdones”. they are incompletes when they occur before the cycle they are a part of is not yet ripe for action. they are overdones when they relate to actions we want to take after the time for action has passed. in simple terms, the timing is off.

so, under a yod, we will feel the deep urge to act, but it will not be the right time to act. the yods of may are a mix of both anticipatory and after-the-fact contacts, but regardless of the impression we receive, there is always something we can do to improve the situation we find ourselves in, so the news is good.

a sextile is a yod is waiting to happen.

in real life, we always hope that people have good intentions and act on them for the greater good without allowing their ego drives to overpower their better side. in fact, we know that this is not always the case, even though people usually do the best they can. thus, any aspect (planetary interaction) in astrology can be used for good or ill, the interpretation of which often lies in the eyes of the beholder.

sextiles are no exception, whether in our natal charts or in the heavens. a sextile is thought of as a harmonious aspect, an opportunity that one is not compelled to use. but it may not always be used well. joyce wehrmann used to refer to it as the “alibi aspect”, offering an excuse for not taking action. for some it seems to induce laziness.

when it is part of a yod, it may not be experienced as an unfettered joy either. michael lutin has pointed out that a sextile which receives challenging aspects may be an indicator of collusion. collusion is an agreement made in a factional or secretive way, against the interests of those not included in the agreement. since a yod contains a sextile, we may find instances of collusion that we have to endure and learn to work with in our lives. so, the sextiles that might otherwise represent opportunities to us this month come with strings attached. however, acknowledging and accommodating these strings will bring added benefits.

certainly this is true in public affairs, except that lately the collusion has even been flaunted publicly. from tom delay, bill frist and the shadowy figures pushing their buttons to the cabal that is responsible for record oil company profits as gas prices reach record highs, instances of collusion abound. this will also be true in our personal lives, and we have a better chance of resolving our dilemmas if we know what’s really going on.

often we feel like life is ambiguous under a yod, like there’s no solution to a problem, or that solving one problem creates another. we may also feel that we’ve missed an opportunity or that if only we’d done this or that — regret over actions taken or not taken. we may find that conflict with others plays a role, making it difficult to resolve because we may feel we have to choose between pleasing ourselves and pleasing others.

the yods of may

the first yod is based on the core cycle of jupiter and uranus. the jupiter-uranus cycle started in early 1997 in early aquarius and reached its culmination in late august 2003 in the early degrees of virgo-pisces. events now will tie into activities we engaged in then. this year, jupiter is letting us know what we still need to do to fulfill the promise of the cycle begun in ’97. this has to do with expansion into our true path, the one which leads to fulfilling our life purpose. we received a “hit” regarding what that was in summer 2003, and we’ve been busy freeing ourselves since then so that we can do it.

now to the local picture: this yod formed last month with venus on april 23–24. the sun triggered it on april 29–30. however, it began to heat up tremendously when mars entered pisces on april 30, a tension which will rise through the 15^th, so we will recall this more as a may experience than one associated with april. the theme is tied to aligning ourselves with our true path more precisely, which often, and certainly now, means letting go of what we only thought was the right course but turned out to be slightly off base. if this hits our chart at multiple points, we’re in for a roller coaster ride, with as many ups as downs. being resourceful and open is important to the best outcome. all planets around 10 degrees of any sign are triggered through the 22^nd, with peaks on the 7^th, 14^th, and 15^th.

yod #2 works with the saturn-pluto cycle. this cycle is associated with power plays and long-term restructuring processes. it was the central energy involved in the 9/11 attacks, which occurred at its culmination. although it affects our personal lives, we inevitably must speak of forces beyond the self, from government to cultural trends, when we define its scope. the thrust of this cycle is to take us into a post-industrial world, to guide us toward peace between cultures, where we see ourselves as part of a common human family instead of divided cultural units. for many reasons (which can be seen through other astrological factors), many people, especially those in control, see their power over their own lives slipping away and they want the old ways back. if you’re a rich oil magnate, you want to hold on to your world for all it’s worth. yet, this is not possible in the long run.

this applies to us too. any way that we are hanging on to an outmoded past in our own lives will not survive this cycle, which ends in 2020. we have until then to make the shift.

this year, in may especially, we get a dose of reality regarding what yet needs to be completed, about how far we’ve come and still have to go. this may amount to a comeuppance for those who have been flagrantly waving the flag of false progress, and we can hope that this will be the case with those political leaders who have been violating the trust implicit in their positions. for us personally, any position of leadership which we hold may be challenged as others try to figure out if our virtues (worthiness for leadership) are bona fide. this yod affects degrees around the 24 mark from may 3^rd through the 28^th with crescendoes on the 13^th, 14^th, and 23^rd.

although this yod deals with waning energies, our local experience is largely anticipatory. the best times for conclusive action occur in june, but preparatory actions can be taken in the meantime. look at a big project that you are working on in your life, something that will really change you and your world for the better if you succeed. this is the time to lay the groundwork for taking a big step with it in june.

also worth noting

we may miss them in the more immediate circumstances, but chiron and neptune reverse direction in may, on the 8^th and 19^th, respectively. these events have a greater impact on those with planets in taurus, leo, scorpio, or aquarius. activities and intentions set forth in january-february are now put to their first test, a trial run. there’s plenty of time for adjustment, but we do have to attend to the needs that arise in order to succeed with our efforts. we have until october to resolve the issues that arise now. they will have to do with healing old wounds so that we are empowered to follow the path of our heart’s desire. groups may need to be healed and redirect their energies accordingly as the role of chiron in aquarius in our lives emerges. one body that particularly needs healing is the us congress. for more on chiron in aquarius, see my april forecast.

a necessary formative period

when the month is over, we’ll be prepared to take advantage of the mercury-jupiter trine that happens starting the 28^th. if you want to start something important, there will be times through june 10^th that will bring success.

in the meantime, it helps to remember that the illusion that we always need to make visible progress is a trick played upon us by modern society. there are times when we must take a back seat and let life be the driver. this is a time to let the balance of your life tip, to not try to control it. you will benefit by keeping a patient, fluid, and open attitude toward events in may.