Astrology Highlights for May 1-7, 2023: Sandcastles

Ghost Stories

A day when Pluto stations retrograde (May 1, 2023, 10:08 am PDT, through October 10) can feel downright haunted. It’s as though a large Plutonian boulder has been overturned, revealing all the squirming, slimy things that were living underneath.

Uneasiness is part of the Pluto journey. It’s not made for whistling past the graveyard, desperately seeking comfort, redemption, or even wisdom. Instead, let’s pull up a low, hard bench in the middle of the cemetery. We’ll listen to a cool wind in the trees, rustling the tall grass of panic, confusion, grief, and rage.

We could as easily watch a horror movie or read a ghost story. These are ways of letting the gremlins out to play, projecting our fears onto a blank screen or page where they feel manageable. So are binging true crime podcasts, or dressing as Morticia Addams and having a picnic in a cemetery. Flirting with death at a cool, ironic remove is cathartic, Pluto kabuki theater.

But every now and then, life makes it impossible to keep fear at a safe, rational, sanitary distance. Boulders get overturned, and long-buried compost is revealed. We find that what’s been long buried is rolling over in a shallow grave, begging for release.

Come sit next to me. We’ll listen carefully; we’ll watch for what comes next.

Photographs

One of my oldest friends sent me some blurry photos from our grammar school days. Although my memory is generally not what it used to be, I recalled the names of every classmate in those photos with no effort. But who was that long-haired, fierce-looking, awkward girl with my name scribbled underneath? I remembered her, too, how she struggled to feel good about herself and to fit in. Looking at evidence of my ungainly youth made my heart catch, made me feel protective of that girl. And for a moment, I realized how far I’ve come in the decades since, and also how much I’m the same.

Mercury’s retrograde periods can be aggravating for all the usual reasons – technical and electronic snafus, communication problems and misunderstandings. But they’re good times for reflection; and as Mercury makes its retrograde conjunction to the Sun this week (May 1, 2023, 4:27 pm PDT), remember who you used to be, who you are now, and how far you’ve come.

Whether to Walk Away

We want to believe the best about the people we love. But no one is perfect, however much we love them. And this week’s Venus square to Neptune (May 4, 2023, 10:40 am PDT) prompts us to consider whether we can still love those closest to us even after we know what’s not so lovely about them.

Even if your relationships are doing just fine, this aspect can signal a challenge to basic values. Our politics, figures of inspiration, our approach to earning and managing money… any of these can suddenly be revealed as naïve or wrong-headed.

Venus moves quickly, so this transit has only a glancing influence, no more than a couple of days. But if Neptune moves very slowly, and if it’s leaning hard on some part of your chart this year (between about 22-25 Pisces), this transit could trigger a larger shift in what and whom you cherish, and how. Is there anyone, or anything, you once believed in that needs to be let go? Walking away is not always the right response to disillusionment. But sometimes, it’s the only one.

Bankrupt

On May 4th at 9:03 pm PDT, Venus makes a sextile to Jupiter at 27°19’ Gemini and Aries, on the Sabian symbols 28 Gemini (Venus), A man declared bankrupt and 28 Aries (Jupiter), A large disappointed audience.

Nobody wants to declare bankruptcy, but it does at least mean that you’ve got nothing left to lose. If that Venus square to Neptune earlier in the day convinced you to walk away from something, this aspect is reassurance that the empty space will ultimately be filled with something that suits you better.

Since Jupiter is involved, this probably means enlarging your concept of what you’re really capable of having. It’s an interesting Sabian symbol for Jupiter, A large disappointed audience. Even if Jupiter’s Sabian symbol is right and “a large audience is disappointed,” it doesn’t necessarily mean there was anything wrong with your performance. Maybe you’ve been giving your very best to the wrong audience.

Sandcastles

This week’s Full Moon at 14º58’ Scorpio (May 5, 2023, 10:34 am PDT) is a Lunar Eclipse, and the last Scorpio eclipse until May 7, 2031.

The eclipse degree is on Sabian symbol 15 Scorpio: Children playing around mounds of sand. Maybe they’re mounds of sand on the beach, nice wet clumps that hold together nicely and are perfect for building sandcastles and fanciful sand sculptures. Or maybe they’re the dry grains in a sandbox. Either way, sand alone is not the ideal material for building anything that lasts; but as any child knows, it’s the perfect medium for imaginative play.

Uranus in Taurus has strongly influenced most of the Taurus and Scorpio series of eclipses that began in late 2021, including this one. Taurus naturally loves to build a sandcastle; something Mars-like in Scorpio loves to kick it over. But the radically shifting sands of Uranus have made building unpredictable at best, and destruction irrelevant.

I’ve often noted that lunar eclipses release powerful emotions that awaken a need for physical reassurance. When the fear of loss rises up, where’s something solid we can hold onto, some bit of earth we can call our own, a steady shoulder to lean on?

It’s been hard to find that kind of solid reassurance amidst the tumult of Uranus. But as we learned as children in the sandbox, or building sandcastles on the seashore, there’s something satisfying about simply playing; something comforting about feeling the dry sand on our toes or molding wet sand with our bucket; something freeing and joyful about creating something that’s not meant to last, so it doesn’t have to be perfect or practical.

Clear the Air

I hate to shop – with one exception: I love buying nice things for my house. I was born with Venus in Cancer, the sign of home, and it’s my happy place. I’m never happier than when I’m painting a wall, evaluating a throw pillow, or cooking dinner for friends. (As you can imagine, the demise of Bed, Bath, and Beyond has left me inconsolable.)

Venus symbolizes pleasure and harmony, and this week it enters the sign of Cancer (May 7, 2023, 7:25 am PDT, through June 5). In recent years, most of us spent a lot more time at home than ever before – and the result is that our domestic environments have sometimes fallen short of these Venusian ideals. Our houses may feel too small, too full; we may fear losing them, worry about keeping them filled with necessities, and miss having our friends over for parties.

And constant exposure may have put us at odds and out of sync with the people closest to us, including those under our roofs. Venus will conjoin contentious Mars and square Jupiter on its journey through Cancer. This month of cocooning may include some tug-of-war, negotiating terms, and seeking both common ground and personal space. So, break out the smudge wand and candles. In the end, we may or may not be in agreement – but at least we’ll have cleared the air.