Astrological Energies May 9 to 15, 2011

NorthPoint
Astrology Journal
Written by Pam Younghans
Photo: Four planets -- Venus, Mercury, Jupiter and Mars -- can be seen together at dawn this month (photo taken by Luis Argerich on a beach near Buenos Aires, Argentina)

AS OUR NEW WEEK BEGINS, there are five planets -- Uranus, Venus, Mercury, Jupiter and Mars -- in Aries, each in their own way pushing us to charge ahead, take a risk, and follow the inspiration. But, by the end of the week, three of those planets will have joined the Sun in Taurus, shifting our focus from sowing seeds to what needs to be done on practical levels to make sure those seeds take root and grow.

If you're like me, you may have been feeling like a skipping-rock lately, as if we're skimming quickly across the surface with little rest between bounces. Each touch-in with reality has spiked another change, another shift in plans, another launch into the unknown.

Maybe the point is to keep us so busy and off-balance that we can't fall into old habits or patterns or reactions -- there just isn't time to settle into any one thought or emotion for very long.

BE THAT AS IT MAY, I'm looking forward to the growing Taurus influence coming in this week -- perhaps because, with my Sun in Taurus and Moon in Virgo, I feel at home in that earth sign energy. And hopefully, three planets moving from a fire sign to an earth sign will help us all to regain some groundedness and to feel more in sync with the natural world.

Still, with Uranus and Jupiter still in Aries, the changes are sure to continue, especially with Jupiter conjoining Venus and Mercury in Aries midweek before the latter two gain their Taurus grounding. That means there may be only a small reduction in the "hold on to your hats" version of reality for a while yet.

VENUS AND MERCURY are traveling virtually hand-in-hand this week. Mercury usually moves more quickly than Venus, but having just gone through his retrograde phase, he is in slow motion at the moment. This means we will have two separate times when Venus and Mercury exactly align: once this Monday, while Venus is still moving faster than Mercury and both are in Aries; and once next Monday (May 16), when Mercury has increased his speed, catches up with Venus in Taurus and then passes her by.

Because they move through the zodiac so quickly, these two planets by themselves usually have a relatively minor effect. But, joined together, their subtle energies are enhanced, adding a nice flavor to current energies.

VENUS BRINGS her desire for beauty, harmony and comfort to the partnership, and in Aries is more than willing to take a few risks to bring these into her experience. Mercury, for his part, brings ideas and the need to communicate to the relationship -- and in Aries, is also buoyed up with confidence, full of inspiration and the desire to share.

These two working together can add ease to conversations and insight to relationship issues, as long as we maintain awareness of the other in addition to ourselves -- the "enlightened self-interest" that is the highest calling of Aries. After all, Saturn remains in Libra for another year, so we will ultimately find ourselves on the short end of the stick if we take unfair advantage of others.

IT WILL BE an interesting experiment, to see if we can sense the subtle differences between the Venus-Mercury alignment in Aries this Monday and the alignment between the same two planets in Taurus next Monday. We may have a lot of information to work with from this week -- Jupiter will join with Venus and Mercury in Aries on Wednesday, boosting the energy of their alignment.

It doesn't happen all that often, that three planets are all at the same degree on the same day. This line-up creates a significant energetic impulse from one specific point in the zodiac, which draws us to look at that location more closely.

The Sabian symbol for the 25th degree of Aries, where Jupiter, Venus and Mercury will align on Wednesday, reads:

"The possibility for us to gain experience at two levels of being: The revelation of new potentialities."

The interpretation (slightly edited) explains:

"This symbol is a guarantee that we can operate successfully at two levels of consciousness, if we have met these conditions: 'Be open. Be able and willing to shape your translucent mind in the form revealing spiritual fulfillment. And you will be able to experience life and power on inner as well as outer planes.' The implied message is one of faith. We can only truly experience what we deeply believe we can experience."

"Operating at two levels of consciousness." That feels like another way to describe the sensation of being a "skipping rock"... Perhaps this alignment on Wednesday will assist us in gaining greater awareness and acceptance of this new multidimensional world we're beginning to live in.

LIKE ALL SIGNS, Taurus has both higher- and lower-vibrational characteristics. In the positive, as Mars enters Taurus on Wednesday, we are assisted in our handling of the practical (some would say boring) components of whatever projects we may have started since early April. Taurus may move slowly, but it is aware that to move too quickly means that roots cannot become anchored as needed.

On the other hand, Taurus can be resistant to change, and may hold its position longer than is optimum. Some might call this "bull-headedness," and certainly many Taureans can go a bit far in that direction. It may be helpful to know that this trait isn't merely because we want to be obstinate. The primary motivator for Taurus is to find a sense of inner peace -- and change is contrary to that need.

So if we meet with resistance as more planets move into Taurus, it may be helpful to realize that the push-back from the other person may just indicate they need to adjust to the concept for a little while. Try phrasing suggestions and options in the form of a possibility, then let the idea gestate for a while before asking for agreement or opinion.

Blessings,

Pam

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