May 25th-31st: ‘Tude, Bull, and Lemons

See my latest post on Leo through Scorpio, ‘When He’s In Love: How to Tell, How to React,’ at http://askjulie.wordpress.com

I think the tone for the week is really set on Sunday, the 24th, with a Finger of God involving Pluto as the apex and quincunxes to the South Node and Sun; this shines a light on the nitty-gritty from the past that has come forward once again, and we may be dealing with this ‘tude on and off all week. Though I can’t see a definitive resolution to the darkness disturbed, I can pinpoint three opportunities for progress that contain the potential to resolve the upset, at least for now. The first is on the 25th and continues through the 30th, when Mars in Aries squares Pallas in Cancer and they travel along together; we see very strong ego energies coming into conflict with love that carries a great deal of wisdom–so why the argument? The Self wants what it wants, and doesn’t care what’s wise–a huge problem, likely unsolvable, as each side is probably intractable–only those mature enough to step back for a moment and see that the ego must be servant, not master, will be able to take in the offered nurture and wisdom.

The other two possibilites involve the Sun/ Earth axis as it forms T-squares, first with Ceres in Virgo on the 27th–here the obvious material situation should show who truly has authority, while the T continues and adds the Moon on the 30th–and then we see the emotional consequences of the dynamic. None of this is pretty, but it does offer some chance of smoothing out the rough edges on various parties’ interests, if we can be responsive to what we see, and if we can realize that, odd as it sounds, authority has its needs, just as our emotions do, and that sometimes these must win out over the emotional demand.

Though those conflict situations will contain plenty of opportunity for bull, the bull I’m focusing on is Taurus. Earthly matters get a boost, and the material becomes more prominent in our lives. Mercury turns around in Taurus at 22 degrees on the 30th at 6:22 PM PDT, and the talk will be earthy, materially oriented, sensual even, but those speaking could also be slow to see the need for change and very resistant to differing points of view. But at least we’ll be communicating.

We also have Mars entering the sign of the bull, on the 31st, and we can expect egos to take a more practical turn and actions to concentrate on the artisanal, on methods of growth, and on prosperity or the lack of it. Mars, while still in his own sign of Aries, will sextile our old friends Jupiter, Neptune, and Chiron (the 25th-28th), with Uranus in Pisces at the midpoint. Watch for the sudden assertion of Will, possibly driven by fantasy, ideals, delusion, or hurt. The positive possibilities call forward skills, imagination, and the social sphere to help you express your unique, probably creative, individuality.

Neptune retrogrades on the 28th at 3:07 PM PDT, while conjunct Jupiter and Chiron and semi-sextile Uranus, and clouds the issue. We may very abruptly feel confusion surrounding the social, educational, religious, creative, and expansion efforts we’ve been moving on, and matters of hurt and rebellion may leap forward unbidden. This is a response of the moment, and may be disconnected from the larger Neptune pattern. The best way to deal with it is to ’step back’ to the mental or creative stance you had just before the confusion set in, and proceed very carefully from there; this is likely either a delusion or distraction, and should be treated as such.

Again in regard to Neptune/ Chiron/ Jupiter, Pallas is quincunx these from the 25th-31st, and offers us her wisdom and guidance if we’re willing and able to adjust the conjunction energies to the wise course. This means openness to modification of creative, healing, and social efforts, and respect for those who offer assistance (whether you take the advice/ aid or not!)

Apparently I’ve been nominated for a ’Lemonade Award,’ presented to sites with great attitude or gratitude–a big Thank You to lovely ladies Neith and Pat over at Real Astrologers http://realastrologers.com/ who put me on their list of 10–and that’s part of the deal, you pass along a list of 10 favorites, which is very tough for me to do–have you seen my blogroll? I love them all, for a variety of reasons! So, here’s 10 of my favorites (or at least, the first 10 who come to mind!) Many congrats to Pat and Neith on their nom, too–I’ve tried repeatedly to comment on their site, but am told I have an invalid user name (no matter how I modify it–and obviously I have a wordpress presence)–hope that’s just Merc retro talking, and not a Universal message!

1. Jude Cowell at Jude’s Threshold http://judecowell.wordpress.com/ and Stars Over Washington http://starsoverwashington.blogspot.com/ and several other outstanding creative venues–she’s got an incredibly deep knowledge, a strong sense of history and politics, some of the best use of astrological degree symbolism around, and an excellent bs detector–her insights are phenomenal!

2. Love the insights of hitchhiker72–she’s “Unwriting the I”– at A Question of Mindfulness http://questionofmindfulness.wordpress.com/ She’s a thinker and observer in the best sense, commenting on the heart of the matter, whatever it may be, with just the right balance of knowledge, honesty, and personal reference.

3. Deeply thoughtful and well-realized astrological philosophy and meaning are the province of Chirotic Journal http://chirotic.wordpress.com/, definitely a favorite for its thorough, dimensional examination of natal placements and configurations.

4. aello at Dream Orpheus http://dreamorpheus.wordpress.com/ offers perceptive, sensitive, and enlightening dream interpretation–always fascinating reading!

5. Prolific, with a wide-ranging slate of topics and some of the sharpest astrological analysis around, Twilight at Learning Curve on the Ecliptic http://twilightstarsong.blogspot.com/ never disappoints, and always gives the mind something fresh to ponder.

6. The application of astrology to Self-analysis is first rate at Lucy Watch the Sky http://lucywatchthesky.com/, and she has the capacity to state things in such a way that we can take the core of the observation and apply it ourselves–and that’s a gift.

7. One of the most useful and well-done sites ever is by serennu http://www.serennu.com/ Loads of hard to find info accurately presented–and follow her on Twitter, as she offers excellent Tweets that are truly enlightening http://twitter.com/serennu

8. Urania’s 9th House http://www.uranias9thhouse.com/blog/ offers succinct snapshots of current aspects, plus always fine commentary on conditions–greatly informative, in the best sense.

9. Found What the Astral Fog http://astralfog.blogspot.com/ very recently–love the tone and sheer utility, while still being imbued with poetry, of the advice. Added bonus is ‘birthcards’ (using a regular deck) of famous individuals for the day.

10. I’m cheating here; imaginative and fun is the astro info found at Wisestars http://wisestars.wordpress.com/ but I also want to note a new site that offers something different: advice for the day based on both Tarot and the Mayan systems at Stargates54 http://stargates54.wordpress.com/ Check both of them out!

It’s requested that each nominated site also do its own noms, include the logo shown here, and notifiy each nominee at their own site (something I’ll do in a few hours). And good luck to all, readers and nominees, as with such ‘tude this week, and bull on the rise, we’ll all need to make lemonade from life’s lemons!