Just a few things to keep in mind this week, starting with a Mercury-Chiron conjunction in Aries that perfects May 6th but is already within orb. This is a bit of a slow burn, with Merc still picking up speed after direction, meaning we have an unusually long window (in terms of Mercury) to experience this combo. In Aries this blend of energies can make us feel alone, isolated, our wounds and our thoughts looming larger-than-life. We have the sense that others are exerting their Will on us, but we can’t forget we’ll have the same tendency with them, and likely won’t be conscious of it; there’s also an issue of words, thoughts, and ideas hurting, whether they’re our own or hurled at us by others. This period is the equivalent of emotionally-charged quicksand. To be conscious of it is to give ourselves a chance to minimize damage and to survive what feels like a hostile and unforgiving mental jungle.

Uranus conjoined Jupiter is still in force, but waning in intensity as Jupiter moves at a quicker speed than Uranus and puts steadily growing distance between them. At this point the big Taurean splash is over, and we may be left either struggling to deal with the aftermath, or trying to make that outsized spark happen again. If you dealt with this as an ‘individual vs. group’ situation, you are likely feeling relieved but at the same time a tad left behind, as the group moves ahead whether we like it or not. Part of what we need to realize is that this aspect presented things to us in electrified, exaggerated terms, and though that makes the everyday look dull, it brought a shock that would be disastrously debilitating if we had to live it 24/ 7.

Venus in Taurus square Pluto in Aquarius perfects on May 1st; Luna will have just passed over Pluto, possibly igniting dark thoughts or urging us to take extreme action in finances or romance, as the emotional landscape looks bleak, a ‘nobody gets out of here alive’ feeling. Our values may seem threatened, our Love vulnerable to destruction, and relationships or earning circumstances may seem like they’ll have negative consequences–and they just might. We may intuit a depth in the resources or relationship picture and a very specific conflict around it; address this with care, always remaining mindful of the way the Mercury-Chiron pairing may make us entirely too conscious of our own pain, while Venus-Pluto may make us believe there’s only one, permanent way out of getting hurt again–and neither of those is really accurate. Being too aware of a wound means we take our attention away from what we’re doing or faced with–we’re illogically gun-shy–and that puts a barrier between us and perceiving reality correctly; being too frightened of what we might lose will warp our behavior and choices, and will definitely put us on an undesirable track. So, act as if you want to keep what you love, treat those things or people with dignity, care, and affection, and let the rest fall away. The truth around Venusian areas can be tough to take, but it’s necessary to know where we actually stand.

Neptune will reach the 29th degree of Pisces May 3rd. This degree suggests the body is under stress, its energy in some way desperate to express, to be heard. When that energy is Neptune, all bets are off. The only way to know how this might manifest is to know your natal relationship, as well as the current transit picture, to all that Neptune stands for: creative energy, deception, imagination, ideals, with a potential to birth our greatest ideas and to mislead ourselves or others and not even know that’s happening. This influence lasts to July, when Neptune appears to retrograde (bringing confusion over Neptunian choices so far or inspiration gleaned from previous Neptunian experience, and possibly causing us to change our minds or retreat) and continues into early September, then emerges for another go-round when the planet again hits 29 degrees, starting in early March 2025. Hints for handling this include finding and actively employing a creative outlet (or two or ten! Just be sure you’re doing ‘it’, not just thinking about ‘it’), being ‘married to the Truth’ so that you won’t succumb to fantasy, and embracing and accepting (rather than denying) areas of life where uncertainty reigns. To demand answers can undermine that way Neptune has of orchestrating the Universe to hand us the best possible outcome–so I guess trust in ourselves is what we need to practice.

Have a wonderful week!