Monthly Vedic Astrology Forecast

Venus moves to Taurus May 5

Venus shifts into the earth sign that she rules, Taurus, on May 5, moving through and exiting Taurus on May 30. This is a great position for love, art, music, creativity, enjoyment of beauty, relationship, and social activity. Venus is truly at home in Taurus, so this would be a great month to celebrate all things Venusian. This particular transit of Venus through Taurus is aspected by Jupiter, which gives an extra boost to Venus' energy this month. Jupiter is the planet of expansion and general beneficence, and lends this energy to Venus this month. Beginning projects related to art, music, fashion, creativity, or relationship -- such as marriage -- would be auspicious at this time. Mars, currently in Aquarius, also aspects Venus as she transits Taurus this month. Do count on some Mars influence; combined with Venus, things can get passionate. Especially starting with the ...

New Moon in Aries May 8

Lending the power of initiative to new pursuits this month is the New Moon in Mars' fire sign of Aries. When the Moon is new in Aries, it is always conjunct the Sun in its sign of exaltation, which lends both planets a degree of Martian power. The Aries qualities of drive, precision, efficiency, and force could readily be infused into new pursuits this month. This would be a good time to start farming, landscaping, building projects, or anything that requires a degree of planning or engineering. This new Moon occurs in Aries, within the lunar mansion of Bharani, ruled by Venus, which injects a combination of Venus and Mars energy into this new lunar cycle, making things move and shake in an artistic way, should that be required or desired.

Mercury moves to Aries May 8

Mercury finally pulls himself out of the drink and onto the front lines the same day of the new Moon on May 8. Mercury will have been in Pisces for two full months due to his retrograde cycle in late March/early April. As noted in earlier forecasts, Mercury is debilitated in Pisces, which means that he's not really able to do what he does best when transiting through that sign. While Aries is still not Mercury's favorite place, he can function a bit more fully there. In fact, Mercury's skills of communication, intellectual organization, and his analytical ability are rather helpful to both the Mars and Venus types of activities listed above. This will be a much better month for activities that require Mercury's strengths, such as writing, studying, and communication in general. Mercury is rather an invaluable ally in Mars/Venus interactions, because he really goes both ways very well: He can match Mars in a serious conversation about mining rights as well as enjoy a concert in the park, looking dashing, with Venus. A strong Mercury allows us to change hats quickly, and to have the ability to relate to many different types people or situations with ease.

Sun enters Taurus May 15

The Sun entering Taurus mid-month will lend a bit more power to the Venus side of the equation. The Sun has the obvious ability to overpower the influence of planets with which he shares close quarters. The Sun represents our ego, which this month, luckily, will not get close enough to Venus to overpower her, but just closa enough to illuminate her even more.

Full Moon in Scorpio May 23

Our Venus/Mars pursuits could reach some point of climax during this month's full Moon, which occurs in Mars' water sign, Scorpio. While the Moon is considered debilitated in Scorpio, it will have passed into a less critical degree at the full Moon and is aspected by Venus, whose influence is strong as she occupies her own sign, which definitely helps the situation. I think things are going to feel generally fine this month, possibly intense but not dramatic.

Saturn enters Cancer May 26

Although I don't actually play chess, I understand the concept, and sometimes keeping track of the planets and looking ahead to where they will be reminds me of a chess player's ability to see moves ahead. When I look at where Saturn, Rahu, Ketu, and Mars are and will be soon, I see the shadowy play of battle lines being drawn. I must admit that I'm getting a serious "calm before the storm" feeling about this month. I feel like the positions of the above mentioned planets/nodes by the end of this month and into June are going to trigger some big stuff, although what, I don't know. When Saturn enters Cancer, he moves into position to aspect Jupiter and Ketu, which can sometimes squelch optimism, or act as a serious buzz kill. This seems like the first move in the campaign that may ensue. Saturn will be transiting Cancer for the next two years. This could be ripe ground for falling prey to depression. Preventative measures are encouraged. While Saturn will be in Cancer for the next two years, he will only be aspecting Jupiter until October of this year. The next five months could prove challenging.

As Mars moves closer to conjunction with Rahu and opposition to Ketu and Jupiter, I continue to be reminded of the planetary positions of September 11, 2001. While not identical, there are eerie similarities, and it will be interesting to see how things play out. More on this next month.