“Perception is an ongoing interchange – a silent conversation I carry on with things. By perceiving (really seeing) I enter into a sympathetic relation with the perceived. The act of perception is always open-ended and unfinished.” David Abram

Mercury stations retrograde May 29 in the evening EDT at 24 degrees of Gemini. Mercury, the busy Trickster God is happy in this mutable, mercurial sign.

Mercury will travel retrograde until June 23 when he stations direct-  making this  three week period an excellent time to pause, rethink and revision. Mercury is a lover of multifaceted ideas and perspectives. It’s wise to be open to options in thinking and  ideas that might need an update.

Mercury and Venus are together now and making an alignment to Neptune – a reminder of the power and wisdom of kindness, compassion and forgiveness in effecting change.

One of the Sabian symbols for this time is,”Carefree children skating on ice.”

Sabian symbol from Linda Hill

“Lady called the blue boy love
She took him home
Made himself an idol yes
So he turned to stone
Like a pilgrim she traveled
To place her flowers
Before his granite grace
And she prayed aloud for love
To waken in his face
In his face.” Joni Mitchell

“Take some more tea,” the March Hare said to Alice, very earnestly.
“I’ve had nothing yet,” Alice replied in an offended tone: “so I can’t take more.”
“You mean you can’t take less,” said the Hatter: “It’s very easy to take more than nothing.”  Lewis Carroll

“Why sometimes I’ve believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast.” Lewis Carroll

This week’s Lunar Eclipse is at 5 degrees of Sagittarius on Wednesday May 26 at 7:14 am EDT. At the time of the Eclipse both Jupiter and Neptune are strong influences – with the Sun and Moon in a tight square to Jupiter and Neptune in a square alignment with Venus and Mercury.  Squares are dynamic and call for action or indicate the need to overcome something.

It is a very good week for creative endeavors. But with these alignments and  Saturday’s  Mercury retrograde station (at 24 Taurus) as  it can be a more confusing time. Misunderstandings and miscommunications can happen more easily so it’s wise to be extra clear in communication. Best to double check emails and texts have actually been received and read before jumping to any conclusions. Make sure important info is backed up.

As far as matters of the heart are concerned, Venus in a square aspect to Neptune is a muse -type alignment – when a form of  higher love brings inspiration to the artistic process.  It is also associated with unrequited love or being in love with an idealized or unavailable person. It can be a time when illusions of this type may be  made made more visible. Feeling a scarcity around love or abundance may be present at this time as well.

This alignment bodes well for meditation and spiritual growth. It also speaks of  the higher aspect of love and the need to bring more love into the world.

Whenever there is a planetary station – either retrograde or direct- it bodes well to heed any information or guidance that surfaces that represents a culmination of information. This process applies to this week and into early next week.

There is a fair amount of confusion and illusion around this week as well as a tendency to overreact. It’s a good time to keep strong boundaries in place, back up important information and proceed with discrimination and  moderation.

One of the Sabian symbols for this time is,” An old owl perched up in a tree.”

Sabian symbol from Lynda Hill

“Ideas do not belong to people. Ideas live in the world as we do. We discover certain ideas at certain times.” M.C Richards

“When I am, as it were, completely myself, entirely alone, and of good cheer, it is on such occasions that my ideas flow best and most abundantly. Whence and how they come, I know not; nor can I force them.” Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

We’re moving into eclipse season now – with the total Lunar Eclipse in Sagittarius on May 26. The effects of an eclipse can be felt before and after the actual event. Jupiter will be strong at the time of the Eclipse with the Sun and Moon squaring  this planet of expansion.  It is wise throughout the next few weeks to proceed with  moderation and discrimination. Best to be pragmatic in thinking.  Jupiter, when in a difficult aspect such as this – can tend towards  excess and exaggeration .

Mercury is squaring Neptune which bodes well for creative work but can contribute to cloudy thinking.

Monday the Sun in Taurus will make a favorable  alignment with Pluto indicating that the first few days of this week will be a good time for renewal and regeneration. It can help with clarifying  vision and restoring courage and strength for the journey forward.

Wednesday the Sun will move into Gemini joining Venus, Mercury and the North Node, making the next month a good time for learning, for traveling and for being open to new ideas and perspectives.

Also on Wednesday Venus in Gemini will trine Saturn. This bodes well for financial planning and for making long term plans.

One of the Sabian symbols for this time is, “A glass bottomed boat reveals undersea wonders.”

Sabian symbol from Lynda Hill

“The act of perception is always open-ended and unfinished.” David Abram

Mercury is busy in the sky this week indicating it’s wise to be open to fresh insights and new ways of thinking. Mercury in Gemini is conjunct the North Node of Life Path and Destiny now shedding light on the road ahead. Do be open to guidance about the future.

The North Node in Gemini indicates it bodes well to move towards more flexibility in thinking and away from rigid perceptions.

With both Mercury and Mars aligning with Chiron there’s an opportunity to understand old wounds from new perspectives. It offers a good time to think about Mars related issues in our lives – how we direct and implement power, how we provide appropriate boundaries to move forward with our aspirations, how anger is managed.

The New Moon is Tuesday at 22 degrees of Taurus and at  this time the Moon will be aligning favorably with both Neptune and Pluto. This indicates  that the next month will be a good time to use the powers of creative visualization to access guidance about  how to effect the changes you’d like to make in your life.

This week Jupiter will enter the sign of Pisces for a short stay. Most of this transit will take place in 2022 as Jupiter will move direct until the Summer Solstice and then shortly thereafter move back into Aquarius. Jupiter in Pisces is a good time for enjoying friends and fun. It is also a good time for dreams , mystical experiences and creativity.

One of the Sabian symbols for this time is,”A white dove flying straight and fearlessly over troubled waters.”

Sabian symbol from Lynda Hil

“By refreshing our sense of belonging in the world, we widen the web of relationships that nourishes us and protects us from burnout.”Joanna Macy

“In atomic physics, we can never speak about nature, without. at the same time, speaking about ourselves.” Fritjof  Capra

Today Venus is aligning favorably with Pluto. This influence, which will be in effect for the next couple of days, is associated with rebirth and renewal in relationship. It is a good time to deepen and expand ties in both friendship and personal relationships.

Pluto is also associated with rebuilding or reconstructing -making this a good time to review relationships in terms of how close or distant they are in order to strike a more appropriate balance if necessary.

Venus is squaring Jupiter at this time which can bring a sense of hope and  expansion.  It can be a more lively and sociable time with Mercury now in Gemini and Venus to enter that sign shortly.

One of the Sabian symbols for this time is. ” A woman in midlife stands in rapt, sudden realization of forgotten charms, in unexpected recovery of romance.”

Sabian symbol from Lynda Hill

“Our task must be to free ourselves by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty.” Albert Einstein

“I have heard that voice many a time when asleep
and, what is strange, I understood, more or less
an order, or an appeal in an unearthly tongue:
day draws near
another one
do what you can.” Czeslaw Milosz

Jupiter will enter the sign of Pisces  on May 13  and transit this watery sign until July 28 when it will retrograde back into Aquarius. It will re-enter Pisces December 29 – May 10, 2022.

This transit offers an excellent time for spiritual growth. Under this influence there is often an increase in compassion, kindness and generosity and well as a willingness to make sacrifices for the greater or higher good.

Hope and optimism can increase under this influence and Jupiter can also attract beneficial things into your life. It’s a good time to keep a positive view of your future as well as a healthy, sustainable vision of the planet going forward.

One of the Sabian symbols for this time is,”Moonlit fields, once Babylon, are blooming bright.”

Sabian symbol from Lynda Hill

“Vines will be planted, corn will spring up, a whole new growth of crops; and people will still fall in love  in vintages and harvests still to come. Life is eternal; it is a perpetual renewal of birth and growth.” Emil Zola

“There is strength in softness and  power in being vulnerable.” Cathy Pagano

When I was at the grocery store yesterday, there  was a stack of brown and white bumper stickers on the counter  that said,”Regenerate!” They were promoting the holistic practice of regenerative agriculture but this spirit of renewal and regeneration is very much with us through early May as Venus and Mercury move up to a harmonious aspect to Pluto.

The powerful recent Full Moon in Scorpio cleared the way for a new or renewed vision of the future that can be created through a visionary and pragmatic process. Venus and Mercury lend information and passion for the journey forward.

Mars is now in Cancer through mid June indicating a good time for attending to matters of home and family. It’s a good time for nurturing – whether it is yourself, family, community or the earth by tending to a garden.

One of the Sabian symbols for this time is,”A large well kept public park.”

Sabian symbol from Lynda Hill

“Pluto is the ferryman who transports the soul through the underworld upon its death. The symbology is that when Pluto arrives, a major transformation – a rebirth – takes place. Something has to die to be reborn.” Ray  Merriman

“Pluto says.’The order you are clinging to is inhibiting your life. You may think you need it, but in fact, letting go will give you more life.” Caroline W. Casey

Clarrisa Pinkola Estes, Jungian analyst and author of Women Who Run with the Wolves, has written about the ongoing cycles of transformation or  life/death cycles that accompany us throughout our lives. She has written that  much of the harm that has come to the environment has been due to lack of appropriate understanding and respect for these cycles.

Pluto, the Lord of the Underworld is the ruler of this transformational process and Pluto’s influence will be strong at the time of the Full Moon in Scorpio on Monday. Scorpio is the opposite sign of Taurus and one quality of Taurus is  steadfastness – holding on. The sign of Scorpio has to do with the need to let go.  To start anew. From ending to beginning.

Change is certainly on the front burner these days. It’s wise at the time of this Full Moon to proceed pragmatically with any plans. It’s best to avoid impulsiveness and to remain flexible as Uranus, the planet of sudden and unexpected events, figures into the picture in a significant way also.

There is a strong pull to make changes now but Saturn is still in a tight alignment with Uranus cautioning “not so fast.” It’s a good time to take a look back and clarify what you’re leaving behind and why.

One of the Sabian symbols for this time is,”The silvery moon shining across a beautiful gem of a lake.”

Sabian symbol from Lynda Hill

“The earth isn’t solid. It is made of molecules and atoms, tiny universes filled with space. It is a place of light and of magic, if you only open your eyes.” Dan Millman

“The Earth is peopling as apple trees “apple.” People are produced from the Earth as apples from apple trees.” Alan Watts

The Sun and Mercury both just entered Taurus, the sign of the Bull. Under the influence of this earthy sign, pragmatics rules and attention turns to what works   It is a good time to focus on resources and what provides stability and security. While the sign of Aries may be racing towards the future with lots of ideas and plans, Taurus is the sign of the present and the wisdom of staying grounded in the present.

Taurus is a sensual sign and provides excellent timing to nurture and care for the body. It’s  also a good time to reconnect to the earth- by gardening or spending more time in special places in nature.

One of the Sabian symbols for this time is,” A clear mountain stream flows steadily downstream.”

Sabian symbol from Lynda Hill

“Venus is the ruler of both Taurus and Libra. As the ruler of Taurus , Venus governs the sensual realm of the rich earth: agriculture and flowers. In her rulership of Libra she presides over the festive world. Venus wants to create a setting where creative interaction can take place. The invisible rides on Venus’s props: flowers, perfume, art, wit and conviviality . All that makes the world more lovely is Venusian, as is all that acknowledges the marvelous symmetry of intricate interrelatedness. ” Caroline W Casey

“Sometimes life is so surprising there’s nothing to do but live.” Emily Dickinson

The keywords for the next couple of weeks are flexibility and equilibrium. Venus in now in Taurus and will be joined over the next week by the Sun and Mercury – with this trio moving up to a conjunction with Uranus the planet of the unexpected.

There can be surprises over the next couple of weeks : love at first sight occurrences, surprise awakenings to a new sense of self as well as unexpected messages or realizations. It’s wise to back up devices in advance and keep communications very clear. There can also be a strong desire for freedom, erratic actions and impatience.

One of the Sabian symbols for this time is,”An electrical storm illuminates the heavens.”

Sabian symbol from Lynda Hill