Cosmic Forecast May 2023
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Illustration by Jess Stanley
May’s energy centers around earth and water, Taurus and Cancer, where all of the personal planets—the Sun, Mercury, Mars, and Venus—are stacking up. The month is laid back, much slower and more relaxed than March and April. May will give us the chance to really take a step back and integrate the transformations that we’ve been invited into since the beginning of the year. Things might feel too slow for comfort, or they might feel like a deeply needed sigh of relief. This is a month to go very easy on yourself, to practice gentleness, and to sort through the places where you judge yourself for needing to take things at your own pace.
Throughout May, there might be a sense of stagnancy, like there’s no way forward or that our attempts to get something started or finished are thwarted at every corner. On the other hand, if March and April found you overbooked and overburdened, use the energy of May’s astrology to reduce your workload and obligations. Remember that your first responsibility is to your own joy and well-being.
As the month opens, we’re moving through a Mercury Retrograde in Taurus. Mercury doesn’t feel quite at home in the earth sign, but because Mercury is in its retrograde motion, Taurus’ methodical and patient approach is actually quite supportive. This retrograde in Taurus is a great opportunity to tend to the nervous system by taking things off of your plate, spending time in nature, prioritizing doing nothing, and questioning your need to be busy all the time—if that’s something you deal with.
On May 1st, Pluto will also go retrograde, preparing to back out of Aquarius and into Capricorn once again on June 11th, where it will be until January 20th, 2024. The push for change and disruption that we felt in March takes a pause, literally teetering on 0° Aquarius all month long. As Pluto hangs in the balance, we get the opportunity for our bodies and spirits to acclimatize to some of the changes it will usher in over the coming years.
Some of this energy may not make a conscious appearance. Pluto is about the depths, after all. The shifts we will experience will be in our psyches. It’s a potent time to do trauma healing work and to process old narratives that are connected to social expectations of what you can and can’t be. Aquarius prompts us to explode the possibilities of what it means to be human, to radically change how society views human life. This Pluto Retrograde can help you work through any internalized -isms, any parts of you that believe you don’t belong.
On May 5th, we’ll have the second eclipse of the season, a Full Moon Lunar Eclipse in Scorpio. Scorpio is ruled by Pluto, so this is a day that amplifies the energy of the Pluto Retrograde. The Full Moon sheds light on the shadowy realms of Scorpio, again supporting any efforts to process hard emotions and painful memories stored in the body. The Scorpio-Taurus axis–the relationship we’re dealing with through the Full Moon in Scorpio and the Sun in its opposite sign, Taurus–is focused on the body, pleasure, indulgence, personal power, security, and self-reliance.
A Lunar Eclipse temporarily blocks out the light of the Moon and it asks: What are you afraid to look at? What are you pushing into the shadows that need the light so that you can process and release it? Where are you hiding your own light? In Scorpio, these questions pertain to your weirder, darker parts, your kinks, your neediest needs, your most powerful unmet desires.
Venus shifts from Gemini into Cancer on May 7th, creating a space for us to give a lot of loving attention to our most tender parts. Meanwhile, Mars is busy in the domestic and emotional spheres in Cancer for most of the month. With the planets of receiving what you need (Venus) and going after what you want (Mars) in the sign of navigating your emotional terrains (Cancer), it’s a really wonderful time to lean into your feelings, let your tears fall, tell people how much you adore them, and make choices that help you fall deeper in love with your own life.
Just after Mercury goes direct on the 14th, Jupiter, our planet of luck and expansion, moves from action-oriented Aries into Taurus on the 16th. The medicine of this transit is allowing ourselves to “give up”—to release the need for hustle and constant growth and improvement. Jupiter in Taurus tells us that it’s possible for our dreams to come true even if we take our foot off the gas and stop doing so much.
As we near the end of the month, Mars leaves Cancer and heads over to Leo on the 20th which will ignite a new spark for us when it comes to inspiration, motivation, and sharing our talents in public. Soon after, a soothing New Moon in Taurus invites us to release self-judgment around being “lazy” so that we can live our most fulfilling lives. Then, the Sun dives into Gemini on the 21st, ushering in a season of blossoming and becoming. The last days of May are about letting our most sparkly selves shine through, leading to personal and collective heart healing.
Keagan (she/her) is a writer, tarot reader, and astrologer. Find her on Instagram @moonsingemini to book a reading. Subscribe to her monthly tarotscope newsletter here.
