Full Moon in Sagittarius

This is on the 29th May, 3:21 pm UTC.

It looks kinda mentally jangled and all-over-the-place, but pretty nice overall! Things will feel lively, to say the least. It's an upbeat, sociable time.

We'll have the moon in expansive, optimistic Sagittarius opposite the sun in thinky, hyperactive Gemini. The Gemini-Sagittarius axis is all about information and communication (Gemini), and how we draw the disparate bits of information into a guiding narrative (Sagittarius). It can also be about alternate interpretations, misinformation, and truth vs. lies. When we get a lunation along this axis, we usually see a lot of issues around information and communication coming up, and knowing what's true and what's false can be challenging. So it's fitting that we have the European General Data Protection Act coming into effect at this time, nobody seems to exactly understand what it's about, and there are a lot of scams connected with it. We also have weird reversals in international diplomacy – the US-North Korea summit is cancelled, oh wait, maybe it's back on, WTF is happening?

There's just a lot going on and it's confusing. And recall that this full moon comes on the heels of Uranus moving into Taurus at the new moon on the 15th May, which symbolises a thorough shake-up of the status quo, with long-term effect. Things are in mega-flux, you're probably coping with enormous change in some area of your life, and it's entirely appropriate that your mind should be reeling a bit.

Aside from the fried neurons, this full moon looks pretty nice and beneficial. It's part of a harmonius aspect pattern called a mystic rectangle – this one features Mars in Aquarius and the north node in Leo, as well as the sun in Gemini and moon in Sagittarius, which all together is a lot of air and fire. Air is thought and communication, fire is energy and inspiration, and they work well together. So this is clearly a time of revolutionary new thinking, progressive ideas, excited communication, blazing creativity.

And compounding this theme of accelerated mental shift, Mercury (planet of thought and communication) shifts signs on the day of the full moon. He moves from slow, conservative Taurus to the sign he rules: frenetic, free-associating Gemini. And he'll be moving into a trine with revolutionary Mars in Aquarius (exact 1st June). This means fired-up mental agility and a drive to think outside the box.

At the same time though, we'll be dealing with a yod, which is a tense aspect pattern that speaks of mutual irreconcilables. The focus of the yod will be Saturn in Capricorn, a force for structure, order, authority and conservatism. It looks like the weight of the past and of tradition will sit uncomfortably with the drive for new, creative, progressive thinking. Also, the task this year is to build a whole new operating system for some aspect of your life, from the ground up – and this is tough when things are feeling so unsettled.

Helpfully, we have a grand trine in the water signs forming at this time, as Venus moves into middle degrees of Cancer. It'll be exact from the 1st to the 2nd of June, and it looks really lovely and lucky. It involves Venus and Jupiter, the two “benefic” planets, and also Neptune in his home sign of Pisces.  This speaks of a great flow of intuition, compassion, healing and love. It should feel pretty good.

So if you find yourself confused and unable to make sense of anything mentally, you can use your heart and your intuition as a guide at this time. These will tell you what to put your faith in and which way to flow.

New Moon in Taurus

This is on the 15th May, 12:45 pm UTC.

It's a big deal. Something is bound to be shifting for you at a very basic level about now, and the effects are going to be long-term. You are not going to be able to stay stuck in the same old ruts. And collectively, the events unfolding now will have long-term consequences.

This new moon is all about Uranus, planet of shock, revolution and upheaval. Uranus is changing signs within 3 hours of the new moon, from Aries into Taurus. Uranus changes signs roughly every 7 years, and the odds that he'll be changing signs at nearly the exact time of a new moon in the sign he's shifting into is... wildly improbable, to say the least. The universe is being pretty heavy handed with its symbolism here. And the symbolism is of a thorough-going shake-up of an established order.

Then the day after the new moon, Mars shifts signs into Aquarius, the sign Uranus rules. His first order of business in Aquarius is perfecting his square with Uranus in Taurus – it will be exact at 0 degrees of each sign. More heavy-handed symbolism – and here we are dealing with a shock to the system, a bolt from the blue, a trigger event. A Mars-Uranus square is liable to be explosive, aggressive and abrupt: it's a blitzkreig aspect. And here it acts as the starting gun that sets off Uranus's rampage through Taurus - or the red rag to the bull, if you like.

Taurus is habitual, slow-moving, conservative, attached to comfort / possessions and resistant to change (but implacable once set in motion). Uranus, in contrast, is a live wire, very erratic and unpredictable, chaotic, uncomfortable by nature – and he demands change. So the transit of Uranus through Taurus is likely to set the ants loose in your pants. Over the next 7 years, we are going to be dealing with disturbances and abrupt shifts to our finances, our work, our values, our habits, our possessions – everything we cling to for a sense of security in this world. Shocking reversals of fortune are likely. Unpredictable political changes and environmental shifts are also likely.

I think it's a good idea to streamline and get rid of stuff you don't need in preparation for this – radical simplicity is one way of making this energy work for you. It's also a good psychological tactic, as the less you're holding on to, the less you'll have to lose and the easier it will be to maneuver.

You probably already have a pretty good idea of what this is about for you and are itching for change in some sector of your life. We had a Mercury-Uranus conjunction at 29 degrees Aries on the 13th May, just ahead of this crazy new moon. The moon in Aries was also involved, and everything was squaring Mars in Capricorn. And all this represents an intense lightbulb moment, a newsflash, a surge of tremendous irritation and insight. So I'm sure you know by now what has to change.

But it's one thing to know what you want to be free of and to open up space in your life for something new – it's another thing entirely to build a new operating system, from the ground up. That's the challenge we're looking at this new moon, and for the forseeable future. Thankfully, the sun and moon will be beneficially aspecting Mars and Pluto in Capricorn, which should be very good for making long term, practical changes. Whatever is set in motion at this new moon should have long-lasting effect and staying power.

There'll be plenty of impatience and irritation as Mars squares Uranus, but please try to keep things slow and steady. Also, with Mars square Uranus, please be careful around electronics and while operating machinery or driving. Sudden accidents are more likely at this time.

We'll have a full moon in Sagittarius on the 29th May, and it looks quite confusing and unsettled. I guess that's fitting after the Uranian shocks of the new moon – people will be rattled, and it will be hard to know what's true. Lunations along the Gemini-Sagittarius axis usually have to do with information, communication and truth vs. falsehood, and the full moon is no exception. But amid all the fried neurons and crossed wires, you'll have a strong ally in the form of your intuition. We have a grand water trine forming between Venus in Cancer, Neptune in Pisces and Jupiter in Scorpio, and it will be operative around the time of the full moon. It looks like a soulful, soothing influence in a jangled-up period. I'll write about it closer to the time.