Virgo (23 August-22 September)
Your ruling planet Mercury is on a quick romp through the zodiac this month taking in four signs. On the 1st, Mercury leaves Aries and moves into Taurus, ruling travel, study and any activity that broadens your horizons. On the 15th, Mercury enters Gemini and your career sector and finally on the 31st, Mercury moves on again into the water sign of Cancer.
The two main areas to note this month are the areas mentioned above and this month’s two eclipses also focus on these same areas of your life.
Let’s start with Taurus as this is where four of the personal planets are in the heavens, once Mercury joins them on the 1st. You often feel restless when planets are in this sector of your chart, whether you want a holiday, need something new to get your teeth into or you’re thinking about study, a spiritual project or something more creative.
Taurus is a fellow earth sign so it’s a promising period to think big and try out a new adventure or do something different. May is potentially your most successful month of the year and most great things in life start by saying ‘Yes’. Move out of your comfort zone, explore new surroundings, and experiment with opening your mind, your heart and your soul.
If there’s a little voice inside you that doubts whether you can achieve half of what you want to do, then take note. In astrology, this little voice is a rather mighty planet called Saturn in your communication sector. Saturn can represent real blocks and limitations but it’s also the planet of fear so it’s likely that it’s your own thoughts holding you back. If this is the case, find ways to turn negatives into positives and to overcome what’s stopping you.
Coaching may help, talk to someone you admire or make contact with an influential role model; someone you know will inspire you. Whatever or whoever in life is holding you back; find ways to work round any limitations so you can make the most of what’s currently on offer to you.
On the 10th there’s a powerful solar or New Moon eclipse in Taurus and eclipses are often turn-around moments. When you look back on your life, you realise that what you began on or around the time of the eclipse had a big effect on what happened next. So whether you sign up to a course, book a holiday or make progress in the media, publishing or the legal world, it’s a pivotal moment.Admittedly, eclipses can be dramatic and sometimes you have a door closed on you before you see where your options lie and what’s available to you. It’s a powerful time to let go of what’s stopping you so you can move on in your life.
Once Mercury’s in Gemini on the 15th, things start to pick up for you and there’s a huge opportunity to do something quite spectacular with your career, your vocation or being in the public eye and this is your five minutes of fame. The main reason for this is Jupiter, the planet of opportunity, in Gemini and your career sector where it’s been since June 2012.
Jupiter’s going to move on at the end of the next month but before then it connects with Mercury and Venus on the 27th/28th respectively and the Sun next month. The 27th/28th are stellar dates for career success and a real high five moment. Don’t forget that Jupiter rules expansion so you need to put something in to get something back.
This feels such a lucky combination and as all three bodies, Mercury, Venus and Jupiter, will be visible in the night sky, track them down and make a wish. Whether you want more freedom, more money, more acknowledgement or simply more success, the end of the month is a real go-for-it period when you ask for what you want.
The only shadow at the end of the month involves the second eclipse of May on the 25th which falls across the Gemini/Sagittarius axis. This is a lunar or Full Moon eclipse and the last in an eclipse cycle that began in December 2010. This feels emotional as not only is it a Full Moon but Neptune, the watery planet, squares the Sun and Moon. This brings your family or your partner into the equation and it may be that someone’s not as happy for your success as you would like or expect. Either that or it’s a huge sob fest with everyone hugging and wailing in celebration.
Eclipses often indicate a triangle situation as there are 3 planetary bodies involved: the Sun, Moon and Earth so this could be a pivotal time for a relationship. Whether an affair comes to light or there’s a proposal of marriage, one thing’s for sure, you can expect a lot of drama and emotion at month’s end.
[artwork by Kitschensyngk at flickr.com]