5/10 ~ Mercury (learning & mind) ~trine~ Jupiter (education & consciousness):
This energy is great for expanding your mind, learning something new or taking a class. It’s time to plan for the future and start getting organized. However, you may feel less disciplined and more creative, which is fine in the beginning, but eventually focus & discipline will have to be engaged to ground your new ideas, thoughts or concepts. You have to ask your Self, ‘How bad do you want it?’ If you are self-aware, awake & alert, you will be able to see (and seize) the opportunities as they present themselves. It may ‘appear’ to be luck, but it’s really more that you were in alignment with the Cosmos, present & positive, and ultimately, able to trust & follow your own instincts. Practice, there is no perfection. Being optimistic & looking for opportunity in every experience will magnetize the positive and naturally repel the negative, leading right where you want to be! Take advantage of this good energy to connect to whatever it is you that are trying to create in your life at this time.

5/10 ~ Sun (core essential Self) ~sextile~ Neptune (vision & imagination):
This energy activates your ability to dissolve the ego (momentarily) and allow your SoulSelf to shine through! Your Spiritual center, base or practice comes up – how is it supporting you? If you’ve gotten away from your practice, this energy will make it easier to connect to your Spirit, your intuition and the vision for your life’s purpose, at this time. You may find where your contribution is most valued, when you step outside your Self and see how others’ needs are important. Find a need and fill it … in your own deliciously unique way, as you will be more giving & compassionate naturally, under this influence. Your physical energy may be low as a result of Neptune channeling the Sun’s Source Energy inwardly to re-charge your Spirit. Otherwise, it could be projections of all kinds, yours and other people’s as well. Best to spend some intentional solitude, preferably in nature if/when/where possible.

5/10 ~ Saturn Retrograde 1* AQUARIUS:
This is Saturn’s first time in Aquarius since 1991-1993 and today brings its first retrograde before it goes back for one last look around Capricorn and we move into very new territory when it goes forward at the end of September. It is a good idea to get clear on what you’ve learned in the last 2+ years about your own reality, as well as the reality of the world and define your own terms around the Capricorn House Issues (if you want to get personal). Otherwise, we all can see how a certain reality & purpose has played out and run its course since 1988. On social/collective levels, what have we learned? The 1980’s is when Reagan got the ball really rolling on corporations becoming people and people becoming consumers. Can we be done with that, please?! At the same time, the incredible technological breakthroughs of the 1990’s helped us connect globally, expanding our little individual worlds in ways that can never go back. Meaning: you cannot unknow what you know or unsee what you’ve seen. So how can you visualize more humans becoming more responsible stewards of Earth and more respectful of Mother ~ the Source of ALL LIFE? We can’t control the rest of the world, but we can make our own individual choices and we will have to, going forward, because we are stepping into a new reality and claiming a new purpose by Fall 2020 when Saturn goes forward and moves fully into Aquarius by the end of this year, initiating a whole new reality & purpose for humanity, in general.

Saturn Retrogrades every year, giving us a tremendous amount of stabilizing energy that you can direct consciously on your own behalf. Every year, Saturn asks us to clean up/clean out and upgrade your reality in some department of life. You can look to any area of your life that requires you to upgrade & fortify because it has essentially run its natural course and is more/less worn out. But you can also look to your Aquarius House, and see if those Areas of Life it represents, also may require some much-needed focus & dedication. Saturn often gets our attention by creating blockages & delays, pointing out weaknesses & oversights, and during its retrograde, there are reports of folks feeling like they are being ‘held back by the elbows’. But it doesn’t necessarily have to be that way. A better use of Saturn’s amazing energy is to slow down and check in with your personal base. How organized are you in general? Are you naturally focused and self-directed or do you succeed more often when you have a structure? This is a time to develop or fortify your Inner Authority to make choices & decisions on your own behalf, with courage & confidence. Take time to organize your thoughts or create a plan or strategy for adjusting to the changes (seemingly) being forced on you at this time. Start with small, manageable goals because accomplishing them will also give you the momentum & fortitude to go after the bigger goals. It’s time to release fear & doubt and redefine your reality on some level, if nothing else, for the new year alone.

5/11 ~ Mercury (ideas, thoughts & concepts) ~square~ Mars (desire & actions):
This activation can be a tough one for some. If your beliefs are out of alignment with your actions, if you are not self-aware or act-out unconsciously, being selfish or childish, then watch out, because squares test you to grow and change in some way. Often, this also means that you are suppressing your nature in some way, which is never really a good idea. When you suppress your Soul, it can make your human more sensitive or defensive, taking things personally as a threat or challenge. If you catch your Self feeling irritable for no apparent reason, try to step back and gain some perspective before responding to your own thoughts or another’s words. Mercury & Mars getting together, in this challenging way, can provoke debates and, in some people, actual fights, so be careful. The deeper aspect of this activation is that some part of you wants to express, perhaps in a new way, and your monkey-mind has got you all off track. Mars demands that you know who you are and what you want, and is the Divine Masculine part of you, which is supposed to hold good boundaries, protect you and negotiate on your behalf in the world. If you know something that you are not acting on, this can be frustrating. If you are acting in ways that are not allowing you to think things through, this too can cause accidents, problems and delays. It is best to pull inward until you are clear. And also keep in mind, you may not be out of alignment in the above ways, but those around you may be and will likely have no context for what they are feeling and therefore, become indiscriminate with their choices & actions.

5/11 ~ Mercury Enters GEMINI:
Mercury and Mars are entering the sign right before the sign that they will retrograde, so this is the warm up, basically. Mercury moving into Gemini is special because it is home base and where it’s strongest. For the next 3-weeks we will be exploring – or supported to explore – our own consciousness and how we have mentally processed the last year of life. The last time Mercury was in Gemini was May 2019 – how have you grown, mentally? What have you learned in the last year? What new ideas, thoughts & concepts were born over the last year? Now, look at this process as preparation for it to linger next month in Cancer, when we will have to review how we FEEL about all that we learned in the last year. It is going to be an important personal review in light of the worldly issues going on because Cancer always tunes us into our personal needs & necessities. Use this time & energy as preparation for the retrograde and pay close attention to any choices or decisions you have to make at this time.

5/12 ~ Mercury (your thinking) ~trine~ Saturn (structure & organization):
This energy is good for deep thinking. You are sharp and your standards are high because you are in ‘strategy mode’. This is a more solitary energy though, so communications with others may be hampered a bit because it is time for you to hold your own, at some new level. It’s time to focus on the details that hold the big dream together, all the little things that make the grand vision work. Some respect that attention to detail while others may consider it nit-picky but it is what the energy supports at this time so don’t worry if others don’t understand. By the same token, you may also feel a little overwhelmed by the many “little things” that cannot be denied or delayed and thus a sense of urgency to get it all done. Beware of a tendency toward pessimism, depression or overwhelm. Try to stay focused on all the blessings that you do have and all that you have already accomplished instead of what’s still on the list of things to do (in life). This energy is not intended to make you feel bad about all the things left yet to do, but encourage you to begin the necessary steps for manifesting your dreams. This energy just makes you focus on the practical side of manifesting. Clear the debris, and begin to lay a new, clean, solid foundation beneath your goals. Saturn gets you present to the necessary steps and Mercury helps you think clearly.

5/12 ~ Mars Enters PISCES:
As I said above, this is a warm up to Mars also lingering in its home sign of Aries, later this Summer. So as it enters Pisces, this gives us a chance to dream up the new desires, direction & individual purpose about to be born in each of us. Mars is about who you are and what you want and we are dreaming that anew! In Pisces, you get to explore your spirituality, your imagination and your dreams. Does any of that even play a role in your life? Of course, it does for some more than others but if you are a staunch realist, this gives you permission to loosen up and dream a little over the next 2-months. Liberate your normal way of thinking for just a moment this week and consider this: If all your bills were paid, all your needs taken care of, what would you choose to do with your time, energy & money? You have to quiet the ego who wants to know and control everything, and surrender to your imagination and then, ask the real question: what do you truly desire? For your Self, for your family & community, for the world? Many of us share a vision of a progressive humanity that uses technology as a tool, rather than worship it like a god. Many of us share a vision of a connected humanity that honors the deepest value of the Mother, the land and the soil that feeds & sustains life on this planet rather than rape, pillage and slowly kill us all. There has been an awakening and an interruption in your normal flow, use this as an opportunity to explore territory you normally don’t allow yourself to explore and see what you find. If we hold that Light and that vision of the Aquarian Age really representing freedom, equality & reverence for all life, then we can magnetize that into our reality.

The last time Mars was in Pisces was Nov 2018 ~ what do you remember about that time? I remember Venus was retrograding then too! We were re-dreaming our lives then too. There was more emphasis on relationships but now it’s on our ideas, thoughts and concepts that inform our personal choices & individual actions. We are re-dreaming our world in many ways but I encourage you to use this energy to activate your own imagination so when Mars Retrogrades in Aries you’ll have access to some creative solutions or at least a new vision for your own life that will be reborn on the other side of 2020.

5/13 ~ Venus Retrograde 21* GEMINI:
Here we are! Today Venus goes Retrograde in Gemini and that brings the official review of our ideas, thoughts, concepts and any indecisiveness or inner duality that no longer serves will be released so that you can create a new life, going forward. It’s not too late, in fact, the 2-part Introduction will be useful & relevant to refer to periodically over the whole entire cycle April 2020 – Dec 2021 but especially at the beginning, middle and end of cycle so feel free to Register HERE to Receive Replay + Custom Goodies (birth info required). If you would like your own Venus Reading + Custom Guide, it will still be useful & relevant whether you get it now HERE or in the next 6-months or so. Details HERE

Right now, she is about to disappear from the evening sky, reset her entire cycle and come back as the Morning Star. Our overall archetype for this cycle is the StoryTeller ~ we will spend the next 9-months, releasing Shadow Trickster and the many narratives that no longer apply. We will assess the value of our ideas and the effectiveness of our mental processes that inform our values & priorities. Then, around Spring Equinox 2021, she will disappear from the sky again for a time and come back as the Evening Star and we will launch 9-months of Reclamation. The StoryTeller will continue to guide us but then we will be Reclaiming the Inner Pioneer that is excited about a new adventure and new prospects in unexplored territory, which essentially, is what 2021 looks like already. Completely. New. Ground. Let’s use this Summer’s Retrogrades to reset ourselves and realign within so that our GPS can be set to Beauty & Balance for the Beings of Earth. Don’t look back as much as imagine forward ~ what do you want to be a voice for? What is burning to be expressed through you? How can your thinking & perception skills improve so that you are naturally a creative, critical thinker that understands all aspects of a situation?

Also, for those of you who haven’t gone into the Venus Article HERE or the introduction, know that a Venus & Mars Retrograde in the same year is special and personal. But in addition to our own individual evolution, every time Venus lingers in Gemini or Sagittarius, humanity’s consciousness evolves and we become more and more aware of our innate connection to eachother and all life. Venus only crosses the Sun every 113-130 years and she last did that in the years 2004 and 2012, when we were all alive and witnessing humanity’s consciousness evolve even while participating. This is what it looks like at the end of one era and the beginning of a new era – literally. Since we only get a mere 100 years (if we’re lucky) we can only do our part but it is an exciting time to be awake and on Earth – wow!

5/14 ~ Jupiter Retrograde 27* CAPRICORN:
No matter what your Sun Sign or where your Jupiter is in your chart, this is the best time for really checking in with your own beliefs & philosophies, in this case, around Capricorn Issues of responsibility, structure, family & work obligations and most of all your purpose. That said, it is affecting my Cardinal Babies the most directly, those of you with Aries/Libra/Cancer/Capricorn activated in your chart. Jupiter is expanding the Capricorn zone for a whole year, so the other areas are being affected by default.

As I’ve said before, any retrograde planet indicates a time to slow down and recognize the shift in the energy. Try not to qualify it as ‘good or bad’ but simply look for any kind of *turn around*. Often, we don’t stop to reflect until we are blocked by some (seemingly) outside force. Many have been experiencing a testing of their faith and ability to continue to believe in a positive outcome for all involved. It’s hard to keep a positive attitude when we know there is so much work to be done to restore balance, in ourselves and the planet. But that is the thing about faith, if you keep it in the “idea/concept” realm and never test it to see how it works for you personally, then it is a lot easier to lose along the way.

Faith is an active principle. We are being challenged to dream up a new and better Story for ourselves & the planet. What do you believe? Part of my work as the Mystic Mentor is reminding you that your Soul Work is an ongoing, lifelong process. We get to work on this monthly, annually and in a bigger way, like now, every 12-years. Where Neptune represents our spirituality and connection to God/Source, Jupiter is our faith and personal code that we live by, our individual Truth.

Jupiter is also one of the *benefactors* in the Heavens and the lessons include how to better your life: education, consciousness, justice, integrity and truth to start with. Jupiter makes things bigger, so when in Capricorn, it’s expanding your conscious awareness around the Purpose of your life and the Story you tell with how you choose your responsibilities or obligations. It’s time to get serious about the big picture of your life – what are you co-creating with your resources & choices? How is it time to branch out on your own in some way? With Jupiter, it is always time to expand in some way, and that is customized for each individual (depending on your Capricorn House). Another one of Jupiter’s gifts is inflation so when it retrogrades, deflation can occur in that Area of Life for you so it’s good to be alert.

One of the blessings of this year’s Jupiter lesson is that we are supported to stop reaching outside of our Selves for guidance & clarity and turn to our own inner guidance to direct us. What do you believe to be true or possible for you? for humanity? for the planet?

Every year, Jupiter retrogrades giving us a chance to edit our stories, individually and collectively. With Neptune continuing its journey through Pisces, we are so supported to activate the Imagination to assist this year in a bigger way than usual that can manifest tangible results. If you pull back to re-evaluate and tune-in to a greater vision for yourself, rather than try to force your will, you will feel stronger and more centered, which enables you to be more effective in the world. Work smarter, not harder. Make the necessary adjustments being demanded of you at this time. Edit or rewrite your personal Story and it will ultimately empower you.

Retrogrades demand that we contemplate the (true) source or hidden cause of our motives. There may be an imbalance. What you’ve been subconsciously thinking about or even acting out in some way, may come to the forefront and demand attention. You may have an urge to make a sudden decision regarding self-preservation. Any new plans impulsively implemented at this time will most likely need a revision (re-vision/new vision) somewhere down the line. Closer to Jupiter going Direct (9/12) things may begin to take shape in unexpected and wonderful ways that even you couldn’t dream up! So use the next 4-months to reflect on how you’d like to improve your life and the world.

5/15 ~ Sun (core essential Self) ~trine~ Pluto (purification & transformation):
This energy makes you want to get things done, by any means necessary and you may tend to come on a little strong – but it’s all good. The work you want to do, is work that needs to be done and in doing it and facing things head-on, you will gain insights about your Self that fortify your foundation so that your life can evolve to the next level organically. This intense and powerful energy is transformative in nature and will provoke you to think deeply about your life; what you need, desire and deserve. You may find that some aspects of your life need to be reformed or released – go for it – this energy makes reform and release easier than usual. It’s a good time to make an impression or an impact on others, but be sure to keep it on the Highest level possible. Any actions or statements used to manipulate others for selfish gain can/will backfire on you in a big way. This is a positive, uplifting, transformative energy – use it as such to clear the debris and create the life you were born to live.