Think life couldn’t get more hectic and unpredictable? Surprise! That’s exactly what May has in store. For one reason, Mercury retrograde is tripping us up with miscommunications and worse that have real-world implications.

For another, disruption, revelations, and chapter closings are spinning out all month from its main event, the Scorpio Full Moon lunar eclipse on the 5th. It flips many a situation that went one-way last November, and where things land is where they’re staying. For now.

And what’s that sneaking in under cover of rampant instability? A drive toward taking care of dear ones and, with it, stability. That becomes more believable when Mercury goes direct May 14 and expansive Jupiter enters Taurus the next day, for the rest of the year and beyond. His amplifying touch targets the threshold we’re reached of strange and unfamiliar territory; if you haven’t detected it in your life yet, it should be impossible to miss mid-month. And then the month ends with each of us regaining our moxie, claiming our spotlight, and pushing our agendas forward.

For pointers for the first half of the month, read my Mercury Retrograde guide at OMTimes.

That journey begins with intensity and clarity, from the outset. May Day sends us into personal focus and truths, heavy on money and self-worth and tangibles. Mercury is meeting the Sun in Taurus while Pluto is stationing retrograde and beginning a slow walk out of Aquarius and the doorway he’s been giving us on to the next two decades. The trio are delivering information about how we’re evolving and what parts of ourselves we’re leaving behind (or, for some, requiring coming to grips with that).

Cosmic anesthesia follows. May 4 and 5 encourage fantasy, seeing the best in people despite physical evidence to the contrary, and living like a Disney (or Hallmark Channel) character, from pleasure goddess Venus squaring Neptune, her counterpart in love and inspiration, and sextiling Jupiter, her ally in indulgence.

The mist softens and distracts from the chaos erupting every which way. Revelations, upendings, departures, and doors slamming shut are with us for the next few months, courtesy of the Scorpio Full Moon lunar eclipse May 5. Quick-agent artist Uranus is in the mix, letting another shoe drop (and, in some cases, a cartoon-style 16-ton weight) in ongoing dramas and tying them to last November’s Taurus Full Moon lunar eclipse.

Gritty, ugly, and toxic are understatements for a lot that’s coming to light. Leave outside scandals to karma and Saturn (which will be doing clean up next year); instead, better what you can, close to home. Venus’ move into emotional, nurturing Cancer May 7 turns the social mode to caretaking, kissing boo-boos, and using food – as currency for love, as well as for personal comfort – through June 5. Those inclinations stay intact as each of us experiences personal “Aha!” moments and throws off identifiers that have constrained us.

Stabilizing is coming. Opportunities beckon May 12 to firm up old business, clean up misunderstandings, and forge nurturing alliances, when Mercury sextiles Saturn and Venus. Those last two team May 13 to bring structure to desires, creativity, and relationships. Embrace the offers and developments. They’re getting an added dose of stability and concretizing due to Mercury’s stationing direct (exact May 14) and slow movement forward.

A Mars/Neptune trine inspires action (Compassionate? Creative?) May 15, and then the grounding cord for the next year moves into place. Expansive, beneficent, indulgent Jupiter enters sensual, earthy Taurus May 16, for the first time in 12 years, but this stay is not business as usual. His first task is amplifying the realignment of power and communities being birthed by Pluto in Aquarius. If you have not been clear about what this transit is bringing, the Jupiter/Pluto square ought to yank your attention to it. (The impact is particularly intense and personal if you have placements or angles from 28 degrees cardinal to 3 degrees fixed.)

Take your time with it. Go easy on yourself, and watch your thinking and conversations settle down, as the Sun sextiles Neptune and Mercury does the same to Saturn May 18-19. Those opportunities lead into the Taurus New Moon May 19, which has an assist from Pluto that encourages intense and selective experiences of physicality, equally suited for updating your finances and your relationship with food.

With our bases heading toward more stability than they’ve felt in a while – the eclipse aftermath could still be disruptive – internal engines are revving. Mars, ruler of our drive, enters Leo May 20 and begins six weeks of natural self-promotion and expression. His first assignment, an opposition to Pluto, affords each of us a long-distance look through his doorway to the future, and a focusing of how we might proceed through it.

The next day, the general mood turns lighter, more curious, and more prone to communicating when the Sun begins his annual flight through Gemini. His first order of business? A confab with Pluto (seeing the trend?), this one an easy-flowing trine, outfitting us for the new ways that are coming. The contact retools and reshapes us for the easy maneuvering that’s possible with May 22’s Sun/Mars sextile.

Drawing attention to yourself is almost impossible to avoid. When Mars squares Jupiter May 23,the impact activates self-entitlement genes and sparks an epidemic of “look at me! Look at me!” Some of the positioning might catch an unexpected eye (do return the look!) or put you in reach of a financial breakthrough.

Have fun with the freedom of movement and the impulses. A governing influence is in place to keep us from getting out of hand, the Sun’s square to Saturn May 28. And if anyone does go too far, well, Saturn will impose order. And consequences.

Re-blogged on crystalwind.ca with written permission from Kathy Biehl.