As the editor of the Astrology Arizona newsletter, I compose an overview of each month. Today we take a look at the primary factors for the month.

The Overview for May

In 2025, the month of May continues to put the focus on the late Pisces and Aries sectors of our chart. We’re now firmly in the Pluto in Aquarius era through 2042, and while last month marked the beginning of the Neptune in Aries era which will last through 2038, this month also sees Saturn leaving Pisces and entering Aries, giving us the first dawn of a new Aries emphasis!

May kicks off with Venus entering Aries, trine Neptune and sextile Pluto, as it continues its long trine with Mars in Leo. This will bring harmony to planets we have in Aries, Taurus, Libra and Scorpio via the Fire trine. Open your imagination, sense of adventure, and move into the future!

Saturn will enter Aries at the end of the month, and will be within a degree of Neptune through the end of August. These two occupying the beginning of Aries “primes the pump” for February, March, and April 2026 when these stationary points and more are revisited by Saturn and Neptune along with Venus, Sun, Mars and Mercury in March and April.

Neptune going stationary retrograde at 3 Aries, the “avatar” degree in early July, will spread the recent Venus/Sun conjunction theme far and wide this Summer. That announces the future appearance of new world leaders, and new players on the various stages of life. As Saturn also enters Aries in late May and goes SRX at 2 Aries in July, beginning a time of learning objectivity through finding the humor in things, it’s easy to see we have a LOT of activity going on in our late Pisces and early Aries sectors of our charts.

Remember the recent Venus retrograde was from 11 Aries back to 25 Pisces, and Mercury’s retrograde was from 10 Aries back to 27 Pisces. That makes late Pisces and early Aries active zones with themes which will be triggered as Saturn moves through both retrograde zones between now and next May. As Saturn moves across those SD points in Pisces, the cosmic timekeeper will begin the clock on those themes being crystallized into form between now and February 2026.

Because all of the planets are in half the zodiac between Pluto in Aquarius and Mars in Leo (except for when the Moon is in Libra, Scorpio, and Sagittarius) for the entire month, we have a “Bowl” Jones pattern. This pattern is about noticing what we have versus what we lack, what is versus what isn’t, and what we have to give to our world. Pluto leads the Bowl in early Aquarius showing the need to keep our eyes on the big picture and idealistic goal which is still in seed form.

All the action is in the houses where we have Aries, Taurus, and Leo. Especially with Mars in Leo, be inspired in your actions, have some fun, and if appropriate, express yourself dramatically with style! This is a month of strength, love, tenderness, and we will all feel a definite shift from watery Pisces to dynamic Aries which will begin to get “set in stone” by the end of the month.

Jupiter in Gemini gives a Gemini backdrop to planets we have in Sagittarius and Pisces, as well as the houses where these signs are on the cusp. Jupiter in Gemini has been giving us a lot of new information and perspectives since last May. Now it approaches the end of its time in Gemini, so find opportunity in sharing information and perspectives this month.

Saturn went SD on a degree of showing courage as we focus our spiritual will. We are now almost at the end of our time of Saturn in Pisces, as it will be in the first 2 degrees of Aries in June, July, and August, giving us a dress rehearsal for what we can expect in 2026. We’re in a time of purification, doing our own thing in our own way, using creative imagination to shape our world, and enjoy our abundance as things fall apart.

These themes will be back for our scrutiny between September and February when we’ll launch into a new life and a new world of activity. Abundance is promised for all of us by early 2026, and with both Saturn and Neptune headed for Aries, we have a new collective atmosphere on the way!

The Spiritual Field

We continue to be blessed by the closest Neptune sextile with Pluto in 30 years, joined by Uranus creating a “three note chord” last Summer, extending into 2025. With Uranus in Taurus/Gemini, Neptune in Pisces/Aries, and Pluto now in Aquarius for years to come, we have a powerful “double sextile/trine” which has favorably impacted planets we have in late Earth and Water signs, and now begins to impact the early degrees of the Fire and Water signs.

This is preparing us for an entirely new experience of Spirit and Life in 2025 as these Spiritual powerhouses shift out of Earth and Water into Fire and Air. This will be Life and Spirit expressed as a new inspiration, joined by Saturn when it enters Aries crystallizing the preliminary Fire and Air harmonic consciousness. That means 2024 and 2025 will spiritually harmonize planets we have in late Earth and Water signs, while in 2025-2026 they will do the same for planets we have in the early degrees of the Fire and Air signs.

Uranus will occupy the third decan of Taurus through early July 2025. This is a Capricorn sub-influence with an added dose of Saturn, so there’s more structure and discipline and less micromanagement of details. The Cosmic Awakener promises us a new life and a “genuine rejuvenation” and life renewal as a result of what we went through in August and September.

We’ve been moving through an individual and spiritual awakening which marks the beginning of a long term regeneration and renewal wherever we have late Taurus. This is the next step of the new 2 year cycle where we have 27 Taurus in our charts resulting from the July Mars/Uranus conjunction.

Pluto in Aquarius puts us on the cusp of historic change. Its last RX station at 3 Aquarius began a wild ride into a time of defiance, rebellion, with many refusing to follow what they believe to be authoritarian control systems. As it is on its coming SRX degree in May open to your latent “healing powers,” or abilities to restore a natural harmony to circumstances. Be fearless in making decisions.

We also have several long wave Aries cycles in play. Jupiter launched a major healing and mentoring cycle when it conjuncted Chiron at 15 Aries on March 11, 2023. That began a long wave Chiron cycle which will last until the Summer of 2036. And we just finished a 2 year Mars/Chiron cycle and began a new one at 23 Aries.

Not all Chiron cycles are the same length. When Chiron transits between Aquarius and Gemini, it moves relatively slowly and has conjunctions with Jupiter about every 13 years. However, it can take 19-20 years for the next conjunction after Gemini or Cancer. That means once the conjunction at 16 Gemini happens in the Summer of 2036 we won’t have another conjunction of Jupiter and Chiron until the Spring of 2056 in Aquarius, which will launch another long term “expansive healing/mentoring” cycle.

Mars

Mars is now picking up speed for many months to come after going SD at 18 Cancer. It’s still moving through its shadow zone until early May, and this month clips through Leo making the trine to Venus and a quintile to Jupiter the first half of May, and a forming sextile through late June. Be courageous, playful, creative, and see the humor in things as you resume some things which have been on hold since December.

Mars begins the month at 7 Leo, the degree where it went SRX in December. With the aspects, it should be a very productive month, with the Jupiter quintile the first half of the month and receiving a quintile from the Sun the last half of the month. These are favorable for bringing unique conditions and gifts, so look for the unique potentials to bring forth. There’s a lot of combustion the first half of the month, and creative releases the last half.

This month Mars activates the house(s) where we have 7 through 22 Leo. May 1-9 finds Mars between 7-10 Leo, creating an agitating effect on planets between 7-10 Taurus, Leo, Scorpio, and Aquarius. May 10-29 finds Mars agitating planets between 10-20 of the same signs, and May 30-31 has Mars agitating 21-22 degrees of the fixed signs.

We have a particularly volatile period when Mercury squares Mars between May 13-19. This counsels a bit of caution, so slow down and read the fine print three times as slowly as possible!

As I’ve offered before, when Mars is within a degree of forming or separating from a hard aspect with a planet, slow down and show deliberation and caution in how you use force. Hard aspects to/from Mars require that we moderate or antidote impulsiveness and impatience.

We’re Actors On A New Stage With A New Set – The Bigger Picture

We’re still in the initial years of a new era in human evolution. The Grand Mutation of Jupiter conjunct Saturn at 1 Aquarius began a new 20 year Aquarian Era in December 2020, as well as a new 200 year era, moving global energies out of Earth and into Air. We’ve begun to grow beyond the materialism of the past 200 years and have entered 2 centuries of Air emphasis, with its qualities of relatedness, receptivity, versatility, movability, lightness, and cooperative ideas, visions, and ideals.

We’re still "under the beams" of the Solar Eclipses of 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, and 2025, and these “cosmic recyclers” continue to remove what we no longer need in our lives. Take note of where you have 1 Cancer, 24 and 13 Sagittarius, 20 Gemini, 10, 20 and 30 Aries, 11 Taurus, 11 and 22 Libra, and 2 Scorpio, since we’ve all had to let go of many things related to these sectors the past few years. You can find out more about Solar and Lunar eclipses by going to my numerous articles in the archives on how eclipses work.

As we study how successive Eclipses have affected various areas of our charts and lives, we can get a sense of the utility of these “Cosmic Recyclers” in removing what we no longer needed in those areas, creating a void which attracted new experiences. They invite us to see the continuity of “letting go, taking in, letting go, taking in” across the years.

Primary Action Beats for the First Half of the Month

May begins with the New Moon at 8 Taurus, showing this month is about “using knowledge and skill to anticipate a stage yet to come.” The main configurations show a lot of noviles, indicating a period of things coming up out of a gestative period, or things disappearing for a while which will come up later.

The first week of the month brings Venus conjunct Neptune and sextile Pluto going stationary retrograde. This will make the new era feel more real, with new directions in many life areas. The week also has Mercury conjunct Chiron with both sextile Jupiter, favoring learning, teaching, and healing.

The Moon moves from Cancer to Virgo during the first week; Lunar aspects are highly favorable the first week except for May 3 and the afternoon of May 5, so make the most of it. The end of the first week has the Moon in Virgo; it continues through Libra and Scorpio through May 11, making the Moon the nozzle or handle to express all the other energies. When in doubt, show the best qualities of the sign the Moon is in during those days.

The second week of the month brings Mercury entering Taurus and squaring Pluto at the Full Moon on May 12 at 23 Taurus/Scorpio. Mercury square Pluto shows we must be alert to misrepresentations and corrosive or dishonest influences. Show good Leo and Scorpio skills! That Full Moon is known as the Wesak Festival, when a new global “Buddha Wisdom” comes forth which will take shape as a new “World Teaching” after the Full Moon of Gemini/Sagittarius.

That Full Moon will bring two weeks of securing that which establishes our worth and allows us to transmute lower energies to higher ones. It will be a revolutionary and renovating Full Moon, helping us eliminate all which would block our ability to access the new Wisdom in our own unique way.

The Moon moves from Virgo to Sagittarius during the second week of the month. That means the Moon is still outside the occupied span and is the “nozzle” to express the other planets’ energies. The Moon is fairly well aspected every day except May 10. The second week ends anticipating the intensity of the third week of the month.

Primary Action Beats for the Second Half of the Month

The third week begins under the beams of the Wesak Full Moon, which as noted, will bring revolutionary developments from the Sun conjunct Uranus. The third week is intense due to the forming Mercury square Mars in play through May 19. Slow down, take it easy, beware of quick, dangerous, or risky drivers on the road from May 16 through 19.

That week is also very productive in finding information and understanding due to Jupiter sextile Chiron at that time. The third week of May also brings Sun sextile Saturn, helping stabilize “the end of the end” as Saturn prepares to enter Aries on May 24. That week the Moon moves from Sagittarius through Pisces, with the best days being May 17, 18, 19, and 21. Just be alert during Mercury square Mars!

The square is good for practical assessment of things and the ability to see the bigger picture and concentrate on what matters. The Sun enters Gemini on May 20, setting up the favorable Sun sextile Neptune and trine Pluto going on at the same time as Mercury conjunct Uranus between May 22 and 24. That period should help us see clearly to the core of things and favors innovative thinking.

The fourth week of May has the aspects I just gave you, along with Saturn moving into Aries on the evening of May 24 followed by Mercury entering Gemini on May 25 and making sextiles to Saturn and Neptune then and May 26 with the trine to Pluto May 27. That week also has the New Moon at 7 Gemini on May 26 with all the favorable Mercury, Venus, and Mars aspects all in play, promising a great July!

The last 10 days of the month finds the Moon moving between Pisces and Leo, so it’s back in the occupied span. Favorable Lunar aspects are in play on May 21, 22, 23, 25, 26, 27, 30 and 31. May 29 brings the Superior conjunction between the Sun and Mercury at 10 Gemini, showing that June and early July are about learning how to move the momentum in directions we want rather than letting it take its course.

Evolutionary Development

This is the fourth month of the North Node in Pisces era! We have finished a period of our greatest development being served by self-initiated activity (Aries) demonstrated through our balanced response (Libra) to an ongoing transfiguration toward an ideal. So we have grown through focused action and demonstrate it through expressing our Archetypal Self, whether in the world of inner space or outer affairs.

We have now begun a period of the NN moving through Pisces and the SN through Virgo, marking many months of growing through empathy, compassion, and forgiveness, demonstrated through our sense of service. We will grow in our “nonlocal awareness” and tune into what Neptune and Saturn have taught us about Pisces while “showing what we know” wherever we have late Virgo.

Our wise friend Saturn continues to finish up what it’s been teaching us through the vast feeling experiences from its time in Pisces, and now what’s left is what will be perpetuated into the new era in 2025. We are still learning disciplines of forgiveness and compassion, and this month we see what’s falling apart, what dream will be made manifest, and then “step on to dry land” for the first time this century.

The Sun in Taurus is the time to see the Light of “future oriented enjoyable action” on material, emotional, mental, and spiritual levels of life. The idealistic vision of Aquarius, deepened by Pisces’ connection to the collective feeling field and brought forth in new actions in Aries now is able to be grounded and enjoyed. This is the month when we can move into a groove of liking how things are unfolding on the material plane, and stabilize that which was set into motion in Aries.

We are now early in our fifth year of the new Aquarian era, with a new iteration of that future-oriented energy having come forth in February. Jupiter in Taurus helped us get a new grounded expansive view of how to sustain the Aquarian unfoldment which is finding forms of expression while Jupiter is in Gemini. We’ve all entered a new land. Let go of the lesser, accept the greater, and the new land you’re in is going to be far more enjoyable than the old land you’ve had to leave.

Because we’ve begun the fifth year of a new 20 year and 200 year cycle, remember a new era has dawned. Have courage and take the initiative to leave the Earth and fly free into the Air of what’s opening as the Grand Mutation expands its promise into the Divine transfigured ideal of a more just truth and future. While it may not look like that now, it’s just the beginning!

Even though the ideal is far away, we are the midwives and mid-husbands to a new way of relating to Life, Energy, Consciousness, each other, and the Earth Herself. Because our essential nature is Loving Wisdom, remember to lighten up, play a little, and be willing to explore new arenas of effective activity where you can work and play with other Light Spirits. This is the time to take heart as we navigate the dawning of the Pluto in Aquarius era.

We are now collectively transfiguring into a greater vision of the one Light/Life we all are together. Continue to find your heart strength and new forms of genuine happiness appropriate for who you are now, and who you are becoming relative to just a few months ago.

We now navigate the cosmic time-space between endings and beginnings so bless and forgive much to flow down the time stream. The past is over and we all have begun our trek into a new world of new potential, new adventures, and new ways to enjoy being ourselves while doing our work of Destiny. Open to the abundance of the process of growth, since we are all on a rocket ship to the stars!

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Since I also include this in the newsletter, I’ll offer it to you here:

PLANETARY MOTIONS IN MAY 2025

(All the degree values listed in the next three sections are computed the same way Sabian Symbols are read; we always round up. 9+ = 10; 19+ = 20; 29+ = 30)

SUN – 12 Taurus to 11 Gemini
MERCURY – 16 Aries to 12 Gemini
VENUS – 1 to 25 Aries
MARS – 6 to 22 Leo
JUPITER – 22 to 28 Gemini
SATURN - 28 Pisces to 1 Aries
URANUS – 27 to 29 Taurus
NEPTUNE – 2 Aries (all month)
PLUTO – 4 Aquarius (all month)
CHIRON – 25 to 26 Aries
TRUE NORTH NODE – 27 to 25 Pisces

SIGNIFICANT ASTROLOGICAL OCCURRENCES IN MAY 2025

(Bold entries are the ingresses, stations, and lunations. Non-bold are significant aspects.)

NEW MOON; April 27; Sun and Moon at 8 Taurus
VENUS ENTERS ARIES; April 30
VENUS CONJUNCT NEPTUNE; May 2 at 1 Aries
PLUTO STATIONARY RETROGRADE; May 4 at 4 Aquarius
MERCURY CONJUNCT CHIRON; May 6 at 25 Aries
MERCURY ENTERS TAURUS; May 10
FULL MOON/WESAK FESTIVAL; May 12; Sun 23 Taurus; Moon 23 Scorpio
MERCURY SQUARE PLUTO; May 12 at 4 Taurus/Aquarius
VENUS LEAVES SHADOW ZONE; May 15 at 11 Aries
SUN CONJUNCT URANUS; May 17 at 28 Taurus
MERCURY SQUARE MARS; May 17 at 14 Taurus/Leo
SUN ENTERS GEMINI; May 20
VENUS TRINE MARS; May 22 at 16 Aries/Leo
AAZ MEETING; May 24
MERCURY CONJUNCT URANUS; May 24 at 28 Taurus
SATURN ENTERS ARIES; May 24/25
MERCURY ENTERS GEMINI; May 25
NEW MOON; May 26; Sun and Moon at 7 Gemini
SUPERIOR CONJUNCTION OF MERCURY/SUN; May 29 at 10 Gemini
VENUS CONJUNCT CHIRON; June 1 at 26 Aries
VENUS ENTERS TAURUS; June 5/6
MERCURY CONJUNCT JUPITER; June 8 at 30 Gemini
MERCURY ENTERS CANCER; June 8

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Reprinted on crystalwind.ca with written permission from Robert Wilkinson. Copying this article to other blogs is strictly prohibited. It is copyright protected. 

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