Dear Friend and Reader:

This is Beltane weekend; some Celtic folklore regards the entire month of May as Beltane, the festival of spring. Here is an article from a few years back that coves the subject well, and here is another that reviews all of the Quarter Days and Cross Quarter Days.

Red buds dangling like delicate earrings in one of the lesser-known but charmingly diverse gardens of Paris, Bercy Park. Photo by Danielle Voirin.

The Moon is in Sagittarius, picking up fire and air energy and finally crossing over the Galactic Center late Saturday night; it will be in Sagittarius until Sunday morning when it ingresses Capricorn at 6 am sharp ET (3 am in California, 11 am in the UK, noon in Europe, and late Sunday night in Oz). The Moon will make a nice sextile to Chiron as it enters Capricorn. Ceres has stationed retrograde just shy of Pluto in early Capricorn, though the two are close and making the same basic transits in your natal chart.

The Saturn-Uranus opposition is still at full strength, though technically it was exact (for the 4th time) Tuesday. Uranus in Pisces is in direct motion, as is Jupiter in Pisces — both are headed for a conjunction in early June in the first degree of Aries — the Aries Point. Though this astrology is ‘in the future’ we are under its influence today.

That influence is: a moment of renewal on a cosmic scale; a new idea about Life, and Self, and The World — it’s like a trump card coming out of the astrological deck, one that you see only every 75 years or so. That sounds like the old definition of jubilee.

Meantime, for a bit of the Beltane spirit, here is The Mummer’s Dance from Loreena McKennitt.

Have a great weekend, and if you have any thoughts, please share them in the comment area below.

Yours & truly,

Dear Taurus or Taurus Rising:

A few minutes ago I completed the Taurus birthday audio presentation for 2010. This is a combination of astrology and tarot, suitable for Taurus Sun, Moon or rising. I’ve really enjoyed creating this recording — it’s got a personal feel and I had the sense of you being right in the room (that’s my Venus in Taurus doing her thing). As you know, we are in times of change and reformation, and this state of rapid movement is affecting every person on the planet.

For information about zodiac sign greeting cards, drop a note to sarah@planetwaves.net

Your Taurus reading is a careful look at your astrology through 2010. I’ve focused mostly on the spectacular outer planet transits we are experiencing — Chiron in Pisces, Uranus moving into Aries, and a good review of Pluto in Capricorn. And I’ve given a new interpretation of the recent Mars retrograde and the ways in which this is helping you clear out the past, drawing old business to a close and creating space for a new chapter in your life.

One of the most intriguing transits is the conjunction of Jupiter and Uranus in Aries, which takes place in June. My take on this is that it reveals your “hidden self” — the bold, creative person you are, whose attributes you try to access, sometimes succeeding, sometimes not. Jupiter and Uranus form a rare conjunction on the Aries Point. Imagine this is like discovering a whole new dimension of yourself — one that was always there, but which was concealed by a kind of veil.

I’ve included a 20 minute tarot card reading, using the Voyager deck by James Wanless. You can order now and get instant access. This is high-quality stereo audio which you can listen to as many times as you like, for as long as you like — these files will be preserved in their original location. It’s priced to be affordable — $14.95 for about 90 minutes of material (this is an extra-long edition of birthday audio).

Because my astrology writing is focused on the houses, I recommend this audio for Taurus rising as well. (In particular for Taurus, I also recommend those with Moon placements there because the two are so closely connected.) This audio report makes an excellent companion to Taurus Confidential, the 2010 annual edition of Planet Waves, which is in written form.

Thanks for your participation, and for doing your metaphysical shopping at Planet Waves.

Yours & truly,

On Planet Waves yesterday, just as the Full Moon was happening, I learned that the Moon was conjunct three points that all address water — Deucalion, Poseidon and Ceto. One is the Greek Noah, one is the Greek god of the sea, and one is a sea monster — all conjunct the Scorpio Moon! Here is that article, from the Planet Waves blog.

We’re in that after-the-Full Moon moment of calm. For those who wonder what effects these things have on the world, I often mention how the Full Moon is about breaking a deadlock. Notice that yesterday on something like the 4th vote, Republicans in the U.S. Senate voted to allow banking reform to go forward, when every single one of them had voted against it previously. Remember this if you’re involved in stuck negotiations any time around a Full Moon, which happens often enough.

Today I’m working on Planet Waves Astrology News, which will cover the chart of the founder of this week’s Boobquake event on the Internet, the banking issue and the Coast Guard setting fire to an oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. That will be out tomorrow morning, sent directly to subscribers to Planet Waves Astrology News.

So, the Scorpio Full Moon is upon us: this is the night. The Moon arrived in Scorpio a few hours ago, and is waxing toward an opposition with the Sun and Mercury. What we get is an alignment of four bodies — the Sun, Mercury, the Earth and the Moon.

At a certain point today, ‘work’ disengaged for me; weekly horoscope #814 went on pause and we sent something else out to the newspapers, which are due Tuesday night; and I found myself creating a rhythm on my jimbe, sitting in my living room with Heather Fae, who is wondering what to do with her life. Beth called up, helping manage a family crisis; we had earlier plans to create some photos (I am her model these days) and she said she would find her way over. I’ve got a huge mason jar of nettles and lemonbalm brewing. My lover has a first date with a guy she’s been flirting with for a few weeks. It’s shaping up to be an interesting night.

The Mercury-Moon configuration seems rich with reminders about experiencing your feelings without letting them take over your mind. Many who wander lost and helpless could find their way, if they could apply this; the planetary setup seems perfectly placed to facilitate that tonight.

I’ll catch you on the other side — and here is the Full Moon audio.

Sunday, April 25 Mercury in Taurus will retrograde into a square with Mars in Leo. This is the second of three squares — the first was April 5 (Mercury direct), the second is Sunday (Mercury retrograde) and the third will be June 11 (Mercury direct). This is an aspect that requires careful handling, and could lead to significant errors in judgment if we’re not careful. I would suggest that it needs to be handled like a psychological bomb. The mix of fixed signs, personal planets and retrograde Mercury is the perfect setup for misunderstanding, overreaction and projection of inner guilt as outer blame.

Young tadpoles inhabit a puddle on the Grandmother Land. There are dozens of these ecosystems scattered across a rock plateau beneath the falls. Photo by Eric Francis.

Notably, the same day, the Moon passes through a very close opposition between Saturn and Uranus (that event is exact Monday), which brings a raft load of personal emotions, needs and ideas (Moon in Virgo) into a much larger cultural process developing between distant planets. So let’s just say that the heat is on this weekend, and it would be an excellent time to stand back from situations that push your buttons and figure out how to make constructive use of the planetary setup.

And what might that be? First, be careful with kids. They may seem belligerent and stubborn, and they will need patience, love and friendship. For adults, this astrology looks great for inner process: a retreat of some kind, a moment of reflection on life, an assessment of the restructuring that is going on in our private lives and in the world around us. We have a lot to learn about how to navigate our own psychology, what to do with past hurts and how to move forward without the constant fear that we’re going to offend someone by what amounts to breathing. Sunday will be an interesting epicenter.

Dear Cosmic Confidential Reader:

My Australian colleague Yasmin Boland called me up last week and suggested that I do a set of audio recordings for Chiron in Pisces. She knows I’ve been writing about Chiron for 15 years and that good information is difficult to come by. After writing several other articles about this transit, including the May monthly horoscope, I dove into the audio — and it’s now ready.

Chiron in Pisces promises to be an extremely interesting transit — and for those of us who are attuned to the feminine side of life, to nature, to our emotional world, to spirituality and to the planet as a whole entity, this is transit is welcome news. We now get about three months of Chiron in Pisces before it retrogrades back into Aquarius on July 20. It will then return to Pisces to stay for eight years in February 2011. This is our test run; our first experiment; our opportunity to explore this energy and find out what role it’s going to have in our lives.

This audio set is an awesome, economically priced product that gives you a wholesome introduction to both Chiron and Chiron in Pisces (about 20 minutes) and then takes on the 12 signs in individual recordings of about six to eight minutes in length. I go through the implications and my theory of Chiron in Pisces through each of the 12 solar houses. I suggest you listen to your Sun, your rising sign and your Moon sign — though there is good information for everyone, in each of the recordings.

We’ve priced this to be affordable — $14.99 for all 12 signs and the intro, which you can listen to as many times as you want. It’s like a mini-audio book on Chiron in Pisces. Remember, this is the beginning of the conversation, a kind of welcome wagon — this will be an exciting, long-term transit that will change the world in subtle, beautiful ways.

Please use this link to order. Delivery is instant. And please let me know how you like it.

Thanks for checking it out.

Yours & truly,