Spring Astrology Café – May 2017

The Scorpio Full Moon, Mary’s Month, the Power of Kwan Yin

“The brooks are unlocked at last. That rush of water,
foaming over the rocks, dark browns, alive,
bursting with small waterfalls over boulders,
that is what says “spring.”
–May Sarton

I love this succulent and lavish month and not simply because I’m a Taurus. During May the earth is busting with new life and vibrant energy. First there are the baby crocuses, fragile yet brave, pushing through the moist earth. Then the forsythia and daffodils appear as if overnight; a frenzy of golden, buttery yellow followed by a procession of hyacinths, tulips and now the fragrant lilacs and giant peonies. The days are longer, the sun is warmer, and the air is filled with elusive scent of new grass, spring flowers and wet earth; nature, confident in her creation, holds nothing back.

“All the senses tingle, alive with the season as the world itself is alive.
Nothing is impossible at such a time.

High achievement is all around us, beating on every sense of recognition.”
–Hal Borland (Borland Country)

Welcome back, dear friend; you have been missed. After a rainy and chilly spring, the sun is getting stronger, the air softer, and people stroll through town and along the boulevards under a canopy of flowering pear trees. On the ground there is a carpet of cherry blossoms and in the air, the sweet scent of lilacs. Here at the Astrology Café we’ve brought a few tables outside and arranged then under the apple trees and the fountain. Folks have gathered to talk and sip wine under the Wesak Full Moon that rises large and luminous in the night sky. In the tower above the café there’s a light in the window where our friend, the wise crone waits for us.

“If you are a dreamer, come in.
If you are a dreamer, a wisher, a liar, a hope-er, a pray-er, a magic bean buyer…
If you are a pretender, come sit by my fire.
For we have some flax-golden tales to spin.
Come in! Come in!”
–Shel Silverstein (Where the Sidewalk Ends)

Come inside and make yourself comfortable. There are lilacs on the tables and a big vase of pussy willows on the mantle above the fireplace. There’s harp music playing on the stereo and the air is filled with the aroma of vanilla, butter, and maples syrup. Are you hungry? We have soups: Ukrainian Borscht, Spinach and White Bean, or Creamy Tomato and Tarragon served with a grilled cheddar cheese sandwich on toasted homemade seven grain bread. There’s an asparagus, spring onion and feta quiche or a selection of spring salads, goat and sheep cheeses, and warm bread from the oven. For dessert we have a passion fruit and raspberry tart, roasted pears with espresso mascarpone, chocolate chip cookies with Nutella, brown butter and sea salt or non-gluten macaroons (red velvet, café mocha or mixed berry). There’s wine, Prosecco, Viennese coffee with whipped cream or tea: Green Chai, Earl Grey with roses or herbal.

Take your time and when you’re ready, follow me up the stairs, through the library (watch out for the cats), down a narrow corridor, under an arch, then up a few steps to the tower room where our friend, the crone, the wise woman waits for us.

Our friend is sitting at her round wood table wrapped in her midnight blue velvet cloak. The Full Wesak or Buddha Moon shines through the bay window, candles illuminate the sacred statues and Kwan Yins that are placed around the room and the air is perfumed with the scent of jasmine and rose. In here time seems to stand still. Can you feel it? Our friend smiles warmly and gestures for us to join her at the table. Let the conversation begin. On the table before us are Runes, cards, crystals and sacred stones. Our friend picks up the Kuan Yin Oracle Cards, shuffles them and chooses one. It is called Vale of Shadows Listen closely; perhaps there is a message just for you.

“A lotus blossoms with deep rich mud into which she plunges her roots and draws great nourishment. From this mud, made of water and earth, growth happens and great beauty is revealed. Your Soul lotus thrives through depth of emotion and aliveness of your body into which she can plant her Self and unfold as a lotus of light.

Your Soul Lotus is blossoming. Just like a plant that outgrows the pot in which it has been planted and requires more soil to spread its roots and continue growing, your Soul lotus needs some more mud – some more water and earth energy – so that it can grow and shine.

In the spiritual worlds, all things serve. Everything. Including our darker emotions and parts of our body that we may not think are acceptable. They are actually good nourishment for our soul. The Soul craves to love and be in love with all parts of you! Like a passionate divine lover, it wants to hold nothing back and become completely spiritually intimate with all aspects and all parts of you whether you have thought they were or not.

In particular this oracle asks you to look at where you can nourish your emotional and physical life with more focus – perhaps through art, creativity, journaling your dreams, creating collage, or engaging in dance or other forms of movement. Your spirit needs to thrive at this time.

Through the grace of Kuan Yin and with the healing purpose of nourishing myself into greater Soul light now, show me how I can claim those lost parts of Self and live them with consciousness and love.”

–Kuan Yin Oracle (Alana Fairchild)

May Belongs to Mary

We have come to the spiritual high point of the year. Just as April celebrates Easter, the resurrection, and the life of Jesus, May belongs to Mary. During May there are several celebrations and holidays devoted to the sacred feminine. In fact, May was named for the Mother Goddess, Maia or Maya; in Northern Europe she was called Maj or Mai, the Maiden. Both “mother” and matter” come from the same Sanskrit root, maat. This month begins with May Day and Beltane – the Celtic festival of fertility on May 1. On the second Sunday of the month we celebrate Mother’s Day and this year it falls on the Scorpio Full Moon. On the last day, May 31 is the Feast of St. Mary. This is the perfect time to create an altar to Mary; honor her as well as the goddess within.

May 10 Scorpio Full Moon:
Buddha Full Moon or Wesak Moon.
Also called Flower Moon, Frog Moon,
Planting Moon, Bright Moon

It is said that Buddha was born, died and received enlightenment on the Full Moon in Scorpio. Every year this great being returns to the earth plane to assist humanity towards enlightenment. The Buddha or Wesak Full Moon is one of the most power Full Moons; in fact some consider this the highest spiritual day of the year. “The greatest event upon our planet, from the stillpoint of spiritual verities, is the Wesak Festival. It has been there always, but unknown to the majority. Now its influence is to be recognized and consciously utilized.” Esoteric Psychology, Alice Bailey

“Perhaps all the dragons in our lives are princess
who are only waiting to see us once beautiful and brave.

Perhaps everything terrible is in its deepest being
something helpless that wants help from us.”

–Rainer Maria Rilke

Taurus is a sensual sign; it seeks security and safety in the physical and material world. Intense Scorpio dives deep into the mysterious waters of the unconscious. In order to have real security we must be able to face our darkness and yet not collapse into it. The goal is to find peace and comfort (Taurus) in Scorpio’s depths. With my Taurus Sun and Moon in Scorpio’s 8th house I call it, “becoming cozy in the chaos.” The light of the Full Moon brings what is hidden to the surface. Use the power of this lunation to release what is dead and dying in your life and make room for something new.

Speaking our Truth.
Reclaiming Personal Power

Pluto, lord of the underworld and the ruler of Scorpio dominates this Full Moon. Pluto is involved in a challenging t-square; he is conjunct Juno (an asteroid) in Capricorn and square to Mercury and Uranus in Aries as well as Jupiter in Libra. This aspect is confrontational and issues of authority and freedom may surface. Remember, the planets don’t cause these issues; they expose them. This can be an opportunity to deal with something we have been avoiding and grow in the process. Forgiving Neptune, along with compassionate Chiron, makes a supportive trine to the Scorpio Moon initiating the process of healing.

 
Mercury (the planet of the mind) and radical Uranus (called the divine mind) are conjunct in explosive and fiery Aries. This combination is electric, exciting and also erratic; untethered this aspect can be explosive and unpredictable. Channeled, it can produce brilliant ideas and breakthroughs; creative, technical, political or personal. Discover something (positive) to be obsessed about. Plant a seed, initiate a project, or find your voice. Saturn (in Sagittarius) supports this as it makes a strong trine to Uranus and Mercury (in Aries). In fact, Saturn and Uranus are traveling together all year in this encouraging aspect. They’re exact May 19 and November 11.
 

Pluto (in Capricorn) makes a powerful and positive trine to the Taurus Sun helping us anchor a dream or heal an old wound. This Full Moon gives us the courage to speak our truth to someone or something that is holding us back and to reclaim our personal power. Something is ready to be released, transformed or made whole.

 

“Listen, whatever it is you try and do with your life,
nothing will ever dazzle you like the dreams of your body.”
– Mary Oliver

Get physical! The sign Taurus invites us to celebrate both our body and the earth. Flood your senses with beauty and nature. Go outside; into the gardens, the fields, and the woods. Sit by a brook or stream. Smell the roses and the lilacs. Take your eyes (and your mind) away from the computer and gaze up at the stars and the planets. This is an excellent time to use flower essences. The rose is especially beneficial because it is the flower of Venus, the ruler of Taurus and the planet of love, beauty and the body.

“I am in love with this green earth.” –Charles Lamb

 

Dear Friend, it is getting late here in the tower above the Astrology Café. The old owl has appeared on the Alder tree outside. The candles have all burned down. The room is filled with your divine presence. Thank you for visiting. The sign Taurus is associated with money and values but it is not just outer wealth but inner worth. Be kind to yourself (and others). Give yourself lots of self-love and self-care. You are worthy. All is well, you are loved, Virginia

May
By Mary Oliver

May, and among the miles of leafing,
blossoms storm out of darkness –
wildflowers and moccasin flowers. The bees
dive into them and I too, gather
their spiritual honey. Mute and meek, yet theirs
is the deepest certainty that this existence too-
this sense of well-being, the flourishing
of the physical body – rides
near the hub of the miracle that everything
is a part of, is as good
as a poem or a prayer, can also make
luminous any dark place on earth.