We’ve successfully passed through the fire of the past few months of retrogrades, eclipses and incendiary transits like the Mars-Pluto oppositions and Mars-Chiron squares. May strikes a sweeter tone, kicking off with a beautiful alignment between Venus and Neptune, albeit one with more bite to its bliss, as their conjunction is perfecting in Aries for the first time in over a hundred and fifty years. Fleet-footed Mercury is the month’s major player, spanning Aries to Gemini in its travels. However, the headline news is karmic lord Saturn’s ingress into Aries, where it will spend the next year encouraging us to cultivate self-reliance. NOTABLE TRANSITS May 4/5 – Pluto is retrograde: what have you been holding onto that merits letting go? Hint: it may be a mindset. This five-month retrograde unearths suppressed psychological obstacles. Eliminate those that are controlling you. May 10/11 – Mercury enters Taurus: grounding thought processes and facilitating deliberate decisions — just watch out for a communication breakdown mid-May. May 17/18 – Sun conjunct Uranus in Taurus: this annual meetup occurs for the final time in Taurus for the next 80+ years. Harness it to break free from material limitations and embrace flexibility. May 20/21 – Sun enters Gemini: what piques your interest? Invest your energy into exploits that offer novelty and variety. For the next month, curiosity is your fuel source. May 24/25 – Saturn enters Aries: responsibility meets impulsivity. Get comfortable with false starts and don’t let them stop you from creating game plans. Leverage willpower to champion your goals. Avoid responding to crises from a place of fear. May 25/26 – Mercury enters Gemini: we’re at our wittiest over the next two weeks. Need to make a compelling point? Want to dazzle with your knowledge of trivia? Now’s your chance! Written by Nyssa Grazda