May 2012 has some very strong patterns involving both solar-lunar factors [extreme lunar perigee Supermoon May 6; solar eclipse May 20] and the building forces involving new wordly expressions of the Aries and Capricorn archetypes - courtesy of Uranus and Pluto in a tightening standoff.
The first factor - Full Moon in Scorpio affects 16 degrees of the fixed signs Taurus, Scorpio, Leo, Aquarius in particular, bringing death, transformation - and oftern sexual issues - into the spotlight and Pluto's current phase in Capricorn has an extra emphasis - older people; institutions, politics, people in power & authority in general are challenged to address their use of power & authority - since we know many woes in the world derive from improper use of power, abuse and subsequent mistreatment of fellow beings.
update: on May 6 in New Zealand a 19 month old child, was killed when a kitchen stove tipped onto him. Several elements of this tragedy reflect energies of the Full Moon pattern: death (Scorpio) child (Leo) electric stove ( Aquarius-Taurus). The resulting grief and loss described by Saturn in Libra opposite Mercury in Aries - details in later section
Death energy can be literal or symbolic with Scorpio - if symbolic, it refers to significant changes on very deep levels that allow an individual to emerge transformed, perhaps enlightened and resolved to behave differently in the world. The most comprehensive resolution of the imperatives involved - the pressure is intense - is to engage the heart (Leo) plus the sense of collective good via social justice (Aquarius), to use power (Scorpio) in a way that is earthed to a stable centre (Taurus). This inner sense of empowerment then obliterates the ego and domination drives of Leo as well as the destructive urges of Scorpio, the acquisitive greed of Taurus and the anarchic rage of Aquarius.
Of course the ideal outcome will only be accessed by some, so the themes just noted re the wounded band of fixed signs will arise in this lunar phase.
All four fixed signs can be extreme and dramatic so this is the stuff of news to be expected during May. Taurus also relates to our attachment to money & materialism. Money plus power at odds with heart-centred humanitarians suggests more showdowns of the type related to the 99% vs the 1%, so more intense protests are guaranteed.
These issues of course only serve to highten the Pluto-Uranus transformational phase which is reforming the nature of powerful people and the institutions they control. Many have and will continue to fall from grace, deposed, incarcerated, some self destructing along the roadside as the unstoppable momentum eventually brings radical change in the several years time frame of which this period is just the "spring".
Mars is in very tight connection to Uranus thereby energizing the Pluto-Uranus potentials with the downside of angy, militaristic & generally aggressive impulses merging with the power duo. Accidents and violence also cluster around this sort of profile.
Saturn and Mercury are in very tight opposition at the full moon in the territories of Aries and Libra - self and others are in the balance and the source of much discussion, discord over sorting out priorities, responsibilities in these aspects of our lives. Communications breakdown/blockage/lockdown/jamming is strongly indicated both between individuals, technologies and systems.
This UK chart [link below] for the full moon gives 0 Aries rising - adding extra strain on a tightly linked chart so promising action, lots of high profile outcomes manfesting for the energy. (US astrologer Jude Cowell gives 0 Capricorn rising over Washington offering another strong link to the full moon energies)
Of significance too, in May are the days around 10-13th right to the next solar-lunar event -the eclipse on the 20th because several planets at 23-24 degrees in that time frame link to planets at 8 degrees. The 23 position is important because of its relationship to the meeting point of Uranus and Pluto -then at 7 & 9 degrees, so 8 is their synergy point ready to be triggered in the middle weeks of May.
Watch and see what powerful upheavals occur that signify the Uranus-Pluto transformation is well and truly underway.
update: on the social level the weekend of May 12-13 activists gathered across the globe [ including Athens, Moscow, New York, Chicago, Frankfurt, Barcelona and Madrid] in the spirit of the Occupy movement and in Spain, Los Indignados [indignant] - these events have a powerful and enduring significance for our future, but this is only the early stage of manifestation
BBC report
Chicago report
Frankfurt report
Occupy London website
In summary: intense, turbulent and dramatic forces prevail during May, affecting the energetic realms of people & nature.
Aside from the intense human forces associated with protest and the system's response, there has been at least 12 M5+ quakes in the period May 10-13 as well as a volcanic eruption in Mexico
Regarding the May solar eclipse on the 20th, Marcus Mason makes some very interesting points. His commentary on the effect of this solar eclipse crossing the male or yang energy channel of the earth grid clearly represents the Uranus in Aries balance in the equation with Pluto. Mason says that this eclipse sees old patriarchal energies (Pluto in Capricorn)being reformed into new male archetypes (Uranus in Aries). Fascinating!. Cannot wait.
update May 17:
This eclipse emphasises 0 degrees Gemini & all the mutable sign quartet = Gemini, Sagittarius, Pisces, Virgo) -reinforced by Neptune in Pisces, Mars in Virgo, Venus in Gemini and the lunar nodes in Sagittarius-Gemini. This makes for a big emphasis on all matters of those four signs. Gemini & Sag. are both about information, messaging and transport systems. Gemini is localised, Sag is long distance. Communication, transfer/transport of people and information, messaging, publishing - this all indicates lots of energetic movement in these domains. One hi profile example may be a significant event leading to lots of words being dispatched via text, email, blogs, tweets, phones etc. (Hectic morning. want to add here: at the eclipse, Mercury & Jupiter join closely in Taurus, linked to Venus in Gemini & Saturn in Libra = money/economic issues are the subject of the abundant discussions. Saturn's position in respect of Mercury is very important - bringing a serious need for balancing/austerity - in counterforce to Jupiter's stimulus & spend ethic. This polar opposite philisophy of economics will dominate news. Saturn may in general cause data/systems outages as well due to the effect on channels of communication.Planets in the cardinal signs ( Cancer, Capricorn, Libra, Aries) are the next dominant group with Pluto in Capricorn, Uranus in Aries, Saturn in Libra, Mercury in Aries. These are the current positions, excepting Mercury, which are the bedrock of radical change about to unfold on the global stage. By restructuring, rebalancing, new conditions, the recipe the power planets are synergising for this purpose is coming into manifestation before our eyes. This is both social-political-economic and environmental. Cardinal signs are the seasonal markers of the solstices and equinoxes and thus collectively the power of a "climate change" affecting all aspects of our lives is on offer.
In addition, this powerful eclipse links planets at 23-25 degrees ( Saturn, Jupiter, Mercury) to the strengthening force of Pluto-Uranus, making a profound state of change the theme of this eclipse.
Politics, governance, economics, social conditions are all ready for a new, better functioning system, addressing imbalances & disempowerment.
With Jupiter and Mercury both in the sign of money, commodities, materialism in general - namely, Taurus - these planets together carry the themes of both lunar nodes - the north node now in Jupiter's sign Sagittarius - and the south node in Mercury's sign, Gemini - a double emphasis on the collective [ i.e. global "we're all in this"] importance of Taurus materialism being subjected to the restraining influence of Saturn as referred to above.
Eclipse phases have a period of influence from the developing period even a week prior to exactitude, and through to the next eclipse event.
update May 21 2012
Many consider that strong solar-lunar events have an influence over earth's physical structure - and weather - especially if other planets are geometrically aligned by very close or exact angles to a new, full or eclipse position.
A flurry of strong quakes has occurred across the globe around this eclipse event [the most damaging being in northern Italy, M6, May 20, with aftershocks as well, damaging structures, leaving thousands homeless; some fatalities] and in NZ the seismically sensitive Canterbury region has had the strongest activity since January 2012 - report.
update May 22 2012 UT
The problem-ridden Facebook IPO (initial public offering) float on May 18 2012 has occurred within the May solar eclipse window and the influences detailed above relating to the restraining influence of Saturn over commodities.
Subsequent reports refer to "over-valued FB stock", "class action suit over Nasdaq glitches", worst in 5 years", "disastrous float", "investors kept in dark"
These are the hallmarks of Saturn running the show
Glitches
Stock Dives
SEC to investigate FB
I'm not a market specialist but nervous investors could consider a hands-off approach is the safer bet, with eclipses having a potential long phase effect of 6 months or more depending on re-activating triggers.
Also on this site: 2012-phase-of-renewal
For a very comprehensive reading of the forces in play May and into June 2012 Richard Nolle's Astropro forecast is a must read.
Marcus Mason's blog
UK chart
NASA video visualising the science - ignore, if you can, the robotic voice & the narrow, non-holistic perspective on lunar effects
