Monthly Vedic Astrology Forecast

New Moon in Aries May 1

The new Moon occurs early in the morning on May 1. Nothing like a new Moon on the first day of a new calendar month to nicely demarcate our cycles. The energy of this new cycle is interesting; because of Mercurys present retrograde status, he is in the position to keep the flame born this new Moon alive throughout the month. There will be another new Moon on May 31, which will be the herald for an updated planetary configuration that will settle into position toward the end of the first week of June.

Mars plays an outstanding role this month. Our new Moon on Thursday, May 1 occurs in the sign of Aries, a sign ruled by Mars. The Moon passes the Sun at about 17 degrees Aries, which is in the lunar mansion named Bharani, ruled by Venus. This will give our new cycle ample Mars energy with a bit of Venus thrown in. The combination of Mars and Venus energy as represented in Bharani can bring great creativity and fortitude. Bharani means she who bears, which to me implies that great strength is required in order to create. Ask anyone who has given birth. The alchemy of male (Mars) and female (Venus) energy can be explored fully in Bharani, and this creative potential is ours this month as the Moon, Sun, and retrograde Mercury are conjunct in this lunar mansion on the morning of May first.

This new Moon will be especially good for starting creative projects. Anything involving art, music, and the like could be boosted by this Bharani energy. Mercury is currently retrograde, giving his communicative abilities extra power, and although Mercury doesnt enjoy being in Aries so much, he rather likes art and music, and his added strength could be beneficial to group projects worked during this time because Mercury confers the gift of communication and exchange of ideas. Mercurys garrulous nature is somewhat oppressed in Aries by Mars tendency toward concise, decisive speech, used mainly as a tool to get the work done. Communication may become less social and more practical during this month.

Mars Transits Capricorn May 1 - May 31

For other reasons I will surely attempt to explain, I feel that May will be a great time to get stuff done, especially stuff that requires physical drive, discipline, and creativity. This could mean anything from landscaping your yard to organizing a conference. Its like this: Mars as the ruler of Aries, site of aforementioned new Moon, confers the qualities of drive, power, building, planning, force, and vision. Mars has influence this month not only because he hosts the new Moon, but also because he is located in his sign of exaltation, Capricorn. Capricorn, a Saturn ruled earth sign, implies the qualities of detachment, determination, tenacity, and practicality. Capricorn is associated with the serious executive archetype. When a powerful leader such as Mars visits such a place as Capricorn, the potential for the disciplined execution of a well-formulated plan is what its all about.

So, my suggestion as always is to go with the flow: do the work this month, be creative, be disciplined, lay groundwork, plant seeds, go above and beyond, take responsibility for cleaning up the gray areas of your life. Take the idea that you always express by starting, I should and make it happen. Or ditch it and put your energy elsewhere. Get organized right now. Make decisions. Execute plans. Have a board meeting in your mind, locate your inner CEO, find out what he wants to do with your life and move in that direction.

Venus Enters Aries May 12

If youre like me youre wondering what Saturns status is being the lord of Mars at the moment by virtue of his rulership of Capricorn. Saturn now, and for two years hence, will remain in the sign of Gemini, a sign with the reputation of creating fickleness. This could indicate that Saturns ability to impose measures that lead one and all toward living a disciplined and responsible life may fluctuate in its applications as Mercury flits through the zodiac. Since Mercury is in Mars sign of Aries now, until June 9, by way of circular association, Mars gives Saturns practical ability a focused, powerful nature. This closes the loop and seals in my opinion that work will be done this month. Spring is in the air, life has quickened again in the northern hemisphere and its our time to pitch in with our own creative work.

All this work and drive stuff sounds somewhat exhausting, so Im looking for another aspect of the current planetary matrix to round things out. The aspect I see is one that I think will be felt more on an inner, private level as all the practical outer work is also happening. This aspect involves Venus and Jupiter. Venus is exalted in Pisces presently, and moves into Aries on May 12. Jupiter rules Pisces and Jupiter is sitting pretty, exalted in Cancer. This combo allows for expansion of understanding on the inner plane. Our hearts and minds could be making leaps to new levels of consciousness while on the outer level we express this through building and working through serious projects. This inner expansion aspect will be especially available the first third of May.

When Venus moves on into Aries, things may dry up for awhile again, but she will not stay there long. Venus enters Taurus on June 5 which may define the next phase in which we will have much more social and entertaining potential than we presently have before us. The herald for this next phase is the new Moon in Taurus on May 31, which is foreshadowed by the Sun moving into Taurus on May 15. In Taurus, we will have the opportunity to slowly enjoy the wedding and reception that we have arduously planned and executed during May, proverbially (or literally for some) speaking.

Full Moon in Scorpio May 16

The full Moon occurs on May 16 at its point of debilitation in Scorpio. Mars rules Scorpio, and I find it interesting that the first new Moon this month, in Aries, a Mars ruled sign, is followed directly by a full Moon in a Mars ruled sign. Although Moon is debilitated in Scorpio, the fact that Mars is so strong this month gives the Moon a lift. This full Moon could show the paradoxically deep culmination of the May projects. I have found Scorpio ruled people to show the ability for tireless work, and likewise, this full Moon may give us the fuel to keep burning through the tasks we choose. The full Moon in Scorpio will be aspected by Jupiter, possibly giving us the bridge between our inner expansion and our outer work. That would be neat.

The fact that Rahu and Ketu, the nodes of the Moon, will be conjunct with the Sun and Moon respectively on May 16 leads me to think of the world at large. Rahu rules the masses, and things like epidemics, which reminds me of the current SARS phenomena. To me, Rahu represents the force that draws us into worldly entanglements and over which we have little control. Similarly Ketu represents the force that draws us into ourselves and leads us to walk the inner path of exploring why we choose as we do. Anyway, I predict that the big scary things that it feels like we cant do much about, yet which cause us to worry and lose sleep, like SARS and war, will continue to loom on our horizons.

My remedial suggestion for this is to bolster our inner resolve to choose carefully and wisely for ourselves in each moment. The words we say, the food we ingest, the gasoline we burn, the moments we spend in awareness, and the flowers we notice are the areas of our lives in which we can truly act to make a difference. Know that allowing yourself to be drawn into the fear of uncontrollable outer forces takes you further away from your inner resolve to activate and to make a difference in your personal sphere of power.