The Sun – Mercury Conjunction, Venus – Jupiter – Neptune Teamwork & the Lunar Eclipse in Scorpio

The Astrology Blog 1 May 2023

All times in BST

 

“I’ve never wanted to look like models on the cover of magazines. Even when I read people saying horrible stuff about my weight. I represent the majority of women and I’m very proud of that.”

Adele – 5 May 1988, born on a Sun – Jupiter conjunction, 15 & 13 Taurus

https://www.astrotheme.com/astrology/Adele_(singer)

 

“Failures are infinitely more instructive than successes.”

George Clooney – 6 May 1961, born on a Sun – Mercury conjunction, 15 & 20 Taurus

https://www.astrotheme.com/astrology/George_Clooney

 

The Astrology Blog is a weekly teaching blog, including the astrology for the week ahead and analysis of how astrology is showing in the world around us, in world events or in the lives of those in the public eye.

The content of the blog focuses on astrological interpretation and includes commentary on the psychotherapeutic benefits of using astrology as a frame of reference, for the individual and the collective.

If you want to see the visual of the wheel with the sign and degree of the planets in your own or any other natal chart, to check against the signs and degrees important this week as outlined in the blog, here’s the link to Astrotheme.

Enter your data into the boxes provided, and you’ll also find an invaluable databank of thousands of celebrities. You can also store up to 200 charts of your own:

https://www.astrotheme.com/horoscope_chart_sign_ascendant.php

 

WHAT’S HAPPENING THIS WEEK?

Here’s your “at a glance” look for the coming week, starting with the Sun – Mercury conjunction and ending with the Lunar Eclipse, and Venus changing sign. We have the last of the Jupiter activity before this planet also changes sign in two weeks time –

Tuesday 2 May

• Sun conjunct Mercury 11 Taurus 00.29
• Jupiter 26 Aries semi-sextile Neptune 26 Pisces 23.07

Thursday 4 May

• Venus 26 Gemini square Neptune 26 Pisces 18.42

Friday 5 May

• Venus 27 Gemini sextile Jupiter 27 Aries 05.04
• Full Moon/Lunar Eclipse 15 Scorpio 18.35

Sunday 7 May

• Venus ingress Cancer 15.26

 

SUN CONJUNCT MERCURY – CAZIMI

The Sun – Mercury conjunction happens approximately every 2 months, so 6 – 7 times a year, half of them when Mercury is moving direct (the superior conjunction) and the other half when Mercury is retrograde like now (the inferior conjunction). So these alternate. Well worth noting these for universal value but, as ever, especially if they coincide with the positions of any of your own natal planets or Angles. Here are the ones for 2023 –

• An inferior conjunction 7 January at 17 Capricorn
• A superior conjunction 17 March at 26 Pisces
• This inferior conjunction 1 May 11 Taurus
• The next superior conjunction 1 July 9 Cancer
• An inferior conjunction 6 September 13 Virgo
• A superior conjunction 20 October 26 Libra
• An inferior conjunction 22 December 0 Capricorn

Any planet, not just Mercury, conjunct the Sun to within 17 minutes of arc (ie just over a quarter of a degree) is said to be “cazimi” – defined as being in “the heart of the Sun”. The symbolism of this is about the other planet drawing strength from that heat instead of being burned up by it. It’s a window of opportunity and in that hot spot we can expect to find things like light bulb moments, vital information or having the chance to get your point across exactly in the right way and at the right time, a golden nugget of truth, true connection or a lifeline of help.

• This Mercury cazimi is at 11.20 Taurus
• This cazimi falls across two days and lasts from approx 20.00 on 1 May (so 8pm this evening in UK) through to approx. 04.30am on Tuesday 2 May
• Adjust to your own time zone – eg Greece 22.00 (so 10pnm this evening) through to 06.30am tomorrow morning
• Look out for that Mercury moment, especially things that shine a light into your understanding, help you to make a decision, negotiate a deal or find the right words to get an important conversation started. Information that surfaces on the cazimi is often invaluable, truth suddenly surfaces and a heart to heart can make a real difference
• Pay close attention to whatever comes to light for you as this will point the way forwards or reveal the full nature of your life event, concerns or challenges, especially for the rest of this month until Mercury comes “out of shadow”

Also keep the bigger picture in mind in terms of the rest of this year, ie the importance of 5 and 15 degrees of Taurus – Scorpio being a repeating feature –

• 7 April – Mercury enters shadow 5.52 Taurus
• 21 April – turns retrograde at 15.36 Taurus
• 5 May – first Lunar Eclipse of the year at 15 Scorpio
• 15 May – Mercury turns direct at 5.52 Taurus
• 16 May – Jupiter enters Taurus
• 31 May – Mercury gets back to 15.36 Taurus – out of shadow
• 4 September – Jupiter turns retrograde at 15 Taurus
• 28 October – second Lunar Eclipse of the year at 5 Taurus
• 31 December, New Year’s Eve – Jupiter turns direct at 5 Taurus

 

VENUS & JUPITER – THE BENEFICS

So Jupiter is whizzing through the end degrees of Aries, picking up a minor aspect to Neptune on Wednesday night (one sign apart, considered to be mostly harmonious). I don’t usually mention the minor aspects when they involve the faster moving planets but these two are both slow moving and therefore these minor aspects are relatively rare. Also these two planets are both the rulers of Pisces which is an indication that they can work well together.

Jupiter is the Greater Benefic and Venus the Lesser Benefic – between them they rule all of life’s goodies and treasures, the things or people that benefit us and make life bigger and better. For example, love, money, opportunities, travel, helping hands and generosity are all on that list. The highlight of the list has got to be the harmonious sextile between them, which will be “applying” – in the process of becoming exact – from midweek.

Venus on her last leg through Gemini plays into the Jupiter – Neptune link, which underlines the teamwork going on. Pay close attention to what unfolds for you midweek and how a matter can develop further between then and the weekend. In particular look out for choices, often a major theme while a planet is in Gemini sign of the Twins, often signifying doubles, or even multiples, and Jupiter’s favourite subjects – travel, learning, justice and lucky breaks –

Wednesday 3 May

• Jupiter 26 Aries semi-sextile Neptune 26 Pisces 23.07

Thursday 4 May

• Venus 26 Gemini square Neptune 26 Pisces 18.42

Friday 5 May

• Venus 27 Gemini sextile Jupiter 27 Aries 05.04

Choices and the changes they bring are also an extremely common feature of Eclipse season too, read on. But in terms of the activity between the trio above just be aware that the presence of Neptune in the mix can indicate sadness or sacrifice. If you’re facing any kind of big decision or opportunity you may have to give up something else to make it happen. A bit like the Hanged Man in the tarot – something has to go, you can’t change and stay the same.

With the backdrop of retrograde Mercury we’re also being reminded of Neptunian distortion – anything from confusion to someone telling you outright lies. Self deception is in there too, don’t kid yourself that something or someone is what you want just because that’s how you want it to be. The true measure of someone will be in what they do, not just in what they say.

Isn’t there also a lovely side to Neptune? The Venus – Jupiter – Neptune combo is great for partying and letting your hair down. And at a loftier level the top positive principle of Neptune is redemption – that which saves us, restores our faith, the little miracles that remind us that life can be magical and that we should always nurture our dreams, the reminders that we are spiritual beings having a human experience rather than the other way around!

In terms of people the good side to Neptune shows in those who give up things for us, who go out of their way or even rescue us in our hour of need or vice versa. If it’s you in the role of Rescuer just remember that the flipside of this Archetype is the Victim, so don’t fall for sob stories!

Neptune is romantic, especially love of the early stages kind, the “urge to merge” collapse of boundaries and emotional fusion, when we’re pumping out the oxytocin “love hormone”, which apparently lasts about 18 months, then you’re on your own! Worth noting that Neptune links to all states of altered consciousness and drugs (discovered in 1846 which coincided with advancement in the world of pharmaceuticals. In September of that year ether was used for the first time, marking a new era in surgery, and chloroform was used for the first time the following year.)

Enter the hilarious Jackie Fleming –

Also look out for endings and beginnings as this is Venus’ final activity before moving on into Cancer at the very end of the week and it’s also the last time that we’ll see Jupiter in the picture before he also changes sign, moving into Taurus on 16 May. It’s a big shift in mood, less talk, more feelings.

Jupiter has a 12 year cycle so it’s easy maths – 12 signs of the zodiac, Jupiter therefore spends approximately a year travelling through each sign. If you have planets or Angles at the end of Aries or the beginning of Taurus think back to what was happening in your life 12 years ago? There may be some clues as to what to expect on this Jupiter visit.

LUNAR ECLIPSE

Eclipses occur every 6 months when a New or Full Moon is also conjunct the Moon’s Nodes. The North and South Node are not heavenly bodies, they are the imaginary points at which the Moon cuts across the Ecliptic (from which we derive the word Eclipse) which is the apparent path of the Sun’s motion as seen from planet Earth. It’s because the Earth’s axis is tilted that we don’t get Eclipses every month.

Back to symbolism, in traditional astrology the line of the Nodes (always exactly opposite each other) symbolizes a dragon. The Sun and the Moon (the Lights) are the eyes of the dragon, and the dragon “eating” the Lights refers to the phenomenon of eclipses –

• The North Node Caput Draconis – the head of the dragon is regarded as fortunate, as this is where the dragon feeds and gains nourishment. Good karma.
• The South Node Cauda Draconis – the tail of the dragon is regarded as unfortunate, being where the dragon excretes, ie where shit happens. Bad karma.

Eclipses work in pairs, sometimes in threes. A Solar Eclipse (on a New Moon) is therefore always followed two weeks later by a Lunar Eclipse (on a Full Moon) or vice versa.

• A Solar Eclipse – occurs when the Sun is obscured by the shadow of the Moon at the time of a New Moon
• A Lunar Eclipse – occurs when the Moon is obscured by the shadow of the earth at the time of a Full Moon

So this week it’s the Full Moon/Lunar Eclipse at 15 Scorpio on 5 May, and the last one was the New Moon/Solar Eclipse at the very end of Aries, 2 weeks ago on 20 April.

ECLIPSE SYMBOLISM                                                                   

Eclipses get mixed press but basically they’re points of significant change that often involve power issues and/or the crux points of triangular situations, ie as symbolized by the intricate relationship between the three bodies of the Sun, Moon and Earth. Who is going to overshadow whom?

There is often a flavour of death/rebirth symbolism – changing colours, the light disappearing and coming back on again. It can be powerful stuff, especially as this one falls at the sensitive degree of 15 Scorpio as already flagged up above. Also note that Scorpio is co-ruled by Pluto (planet of death/rebirth and transformative processes) and that this is the Moon’s sign of “fall”, her most difficult sign.

If you have planets or Angles at or close to the Eclipse degrees, then be on the alert for key developments in any situation that is about change, and establishing a new order. It may not be easy but when the shadows lift a new landscape is revealed. If you’re in any kind of abusive situation don’t think twice about getting out and starting over.

“Close to” the Eclipse degree means within 5 degrees, but the tighter the orb (the closer to the actual degree) the more significant the life event will be. At a universal or particular level some key themes to look out for –

• Being overshadowed, feeling in the dark
• Themes of empowerment – disempowerment, including transferal of power. (Unsurprisingly Eclipses often feature at times of the change of a monarch, either through the death of a King or Queen or through abdications – examples given in the blog two weeks ago for the Solar Eclipse )
• Themes of inevitability – Eclipses light a fuse that can’t be extinguished
• Themes of loss/endings that change your life and set you on a different path
• Themes of symbolic death/rebirth – out with the old, in with the new, literally or psychologically
• Sorting winners from losers between twos or threes (Sun, Moon, Earth), eg affairs, job applications or promotions, house buying, any competitive situation. One person’s loss is another person’s gain
• Dealing with that which, until now, has been hidden from us in some way
• Revelations – sometimes on the run up to the Eclipse, sometimes even exactly on the day
• Revelations in the not very distant future, when we learn what happened when we weren’t looking, when we were in the dark or “when the light went out”
• Tipping points of change and goodbyes – no going back to something belonging to your old life
• Getting out of your own way OR standing up for yourself or for someone else who’s “in the shadows”

 

LAST WORD TO RETROGRADE MERCURY …

All of the Eclipse symbolism becomes more pertinent because this season coincides with Mercury being retrograde, switched direction just one day after the Solar Eclipse on 20 April and won’t turn direct again until 15 May, so we still have two weeks to go.

So much for King Charles supposedly being a follower of astrology, and not to say that he hasn’t used astrologers in his life, but no astrologer in their right mind would give the green light to a big event under a retrograde Mercury. Mmm. This doesn’t necessarily mean that things will go wrong, but I wouldn’t mean being a fly on the wall behind the scenes lol, but I wonder if this astrology is also saying something about the gradual demise of the monarchy, at least in its current state. There’s a lot of ill feeling about the cost (Mercury retro in Taurus sign of money) and especially for a monarch who’s already 74 years old. Makes you wonder if the mood would be different if he’d handed over to William, which I think will happen sooner rather than later.

Anyway that’s another topic. For now just remember that Mercury is wearing his Trickster’s hat and you can’t second guess him. One of the points on the list is to “expect cancellations”! I’d booked out last week of April to have my huge front room and kitchen painted, planned everything around it like moving clients and even turning work away for now, I should’ve known better but there was no other time. He took on other work first, then cancelled starting today as well because he’d forgotten it was a bank holiday and the paint shop was shut! Third time lucky tomorrow…..

Next week it’s the annual Sun – Uranus conjunction along with more Mercury and Venus activity prior to Mercury turning direct on the 15^th, so I’ll be talking about these things next time,

Until then take care, with love from Greece

Joanna