As of this week, we’ve entered a tense, highly charged period that includes two eclipses, Venus retrograde, a rare transit of Venus across the Sun, and the first exact square of Uranus and Pluto.

In the long-anticipated year of 2012, May and June are the two most volatile months. Indeed, it’s hard to predict much of anything, least of all what we want and need. You may think you want one thing or that you should go in a certain direction, only to change your mind ten minutes later. People with major fixed sign signatures (Taurus, Leo, Scorpio, and Aquarius) could have a particularly tough time, as we don’t adapt as easily as others to the constantly changing landscape. Regardless of your sign, clarity and stability are going to be rare commodities between now and the end of June.

I’m not telling you this to add to your stress level, but to help you prepare to the extent possible and to know that if you feel more than the usual amount of stress in your life over the next seven to eight weeks, you’re not alone.

We begin the week in the wake of Saturday’s Scorpio Full Moon. Joe left a comment on my previous post that perfectly expresses that Full Moon’s heavy energy, well articulated by a Scorpio. My own experience was hair-raising, too. Within an hour of the peak of the Full Moon, I had a horrendous “past life” vision, yet another reminder that higher consciousness falls into that “careful what you wish for” category, along with karmic connections. Obviously, to heal from this kind of trauma, we have to start with an awareness of the circumstances or events that caused it. While lying in bed last night with the light of the Full Moon streaming through my window, I thought yet again about the practical necessity for the brain to put up barriers to accessing other dimensions and the disruption of a planetary wide awakening.

On Tuesday (late Monday on the West Coast of the United States), Mars forms an edgy quincunx to Uranus. This is the third and final inconjunct between Mars and Uranus in this cycle. The first was in mid-November. The second occurred on March 31, while Mars was retrograde. I’m definitely ready to be done with this one. The external hard drive with all of my footage for film school has been performing badly since late March, and last Thursday it was so slow I wanted to tear my hair out. Fortunately, I got it in to the computer emergency room to save what’s recoverable before it crashed. But my work is stopped until I get a new one, which has to be special-ordered. As it is, I’m almost three weeks behind in major deadlines. Being an astrologer doesn’t give you any special immunity.

Mercury enters Taurus on Wednesday, which means that instead of mutual reception with Mars, he’ll be in this special relationship with Venus, who’s slowing down to turn retrograde early next week. I swear, this year has been like one long Mercury retrograde. Do I have to tell everyone to back up their computer data? I’d also suggest taking special precautions with valuables such as watches and jewelry. Mercury sextiles Neptune on Thursday, which is one of the sweeter aspects of the week. Our heads may be too muddled for good judgment, but our dreams are in sharp focus.

Pluto sextiles Chiron on Saturday, which continues themes of healing brought up by the Scorpio Full Moon. The reason healing takes so much courage – and why everyone doesn’t just dive right in – is that it can be tremendously painful. If you’re really having a tough time, I recommend seeing a qualified medical astrologer or an alternative practitioner who is skilled with healing very old wounds, including trauma from other incarnations. Be brave, and know that you’ll not only survive but come out of it transformed.

Optimism and good cheer return for a short while on Sunday, with the conjunction of the Sun and Jupiter in Taurus. This is a lovely aspect for Mother’s Day with family, friends, good food and good spirits, and lots of gratitude.

To learn more about May’s planetary movements, I highly recommend the monthly forecast by Rick Levine and Jeff Jawer. They make a convivial evening presentation in Redmond on the first Wednesday of every month. I finally got a chance to go check it out – it was brilliant. Fortunately, they film the entire talk, so you can access it at your convenience, without getting out of your chair.

Wishing you all much love and courage to all,
Pat