Spreads for Every Occasion Tarot Double Workshop (Sunday 15th & 22nd May 2016)
Looking to expand and improve your Tarot Reading skills? Why not come along to my Tarot Spreads Workshop (Sunday 15th & 22nd May) where we'll check out a variety of spreads, both simple and complex using real life situations. My aim is to give you the confidence and the tools to take your Tarot Reading to the next level - whatever that means for you!
Date: Sunday 15th May & Sunday 22nd May 2016
Time: 9.30 – 1.30 pm
Cost: $230 for both sessions - includes morning tea and Tarot Spread Workbook
Venue: Elwood Learning Centre, 87 Tennyson St, Elwood
Call Stella on 03 9534 5021 with your CREDIT CARD details or BOOK ONLINE with Paypal/Visa/Mastercard or BANK TRANSFER to Account Name: Stella Starwoman, BSB 063-131 Account Number 1009 0630
Take In A Meteor Shower This Weekend!
Brace yourself for a fabulous meteor shower in the early hours of the morning over the next couple of days (May 8th and 9th). The Eta Aquarid is one of two meteor showers created by debris from Halley’s comet taking their name from a star in the constellation Aquarius — Eta Aquarii. Conditions are perfect this year for a great viewing as it’s the new moon this weekend and you should be able to see a meteor approximately every three minutes at the peak viewing time of 4-5 am. Look towards the north east to the constellation of Aquarius and the star Eta Aquarii a good distance above the horizon (a stargazing app could be useful). Those living far away from the city lights or at a high vantage point will have the best view of all – ENJOY!
AstroUpdate subscriber Marty Stringer made this fabulous video of a meteor shower in Ibiza last year – thanks for sharing Marty!
http://forum.lrtimelapse.com/Thread-amazing-perseid-meteor-shower-captured-from-punta-galera-ibiza
The Incongruous Quincunx
May is a month of heinous hybrids… of awkwardness, distortion and mismatch, so better brace yourself so you can roll with the punches and keep that sense of humour! With communication planet Mercury retrograde until the 22nd May and action planet Mars retrograde throughout the month, progress is unlikely to be smooth.
Now what exactly is a quincunx you may ask? Astrologers are obsessed by the angles between planets in the skies - if planets are opposite each other (180 °), they clash; if they’re conjunct (next to each other) they work together; if they’re trine (120 °) their energies blend in a delightful way, but if they are quincunx (150 °) they irritate the hell out of each other. With a quincunx, the wants and needs of the two zodiac signs involved have no easy affinity or resonance. We’re talking about trying to reconcile the irreconcilable where a creative leap or lateral approach is required to blend two completely different sets of needs and traits.
When we look at the astrological energies for May, there are quincunxes between planets, virtually every day of the month. Here are the main players:
1) Retrograde Mars and Retrograde Saturn in fire sign Sagittarius
2) Sun, Venus, Retrograde Mercury and New Moon in earth sign Taurus
3) Uranus in fire sign Aries
4) North Node and Jupiter in earth sign Virgo
Take the Sagittarius-Taurus combination for instance. Sagittarius is a wilful mutable fire sign interested in adventure, excitement, learning, travel, philosophy and freedom. Taurus is a practical fixed earth sign interested in pleasure, material growth, stability, peace and slow, steady progress. The only thing these two zodiac signs have in common is a love of nature and enjoyment of the physical senses. Sagittarius tends to find Taurus boring, unimaginative and slow, while Taurus sees Sagittarius as unreliable, impractical and prone to exaggeration. Normally they would try to avoid
each other, but throughout May a series of quincunxes (150° angles) between planets in Sagittarius and Taurus will force them to work together. Taurus definitely has the upper hand with the Sun, ruling planet Venus, retrograde Mercury and the new moon all in Taurus in the first three weeks of May. The push will be to work hard, get things done and have something to show for all that effort. Meanwhile Mars in Sagittarius will be pushing equally hard to break free, do something adventurous and avoid routine at all costs. But because Mars is retrograde (moving backwards) and close to restrictive Saturn and therefore handicapped, he’s unlikely to be successful, but like a guerrilla fighter or activist he’ll strike the occasional fatal blow against the sensible and practical plans of Taurus.
It’s a similar story with Uranus in Aries (fire) quincunx the North Node and Jupiter in Virgo (earth). Aries, like Sagittarius wants freedom, new growth and excitement, while Virgo, like Taurus is risk-averse and likes to keep things running smoothly and predictably.
What this means in real terms is that whatever you have planned for May is likely to encounter some obstacles. The part of you that wants to achieve something concrete will be challenged by the part of you that wants more excitement and freedom in your life. The best advice is to proceed firmly with a clear plan of where you want to go, but be prepared for unexpected setbacks. These obstacles may come from within, whereby you suddenly lose interest in a project that had previously seemed very important; or alternatively, you may find people around you chopping and changing their plans, forcing you to change yours. Another possible scenario is that you know you should be working hard (Taurus/Virgo), but you want to cut loose and ignore your responsibilities (Sagittarius/Aries). Try to maintain a sense of perspective and avoid getting angry or irritated when things don’t turn out as you had hoped. Look after your health and don’t push forward too quickly. This is a month of adjustment and re-adjustment and who knows, by the end of it, you may find yourself on a completely new path.
On a global level we can see this ‘reconciling the irreconcilable’ playing out in Europe with the clash of ideals between promoting racial equality and welcoming refugees (the ideals of Sagittarius) vs the practical considerations of feeding and housing thousands of displaced people from a different cultural background (Taurus). Denmark, for years touted as a model of democracy with free health care and education for all, is prosecuting over 300 Danish citizens who ‘smuggled’ Syrian refugees over the border into Sweden simply by offering them a lift in their car.
April New Moon – Full Moon
The May new moon falls on the 7th in fertile earth sign Taurus conjunct Mercury and Venus forming an earth grand trine (equilateral triangle) with transformational Pluto in Capricorn and generous Jupiter and the karmic North Node in Virgo. This promises to be an especially abundant and blessed new moon, so make sure you plants dreams and intentions in early May and share your blessings and good fortune with others. The Sabian Symbol for the new moon (16-17 ° Taurus) shows a battle between torches and swords, symbolising the fight between good and evil. With retrograde Saturn in Sagittarius quincunx the new moon, we could be forced to examine our own ideals and beliefs around abundance, money, property, food and the current local and global situation between the ‘haves’ and ‘have nots’.
A power packed full moon in Sagittarius on the 22nd May conjuncts retrograde Mars and opposes the Sun in early Gemini and Venus in late Taurus. The opposition between Venus and Mars perfects on the 25th. With the Sun and Moon opposing each other and Venus and Mars opposing each other over a 2-3 day period, this full moon will highlight any imbalances in personal relationships, but also offer the opportunity to strike a balance between yin and yang; masculine and feminine. The Sabian Symbol for 1-2 ° Sagittarius shows Santa filling Christmas stockings for children, symbolising the importance of pureness of heart, innocence and faith. Given that May is a month of introspection, this full moon offers the gift of trust to those who feel caught up in the hurly burly of the physical world.
Sun in Gemini – The Light & Dark Twin
This year from the 21st May to the 21st June the Sun travels through mutable air sign Gemini. Gemini is the third sign of the zodiac with keywords “I think” and “I communicate”. Gemini’s symbol is the twins, one mortal, one immortal, the dark side and the light side. Geminis are extremely curious and like to accumulate information and process data. They think at lightning speed, are versatile and adaptable and love gadgets, mobile phones, books and surfing the net. Easily bored, Geminis need lots of intellectual stimulation and often have a youthful appearance. Negatively, the Gemini individual can be fickle and nervous with scattered energy and a tendency to gossip or make cutting remarks. Some are over-reliant on logic and dismiss emotions as irrational or unimportant. When Geminis are out of balance they suffer from nervous tension or problems in the lungs, arms, shoulders and hands. Gemini’s greatest challenge is to learn constancy and mental discipline and to accept the importance of emotions and feelings in both themselves and others.
Happy birthday to all Geminis – here’s wishing you a fantastic year ahead!
Mercury Retrograde in Taurus
With Mercury retrograde in Taurus for the first three weeks of May (until the 22nd) we will be re-examining all aspects of our physical lives and making any necessary changes. Are we happy with our health and the food we eat? What about our physical appearance, clothing and possessions? Do we feel financially secure and does our outer life reflect our inner values? The 10th May marks the midpoint of the Mercury retrograde cycle, where there is often an ‘aha’ moment as messages from the unconscious are understood by the conscious mind. As always with Mercury retrograde, pay particular attention when driving, travelling, signing contracts, negotiating agreements and in all types of personal and business communication. Mercury will be forming a quincunx with Saturn from the 16th-29th May meaning that any attempt to put your life in order will require meticulous planning and hard work. The sheer scope of your goals may require more effort than you think, so break large tasks into segments and work on them one at a time.
May & June Moon Calendar
Launch projects at the New Moon, bring them to completion in the period from just before the Full Moon to the Third Quarter phase and wind them down and reflect on developments in the week before the next New Moon.
The period between the New Moon and the Full Moon is the waxing moon (moon getting bigger and fuller). The period between the Full Moon and the New Moon is the waning moon (moon getting smaller and thinner).
You can use this moon table to select the most favourable days to slow or increase hair regrowth. Full instructions can be found in my Lunar Hair Care guidelines at www.stellastarwoman.com/files/LunarHairCare.pdf but to get you started I’ve marked the best dates for waxing/shaving to slow regrowth in yellow and the best dates to cut hair for thicker, lusher growth in green. If you’re serious about Lunar Hair Care - order your own Moon Calendar from the Stella Starwoman Store then you’ll know exactly what time of day the moon changes from one zodiac sign to the next, meaning you can fine-tune your activities with confidence.
| Date | Moon Sign | Element | Moon Phase |
|---|---|---|---|
| MAY | |||
| 1st-2nd | Aquarius | Air | |
| 2nd-4th | Pisces | Water | |
| 4th-6th | Aries | Fire | |
| 6th-8th | Taurus | Earth | New Moon 7th |
| 8th-10th | Gemini | Air | |
| 10th-12th | Cancer | Water | |
| 12th-14th | Leo | Fire | First Quarter |
| 14th-17th | Virgo | Earth | |
| 17th-19th | Libra | Air | |
| 19th-22nd | Scorpio | Water | |
| 22nd-24th | Sagittarius | Fire | Full Moon 22nd |
| 24th-27th | Capricorn | Earth | |
| 27th-29th | Aquarius | Air | |
| 29th-31st | Pisces | Water | Third Quarter |
| 31st | Aries | Fire | |
| JUNE | |||
| 1st-2nd | Aries | Fire | |
| 2nd-4th | Taurus | Earth | |
| 4th-6th | Gemini | Air | New Moon 5th |
| 6th-8th | Cancer | Water | |
| 8th-10th | Leo | Fire | |
| 10th-13th | Virgo | Earth | First Quarter |
| 13th-15th | Libra | Air | |
| 15th-18th | Scorpio | Water | |
| 18th-20th | Sagittarius | Fire | Full Moon 20th |
| 20th-23rd | Capricorn | Earth | |
| 23rd-25th | Aquarius | Air | |
| 25th-27th | Pisces | Water | |
| 27th-29th | Aries | Fire | Third Quarter |
| 29th-30th | Taurus | Earth | |
Thanks for being part of AstroUpdate. If there’s something you’d like to see featured, or have something you think would interest others, please contact me at stella@stellastarwoman.com
PS – Don’t forget to check out your May Monthly Stars at www.stellastarwoman.com to see what’s coming up this month. Happy Stargazing - Stella Woods www.stellastarwoman.com