May 2023By Bob Mulligan (a personal note is at the end of the newsletter) May Highlights There are lots of noteworthy astronomical events in May of 2023: Pluto turns Retrograde on the 1st, we have a Lunar Eclipse on the 5th, Venus enters Cancer on the 7th, Mercury turns Direct on the 14th, Jupiter enters Taurus on the 16th then Squares Pluto on the 17th, Mars enters Leo on the 20th. Since Pluto only entered Aquarius March 23rd, his Retrograde now promises to ignite progressive ideas (Aquarius), but also will complete the reformation of traditional structures (Capricorn) starting in June and lasting for the rest of 2023. Venus entering Cancer favors comfort in home, family, and the familiar. Mercury turning direct in Taurus will help us get traction on our forward looking projects. Jupiter entering Taurus on the 16th will shift the way that the world looks for expansion. We will be more focused on the material comforts of life for the rest of the year. Jupiter Squares Pluto on the 17th. Overconfidence and conflicting desires will need to be sorted out. In our personal lives we only lose big if we are determined to get our own way and become dogmatic. Mars enters Leo on the 20th. We have the opportunity to be more courageous. The down side of this is that our self-confidence can become entitlement; in which case, we suffer by pushing people away and by overreach. The Full Moon The Full Moon is a Lunar Eclipse occurring on the 5th at 1:33 PM EDT. The Wesak festival celebrates the birth, enlightenment, and physical departure of the Buddha. This event is timed by the Full Moon with the Sun in Taurus and the Moon in Scorpio. This year the Full Moon is most potent being an eclipse, and also on the world point at 14 degrees and 58 minutes of Taurus/Scorpio. This has direct ramifications for world circumstances. The Sun is Conjunct Uranus and Contra-parallel Saturn, indicating things in the world will quicken, and that there will be a struggle between the forces of light and darkness, each playing a designated role. Venus is Square Neptune, promoting a surge of energy for higher consciousness. Jupiter is Square Pluto, showing that we all tend to think in larger than life terms. The New Moon The New Moon is on the 19th at 28 degrees of Taurus at 11:53 AM EDT. Taurus is concerned with tangible assets and material results. Half the planets are in Taurus; Mercury and Jupiter are Conjunct the North Node of the Moon (the appropriate direction for progress). Collectively our thoughts and actions will be directed toward establishing reliable grounding for our behavior and assumptions. The Sun and Moon Trine Pluto (the only planet in air), from the tail end of Taurus. This New Moon is on the midpoint between Mars and Neptune who Trine each other. This gives tremendous energy and passion to every project. Our personal instructions for the whole month are to be slow and methodical. The Sun enters Gemini Sun enters Gemini on the 21st at 3:10 AM EDT. The Sun in Gemini Trine Pluto in Aquarius provides mental stimulation for whatever we are involved with. The Moon in Gemini is Semi-sextile Uranus in Taurus. We try to integrate what we can from our past into our present life. Jupiter is at the base of a T-Square with the Mars/Pluto Opposition. All are in fixed signs. To be effective in the coming month, we need to change our emotional outlook and think positive thoughts. With Mercury Sextile Saturn our attitude needs to be honest, thorough, and practical in order to be effective. The Weeks From the 1st to the 7th we can see our values come into public light and be implemented, if we keep our focus narrowly on the things that are of personal importance. If we cast our net over too vast a landscape of possible manifestations, the potency of our picture of how things should be becomes diluted. Hard work is necessary, but our tools are not in front of us; they lay on the road behind us. From the 8th to the 14th our real friends need no introduction, are not flashy, but we do need to embrace them and be grateful. Keeping our head down and working on what is right in front of us is the ticket forward. Ok, there are a few new ideas, opinions, and options that present themselves. Some are quite useful, but we didn’t go looking for them, they just showed up as we were going through our regular routine. From the 15th to the 21st we have been thinking about some things that we haven’t put into motion. Now is the time to act. However, the sludge that stands in the way of direct action must be removed. Just taking the first step in the right direction allows options to come into view. From the 22nd to the 31st great ideas abound. Some of them do get implemented, but only when we stop fighting against ourselves. The good news is that we all continue to keep trying to make changes in our lives to accommodate the changes going on in the environment. To some this struggle will seem like a fight for survival. Actually, the reality is it isn’t that dire. Still, the truth is we have an opportunity to embrace concepts that will flourish in a few years. The Days 1st – Monday – Mercury Semi-square Neptune, Pluto turns Retrograde, Sun Conjunct Mercury – We are responding to changes in our lives that we didn’t initiate and can’t control. Adaptation is twofold: sifting through the details of our history, and trusting our faith in life’s ability to improve. 2nd – Tuesday – Sun Semi-square Neptune, Sun Parallel Mercury, Jupiter Semi-sextile Neptune – Even though we can’t see clearly, the path in front is there. One step at a time allows us to feel our way through new terrain. We change our strategy for living. So much time can be absorbed by just getting by. Survival is not a reason for existence. We all need to remember why we came here in the first place. 3rd – Wednesday – Mercury Semi-square Venus, Mars Sesquiquadrate Saturn – Friction is not meant as an invitation to combat, but merely a wakeup call. If we can be stable enough to monitor our emotions, we can see where our energy will matter the most. Timing is essential. The right rhythm supplies greater economy of effort. 4th – Thursday – Venus Square Neptune – The promise of a better day can sustain us. Change for its own sake is not particularly useful. We are in a restaurant and trying to decide what to order. Chances are pretty good we are going to try something new. The most important thing is that we learn from our choices without judgment. 5th – Friday – Venus Sextile Jupiter, the Full Moon is a Lunar Eclipse at 1:33 PM EDT on 14 degrees and 58 minutes of Taurus/Scorpio – A still mind and a quiet heart generate life changing potency. Magic happens when we just open up to the abundance of the river of Divine Love. We can drink our fill and prepare for the next leg of our journey. 6th – Saturday – We are searching for distant shores. Expanding our vision requires a change in values, to see what is really possible. Standing still is not an option, but heading in the wrong direction only complicates our life. No action is better than wrong action. 7th – Sunday – Venus enters Cancer, Venus Quincunx Pluto – Do we sit on the front porch and watch the distant horizon, or do we just go back in the house and prepare a breakfast that is oh so familiar? The ordinary can reveal new dimensions to life. Gazing off into the distance can be restful. Either can be a good use of time. 8th – Monday – Sun Parallel Uranus – Out of the blue, we get a nudge forward. We stay within conventional guidelines. A change in our methods brings us closer to our goal. Belief in life and in our own goodness helps paint a bigger picture of what is possible. 9th – Tuesday – Sun Conjunct Uranus – We can be so concerned with efficiency that we don’t actually see the fear that is creating our approach to life. Clearing the deck of extraneous details reveals important truths about our moment in time. With a nod of the head we can move beyond our limitations. 10th – Wednesday – If we can get the extra kick to move over the top without starting a fight or even getting angry, we are on the road to an important victory. Even old information can seem unique. A burst of ideas sparks a revolution in thinking. 11th – Thursday – Venus Semi-square Uranus – Nostalgia for the old runs into our instinctive desire for a more modern approach to our own lives. Accommodating both impulses requires ignoring a bunch of very decent options. We come back to our starting point, acknowledging that the upward spiral does have the objective appearance of running in circles. However, we are growing. 12th – Friday – Mercury Sextile Saturn, Mercury Sextile Venus – The day is easy if we love what we must do anyway. It is time to embrace our true destiny. We could have come to this conclusion some time back, but we needed to learn some things that have eluded us. Moving forward requires releasing the past. 13th – Saturday – Venus Trine Saturn, Mars Contra-parallel Pluto – Emotional insecurity is prompted by the obvious brewing conflicts between our personal desires and the needs of our larger community. Slowly we are coming to hard decisions and learning to speak up. 14th – Sunday – Mercury turns Direct – Feelings are personal but also on fire. Only a calm mind can help us rise above the intensity we experience. It is easy to ignore our involvement with others, and the feverish strife we experience in our public life. Understanding comes by conscious engagement. 15th – Monday – Mars Trine Neptune – Good results come when we trust our hunches. Magnetic flow of energy between people makes it easy to recruit others to our cause. However, if we aim our sights on God, all the other people in our lives are taken care of. Love of life gets an extra infusion of enthusiasm by focusing our values from our early years. 16th – Tuesday – Jupiter enters Taurus – Patience and self-confidence bring success in any enterprise requiring expansion along traditional and material lines. New ideas are brewing, but stability is necessary to make real progress. This only comes by staying within the guidelines that are prescribed by the moment. 17th – Wednesday – Jupiter Contra-parallel Saturn, Jupiter Square Pluto – If we are sensitive enough, information collected from past incarnations streams into our conscious waking mind. In all endeavors, the way forward is through relying on what we already have. Sometimes it takes a little nudge to recognize what blessings we possess. 18th – Thursday – Sun Sextile Neptune, Mercury Parallel Jupiter – A little reorganization helps us see what is really important. The process of separating the genuine from the phony requires honesty. This is an internal process for each of us. The permanent stands on its own legs and needs no defense. The transient is an entertaining show, as long as we don’t take it seriously. 19th – Friday – Mercury Sextile Saturn, the New Moon is on the 28th degree of Taurus at 11:53 AM EDT – We may feel that this moment will last forever, but this is the end of an era. Regardless of whether or not we see it, the process is over. What next? The path comes into view, but gradually. Even though we have been relying on gut impulses and intuition, our reasoning capacities shine a light. 20th – Saturday – Mars enters Leo, Mars Opposite Pluto – Do we have the courage to step forward? We have an urge for harmony, but it must come in conjunction with some form of self-restraint. As our center of gravity moves closer to intellectual curiosity, petty disagreements disappear. Bigger forces are afoot. If we wait, they catch up. 21st – Sunday – Sun enters Gemini at 3:10 AM EDT, Sun Trine Pluto – If we are sincere in our approach to others, listening can be a real experience of hearing. Letting go of the safety of the crowd we ride bareback into the sunset. We can keep turning over a new leaf, until we get it right. We learn from everything and only lose if we quit. 22nd – Monday – Sun Sextile Mars, Sun Semi-sextile Jupiter – We have something to share. It is time to step forward, let our light shine. After we step forward, it is time to find our emotional roots. Tradition sets an important pace. We can find love by giving it to others. 23rd – Tuesday – Mars Square Jupiter, Mercury Parallel Jupiter – Expansion for its own sake if dissatisfying. Waiting to let the restless feeling find the earth is a method for cultivating patience. Together, confidence and reason assist us in grounding our ambitions. Taking the long view means to look backwards as well as forward. We can see where we are going if we understand where we have been. 24th – Wednesday – It is easy to attribute our current conflict to others, karma returning. However, conflict has its origin within us. Correct decisions are determined through understanding what we are really responsible for, and putting our effort into them. 25th – Thursday – Sun Semi-square Venus, Sun Parallel Mars — We have an opportunity to work our way through mountains of unprocessed paperwork. Collaboration can resolve misunderstanding and create order where none existed before. Most want to reach an agreeable outcome for long standing disputes. 26th – Friday – Venus Sextile Uranus – At some level, we each participate in Mother Nature replenishing herself. We may feel inspired to create something new. Or we may just put an inspired spin on past creations. In either case, time spent outside brings joy. Feeling our connection with the rest of the cosmos allows us to be spontaneous, while still in the realm of the history of culture. 27th – Saturday – Details slip away and the big picture of life takes precedent. Still we are gripped by the impression that one step at a time is necessary to get anywhere. The struggle for procedures can slow us down. We jettison the idea of perfection in order to get to completion. 28th – Sunday – Venus Sesquiquadrate Saturn, Sun Square Saturn, Mercury Semi-square Neptune – If thoughts of depression and limitation can be transmuted into a dreamy vision of possible future successes, victory is at hand. Imagination soars. What is really important is that these flights of fancy are recognized for what they are. Then our ideals manifesting in our thoughts is leavening in the bread. 29th – Monday – We can capture the light of inspiration and ground it into everyday life. The healing power of love blesses us with a synthesis of the theoretical and the practical. Right sizing allows us to take advantage of today’s blessing. 30th – Tuesday – Balance requires connecting with our other half; for most of us this probably means being with another person. Still, it is important to remember that all balance and imbalance happens in our inner life first. Regardless of our personal karma, today is likely to find us interacting with people not usually on our radar. 31st – Wednesday – Adjustments and compensations made are responses to friction and disappointment in primary relationships. These are noteworthy reactions to others, but the real source of irritation is uncontrollable changes in the environment. The wise will recognize that postponing a response to unpleasant circumstances is a mature way of letting things sort themselves out. Bob Mulligan is available for personal appointments, astrology classes, and astrological material. Call him at 239-261-2840 or by e-mail at bobmulliga@aol.com. Visit our web site, www.theastrologycompany.com My Personal Note My health is better. I’m turning in my heart monitor and will have an appointment with the heart doctor. In a couple of days I’m having cataract surgery, just before the Eclipse. The difficulty of not driving makes life complicated. What I dislike the most is inconveniencing Katie and my friends, Tobey and Wendy. April 13-14 Katie and I spent the night in the Veterinary hospital with Teddy. He was probably injured when we got in the accident. It was obvious to both Katie and I that Teddy is dying. He is still with us, but for how long? I will have to move soon. Somewhere. We thought that Sebring, Florida might be our spot. We took a journey to Sebring. Highland Hammocks State park is beautiful. We loved it. But there is no place for us to live in this part of the state. A physical move is symbolic of closing a chapter . What the next chapter of life will be like will be revealed over the next few months. Westerners who have been long time residents in India are having to leave the country. Several of my friends died in the last few weeks. Some of my friends have lost their long time pet dogs. This is a mirror our dog, Teddy, being on his last legs. All of us are suffering loss and change of life. It is critical that we see what the Divine is offering. I wanted to share this email sent a longtime newsletter subscriber: Hi Bob, I am so glad you are doing better. What an ordeal you must have had. It shows life in its truest form. One minute you are in ecstasy in India at the foot of your Master, and the next moment something of a shock comes along. Sending loving prayers. Also, I can listen to this version of George Harrison’s “My Sweet Lord” again and again and it is sooo uplifting. Hope you enjoy. Healing prayers and light, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1EORbL8N-R8 Billy Preston – My Sweet Lord I came to my Master, Meher Baba, in 1970. In 1971 and 1972 Baba put two people in my life for a specific time and a specific purpose: Jerry Garcia and Judee Sill. I never met Jerry Garcia but I saw him perform many times until his death in 1995. A friend of mine was one of his roommates before the Grateful Dead was formed. I’ve read hundreds of articles and interviews with him. The Grateful Dead were such a different type of rock group. I wanted to share something but I couldn’t determine what might be really emblematic; I have so many favorites. So, I decided to share this interview with Phil Lesh; if you are not a Dead Head, this interview reveals a picture of music and consciousness that can change your life. Phil Lesh Interview – YouTube A special friendship developed between Judee Sill and me, starting with correspondence and expanding into being together in person. She passed away in 1979. Here is one of her songs that demonstrates or unleashes her gift. Her departure created a vacancy. Judee Sill – The Kiss – YouTube For many months, getting this newsletter out has been a cliffhanger. I will try to continue, but my impending move may make this impossible. I want to take a moment to thank each one of you for your love, support, and attention through the years. “All life is an effort to attain freedom from self-created entanglement.” Meher Baba – Discourses page 77. Bob Mulligan is available for personal appointments, astrology classes, and astrological material. Call him at 239-261-2840 or by e-mail at bobmulliga@aol.com. Visit our web site, www.theastrologycompany.com | 
