Astral Weather Update May 28, 2022

The Week Ahead

The Vedic spiritual festival known as Somvati Amavasya will be celebrated on Monday, May 30. This is a rare occasion which occurs when the the darkest day of the lunar month preceding the new Moon (Amavasya Tithi) falls on a Monday (Somwar/Somavaar). Amavasya Tithi and the Moon’s day of the week both relate to Lord Shiva, which makes it very special when they coincide.

May 30 this year also marks the celebration of Vat Savitri Vrat in some parts of Indian society. In others, it will be celebrated in mid-June. According to legend, this holy day commemorates Savitri’s trick of Lord Yama, the lord of death, when she compelled him to return the life of her husband Satyawan. Hence, married women observe this special day to pray for the well-being and long life of their spouses.

Monday, May 30 is also the birth anniversary of Lord Shani (Saturn), known as Shani Jayanti. It is a very good day to appease Saturn with prayer and ritual.

As all these holy days occur simultaneously, special fasts and holy baths will be taken by devotees; pujas will be made, and offerings given to the ancestors; cows will be fed; those who have Kala Sarpa Dosha in their horoscopes will have yagyas performed; many will fast and do cleansing rituals; and women will pray for their husbands to have long and healthy lives (Vat Savitri Vrat).

The New Moon will occur at 7:30:15 AM Eastern Time on Monday, May 30 (11:30:15 AM UTC, and 5 PM India Time). The Amavasya Tithi will begin on Sunday, May 29 at 5:24 AM Eastern Time and will end at the Pratipada Tithi/New Moon on Monday at 7:30 AM Eastern Time. In India, the Amavasya Tithi will extend from 2:54 PM Sunday, May 29, until 5 PM Monday, May 30.

Sunday and Monday will be opportune days for special prayers and extra mantras to Lord Shiva and Lord Saturn. These will bring tremendous blessings to help us create more peace and progress. One special “magical” remedy I read about for Somvati Amavasya is for those with financial and professional problems. It involves performing 108 revolutions around a sacred tulsi plant!

The New Moon chart points to recent events and also what is being seeded for the coming month. We see an extreme bowl pattern in this chart (all planets on one half of the horoscope), and the bowl is being driven by passionate, willful, and obsessive Pluto, planet of death and rebirth. We feel that something is lost or missing in the world, and righteous anger and revolutionary impulses are the order of the day.

The New Moon falls at 14+ degrees (almost 15 degrees) of sidereal Taurus within a two-degree orb of the fixed star Aldebaran (which is at 15 degrees and 55 minutes of Taurus). Aldebaran is known both as the Eye of God and the Eye of Illumination. It acts like fiery and sometimes aggressive Mars, and signifies potential for incendiary and overheated conditions in society and within nature.

On the positive side, Aldebaran is the abode of Archangel Michael, who sits near to God and is the Prince of the Archangels and all the other angelic hosts. Michael is also known as the “Defender of the Faith” and the “Angel of Deliverance.” In the Biblical Book of Daniel, He is described as the one who stands with and for the children of “thy people.” He is also the head of the angelic army which upholds the Light in its eternal battle against the evil of this world.

As recorded in the New Testament Christian Bible (Jude 1:9), Archangel Michael spoke to the demonic power/satan with these four profoundly powerful words: “The Lord Rebuke You.” May we call on Archangel Michael and all the divine forces now and always to raise us up out of the mire of darkness.

Mercury, which has been retrograde since May 10, will station direct next Friday, June 3, around 4 AM Eastern Daylight Time. You can read more about the meaning of this transit in my previous Mercury retrograde post.

If you’ve been experiencing some mental fog, stagnation, uncertainty, setbacks, or delays during these past three weeks, some of this may now start to resolve after Mercury moves direct and travels forward through its post-retrograde shadow phase through June 18.

Especially sensitive people may feel some destabilizing energy during the two or so days before and after a Mercury station. This is because Mercury represents our nervous system, and when the planet appears to slow, then stop and move in the opposite direction, it can throw us off a bit.

In this period now and over the coming week as the seasons are starting to shift, and Mercury moves toward its direct station, the post-lockdown world is also showing dramatic signs of change. For some of us, new insights may be coming in, and perhaps we will feel a powerful desire to create something new in our lives, and a bursting urge to break free of whatever is pressuring and restricting us. However, it is best to wait until after the direct station to move ahead and take any action (which again is June 3 at 4 AM Eastern Time).

Something else to consider is that Saturn will station retrograde on June 4 at 5:47 PM Eastern Time (9:47 PM UTC), about a day-and-a-half after Mercury stations direct. It will remain retrograde until October 23. Saturn will square Mercury at its retrograde station, which can trigger a brief time of pessimism, negative thinking, and misunderstandings.

In mundane astrology, Saturn is the significator of the economy, laboring classes, mental illness, physical disease, anxiety, misfortune, sorrows, accidents, storms, and seismic events. The economy (and especially the housing market) will likely continue to slow down during the next four and a-half months of the retrograde cycle. And, especially during the ten days before and after Saturn’s retrograde station, any of its negative significations may be most intensely activated. Certain realities may also come to light because Saturn is Sat Graha, planet of Truth.

At the same time, please keep this in mind: From May 25 to June 11, Mercury is transiting within a two-degree effective orb of the “demon star” Algol (Caput Medusa), which lies at 2 degrees and 18 minutes of sidereal Taurus in Perseus constellation. Mercury is hanging out in this area for an inordinate length of time as he moves very slowly in the week or so before and after his direct station.

https://in-the-sky.org/data/constellation.php?id=80

During this same period, Mercury is also transiting within a five-degree effective orb of Rahu, the Moon’s North Node. Algol and Rahu are both associated with the theme of decapitation.

Perseus Constellation and Caput Medusa/Algol the Ghoul

Vishnu beheading Rahu with his Sudarshana chakra.

This beheading theme is occasionally literal but more often when it influences Mercury, it symbolizes a tendency to “lose one’s head,” as in being out of control, impulsive, or misbehaving. It also represents the imbalance and chaos of our collective reality which is a result of the emotional and spiritual fragmentation that we each must examine, heal, and integrate within ourselves. The dual conjunction of Rahu and Algol with Mercury suggests the need for mindfulness and vigilance, for it is with our thoughts that we make the world.