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Astrological Overview: May 25 - 31, 2020
Astrologer Pam Younghans writes this weekly astrological journal based on planetary influences, and offers perspectives and insights to assist you in making the best use of current energies. This column is not intended as prediction. Your own experience will be more specifically defined by transits to your personal chart.
Highlighted Aspects for This Week
All times listed are Pacific Standard Time. For Eastern Time, add 3 hours. For Greenwich Mean Time, add 7 hours.
MON: Mercury conjunct Vesta
TUE: Uranus sextile Ceres, Mercury quincunx Jupiter
WED: Mars semisquare Pluto, Mercury conjunct North Node
THU: Mercury enters Cancer
FRI: Sun sextile Chiron, Venus sesquiquadrate Saturn, Mercury quincunx Saturn
SAT: Sun sesquiquadrate Pluto, Mars semisquare Jupiter
LIFE CIRCUMSTANCES – for many or perhaps for most of us – are very uncertain right now. The combined forces of Jupiter, Saturn, and Pluto as they've aligned in Capricorn have affected more levels of our shared experience than we could have imagined, prior to the start of 2020.
Pluto's dismantling of outworn systems continues to drill far deeper than the sociopolitical realms. Strengthened by Saturn and amplified by Jupiter, Pluto is touching nearly every aspect of what we have relied on to create a sense of order in our lives. As a result, it is an ongoing balancing act, as we shift our weight and try to find stable footing while the foundation beneath us goes through this process of transfiguration.
We've all known for a long time that deep changes are needed in how human beings cohabit and in how we inhabit planet Earth – we just didn't consider, perhaps, how our small corner of the world, our personal lives, would be transformed along the way.
IT IS UP TO each of us, as we navigate so much disorder in the world around us, to create internal coherence. That work is essential, but of course also challenging when the chaos is at times as much within as without. Our emotional and mental states these days tend to be in as much flux as the world situation.
One of the first steps in creating internal order is making a commitment to a new way of thinking. This week, we have help in this regard from the planet Mercury, which rules our mental processes. Mercury is exactly conjunct (aligned with) the asteroid Vesta on Monday, and then conjoins the North Node in Gemini on Wednesday.
Vesta is not the largest, but she is the brightest object in the belt of asteroids that is located between Mars and Jupiter. As Keeper of the Sacred Flame, Vesta represents our capacity for devotion and commitment. Her alignment with Mercury in Gemini early this week improves our ability to concentrate and to direct our thoughts. And, since Vesta has a natural proclivity for spiritual work, we can more readily engage our mind as a helpful participant in our enlightenment, rather than seeing it only as a hindrance.
THE NORTH NODE is a marker for our collective "next step" in evolutionary growth. Having just entered Gemini a few weeks ago, the North Node is just beginning to bring forward the new themes that will be with us for the next 18 months.
As Mercury aligns with the North Node this week, there is an emphasis on many of these themes: on moving from judgment to acceptance, from fanaticism to rationality, from self-righteousness to tolerance, and from being thought-less to being thought-full.
This is an important week for us to ask questions and to listen objectively to the answers we receive. It is important to have a "beginner's mind," to be curious instead of judgmental. And yet, the inclusion of Vesta in the mix reminds us to hold all "truths" up to the light of our spiritual perspective. This step will help us know whether the information we receive will enhance our own growth into love and light, and or if we've simply been handed a letter that isn't addressed to us.
THERE IS TENSION – no surprise – in the coming days, manifesting through various hard aspects occurring throughout the week. Most significant is that the planet Mars is at the midpoint (halfway between) two dwarf planets, Pluto and Eris. Since Pluto and Eris are currently square each other (exact to the degree on June 14), that means Mars is semisquare both of them.
Squares and semisquares are aspects of conflict, and all three planetary objects involved in this particular brawl are known to be confrontational. It's not hard to imagine how anger and feeling victimized (Mars in Pisces), feelings of not being seen or respected (Eris in Aries), and issues of power and control (Pluto in Capricorn) might emerge over the coming days. These energies are strongest in the first half of the week.
OTHER ASPECTS this week are all "minor" aspects, but represent the ongoing shifting circumstances and unsettling energies. Here's a quick list of the ones I haven't yet touched on:
- Tuesday – Mercury quincunx Jupiter: Information overwhelm, communications coming from many sources, mental confusion, uncertainty of what to believe
- Friday – Venus sesquiquadrate Saturn, Mercury quincunx Saturn: Facing relationship and financial realities, difficulties in thinking or communicating clearly, a tendency to pessimistic thinking
- Saturday – Sun sesquiquadrate Pluto, Mars semisquare Jupiter: Deep changes challenge us to think in new ways and to rise above the feeling that nothing we can do individually can make a difference
Keep in mind, too, that we've just entered eclipse season, and that the second Pluto-Jupiter alignment is only a few weeks away (on June 29). We are reaching the midstream point in our crossing of this turbulent river of 2020, so it is vital that we continue to do our inner work of emotional balancing.
THE MORE WE consciously become the frequency we most want to see manifest on this physical plane, the more we will be contributing to the solutions instead of being stuck in old paradigms – the former "reality" that is rapidly disintegrating. This means not just believing that love is the answer. It means BEING the love that is the answer, in every area of our lives, as much as we possibly can.
A tall order for these human personalities. But we signed up for these times because we were very sure we would, finally, succeed.
Just remember that this is a lot of work – divine work, yes, but work nonetheless. Be gentle with yourself. These are exceedingly stressful times, and the energies reaching the planet are pushing us to evolve at a very quick pace. Rest, rest, rest. Love and take care of yourself, on every level.
FOR THOSE who are tracking important lunar aspects, here is this week's watch list, in Pacific Daylight Time:
- Moon in Cancer opposite Pluto: Tuesday, May 26, 2:03 p.m.
- Moon in Cancer opposite Jupiter: Tuesday, May 26, 6:06 p.m.
- Moon in Leo opposite Saturn: Wednesday, May 27, 2:42 a.m.
- Moon in Leo square Uranus: Wednesday, May 27, 2:34 p.m.
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IF YOUR BIRTHDAY IS THIS WEEK: This is a year for healing and coming into better alignment with your inspired future. The outcome of this process is greater self-confidence and a clearer sense of direction. You will be dealing with some inner resistance along the way – a fear that you might not have the energy or courage required, or that you must sacrifice your own needs along the way. The key in this regard is to hold yourself in the highest of esteem, so that any actions or decisions are based in true self-love. In this way, your expression in the world is a natural extension of the compassion you hold for yourself, instead of replacing self-care with caring for others. (Solar Return Sun square Mars, square Ceres, trine Juno, sextile Chiron, trine Saturn)
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For previous weeks of the Astrological Journal, click here.
About the Author
Pam Younghans is a professional astrologer, editor, and writer. She lives in a log home northeast of Seattle, Washington with her beloved animal companions. She has been interpreting charts professionally for over 25 years. If you are interested in an astrology reading, e-mail
