May 2017
Thrown for a Loop
A week and a half into May, the god of surprise may appear at our window and set it rattling.
Mercury conjunct Uranus is meant to unsettle our opinions and communications. It often does so by lobbing something unexpected our way.
This is a cosmic trick, to force us to think differently.
If we could suspend our fear of surprise for just a minute — okay, maybe for a week: the conjunction peaks 5/9-10, but the Full Moon exaggerates its effect — we could get a lot out of transits like this.
We’d be more likely to embrace changes that would be good for us – not just in an eat-your-spinach kind of way, but in a life-electrifying way.
Highest use of Uranus
At its highest, this transit gives us a chance to exercise a more advanced (Uranus) use of thought (Mercury):
a heightened version of our unique intelligence. We’re snapped further awake, inspired by the kind of change that we’d never arrive at on our own – that is, if we tried to figure it out with our logical minds.
Like the other transpersonal planets, Uranus knows more than our personality knows. When aligned with Mercury, it brings us a mental invigoration that’s exactly what we need.
So why do we mostly opt for the intellectual equivalent of dozing in front of a TV in a stuffy room? Because change like this is by nature disruptive. We can’t control Uranus, and we don’t like that.
But those who work with the outer planets know that the most exciting transits are the ones that knock us for a loop.
Neptune square
Neptune, another outer planet, rears its head later that week. On May 11th it squares Mars: the swirling waters of the deep psyche surround and challenge our will to act.
Here is another case 
of a conscious part of the psyche being shanghaied by a part of the mind (if “mind” is the right word) that we don’t control.
Mars is the behavior; Neptune is the imagination – or whatever you want to call that sea of irrational contents that enriches us, yet confuses us when it floods in, unbidden. These two planets are an awkward mix, at best.
In this conflict between Gemini (Mars) and Pisces (Neptune), our sense of self is struggling to cope with an influx of irrational material without being thrown off course. We may feel the walls eroding between our waking and dreaming lives.
Although we are conditioned to think of this as a negative thing, it is an invitation to get in touch with our invisible selves. The square enhances all activities that depend upon psychic knowing.
Forgive yourself if you’re feeling a bit scattered. This isn’t a time for stringent focus; it’s a time to melt into what we’re doing.
Saturn opposition
When the end of the month rolls around, however, it is time to concentrate. Circumstances will probably dictate a need to cut back and tighten up. Saturn opposes Mars 5/28-9, inhibiting our actions temporarily, so that we can structure our work and put up appropriate boundaries. Whatever we’ve been doing, it’s time to take stock.
If we hit a snag, it doesn’t mean our plan is wrong or our project is a failure. It just means we need to define our limits. If some authoritative person or agency arises to impose these limits, we may be tempted to blame them; but that’s missing the point of the transit.
Don’t blame Saturn, either. Blame is a waste of time.