The week begins as the last of the weekend’s “super moon” disappears beneath the horizon.  Early in the week Mercury enters Taurus, the financial fields where the messenger will spend the next two weeks.  Mid-week, Mercury makes a blurry sextile with Neptune, while the weekend is dominated by the Sun’s conjunction with Jupiter in Taurus.  The positivity of this pairing overshadows the week, yet so does the passionate confusion emanating from Venus’ retrograde station early next week.

Mercury Enters Taurus: Asset Allocation

Mercury enters Taurus on Tuesday night. The messenger’s time in the bovine sign will be characterized by a concern with tangibles, with a special eye toward the income and outflow of monies.

Mercury in Taurus is usually syncretized with the 5 of Pentacles in the Tarot, a card sometimes titled “Worry.”  The Ryder-Waite deck’s version of this card pictures figure in a state of abject poverty, outside a church and ravaged by the winter elements.  This is not the situation that the card projects.  Instead, it is the fear of this situation that the card suggests.  The resulting impulse is to plan to have enough in lean times.  Mercury in Taurus is the farmer’s fear of a lean harvest, which would see him starve come winter.  The worry detailed here pushes us to plan carefully and work steadily.  Who said nothing good comes from fear?

Mercury will trot swiftly through grounded Taurus, making it into Gemini only a little over 2 weeks.  Use this time to turn the insights gleaned from the Full Moon’s gleaming into a plan.

Yet this concern with  possible scarcity is blunted a bit this week, as Mercury applies and completes a supportive sextile with Neptune in Pisces.  This mid-week influence blurs the stark outlines of material affairs and prompts a day or two of pleasing escapism. There is an optimism about these deliquesced days,  fueled by the Sun’s approach to Jupiter, yet the line between stress reduction and distraction is a blurry one.  Do not abandon your duties merely because your worries have gone on a short vacation.

The Sun- Jupiter Conjunction:  Effort-Reward Balance

The Sun conjoins Jupiter in Taurus Sunday morning, highlighting the efforts you’ve made to expand your stability and resources over the last year.  This is the completion of the 13 monthish Sun-Jupiter cycle, and thus a payout, a door opened as the result of repeated banging.  It’s a fine conjunction, but do not expected unearned cash or prizes to come hurtling earthward from a forgiving sky.

If you weren’t able to actualize the internal or external opportunities offered by Jupiter in Taurus, take heart, for the cycle begins anew shortly.  Jupiter will enter Gemini in June, offering a new set of avenues for growth and windows of opportunity, including free ipads for the 1,000,000^th customer.

The Lady’s Displeasure

However, lying just on the other side of the Sun-Jupiter conjunction is Venus’ retrograde station on May 15^th.   The emotional tremors have been emanating from this point for weeks, but the retrograde proper begins soon, amplifying focus on emotional, social and financial issues.  Once she puts it in reverse, Venus will continue backward until June 27th, presiding over a pair of eclipses, Jupiter’s ingress into Gemini and her very own visible crossing of the Sun.  It’s about to get interesting again.