Planet Waves Inner Space Horoscopes for May 2013 | By Eric Francis 

May is characterized by eclipses, the last two in a series of three that began with a lunar eclipse in Scorpio on April 25. Arriving twice a year, eclipse phases are times of rapid change and development. They can be evolutionary moments, and there can be a touch of unpredictability, chaos and the sense of fate operating. Check in with yourself regularly about what you’re doing, why you’re doing it and what you really want to be doing. Notice what is being said and what you’re experiencing in your relationships. Consider whether desire levels are truly compatible between you and the person you’re with — and factor this same question into anyone you want to be with. For attraction to work, it must be mutual. If you’re feeling jealousy, that’s a good time to sort out the difference between love and attachment. It’s all the difference in the world.

Aries (March 20-April 19) — Most of how we experience life is dependent on one thing: how we feel about ourselves. This is often considered an emotional experience, and in the end it may be. But you’re now down to one option, which is to use logic. This will get you past any impulses and snap judgments that you may be experiencing, and into a frame of mind where you can ask yourself what’s true and what’s not. Make sure you ask yourself how you know what you think you know, which will help you avoid certain biases that all people have about themselves. There seems to be something about yourself that you’re trying to let go of, and something else that you want to embrace. Remember that humans are creatures of habit, and what you emphasize (by any means, whether negative or positive reinforcement) is likely to increase.

Taurus (April 19-May 20) — This month’s unusual solar eclipse in your birth sign marks a special point of progress in your relationship to yourself. Taurus is famous for its black-and-white vision — that is, a struggle in seeing the gray areas in focus, and also some challenges in holding two different possibilities open at the same time. That would include two potential versions of yourself, two sets of priorities and two different sets of responses to your life. This is not about having a split personality — it’s about having a dynamic personality, which can juggle your options and engage in a productive dialog with yourself. As part of that dialog, I suggest you think in terms of methods. When you think of a goal or something you want, sketch — in pencil, and in just a few steps — a potential plan to get there.

Hello Taurus! Your 2013 Birthday Reading will be ready soon. We’re now between two eclipses on the Taurus-Scorpio axis: last week’s partial lunar eclipse, and then a Taurus New Moon solar eclipse next week (the third eclipse this season runs through different signs). This is making for a potent birthday season for you, packed with potential. Also, Saturn in your opposite sign may feel challenging, but can ultimately be a useful tool if you learn how to work with it. I’ll be covering these major influences and more in a two-part astrology reading about an hour in length, plus a special tarot reading using the Voyager Tarot by James Wanless. You can pre-order your birthday reading here for just $19.95 and we’ll email your access info to you once it is ready.

Gemini (May 20-June 21) — Many factors are influencing the sudden sensation that you’re a ‘new person’, factors that indicate this goes deeper than a feeling or a transient phase. All your inner workings, processes and challenges actually do add up to something, and when they do, you’re free to leave them behind. Perhaps core among these is your relationship with aggression, which might be something you’ve directed at yourself from time to time, a tendency to be competitive or an opinionated quality that exceeds the bounds of what’s useful in your relationships. This seems to be the thing that you can drop the most easily, in place of a way of experiencing life that’s based on empathy and understanding. You don’t need to agree with someone to appreciate their point of view. You have something to learn from everyone.

Cancer (June 21-July 22) — You’re being called upon to take up a leadership role. You’ve probably had this idea a few times lately, but now the opportunities to put it into practice are presenting themselves. There’s a creative piece to this — whomever you may gather or influence, the purpose is not really social even if it takes place in a social environment. What you’re doing is helping focus human energy. That includes your own energy: one test of who to spend time with can include whether you find someone inspiring and supportive of your own creative aspirations and projects. This is a time in your life when focusing your talent is one of your highest priorities. In such a time, idle socialization can be a serious diversion. Therefore, as you meet people, check that your contact with them enhances your ability to do what you love.

Leo (July 22-Aug. 23) — You’re in the position of visionary, and many people are counting on you. This has a few main elements. The most significant is about values; you’re the one setting the example for what is right and true. The second is strategy. You know that there must be a method, and that means taking conscious steps to doing things in a way that solves future problems rather than creates them. The third step is presentation. You’re in the perfect spot to have the ‘pulse on public opinion’, however you may define ‘the public’. You can intuitively offer a way to show-and-tell the thing that needs to be explained, in a truly appealing way. All of this is a formula for success, though I think it’s going to be a different formula and a different kind of success from what you’ve experienced before.

Virgo (Aug. 23-Sep. 22) — Though you’re a mutable (easily changeable) sign, you may be figuring out the extent to which you have some fixed beliefs that are not helping you. It’s one thing to have values to guide your life. It’s another to live in rigid belief systems that make it difficult to adapt to the realities of existence on the planet. If you find yourself struggling with anything (such as sexual guilt, confusion about someone you desire, or acting in ways that are designed specifically to please others), I suggest you consider what fixed beliefs are influencing those experiences. Some old idea of what is supposed to be right and what is supposed to be wrong is simply not working. Note, those ideas come from somewhere; you didn’t make them up. But whether you continue to carry (or drag) them around is another matter — a matter of choice.

Libra (Sep. 22-Oct. 23) — What you’re going through is not as big of a deal as it seems. It would help considerably if you were less judgmental of yourself, which would help you be less judgmental of others. The whole judgment thing is indeed a vicious circle, and forgiveness has to enter the picture somewhere. Your chart suggests you’re playing the role of harsh parent to yourself more than the role of trusted friend. As the month develops you will have leverage points where you can make decisions concerning how you feel about yourself. These might seem to be emotional, though there is a logical access point. Asking yourself whether something makes sense is a good place to start. I don’t mean makes sense in terms of internal logic — I mean makes sense in terms of being happier or getting what you want from life.

Scorpio (Oct. 23-Nov. 22) — There’s plenty you can learn from the people you care about, and even from the people who annoy you the most. You’re being confronted with a diversity of situations that are challenging you to update your ideas about relating to others. You’re seeing the results of your old ideas, and you may be seeing past versions of yourself dramatized in the actions of others. Mainly, I think that your charts are pointing directly to the value of being flexible and able to negotiate, without being a pushover. Negotiation is something that should produce a workable result for both people involved in the conversation. That starts with you knowing what works for you, and listening to what others say works for them, then exploring the common ground.

Sagittarius (Nov. 22-Dec. 22) — One way or another, healing — or the need for healing — surfaces in every relationship. Maybe that’s because love brings up everything unlike itself. Maybe it’s because we carry around so many prejudices from our past relationships, and those obscure our view of who we’re actually with. I suggest you honor the healing aspect of your relationships though without putting that on a ‘higher’ plane than celebrating life. One of our biggest collective problems is pleasure anxiety (that is, tension, guilt or other issues around simply feeling good). In that regard, sincere, wholesome pleasure counts as a form of release from pain and anxiety. Yet along the way, there will be questions, some pain might arise, and in your chart, there’s the question of what to do along that borderline where passion meets anger. Devote yourself to listening and you will have all the information — and the love — you need.

Capricorn (Dec. 22-Jan. 20) — You don’t need to feel awkward about your sexuality. I mean, you can if you want, but you’re attractive and you’re making an impression on people. That means they’re noticing you, though you may not feel okay about that. If there was ever a time in your life not to be a slave to your hangups, this is the time. If there was a moment to commit to your growth as a sexual being, you’re standing in it right now. Get used to the fact that to some extent, this is a deeply private experience that by definition others will be finding out about. You’re at the point where your prior personality structure cannot contain the growth or the energy that’s brimming out of you now. Get used to that fact and you’ll have a whole new way to feel good about who you are.

Aquarius (Jan. 20-Feb. 19) — I trust that by now you’ve figured out that there’s no point resisting progress. You’re growing, you’re maturing, and you’re being called to bigger and better things than you may have ever dreamed possible. Yet this is not a fairytale; you’re living an actual journey of maturity, which has many elements. One of them is fully embracing adult responsibility. Another is hearing the call to leadership. Yet another is recognizing that time is finite, which is another way of saying that you must use time as your ally rather than treating it as an enemy. Time is a resource, and it’s one that you have the ability to use wisely. One way to avoid wasting time is to invest your energy in who and what is present in your life now, rather than obsessing over the past. The past leads nowhere; the present will lead you into the future.

Pisces (Feb. 19-March 20) — This is a passionate season and it may be especially so for you. I suggest you put your heat and light into everything you’re doing, and be fully present in your own life and in the world. You’re radiating from the inside out, and you’ve surpassed the whole ‘invisible Pisces’ thing. You don’t have to concern yourself with what results you’re going to get. Do what feels right; associate with the people who feel right; and make the changes you need to make along the way. I suggest you put lots of energy into communicating what you feel, including in conversations, in writing and in creative modes like music, photography and art. This is all leading to something, though I won’t predict what. I can tell you that there will be some exciting developments later in the month that will spring from the love that you pour into your life and the world right now.