MAY, 2008

May 19- 31:

5/19 (Mon), 4:12pm HT; 5/20 (Tue), 2:12am UT:

This year's second Full Moon in Scorpio, opposite Sun in Taurus, comes now (See also 4/20).

Unlike the first Scorpio Full Moon that came a month ago right at the top of Taurus month and heralded the lusty, juicy new month of jumping lambs, green leaves and everything else that means resurgence, this second Scorpio New Moon comes only hours before Gemini month (See below). Venus is still in power, as she conjoins the Sun and opposes the Moon. Saturn in early Virgo now squares Sun and Moon, however, signaling that the gambol of mid-Spring is coming to an end now, and the methodical work of growing the rice in the Year of the Earth Rat is at hand.

5/19 (Mon):

Celtic and Irish festival of the Sacred Spring, on which wells and springs are adorned with flowers and greenery in honor of the goddess Brigid, who embodies the feminine principle of the latency of new life.

5/20 (Tue) - 21 (Wed):

Sun enters Gemini, sign of the Twins. The next 30 days, under the influence of Mercury, ruler of Gemini, are especially favorable for learning and studies of all kinds; this is why for many centuries spring final exams have been held in late May and early June in Western countries. This time favors communications, and all enterprises that are opportunistic and flexible in nature. The latter part of Gemini month, in mid-June, is uncommonly good for spiritual and holistic linkages, as Mercury moves trine (120°) from Chiron, Neptune and the North Moon's Node in Aquarius.

In some Native American calendars, Deer Month begins.

5/24 (Sat):

This day is celebrated throughout the ancient Mediterranean world as the feast of Hermes Trismegistos ("thrice-great"), de- rived from the Egyptian Neter Thoth and honored as the patron of letters, wisdom, magic, alchemy and other occult sciences. The famous saying "As Above, So Below" is but one of the Hermetic principles attributed to Hermes Trismegistos. 5/24 is perfectly appropriate as the feast of Thoth/Hermes Trismegistos because it comes just after the Sun enters Gemini. The communication-related properties of this sign were evident even in very ancient times.

Among the Baha'i community, this is one of the year's holiest days, marking the Declaration of the Bab: the day in 1844 when Ali Muhammed announced that he is the anticipated "Coming One" of all religions. Work is suspended; focus and concentration go within for clearing, forgiveness and atonement.

5/25 (Sun):

Birthday of Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803), philosopher who taught the immanence of divinity in humanity and nature.

5/26 (Mon):

Roman Catholic feast of St. Philip Neri (1516 - 1595), one of the most beloved of all saints. Philip was said to live in a state of continuous elation and ecstasy, to have performed countless miracles of healing by touch, and to have been able to read the inmost thoughts and destinies of others. One person who encountered him in the street reported that Philip would "leave me so full of joy that I could not tell which way I was going."

In the ancient Greco-Roman solar calendar, this day is the purification festival of Ambarvalia, so-called because it was customary to circumambulate the fields and pray for the continued blessing of Demeter/Ceres on the growing plants.

5/30 (Fri):

In the ancient Khemitian calendar (see 5/5), a 16-day festival cycle in honor of Ma'at, neter of Truth, begins on this day. The image of Ma'at is carried in procession to the temple of Ra in Heliopolis, symbolizing the power of Truth as equal even to the majesty of the Sun (Epipi, day 16). Ceremonies of purification are held now, and prayers are offered to Ma'at and her consort, Lord Djehuti (Thoth), for knowledge and wisdom, in what has been for thousands of years the academic season of completion and graduation.

The United States observes its Memorial Day holiday, honoring the country's war dead and commemorating the sacrifices and the horrors of war, on this day.

5/31 - 6/2 (three days):

One of the year's three great festivals in honor of the Triple Goddess, marking her transition from virgin to mother. The rites of love that are celebrated now are invocations of abundance and fertility for mothers, and good health for all. (The two other main Triple Goddess rites mark the transition from Mother to Wise Woman around Sept. 31, while the Sun is in Libra, the sign of marriage; and the transition from Wise Woman to Virgin again around Jan. 31, at Imbolc, the great Mid-Winter Festival.)

   Copyright 2008 Dan Furst. All Rights Reserved.