You’re receiving this because at some point, you chose to ride the cosmic waves instead of resisting them—and signed up for the Cycles newsletter.
Hello Reader,
Happy month of May! Here are the shifts for this week.
In the skies
Monday, May 4 finds us with the Moon in the mutable fire sign of Sagittarius, which loves expansion, adventure, and grand visions. You know—the big picture, the bird’s-eye view. Sagittarius is generally outgoing energy—the perfect host or hostess of the party—connecting guests and ensuring nobody is left out of the co-mingling. That is, unless Sagittarius falls in a more introverted space in your chart, like the 4th house of home or the 12th house of behind-the-scenes work.
Tuesday, May 5 sees the Moon entering Capricorn, but not until around 3 pm US EDT. So if you are on the East Coast, you may go through most of the day before you feel the sobering contraction shift into restrained Capricorn.
Capricorn is our inner executive. It values systems and efficiency—not simply the tidying and label-making of Virgo. It comes after Sagittarius to bring focus. Now that you’ve had your monthly moment of vision and connection with big ideas (thank you Sagittarius), what would it take to put them in motion? And more importantly—which idea is worth pursuing, and which is better left for now?
Both Monday and Tuesday feature a prominent aspect in the skies: Mars squaring Jupiter. The planet of energy and action (Mars) is at cross purposes with the planet of vision, optimism, and expansion (Jupiter). If you have this aspect in your natal chart, you may feel it more strongly. In any case, it bears some caution against overstretching or overdoing. Even at odds, the two can push us into overactivity—and eventual exhaustion.
Mark Wednesday, May 6 on your calendar, as it may be the most challenging day of the week. This is when Pluto practically stalls in the sky—it stations. For several days, Pluto hovers in the same spot before beginning its retrograde motion.
Pluto moves slowly in general, and its long direct and retrograde periods stretch over months, gradually building toward something and then fading. They are very difficult to track or notice.
Pluto stationing, however, is concentrated over just a few days and can be felt more acutely—things may stall, anxieties may spike, and all of it without a clear explanation. Pluto is notoriously difficult to spot in the psyche—we just feel off without knowing why.
Pluto is currently at 5°30′ Aquarius, and it will remain there each day until May 12, when it finally shifts to 5°29′ Aquarius. If you have planets around this degree in any sign, you may feel the Pluto effect more strongly than others. Pluto connecting with a sensitive point often shows up as deep foreboding, anxiety, or a sense that external life no longer holds the meaning it once did.
The trick with Pluto is to stay still, accept what is happening, and allow it to unfold at its own pace. The more you run around, fret over what Pluto is doing, or try to force movement, the more intense it can feel. In my experience, the only thing that has helped is to pause and tell myself, firmly, three times: I am being released. I am being released. I am being released.
Thursday, May 7 does not bring major shifts. From 10:18 am (US EDT) onward, the Moon is Void of Course. This usually means things continue as they are—no major turning points or lasting developments. Even if something appears significant, it is unlikely to stick.
On Friday, May 8, we have another Pluto-themed day simply because the Moon enters Aquarius around 3:27 am US EDT and passes over Pluto. Aquarius being a fixed air sign likes social groups and networks and future-oriented activities. It works well for goals and plans as well, especially if they involve mental activities.
Saturday, May 9, the Moon continues in Aquarius. At 5:10 pm US EDT, it squares the Sun—we have the Last Quarter Moon before next week’s New Moon. This is a good time to take stock of what you’ve done so far this month. It’s the final push to complete something already in motion. In about a week, we reach the New Moon—a more inward moment for reflection, insight, and new ideas, but not quite for completing tasks in the physical world.
On Sunday, May 10, the Moon enters Pisces at 1:39 pm US EDT. Moon-in-Pisces time can feel spacey and dreamy. For me, this is peak procrastination. If you wake up next Monday and don’t find my newsletter in your inbox, you may as well blame Pisces for that lapse.
Not to worry, though. I’ll most likely give myself the Liver flow to harmonize that Pisces energy and muster enough momentum to write at least a brief letter. At the very least, it will be full of insights—Pisces tends to make me especially intuitive. :-)
Steady the system
The lunar energies for this week and their corresponding JSJ 12-fold Function Energy aspects are:
Moon in Sagittarius — Harmonize Diaphragm FE
Moon in Capricorn — Harmonize Umbilicus FE
Moon in Aquarius — Harmonize Gall Bladder FE
Moon in Pisces — Harmonize Liver FE
You can read about my latest energy experiment on the Travelers Guide to Healing Blog here:
https://www.travelersguidetohealing.info/2026/04/gall-bladder-fe-harmonization-for-cold-extremities/
Go deeper
Several years ago, I gave a workshop on Introduction to Astrology. Here is a video from that workshop that showcases how I view the astrological chart and its four angles.
Hindsight
As I already mentioned, the energy shifted around mid-April for all of us. I’ve talked and written about it, but here is the most tangible proof of that shift so far.
In the past two weeks, I’ve created 15 short videos on various topics. I would often go to my car in the parking garage at work, or pull over on the side of the road, and record whatever was on my mind that day. All the videos are posted on my Effortless Reality channel on YouTube and Spotify.
Here is where you can find them if you’re curious what topics and ideas came through.
Spotify:
YouTube:
If you enjoy the videos, feel free to like them or subscribe so the channel can reach more people.
— Tatiana
