As the month begins we move into the resonance of Maia, the goddess for whom this month was named. She is the biggest star of the Pleiades, the Seven Sisters held sacred around the ancient world, and the mythical mother of various divine beings, including Hermes and Shakyamuni Buddha.
She comes in the middle of Taurus, a sign originally associated with the sacred cow, whose consort was the bull. As Nigel Pennick notes in The Pagan Book of Days,
The Anglo-Saxon name of May was Thrimilemonath, thrice-milk month, because cows give milk three times daily during the month of May.
Milk, like the verdant foliage that cows (ideally) eat, was related to abundant supply.
In their book, The Knot of Time, Astrology and the Female Experience, authors River and Gillespie reveal that:
In Egypt the cow was the most ancient form of the Goddesses Isis, Hathor and Neith. The cow-mother splashed the sky with stars (called the Milky Way to this day), and she was the creator of all things… Far from being treated as stupid, the cow was the symbol of the Goddess’ love for her creatures, nurturing them with her milk.
At what point in history did people stop feeling worthy of abundance?
Could it have to do with the appearance of a vengeful God who in Genesis 3:19, throws Adam and Eve from the garden with the curse, “You will eat food by the sweat of your brow until you’re buried in the ground”?
Whether or not we ascribe to this Biblical legacy, we have been born and raised in what I term a culture of sacrifice of which old bully Jehovah forms a part, and where it is somehow wholesome to renounce our prosperity.
We will have a chance to look at this and other subtle programming as May begins, when for the first time in over ten years Jupiter, Saturn, Mars, Pluto and Mercury will all be retrograde….Get the whole story now! Become a Premium Subscriber! Or, if you are already a Premium Subscriber, log in here.
Crystal Pallas Pomeroy, Maya’s daughter and astrological protégé, offers in-depth astrological consultations from her home in Mexico, in person or via Skype. She is a noted author as well as a regular radio and television commentator on esoteric topics, and leads a spiritual and healing ministry in Mexico City. Crystal offers workshops on astrology, the sacred feminine, indigenous spirituality, and the goddess in beautiful locations throughout Mexico. Her book Angels & Goddesses (Llewellyn, Spring 2022) is available now. Reach Crystal by email here.