The energy field now is Taurean—solid, grounded, persistent, determined, productive, security-loving. Taurus focuses on the concrete and the practical. Taurus is a gardener, and understands how to help things grow. Taurus is a fixed sign, and thus deals with power—a very rooted power. It is an earth sign, and thus its power is expressed through the material realms of life. Taurus is associated with all tangible resources.

Issues of power occur especially during all four of the fixed sign months—May, August, November, and February. People dig in and hang onto their positions. During these months, the Full Moons are usually also in fixed signs, and most often the Quarter Moons are also fixed. These moon phase changes are moments of stress and shift, particularly for the fixed signs, and thus opportunities for power clashes are highlighted at least three times during a fixed sign month.

Whenever one of these four months comes up, I automatically think, "important month ahead." The four fixed signs are Taurus (earth), Leo (fire), Scorpio (water), and Aquarius (air).

During the last several years we’ve had two of the major planets traveling through reform-minded Aquarius, one of the fixed signs. Each of the fixed signs challenges the others. With Saturn in Taurus for the last two and a half years, and then Jupiter in Taurus for a year, we have all lived with a conflicting Taurus-Aquarius square dominating the heavens.

Taurus is about the power of material goods, including money. Aquarius is about the power of the social good, including "progress" and reform. These values have been clashing, especially since the November 1999 Battle of Seattle, which was when preservationist Saturn in Taurus first squared reformer Uranus in Aquarius.

Saturn and Jupiter imprinted the world with Taurean values at their May 2000 conjunction. This influence will last for the 20-year cycle of that conjunction, even as Saturn and Jupiter move into other signs, which they have now done. Every May during these two decades, as the Sun vitalizes the Taurean energy field, the Taurus-Aquarius conflict will resonate anew. At this time it is expressed basically as people and nature versus profits.

Ultimately the Taurus-Aquarius power struggle can be resolved by holding the wider social good as the over-riding value, just as we do when we put the welfare of the whole family first, and then honoring Taurus by working with love and harmony with earth’s bounties, as we do in our own gardens. We are developing that process from 2000-2020, as we learn that all people are our family and all of earth is our garden. Every year May will be a peak month for exposing conflicts—and therefore stimulating growth towards wiser living.

With Saturn and Jupiter now in Gemini, we focus on intellect, connections, and communication. The Taurus garden which we work this month will be our relationships, our ideas, and our ideals.

Business and worldly affairs will move along briskly, but at the same time inner re-assessments will begin. Forces below the level of consciousness will be activated, and we will experience odd and surprising happenings which throw situations into a new, unexpected gear.

Four planets turn retrograde this month, and each of them will be featured as they slow down and turn. Next month, June, Mercury is added to the retrogrades. Assimilation is the key word with retrogrades. We slow down, turn inward, and take a real look at what is happening in our lives and in the world, and what it means to us.

Mars is of particular interest now. It has been in free-wheeling Sagittarius since mid-February, rushing merrily and righteously on its adventures, ignoring opposition. On May 11 it reaches the final degree of Sagittarius, and the shit hits the fan, as they say.

On May 11 Mars stops and turns. It then begins to return to the territory it has covered in the last two months, where it has the opportunity to make revisions in its original hasty actions. Finally, on July 19, Mars returns to the fateful spot of its meeting with Pluto in mid-March, and turns direct there to initiate new or revised action.

Many major events occurred then, around Equinox time, and several of them revolved around global warming and energy problems. It’s back to the drawing board after May 11, and new solutions can begin to emerge in late July. (We made our Daykeeper Calendar available as a download in mid-March, with the idea that problems would show up in the next few months, and we could work to perfect the process during that time. This precise nature of this download process remains an experimental part of our web publishing venture.)

Mars has a constant companion during May. Chiron, the Wounded Healer, is at Mars’ side, and exactly conjoins it on May 1 and May 27. Chiron works by requiring us to realign our energy so that we incorporate a broader range of abilities. It is associated with chiropracty, acupuncture, and all "alternative" modes of healing which work with the flow of energy.

Both wounding and healing will be major themes during May.

Chiron is also an ecologist, and during this Taurus month we may become more aware of the wounding of Earth.

Mars is the warrior, and Chiron with Mars gives the potential to be the Spiritual Warrior, to fight for the protection of spiritual values, of the earth, and of all those who are vulnerable. Lower warrior levels are also possible with this combination.

Battles now may be largely with words and ideas, for the Sagittarius-Gemini polarity, a mental axis, sounds basic chords for the entire year. Battles may also be with disease, for Sagittarius and Gemini are promoters. Together they exchange and spread not only goods and ideas, but whatever is in the air and in the environment.

The biggest battle facing us—and many people all over the world realize this, though fewer in the isolated U.S.—is corporate globalization vs. the integrity of earth. The world outside the U.S. recognizes that the scientific community gives us until 2015 to drastically cut down on greenhouse gases if we are to maintain a livable world. It is possible. There is a wealth of knowledge and technology. But do we, the people of the United States, have the political will?

California can be a prime showcase. Can we in California adopt a policy of supporting renewable energy, or will we rely for our power needs on the 23 new fossil fuel plants which are in the works?

The United States is intimately entwined with Mars-Chiron’s retrograde journey. From April 1 to August 25, transiting Mars will oppose the U.S. Mars and square the U.S. Neptune three times. Will we see, and be, the spiritual warrior—or the warrior in pursuit of unreal fantasies?

May 2001 is indeed a very important month.