Timeline Astrology

When life begins to make sense

There are periods where things begin to open. Understanding deepens. Opportunities arise. There’s a sense that life is moving in a meaningful direction.

This is often the domain of Jupiter. But Jupiter doesn’t just bring growth; it brings perspective. It helps you see the larger pattern behind your experiences.

At its best, it offers guidance, support, and expansion that feels aligned.

But even here, there can be excess, too much of a good thing, or a tendency to rely on what feels easy.

In this week’s episode, I explore how Jupiter periods unfold and why they are often remembered as times of growth, learning, and possibility.

The period that pulls you into the unknown

Some periods expand your life in ways you didn’t expect.

Rāhu, the North Node, does this more than any other.

Where Ketu, the South Node, tends to remove, Rāhu amplifies. It draws you toward new experiences, new desires, and often into territory you’ve never explored before.

There can be a sense of urgency, a need to grasp something just out of reach.

At times, this leads to growth and opportunity. At others, it can bring confusion, overextension, or a feeling of chasing something that never quite satisfies.

In this week’s episode, I explore how Rāhu activates the chart through desire, disruption, and expansion beyond familiar boundaries.

The Full Moon occurs at 9.45 am BST/4.45 EDT on May 31 in the depths of Scorpio, in stark contrast to the Taurus New Moon in the middle of the month. Unlike the exalted Taurus New Moon, the Moon has fallen in Scorpio. What began with high expectations may now feel heavy when things do not unfold as imagined, or when something changes. Yet everything serves a purpose. This Full Moon illuminates the darker corners of the psyche, bringing awareness to what needs to be surrendered.

Surrender is not a mental choice, but a process, and one that may feel especially intense leading up to this Full Moon in Scorpio. This is not just about surrender, it’s about devotion: surrendering to how you think things should be, giving up your need to control outcomes.

Anurādhā refers to Kṛṣṇa’s devoted lover and the loyalty reflected in this lunar mansion. It is ruled by Mitra, the god of friendship, highlighting the potential for agreement, co-operation, and support from others, but only once you have committed yourself.

Despite the Moon’s weakness and strong feelings of vulnerability, Mars is powerful in Aries and casts an exact 8th house aspect onto the Moon, bringing the courage to confront and remove what this Full Moon reveals, and protect what needs protecting.

Jupiter changes signs the following day, suggesting a shift in atmosphere and perspective. Once you surrender to life’s changes, something lighter and more hopeful can emerge. The symbol of Anurādhā is the lotus flower, which rises from the mud. Without the mud, without your darker thoughts and feelings, you cannot blossom. These are the soil from which your true devotion arises.

When life demands action

Some periods in life don’t wait for you to be ready. They push you into action.

Mars is one of those periods.

It brings heat, urgency, and the need to do something. Things that have been building beneath the surface suddenly require expression.

At its best, Mars gives courage, initiative, and the strength to cut through what’s been holding you back.

At its worst, it can bring conflict, frustration, and actions taken too quickly or not at all.

Much depends on the position and strength of Mars in your birth chart.

In this week’s episode, I explore how Mars periods activate the need for effort, challenge, and decisive change.

Why does everything feel more intense sometimes?

Not all life changes are visible.

Something happens beneath the surface, in mood, perception, and feeling.

The Moon governs your inner landscape and instinct for what feels good, pushing away what feels bad.

During a Moon period, life can feel more immediate, more personal. What we experience isn’t just what happens, but how deeply we feel it.

In this week’s episode, I explore how these periods shape our inner world.

The New Moon occurs in Taurus at 9.00 pm BST/4.00 pm EDT on May 16. While the Sun’s recent exaltation brought fresh energy and new beginnings, the Moon’s exaltation in Taurus offers stability, nourishment, and a deeper appreciation of life.

Taurus grounds the mind, drawing scattered thoughts into something tangible, calming, and enjoyable. With the planets currently gathered on one side of the lunar nodes, emotions and experiences can feel more extreme, making it especially important to embrace moments of peace, pleasure, and connection when they arise.

This may come through enjoyable activities, meaningful company, or ideally both. Without grounding sensual experiences, the mind can drift too far into the unreal and restless pull of Rāhu, even while Ketu opens the door to deeper spiritual insight.

This exalted New Moon takes place in Kṛttikā lunar mansion, which brings stability through purification and discernment. Kṛttikā cuts away what is unnecessary or unhealthy, helping restore clarity and mental balance.

Even something as simple as spending more time in sunlight can help uplift the mind at this time. The Sun is strongly connected with Kṛttikā, illuminating and energising the mental sphere.

There is a particular relief in returning to the senses after becoming lost in thought. As the planets gradually move toward Ketu in the coming months, there is a growing call to simplify, release excess, and recover inner poise.

Use this exalted New Moon to begin the clearing process.

The period that defines who you are

The Sun represents identity, purpose, and direction. When it becomes active, life has a way of bringing you into focus.

There’s less room for negotiating (Venus) and more pressure to stand in your own authority.

This week’s episode explores how Sun periods shape your path forward.

When the beauty of existence reveals itself

After the uncertainty of Ketu, Venus brings you back into the world of sensual pleasure, happiness, and appreciation.

I once heard from a client who had entered their Venus period, who said it was like "a soft landing, after being in freefall."

After the shadows come connection, beauty, desire, and relationship. But Venus isn’t just about love—it’s about what you value. And what or who you attract into your life.

During a Venus period, life often becomes fuller. An experience of pleasure in itself is quite nice. Having experienced a period of Ketu previously, i.e., a period of loss, those pleasures are something altogether more enjoyable.

If you were immortal, pleasures would soon lose their sheen.

In this week’s episode, I explore how Venus periods unfold.

May could feel like a mixed bag, bringing both a sense of ease and challenges. You may seek pleasure where you can, especially amid turbulence in the world. There can be a tendency to overindulge as a way to cope or reward yourself, so it’s worth being mindful of excess.
Mars will move out of the uncertainty of Pisces by May 11 and step into Aries for a more energised period. Until then, the Sun helps out in Aries through the first half of the month, supporting confidence, even if things are unclear. By the time Mars moves in, it adds a renewed sense of courage and initiative, but also more impulsivity.
In the world at large, we could see more fighting. With Mars, the planet of war, in Aries, the sign of war, we’re building into a more volatile period, which, by the time Mars meets with Uranus in July, sets things off in a more dramatic way, especially as it squares the lunar nodes.

No transit exists in a void, so we must factor Mars’ transit through Aries into what’s going to happen in July. Typically, this means wars (Aries) leading to issues with recourses (Taurus), which later impacts those in leadership roles, as Mars in Taurus squares Leo.

As Mercury enters Taurus on May 14, Venus enters Gemini, which means they are exchanging signs. This bodes well for negotiating the best terms for all concerned, even if Mars wants what it wants, regardless. For some, this may express itself as being able to do the necessary while being able to compromise.
We’re heading into a more positive period by the end of May, as Mercury, Venus, and Mars line up in strength, and Jupiter makes its way towards exaltation. When planets are in a stronger position, even a ‘cruel’ planet like Mars, we tend to see them at their best.

By the time Jupiter enters Cancer by June 1, making May the last month Jupiter transits Gemini, we're in a better place, even if it’s initially only in our expectations.  

The Full Moon, which occurs at 18:23 BST/ 13:23 EDT on May 1, is in Svātī, a lunar mansion known for scattering energy. Its symbol, a sprout blowing in the wind, reflects movement and change, and its ruler, Vāyu—the god of wind—speaks to strength developed through instability. Libra itself is about balance and discernment. What appears as indecision is often a careful weighing of options before committing.

This Full Moon is aspected by the North Node (Rahu), closely tied to Svātī, and Jupiter in Gemini, which adds to a sense of mental and energetic dispersion. Yet Venus, ruler of Libra, is strong and more grounded in Taurus, showing the potential to stabilise and direct this energy productively.

As the Moon moves into Scorpio, passing through Viśākhā, the tone shifts from diffusion to decision. Once a direction is chosen, momentum builds quickly. The Full Moon reminds us that release is part of progress. Letting go of what is no longer needed creates space for what comes next.

The Sun is strong during this phase, exalted in Aries, amplifying vitality and confidence. This strength is reflected in the Moon, lending an overall positive tone. Even so, emotions may run high, with a sense of excitement and movement in the air.