If you were expecting some kind of sun sign nonsense, forget about it. This is real astrology for the real world, not some mystical mumbo-jumbo psycho-babble word salad. If it's real astrology for yourself that you want, you can get it by phone or in print. And if you need help deciphering the astrological glyphs in the graphics accompanying this article, see Astroglyphs: Astrological Symbols Guide. Please note: this forecast is expressed in terms of Universal Time (UT, aka GMT). Location for all mundante charts is set for the Great Pyramid at Giza; the choice being strictly arbitrary in any case. Also please be aware that, while I never change a forecast once it's published, I do post errata to acknowledge typographical errors and the like.

PLEASE NOTE: This month’s forecast incorporates elements of (and refers to) my complete 2015 World Forecast Highlights (38 8-1/2 x 11” illustrated pages); focused, amplified and elaborated with details for the month as appropriate. The full version of my 2015 World Forecast Highlights is available in hard copy by mail ($75) or as a PDF document by email ($50). Orders may be phoned in (toll-free from anywhere in North America to 800-527-8761), and charged to any major credit card. PayPal orders may be placed direct from your own PayPal account page to rnolle@astropro.com – or by using the AstroPro PayPal order page.

Tomorrow is the most important thing in life.
-- John Wayne
 

The pattern of the last six months still holds: I’m still very much overwhelmed with work from client consultation calls and report orders, to the point that once again I have to throttle back on this month’s forecast. There’s just no room in my schedule to fully expound (let alone edit) all I see coming our way this month. Around here, things usually slow down in May, but there’s been no slacking off yet. Never fear, you’ll find this month well covered in the full version of my 2015 World Forecast Highlights. That said, here’s the skinny on May:

The Skinny

We’re in for another round of amplified storm and seismic activity here on Earth, stirred up by even more of a surge in solar storms than we saw last month – thanks in part to the May 7-June 24 Mercury Max cycle, the second one of the year. With the ongoing Uranus-Pluto square remaining within just a few degrees of exact all month, stirred up by the mid-May Mars-Saturn opposition, socio-political strife doesn’t begin to taper off until after the June 15 Sun-Mars conjunction. And the May 7-June 24 Mercury Max also emphasizes the importance of all things Mercurial: planning, communicating, transportation and commerce among them.

The Lingering Uranus-Pluto Quadrature

The Uranus-Pluto square that was exact on March 17 remains very close and still quite significant well into May - in fact, right on through the June 15 Sun-Mars conjunction. (The same alignment present at the outset of the Arab Spring.) Not to belabor the point, but the Uranus-Pluto quadrature has been the single most significant planetary alignment in the heavens ever since 2011, and remains so into 2016 – giving way gradually to the Jupiter-Saturn square of 2015-2016.

As I’ve been saying and writing for years now – most recently, in the full version of my 2015 World Forecast Highlights – this alignment signals economic, technological, social and scientific revolution. The most obvious manifestation along these lines, to hear the media tell it, is demonstrations, riots, revolutions, and wars civil and international. All this turmoil undermines the sense of certainty, stability, security and familiarity that tends to keep the masses from running amok. Consequently, an epidemic of criminal behavior grow and spreads, at the interpersonal level (crimes against property and persons, from one-on-one to mass murder and terrorist atrocities). You’ve seen it for several years now, just as forecast. It’s not over yet, but it is in the home stretch.

In particular, be aware of the potential for these outbursts within a few days either way of the full moon on the 4th and the new moon on the 18th. The latter episode will likely be the most intense of the month, amplified as it is by the Mars-Saturn opposition on the 15th (in effect from the 12th through the 19th).

Such developments have been the stuff of headlines for several years now, and will be for a good year to come before some measure of sanity and stability begins to reassert itself. To the extent that you can steer clear of such situations, do your absolute best. In particular, be on the alert if you were born with significant placements around the middle of the cardinal signs (Aries, Cancer, Libra and Capricorn), and the early part of the mutables (Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius and Pisces): check your chart! Financial system paroxysms and geopolitical risks make for a witch’s brew at times like this, as well. A good time to go to cash and sit it out, and to look for new buying opportunities when equities and commodities take a dive.

Geophysical Storm Signals

Last month’s geocosmic shock windows – the solar and lunar periods of extra vulnerability to strong storms with high winds and heavy precipitation, as well as moderate to severe earthquakes (magnitude 5 and up) and volcanic eruptions – were amplified by a solar storm signal, running from April 21 to 27. These periods are associated with strong solar flares (M and X-class), Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs), and the resultant surges in geomagnetic activity (Kp 5 and up). What’s the solar activity connection with storms and seismic surges here on our home planet? Dump Gigawatts of extra solar energy into Earth’s atmosphere and magnetosphere, and you bring an already dynamic system into a state of high activation.

There were 103 Magnitude 5+ earthquakes in April (3.4 per day), and an even dozen M6+ temblors (0.4 per day). The solar shock window described my April forecast as a storm and seismic special risk period accounted for 34 of those M5+ quakes (4.9 per day), and four of the M6+ quakes (0.6 per day) – roughly a 50% surplus in each category over the mean daily totals for the month.

Last month’s solar storm signals were associated with Mercury’s superior (far side) conjunction with the Sun: roughly two weeks after that conjunction (give or take a few days), a solar outburst can be expected. This month’s solar storm signals are also Mercury-related; but in this case, five key points in the Mercury Max cycle are the focus (give or take three days in each case).

Three of these key points come this month, while the remaining two fall in June. First up is the start of Mercury Max, which occurs when the little planet attains its maximum elongation east of the Sun: that’s May 7, this time around. Next up is Mercury’s retrograde station on May 19, when the little planet’s apparent motion stops and then begins to reverse in our skies. May 30 is next, the day of Mercury’s inferior conjunction with the Sun.

Key points during the tail end of the year’s second Mercury Max cycle come next month, on June 11 (Mercury’s direct station at the end of its retrograde) and June 24 (the end of Mercury Max, signaled by the little planet reaching maximum elongation west of the Sun). (For a more complete backgrounder of the Mercury Max cycle, see the full version of my 2015 World Forecast Highlights, or my free online article on the subject.)

Remember, each of these key points is effective over a period of three days before and after the exact event. So the solar storm warnings this time around are May 4-10, May 16-22, May 27-June 2, June 8-14, and June 21-27. These are the periods when there’s an extra risk of strong storms with high winds and heavy precipitation; as well as an uptick in moderate to severe seismic activity, including M5+ earthquakes and sizable volcanic eruptions.

These are also times when electrical and electronic devices and infrastructure are vulnerable to erratic behavior and outages. This applies not only to satellite systems, computers and networks and power grids; but also to bioelectric systems like the human body. Have your backups and backup plans ready!

The full and new moons this month meld right into the solar storm signals associated with the start of Mercury Max on the 7th (three days after the full moon on the 4th), and the little planet’s retrograde station on the 19th (a day after the new moon). I’m figuring that the most intense storms and seismic outbursts (including substantial earthquakes and volcanic eruptions) are due May 1-10 and May 15-22. These alignments are astronomical in scale, and therefore planet-wide in potential. Be on the safe side wherever you’ll be on the indicated dates, just to be sure.

That said, areas of special vulnerability during the May 1-10 shock window include Alaska, British Columbia and the US Pacific Northwest; Chile, Brazil and Colombia-Venezuela; eastern China, Japan and the Philippines, Indonesia and Australia (along an arc from Darwin to Melbourne); plus along an arc from Scandinavia down through east Africa; and the Middle East Some of the same target zones apply during the May 15-22 window, with the notable addition of Iceland, the UK and western Europe; and along a longitudinal line from Russia just east of Moscow down through the Middle East and east Africa.

Acknowledgments

All mundane astrological charts as well as eclipse and astro-locality maps are set for the Universal Time (UT) of the event, and calculated and produced using Esoteric Technologies’ Solar Fire Gold Version 7.0.8. Unless sotherwise noted, sky map images are screen captures from the Pocket Universe app for iPhone, or produced by Starry Night for Windows; storm tracks are screen captures from The Weather Channel app for iPhone; and earthquake maps are screen captures from the Earthquake Alerts and/or QuakeWatch apps for iPhone.

SPECIAL FEATURE: This month's birthdays of the famous and infamous (with astrological birth charts)

Richard Nolle, Certified Professional Astrologer consultations/orders (AmEx/Discover/MasterCard/Visa) 800-527-8761 data/fax 480-753-6261 - email rnolle@astropro.com Box 26599 - Tempe, AZ 85285-6599 - USA www.astropro.com