“Although you appear in earthly form, your essence is pure consciousness. You are the fearless guardian of Divine Light.” Rumi (1207-1273) Persian Poet

AN OPPORTUNITY FOR DAILY REFLECTION BROUGHT TO YOU BY THE SCHOOL OF PRACTICAL PHILOSOPHY

The Four of Disks This card, Lord of Power, is one which reassures us of the overall security of our material life, and also suggests that we must take time to appreciate the assets provided in such abundance by the planet upon which we live.This earth provides us with the greatest sense of security that can be experienced by a race such as ours… the ground beneath our feet; the water we drink; the food we eat; the air we breathe; the raw materials to clothe us, house us, adorn us… And for such riches, she asks nothing in return.As a result we have neglected the planet we live upon to the extent that our excesses have taken from her beyond her ability to renew and sustain. So on a day ruled by the Lord of Power, I ask you all to give something back to Planet Earth…This could be a crystal, blessed for her nourishment. Or a plant given in her honour. Or half an hour spent clearing rubbish strewn across her body. Or a few moments spent in adoration of her beauty. Or water spread across a barren dry patch of earth.And perform whichever act you choose with reverence and a sense of deep thanksgiving in your heart for the planet which sustains us all. Affirmation: “I offer my power in the service of love.”

(Angelpaths.com)

(Astrobutterfly.com)

You thought that the world was already at a tipping point? In May 2025, things are truly getting real – with Saturn, the planet of reality and structure, entering Aries.

Saturn is officially crossing the threshold – from the end to the beginning of the zodiac – following in Neptune’s footsteps. 

Neptune in Aries has come with a storm – breaking old patterns, shaking things out, creating chaos – but also seeding new potentials, inspiring bold visions, and testing new frontiers.

The 165-year Neptune cycle has already been initiated last month – and now Saturn joins in to “seal the deal” and anchor it into reality.

With Saturn entering Aries, things are getting real, folks. Saturn’s role in astrology IS to make things real; so this is pretty much a point of no return. Whatever is seeded this month sets the foundations for many, many decades to come. 

We cannot stress enough the importance of this ingress – because of its extraordinary rarity and “0 degrees/new chapter” quality. 

This is a radical new beginning. This is uncharted territory – a space where we might feel lost without a map, but also a space where the brave and the visionary will chart the course ahead.

Neptune and Saturn are joining forces at the very first degree of the zodiac – 0° Aries, the cosmic ‘reset’ button. The world is about to shift in ways we can’t even imagine yet. These are interesting times to be alive, to say the least. 

While Saturn in Aries is the transit highlight of the month, there are other important shifts and developments that create a clearer picture of what’s in the making. 

Let’s dive into the most important transits of the month:

May 5th, 2025 – Pluto Goes Retrograde

On May 5th, 2025, Pluto goes retrograde at 3° Aquarius. The foundations of this – fairly new – Aquarian paradigm are now up for a review! 

Pluto in Aquarius’ agenda is to shift the power (Pluto) away from the ‘authorities/elite’ (Capricorn) and democratize it (Aquarius). But this transition phase, this passing of the torch, is not coming without challenges.

Pluto’s retrograde at 3° is an opportunity to pause and reflect – and to make the necessary adjustments to align with what has emerged since November last year, when Pluto ingressed into the sign.

May 10th, 2025 – Mercury Enters Taurus

On May 10th, 2025, Mercury enters Taurus.

Mercury is still processing “what the heck just happened” after spending a couple of intense months in Pisces and Aries, retrograding back and forth, conjuncting Neptune, and navigating all that Pisces stellium energy.

Over the past months, Mercury has received critical information about the transition from the Neptune-in-Pisces era into the Neptune-in-Aries era. 

And now, as Mercury picks up speed, it’s ready to proceed with the “implementation phase” – inviting us to ground the insights we’ve received and take the next practical steps.

Taurus is the builder of the zodiac, so Mercury in Taurus will help us build structures, stabilize ideas, and lay down the mental foundations needed to move forward with our new plans.

May 12th, 2025 – Full Moon In Scorpio

On May 12th, 2025, we have a Full Moon at 22° Scorpio. The Full Moon is opposite Uranus (at 26° Taurus) and trine Saturn (at 28° Pisces).

The Full Moon in Scorpio completes what the intense New Moon in Taurus (two weeks prior) had initiated. The change is now absorbed, and the disruption integrated.

What once felt like chaos transforms into long-lasting opportunity.

This Full Moon in Scorpio invites us to seize the intensity and realness of the moment and make a decision – now or never.
There is a decisiveness about this Full Moon – whether we choose to proceed ourselves, or whether “Uranus makes us do it” – action will be taken.

May 18th, 2025 – Sun Conjunct Uranus 

On May 18th, 2025, the Sun and Uranus meet at 27° Taurus. This is the last Sun-Uranus conjunction in the sign of Taurus – at least for the next 80 years or so.

In its last weeks in the sign, Uranus helps us get a clearer sense of who we are – especially when it comes to the Taurus side of us, the part that’s all about stability, security, and self-reliance.
Maybe our idea of stability isn’t what we once thought it was. Maybe the very foundation we’ve been standing on has shifted. Either way, this transit is asking us to redefine what true security really means.

We are no longer the same person we were when Uranus entered Taurus, back in 2018.

By now – 7 years of Uranus in Taurus later – our sense of self-worth is no longer based on external validation, but a more authentic expression of our unique traits and gifts.

May 20th, 2025 – Sun Enters Gemini

On May 20th, 2025, the Sun enters Gemini, kicking off Gemini season.

Gemini season is when things get busy, busy, busy. 

Gemini is that part of the year before a big seasonal shift (summer in the Northern Hemisphere and winter in the Southern Hemisphere) when we feel compelled to connect, exchange, and explore as many things as possible.

Our ‘antennas’ are now wide open. This is the season to get curious, get moving, and get out of our metaphorical Taurus couch and engage with the world.

Happy early birthday to all Geminis out there!

May 24th, 2025 – Mercury Conjunct Uranus

On May 24th, 2025, we have the final Mercury-Uranus conjunction in the sign of Taurus.

If the Sun-Uranus transit a few days earlier awakened your authentic DNA, Mercury will now translate what it all means.
Since we are talking about the last Mercury-Uranus conjunction in Taurus, this transit acts as a ‘final breakthrough’ – a kind of ‘conclusion’ or ‘aha moment’ related to the Taurus sector of your life.

May 25th, 2025 – Saturn Enters Aries

Today is the big day – the big shift: Saturn leaves Pisces and enters Aries, joining Neptune in the sign.

Saturn will stay in Aries until April 2028 – that’s 3 years of serious “Aries business” in your chart.

Of course, we cannot separate Saturn in Aries’ influence from Neptune – since the 2 are very, very close together. Something serious – something important – is in the making!

A detailed report about this transit will follow closer to the date.

May 28th, 2025 – New Moon In Gemini 

On May 28th, 2025, we have a New Moon at 6° Gemini.

This is an auspicious New Moon – it is trine Pluto, sextile Neptune, and conjunct Mercury (and loosely conjunct Uranus).

We want to pay extra attention to this one – the New Moon in Gemini initiates an important configuration that we will see unfold over the next few years: a minor triangle between the “Big 3” – Pluto, Neptune, and Uranus.

So pay attention to whatever emerges – however subtle, however insignificant it may seem – because this will plant the seeds for future developments. 

May 30th, 2025 – Sun Conjunct Mercury

On May 30th, Mercury is cazimi. The Mercury-Sun conjunction – at 9° Gemini – is the culmination of the current Mercury cycle – much like a “Full Moon” or, better said, “Full Mercury.”

Whatever was initiated when the current Mercury cycle began (on March 24th, 2025) will now come into full awareness, reach clarity, or require important decisions or adjustments.

PS: Talking about a major RESET. Neptune moved into Aries last month, now in May Saturn makes the same move. Next month, Jupiter moves into Cancer, and the following month, Uranus enters Gemini. 

To work with this window of change, we created a special program called RESET, which will run throughout the month of June (mark your calendars). More information will be sent closer to the date.

The Touchstone

When the great library of Alexandria burned, the story goes, one book was saved. But it was not a valuable book and so a poor man, who could read a little, bought it for a few pennies.. The book wasn’t very interesting, but between its pages there was something very interesting indeed. It was a thin strip of vellum on which was written the secret of the “Touchstone”! The touchstone was a small pebble that could turn any common metal into pure gold. The writing explained that it was lying among thousands and thousands of other pebbles that looked exactly like it.  But the secret was this: The real stone would feel warm, while ordinary pebbles are cold. So, the man sold his few belongings, bought some simple supplies, camped on the seashore, and began testing pebbles. He knew that if he picked up ordinary pebbles and threw them down again because they were cold, he might pick up the same pebble hundreds of times. So, when he felt one that was cold, he threw it into the sea.  He spent a whole day doing this but none of them was the touchstone. Yet he went on and on this way. Pick up a pebble. Cold – throw it into the sea. Pick up another. Throw it into the sea. The days stretched into weeks and the weeks into months. One day, however, about midafternoon, he picked up a pebble and it was warm. He threw it into the sea before he realized what he had done.  He had formed such a strong habit of throwing each pebble into the sea that when the one he wanted came along, he still threw it away.  Author Unknown AN OPPORTUNITY FOR DAILY REFLECTION BROUGHT TO YOU BY THE SCHOOL OF PRACTICAL PHILOSOPHY

Elvert Barnes from Silver Spring MD, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

Elizabeth Preza

May 11, 2025 | (alternet.org)

Former Republican Rich Logis — executive director of the nonprofit Leaving MAGA — on Sunday unveiled 5 “critical guideposts” to reach loved ones who continue to support President Donald Trump, noting that in his own experience, “MAGA became all-consuming” until he “managed to find [his] way out … on [his] own.”

“It’s seemingly a daily occurrence to see testimonials from people who voted for Donald Trump but are now ready to renounce” his Make America Great Again movement, Logis wrote in Salon. “This buyer’s remorse is just beginning, and we need to provide an off-ramp for the increasingly uncertain.”

As Logis noted, “many people only care about something when it affects them personally” — and for Trump’s most fervent supporters, that realization could come in the form of deportations, tariffs or the president’s bucking of the Constitution.

READ MORE: ‘Bribery in broad daylight’: Experts stunned by Qatar plan to gift Trump $400 million ‘flying palace’

For Logis, it’s best to avoid saying “I told you so” when speaking with disaffected Trump supporters.

“That may afford instant gratification, but it only strengthens an obsequious subservience to Trump,” Logis opined. The writer also suggested people interested in making inroads with Trump’s faithful should avoid referring to “MAGA as a cult, even if you believe that term fits.”

“MAGA people will shut down,” Logis noted.

The former Republican blamed support for Trump on “three primary reasons”: “Misinformation and disinformation; a tendency to believe the worst about the “other side”; and a profound misunderstanding of capitalism and free markets, which has created widespread financial dissatisfaction.”

READ MORE: ‘Pretty bleak’: Trump-voting Nevada truckers face ‘significant hardship’ from his policies

“There will be a gradual, and then sudden, realization among many Trump voters that the chaos created, and havoc wreaked, by the likes of Trump … will harm lower-income and middle-class Americans, along with small business owners, worst of all,” Logis said.

The former Republican then offered his 5 “critical guideposts” to engaging Trump supporters:

1. “Search for relatability and common ground.”
2. “Don’t attack!”
3. “Introduce the possibility of reconciliation with their family and friends.”
4. “Rather than debating facts and policy, open up a respectful back and forth.”
5. “After you make some progress — which will likely take more than a single conversation — ask if they’re open to hearing about the regrets of former Trump supporters, which might include the work of our nonprofit.”

“I understand that you may feel the MAGA supporter in your life is racist, homophobic, misogynistic or downright unpatriotic,” Logis added. “Please consider that saying those things will absolutely not convince them to leave MAGA. The way to begin creating doubt — the necessary precursor to self-empowerment and, ultimately, to leaving MAGA — is through empathy and education.”

The Four of Swords When the Lord of Truce appears he brings with him a temporary respite, often after we have passed through trying times. This is a quiet period, which should be used to recover, regroup and stabilise. It’s important though, that we always bear in mind the fact that this is only a moment in time. Soon we shall be required to pick up the tools of life and continue on our journey.So on a day ruled by him, we’re well advised to use the internal stillness he brings to think over trouble spots, or areas of difficulty. That way we see the whole issue more clearly, and are better equipped to sally forth undaunted when the time comes.Occasionally on a day ruled by the Four of Swords there will be a requirement to bury the hatchet with somebody, or to accept their gestures of friendliness toward us. It’s important that we are reserved both in what we are prepared to offer, and what we are prepared to forgive. Truce only marks the cessation of hostilities – a brief pause during which we might negotiate a lasting peace.The one thing this card always tells us is that we have not yet finished our business here. If we fail to hold this in the forefront of our minds, we are likely to make the mistake of being unprepared for whatever comes next.So – on this day – rest as easy as you can, and locate areas of challenge, difficulty or sensitivity for future attention. Think carefully about trying to resolve anything until the influences are more supportive. Affirmation: “Plans formulate within me as I gather peace and stillness to myself”

(Angelpaths.com)

“One drop of eternity is of greater weight than a vast ocean of finite things.” Karl Barth (1886-1968) Swiss Protestant Theologian

AN OPPORTUNITY FOR DAILY REFLECTION BROUGHT TO YOU BY THE SCHOOL OF PRACTICAL PHILOSOPHY

New Thinking • May 13, 2025 Marguerite Mary Rigoglioso, PhD, holds a doctorate in humanities and master’s degree in philosophy and religion. She has taught courses on the sacred feminine and women’s spiritual leadership at various universities in the San Francisco Bay Area and in the UK. She is the founder of Seven Sisters Mystery School and a teacher of sacred knowledge and the history of virgin birth. She mentors people on their healing and spiritual paths. She is author of several books including, The Secret Life of Mother Mary: Divine Feminine Power for Personal Healing and Planetary Awakening, The Mystery Tradition of Miraculous Conception: Mary and the Lineage of Virgin Births, Virgin Mother Goddesses of Antiquity, and The Cult of Divine Birth in Ancient Greece. Her website is sevensistersmysteryschool.com. Marguerite Mary provides historical evidence and the significance of the spiritual practice of divine virgin births. She discusses how patriarchal development of religious dogma led to the underground lineage of divine birth practices and diminished awareness of women’s historical roles in religious and spiritual communities. The essential qualities of divine love, pleasure, and healing in these traditions are emphasized. 00:00:00 Introduction 00:02:33 Parthenogenesis 00:06:24 The siddhis 00:11:32 Priestesses in Ancient Greece 00:24:24 Mother Mary 00:31:42 Conception without menstruation 00:47:16 Vestal virgins 00:53:16 Sexuality taboo and shame 00:58:17 Divine love and children 01:01:09 Conclusion Edited subtitles for this video are available in Russian, Portuguese, Italian, German, French, and Spanish. New Thinking Allowed CoHost, Emmy Vadnais, OTR/L, is an intuitive healer and health coach based in St. Paul, Minnesota. She is the author of Intuitive Development: How to Trust Your Inner Knowing for Guidance With Relationships, Health, and Spirituality. Her website is https://emmyvadnais.com (Recorded on February 18, 2025)

The Nine of Disks That phrase ‘what goes around comes around’ is very relevant to this card. The Lord of Gain is a card that indicates that we have set in motion some plan or project, and we are now reaching a point of completion with it.So on the day ruled by the Nine of Disks, we need to be open to opportunities which allow us to conclude work that has been outstanding; remain alert to new chances opening up before us; and ready to seize the moment when it appears.This card accords with the ancient wisdom that we give what we get in life – so this is also a day to look for opportunities to offer our help and resources with no immediate expectation of return.Take up chances to serve – whether in a mundane fashion, or to a higher source, in the sure knowledge that the things you give with love are the ones which build a bright new world.It is the help we give to others with a happy heart, the sympathy we offer without judgement, the gentleness with which we treat ourselves and others that will change things.When we do this, we set in motion a stream of positive, caring energy, which will travel around the world and return to us – vastly changed, and yet almost the same. What we gave to somebody else with no thought of reward or gain, is what we truly gain when it comes our way again. Affirmation: “I open myself to life’s bounty with gratitude”

(Angalpaths.com)