Whether it strikes us as too tender, bold, or vulnerable to touch, even with love, the Scorpio Full Moon on May 12 dredges the depths of intimacy.
How much do we know about our desires? Do we truly understand what others’ hearts harbor? Curiosities such as these are piqued by Mercury’s inquisitiveness making stressful square aspects first to primal Pluto under the Full Moon, and then to courageous Mars (exact May 17), which could turn up some power struggles unless we ask ourselves to be as ‘vulnerageous’ (courageously vulnerable) as we may wish others to be. All in all, this lunation could present us with the opportunity to take risks we have been postponing, or to embrace a truth calling for acknowledgement.
We’re also finally free of Mars retrograde (October 2024 - May 2025)!
The last days of 2025’s Venus retrograde (January 27 - May 16) symbolize moving into fresh territory after an extended period of recalibrating life’s energy and reappraising what we value and how we value it. The symmetries of Venus will form a pleasant trine aspect with valiant Mars (exact May 22), bringing ease to any adjustments that the Venus and Mars retrogrades have turned up, and indicating a smooth entry for many critical new (or renewed) connections. The meanings contained in the fated or destined events of the Venus retrograde may begin to make more sense as May progresses.
We may still have shedding to complete or fully integrate, as Jupiter’s spreading horizons approach the third and final square with Saturn’s limitations.
This influence is reflected in a rough changing of the guards. Our natural need for growth, symbolized by Jupiter, is running counter to the past or unreflective patterns of behavior, symbolized by Saturn. And yet Saturn’s entry to initiatory Aries on May 24, joining the divine depths of Neptune, indicates the birth of new gods and goddesses, meaning the primary forces that animate the collective psyche. Jupiter’s square to Saturn since June 2024 has warned us that we may be walking in shoes that are too small for us, that we must recognize how we have matured and orient to and through the archetypes or forces that are life-giving and appropriate for these times. Otherwise, we might risk creating a life that has ceased living, just going through the motions.
Sun Conjunct Uranus
The arc of the Moon fills up with the deep waters of Scorpio on May 12 at 9:55 am US/Pacific, dredging up our desire for honesty and the reality of the vulnerability required to achieve it. The consciousness of the Sun may feel confident and sure in his impulse to bring light to the unconscious depths of the Scorpio Moon, but this lunation could pose the question:
How much honesty can we handle?
Some of the more hidden parts of our psyche may not agree with the kind of exposure that the Scorpio Full Moon indicates. Yet Uranus’ devil-may-care attitude conjoins the Sun (exact May 17), and we may not be aware of the risk we are taking for some time, though that’s not entirely a bad thing. Sun-Uranus could breathe new life into areas that have grown stagnant, or help us shake off habits and routines that have grown far too comfortable and dull. We may need to shake things up a bit, be bolder than usual, and pursue the truth calling us to action, whether that is being more true to ourselves or the things that matter to us.
Mercury Square Pluto
Mercury Square Mars
We may experience a burning curiosity as Mercury makes a potent square aspect to the intensifying power of Pluto (exact May 12), driving a desire to know what is hidden beneath the surface of things, a drive to understand what is underneath the pleasant facade. Confrontations may be necessary, and getting things off our chest could feel good. But if we ask others for honesty, we should expect to offer transparency in return. Otherwise, an unpleasant power struggle could ensue with little to show for it.
Since messenger Mercury will go on to square the fighting spirit of Mars (exact May 17), correlating to a sharp wit and verbal sparring, we might look for the more relational and less transactional method of gathering information. Could we treat the subject of our curiosity with dignity? Though our sparring partner might be less virtuous and we may genuinely need to protect some information, a good-faith attempt at mutual transparency could go a long way.
Venus Trine Mars
Now that we are out of the turbulence of Venus retrograde’s revaluation process and Mars retrograde’s recalibration of our mission(s) in life, it’s naturally time to move forward from the consequences of all that has been turned up and turned over. Mars is covering new ground as of May 3, and Venus will soon be out of the shadow of her retrograde path on May 16, with both of them slowly forming a harmonious trine aspect (exact May 22).
Wherever the recent Venus and Mars retrogrades have impacted our social networks, professional trajectory, love life, or relationship to money and the exchange of energies, this aspect suggests more ease with adjustments in those areas.
This influence supports bringing new contacts and relationship patterns into our lives. However, due to lingering insecurities, the old ego may still have a few rough edges to smooth out. The first part of 2025 has been a particularly fated or karmic period for our meaningful relationships, with karma exhausting itself—relationships passing full flowering and beginning to wither—and stimulating vitally important new buds of connections.
Jupiter Square Saturn
Saturn Into Aries
The karmic workings of relational Venus are mirrored in Jupiter’s third and final square to Saturn, which is growing closer to its final exact aspect. This year-long transit is rounding out its examination of how the past and our ingrained habits (Saturn) create friction with the future and our need to grow and develop (Jupiter). This final hard kiss between Jupiter and Saturn closely involves Neptune's profound imagination. It turns our gaze towards the future to initiate plans and release any fears that would bind us to what is no more.
The old structures of our lives—key relationships, jobs, institutions, work/play balance, and our commute—cannot hold us any longer, and the transitional period is winding up. We must trust now and step off into the unknown.
2025’s major shifts in collective energies and dynamics, which naturally translate to transitions in our individual lives, are ushering in a new era. We may see the outlines of some of what is to come, but the details are blurry, and surprises are to be expected. On May 24, the structuring qualities of Saturn enter the pioneering sign of Aries for the first time since 1999, bringing the second of 2025’s big energetic refocusing. Aries is hot and fast, unlike Saturn's dry, cold, and slow nature, making it a sometimes awkward combination. We might notice what happens in our lives the first week or two of Saturn in Aries, especially concerning work, duties and obligations, social expectations, and whatever is problematic, as well as our sense of fate or destiny or the repetition of events and patterns. Those first few weeks can provide a preview of just a few things we might expect during the entire three-year transit of Saturn through Aries.
For some, Saturn’s Aries ingress will bring welcome clarity to the confusion of Neptune, who also just entered Aries on March 31 for the first time in 150 years, adding an exclamation point to the start of a new engagement cycle with the imaginal realm.
That we have truly arrived in a new era could fully land in our consciousness.
Our new envisioning of the world may receive more order and become more real, something we can hold in our hands. For others, there could be more fear of what is to come, closing the heart and inhibiting creativity. Whether we can animate our imagination or hold it suspended in a state of disbelief will unfold throughout the rest of 2025.
As the Earth process moves through an era of quickening evolution, we might imagine ourselves as a doorway between times, with ancestors and future beings fully present now, with their mistakes, their victories, all consequences intact and shouting words of encouragement, standing here with us. As the American author Terry Tempest Williams wrote in an appeal for the preservation of wilderness as an act of preserving humanity itself, “The eyes of the future are looking back at us and they are praying for us to see beyond our own time.”
Full Moon in Scorpio by Moon Sign
The Moon represents the materia of the anima mundi or Soul of the World, symbolic of the sacred body and its interwoven interdependence with all of nature. The Moon describes our deepest vulnerabilities and profound capacity to connect with others. Full Moons amplify energy and emotions, and this lunation invites us to take risks in the service of honesty and connecting with the truth that pursues us.
Let’s see how the Scorpio Full Moon impacts your own Moon placement!
♈ Aries Moon
There is a time for winning and a time for losing, Aries Moon. And there is also a time for all parties in a contest to win! The Scorpio Full Moon illuminates the spiritual and intuitive victory when you allow yourself to know and experience the deepest connections you share with others.
♉ Taurus Moon
This lunation may announce a new era for you, Taurus Moon, as a free spirit within is liberated and begins to show itself. While you may be characteristically slow to welcome in the dawning of a new age fully, the Scorpio Full Moon will inevitably work its magic.
♊ Gemini Moon
The love which drives you to duty is under the scrutiny of the Scorpio Full Moon, and you may need to withdraw just a bit to recalibrate the flow of your attention. Love is part of the infinite game, a game always in play and focusing on growth and enjoyment, rather than winning. How much love are you allowing for yourself, Gemini Moon? This is likely to be the question.
♋ Cancer Moon
A piercing new reality is breaking into your awareness courtesy of the Scorpio Full Moon. The Sun has set on some area of your life, and so many more stars are visible in the sky now. Will you allow yourself this new vista, Cancer Moon, and use the sword of discernment to cut through the miasma of moodiness, the suffocation of sentimentality?
♌ Leo Moon
As hard as it may be, any urgency you feel to make quick or hasty decisions will need to be tempered with attempts at objective thinking, Leo Moon. This Scorpio Full Moon may touch some tender areas of your heart, and trusted friends or allies could provide a helpful sounding board to slow your reactivity and broaden your perspective.
♍ Virgo Moon
Is there enough love for everyone in the cosmos, Virgo Moon? Can it be everywhere, and is it evenly distributed? And can it also flow your way? The Scorpio Full Moon may draw forth some deep wondering about the abundance or scarcity of love, or its distribution through your life. Is there enough space for it to get in?
♎ Libra Moon
The Scorpio Full Moon represents the culmination of a series of tests of faith, which hinge on your sense of self-worth and how you value your contributions to the world. Do you continue to measure yourself and come up short, Libra Moon, or will you allow the light of this lunation to break the trance of unworthiness so that you may inhabit your true nature?
♏ Scorpio Moon
This is your Full Moon of 2025, Scorpio Moon, bringing an opportunity to assess how you have grown through the last year or so. You may be surprised at the ease that comes with the power of your inner resources, allowing you to incorporate what nourishes you and connects you to happiness, while discarding whatever does not serve.
♐ Sagittarius Moon
A longing for outer successes to align with internal success may come to your awareness with the Scorpio Full Moon. Whether it is a need for inward spiritual, emotional, and intellectual fulfillment or external recognition and validation of your significance, Sag Moon, you may be urged to make any adjustments required for the inner and the outer to converge.
♑ Capricorn Moon
A new life trajectory cycle is set to launch with your ruling planet. Saturn’s entry into the adventuring sign of Aries on May 24 and the Scorpio Full Moon illuminate how you have limited your creative growth and momentum. It may be that the perfection you seek is already present, and self-inhibition or a tendency to repetition is the flaw to recognize and release.
♒ Aquarius Moon
The necessity to be a lamp unto yourself is one of the messages emblazoned on this lunation for you, Aquarius Moon. As you contemplate your destiny and the fertile ground of your Soul, the Scorpio Full Moon would like you to remember that only you can know what limits, constraints, and necessities bind you to your purpose in life.
♓ Pisces Moon
The Scorpio Full Moon may offer a glimpse of some of the opposite traits that spring from your nature, Pisces Moon. It can be challenging to be with the tension this produces—after all, how can a person simultaneously be greedy and be generous? Or both thoughtful and reckless? The mythical sage Lao Tzu’s verses may help untie knotted thoughts: “The highest virtue is not virtuous. Therefore, it has virtue. The lowest virtue holds on to virtue. Therefore, it has no virtue.” Or, perhaps this: “What should be abolished must first be cherished.
