On April 30, Jupiter entered sidereal Taurus and it will be residing in Taurus until May 2025.  Taurus being a fixed and earth sign ruled by Venus, Jupiter in Taurus has a tendency to enhance material prosperity of those who have well placed and connected Venus and Jupiter in their birth charts. Collectively, the transit of Jupiter in the earth (material) sign Taurus is viewed positive from material expansion and prosperity standpoint

From May 9 to May 16 Sun conjuncts Uranus within three degrees, and then with Jupiter from May 14 to May 24 within three degrees. Thus, over the 15 day span Sun successively conjuncts Uranus and Jupiter.  This is an extraordinary planetary event when Sun closely conjuncts two major planets within two weeks.

Conjunction of Sun with Uranus is particularly more important for presidential politics in the United States, especially for the presumptive republican presidential nominee Donald Trump since he has Sun, Rahu (the north lunar node) and Uranus conjunction in sidereal Taurus; Sun and Rahu within 3 degrees and Sun and Uranus within 5 degrees. The capricious Uranus, when conjuncts Sun US politics goes through a period of turmoil and surprises.

The most significant celestial event for this year if not the decade is the Uranus’s ingress into sidereal Taurus. After entering Taurus on May 31, Uranus stays in Taurus till Dec 16, 2024. However, with its retrograde motion Uranus returns to Aries. Then after transiting through Aries until March 16, 2024, Uranus finally reenters Taurus and will stay in Taurus for next seven years or so.  

Uranus being the planet of a sudden and uninvited change will certainly affect the matters related to Taurus in a big way. Taurus being the earth and fixed sign, the energy of extremely independent, ambitious, energetic, impulsive and capricious Uranus will be reflected in drastic changes in the material world (banking, stock brokers, financial institutes, the US Federal reserve and reserve banks all over the world) for the next seven years.  At times changes will be so severe that it will be impossible to forget them in our life time.  In addition to intense volatility in the world financial markets, we may witness a worldwide severe depression sometimes during next seven years.  But the good news is we may not experience this severity until at least May of 2025, as it will be offset by Jupiter’s materially favorable transit through Taurus.

Finally as we near the last week of May, five planets: Uranus, Jupiter, Venus, Mercury and Sun converge in sidereal Taurus.  While the interplay of these planets may yield mixed results, the energies of Uranus and Jupiter will be particularly prominent, heralding a tumultuous week filled with surprises.

Jupiter ingress Sidereal Taurus, a year of material expansion!

On April 30, 2024 Jupiter left sidereal Aries and entered the next zodiac sign, Taurus.  Jupiter’s transit from one zodiac sign to the next occurs, on average, once a year. Taurus being a fixed and earth sign ruled by Venus, Jupiter in Taurus has a tendency to enhance material prosperity of those who have well placed and connected Venus and Jupiter in their birth charts. The transit of Jupiter in the earth (material) sign Taurus is viewed positive from material expansion and prosperity standpoint. It must be noted that for an individual person, despite Jupiter’s positive influence on world material prosperity, effects of other planets in an individual’s birth chart should be taken into account to assess the cumulative chart interpretation.

At a collective level, Jupiter’s transit in Taurus means: the influence of entrepreneurs, money keepers (banks, brokerage houses, financial institutes, etc.,) will shape the future direction of our world and human evolution through not only the material expansion, but also through philosophical and spiritual debates. In general, the Taurus Jupiter is known to be very favorable for world material and wealth expansion. So from that perspective expect some positive economic changes during this period and welcome the Jupiter’s entry in Taurus.

On an individual level, for those who have dominant Jupiter in their birth charts and have Taurus, Aries, Capricorn, Scorpio, Virgo, or Cancer as their natal ninefold (Navamansa) ascendant are likely to experience a very positive twelve months beginning May 1.

Sun conjuncts Uranus (May 9-16) and Jupiter (May 14-24)

From May 9 to May 16 Sun conjuncts Uranus within three degrees, and then with Jupiter from May 14 to May 24 within three degrees. Thus, over the 15 day span Sun successively conjuncts Uranus and Jupiter.  This is an extraordinary planetary event when Sun closely conjuncts two major planets within two weeks.

The conjunction of Sun with Uranus is particularly more important for presidential politics in the United States, especially for the presumptive republican presidential nominee Donald Trump since he has Sun, Rahu (the north lunar node) and Uranus conjunction in sidereal Taurus; Sun and Rahu within 3 degrees and Sun and Uranus within 5 degrees. The unpredictable Uranus, when conjuncts Sun US politics goes through a period of turmoil and surprises.  It would be interesting to watch how the overall politics gets played out in the United States reflecting this conjunction energy.

On an individual level, Sun-Uranus conjunction energy is favorable for those who have these planets favorably placed in their natal chart and at least one of them is active in their transit charts. This conjunction will empower them resulting in recognition, fame and success in their professional life.

On the other hand, the Sun-Jupiter conjunction is very favorable and auspicious for the entire world from the material expansion standpoint. It is also conducive for the collective spiritual progress. The world of religions will likely to see some desirable changes in their daily chores, and these changes might reflect the process of spiritual awakening transforming the conventional norms to spiritual norms.

Individuals who have Sun and Jupiter favorably placed in their natal charts and any one of these planets is active in their transit charts, likely to enjoy the energy of this conjunction in a very rewarding way.

Uranus Ingress Sidereal Taurus

A Period of Material World Transformation and Female Dominance

After entering Taurus on May 31, Uranus stays in Taurus till Dec 16, 2024. However, with its retrograde motion Uranus returns to Aries. Then after transiting through Aries until March 16, 2024, Uranus finally reenters Taurus and will stay in Taurus for next seven years or so.  

Uranus being the planet of a sudden and uninvited change will certainly affect the matters related to Taurus in a big way. Taurus being the earth and fixed sign, the energy of extremely independent, ambitious, energetic, impulsive and capricious Uranus will be reflected in drastic changes in the material world (banking, stock brokers, financial institutes, the US Federal reserve and reserve banks all over the world) in next seven years.  At times changes will be so severe that it will be impossible to forget them in our life time.  In addition to intense volatility in the world financial markets, we may witness a worldwide severe depression sometimes during next seven years.  But the good news is we may not experience this severity at least until May of 2025, as it will be offset by Jupiter’s materially favorable transit through Taurus.

The people who are likely to be most affected by Uranus’s transit are business leaders, rich and wealthy, real estate tycoons, people who influence our material world, people connected to entertainment industry such as actors, directors, producers, musicians, comedians and the people of influence in entertainment industries.

In scientific and technological world expect a lot of positive changes as the emerging new ideas will find their way into innovations and discoveries.  The scientific and technological growth will continue to rise at a phenomenal rate.  A new wave of spiritually inclined world political and corporation leaders with their human and compassion laced perspectives will certainly transform our world in next 6-7 years to a new world that balances the material world with spiritual or non-material world.

The challenging aspect of the Uranus’s transit in Taurus is the painful transformation of the material world. The material norms that we are used to will be altered and transformed to a set of new norms that will certainly reflect the direction of our spiritual growth and human evolution in line with and as outlined in past annual predictions by the energies of Capricorn Pluto and Piscean Neptune.

Other manifestations of Uranus’s transit in the earth sign Taurus are: economic wars that include cyber wars, currency manipulation, economic persecutions, agriculture wars, real estate meltdowns and intolerable and tragic situations for those who are economically deprived. In addition, natural calamities, especially wildfires, abnormal weather patterns, earthquakes of significant magnitude, unbearable summer and winter months, etc., will continue to occur more frequently. 

Another important aspect of Uranus’s transit in Taurus is the prominence of female dominance in leadership roles. Taurus being the female sign, more females will be replacing their male counterparts for leadership positions in both political and financial world. 

Interestingly, Uranus will be in Taurus when the next US presidential election takes place.  Since the characteristics of Uranus are closely tied with that of the United States as a country, there’s a good chance that Americans might choose a female president.  However, by December 16, Uranus returns to Aries for few months.  During those few months (until March 16, 2025) presidential inauguration takes place.  While Uranus in Aries (a male sign) it may be possible that US may not have a female president unless the process of inauguration gets dragged down further after March 16.  Thus, politically, while Uranus in Aries during December 16, 2024 – March 16, 2025, Americans will likely experience a period of chaos and extreme instability.

For those who have a reasonably well placed Uranus in their birth charts and have Pisces, Sagittarius, Leo or Cancer as a ninefold (Navamansa) ascendant will likely to experience a very positive period, especially during the time Uranus is active in their transit charts.

Neptune in sidereal Pisces

Pisces being a water and mutable sign ruled by Jupiter some of its significant characteristics are: Divine, fruitful, fertile, emotional, honest, outspoken, religious, spiritual, nonviolent, polite, modest, moody, affectionate, hermit, psychic, water, compassion, love, heart connection, non-verbal communication and introvert. These qualities complement very well with qualities of Neptune that include: spiritual, intuitive, divine, psychic, magical, highly emotional, moody, clairvoyant, inspiration, imaginative, love, compassionate and mystical. 

As a result, a subtle and slow change in our collective moral and spiritual perceptions has certainly been going to be manifested in the way we never experienced before. This era (next 13 years or so) will be remembered as the period of spiritual inspiration and transformation. Interestingly, this era also complements well with the era of Pluto’s transit in sidereal Capricorn (a sign ruled by spiritual Saturn) that runs in parallel during the same time. The way we have been used to deal with religions will no longer be our norms.  Our moral codes will be greatly influenced by our collective spiritual experiences. And in that sense a subtle but most effective transformation of world morality during this unique era of the next 13 years is likely to take us to a level where the norms solely based on spiritual experiences will dictate and guide our lives with new level of understanding.  

Pisces, being the sign for poets, musicians, singers, monks, religious leaders, spiritual leaders, nurses, nuns, social workers, caregivers, saints, psychics, actors, sailors and ship captains, these respective fields will go through significant transformations. And these transformations will be reflected in the new norms of morality and ethics, expansion of our collective psychic abilities and mystical experiences keeping in line with steady progress in our ability to directly perceive truth. Also, creativity in areas of music will likely complement our spiritual progress. 

In scientific and technological areas, a lot of drastic changes and emerging new ideas coupled with mystical experiences will find their way into innovations and discoveries.  However, it will be the first time the scientific and technological research will be more focused in areas that will bridge the gap between the science and morality. The likely areas of research will be in spiritual healing, and life-force related activities, looking for ways to tap new sources of energy without disturbing global climate (recent news about the possibility of harnessing energy from nuclear fission and minimizing the usage of fossil fuels will very likely be materialized in next 13 years). The return to the holistic and Ayurvedic practices and alternate medicines are also very likely. The availability of inexpensive generic drugs for those who cannot afford the expensive brand name drugs is becoming reality. A new wave of philosophers and philanthropist with their new perspectives on living, in general, will certainly transform our world in next 13 years with a new level of understanding of life.

However with Rahu’s (the north lunar node) transit in sidereal Pisces, for next 15 months, the Neptune’s positive energy is going to be countered by Rahu and gets stalled as new challenges emerge that must be dealt.  In that sense, for a short term Neptune’s downside is likely to become more significant than normal. As a result, the religious leaders and social reformers may tend to form cults and spread cult like activities, rise in organized religion scandals, deceptive activities under the disguise of promise of spiritual experiences are likely to be on rise in certain parts of the world.  The scandals of the secretive collaboration between the medical doctors and pharmaceutical industries will continue to be exposed.  The increase usage of mind altering drugs, disregard for social and to some extent moral responsibility, rise in mental disorders, and losing the touch with reality are some of the likely symptoms of the negative side of Neptune. One of the prominent fall-outs of the Piscean Neptune will be a significant decline of authoritarian regime’s influence around the world.  However, with Rahu’s transit in Pisces, Russia, China and other authoritarian regimes may temporarily get upper hand for next 15 months or so as Rahu’s energy counters Neptune’s energy creating a favorable period for authoritarian regime.

On individual level for those who have water sign (Cancer, Scorpio or Pisces) as their ascendant in their natal ninefold (Navamansh) chart should get ready for a brand new and long lasting (13 years) cycle of change, especially a very pronounced cycle for those who have Neptune as a dominant planet in their birth charts. The changes that might occur would be very subtle and would deal with new or renewed interest in spirituality, openness, psychic abilities to perceive truth, divine experiences, transformed perceptions and beliefs, and the way of living.  

Russian-Ukraine and Israel-Hamas war and senseless killings

With the approval of over sixty billion dollars in aid from the United States, Ukraine is poised to gain an upper hand in its conflict against Russia. The intensity of the Russian-Ukraine war has remained constant for the past six months, resulting in significant human casualties and economic devastation. However, with this influx of aid, Ukraine is expected not only to halt further territorial losses but also to reclaim lost ground.

Nevertheless, the influence of Rahu’s transit in Pisces, which began approximately seven months ago, challenges Pisces Neptune suggesting that Russian President Putin may retain some advantage in the war for the next ten to eleven months. He is anticipated to manage internal dissent within Russia regarding the conflict while maintaining his position. However, until Putin’s influence weakens and he loses control, the war and civilian casualties are unlikely to cease.

Turning to the Israel-Hamas conflict, although it may be losing momentum, violence persists, particularly in Gaza where shortages of essential supplies exacerbate the humanitarian crisis. Regardless of short-term developments, this enduring conflict is expected to persist unless there is a profound spiritual awakening in the region that transcends religious divisions.

President Biden’s challenges in May

For President Biden, May brings a dynamic interplay of energies, and yet he is likely to navigate through the political landscape with a reasonable success.

During May with Saturn’s major and intermediate cycles and Sun’s sub-cycle, the planets that fall in the constellations ruled by Saturn and Sun become active. They are: Pluto, Venus, Sun, Uranus and Neptune.

The transiting Pluto has been in the 4^th house and the transiting ninefold Pluto in the 6^th house. The 6^th house being a favorable house for the transiting ninefold Pluto, the political environment looks to be positive for him. His popularity is likely to rise. Success and recognition will follow and in general he is likely to feel pretty good about his future prospects.

As for Venus, until May 18 he needs to be careful in dealing with adversaries and his cabinet members alike, especially the female ones. After May 18, he is likely to enjoy a better period, especially with his family.

From the Sun’s energy standpoint, however, until May 14, he may have to deal with health issues and stress caused by friction with his cabinet members. Even after May 14 his period doesn’t turn favorable as he will be frustrated and becomes more argumentative with people around him.

The energies of Uranus and Neptune continue to be in play throughout the month. While Uranus empowers President Biden to successfully confront challenges, fostering political achievements, Neptune’s influence introduces an element of deception and confusion, necessitating discernment.

In summary, May brings a dynamic interplay of energies, and yet he is likely to navigate through the political landscape with a reasonable success.

Global Insights

The important challenging planetary configurations for May include:  Pluto-Neptune (April 13 – May 6) ninefold quincunx; Saturn-Jupiter (May 15-18) ninefold square; Rahu-Mars (May 17-19) conjunction and Uranus-Rahu (May 17-22) ninefold conjunction.

The energy of the Pluto-Neptune ninefold quincunx, occurring from April 13 to May 6, could potentially become responsible for an outbreak of violence and terrorist activities in regions such as Russia, Ukraine, and the Middle East. Specifically, countries like Syria, Iraq, Israel, and Palestine may be affected. Additionally, there is a likelihood of both natural and man-made calamities during this period. Some East-European countries, Russia, and China might also experience political and social turmoil.

During May 15-18, the energy of the Saturn-Jupiter ninefold square may become a cause for challenges the religious authorities likely to face in carrying out their routine activities. More controversies that test traditional moral values are likely to emerge, and in general, religious authorities will have difficulty in keeping people happy.

The manifestation of the energy of Rahu-Mars (May 17-19) conjunction maybe reflected in both natural and man-made calamities causing destruction and loss of lives, and perhaps an occurrence of serious crisis involving an international level political leader is likely.

The energy of the Uranus-Rahu ninefold conjunction occurring during May 17-22 can potentially become responsible for a challenging period for the United States, particularly for the Republican Party and republicans. In addition, relationship between USA and Russia and/or that between USA and China may go through a crisis situation during this period.

 The important auspicious planetary configurations for May include: Neptune-Uranus (April 10 – May 7) and Neptune-Rahu (May 25 – June 2) ninefold trines; Neptune-Jupiter (May 19-28) sextile and Pluto-Saturn (May 24 – June 3) ninefold sextile.

The manifestation of the Neptune-Uranus ninefold trine, occurring from April 10 to May 7, may be reflected in a wonderful period for collective spiritual growth, technological discoveries, and inventions. Expect some new and important technological breakthroughs during this month. For the United States, in general, it’s going to be a remarkable and very successful period.

During May 25 – June 2, the Neptune-Rahu ninefold trine may contribute to a better period for conservatives than that for liberals.  China and Russia may see some positive developments occurring in the social and economic fields.

The energy of the Neptune-Jupiter sextile, occurring from May 19-28, may become responsible for positive changes occurring in religious, academic and social fields.

The energy of the Pluto-Saturn (May 24 – June 3) ninefold sextile may help expand European and Russian economies. This period is also good for progress in technical fields (new innovations and discoveries) and religious reconciliation.

The countries that are more likely to be affected during this month are:  The United States, Ukraine, Russia, China, Middle-East, especially the Palestinian-Israel region.

Natural and Man-made Calamities……..

The natural calamities like extreme weather conditions, wildfires, hurricanes, heavy rains, snow storms, air crashes as well as manmade accidents are likely to occur almost through the entire month, more specifically, during May 1-9, 17-22.

Earthquakes: Based on a new Earthquake prediction model (the work is still in progress), the earthquake(s) of magnitude 6.9 or higher, if occur, are likely to occur on following dates and Times and possible locations: Earthquake Predictions 2024.  Please note that these hourly predictions refer to the Universal time (GMT).

While man-made calamities may manifest themselves in terrorism, unrest, violence, accidents, and air crashes, the natural calamities are likely to include extreme weather conditions such as severe cold winters, and equally intensive droughts, hurricanes or typhoons, thunderstorms, earthquakes and fires