ASTRONOMY
Spring is here, with its own unique asterisms to spy in the sky! Like the Winter Circle and the Summer Triangle, the Spring Triangle is formed by stars that create a readily identifiable shape yet appear in separate constellations. Depending on who you ask, different stars form this asterism. The easiest version to spot includes stars from the Virgo, Bootes, and Leo constellations — Spica, Arcturus, and Regulus (all featured in previous editions of The Stars). Blue Spica and Regulus are both part of zodiacal constellations, meaning they lie along the path of the sun. Red Arcturus sits to the north of these stars. Following the handle of the Big Dipper, “arc to Arcturus,” then “spike to Spica.” Arcturus to Spica is one leg of the triangle. As they move east to west across the sky, Spica follows Regulus, the heart star of Leo and third point that creates this stellar triangle. Others point to Denebola, Leo’s tail, as the third star, creating an equilateral triangle that is one half of a different asterism — the Spring Diamond. To complete the diamond, look for the crowning star, Cor Caroli, in the northern sky, which opposes the nadir of the diamond, Spica. Like Arcturus in Bootes, Cor Caroli is a red star.
ASTROLOGY
Mid May packs a punch with Jupiter’s ingress into Aries on May 11 followed by the Scorpio Lunar Eclipse on May 16. Having whimsically sailed through fanciful Pisces, Jupiter’s transition into Aries inflates our confidence, making even the most grandiose of dreams feel attainable. The Scorpio Lunar Eclipse ratchets up the intensity, begging the question: Is what we desire aligned with our destiny? Both Aries and Scorpio are ruled by Mars, however, who is currently debilitated by its placement in Pisces. The singular red planet prefers to strike out ahead of the crowd to forge its own path, but watery Pisces cools its fire and dilutes its fuel. Mars in Pisces shifts our focus from the personal to the collective activating the spiritual warrior within us. As a rule, it is best to wait two weeks after an eclipse before embarking on new endeavors, so use this respite wisely. When Mars enters Aries on May 24, it’ll be ready to fire on all cylinders. When Mars catches up to Jupiter a couple days later, on May 28 (visible the following morning before sunrise), we will be raring to go, but Mercury retrograde in Taurus suggests we will need to take stock of our resources first.
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