Episode 74 features a discussion with Kelly Surtees and Austin Coppock about the major astrological alignments and forecast for May of 2016, as well as coverage of some of the most auspicious dates over the next few weeks, based on the principles of electional astrology.
At the beginning of the episode we also had an extended digression about astrological education and certification, which I wanted to get Austin and Kelly’s thoughts on, since this is a reoccurring topic on the show lately. This discussion acts as a sort of companion piece to episode 72 on Astrological Training, Certification, and Credentials.
For those that want to skip the certification discussion and jump straight to the astrological forecast, then just skip to 47:51 to go right to the forecast segment.
As always, the cover art for this episode is from the 2016 PlanetWatcher Astrology Calendar.
Below you will find the show notes, followed by links to download or stream the recording of our discussion.
Episode Outline
News and Upcoming Events
- Upcoming events:
- Kelly speaking at NORWAC in Seattle in late May. Travel to Sydney in June, San Francisco in July. Next online class on transits/progressions starts late June.
- Austin teaching fundamentals course, covering houses this month. Planetary magic course May 12.
- Question and answer episode tentatively scheduled for June 29. Send questions to Chris at astrologue@gmail.com.
Education and Certification
- Discussion about pros and cons of certification as recent podcast topic.
- Certification versus education.
- Austin: dangers of homogenization, but importance of lineage.
- Kelly: doesn’t seem to really matter to clients at this point in time.
Astrological Aspects for May (starts at 47:51)
- Mercury retrograde in Taurus most of the month.
- New Moon in Taurus May 6, ruled by Venus in Taurus.
- Jupiter direct in Virgo May 9.
- Sun ingresses into Gemini May 20.
- Full Moon in Sagittarius May 21, conjunct Mars Rx in Sag/ruled by Jupiter in Virgo.
- Mercury stations direct in Taurus May 22.
- Venus ingresses into Gemini May 24.
- Jupiter square Saturn May 26****.
- Mars makes a retrograde ingress into Scorpio May 27.
Venus in Taurus for most of May – dignity and not in aspect to Mars/Saturn. April 29 – May 24!!
Other than the Jupiter/Saturn square, which is huge, lots of other aspects for May include sextiles and trines:
- Mercury trine Pluto – May 13 + 30
- Venus sextile Neptune (May 9)/trine Jupiter (May 10)/trine Pluto (May 14)
- Sun sextile Neptune (May 1)/trine Jupiter (May 3)/ trine Pluto (May 7)
Auspicious Dates / Electional Charts For May
Elections this month were picked out by Leisa Schaim, who is helping me while I’m focusing on working on my book.
- May 5, 2016, around 12:25 p.m., with 16° Leo rising.
- May 6, 2016, around 5:35 a.m., with 8° Taurus rising.
- May 10, 2016, around 5:32 a.m, with 13° Taurus rising.
- May 10, 2016, around 9:20 a.m., with 13° Cancer rising.
- (not a lot of great choices later in the month)
- May 24, 2016, around 8:25 a.m., with 13° Cancer rising.
Listen to This Episode
You can either play this episode of the podcast directly from the website or download it as an MP3 to your computer by using the buttons below:
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 2:03:35 — 56.9MB)
[…] Update 4/29/2016: Topics surrounding certification and astrological education continued to be a theme over the next few episodes of the podcast after this one, including a 40 minute followup discussion on the topic with Kelly Surtees and Austin Coppock that took place at the beginning of our May 2016 forecast episode. […]
So appreciate the discussion – this is a service to those who may not be able to afford a teacher, which btw, I also believe is the best way to go when learning, if you pick a good one. But no certification, or certification which is questionable leaves us with the existing problem of all those so-called astrologers who don’t know what they are doing still hanging a shingle. Buyer beware? No – people dont look for certification because they are trusting and because they are not aware that it even exits. How do they even know they got a good reading unless it resonates and there is some proof in the pudding in retrospect, unless it just felt good on some level to be paid attention to! I have a particular beef with those astrologers who claim intuitive knowledge without knowing even some of the basics but have the ego, laziness, and personality that allows them to have no compunction, and to come across and authentic and good. Clearly not Virgos. This lack of standard is a disservice to the whole field of astrology and I ask, will astrology ever be regulated, or will it continue to be cast to the realm of the charlatan? Astrology messes with the mind – it is not innocuous to counsel irresponsibly, whereas an acupuncturist who falsely calls himself a doctor could actually slide by if they knew what they were doing and licensed as such. And even there – some of course are better than others, which gets back to certification. It only means so much.
Thank you Chris, Kelly & Austin. I hope you know how helpful your monthly forecast is. We get the benefit of good guidance for applying planetary energy to our own lives while always learning more about astrology. It’s wonderful that you do this and thank you again!
fab data for the electional charts. loved the alchemical metaphors as they spoke to my soul. i have been using the term volatile fixations for my line of astro perfumes for a while as top notes are considered volatile and fleeting and the base notes are the fixatives. thank you so much for hosting Chris, such a great podcast and also Austin and Kelly for your awesome input as well!
A great array of discussion, thanks! So much to think on!
A recommendation for a a benefic form of “besiege”: to cradle or embrace.
I was thinking ’embrace’ too Jonathan.
Johnathan, Cradle or embrace sounds good. I was thinking liberating, protecting or encouraging.
Mars rising as Venus sets = Full Mess!
Hi Chris, Kelly and Austin. Just want to thank you all for these enlightening, educational and entertaining forecast episodes. Really enjoy the way you interact with each other allowing for unexpected expansion of thoughts and themes, the fascinating digressions and of course the no nonsense elucidation and speculations on the great cosmic play. The presentation of these forecasts has opened up Astrology to me in a very useful way, aiding my Mer/Nep to narrow down on whats really important. Love you “guys” – love your work. Thanks again.
I thought I’d mention that Mars is at 23 degrees Scorpio on the 23rd of June, which is the day that the United Kingdom is having the EU referendum, where we decide to stay in the Eu or leave (Brexit). The current debate over the EU here is messy and confusing, the Conservative party (the current governing party) is ripping itself apart over it and the Prime Minister’s arguments to stay in are getting more and more doom based, as if the UK leaving would lead to armageddon.