Hello everyone,
I write to you from the depths of some powerful astrology. The angles in the skies were exact last week, but their strong influences will continue through the week ahead: the Mars-Pluto-Lilith-Sun T-Square, a bright red cross in the chart of the moment connecting the fixed signs and revealing their tensions and breakthrough-points, and the triple conjunction of Venus, Saturn, and the North Node in Pisces, showing us that love and harmony aren’t possible without a little elbow grease.
The sky stretches taut above me, woven into an intricate tapestry by the fixed T-square of Mars in Leo, Pluto in Aquarius, Lilith in Scorpio, and the Sun anchored in Taurus. There is a powerful stillness inside the pressure, a sense that all the force and friction are not meant to break anything apart, but rather to carve deeper channels within, preparing a vessel strong enough to hold something entirely new. I feel it not just in the heavens, but in the quiet spaces between conversations, in the moments when old fears surface and are met now, finally, with steadiness instead of reaction.
At the same time, the rare and beautiful conjunction of Venus, Saturn, and the North Node in Pisces casts a more tender spell, softening the edges of the work and reminding me that devotion to love, to healing, to vision always has a purpose beyond what we can immediately see. Destiny doesn’t come with lightning and drama; it arrives on the wings of small, courageous choices made again and again, until suddenly, you realize you are living a life you once barely dared to imagine.
Traveling here through Panama with my partner, my daughter, and my ex-husband, I feel the miracle of what has been rebuilt with patience, humility, and fierce love. The paths that once seemed so fractured now curve gently toward one another, woven together by hands that chose forgiveness over pride, and understanding over bitterness. The land itself, lush and humming with unseen life, seems to affirm that this is a new beginning. Not one born of escape, but of return: to self, to each other, to something larger than any of us alone.
There is a feeling now of real alignment, hard-earned and deeply cherished, a sense that the rough edges have been smoothed not by avoidance, but by moving bravely toward what hurt, again and again, until only truth remained. The fixed signs in the sky speak of endurance and inner strength, while Venus, Saturn, and the North Node beckon us toward a destiny that demands nothing less than our full, surrendered hearts. And here, in this moment, it feels like we have answered.
This week in the Wheel of the Year:
This week these potent energies get forged in fire: in the wheel of the year, we welcome the Medicine Wheel’s season of Fire, connected with the Direction South, and in the Taoist Wuxing (5-Element or 5-Phase) Cycle, we’re transitioning from the phase of wood to the phase of fire. Adding more fuel to the flame, Venus enters fire sign Aries, and we celebrate the cross-quarter day Beltane in the Pagan Wheel of the year- the first of the Fire Festivals. The sun is traveling through the Human Design Gate of Rationalization (24), which is a turning point from an addictive quality of being to one of innovation.
MEDICINE WHEEL Direction: EAST > SOUTH
WUXING Element: WOOD > FIRE
PAGAN Season: OSTARA> BELTANE (Mayday): Thursday, May 1
ZODIAC Season: Taurus (April 19-May 20)
I’CHING Hexagram/HUMAN DESIGN Gate: 27 (April 28-May 3)
Mon-Sat: Gate 24 = Earth over Thunder (“Return” or “Turning Point”) or The Gate of RATIONALIZATION
Sun: Gate 2 = Earth over Earth (“The Receptive”) or The Gate of THE DIRECTION OF THE SELF (Sun-Fri)
MOON Phase: Waxing
PLANETARY Transits:
Wednesday, April 30: Venus enters Aries
Sunday, May 4: Pluto stations retrograde in Aquarius
Beltane: A Threshold of Fire
This week marks one of the most magical and liminal thresholds of the entire Wheel of the Year: Beltane, celebrated on Thursday, May 1st.
Beltane is an ancient Celtic festival, one of the great cross-quarter days that falls midway between the Spring Equinox and the Summer Solstice. Traditionally, it was celebrated with bonfires, maypole dances, fertility rites, and ceremonies of union — between lovers, between humans and the land, and between the seen and unseen worlds.
The name "Beltane" is believed to come from the Celtic god Bel (Belenus), meaning "Bright One," and "Tene," meaning "fire"… together, "Bright Fire." In Ireland, Scotland, and across the Celtic world, great fires were lit on hilltops to honor the Sun, bless the cattle and crops, and invoke protection, abundance, and fertility for the coming season.
Key Themes of Beltane:
Sacred union of masculine and feminine energies
Fertility of the Earth, creativity, and life-force energy
Crossing thresholds: human and spirit, spring and summer, potential and embodiment
Fire as purification, passion, and protection
Beltane reminds us that life is not only meant to be lived but celebrated, wildly, passionately, and without apology. It calls us to return to the sacred marriage within ourselves: the balance of intuition and action, receptivity and drive, being and becoming.
At Beltane, the veils between the worlds grow thin — not with the somber energy of Samhain, but with the joyful, fertile, creative pulse of life itself surging through the land.
Beltane as a Turning Point for Innovation
Beltane also stands as a crucial turning point in the year’s energetic flow. Having moved through the seed-planting and dreaming energies of early spring, Beltane is the gateway where inspiration must now meet action. It is a time to welcome not only fertility and abundance, but also innovation, the daring to create something new.
As the Earth bursts into bloom, so too does our inner creative fire. Ideas that were once ethereal now seek embodiment. Projects that were once tentative now crave bold action. Beltane asks us to let the forces of life move through us without inhibition. This is not innovation through effort or struggle, but through surrender to the vitality that naturally rises when we are connected to life’s deeper rhythms.
The turning point of Beltane reminds us: the future is not built by controlling the wildness, but by partnering with it.
Medicine Wheel and Wuxing Cycles: From East to South, from Wood to Fire
Within the Medicine Wheel teachings, we are transitioning from the East to the South.
East represents birth, illumination, vision, and new beginnings: the rising Sun, the breath of life.
South represents growth, passion, trust, and embodiment: the heat of the midday Sun, full expression.
We are shifting from idea to action, from dream to embodiment. Now is the time to nurture the visions born at Spring Equinox and fuel them with the passion needed to bring them into reality.
In the Wuxing (Five Element) cycle of Chinese cosmology, a similar shift is underway from Wood (growth, expansion, vitality) into Fire (joy, illumination, transformation). Wood feeds Fire, just as the growing vitality of Spring feeds the passionate, transformative energy that peaks at Beltane.
Adding to this Fire dynamic, Venus enters Aries on Wednesday, April 30.
Venus, the planet of love, beauty, values, and connection, moving into fiery Aries signals a collective shift toward boldness in relationships, creativity, and self-worth. In Aries, Venus is impulsive, daring, and independent. She no longer waits for permission; she follows the spark of her desire.
This transition stokes the Beltane fires even higher. It encourages us to take risks in love, art, and self-expression. It calls for authenticity over people-pleasing, courage over caution, action over hesitation. Venus in Aries reminds us that passion is a sacred compass.
The merging of these forces -- Wood to Fire, East to South, Venus entering Aries -creates a potent wave of vital energy: passionate, courageous, and willing to ignite new realities.
Taurus Season: Anchoring Growth in the Body and the Earth
Astrologically, we are rooted firmly in Taurus season (April 19–May 20).
Taurus, ruled by Venus, invites us to connect with:
The body as sacred, sensuality, pleasure, embodiment
The Earth as home, stability, beauty, simplicity
The slow blooming of desire into form patience, devotion, constancy
Taurus energy complements Beltane perfectly. Both celebrate life’s pleasures, fertile abundance, and the beauty of simply being alive. This week, feel into your body, your senses, your connection with nature they are your sacred pathways home.
Human Design and Gene Keys: Gate 24 - Returning to the Heart
From April 28 through May 3, the Sun is shining through Gate 24, known as:
In the I’Ching: Hexagram 24, "Return" or "The Turning Point"
In Human Design: Gate 24, "The Gate of Rationalization"
In Gene Keys: Gene Key 24, moving from Addiction to Invention to Silence
Gate 24 speaks to the inner process of return, or a turning point. It’s about returning to the self, to truth, to wholeness after a cycle of wandering or confusion. It carries a deeply contemplative energy.
In the shadow of Gate 24, there can be a tendency toward mental addiction, where the mind obsessively trying to make sense of what it cannot control, replaying stories, seeking closure through thought alone. It can feel like being trapped in endless mental loops, unable to move forward.
In its gift, Gate 24 births Invention, the ability to create something new out of old experiences. It brings the power to reframe, reimagine, and reseed reality through insight.
Ultimately, the highest expression of Gate 24 is Silence. This is not the absence of sound, but a profound inner stillness where the mind surrenders and the deeper voice of the soul is heard.
This week, with Beltane’s fires calling us into passionate embodiment and Gate 24 inviting us into silent return, we are offered a powerful teaching:
Let go of overthinking.
Trust the wisdom of your body, your senses, and your heart.
Allow yourself to simply be, and in that being, you will know the way.
True return is not moving backward or coming back to the same exact place as before, it is spiraling upward into deeper truth, pausing to reflect on what you learned and absorbed in the cycle that came before.
Sunday Shift: Gate 2 and Pluto Retrograde
By Sunday, May 4, the Sun moves into Gate 2: The Receptive — the sacred magnetic direction of the Self. Gate 2 teaches that we are not here to force life, but to align with it, trusting that the energy of life knows exactly where it is leading us.
That same day, Pluto stations retrograde in Aquarius, beginning a long inward journey of collective and personal transformation.
Pluto retrograde invites us to:
Examine our relationships to power, both internal and external
Revisit themes of community, freedom, and the future
Release old patterns of control, manipulation, or resistance
Surrender to deep, sometimes uncomfortable evolution
With Gate 2 activated and Pluto pulling us inward, Sunday initiates a subtle but profound turning of the tides: a new direction is being seeded, but it must arise from within, not be forced from without.
In Closing: The Beltane Invitation
This week, the Earth, the stars, and your own soul are singing one unified song: Return. Ignite. Embody. Trust.
Light a fire in your hearth or your heart.
Make love to life in body, mind, and spirit.
Plant seeds of joy for they will become your harvest.
The sacred marriage of Beltane is not just between lovers, but within yourself. This week, welcome in a reunification of mind and body, spirit and matter, past and future, dream and deed.
May you walk through the Beltane fires cleansed, crowned, and claimed by the full majesty of your being.
Until next week,
xo
Alison
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