05.17.26 Ask the SGs Weekly Reading: Tidings of Comfort and Joy

Read my new blog post here: https://www.thehealingriver.net/post/mama-and-barney-part-2

Hello Everyone,

As I’m preparing this reading on May 16, we are in the middle of the Taurus New Moon. This New Moon initiates a big shift as the five main personal planets all change signs this week. The first one to move is the Moon, of course. She moves through every sign in the zodiac each month, so her cycles move quickly.

This is a powerful Super New Moon that invites us to slow down, ground our energy, and cultivate tangible, lasting security. It’s ideal for setting intentions around wealth, self-care, and building strong, fulfilling foundations.

A Super New Moon exerts a stronger gravitational pull on the Earth. The alignment of the Sun and Moon creates magnified “spring tides” that create exceptionally high and low ocean tides.

In the world of spirit, many people may feel especially strong emotions over the weekend. Our bodies are largely made of water, so that high-low tide energy may be felt emotionally, physically, mentally, and spiritually.

Next comes Mercury, moving into Gemini to immediately connect with Uranus.

Mercury represents the 3D lower octaves while Uranus represents the 5D and higher octaves of communication, mental processing, and cosmic messages from Spirit. This connection takes us from thought to revelation.

Mercury rules the everyday mind. How we think, speak, process information, and connect the dots. Uranus works at a much higher frequency. He breaks open the usual thought patterns and suddenly helps us see something from a new perspective. This is where insight can arrive out of nowhere.

This takes us from data to downloads, from mind to universal intelligence, and from conversation to collective consciousness.

I can see us connecting to Gemini in a fast-acting way. It’s Mercury’s home sign and he loves to move quickly here, checking in with all the different ideas and possibilities. “Oh! Look! A chicken,” ADHD comes to mind.When you take in a lot of information, sometimes Mercury doesn’t know what to do with it. But if we connect to Uranus’ awakening energy and his higher dimensional frequencies, we can tap into 5D spiritual downloads that give us wisdom and direction for our 3D lives.

On the 18th Mars leaves Aries and enters laid-back, slow-moving Taurus. This deescalates the conflict Mars stirred up during his encounters with Saturn and Neptune. In Taurus, Mars is forced to slow down and take a breath. Here, he has to adjust his approach to getting things done. If you think of Mars in Aries as a sprint, in Taurus, he’s running a marathon, pacing himself for a big finish.

In Taurus, Mars taps into the power of persistence and stubborn strength. This is good energy for heavy lifting projects like gardening and sensory indulgence like massage or casting pottery. The shadow side here is procrastination or anger that simmers and seethes on the back of the stove. Watch out for that.

On that same day, Venus moves into Cancer. Harmony, charm, and love enter the sign of home, nurturing, and security where she activates Jupiter’s happy transit through Cancer over the past year. This is comfort and belonging at its best.

Venus and Mars form a lovely connection that helps us balance Venus’s give with Mars’ take. The feminine and the masculine are in a sweet easy connection under these energies. Venus in Cancer is all about self-care. She is bringing our attention to what we need to calm the nervous system and allow us to feel at peace.

Working with Mars’ determined Taurus energy, you can tap into a real plan for how you can better care for yourself this week. These are “tidings of comfort and joy.” On the 19th Venus will square Neptune in Aries. This is fast-moving energy that lasts less than 48 hours and brings the collective a feeling of lovely escapism. That can manifest as a sweet, dreamy distraction or a temporary retreat into a bubble of idealism, which can be a nice break from the cra-cra we’ve been going through collectively.

Neptune is the higher octave of Venus, and the warning here is that he dissolves the walls that usually keep us guarded. That allows for a fleeting sense of spiritual oneness and a dopamine high. It behaves like a glitch in the matrix where we get to enjoy the magic of the moment without building our future on it. Just be sure you don’t make major commitments based on those dopamine high feelings.

Heads up: by the end of the month, Venus in Cancer is challenged by Saturn in Aries where cold water hits us in the face with a real-life reality check against the lovely escapism we hoped would take root. This is when we come back to earth, to the 3D experience our soul’s plan designed, so we can look at our own values and what we need to feel truly secure.

On the 19th Mercury will trine Pluto retrograde in Aquarius and that will provide powerful insights into how to take an idea you have and make it bigger. It’s a surge of energy that will empower you now but will require you to trust the process along the way. Things will shift and change with Pluto in the mix, as you learn and grow. Trust what you know now and work with that. What you need will show up at the right time.

Mercury is the messenger bringing us Pluto’s wisdom that is deep within us at soul level. Pluto is the therapist who brings us a deeper understanding of ourselves as we face our fears.

On the 20th, the Sun moves into Gemini with Uranus and Mercury.

The Sun in Gemini gets people talking, connecting, and exploring new ideas. These are seed planting moments.

Starting new conversations, gathering information, networking, and initiating creative projects all work well under this energy. Gemini gives us the opportunity to experiment through connections with others.

When the Sun connects to Uranus on the 22nd, there can be groundbreaking shifts in the way people think about themselves, their future, and where they belong.

2026 is a game-changing year that disrupts the status quo, moves us away from old, limiting stories, and explores new roles. We all have the opportunity to plant those seeds of change this week.

This is a significant liberation of the mind and a radical reset of our personal identity.

Ways to work with this energy:

• Rewrite your story to release outgrown roles and outdated narratives about yourself. Make it easy. Write a new sentence about yourself on a Post-it note or in your journal that breaks the old mold of who you thought you had to be.

• Speak your truth by saying things that have been on the tip of your tongue; this is a time for bold action. Send the text. Start the conversation. Say the thing you’ve been rehearsing in your head for weeks.

• Experiment with your style or personal priorities. This is a 7-year cycle built around growth through curiosity and change.

• Upgrade your skills by starting a course in a disruptive new field, like AI or advanced digital media.

• Launch new media to share your voice or message. Uranus in Gemini supports independent creators, podcasts, online communities, and people finding new ways to reach each other outside the usual systems.

• Network outside your circle and seek out new communities that push you beyond the familiar.

• This week’s energy moves fast, but it’s trying to wake something up in us. Pay attention to the conversations, ideas, and sudden realizations that get your attention.

Gemini season begins with movement, curiosity, and mental awakening, but Uranus reminds us that some thoughts arrive to change the direction of our lives.

This week’s tarot card is the Four of Spring.

There’s a lot of fast-moving mental energy happening this week through Gemini and Uranus. New ideas. New conversations. Sudden insight. Spiritual downloads. Breakthrough moments. It can feel exciting, stimulating, and a little overwhelming all at the same time.

But look at this card. Isn't that a beautiful image? It reminds us that life is not just about chasing the next revelation.

It’s also about stopping long enough to recognize what’s already good in your life.

Venus moving into Cancer and Mars moving into Taurus both want us to reconnect with what brings real comfort, peace, stability, and emotional nourishment. The Four of Spring reminds us to appreciate what we’ve already built instead of constantly feeling like happiness only exists somewhere out in the future.

This card can point to:

• celebrating milestones

• enjoying your home and family

• reconnecting with people you love

• creating beauty around you

• feeling emotionally safe enough to relax your nervous system for a little while.

For some people, this may literally show up as parties, weddings, gatherings, cookouts, gardening, decorating, or reconnecting with your community.

But spiritually, this card feels like a reminder to let yourself enjoy your life while your consciousness is expanding.

You do not have to stay trapped in survival mode to continue growing.

There is something very healing this week about gratitude, laughter, emotional connection, and letting yourself experience moments of genuine peace without waiting for everything to be perfect first.

The soul still grows through comfort and joy.

This week we’re grounded in Taurus earth while Cancer’s waters remind us to nurture comfort, connection, and joy.

I hope this reading gives you a reason to smile and embrace the joy that’s all around you.