Astrology of the Week Ahead with Chani Nicholas - The Week of May 11th, 2026: Practical magic and a Taurus New Moon

Episode Date: May 11, 2026

Episode 282In this podcast, New York Times best-selling author and astrologer Chani Nicholas discusses the astrology of the week and what it might mean for us all.The astrology of the week of May 11th, 2026, brings clarity and a little chaos. Mercury’s sextile to Jupiter helps us get practical and precise in our communications, and the Mercury cazimi offers an extra boost of insight. But when Mars runs into Chiron, our hurts get highlighted. And with the New Moon in Taurus sitting next to Algol (the fixed star associated with rage and betrayal), we’re called to honor our anger if we want to reclaim our power. Then, when Mercury moves into Gemini and meets up with Uranus, our wit and wild ideas get a jolt of high-voltage energy. So get clear on the things that need your attention and your honesty before Gemini season dials up the distractions.This episode covers:Mercury’s sextile to Jupiter on Tuesday, May 12thThe Mercury cazimi on Thursday, May 14thMars’ conjunction with Chiron on Saturday, May 16thThe New Moon in Taurus on Saturday, May 16thMercury’s entrance into Gemini on Sunday, May 17thMercury’s conjunction with Uranus on Sunday, May 17thThis episode was recorded on 05/04/2026.For more, check out your free daily horoscope on the homepage of the CHANI app — now on iOS and Android.The music featured in the podcast was created by Latashá.

If you've been wanting an answer, if you've been wanting clarity, if you've been wanting direction, if you've been wanting to find a way out of confusion, this is the week for you. Hello and welcome. This is the astrology of the week ahead podcast. I'm your host, your Astro Bestie, Channie Nicholas. In this episode, we are talking about the astrology for the week of May 11th. this is how we are working with this week. Monday and Tuesday, Tuesday especially, we are going to put out our statements. We're going to put out our newsletters. We are going to connect with people.

We're going to tell people what we're up to, what we're doing. And we are also going to take some time, especially on Tuesday and Wednesday, to write down anything that we want to get clear on, even Monday. If you're listening to this on Sunday, you can start writing now. Ask the questions. Like, I don't know what to do about this. What should I do? What should I say? When should I go? Which option should I choose? Literally, anything that you are questioning, anything that you're curious about, anything that you're confused about, especially. Say, I would like some more information on this. How do I know? Give me clarity about fill in the blank. And I want you to be writing that down, especially as we move towards Thursday. Thursday is the day we get clarity. So you might

have a spontaneous conversation with somebody and all of a sudden you're like, oh, that is the exact info that I needed. And the thing is, is that as we move towards Thursday, the more we're marinating on the question or the more we are admitting what we're confused about or detailing what we want some specific help around, the easier it is to recognize when the information shows up. And the information is going to show up on Thursday, maybe a little on Wednesday, maybe also on Friday, but especially on Thursday. So on Thursday, the sun and Mercury meet up at a late degree of Taurus. And this is all making a sex out of Jupiter.

So it's a very helpful astrology. It's very good astrology for getting the message, forgetting the message across to other people and also for getting the message across to yourself, to ourselves. You know, sometimes I can hear something 17 times. And only by the 18th time do I really receive it? You know what I mean? And then it's also excellent astrology for us to be listening.

listening to ourselves for us to be receiving the download Thursdays astrology, receiving the download and saying, ah, I get it. This is all happening in Taurus. So this is cut and dry. This is not nuance. This is not like, well, if I think of it theoretically or metaphorically, no, no. This is like, this is the answer. This is a situation. This is what you do. This is the nuts. This is the bolts. This is the plan. This is the floor plan. This is the blueprint. is how we build the thing. Here are the tools. Here are the resources. Go. Do it. So think about what you want on a practical level, what you want to help with and be like, okay, this would be the most helpful thing for me to receive. This would be the most practical way I could be engaging with this problem or

scenario or with this little bit of confusion that I want help with. What do you want to be less confused about and how can we be meditating on those questions and on those statements into Thursday. And then on Thursday, I want you to be serving the landscape and being like, okay, that sounds like an answer or that's a really good piece of information or I never thought about it like that. Maybe I need to be looking at the situation like this. And then if you're like, Chani, I don't have a question. I don't feel confused about anything. great, good. Maybe you'll be somebody who's giving information to other people that helps them gain some clarity and you'll be someone that's facilitating the helpful information or the good news.

And if you don't have anything you're confused about or have a question around, then just see what kind of clarity spontaneously comes or what kind of information you find intriguing or what message you come across that you're like, oh, that is really, really helpful to. know. I'm so glad I ran into that person. I'm so glad I went to this thing. I'm so glad I learned this situation. I learned this something. And I'm going to pass it on. I'm going to do this thing with it. So in short, Tuesday and Thursday, especially excellent for communications, excellent for comms, excellent for press, excellent for media, excellent for newsletters, excellent for getting the message out. There is a little asterisk. There's a little bit of fine print to the system.

astrology, and it's what rolls into Saturday's astrology. On Thursday, when the sun and Mercury meet up in Taurus, they're meeting up right near the fixed star alcohol. And on Saturday, this is where we're going to have the new moon in Taurus. Now, a new moon and Taurus is generally so good. We love a new moon in Taurus because it is a very fertile beginning. It is a beautiful new moon to have just because the moon is exalted in Taurus. It is extra comfy, cozy, and fertile, meaning that what we begin with a new moon in Taurus generally has the resources it needs to succeed. So this is a time where we want to be planting seeds for future growth. And this Mercury Kazimi on Thursday and this new moon on Saturday are both

very close to the fixed star, Algal. Now Algal is a binary star, which means it's a blinking star, and it is said to be the blinking eye of Medusa. So it's always thought of as a little bit of a warning. Now, Medusa, in terms of human history, is a newer type of myth. On one hand, she's thousands of years old. And on the other hand, it is a myth that is not that old. A couple thousand years isn't that old in terms of human history. And if we think about goddesses and goddess history and the ways in which they go back into time immemorial, a snake goddess or goddess with, with snakes for hair is going to be seen, if you take it outside of the Greco-Roman pantheon and you relate her to older goddesses, that's just like, yeah, of course, regeneration, rebirth, power, nighttime, nocturnal, wisdom, and energy being close to the ground, and really knowing what it feels like to have our belly to the floor, meaning we pick up on all the vibrations, meaning we're very close to a deeper body kind of

wisdom and knowing. When I think of Medusa, I think of all of that. I think of an ancient, ancient, ancient goddess related to death and rebirth cycles, related to the shedding of the skin and the renewal related to the profound cycles of becoming that goddesses always tell us about. Regeneration, key to this kind of understanding and to goddesses that are connected to snakes. But when we put her inside of the myth

that is connected to the fixed or algal, again, Medusa isn't that old in terms of the story I'm about to tell, the myth of Medusa is this. She is a temple. goddess. She's in the temple of Athena. She is literally sexually assaulted by Poseidon. Instead of Poseidon having to face any kind of consequences for his heinous violation of her and his abuse of her, she gets blamed for it. And she gets turned in to a Gorgon. She gets turned

into a snake-headed, quote-unquote, monster. Now again, any goddess, that has snakes for hair is power, is potency, is the force of regeneration. That is what I would always decode as meaning, something that the patriarchy is terrified of. And so has to make her a monster and has to make her the other. So she is the one who suffers for the violence that was afflicted upon her. And then, of course, she's betrayed even further because her sister, Athena, helps Perseus slay her and behead her, and then she takes that head and puts it on her breastplate as protection. How twisted and demented is that? Well, that's very much the culture that we live in.

That is very much the state of the union. The people that suffer the most at the hands of the violence, this system not only enables but encourages like the more violent you are in this world and in these systems, the more rewarded you are, the more you take, the more you extract from humans, the more you extract from the earth, the more you penalize those that are the most vulnerable, those that have been harmed, the more you blame, those that don't have the kind of protection that they need, the more supported you are, the more allotted you are, and the more money you have. So there's, you know, all of these things are functioning in the same ecosystem, the myth, the reality that you and I are living now.

And then just like week after week after week after week after week, after week of news about the most horrendous gender-based violence that we could imagine and even worse than we can imagine. And then more of it. and then new crops of it. And we know that we are just flooded with it. We are so steeped in it in so many different ways. And I think that the fact that this Mercury Kazimi is happening on the fixed star algal. And then two days later, the new moon and Taurus is happening on the fixed star alcohol is a major

statement from the stars that's telling us that it is time. We take that rage very seriously. And I'm not saying that you don't because if you're listening to this, you probably do, because you're listening to somebody who's, you know, pretty in touch with her rage. I'm pretty conscious of my rage. There's a lot that I'm still unconscious of, but I'm pretty open about it. So most likely, you're very in touch with yours. And if you're on the internet at all, you know that we are in a situation, we're in a moment where there is a lot of that femme rage awakening that is happening. And I think this weekend will bring about more of it. But whether or not the world kind of stirs and moves in that direction, what I think that this week encourages us to do is to understand

the potency and the power and the creative ingenuity. that is laying in wait for us to reckon with once we tap in to the power of our rage. Because inside of our rage is just raw, creative potential. And our rage, just like snakes, is a transformative tool. It is a tool for our transmutation. It is something that we are supposed to work with, not to be devoured by, not to to be overheated by, not to be consumed by. But it is a tool for our own awakening. And until we're really conscious of, or until we are trying to make a conscious contact with

that rage, all that creativity and all that life energy is stuck inside it. And as we start to move with it, as we start to awaken to it, as we just start to make space for it. There's nothing to do, there's nothing to solve about it, but just like making space for it, not stewing in it, not wanting to be trapped by it, not only being in that note. But knowing that our rage is a bridge to our joy and to our power and to our creativity, and to our potency, and to our potential, just knowing that is enough to start the process of transformation. And I think that I really want to work with this imagery of the snake, of the snake goddess, of imagining like what does it feel like to have snakes for hair? What would that

energetically feel like? What would it be like to wield that kind of power? And imagining being in front of all of those men that have done all of that harm with that kind of power. And I think that's the meditation. That's the vision. Imagining what would it be like to know that as soon as they look at you, that's it. The truth of what they've done would freeze them, would hold them hostage would hold them and turn them into something that could no longer do any harm. Something like that. I don't know. You be creative with your visualization of it. I'm also saying this because on the same day as that new moon, which again is a new moon and Taurus. It's so generative. It's so life affirming. But not without recognizing where our

rage is stored in our bodies and ourselves and our lives and what we want to do to work with it, to transmute it, to move it through us. On the day of the new moon, Mars, the warrior, makes a conjunction with Chiron. So there's very much this like wounded warrior energy to the day as well. And the two of those things together, or the three of those things together, the Kizimi, Sun, Mercury, and then Sun, Moon coming together right by Algole. And then Mars Chiron coming together at the same time just spells out something about honoring that pain point. Again, I don't want us to get mired in it. I don't want us to just stay there. But the new beginning is happening because of the honesty that we have about what hurts, how it hurts, how much it's hurt, about how much rage we have

as a result of being at the whim of or being impacted by or feeling like we've had to numb out or bury it or suppress it or push it down. So there's this invitation, I think, this week, to really reckon with the things that make us want to lose our heads, that make us want to just, like, devour, that make us want to turn everything to stone. And then I also think there is something we could play with here in terms of knowing we have that power. That's not for deities alone. That is for us to acknowledge, like, when I am, actually connected to this, to the fullness of me, to my joy, to my rage, to my despair, to my beauty, to my everything. That's how potent I am. That's how free I am. And that's what they fear.

And that's what we need to go all the way in on. So to whatever degree you resonate with that, this is the week to be like, okay, where do I need to be clearer about my power? Where do I need to be clearer about my impact? And where do I need to be clearer or what do I need to get clear on so that I can move with confidence and clarity and certainty? Because it's time. We don't have any time to waste. And we all know that. We all feel that. And then on Sunday, Mercury moves in to Gemini. and makes a conjunction with Uranus, and there's something that is said that sets the internet ablaze. I don't know who is going to say it or what it's going to be, but there is a virality to this moment. I mean, Mercury rules Gemini.

Uranus is there. When they all come together, it is absolute clown car chaos. And I would like a front row seat because it is going to be hilarious, but I will try. very hard not to be the clown in the situation. I mean, you know, if you have that kind of constitution, go for it. But it's a very disruptive astrology. It is very like, oh, God, all bets are off now. Like this is going to change the game. And I just want to say something as somebody who has been personally impacted very specifically by Uranus and Gemini. the disruption that comes with this transit, yes, maybe for all of us on Sunday, but if you have

anything at zero degrees of Gemini, 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, even, maybe even 5 of Gemini, of Virgo, of Saj, or of Pisces, if you have anything in the first, say, 5, 6 degrees of that sign, you know what I'm talking about. The disruption is ridiculous. The chaos is ongoing. It has many different arms, many different faces, many different iterations. This is a upheaval of epic proportions, but it also doesn't last because it's in Gemini. So all of the upheaval that's going to come, it's going to like come in a wave and come really shockingly and then it's going to move on. There's going to be something else and then it's going to go away.

And then it's going to come from a different angle and then it's going to go away. It's a mixed bag of sorts and nothing. thing is static. Everything in Gemini moves really quickly and does not stay for that long. You know a Gemini. You are a Gemini, maybe. You know what I'm talking about. It's just like quick wit, move on, got bored. Hey, what's that squirrel? You know what I mean? And so the disruption's also going to be like that. It's like, don't expect the disruption to stay long. So the moment you you make an adjustment for the disruption, the disruption's over. Kind of like how I had to move my entire studio today because there's massive drilling outside my house.

But guess what? By the time I moved all my lights and my camera and all my things, it was done. So I didn't actually have to move at all. So I just wasted like an hour and a half moving my studio for no reason. Do you know what I mean? It's going to be like that. So I'm trying to adjust to the chaos. And I'm inviting you to do the same, especially on Sunday and or especially if you

have something in the first couple degrees of those four signs. All right, let's hear from our audience. Hi, Chani. Yeah, thank you so much for your incredible app and podcast. I have learned so much, you know, in my own journey of studying astrology. So I absolutely love your work. So you have talked about stelliums before and what they mean and what it means for people who have stelliums in their chart. What about if we flip it the other way? So people who don't. have a stellium in the chart, what does that mean for them? What I've noticed, sometimes it can bring either a great balance to their chart or sometimes a lack of focus in a specific area. So how can people who don't have stelliums in their chart kind of identify the most important

points? Thank you. Okay, I love this question because the sky's always moving and changing. And so, yes, sometimes there's a whole group, a whole cluster of planets and a certain sign. And then we know that that sign and its style is going to really dominate that person's life. And then we also know that area of the chart, the house that has all those planets in it, that's also going to really dominate somebody's life. And so when there are more spread out planets in a chart, that means that we have to fine tune our way of going into the chart. And so we want to be very specific about what planet rules.

the ascendant, where is it? What other planets is it talking to? Where's the sun? Where's the moon? Those three things, that architecture we want to definitely lay claim to. Now, if you start to notice who speaks to those three planets, the ruler of the ascendant, the sun, and the moon, either all the planets will start to get wrapped into those three or there'll be some outliers. And then you'll know, like, oh, Venus doesn't talk to any of those three planets. So Venus isn't that integrated into the rest of the chart. What does that mean for that person and their relationships or their relationship to art or creativity or beauty? There's that kind of thing.

And sometimes you'll notice like, oh, if I look at even just the ruler of the ascendant, that planet's actually in conversation with every other planet in the chart. So every other planet in the chart is actually expressing a. itself through the ruler of the ascendant or the ruler of the ascendant is being steered and it's being influenced by all these other planets. So sometimes you'll find that. And so it'll be like, okay, well, they're not all in one sign or one house, but they're all speaking to this one planet. And this planet is so important because it's literally steering the direction of this person's life. Or if things aren't that connected and there's not that much speaking to the ruler of the

ascendant or the sun or the moon, then I'll start to be like, okay, what planet is angular? What planet is in the first, fourth, seventh, or tenth house? Those planets are going to be lifted up in terms of importance because those are angular planets and those are really energized and they're going to be very apparent in that person's life. That is maybe secondary to what another thing that I look at. I look at, actually the first thing I look at is what planets are in their own domicile, what planets are in their own sign, what planets are exalted in the sign they do really well in, what planets are in their fall or in their exile or detriment in the signs that they don't do well in. And I find like any of those four categories really stick out.

So if a planet is in the sign of its detriment or fall, fall, meaning it struggles there, I find that those planets become really pronounced because there are a bit of a pain in the ass. And so they give the person a real run for their money. And then if planets are in their domicile, in their own sign or in their exaltation, those planets are going to help that person tremendously. So that's where they can go for some ease. That's where they can go to like rest. That's where they can go and be like, okay, when all else fails, I know this thing will be successful. And then I also want to see about mutual reception. So if, say, Mars is in Capricorn and Saturn is in Scorpio, then Saturn is in Mars's sign and Mars is in Saturn's sign and they form a sex style

because those signs are forming sex. That is an amazing connection. Or so. say, I just saw this in a friend's chart the other day, that Venus is in Aquarius and Saturn is in Libra, then those are in each other's signs and they also form a trine because they're both air signs. And so that means that that that person's ability to create art, the form and the structure, Saturn, and the beauty and the harmony and the sweetness and the attractiveness, Venus, those are in reception and that is an artist. That's a signature of somebody who's like an artist, an architect, someone who can really create something that people will love or something that is profoundly meaningful because

of the architecture it has and because of the beauty that it holds. The Saturn Mars that I mentioned before that is like this person is extra determined and really good at planning and strategizing and getting to the goal and going deep and being thorough and working hard and being like steady as a rock. And I'm talking about the signs that everything is in. And I'm also talking about the relationship there. So I would say that. I'd say look for planets in their own sign or in their exaltation.

Those are special moments of like, okay, this is going to be helpful. Look for planets that are in their detriment and fall. because those are going to be agitating and a real problem for the person, but that's what will help the person work and move into transformations and actually do something that's akin to a kind of self-realization, because it's like a real thorn in your side. And then also looking for planets in mutual reception, in each other's signs,

especially when they make an aspect to one another. And then those examples that I gave, also Saturn is exalted in Libra. and Mars is exalted in Capricorn. So those were special examples that I also gave. But you could have like mercury in cancer and the moon in Virgo. And those would be in a sexile and also mutual reception. And those are not exalted, but those would also be really helpful.

So once you span all of those things and kind of go through the list, where are the planets angular? Are any planets angular domicile, exaltation, detriment, fall, and then mutual reception, then you'll be like, oh, okay, these planets really stand out. These ones stand out in helpful ways. These ones stand out in not so helpful ways. And this is where things can really flow and be positive. Who's supporting the ruler of the ascendant? Who's supporting the sun and the moon? And you'll kind of have like a way into the chart that'll be quite helpful and clarifying, I think. I help. Let me know. All right.

Thank you so much for joining. Guess what's next week? Next week we have a Uranus Kazimi in Gemini. This is the first time these two have come together in this sign in like seven and a half decades. So it's a big deal. It is a beginning for Uranus and Gemini. It's a seeding of ridiculousness, hilarity, chaos, and obviously discourse about. liberation. Why do I say that? It's Gemini. That's the discourse. It's Uranus. That's the liberation.

So we need to do a lot more than talk about our liberation. But Uranus and Gemini is very much about that discourse. It's also a lot about reordering the world and having a lot of things shifting and changing on a social level, both collectively and also personally. So come back next week and we'll talk more about that. Until then, thank you so much for joining. I deeply appreciate it. Thank you for telling people about our little podcast and also our little app called the Chani app. Go to it. Listen to your reading for the week. Let me know how this new moon lands with you. I really do truly deeply believe that when we are in touch with our rage and our beauty and our power and our joy, we are in touch with our abundance and anything is possible.

And that kind of regenerative energy helps us to transform not only our lives but also the world. And the less afraid of it we are, the more potent and powerful we are and the more effective we are. And I am so excited to use this potential energy and effectiveness with you. All right, I'll see you out there. Bye for now.