Right now, Venus is evening star, moving up the sky through the horns of Taurus, the Bull, as though paving the way for the Pleiades, those Seven Sisters who occasionally take flight to make offering to Zeus at the star Capella in the constellation Auriga, the Charioteer. But to get there, they must make this difficult pass through the Bull’s horns, where Venus now treads.
Once Venus completes this pass through the horns of the bull, she’ll join Jupiter at what I’ll call the Straits of Gemini. When you look at the constellation Gemini in the sky, you see what appear to be two straight lines, bounded on either end, and mirroring each other, as though they were Twins. The name “Didymus” means “twin,” and in the New Testament stories of Thomas, he is referred to as Didymus. As the doubting one, he lends a mood to this place in the heavens, these Straits, as a place where we may encounter doubt. But Gemini is also a place of perseverance and faithfulness, and we do well to keep this in mind right now.
Jupiter entered this region of sky in June last year, and has been slowly traveling forward and backward here ever since.
On June 9 this year, Venus will catch up with Jupiter in these Straits of Gemini ~ and this is a sight worth preparing for. This is also a magnificent celestial narrative that’s unfolding overhead, one that can fortify our hearts and thoughts with a greater sense of beauty and harmony.
Not long after Venus meets Jupiter at the Straits of Gemini, the Moon gets active in the scene. It’s almost as though Venus will at last pull Jupiter out of the Straits, but then she must pay the piper, the Moon. During the daytime on June 17, the Moon will block Venus from view for the entire US. Wow. To be clear, we don’t normally see Venus at the time of day when this event will happen, but we can know that it’s occurring, and plan some activity that is filled with love, to coincide with the goddess of love and beauty being blocked. More on this to come in the weeks ahead.
So here’s what’s up: Venus is in Taurus now, moving through the Bull’s horns especially on May 13. The crescent Moon will pass by Venus on May 18 ~ a spectacular sight in the evening sky looking west. Then, Venus meets Jupiter in the Straits of Gemini on June 9, also a spectacular sight, and then the Moon will block Venus over the entire US on June 17.
We are summoned by this, with love, to demonstrate who we truly are, with perseverance and faithfulness in the face of whatever doubts we may carry.
Emily Dickinson died in this month of May, and here is her rendering of this summons:
We never know how high we are
Til we are called to rise
And then, if we are true to plan,
Our statures touch the skies.
The heroism we recite
Would be a daily thing,
Did not ourselves the cubits warp
For fear to be a king.
~Mary
Hear this episode of The Storyteller’s Night Sky on podcast here, and wherever you listen online. Jupiter has been moving through the Straits of Gemini since June 2025, and will finally move on following its meeting with Venus here June 9, 2026.