New Moon, New Sun, New Season
Two days ago, Pluto (the ruler of power, transformation, and change) went retrograde in Capricorn, the Lord of Karma. Yesterday, the New Moon, the Sun, and Uranus are all in the sign of Taurus, ruler of the divine feminine archetype. In terms of astrological math, the most rudimentary interpretation of this is that we all have massive opportunities right now to heal whatever deep soul wounds we have around women, women’s ways and wisdom, and the feminine face of power. So be sure to be looking for yours.
Factor in yesterday's partial Solar Eclipse – also in Taurus – and you can be assured that they won’t be hard to find, if your eyes and ears, heart and mind are open. So be sure to pray for that. The sacredness of today’s May Day/Beltane Shabbat will be of great help, as will the stellium of Jupiter, Venus, and Neptune in Pisces.
The New Moon always brings new beginnings, the eclipses always bring new data. Pluto always brings change that leads more power, or at the very least, a greater sense of empowerment. Beltane brings you a greater, more enhanced experience of connection with the earth, with your community, and with the nature-based spirituality that all the world’s religions revolve around. Together, they give you an opportunity now to clarify and advance your hopes and dreams, your vision, and intentions for the current manifestation cycle that is 2022. Are you ready for that? Ready or not, a little review of the basics will help - and if you can, print this out. It is your astrological roadmap to more successfully navigating the next 2-4 weeks.
The Spirit of Taurus
Let’s start with Taurus, as it is the astrological context that everything else sits in. Like all constellations, Taurus represents a specific part of your psyche and your soul. And like all constellations, the domain of Taurus has evolved over time in a variety of ways. Although all ancient cultures had some form of astrology, there often isn’t much congruity in what the ancients saw in those star patterns. Except Taurus. An impressive number of diverse ancient cultures looked up at that particular grouping of stars and saw a bull. From the Hall of the Bulls in the caves of Lascaux – dating back to 15,000 BC – to the Babylonians, the Druids, the Egyptians, The Greeks, the Romans, the Sumerians to more modern astrological traditions, the constellation of Taurus and its attributes have been passed down with remarkably few modifications.
Like it’s constellation, the bull, Taurus represents the part of yourself that emotionally and physically solid and stable, steady, steadfast, reliable, methodical, and dependable. On any given day, Taurus is the most capable of being patient and present, grounded and calm, serene and strong. As such, Taurus embodies the traditional definitions and societal expectations of women and their roles in relationship: visually and aesthetically pleasing, emotionally steady, and extraordinarily graceful and gracious with the most awkward of people and in the most uncomfortable of situations. Because of that, Taurus rules the divine feminine archetype.
Ruled by Venus, the goddess of love, the terrain of Taurus is beautiful, loving and loyal, sensual and sensuous, and stubbornly fixated on creating harmony and balance in ways that serve the highest good of all involved. A fixed, feminine, earth sign, Taurus rules relationships. All kinds of relationships. More important than relationships, Taurus rules the values those relationships are based on. So, one of the biggest opportunities presented by this New Moon and all its attendant transits is that of values clarification, especially around relationships.
Right now, you are being asked to revisit, review, and revise the qualities and characteristics you truly value and build your relationships on a newly renovated foundation. Because of this, give yourself a lot of time and space this month to rediscover that aspect of your psyche and your soul, and then find a way to give her more freedom of expression in your daily life and relationships. And pace yourself. You cannot heal what you cannot see, but thanks to the Eclipses, you are about to get a lot of new data that will help you to get a healthier grasp on the reality of your relationships and a healthier grasp of the delicate interplay between self and other. There is undoubtedly a lot more coming. Let’s look at what these particularly transformational, relational and values-driven Eclipses have to offer.
The most important thing to remember about any set of eclipses is that their primary purpose is to reveal data, dynamics, and information that is for your betterment and benefit. The dilemma of this Taurus New Moon - and its pair of eclipses – is to figure out how to be calm and centered, grounded graceful, patient and present with the information that you have gotten, are getting and are about to get. While it may not be pleasant (at least at first) to take the proverbial rose-colored glasses off, that is where your faith and your spiritual practice comes in. If you can anchor yourself into the paradigm that everything revealed is for your highest good – and the highest good of all involved - you will be able to use that wisdom, guidance and insight that comes through to make good decisions.
New Moon in always in the same sign as the Sun, so this Eclipse today puts the focus solidly on Taurus and all its attributes. The second Eclipse of this set occurs when the Moon is full. The Full Moon always occurs in the sign opposite the sign of the Sun, which in this case is Scorpio. That Taurus-Scorpio opposition, coupled with the retrograde of Scorpio’s ruling planet (Pluto), means whatever is about to be revealed is probably going to be deeper, potentially darker, and certainly more transformational than usual. Especially if either of the eclipses is within 2 degrees of ANYTHING in your natal chart. So now would be a good time to check.
The overarching theme of any Taurus New Moon is exploring and understanding yourself in relationship to other. And others. Granted, figuring out where the proverbial “I” leaves off and the proverbial “you” begins is part of what defines the human condition. That debate continues to dominate human history. While we all must update our definitions and interpretations of that from time to time, most of us are finding ourselves presented with a surprising amount of new data upon which to base those upgrades and those updates now. Right now. So, give your particular version of the process the time and attention it deserves. And remember, Pluto is heavily involved, so do not be afraid of or resistant to the changes that lie before you.
Ruler of Scorpio, Pluto’s realm is narrow and deep. Like a freaking fissure, narrow, and deep. I make my living making this stuff fun and funny, more accessible and therefore more possible. But it is truly hard to be funny about the sign and planet that rule death and taxes, politics and prostitution, plumbing and the effluent that runs through it. Seriously. Right now, the challenge is to make the deeper, more time and labor-intensive shadow work that is required easier and more pleasant, or at least more palatable. Even though the new information that the eclipses are bringing you may feel completely unmanageable, hang in there. You are undeniably burning off at least a part of the karma, the pain of lifetimes, that you came to this planet to free yourself of. Hang in there.
Pluto rules the cycles and circles of life; the changes you are asked to embrace now offer you a shot at the redemption that comes from regenerating, from being reborn. So take it. Pluto – and its mastery of the harvest season cycles – gives you the possibility of a more conscious evolution. Pluto also rules ambition, and the ability to get results. This, coupled with the eclipses, means we can see more clearly than ever how we got where we are, and what we have to shift in order to get more of what we want. Yes, making that shift is a whole other conversation, but Pluto is the strongest planet in the heavens. Now – at the two-week period bracketed by the eclipses occurring at the Gregorian and Lunar Beltane - those who are truly committed to their goals and to the process of achieving them can get a real leg up on them.
Beltane is the third and last of the planting festivals in the annual manifestation cycle known as the Wheel of the Year. Each sign governs a vast realm and is frequently associated with a Shabbat day, and Beltane belongs to Taurus. Beltane is halfway between the Spring Equinox and the Summer Solstice: it is the marker for the advent of summer. Alternately known as Walpurgisnacht, Roodmas, Cethsamhain, and Whitsuntide, summer's official beginning has traditionally been observed on May First or May Day, though Lunar observances are sometimes slightly different.
Beltane celebrates the union of the male and the female, the material and the spiritual in the traditions of the goddess and the green man. In ancient times, Beltane was marked by rituals and observances that celebrated the transition from spring to summer. Key to this was taking appropriate actions on both the material and the spiritual levels as the newly planted crops were nurtured and nourished along. Ceremonies were held to ensure the fertility of the crops, herds, and people; to ensure the abundance of future harvests, and to purify the members of tribes and communities. Again, the period between today and the Lunar Beltane/Total Lunar Eclipse/Super Full Moon in Scorpio is a good one to create personalized ritual or some form of assessing your year-to-date, asking for guidance on how to best move – or keep moving – forward, then looking for the synchronicities that tell you what to do next. Be prepared to learn a lot.
As you do, remember the dominant astrological energy now is that of Taurus: it rules love, and it loves fiercely. It is hell-bent on carrying its karma forward, healing its deepest wounds, so there is no barrier to expressing its greatest gifts. Especially karma around love, relationships, and the values they are based on. Right now, Taurus has us all searching for values-based relationships of greater depth and meaning with like-minded souls, and with souls who may not be so like-minded but with whom we can communicate and co-exist lovingly. Most of us are just waking up to the fact that we don’t need 10,000 friends and followers on social media. We need a small handful of folks that are right as rain, who are there with us through thick and thin, and with whom we can love and be loved unconditionally as our authentic selves, free—or freer—from the slavery of needy projections. So listen up, lean in, and rise to the occasion—or at least find some way to start listing in that general direction. And if you get stuck, call me. We’ll figure it out.
Calendar
Following are some dates to be mindful of and some generic wisdom about them.
April 29 – Pluto retrogrades at 28° Capricorn, Mercury into Gemini
April 30 – New Moon in Taurus, Partial Solar Eclipse
May 1 – May Day, Beltane
May 2 – Venus into Aries
May 8 – Mother’s Day
May 10 – Mercury retrogrades at 4° Gemini, Jupiter into Aries
May 15 – Lunar Beltane, Total Lunar Eclipse, Super Full Moon in Scorpio: Flower, Milk Moon, Dyad Moon, and The Corn Planting Moon
May 20 – Sun into Gemini
May 22 – Mercury into Taurus
May 24 – Mars into Aries
May 28 – Venus into Taurus
May 30 – Memorial Day; New Moon in Gemini, 15-day Eclipse shadow period ends
June 3 – Mercury goes direct at 26° Taurus; 25-day shadow period begins
Everybody’s natal (birth) chart is different. These differences reflect our individual souls—their journeys and evolution, their triumphs and their tragic flaws. As such, the specific impact of each of the following dates will hit each person differently. But there are some general themes.
Holy days, holidays, and astrological transits are opportunities for us to experience grace. But remember how grace happens: sometimes it comes through discomfort. The gifts aren’t always immediately apparent. All of the days on this list ask you to be more compassionate with yourself and others, to try and be more awake, and to be more open to synchronicity and messages from Spirit. On days when more than one astrological event, holiday or holy day occurs, know that the power of that day will be even more profound. The more events in a day, the more powerful that day is, and the more intentional you should be.
Again, in general, Full Moons are a good time for ending things, wrapping things up, conclusions, and closure. New Moons are opportune times for new beginnings: starting a new chapter of some aspect of your life, tackling a new project, or launching something new. Retrogrades are always about slowing down and paying more attention to aspects of your creative, spiritual, and social lives. The eclipses always reveal; sometimes it is something others have hidden from you, sometimes it is things you have hidden from yourself. Usually, it is a little bit of both. To go deeper, look to the planetary signs and the houses they fall in, and, of course, to your natal chart. Or give me a call. I can help you with that.
Retreats, Rituals, Services, Ceremonies, and Journeys
Choosing the best day or days for your sacred event is a very personal thing. You have to feel your way into it. But there are some generic rules that can help you in your decision-making process. Full Moons and New Moons are considered the best. Holidays and holy days are as well. Full Moons and New Moons that occur during or over a period of holidays and holy days are extraordinarily powerful.
Factor in a retrograde or two and you pretty much cannot avoid leveling up and becoming a much more masterful magician. Especially around anything that has to do with your faith, your trust in it, your ability to serve your faith and serve with it. Seriously.
With that in mind, your best days in the next month for deep, transformational experiences are the following: April 30 - May 2, May 8, May 10, May 15, May 20, May 22, May 24, May 28, and May 30.