New Moon in Taurus

The darkness of the Moon in Taurus has a richness like none other, its subterranean soil serving as a gestating matrix within which desires may take root and receive the inner nourishment needed to emerge vibrantly into the world. The New Moon in Taurus on May 11 holds a pulsating potency underneath the pleasing astrological aspects it is forming, including a creative sextile with Neptune in Pisces, an empowering trine with Pluto in Capricorn, and a catalyzing square with Jupiter in Aquarius. As the lunation is happening within the exaltation of the Moon, the slow and steady processes favored by the living image of Taurus can cultivate and nurture new growth that can endure with resiliency and long lasting effects. The atmosphere of the New Moon in Taurus does not foster rushing forth like a charging Bull, but rather slowing down to sink and deepen into what’s emerging within and being present to listen to new developments within our myriad relationships. 

Although a New Moon in Taurus can be helpful for finding greater stability, the upcoming astrology will in fact be quite volatile. The lunar cycle beginning with the Taurus New Moon will wax into a total Lunar Eclipse in Sagittarius that will reflect its blood red light on May 25, signaling endings and beginnings in storylines.  Mercury will then facilitate further twists and turns in stories by stationing retrograde on May 29, followed by a Solar Eclipse in Gemini on June 10 and then the second exact square aspect of the year between Uranus in Taurus and Saturn in Aquarius on June 14. Knowing that numerous astrological events are coming that can deeply reshape and alter structures and relationships, the Taurus New Moon is an ideal time for inner reflection and examination of how your desires and priorities have been changing so you may better navigate the approaching astrological volatility in better alignment with what you wish to create and cultivate. 

At the center of the disruptive and change inducing astrological transits that will be occurring in the next month is the square aspect between Saturn and Uranus that will be increasingly swelling with intensity. Previously we experienced the first exact square aspect between Saturn and Uranus on February 17, a period in which the influence of Saturn in Aquarius was being amplified due to it being engaged in numerous astrological aspects. In contrast, during the past month there has been an intensification of the influence of Uranus in Taurus, with Mercury, Venus, and the Sun all forming conjunctions with Uranus. While you may already be aware of numerous elements of your life that have completely changed since February 17, the recent stoking of Uranus suggests that an even deeper level of change is presently taking shape. The impact of Uranus will unleash feelings and visions beyond the present boundaries and borders of circumstances, bringing inspiration that can help guide the way forward as long as we do not neglect the reality of Saturn that will require patience and building things one step at a time. 

Yet being mindful of Saturn does not mean limiting your sense of what will be possible to create, change, and bring together, for the square between Saturn and Uranus means that we must necessarily come to terms with ways we perceive unnecessary limitations as we simultaneously open to a more enlivening and expansive sense of reality. It may not be clear yet how you will go about creating, establishing, or developing the new desires that have been stirred into stable forms, but not knowing how it will happen is less important at the moment than gaining a deeper sense for what you do want to have happen, which directions you want to move in, which relationships you wish to further develop, and which interests and skills you wish to cultivate and pursue. As we transition in the coming lunar cycle from the fertile solidity of Taurus into the diverse multiplicity of Gemini, remember to make space and time to continually come back to center, sifting through the parts of your inner multiplicity ready to emerge so you may better integrate and embody the authentic new desires you want to reshape your life with. 

The New Moon in Taurus is ruled by Venus in Gemini as the star of Aphrodite is finally re-emerging into visible light as an Evening Star following sunset. Venus has been veiled from view under the beams of the Sun since the beginning of February, and after being reanimated by the noetic potency of the Sun on March 25 she will now be bringing her dazzling presence to the shifting hues of twilight every sunset. There are different gods and goddesses syncretized with Venus in different cultures, but no matter your cultural background the divine being of Venus will have an intensified presence in our lives during the waxing half of the forthcoming lunar cycle as the star of Aphrodite is reborn into the world again. As the waxing Moon in Gemini will unite with Venus on May 12, we may become more deeply attuned with the desires that have been forming within hidden recesses of our senses within the past month and a half. 

Although Venus is not at home in Gemini, she will be benefitting from Mercury also being present in its airy home of the Twins. As a result, Venus will have access to the full resources of Mercury and we may discover greater capacity to give voice to and communicate the new ideas and desires that have been taking shape within during the past month. Venus combined with Mercury in Gemini can blend aesthetic sense and design with intellectual analysis and flowing fluency in communication, making it a powerful period for any form of creativity especially in the realms of writing, music, art, and crafts. Due to Mercury stationing retrograde on May 29, we will be able to enjoy the social and creative atmosphere fostered by Venus and Mercury being together in Gemini from now until June 2 when Venus enters Cancer. It will be a potent time for making connections with those who share our interests, as well as for sustaining dialogue and listening to those who have different viewpoints and perspectives from our own. 

Just like Mercury and Venus can be fruitful for aesthetically arranging colors, words, and sounds, so can they also help us explore what aspects of our changing desires to pursue as we experience many collective and personal shifts during the coming season of eclipses. Significantly, Mercury is forming a conjunction with the North Node of the Moon during the time of the Taurus New Moon, followed by Venus forming a conjunction with the North Node of the Moon a week later on May 18. With Mercury in Gemini ruling the North Node of the Moon as we approach a Lunar Eclipse on May 25 and a Solar Eclipse on June 10, the presence of Venus in Gemini can help us hold the tension of opposing desires until giving birth to something that transcends the polarity, not unlike the Hermaphrodite Rebis (res bina) found in alchemical text that reconciles the spiritual and material (1).

Venus being under the influence of Mercury in Gemini for an extended period of time will create a more fluid and adaptable atmosphere for Venus that can lead to dispersing energy in multiple directions while multitasking between numerous projects and goals.  Mercury and Venus together in Gemini will also draw us into a deeper search for meaning and connections, curiously questioning and synthesizing meaning within the myriad relationships that interconnect us within reality. Moreover, the living image of the Twins conjures the relationship between our mortal and immortal sides, the illuminated spark of vision and the darkness of the shadow it casts, our felt sense of soulfulness we may idealize as a soul mate yet ultimately returns us to a stronger awareness of our own deep material we need to integrate and embody. 

The New Moon in Taurus is applying to a jolting square aspect with Jupiter in Aquarius that it will complete on May 12, a day before Jupiter enters Pisces on May 13.  The return of Jupiter to its own sign adds an additional vivifying influence to the beginning of the lunar cycle, further amplifying potential for deepening into desires and coalescing ideas and inspiration in the process. Jupiter entering Pisces will bring a boost toward new desires because the sovereignty Jupiter possesses in Pisces allows it to express its significations for prosperity, growth, and fertile creativity with fullness and directness. While Jupiter has been sharing the sign of Aquarius with Saturn we may have found ways of being more expansive within present life structures or renovated systems to allow for greater vision and progress, but with Jupiter occupying its own sign we may experience leaps of imagination that stretch and elevate our sense of what will be possible to create with our life. With regard to the square aspect between Saturn and Uranus, it is further significant that Jupiter will no longer be in the home of Saturn and will instead be out of aspect to Saturn and instead forming a creative sextile aspect with Uranus in Taurus. 

In contrast to Sagittarius, the fiery and diurnal home of Jupiter where it accelerates the speed of events and reaches outward to new vistas beckoning over the horizon, Pisces is the watery, nocturnal home of Jupiter that facilitates descent into the boundless, oceanic realm of desires within our bodily senses and unconscious. Jupiter in Pisces will support slowing down to sink into fuller sensations regarding our circumstances, letting the waves of Pisces wash over the parts of ourselves that have become fragmented or disconnected, dissolving places that have become stuck or hardened. Jupiter in Pisces is magnetically receptive, drawing new sources of inspiration to itself and synthesizing insight through assembling and unifying separate influences into new forms of vital meaning. Like soaking in a hot spring overlooking a sweeping view of breathtaking nature, Jupiter in Pisces can allow for a release of stress and tension so we may immerse ourselves in whatever brings a stronger sense of soulfulness and passion. By taking our time and letting the intuitive strength of Jupiter in Pisces guide us in the direction of inner promptings, we can ultimately discover a more productive and flowing path forward than if we try to rush ahead and force things to happen. 

It’s further important that as soon as Jupiter enters Pisces it will be present within the same sign as Neptune. Although Jupiter will not form its conjunction with Neptune in Pisces until April 12, 2022 we will begin to gain a foreshadowing sense of the meaning that Jupiter and Neptune will be bringing into our lives. Jupiter and Neptune have one of the most important cycles to consider within astrology, forming a conjunction roughly every thirteen years in typically a successive sign of the zodiac. Due to there being two straight conjunctions of Jupiter and Neptune in Capricorn in 1984 and 1997 followed by a conjunction in Aquarius in 2009, we have lived through three straight cycles of Jupiter and Neptune being initiated in a domicile of Saturn. Their conjunction in Pisces in 2022 will be the first conjunction between Jupiter and Neptune in a domicile of Jupiter since the three conjunctions they formed in Sagittarius in 1971, and we can therefore expect to catch a powerful wave of imaginal force in the year ahead. 

Jupiter and Neptune in many ways have a meaning that is diametrically opposed and in stark contrast to the meaning of Saturn and Pluto that held significant influence over the events of 2020. While mundane astrologers such as Andre Barbault have recognized it as a combination that incites waves of liberal and progressive movements within global politics, other astrologers such as Dane Rudhyar have found it to be a disorienting yet extremely powerful impetus for letting go of desires to conform to societal expectations of success in favor of following an unorthodox and untrodden path illuminated by the inner light of imaginal, unconscious sources. Due to the illusory impact of Neptune, however, we will also need to be mindful of how we are navigating the way forward so that we are not swept out to sea.  Since Jupiter is only going to be occupying the first three degrees of Pisces from now until July 28, however, we will only be gaining an initial taste of the otherworldly fruit that will be offered to us by Jupiter and Neptune. For now, let your mind open to new stories, mythos, muses, and founts of inspiration that can disintegrate the ways you have kept yourself controlled or bound to old storylines that no longer serve your best interests and highest good. 

Within the darkness of the Taurus New Moon is another aspect that deserves attention: Mars in Cancer receiving Chiron in Aries through a square aspect. We may notice that some of the new desires forming within and beginning to emerge not only feel exciting and inspired but also make us feel vulnerable due to them testing the ground of past wounds and insecurities. Indeed, the tension between Mars and Chiron is also playing a role in the ways our conception of past forms of stability have been disrupted by the square between Saturn and Uranus, as Mars is additionally forming a sextile aspect with Uranus and Chiron is forming a sextile aspect with Saturn. Since Chiron has a primal role in astrology of mediating and bridging the realms of Saturn with Uranus, the square between Mars and Chiron is leading us to encounter emotional material and relational issues that necessarily must be confronted if we wish to step into more of the liberating impact of Saturn and Uranus. 

It’s often the case that as we prepare to cross the threshold of breakthrough experiences or significant alterations of old patterns we with to reshape, for one reason or another we get pulled back to face old issues connected to the old stories we have emerged from. Chiron in Aries can help instill the sense of agency we need to make empowering choices that align with our core purpose and desires, while Mars in Cancer can propel us to take action toward cultivating the relationships and experiences that will fulfill our emotional needs, courageously protecting whatever is most important for us to nurture. Be tender with yourself if you need to create space to process, release, or come into deeper relationship with old emotional material that  has caused pain in the past. The more we can release and empty of what needs to be let go, the better we will be able to move through the accelerated pace of change that will be coming with the eclipses at the end of May and beginning of June.

Taurus 3 Decan

The New Moon in Taurus is arising in the third decan of Taurus associated with the Seven of Pentacles card illustrated above by Pamela Colman Smith. An image of a farmer or gardener carefully watching over the growth of green foliage he hopes will ultimately ripen into a bountiful harvest, it is a card of delayed gratification that necessitates patiently cultivating the process at work so that a savory climax of fulfilling ripeness can later be enjoyed. Fittingly, Saturn rules the third face of Taurus as it is zodiacal terrain where the calm, prudent, and attentive countenance of the farmer in the image of the Seven of Pentacles is needed to make sure all of the necessary planning and responsibilities will be completed even when facing adversity. Similarly, we will need to integrate the new desires being formed within the darkness of the New Moon into a long range perspective that will be capable of carefully tending to and nurturing the needs of our relationships and endeavors so that they may ultimately bloom in healthy wholeness.  

The fact that the New Moon in the third face of Taurus is leading us into the destabilizing storms of an eclipse season aligns well with the meaning that Austin Coppock gave to the third face of Taurus in his book 36 Faces. Coppock ascribed the image of “A String of Prayer Beads” to this face, stating that it “represents a confrontation with destructive factors which impede completion,” as well as the need to enact remediation and “make plans to accommodate the unforeseen.”  While Coppock acknowledged that we must face toil and difficulty at times in this decan due to everything that can go wrong in between the germination of a seed and its ultimate flowering and fruiting, he also listed virtues such as “wisdom, patience, humility, and foresight” as being “the unexpected fruits of the destructive forces which prowl this face.” Indeed, Coppock concluded that while this face may make us confront potential disaster, it is also a place from which we can call for support from higher powers and worthy allies while developing the remedies needed to overcome threats. 

T. Susan Chang in her book 36 Secrets made the astute observation that it is important to “consider the nature of boundaries” in all of the decans ruled by Saturn, as “freedom depends on its limits.” Chang also noted that the image of the farmer staring into space in the Seven of Pentacles image suggests “a sort of timelessness” inherent in the card’s meaning, not unlike the role Saturn plays in astrology as the threshold guardian between time and timelessness. To Chang there is a lesson in this face found within the relationship between our finite perception of time and the truly infinite nature of time. Indeed, by patiently attending to what needs to be completed or cared for in accordance with the finiteness of time, we may also gain wisdom from and find strength within the infiniteness of time in ways that can help us withstand hardship and toil. 

As the lunar cycle initiated by the New Moon in Taurus will culminate with a total Lunar Eclipse in Sagittarius, we have forewarning that unexpected changes will be coming that may involve difficulty as well as exciting inspiration. The wisdom of the third decan of Taurus suggests we may prepare through patient attention to whatever needs attending to, as well as by reaching out for support from those who will be able to assist us through whatever transitions we will be moving through in the next couple of months. Since Jupiter in Pisces will be ruling the Sagittarius Lunar Eclipse, we can also have faith that support will be available from the unseen realm of spirit. While we may need to temporarily navigate through a period of volatility in the month ahead, the New Moon in Taurus points us toward the enduring new forms and relationships we will be able to cultivate and develop that will continue to support us for a long time beyond the present. 

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References

(1) Caton, Gary. (2017). Hermetica Triptycha: the Mercury Elemental Year. Rubedo Press.

Chang, T. Susan. (2021). 36 Secrets: A Decanic Journey through the Minor Arcana of the Tarot. Anima Mundi Press. 

Coppock, Austin. (2014). 36 Faces: the history, astrology, and magic of the decans. Three Hands Press.