Taurus 2 Decan

Total Lunar Eclipse in Taurus

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Red Sunset on the Dnieper (Dnipro) by Arkhip Ivanovich Kuindzhi

Total Lunar Eclipse in Taurus

The Lunar Eclipse in Taurus on November 8 has carried a big reputation long before its manifestation. For starters, it’s a Total Lunar Eclipse in which the face of the Moon will become completely veiled by red shadows. Secondly, it is igniting the friction between Uranus in Taurus and Saturn in Aquarius that has dominated the astrological landscape since the beginning of 2021. The clash between Saturn and Uranus has correlated with systemic disruptions and collapses across global societies, while within the personal sphere many have experienced drastic and immense changes in life direction. The Taurus Lunar Eclipse will loudly open the final chapter of the Saturn-Uranus story with a bang. The eclipse at 16º00’ Taurus will be applying closely to a conjunction with Uranus retrograde at 16º56’ Taurus, with the North Node of the Moon nearby at 13º24’ Taurus and Saturn occupying the ninety degree angle of 18º48’ Aquarius. Adding to the volatility of these aspects is the tricky presence of Mercury, who will be adding a large dosage of regenerating spice into the mixture due to forming a reanimating conjunction with the Sun at the same time as the eclipse.

One of the reasons astrologers predicted 2022 would be an extremely volatile year was due to not only one, but two total lunar eclipses occurring in hard aspects with Saturn and Uranus. Total lunar eclipses do not happen every year, and in fact after the Taurus Lunar Eclipse there will not be another total lunar eclipse until 14 March 2025. While new moons and full moons set the rhythm of events on a monthly basis, eclipses carry a larger charge of impact that can last at least six months long, with total eclipses tending to have the most jarring influence. One way astrologers forecast the length of an eclipse’s impact is by how long the light is consumed by shadow, and so it’s also significant that the Taurus Lunar Eclipse has an unusually long duration of totality of around 85 minutes. Moreover, the eclipse occurring in a fixed zodiac sign further magnifies the interpretation that the eclipse will mark turning points in storylines that will have long term ramifications.

Saturn facing off with Uranus demands change. However your life has changed in the past couple of years, the eclipse setting off Saturn and Uranus will demand coming to terms with the larger implications of your choices at the same time new developments and information will require digestion and integration. As we have witnessed over the course of the past couple of years the process of Saturn and Uranus at times can involve a slow buildup of tension that eventually erupts with a propulsive release, at other times striking unexpectedly with the force of lightning while instantly changing everything. Saturn involves consolidated contraction that can build enduring structures at a slow and steady pace, whereas Uranus operates with accelerated vision and movement that resists restrictions and insists on making innovative changes to the status quo. If there remain places within life where you have been resistant to letting go of past dynamics that have kept you from fully stepping into a more vibrant and exciting path forward, the Taurus Lunar Eclipse can serve as the catalytic astrological influence needed to jettison you forward into the new direction.

With the Sun and Mercury combined together in Scorpio near the South Node of the Moon, and Venus not too far away in Scorpio, it will be important to make space for reflection and contemplation of the past patterns and dynamics that have led to present circumstances. The chaotically creative combination of the eclipsed Moon with its North Node and Uranus can be exciting yet can also lead us into becoming overwhelmingly swept up inside the collective storms that will be sweeping through current events. The inward nature of Scorpio being catalyzed by the contraction of Saturn calls for a turn within and focus upon the depth of the in-breath rather than rushing toward the release of the exhale. With Mercury rushing at full speed into the heart of the Sun in Scorpio, the star of Hermes is calling for a descent into embodiment of one’s essential character in order to act and speak from one’s core values rather than being rashly reactive to the unsettling winds of change that will be blowing through collective and personal events.

Mercury is the ultimate mediator of polarities within astrology. While Mercury has a disruptive side that will show up in events aligned with the eclipse, its capacity for mediating polarities can also facilitate important internal growth and development. It’s superior conjunction with the Sun is unusually significant due to it occurring within a few degrees of its own node, with Mercury descending across the ecliptic from north to south in latitude. Mercury aligning with the Sun near its own node means that it will truly be in the heart of the Sun during the eclipse. Within external events we can expect that significations of Mercury such as communication, technology, commerce, and the media will be major themes within the big eclipse stories that will be emerging, an obvious example being the longterm implications of the purchase of Twitter by Elon Musk. Yet with Mercury experiencing the purifying, reanimating, regenerative renewal of its solar conjunction at the same time as the eclipse, turning our attention within can help us attune to the seeds of new ideas that will play pivotal roles in our future development. We can also shed the influence of past conditioning on our thoughts and perception more readily. Consider what thought-forms and opinions you hold due to being told you have to think that way, or due to wanting to conform with or be accepted by others. Mercury in Scorpio is in position to help you cut through to the heart of your present state of being.

Whether or not your external life has dramatically changed during the past couple years of Saturn facing off with Uranus, the internal changes you have experienced will be essential to reflect upon. In what ways have you been releasing yourself from past conditioning and attachment to past sources of security? The emancipatory presence of Uranus will be extreme within the eclipse, and while this will correlate with unsettling news and changes in many cases, it can also shake us free from where we have been stuck. Due to the Sun forming an opposition with Uranus at the same time as the eclipse, Uranus will be as close to us as possible within its orbit. Listen to what messages Uranus is sharing amidst all of the tumult for how to become more engaged with your authentic presence and follow a more creatively fulfilling direction forward. Before being able to follow the path illuminated by Uranus, however, the eclipse will also bring up the old issues and emotional material in need of resolution.

Bison in red ochre in the Cave of Altamira, Spain, from upper Paleolithic era (36,000 BC)

Eclipses come in families connected with the Saros cycle. The origin of their ancestry begins at either the south or north pole and then traces a serpentine path around our world every eighteen or so years, moving ahead eleven degrees of celestial longitude each time. The Taurus Lunar Eclipse is part of the Lunar Saros 136 family that have all occurred at the north node of the Moon, with the most recent eclipses in the family happening on 28 October 2004, 17 October 1986, 6 October 1968, and 26 September 1950. The origin eclipse in this family occurred on 13 April 1680 and involved a conjunction between Mars and Uranus in Aries that was in a square aspect with Pluto, as well as a square aspect between Jupiter in Taurus with Neptune in Aquarius. The combination of Mars, Uranus, and Pluto seeding the origin eclipse gives this family a theme of disruptive, volcanic force that fits well with the turbulent aspects within the Taurus Lunar Eclipse. The contact between Jupiter and Neptune in the origin eclipse also adds further weight to another significant aspect within the present eclipse: Jupiter and Neptune together in Pisces forming a square aspect with Mars retrograde in Gemini.

After the Taurus Moon passes through a conjunction with Uranus and a square aspect with Saturn, it will move into a sextile aspect with Neptune retrograde in Pisces followed by a trine aspect with Pluto in Capricorn and then another sextile aspect with Jupiter retrograde in Pisces. More impactful than the sextile between the Taurus Moon with Neptune and Jupiter in Pisces, however, is the square aspect between Mars retrograde in Gemini with Jupiter and Neptune in Pisces. Within a week of the recent Solar Eclipse in Scorpio, Mars stationed retrograde in Gemini on October 30 and so Mars has barely been moving during the strange vortex of time that occurs in between eclipses. Mars stationing at a standstill is always incredibly dramatic, as Mars stations retrograde less frequently than the other planets and the stationary status of non-movement is at odds with the action oriented nature of Mars. Mars wants freedom of movement and expression, and when it is moving direct it enjoys the hunt of going after goals and competing for whatever we view as the treasured prize. Yet when Mars stations to shift retrograde it isn’t moving, and so there is increased potential to feel frustrated or blocked. The simultaneous friction between Mars with Jupiter and Neptune can be disorienting and amplify frustrations due to difficulty in focusing.

Mars stationing retrograde requires adjustment and although it can coincide with difficult feelings and experiences, it is an extraordinary agent of change in our lives. Mars may not be moving much by zodiacal degree during the Taurus Lunar Eclipse, but we will nonetheless be experiencing an intensification of its heat in ways that can shatter our complacency and unleash new desires that pierce our defenses and call us to shift directions. Moreover, the Sun, Mercury, Venus, and the South Node of the Moon are all transiting through the nocturnal, watery domicile of Mars and so the red planet will be claiming a powerful role of influence in the week ahead until Venus leaves Scorpio for Sagittarius on November 15, Mercury does the same on November 17, and the Sun follows them into Sagittarius on November 22. With all of the Scorpio placements activated during the eclipse, deepening into whatever processes of putrefaction, purging, and shedding you are experiencing will provide the compost needed to nurture whatever new fiery desires of Mars emerge.

The more we can become clear about our goals and what we wish to create in the month ahead, the better we will be able to make use of the abundant creative potential available through Mars activating the combination of Jupiter and Neptune in Pisces. Jupiter and Neptune in Pisces is an immensely imaginative combination. However, we can be in danger of merely daydreaming with Jupiter and Neptune or becoming drawn into internal processes to such an extent that we have difficulty expressing their imaginal insight through material forms. The positive side of an intensified Mars volatilizing Neptune and Jupiter is that we can become activated to bring creative visions into form. Setting goals and making space to focus on the steps required to achieve aspirations will help us be focused and productive rather than distracted and dispersed. A helpful aid in focusing on work will be the flowing trine aspect between Mars retrograde in Gemini with Saturn in Aquarius that will continue to build with intensity until becoming exact on November 28. The harmonious aspect between Mars with Saturn will be helpful for making significant strides in our most meaningful work.

Though there is a positive side to the tension between Mars retrograde with Jupiter and Neptune, we need to be wary of becoming blinded by our beliefs under their influence or acting like a self-righteous crusader against perceived evildoers. All of us live in an illusion in one way or another, the difficulty being that we typically have no idea that we are living in an illusion and instead become critical of those acting in ways that go against our own illusions and beliefs about reality. Jupiter and Neptune combined in Pisces can become overly inflated about beliefs, with the intense heat of Mars leading us to persecute and attack others who appear to go against our beliefs. Rather than being dogmatic or fixated in your beliefs, be curious about asking questions and make it a point to practice active listening skills so you can relate to where others are coming from instead of projecting on them where you believe they are coming from. Though many portray Jupiter and Neptune in Pisces as fostering delusion, their combination can actually reveal deeper truths about reality when we are willing to experience disillusionment and pierce through our self illusions.

Roses in a Vase (1881/83) by Georges Seurat

Venus in Scorpio rules the Taurus Lunar Eclipse while under the beams of the Sun and separating from a square aspect with Saturn in Aquarius. Venus is still traversing her underworld journey due to being in her invisible phase with the Sun, and so with both Venus and Mercury being too close to the Sun to be visible, there will be ample support available for internal processing and descending into hidden depths and places of psyche to attune with the ways in which our internal landscape has been shifting. Venus formed her superior conjunction with the Sun on October 22, and since that time we have been in a process of incubating the new sense of values and desires that will be emerging. Venus will not become visible as an Evening Star for another month, and so the changes brought by the eclipse will help facilitate greater awareness for the ways in which we have been internally shifting. Venus is in the third decan of Scorpio that she rules during the eclipse, and her dignity within the third decan of Scorpio is ideal for deepening into the depths of desires to bring about regeneration. Austin Coppock in his book 36 Faces wrote that the essence of the third face of Scorpio involves the putrefaction of desire that leads to direct contact with the nature of desire. Coppock posited that through the loss of unfulfilled desire, the process of separating our desire from the external objects of desires brings the ability to reseed and regenerate core desires. Coppock wrote that the third face of Scorpio contains a “formula of liberation, for if we were not capable of laying our desires to rest, returning them to pure energy, we would be enchained forever, prisoners of what we once held dear.”

Mercury and Venus will remain in Scorpio in the week following the eclipse while in their invisible phases and forming flowing trine aspects with Neptune and Jupiter in Pisces. Venus will trine Neptune on November 10, Mercury will trine Neptune on November 12, Venus will trine Jupiter on November 15, and Mercury will trine Jupiter on November 16. As you lay to rest whatever old desires need to be fully let go, listen deeply to whatever new creative desires and ideas flow into your awareness as Venus and Mercury pass through their harmonious aspects with Jupiter and Neptune in Pisces. If you are experiencing difficulties in connection with events that erupt with the timing of the Taurus Lunar Eclipse, do your best to make some time and space for creative brainstorming. With Jupiter and Neptune in the exaltation of Venus, Venus in particular will be able to receive the imaginative revelations of Jupiter and Neptune in ways that can open up exciting new avenues of creative development.

6 of Pentacles by Pamela Colman Smith

Taurus 2 Decan

The Moon will become eclipsed in the second decan of Taurus associated with the Six of Pentacles card illustrated above by Pamela Colman Smith. In the image we witness a mercantile figure carrying scales of balance in his left hand, while dispensing gold coins with his right hand to figures kneeling on the ground with tattered blankets begging for money. The Six of Pentacles card is typically associated with giving and receiving on the material plane. Like in the prayer of Saint Francis, there is receiving found in the giving and giving found in the receiving, with the image of the scales further signifying a sense of internal balance and authenticity found in the process. Through inner harmony transmitted within collaborative exchanges with others, great success and productivity can be achieved in the material realm. Despite whatever difficulties we face with the Moon becoming eclipsed in the second face of Taurus, focusing on the mutual support available within our relationships will be a key to navigating any unexpected challenges that arise.

The Moon is the ruler of the second face of Taurus, adding to the potency of the Moon in her exaltation becoming eclipsed. T. Susan Chang in her book 36 Secrets on tarot and the decans described the second face of Taurus as involving “Mysteries at the Threshold,” in part due to the major arcana of the High Priestess (Moon) and Hierophant (Taurus) having symbolic association with the second face of Taurus. Chang noted that the Six of Pentacles card involves both “an act of benevolence that visually echoes the Hierophant card,” while the High Priestess is also involved in the image of the Six of Pentacles as “the spirit that moves one to generosity.” Chang further wrote that the Six of Pentacles reveals the importance of taking the opportunity that arises within a window in time, “a moment in weaving when the warp threads have separated just enough for the shuttle to fly through.” Chang advised that drawing the Six of Pentacles can indicate finding “harmony between your inner and outer selves,” accepting and creating “material opportunities, for yourself and others,” as well as finding “the sweet, cross-quarter magic of the present moment.”

Austin Coppock in his book on the decans 36 Faces ascribed the image of “A Linga-Yoni” to the second face of Taurus, bridging images of “procreative unions” and “wanton fertilization” with the practice of virtuous action. Coppock described an alchemical process for the second face of Taurus, advising that the matters generated in this face “must be attended to carefully and consistently,” as “dedication must join fecundity and passions to complete the picture this face provides . . . Passion is necessary for continuing fructification, but those raw powers must be tempered by means of an ordered effort.” Coppock’s description of alchemical effort fits well with the transit of Mars retrograde in Gemini forming an activating square aspect with Jupiter and Neptune in Pisces during the eclipse, with Mars also applying toward a flowing trine aspect with Saturn in Aquarius that will support the ordered effort needed to bring the fruits of Jupiter and Neptune into form.

The Hellenistic text 36 Airs ascribed the Horai to the second decan of Taurus, a trinity of goddesses of the seasons and natural cycles of time who are the daughters of Zeus and Themis, goddess of divine law and order. Diodorus of Sicily wrote in the 1st century BC that each of the “Horai was given a responsibility named after her for the ordering and arranging of life for the greatest benefit of mankind” and “furnishing a prosperous life” through “lawfulness {eunomia}, justice {dike}, and peace {eirene}.” In keeping with the Taurean metaphor of cultivating crops, the Horai were worshipped by those planting and tending their field of harvest in alignment with the rising and setting of stars. The presence of the Horai in the decan where the Moon will be eclipsed suggests the wisdom of knowing the right time for action performed in the right way. Rather than reacting rashly to challenges or trying to rush ahead too fast in pursuit of desires, keep in mind the long game as you listen to what your situation demands and respond from your core values of integrity.

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References

Anthology of Classical Myth: Primary Sources in Translation. (2004). Edited and translated by S.M. trzaskoma, R.S. Smith, and S. Brunet. Hackett Publishing Company, Inc.

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.

Taurus Solar Eclipse

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No. 8 – Special (1916) by Georgia O’Keeffe

Taurus Solar Eclipse

Solar eclipses cloak the life-giving light of our Sun with the blackness of night. The otherworldly experience of night overcoming day has long provoked fear due to the extinguishing of light by eclipses, as well as the dramatic reputations eclipses carry within astrology for irrevocably changing the landscape of our lives. Yet like ancient stories of creation in which life and the spirit of eros emerge from the chaotic chasm of a fertile void, the changes catalyzed in correspondence with eclipses have immensely vast creative potential. The Taurus Solar Eclipse on April 30 is partial rather than total, yet the Moon will still eclipse a substantial portion of the Sun’s light. Due to the eclipse occurring in the fixed, stable, and enduring sign of Taurus, we can expect the impact of the eclipse to have long lasting effects.

The partial solar eclipse at 10º28’ Taurus is closely applying to a conjunction with Uranus at  14º32’ Taurus. The influence of Uranus in Taurus upon the eclipse makes it even more likely than normal for its impact to include unexpected revelations, surprising changes in storylines, and eruptive, propulsive change. The eclipse corresponding with fast changing developments and opportunities is further accentuated by the eclipse aligning with the North Node of the Moon while also applying to a close sextile aspect with Mars in Pisces, as Mars is simultaneously applying toward a sextile aspect with Uranus. The extraordinary volatility of these aspects can overturn and disrupt whatever was formerly stable, yet the supportive sextile aspects involved will also bring opportunities for recovery and readjustment so we may take action while attuning to the changing conditions.

Since Taurus is the earthy fixed sign, it can be the most resistant and stubborn to change, preferring a slow and steady pace that can sink into experiences and sustain as much stability as possible. While it will be helpful to slow down as much as possible, there likely will also be events set into motion that require rapid responses and a willingness to let go of how things had been in order to flow with the currents of change. The fixed nature of the eclipse also means it’s likely that the changes being set into motion will have long-term impact, and so it will be important to slow down as much as possible and find ways to ground into the present moment even when having to adjust to unexpected twists and turns of narratives. It will be best to create space for rest, reflection, and restoration as much as possible.

There was previously a Lunar Eclipse in Taurus on November 30, 2021 and so there may be important developments taking shape now that link back to the first eclipse to occur in Taurus. However, although the Taurus Lunar Eclipse was in the same sign as Uranus, it was not applying to Uranus and so did not activate Uranus to the same level that the Taurus Solar Eclipse will ignite the Promethean fire of Uranus. With the transiting north node as well as the eclipse in the same sign as Uranus, the whirling vortex of alchemic fire brought by Uranus will be more fully capable than normal of shaking up and reshaping matter, creating deep-seated, tectonic shifts within personal and collective events. We can witness this in numerous collective events presently creating uncertainty in terms of economic policies and supply chains of needed material resources, yet within our personal lives we can also expect to experience a massive reordering of dynamics. While dramatic change can feel scary and precarious, it also unleashes vast potential for the emergence of new creative directions that are more aligned with one’s inner authenticity than the older circumstances becoming dislodged and dissolved.

Taurus is the exaltation of the Moon, and so solar eclipses in Taurus have the unique aspect of the Sun’s light becoming eclipsed by an exalted Moon. Moreover, the domicile ruler of the eclipse, Venus, is not only in her exaltation of Pisces, but also applying to an exact conjunction with Jupiter in Pisces. With the exalted Moon also applying toward a conjunction with her own north node, altogether there can be a felt sense of exalted desire for growth and development that may or may not align with one’s present circumstances. The essential dignity of exaltation is linked to the turning of the wheel of fortune, not only the rising toward desires and honors but also the potential to fall from great heights of achievement or acclaim. Mindfulness and discernment need to be applied to circumstances, whether it feels like a dream is coming true or a dream has been dissolved through disillusionment. The Taurus Solar Eclipse demarcates a major turning point in collective and personal narratives, and so as storylines continue to shift we need to be ready for the unexpected and capable of flexibly making adjustments as needed to bring about desired outcomes.

Eclipses come in families known as the Saros cycle, with the Taurus Solar Eclipse being part of the Saros 119 family. The origin of the Saros cycle ancestry begins at either the south or north pole and then traces a serpentine path around our world every eighteen or so years, moving ahead eleven degrees of celestial longitude each time. Bernadette Brady connected the Saros 119 family of eclipses with father or authority figures, the need to take responsibility, or being a time to accept the commitments that are presented, due to the node of the origin eclipse (May 15, 850 C.E.) being on the midpoint between the lunation and Saturn.

The origin of the eclipse family having a relationship with Saturn further connects with how the Taurus Solar Eclipse is applying toward a square aspect with Saturn in Aquarius, although Saturn is just outside the thirteen degree orb many astrologers are willing to give the Moon. No matter what orb you give the Moon, however, Saturn has a strong influence over the eclipse due to forming a close square aspect to the transiting lunar nodes at the southern bending of the nodes. Saturn is also close to the fixed star Deneb Algedi by zodiacal degree as well as in paran in certain locations, a star that is often associated with the ancient creator deity Enki. Enki is furthermore a deity resonant with Saturn being at the southern bending of the nodes, a celestial circumstance not unlike Enki’s habitation of subterranean water.

Within the collective chaos of so much unraveling and reordering, we each need to claim the authority of steering our lives and the lives of our loved ones forward. In some places this may necessitate a confrontation between one’s personal sense of justice and natural law against the societal laws and regulations constructed by governing institutions. The connection between Saturn with Deneb Algedi and furthermore with Enki brings up not only the present laws of the establishment and ordered society, but also the ancient association of new laws and reordering emerging from the depths. A trickster and wise magician bent on reordering civilization with the greater good of the wider community in mind, the flowing freshwater of Enki transfigures the landscape of dry land, creating wetlands and fertile soil in which the food and resources needed to fuel civilization can grow. It will be helpful to take space from the cacophony of current events when possible for restorative descent into inner depths so we may come into deeper embodiment of our authentic integrity.

Drawing No. 2 – Special (1915) by Georgia O’Keeffe

“It was after a day’s rain: / the street facing the west / was lit with growing yellow; / the black road gleamed.

First one child looked and saw / and told another. / Face after face, the windows / flowered with eyes.

It was like a long fuse lighted, / the news travelling. / No one called out loudly; / everyone said ‘Hush.’

The light deepened; the wet road / answered in daffodil colours, / and down its centre / walked the two tall herons.

Stranger than wild birds, even, / what happened on those faces: / suddenly believing in something, / they smiled and opened.

Children thought of fountains, / circuses, swans feeding: / women remembered words / spoken when they were young.

Everyone said ‘Hush;’ / no one spoke loudly; / but suddenly the herons / rose and were gone. The light faded.

“Night Herons” by Judith Wright

Venus is the ruler of the Taurus Solar Eclipse, luxuriating within her exaltation of Pisces while applying to an exact conjunction with Jupiter in Pisces. In fact, Venus is experiencing an otherworldly transit of moving in between Neptune and Jupiter in Pisces, having formed an exact conjunction with Neptune on April 27. The combination of an exalted Venus ruling the eclipse while moving in between Neptune and Jupiter can correspond with vastly different scenarios for people, ranging from blissful experience of the sublime to despair stemming from disillusioning experiences. Even when experiencing the most difficult of experiences, however, the presence of Venus with Jupiter in Pisces delivers the promise of hope and the potential to feel the power of love. When things are falling apart, it’s worth remembering the potential for renewal and rebirth. While we may need to traverse experiences of sadness or suffering, we also have the capacity to imagine ways of moving forward more aligned with the creative force of our eros. Neptune, Venus, and Jupiter in Pisces are aligned with the force of love and the benevolent gifts of love that emerge in even the most difficult of circumstances.

While Venus moving in between Neptune and Jupiter can correspond with a sense of a great dream we wish to have manifest in reality, they also can correspond with disillusioning experiences that bring about a necessary reconfiguration to the reality of one’s situation. There are many examples in current events of inflated egos and economics as well as delusions of grandeur to be wary of, yet at the same time we need to remember our vast capacity to join with others in working to recreate the world in ways that align with our inner values. Within the emptiness of the eclipse’s void is the heart of creation itself, and though it is easy to become cynical and disheartened by the state of the world, the extraordinarily powerful influence of Pisces upon the eclipse points to the ways in which we can persevere in creating the life we wish to live rather than giving up hope.

The Spinner (1873) by William-Adolphe Bouguereau  

Not only are Venus and Jupiter coming together into a conjunction during the eclipse, they are also both applying closely to a sextile aspect with Pluto stationing in Capricorn. Pluto stationed retrograde a day before the eclipse at 28º36’ Capricorn on April 29, saturating the astrological atmosphere and the week surrounding the eclipse with its subterranean influence. The applying aspect between Venus with Pluto is fascinating due to the fact that Pluto has been a large part of the story with Venus over the course of recent months (due to their close proximity with one another in December and January), plus that the recent Full Moon in Virgo formed a close trine aspect with Pluto and the recent Full Moon in Libra formed a close square aspect with Pluto. While it’s likely you have already been engaged in a process of coming to terms with Pluto related material in recent months, the Taurus Solar Eclipse may correspond with a deeper layer of engagement becoming necessary.

Pluto can intensify whatever needs to be released with a volcanic force, and so we need to make space to come into relationship with whatever material is being dislodged by Pluto. Feelings may overflow from places and inner parts that have been denied or controlled, as suppressed memories and passions arise to surface awareness. The powerful presence of Pluto can accentuate our capacity for peering into the emotional sources at the root of our interpersonal dynamics with others, yet we also need to be mindful of how wounds and betrayals from our past can distort perceptions when under the influence of Pluto. Working effectively with Pluto requires honesty, being honest in communication with others and honestly addressing one’s inner feelings rather than avoiding them through denial.

Continuing the theme of underworld initiation within the forthcoming lunar cycle, Mercury will station retrograde at  4º52’ Gemini on May 10. Mercury’s stationing, full presence, and shift into psychopomp role will occur within whatever reverberations from the eclipse are taking place within our lives as we move in between the Taurus Solar Eclipse on April 30 and the Lunar Eclipse in Scorpio that will take place on May 15. As Mercury shifts into retrograde motion there may need to be adjustments and changes in plans in some cases, in other cases a deepening of focus upon objectives already being developed leading up to the eclipse. At the time of the Taurus Solar Eclipse, however, the fresh ingress of Mercury into his airy home of Gemini can bring a helpful injection of curiosity and capacity for making needed connections and insights.

6 of Pentacles by Pamela Colman Smith

Taurus 2 Decan

The Taurus Solar Eclipse will be in the second decan of Taurus associated with the Six of Pentacles card illustrated above by Pamela Colman Smith. In the image we witness a mercantile figure carrying scales of balance in his left hand, while dispensing gold coins with his right hand to figures kneeling on the ground with tattered blankets begging for money. The Six of Pentacles card is typically associated with giving and receiving on the material plane, whether that be through monetary sources or tactile, healing touch. The unifying theme is that there is receiving found in the giving, and giving found in the receiving, with the image of the scales further signifying a sense of internal balance and authenticity found in the process. Through inner harmony transmitted within collaborative exchanges with others, great success and productivity can be achieved in the material realm.

The Moon is the ruler of the second face of Taurus, giving the exalted Moon extra potency in her ability to veil our solar light in mystery. T. Susan Chang in her book 36 Secrets on tarot and the decans described the second face of Taurus as involving “Mysteries at the Threshold,” in part due to the major arcana of the High Priestess (Moon) and Hierophant (Taurus) having symbolic association with the second face of Taurus. Chang noted that the Six of Pentacles card involves both “an act of benevolence that visually echoes the Hierophant card,” while the High Priestess is also involved in the image of the Six of Pentacles as “the spirit that moves one to generosity.” Chang further connected the meaning of the Six of Pentacles with the second face of Taurus as taking the opportunity that arises within a window in time, “a moment in weaving when the warp threads have separated just enough for the shuttle to fly through.” Chang advised that drawing the Six of Pentacles can indicate finding “harmony between your inner and outer selves,” accepting and creating “material opportunities, for yourself and others,” as well as finding “the sweet, cross-quarter magic of the present moment.”

Austin Coppock in his book on the decans 36 Faces ascribed the image of “A Linga-Yoni” to the second face of Taurus, bridging images of “procreative unions” and “wanton fertilization” with the practice of virtuous action. Coppock described an alchemical process for the second face of Taurus, advising that the matters generated in this face “must be attended to carefully and consistently,” as “dedication must join fecundity and passions to complete the picture this face provides . . . Passion is necessary for continuing fructification, but those raw powers must be tempered by means of an ordered effort.” With the eclipse joined to Uranus and Venus joined to Jupiter and Neptune, we will need to be mindful that whatever passionate dreams emerge from the shadows of the eclipse will require patience and dedicated effort in order to bring them into reality.

The Hellenistic text 36 Airs ascribed the Horai to the second decan of Taurus, a trinity of goddesses of the seasons and natural cycles of time who are the daughters of Zeus and Themis, goddess of divine law and order. Diodorus of Sicily wrote in the 1st century BC that each of the “Horai was given a responsibility named after her for the ordering and arranging of life for the greatest benefit of mankind” and “furnishing a prosperous life” through “lawfulness {eunomia}, justice {dike}, and peace {eirene}.” In keeping with the Taurean metaphor of cultivating crops, the Horai were worshipped by those planting and tending their field of harvest in alignment with the rising and setting of stars. The presence of the Horai with the eclipse suggests the wisdom of knowing the right time for action performed in the right way.

In her concluding remarks upon the second decan of Taurus, T. Susan Chang in 36 Secrets quoted the opening lines of “The Waste Land” by T.S. Eliot: “April is the cruellest month, breeding / Lilacs out of the dead land, mixing / Memory and desire, stirring / Dull roots with spring rain.” No matter what mixture of desire and memory you have been experiencing, may their stirring with the rains from above bring about a fertilization of your deepest desires from within.

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References

Anthology of Classical Myth: Primary Sources in Translation. (2004). Edited and translated by S.M. trzaskoma, R.S. Smith, and S. Brunet. Hackett Publishing Company, Inc.

Brady, Bernadette. (1998). Predictive Astrology: The Eagle and the Lark. Weiser Books.

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.

Full Moon in Taurus

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Watercolour showing a surrealist moonlit landscape [c.1927-30] by Ithell Colquhoun 1906-1988

Ithell Colquhoun (1927-30)

Full Moon in Taurus

The Taurus Full Moon brings illumination into the underlying pathways between our inner sense of purpose and our external work and presence in the world. Although the Full Moon is exalted in Taurus, there is volatility fermenting underneath its light since it is separating from an opposition with Mercury retrograde while applying to a flowing trine with Pluto in Capricorn. As a result, it will be important to monitor any deep seated shifts we notice are altering our internal landscape, so that we can begin reordering and rearranging our outer expression in accordance.  The Taurus Full Moon can be utilized for taking a break from recent conflict in order to gather one’s resources and discern the way forward based upon whatever inner changes in values have been taking shape.

The Taurus Full Moon is not only separating from an opposition with Mercury retrograde, but also from a harmonizing sextile with Neptune in Pisces and a stabilizing trine aspect with Saturn in Capricorn. As the Taurus Full Moon is further applying to a trine with Pluto, it is in an ideal position for bridging our vision of what we desire to manifest with the hard reality of our circumstances and the necessity of needing to address certain issues. The influence of Mercury retrograde upon the lunation demands turning toward tension and utilizing the friction of resistance to deepen in your resolve for taking the responsibility to complete whatever you have already set in motion.

Playing the role of an angelic kindler of inner light is the asteroid Vesta, as it is forming a conjunction with the Full Moon in Taurus. The influence of Vesta in Taurus on the lunation sharpens focus for whatever current resources and issues are truly valuable and necessary for us to engage with, versus which ones are distracting us from our greater purpose. Vesta in Taurus brings clarity of consciousness and transfigures tension into creative expression when we are fully embodied with our higher purpose and centered in devotion to our essential values and authentic presence. Pay attention to any areas of life in which you feel out of alignment, for the Taurus Full Moon and Vesta can facilitate any retuning and rebalancing that is needed.

marlene-seven-roasting-cinnabar

Roasting Cinnabar (Dragon’s Blood) by Marlene Seven Bremner (2017)

The Taurus Full Moon arises at the midpoint of Mercury retrograde in Scorpio, just a day after Mercury experiences a rebirth in the heart of the Scorpio Sun on November 11. As a result, the Moon’s full light will shine down upon whatever new thoughts, ideas, plans, and intentions have been seeded by the union of Sun and Mercury. Moreover, the Full Moon will also illuminate previously concealed aspects of self and circumstance that we can begin to address and integrate as Mercury retrograde continues its process of dissolution. Now that the most intense period of decay and decomposition with Mercury retrograde is over, we can gain clarifying insight into the matters that have come up for review and resolution since Mercury stationed retrograde at the end of October.

As the Moon wanes in light during the week following the Taurus Full Moon, Mercury will remain within its chthonic invisible phase as it begins to tunnel up from its underworld passage. Mercury retrograde in Scorpio will form a collaborative sextile aspect with Saturn in Capricorn as well as a flowing trine aspect with Neptune in Pisces on November 13, creating a potent period in the days following the Full Moon to intuit how to reorder plans and structures in our life to come into greater alignment with whatever core changes have been emerging into awareness. Up until Mercury re-emerges into visibility again on November 19, it will be more important to imaginatively explore new insights and ideas to the fullest extent possible than to try to rush into making them fully manifest

Mercury will finally return to visible light again as a Morning Star on November 19 while beginning to station direct, a week before the New Moon in Sagittarius on November 26. As Mercury undergoes a process of recovery from its retrograde motion after stationing direct on November 20, it will gain an added dose of vitality from the entrance of Mars into its watery home of Scorpio. The co-presence of Mars in Scorpio with Mercury stationing direct will catalyze forward momentum in implementing the revelatory insights received in the light of the Taurus Full Moon.

ithell-colquhoun-gorgon-1946

Ithell Colquhoun (1946) Gorgon

The Full Moon in Taurus is ruled by Venus in Sagittarius. In contrast to Mercury,  Venus is shining bright in twilight as an Evening Star while heralding the rise of the Moon in Taurus. Although Venus has little essential dignity in the fiery home of Jupiter, she is within her Egyptian bounds at the time of the Full Moon giving Venus greater capacity to direct her interests in pleasure and harmonious aesthetics than normal in Sagittarius. Venus is not forming a major aspect with the Full Moon, but is applying to a catalytic square aspect with Neptune in Pisces that will complete on November 14. The tension between Venus and Neptune may be felt in the disconnect between the reality of present circumstances and idealized visions of what we desire to manifest. If the Full Moon’s light unveils disillusionment regarding certain hopes or dreams, Venus will be in position to facilitate a reorientation with realistic visions of growth and a shedding of unrealistic expectations during the waning half of the lunar cycle.

After Venus completes her square with Neptune she will begin applying toward a conjunction with Jupiter in Sagittarius that will complete on November 24. As a result, during the waning half of the lunar cycle Venus will trigger the last quarter square phase between Jupiter and Neptune that has been one of the dominant astrological themes of 2019.  While the last quarter square phase between Neptune and Jupiter may have led you to release old illusions during the past year, it also has brought invitations to embrace a more expansive vision of the creative gifts you have to share with others. Venus can therefore bring encouragement in taking the risk to embody more of your potential, as in Sagittarius she enjoys the thrill of adventure when following quests into the unknown.

In addition to Venus being co-present with Jupiter in Sagittarius, Mars in Libra is applying to an exact sextile aspect with Jupiter in Sagittarius during the Full Moon in Taurus. The harmonizing sextile between Mars and Jupiter is a further boost for embarking on an expansive pursuit of vision. In previous weeks, Mars in Libra has traversed a difficult passage of moving through intensifying square aspects with the lunar nodes, Saturn, and Pluto that stirred up conflict and has made us acutely aware of the obstacles and barriers we must contend with. As Mars moves through its stabilizing sextile with Jupiter its broken sword becomes reforged and its courage revivified. Likewise we can feel our resolve for resiliently persisting through whatever difficulties we have been facing renewed.

pents06

6 of Pentacles by Pamela Colman Smith

Taurus 2 Decan

The Full Moon peaks in the final degree of the second decan of Taurus, associated with the Six of Pentacles card illustrated above by Pamela Colman Smith.  In the image we witness a mercantile figure carrying scales of balance in his left hand, while dispensing gold coins with his right hand to figures kneeling on the ground with tattered blankets begging for money. The Six of Pentacles card is typically associated with giving and receiving on the material plane, whether that be through monetary sources or tactile, healing touch. The unifying theme is that there is receiving found in the giving, and giving found in the receiving, with the image of the scales further signifying a sense of internal balance and authenticity found in the process. Through inner harmony transmitted within collaborative exchanges with others, great success and productivity can be achieved in the material realm.

Austin Coppock in his book on the decans 36 Faces ascribed the image of “A Linga-Yoni” to the second face of Taurus, bridging images of “procreative unions” and “wanton fertilization” with the practice of virtuous action. Coppock described an alchemical process for the second face of Taurus that mirrors the second face of Scorpio where the Sun is currently residing. Notably, Coppock advised that the matters generated in this face “must be attended to carefully and consistently,” as “dedication must join fecundity and passions to complete the picture this face provides . . .Passion is necessary for continuing fructification, but those raw powers must be tempered by means of an ordered effort” (p. 75).

The Hellenistic text 36 Airs ascribed the Horai to the second decan of Taurus, a trinity of goddesses of the seasons and natural cycles of time who are the daughters of Zeus and Themis, goddess of divine law and order. Diodorus of Sicily wrote in the 1st century BC that each of the “Horai was given a responsibility named after her for the ordering and arranging of life for the greatest benefit of mankind” and “furnishing a prosperous life” through “lawfulness {eunomia}, justice {dike}, and peace {eirene}.” In keeping with the Taurean metaphor of cultivating crops, the Horai were worshipped by those planting and tending their field of harvest in alignment with the rising and setting of stars. The presence of the Horai with the Full Moon in Taurus suggests the wisdom of knowing the right time for action performed in the right way.

The Moon rules the second face of Taurus, giving the Full Moon the powerful essential dignity of being in its exaltation, triplicity, and face. While we are each bound to the constraints of our current situation, we each also have the ability to put our whole heart and soul into expressing and sharing whatever resources and gifts we are able to harvest from our circumstances. May the potency of the Full Moon’s light pour down upon whatever hopes and dreams you are nurturing and whatever purposeful vision you are enacting with your fully lived life.

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References

Anthology of Classical Myth: Primary Sources in Translation. (2004). Edited and translated by S.M. trzaskoma, R.S. Smith, and S. Brunet. Hackett Publishing Company, Inc.

Coppock, Austin. (2014). 36 Faces: The History, Astrology and Magic of the Decans. Three Hands Press.

New Moon in Taurus: Plowing Fields

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John_Roddam_Spencer_Stanhope_-_Robin_of_Modern_Times

Robin of Modern Times (1860) by John Roddam Spencer Stanhope

Taurus New Moon

The New Moon in Taurus on May 4 initiates a new lunar cycle from the middle of Taurus, the cross quarter point of Spring in the northern hemisphere otherwise known as Beltane. Pollination, burgeoning blooming, and the steady patience and diligent tending needed for cultivating gardens intersect with magical notions of veils being thinned between our usual reality with that of fairy spirits and intermediary daimons. Whether you live in the northern or southern hemisphere, the fertility focus of Taurus and its plodding pace that savors every second of sensual satisfaction is the ground in which to plant the seeds for what you wish to cultivate in the month ahead. However, we can hear in the wind forewarnings of challenging weather and changing fortune on the horizon that demand necessary preparation. Indeed, both traditionally benefic planets, Venus and Jupiter, are involved in challenging aspects with both traditionally malefic planets, Saturn and Mars, as Sun and Moon conjoin in the sign of the Bull. Fortunately, the Taurus New Moon is making aspects that support devising a successful strategy for making sure the seeds you are planting will eventually produce a worthy harvest.

The Taurus New Moon is in range of harmonious aspects with the intense union of Saturn, Pluto, and the South Node of the Moon in Capricorn, as well as with the imaginal potency of Neptune in Pisces. Since Saturn stationed retrograde within the week prior to the New Moon less than three degrees away from Pluto, their combined influence along with the South Node of the Moon has been forcing awareness to contend with whatever is necessary for us to confront, rather than whatever we wish we could be focusing on. This can include shadowy aspects of our subconscious or issues involving external relationships we had previously been ignoring, denying, or have been simply unaware of. Unions between Saturn and Pluto have a long historical track record of corresponding with global crisis and instability, and though Saturn and Pluto do not exactly align until January 2020, we are presently being initiated into an intensification of the tension that will be corresponding with the ending and beginning of their cycle.

As the Taurus New Moon is in a stabilizing trine aspect with the Capricorn trio, it brings the gift of making the necessary adjustments and modifications and being able to implement strategies for enduring present challenges. Since the New Moon is also in a creative sextile aspect with Neptune in Pisces, there is even something magical to be found in using common sense to address practical issues with grounded presence open to possibilities found in the moment. It will be necessary in the coming lunar cycle to actively cultivate the fertility of whatever ground we are working on and then follow through with sustained effort toward completing needed tasks. In order to access the full potential of the Taurus New Moon, however, we need to enrich our process with the full range of our imagination and creative visioning.

John_Roddam_Spencer_Stanhope_-_Thoughts_of_the_Past_-_Google_Art_Project

Thoughts of the Past (1859) by John Roddam Spencer Stanhope

Venus in Aries rules the New Moon and is applying toward a square aspect with Saturn and Pluto in Capricorn as well as the transiting lunar nodes. The tension between Venus and Saturn will be building until their aspect completes on May 7, bringing Venus into a complex relationship with both Pluto as well as Jupiter in Sagittarius.  On May 9 within hours Venus will move from a flowing trine aspect with Jupiter into a catalytic square aspect with Pluto, making the week following the New Moon pivotal as the Moon increases in light. Indeed, on May 9 the Crescent Moon will be in Cancer applying toward a conjunction with the North Node of the Moon opening awareness to important future-oriented choices to make. During this time there may be difficulties and stress to handle, but these aspects also suggest we can utilize the tension for our own benefit. Keep the larger vision of what you wish to manifest in mind as you work under the pressure of these aspects, sustaining belief in being able to achieve aspirations as you simultaneously apply effort and discipline to get the job done.

Yet, focusing too much on work and what we wish to build into the structures of our life can also distract us from another important side to these crucial aspects that Venus in Aries is passing through. Part of the story involves Mercury, as in the week before the New Moon the star of Hermes crossed the same terrain and teased open our psyche to the necessary issues that Venus needs to now mediate. There will likely be a lot of unconscious material stirred up, including vital memories from our past, that need to be reflected upon and sifted through in order to glean and integrate the needed lesson. As a result we will also need to make time and space for contemplation and allowing ourselves to set aside the demands of work so we may arrive at a deeper understanding of the present dynamics at play in our life. Venus in Aries engaging the intensity of Saturn, Pluto, and the South Node of the Moon in Capricorn suggests that while we will need to be shedding and clearing certain issues, there is also something essential and vibrant to uncover, protect and nurture within ourselves, something with a life force that will endure whatever obstacles are in the way now.

Mercury will be a key figure within the astrology of the coming month to track, as it can serve as a liminal guide through the transitions on the way. During the Taurus New Moon, Mercury in Aries is separating from a square with Pluto, a trine with Jupiter, and a mutually receptive sextile with Mars in Gemini, giving the star of Hermes a significant message to carry forward into the coming lunar cycle.  A couple of days after the New Moon on May 6, Mercury will enter Taurus and immediately begin applying toward a conjunction with Uranus in Taurus. May 6 through May 9 will be important days to pay close attention for signs of larger shifts opening up on the horizon. Mercury combined with Uranus can facilitate a liberated perspective able to receive insights that change our relationship with and understanding of our developing life narrative.  This is the first time Mercury will form an exact conjunction with Uranus in Taurus and so will likely bring additional clarity to whatever life events have been volatized by Uranus in Taurus.

kurt seilgmann knight in armor

Knight in Armor (1943) by Kurt Seligmann

Yet another dramatic aspect central to the dynamics of the Taurus New Moon is an applying opposition between Mars in Gemini with Jupiter in Sagittarius that will complete on the day after the lunation. The opposition between Mars and Jupiter is dynamic, propulsive and carries a double edge sword of inciting action while demanding caution toward pride that comes before a fall. The flames of ideological warfare and conflict will be stoked underneath the friction of Mars polarizing Jupiter, and so in personal realms be aware of when it is better to walk away and de-escalate conflict before it becomes more amplified. There may be arrogant accusers and cocky crusaders to contend with, and in the end the tension of this opposition can help clarify what beliefs we hold are worth fighting for and rising to defend and protect.

The opposition between Mars and Jupiter can also incite breakthrough decisions to move beyond previous boundaries, barriers or restraints. The liberating potential of their tension will be increased on May 6 once Mercury enters Taurus and initiates an emancipatory conjunction with Uranus that will complete on May 8.  While we will need to be careful of excessive actions and hubris, there will also be important lessons to learn from the experience of taking a leap to go after what we want during this time. Rather than passively surrendering to the intensity of the other astrological aspects previously mentioned, the opposition between Mars and Jupiter will encourage being an active co-creator with the catalyzed dynamics.

The Taurus New Moon is building toward a passionate and emotional Full Moon in Scorpio on May 18 that will have a Dionysian impact of loosening and dislodging.  Before the waxing light of the Moon becomes full, Mars in Gemini will receive Venus in Aries through a creatively dynamic sextile aspect on May 14. This is one day before Venus will enter its home of Taurus and Mars will enter is fall of Cancer on May 15, and so the sextile aspect between Venus and Mars will form at the final degrees of Aries and Gemini. There will be stress and tension present to manage within the surrounding astrology, but the receptive sextile between Mars and Venus holds the potential of using the friction for innovative creative manifestation. Work initiated during the Taurus New Moon may receive a propulsive jolt of development as Venus and Mars come into relationship in the middle of the month.

pents06

6 of Pentacles by Pamela Colman Smith

Taurus 2 Decan

The New Moon in Taurus will be seeded in the fertile darkness of the second decan of Taurus, associated with the Six of Pentacles card illustrated above by Pamela Colman Smith. In the image we witness a mercantile figure carrying scales of balance in his left hand, while dispensing gold coins with his right hand to figures kneeling on the ground with tattered blankets begging for money.  The Six of Pentacles card is typically associated with giving and receiving on the material plane, whether that be through monetary sources or tactile, healing touch.  The unifying theme is that there is receiving found in the giving, and giving found in the receiving; the image of the scales could further be interpreted as signifying a sense of internal balance and authenticity in the process.  Through inner harmony transmitted through collaborative exchanges with others, great success and productivity can be achieved in the material realm. This is a key concept to bring into the meaning found with the New Moon in Taurus, as reaching out for support from others, as well as reaching out to support others, can bring us exactly what we need to endure present challenges.

Austin Coppock in his book on the decans 36 Faces ascribed the image of “A Linga-Yoni” to the second face of Taurus, bridging images of “procreative unions” and “wanton fertilization” with the practice of virtuous action. Notably, Coppock advised that the matters generated in this face “must be attended to carefully and consistently,” as “dedication must join fecundity and passions to complete the picture this face provides” (p. 75).  Indeed, the fertile potential of the darkened Moon in Taurus is evident as the Moon rules the second face of Taurus, giving the Moon essential dignity through face, exaltation, and triplicity.

The Hellenistic text 36 Airs ascribed the Horai to the second decan of Taurus, a trinity of goddesses of the seasons and natural cycles of time who are the daughters of Zeus and Themis, goddess of divine law and order. Diodorus of Sicily wrote in the 1st century BC that each of the “Horai was given a responsibility named after her for the ordering and arranging of life for the greatest benefit of mankind” and “furnishing a prosperous life” through “lawfulness {eunomia}, justice {dike}, and peace {eirene}.” In keeping with the Taurean metaphor of cultivating crops, the Horai were worshipped by those planting and tending their field of harvest in alignment with the rising and setting of stars. The presence of the Horai with the New Moon in Taurus suggests the wisdom of knowing the right time and season for action. Within the darkness of the New Moon, let yourself let go of the plans whose time is not now, while mobilizing the force of your conviction and integrity behind those goals whose time have arrived.

References

Anthology of Classical Myth: Primary Sources in Translation. (2004). Edited and translated by S.M. trzaskoma, R.S. Smith, and S. Brunet. Hackett Publishing Company, Inc.

Coppock, Austin. (2014). 36 Faces: The History, Astrology and Magic of the Decans. Three Hands Press.

 

 

Taurus Full Moon: Unveiling Essence

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Sarcophagus_Selene_Endymion_Met_47.100.4ab_n03

Selene on her chariot, detail from sarcophagus with the myth of Endymion and Selene.

Full Moon in Taurus

The Full Moon in Taurus arrives in the cross quarter holiday time of Samhain, the turn of the wheel in the Northern Hemisphere into the dark season.  Traditionally this is a time in which the veils separating our material awareness with the otherworldly realm of spirits and ancestors thins, supporting rituals that shed what we need to release and invite embodiment of the harvest we want to reap in the year ahead.  Fittingly, the aspects surrounding the Taurus Full Moon facilitate opening our bodily senses and extrasensory perceptions to guidance that incites inspiration toward new horizons of passionate pursuits.  While the Moon reflecting the full light of our Sun is always a peak moment of bringing down cosmic messages for us to receive, the Taurus Full Moon is particularly potent in terms of integrating the luminosity within subjective senses and bodily awareness.

The Taurus Full Moon is opposite both the Sun and Jupiter in Scorpio, and forms harmonious aspects of a sextile with Neptune and a trine with Pluto.   A full lunation in the Moon’s exaltation forming a pleasant sextile with Neptune in Pisces is ideal for making the personal space to sink into one’s skin and inner realms, luxuriating in whatever will help calm nerves and soothe the stress of recent events.  In the context of our 2017 calendar year, the Taurus Full Moon is marking our passage into its final stage, making this a perfect time to reflect back on events of the past year in order to intuit any realignments needed.  The past year has had a lot of fiery astrological aspects akin to wildfires out of control, and so the emphasis of this lunation on the water and earth elements can help cool and ground being.  As you center into the imaginal fertility of the Taurus Full Moon, ask for guidance regarding the gifts you have been carrying that are ready to be brought forth into the wider world.

The Full Moon is forming a tight square to Ceres in Leo, and a wide square to the transiting lunar nodes.  In addition to the square with Ceres in Leo, the Taurus lunation is in a sign based square with the series of eclipses occurring in Leo and Aquarius.  These aspects intensify and deepen the capacity of the Taurus Full Moon to help you connect with creative actualization of your soul gifts and talents.  There will be a need for hard work and discipline in bringing them to the fruition of their promise, yet the type of passionate work involved in this type of process brings the happiness of actualized fulfillment.  Let the stress and grief of the past dissolve as much as possible in the silvery light of the Moon so that you can more fully feel what wants to be expressed more freely.

leonoracarringtonthepomp

Leonora Carrington (1947) The Pomps of the Subsoil

Mercury in Scorpio is emerging from under the beams of the Sun as the Moon waxes full, meaning that Mercury will now begin to be a glimmer of an Evening Star momentarily at sunset.  This is an oracular moment in Mercury’s synodic cycle in which the Star of Hermes brings forth a message that illuminates what has previously been hidden.  There has been a huge emphasis recently on the secretive realm of Scorpio, with the recent of ingress of Jupiter in Scorpio, Mercury entering Scorpio to unite with Jupiter, followed by the Sun entering Scorpio and uniting with Jupiter a week before the Full Moon.  Mercury has been attuned to the microbes within the soil underlying our reality, and now emerges in twilight to announce its findings.  Mercury will be increasing in light as an Evening Star each successive day at sunset, creating ample opportunities to integrate what has been incubating inside ourselves to bring forth into outward expression.

In contrast to Mercury becoming visible again at the Taurus Full Moon, Jupiter remains invisible and combust under the beams of the Sun.  Jupiter began a new synodic cycle with the Sun a week before the Full Moon, bringing us visions of what we can create and actualize in the year ahead as well as a portal into underlying dynamics of our life.  Jupiter is now involved in the purifying process of separating from the Sun, and though its new cycle has begun it is still within a phase that calls us to reorganize elements of our life to establish better conditions to support our new developing priorities.  Jupiter in Scorpio calls us to go deep within ourselves and make honest appraisals of how we have been finding meaning and what we have been prioritizing in this process.  Jupiter in combustion is a transformative experience that aligns with the metamorphosis of Scorpio:  Jupiter has shed its skin but is still in process of coalescing into its new form.  As the Moon wanes in the cycle ahead, Jupiter will become visible again as a Morning Star and we will in correspondence become more securely anchored within our experience of the new meaning brought to us by Jupiter in Scorpio.

I am an Amateur of Velocipedes 1941 by Leonora Carrington 1917-2011

Leonora Carrington (1941) ‘I am an Amateur of Velocipedes’

The electrifying excitement of the Taurus Full Moon is brought by the lady of the lunation, Venus in Libra.  Venus in Libra rules the Taurus Full Moon while forming an exact opposition with Uranus in Aries, adding a spontaneous and free spirited quality demanding activation.  Since the previous New Moon in Libra was opposite Uranus, Uranus in Aries has been holding an immense influence over the current lunar cycle that will now become fully illuminated.  In addition, since Venus last formed a conjunction with Uranus back in June, we can additionally gain enlightenment regarding storylines that emerged in our life five months ago.  Fear and concern often gets generated in astrological circles regarding oppositions between Venus and Uranus, since the harmoniously pleasant significations of Venus are at odds with the more shocking and rebellious significations of Uranus.  It’s easy to imagine unexpected disruptions and accidents foiling our carefully tended plans to bring about Venusian joy, or wreaking havoc in our personal relationships.

However, though there is great tension stoked between Venus and Uranus at the Full Moon, there are ways to find outlets of expression for it.  Essentially Uranus wants us to be authentic and seize the necessary freedom and independence to express our force of spirit in the world around us.  If we are in relationships that foster and nurture our ability to freely express ourselves, there are creative breakthroughs that can come about through the Venus Uranus opposition rather than breakdowns.  This potential is aided by Venus being in her own sign of Libra, giving her all of her resources needed to have a good time with the Uranian vibration.  In addition, Uranus is in the home of Mars, and Mars is in Libra, the sign of Venus.  This again gives some emphasis to Venus within the dynamic tension, and the capacity for this transit to bring inspirational experiences in relationships and creative expression.

At the same time, the dynamic tension between Venus and Uranus can certainly coincide with unexpected events arising that disrupt our preconceived expectations.  It will be important during the time surrounding the Full Moon to be ever ready for spontaneous responses and to keep ourselves centered whenever changes erupt suddenly that could be sources of increased stress.  Uranus has been a major factor in astrology during 2017, and so Venus now opposing it from her own sign of Libra will generate deeper understanding of all of the underlying shifting that has been going on within our lives this past year.  We are at the same time shifting into the final period of Venus being visible as a Morning Star, for once she enters Scorpio as the Moon wanes in light in the week ahead, she will begin to move under the beams of the Sun as she approaches a euphoric union with Jupiter at the same time.  Venus is closing out her period of visibility with exciting aspects that will bring vital insights.

Golden_porch_-_a_book_of_Greek_fairy_tales_(1914)_(14569094819)

Chiron with Peleus and Achilles from the Golden Porch: A Book of Greek Fairy Tales (1914)

The other major aspects of the Full Moon involve Saturn in Sagittarius, Chiron in Pisces, and Uranus in Aries.  Saturn is separating from a catalytic square with Chiron and applying toward a stabilizing trine with Uranus, weaving together our experiences of two of the biggest astrological aspects in transit during the past year.  Previously in March and April of 2017 during the Venus retrograde transit, we experienced another intensification of these aspects as Venus stationed direct conjoining Chiron and in square to Saturn.  Now Venus is forming a harmonious sextile with Saturn as it opposes Uranus, and Mercury in Scorpio is also mediating through a trine with Chiron. Altogether we have the conditions for the Taurus Moon to bring us the deep wisdom of the lessons Saturn, Chiron, and Uranus have been teaching.

Chiron has the astrological label of the “wounded healer” for a reason, as we often do experience pain and hurt when facing the tasks brought by Chiron transits.  However, whatever struggles we have had to face with our identity or capacity to self actualize, we are now at a more seasoned place in our experience of the series of squares between Saturn and Chiron to embody the strength we have been cultivating.  Chiron bridges the realm within Saturn with the realm beyond where Uranus resides, and can help us both in opening to our gifts as well as developing the resiliency and discipline needed to bring our talents into full manifestation.

Furthermore, as the Moon’s light wanes in the cycle ahead, we will experience the third and final exact trine between Saturn and Uranus on November 11.  Saturn and Uranus were previously exactly trine on December 24, 2016 and again on May 18, 2017 following a catalytic Mercury retrograde phase that intensified the Uranian energy as Mercury stationed direct in range of a conjunction with Uranus.  The trine between Saturn and Uranus in the past year has been a call to take bold leaps of invention in our work while simultaneously sustaining grounded structures to make sure we develop our projects in ways that will make a tangible impact in the surrounding collective.  Let the Full Moon help you brainstorm unexpected improvements to whatever plans you have been working on, and then push forward with work as the trine between Saturn and Uranus perfects in the week ahead.

pents06

6 of Pentacles by Pamela Colman Smith

Taurus 2 Decan

The Taurus Full Moon falls in the second face of Taurus associated with the Six of Pentacles illustrated above by Pamela Colman Smith.   In the image we witness a mercantile figure carrying scales of balance in his left hand, while dispensing gold coins with his right hand to figures kneeling on the ground with tattered blankets begging for money.  The Six of Pentacles card is typically associated with giving and receiving on the material plane, whether that be through monetary sources or tactile, healing touch.  The unifying theme is that there is receiving found in the giving, and giving found in the receiving, and the image of the scales could further be interpreted as signifying a sense of internal balance and authenticity in the process.  Through inner harmony transmitted through collaborative exchanges with others, great success and productivity can be achieved in the material realm.

Austin Coppock in his book on the decans 36 Faces ascribed the image of “A Linga-Yoni” to the second face of Taurus, bridging images of “procreative unions” and “wanton fertilization” with the practice of virtuous action.  Coppock described an alchemical process for the second face of Taurus that mirrors the second face of Scorpio where the Sun is currently residing.  Notably, Coppock advised that the matters generated in this face “must be attended to carefully and consistently,” as “dedication must join fecundity and passions to complete the picture this face provides” (p. 75).  Coppock referenced that the Hellenistic text 36 Airs ascribed the Horae to the second decan of Taurus, a trinity of goddesses of the seasons and natural cycles of time. Coppock wrote the Horae point towards the need for “passion and discipline merged in rhythmic union” utilizing the virtuous character traits of “peace, order, and justice.”

The Moon rules the second decan of Taurus, making the tremendous potency of the decan fully activated by the Full Moon.  The Moon in its own face, triplicity, and exaltation, ruled by Venus in her own sign, means its bright light can open gates of awareness to exactly what we need to know and feel about the present and how to expand into greater abundance moving forward.  Enjoy.

References

Coppock, Austin. (2014). 36 Faces: The History, Astrology and Magic of the Decans. Three Hands Press.

 

 

New Moon in Taurus

/ grayastrology / 7 Comments

 

plantscape-Langsdorffia_hypogaea_vMH367

from Pflanzenleben (1887) by Anton Kerner von Marilaun

We drive and are driven.
But time’s stride—
think of it lost
in the ever-remaining.

All that’s hurrying
will quickly be past;
only what lingers
grants us credence.

Boys, don’t fling your courage
into the thrill of speed
or attempts at flight.

All that is at rest—
darkness and morning light,
flower and book.

—Rainer Maria Rilke, Sonnets to Orpheus, translated by Edward Snow

The New Moon in Taurus on May 6, 2016 is bountiful in blissful aspects, a sweet darkening of the Moon to savor and soak within the desires and intentions to manifest in the coming weeks.  The Full Moon in Sagittarius that follows this New Moon is extraordinary in dynamism, as it conjoins Mars Retrograde in Sagittarius at the time that Mars opposes the Sun and Mercury stations direct.  The Taurus New Moon is an awakening in the solace of pleasure, all the while an uproarious flood of events that will demand focused action awaits on the horizon.  The many harmonious aspects surrounding the Taurus New Moon can also bring keen realization into what does not feel right in life, and since the coming climate could create cacophony, it will be vital to utilize the waxing Crescent light of the Moon in the week ahead to make mindful choices aligned with the deepest intentions felt at this New Moon.

The New Moon in Taurus forms a trine to Pluto in Capricorn as well as a trine with Jupiter in Virgo.  Imagining lines connecting these three sections creates a triangular container in the sky, a configuration known as a Grand Earth Trine in astrology.  This passing transit will impact your chart in ways that require unique reflection, but in general signifies stabilizing, harmonious pathways linking the powers of Pluto, Jupiter, and the blackening union of Sun and Moon.  Furthermore, the New Moon is separating from a sextile to Neptune in Pisces, while Venus, the ruler of the New Moon, is applying to a sextile with Neptune.  The black elixir found in the Taurus New Moon induces magnetism with what comforts and soothes, brings security and safety.  Kindling feelings for what balms the Soul now will be valuable medicine to take into the unknown future that holds many climatic astrological aspects to traverse.

The lunar cycle commencing now will take us through the final of three last quarter square aspects between Saturn in Sagittarius and Jupiter in Virgo that have been brewing since August 2015.  Squares between Saturn and Jupiter always signify monumental shifts in the collective, yet this particular one packs more power as Neptune in Pisces is in opposition to Jupiter and also in a last quarter square with Saturn- creating what is known commonly in astrology as a “T-square.”  Neptune’s invisible realm seeps through and erodes the walls constructed by Saturn to contain a sense of controlled reality, allowing Jupiter to expand vision beyond previous conditioned constraints.  With all of the earthy trines and sextiles mentioned involving Neptune and Jupiter with the Taurus New Moon, there will be tension between wanting to bask in the comfort of what gives a sense of security versus facing feelings that the underlying fabric of how one finds security is shifting and dissolving.  The melting of past forms and constructs that have brought meaning is further amplified by Mars Retrograde in Sagittarius, with Mercury Retrograde in Taurus pulling us inward to the roots of our senses and instincts.

Hathor Cedar

Hathor Column (380–200 BC Egyptian, Cedar)

Venus in Taurus

The pleasure principles of the Taurus New Moon are bolstered by Venus luxuriating in her home of Taurus, surrounded by her cherished, beautiful possessions.  The New Moon ruler being in her home sign signifies greater ease in manifesting Venusian forms, and since Venus also rules the transiting Mercury Retrograde some of the associated mercurial destabilization can achieve a sense of harmony.  Venus is also not forming any especially challenging or difficult aspects, and through her melodious aspects with visionary Neptune and Jupiter is in position to facilitate deep bodily awareness of what we need to feel fulfilled and satisfied in life.

As the Moon waxes through its First Quarter phase in the week ahead, Venus will also form a trine with Pluto while conjoining Mercury Retrograde.  These unifying aspects between Venus with chthonic, subterranean archetypes are fascinating from the perspective that Venus is additionally under the beams of the Sun and engaged in a process of solar purification that can unearth essential Venusian qualities from within.  The astrology surrounding the blackening of the Moon in Taurus clearly supports attuning as deep into internal realms as can be managed to uncover buried feelings and awareness of an authentic presence you have been resisting fully embodying for whatever reason.

Venus holding space for regeneration that leads to animated ardor is embellished by the asteroid Hathor conjoining Venus in Taurus, and the asteroid Juno in Scorpio separating from an opposition with Venus.  While Venus in Taurus brings images of the fertile soil through which green shoots and wildflowers emerge from the underworld, Hathor is the fertile sky that sources the water that brings life and the starstuff from which we are created.  Hathor is a Guide of Souls and a Solar Goddess whose alignment with Venus at the Taurus New Moon befits the Queen of Heaven being under the beams and on her way to a union with the Sun a month from now.  Combined with Juno in Scorpio in opposition, Venus with Hathor unveils the values needed to nourish joy from within so ecstatic union with a lover can be felt in our depths without fears of being betrayed, abandoned, or losing our sense of individualism in the merging.

Saules_sonata.Andante

Andante from Sonata of the Sun (1907) by M.K. Ciurlionis

Mercury Transit of Sun

As the New Moon perfects, Mercury Retrograde in Taurus is combust the Sun, less than five degrees away and becoming purified in the solar rays.  The last time Mercury was united with the Sun was at its Superior Conjunction that occurred at the time of the Libra Lunar Eclipse on 23 March 2016.  While Mercury is moving fast at its Superior Conjunction into the Sun and emerges on the other side as an Evening Star increasing in light, during Mercury Retrograde when Mercury unites with the Sun at its Inferior Conjunction it is moving backwards slowly en route to eventually emerging as a Morning Star.  This happened last on 14 January 2016 when Mercury was retrograde in Capricorn while trine to Jupiter in Virgo after Jupiter had recently stationed retrograde.  At the retrograde union between Mercury and the Sun that will occur on 9 May 2016, Jupiter in Virgo is stationing direct and once again in trine to Mercury being at the heart of the Sun.  All the changes in being, the ways in which we interpret and convey meaning from our experiences, that have come to pass since last January are becoming refined and regenerated through Mercury’s position at the Taurus New Moon.

A few days after the New Moon on May 9 when Mercury enters the heart of the Sun, it will not be a normal Inferior Conjunction but instead a Transit of Mercury that occurs about thirteen times every century.  There has not been once since November 2006 and will not be another until November 2019- with technological help you will be able to watch Mercury traverse across the face of the Sun, not unlike an eclipse though Mercury will only look like a tiny black dot rather than blackening the Sun’s light. Just as the Moon has nodes, and the nodes are the zodiac degrees that mark where eclipses occur, so do all of the planets possess nodes. Mercury’s solar union will occur at 19°25′ Taurus, which is within a degree of the heliocentric South Node of Mercury.

As a result, there is an element of the Taurus New Moon that is also connecting us with the descending arc of the full Mercury archetype. In part, the heliocentric South Node of Mercury being Taurus reveals inner senses, bodily instincts, sensory impressions, and memories as being the source of the Mercury archetype.  With Jupiter simultaneously stationing direct in Virgo, the home of Mercury, while in trine to Mercury and the Taurus New Moon, there is a deep reorientation occurring of how we discover and express meaning, as well as the sense of vision we will utilize to guide our choices and actions.

pents06

6 of Pentacles by Pamela Colman Smith

Taurus 2 Decan

The Second face of Taurus that holds the New Moon is associated with the Six of Pentacles card illustrated above by Pamela Colman Smith.  In the image we witness a mercantile figure carrying scales of balance in his left hand, while dispensing gold coins with his right hand to figures kneeling on the ground with tattered blankets begging for money.  The Six of Pentacles card is typically associated with giving and receiving on the material plane, whether that be through monetary sources or tactile, healing touch.  The unifying theme is that there is receiving found in the giving, and giving found in the receiving, and the image of the scales could further be interpreted as signifying a sense of internal balance and authenticity in the process.  Through inner harmony transmitted through collaborative exchanges with others, great success and productivity can be achieved in the material realm.

The Moon rules the second decan of Taurus, and since the Moon is also exalted in Taurus, there is tremendous potency found in the Taurus New Moon to set intentions for bringing greater abundance into one’s life.   As there is furthermore a Grand Earth Trine formed between the Taurus New Moon, Jupiter in Virgo, and Pluto in Capricorn, being mindful to take focused action aligned with the greater prosperity desired can be fruitful in the weeks ahead.  Austin Coppock in his book on the decans 36 Faces ascribed the image of “A Linga-Yoni” to the second face of Taurus, bridging images of “procreative unions” and “wanton fertilization” with the practice of virtuous action:

The fecund but unquickened earth, the alchemical salt, is visited by the bright and active beams of the Sun, the sulphur . . . Yet the matter is not brought to fruition solely by means of a single conjunction, no matter how vigorous.  Once planted, the matter must be attended to carefully and consistently.  One cannot decide to water a plant when one chooses, nor can one make up for neglect by a double application of effort the next day.  Consistency and dedication must join fecundity and passion to complete the picture this face provides.

–Austin Coppock, 36 Faces, p. 75

While there are many harmonious aspects surrounding the Taurus New Moon, the larger astrological atmosphere also includes Mars Retrograde, Mercury Retrograde, and the t-square between Saturn in Sagittarius, Neptune in Pisces, and Jupiter in Virgo.  As a result the ease of undulating energy surrounding the Taurus New Moon is catalyzed by an actively shifting astrological environment.  Taking time for rest and regeneration if needed is always advisable, but to achieve the success and prosperity heralded by the Taurus New Moon will require disciplined acts of integrity followed through to completion.  We have an exciting month ahead, beginning with a New Moon supporting deep visions of abundance, followed by an electrifying Full Moon that will instigate dynamic movement.

References

Coppock, Austin. (2014). 36 Faces: The History, Astrology and Magic of the Decans. Three Hands Press.

Rilke, Rainer Maria. (2004). Sonnets to Orpheus. Translated by Edward Snow. North Point Press.