Incredible change
happens in your life
when you decide
to take control
of what you have power over
instead of craving control
over what you don’t.
Steve Maraboli
The New Moon on May 19, 2023, at 28 Taurus
generously nurtures the flowering
of what we want to grow in our life.
It will not magically appear,
but through sowing and steadfastly
tending our seed intentions
we reap great rewards.
New ventures and the entrepreneurial spirit are supported. We can find new ways to use our resources. Blessings are found in slowing down and tending our dreams like we would tend a garden. Daily. Consistently. And with Dedication. Growth occurs in its own time and cannot be pushed. We are not to push ourselves but find a relaxed pace, acting in a calm, easy manner. We are encouraged to not rush ourselves or the process, but approach a day, a task, a plan in our own time in our own way. We look to grow what we value: our talents, our sense of security and what we love. We may be compelled to stand our ground and stand strong about something we value. If we can align our values with our actions, we can experience sustained peace and security in a whole new way.
Five planets, Vesta and the North Node in Taurus
Mars and Neptune sextile the New Moon
Pluto trine the New Moon and square Jupiter/N. Node
New Moon Ruler: Venus square Chiron
Grand Cross with Pluto, Jupiter, Mars and the Nodal Axis
Jupiter enters Taurus
Just don't give up trying to do
what you really want to do.
Where there is love and inspiration,
I don't think you can go wrong.
Ella Fitzgerald
Earth and Water
All planets are currently in earth and water signs (except Chiron and Pluto), elements associated with the feminine. We feel inclined to move slower, be more reflective. If we yield to these energies, we allow a warmth and love to be infused into our heart, actions and day. The Taurus New Moon follows the eclipse season and Mercury Retrograde that were transformative events that pushed us to realign with our soul's desire. The road before us is smoothed out allowing us the space to rediscover our footing and move at an even pace.
This is different from the abounding Aries energy which catalyzed bold, quick, decisive action. The comparison between last month and this one reminds me of Aesop’s fable, 'The Tortoise and the Hare'. The swift-footed, impulsive Hare represents Aries. Beginning in May, and extending throughout most of the next year with Jupiter in Taurus, it is opportune to embrace our inner Tortoise.
After defining the goal, which lays out path from A to Z, our attention is to simply be given to the next step, to the stones in the path, to the curve of the road. We can then notice the flowers and grasshoppers and the breeze blowing across our face. The abundance of Taurus energy affords us the time to collect ourselves. The four planets in water signs assist us in staying in touch with our feelings, and in honoring our innate sensitivity. In doing this, we move at a steady pace, enjoying the journey itself. We are to discover how life is more abundant and fruitful when we approach our goals in this way.
Season of Growth – Plant the Seeds
New Moon, Mercury, Jupiter, Uranus, Vesta and the North Node in Taurus
There is an abundant amount of energy catalyzing Taurean sensibilities. The New Moon serves to illuminate and accentuate the potentials that so much Taurus affords us.
Planets joining the Sun and Moon in Taurus:
Mercury turned direct on May 15 after spending its retrograde cycle in Taurus. It spent its retrograde crossing back and forth the exact same degrees that Jupiter will be crossing back and forth over later this year. Consciously or unconsciously, we have been shaping a new or revised plan and the next practical steps to take to realize the plan that we are ready to launch with the New Moon and Jupiter's entry into Taurus.
The North Node has been in Taurus since January 2022 and will complete its journey through this sign in a few weeks. The North Node points to our collective future and is a North Star for how to guide our lives. Through this last year, we have been prodded to simplify our lives, remove complexity and drama, and look for how to create stability in the midst of the sweeping changes humanity in the collective.
Jupiter entered Taurus on May 16 where it will remain until May 2024. Jupiter brings growth to whatever sign it occupies, and amplifies the potency of the Taurus New Moon (more on Jupiter in Taurus at the end of this post)
Uranus has been in Taurus since 2018 providing sudden and unexpected changes in areas of finance, land, national borders, trading agreements, and food production, exposing what is not working. We have been compelled to invent new ways, new technologies to creating sustainability and stability.
Vesta is an asteroid symbolizing the eternal flame and the one that tends the sacred flame. It points to what we are to tend to keep the flame alive in ourselves and in our lives. Again and again, like with Vesta, the message is to tend to qualities of Taurus in our lives.
What you do makes a difference,
and you have to decide
what kind of difference
you want to make.
Jane Goodall
The Nature of Taurus
Taurus, an earth sign, is our resources and enjoyment of those resources. The resources can be our finances, possessions, talents, expertise and what lives within us. We look to grow what we value. In valuing ourselves, we then build a life grounded in what we value, without compromising to please some cultural standard or expectation.
Taurus is a fixed sign, and gives us the wherewithal to build, maintain and stabilize what we wish to grow. Taurus is in it for the long game and invites us to build the home of our life one brick at a time in a pragmatic way. It is not about speed but about creating something solid that can withstand adversity, something that we can point to after 30 or 40 years and say, look what I built with my life.
Taurus seeks:
Stability and security
Abundance and comfort
Savoring sensual experience (food, a sunset, lovemaking…)
Simplicity
Practicality
Dedication to a long-range plan
Persistence and Loyalty
Self-worth, Self-value
Relationship with or working with the earth
Love of Music
Moving at a steady, easy pace
Fostering Peacefulness
From Taurus’ viewpoint, there is nothing new under the sun. People have lived as they have always lived. They have families, work, maintain a home, and seek to have something stored up to tide them over in times of hardship (i.e., money, grain, canned goods). They enjoy good food, good company, a glass of spirits, lovemaking, and time to sit by a lake or ocean. The Taurus mind is focused, and does not get distracted by interactions, projects or opportunities that takes their eye of the basics of what they are dedicated to building. This also keeps the stress and complexity of life to a minimum so that they can move at their own pace and savor the experiences of each day.
The message of the planets at this New Moon is that it is a good time to seed a new venture, make an informed and sound financial investment. Both long- and short-term financial decisions are highlighted here. This includes decisions related to possessions, real estate, and spending habits. Anything that promotes care and relationship with the earth, the soil and land are especially highlighted for yielded a beneficial outcome.
We are ready to stand in the knowledge of our own self value. If we are in a job that provides security but has our talents and our expertise withering on the vine, then we are being supported to value ourselves and the resources we have within us to seek employment or a business venture that can build a life that has more value. We are supported in making new choices to build stability in alignment with what we value. And if we are having a difficult time valuing ourselves than it is an opportune time to look for support or a pathway to recognizing our worthiness.
Taurus in our birth chart
Locating where Taurus falls in our birth chart will show us where Taurus operates most in our life. And for the next year, the nature of that house will cue us to the arena of life that is ready for new growth. In this arena we can make financial, ambitious and practical decisions to support that growth.
Shadow Side of Taurus. Yes, we are ready to move, to stand our ground about something to grow something we value. But we need to be mindful and not go overboard with stubbornness. The adage: more of a good thing is not necessarily a good thing applies to Taurus. Money and security are a good thing but hoarding and greed are not. Savoring a good meal or glass of wine can bring great pleasure, but overindulgence in wine are common pitfalls of the Taurean personality. Also, we need to be mindful of being lazy and justifying it to ourselves as moving at a slower pace.
The most difficult thing is
the decision to act,
the rest is merely tenacity.
Amelia Earhart
Planets Give Dimension to the New Moon's Message
Mars and Neptune sextile the New Moon. Our sensitivity, intuition and feeling nature are heightened. We are listening more deeply to ourselves, able to identify clearly what works and what does not for us. Mars in the last degree of Cancer stirs our needs for safety, for family and to protect what we love. Neptune in Pisces stirs our spiritual longing that opens pathways to walking the earth while remaining connected to the eternal presence that permeates all life. Both Mars and Neptune relationship with the New Moon serve to sensitize us to what matters most and to make decisions that build our life based on that.
.
Pluto trine New Moon is a regenerating force, giving us the potential to reinvent ourselves. Pluto moving through Aquarius over the next 20 years will open us to a life that is a radical departure from what we have known. It is encouraging us to leave behind what no longer serves and to take authority of our lives so we can take the next sure steps towards building a life that we value. This urge will grow in strength over the days following the New Moon when the Sun enters Gemini and makes an exact trine with Pluto.
Nurture What is Closest
New Moon Ruler: Venus in Cancer
There is a mutual reception between the Moon and Venus; the Moon in Taurus is ruled by Venus and Venus is in the sign ruled by the Moon. The resonance between them amplifies the qualities of the other.
We are apt to feel kinder and more empathetic towards ourselves and those we love. With Venus in Cancer, we want to nurture and feel nurtured in our home, family, and close relationships. We want to tend to what we love. The Taurus Moon brings our attention to enhancing what we value and all that belongs to us. It is an opportune time to redecorate, renovate, or clean out the clutter in the home. We may wish to make a financial investment in our home (Venus trine Saturn). We are wanting to re-invigorate our family life (Venus sextile Uranus) so that it gives us more pleasure. Actions we take to enhance our home and family life can have a healing effect, especially in areas where we typically minimize our needs or struggle to have good boundaries (Venus square Chiron).
Don’t Get Caught in the Undertow
Grand Cross with Mars, Pluto, Jupiter and the Nodal Axis
There is a dark underbelly to the New Moon that can lead to intense power struggles. Rather than battling something outside us, we can look to resolving inner conflict. Pluto and Mars are explosive planets. Jupiter in the mix of the grand cross only serves to exaggerate the anger, lack of control or reaction to outer circumstance. We may also feel that someone is wanting to take what we feel is rightfully ours. It is not a great time to negotiate or resolve an issue with another as it can be combative and not productive. We are being tested to remain centered in ourselves and not be distracted by what is happening in the world or what others want to draw us into.
On the world stage, especially as the Grand Cross gains momentum in the days following the New Moon, there can be power shifts and power plays. News media may report a theft of assets or land. It is contentious energy that could lead to a powerful figure being penalized, border disputes becoming inflamed, or further disruption with markets and the financial system. Wealth and money are especially contentious areas, and we can anticipate further crises with banks or clashes between big tech companies.
In our personal lives, we can look to where we are locked in a struggle, or where we get caught in petty feuds. The way society operates is undergoing a transformation. For something new to emerge, something must die or give way. Society as we have known it is dying so that it can be reborn. We can look to where we are holding on to what we know and look within ourselves for how we are ready to transform rather than battling with something outside us. We can also stand in and for what we value and not cave to societal pressure to live or be a certain way. We can claim our power and break patterns that have us give it away.
Be not afraid of growing slowly;
be afraid only of standing still.
Chinese Proverb
Jupiter in Taurus
(May 16, 2023 - May 25, 2024)
2023 is marked by three outer planets changing signs. When outer planets change signs, there are disruptions to how we live as we orient to evolving in the areas of life that the outer planets are moving to newly inhabit. Pluto and Saturn changed signs in March. Days before the New Moon, Jupiter entered Taurus. It then immediately got entangled in the month's long square between Pluto and the North Node, thus amplifying the dynamics of this square amplifying and fueling the breakdown and transformative process that society is undergoing.
.
Innovation, Technology, Autonomy
Jupiter and Uranus both in Taurus
This is the first time Jupiter has been in Taurus in 12 years. In Taurus, it embodies the energy and opportunity of the New Moon. For the next year, Jupiter supports us in growing our sense of security, comfort, and pleasure of life.
But Jupiter is not the only outer planet in Taurus. Uranus has been in Taurus since 2018 and it has a couple more years before it moves on. Both Jupiter and Uranus share some of the same attributes: the desire freedom, autonomy, and an expansive perspective.
Uranus also rules notable areas: technology and community-based action. With Uranus in Taurus, technology can provide solutions to issues with finance, climate change, and food production. It also inspires new community-based groups and through the technology of social media, sparks collaborations between people with shared values. Finally, Uranus is about sudden, unexpected change to release energy that has been pent up. If something is repressed or not working, Uranus can shock or awaken us to new ways of approaching something.
Jupiter in Taurus will enhance the themes that Uranus has stirred since its arrival into Taurus.
With finances – the disruption of centralized banking, the stock market. This has paved the way for new currencies and the monetization of technology.
With the earth – the disruption and awakening caused by Climate Change. This has paved the way for increased innovation in green technology.
With food production – Disruption with and of resources and the supply chain. This has led to re-imagining how we obtain the resources we need. This has led to a rise in online health food supermarkets, subscriptions to farm produce, and a larger commitment to farmer’s markets.
With Community – The pandemic disrupted our habitual ways of gathering with others. Conference calls and working virtually soared. Through social media, communities of people form who live in different parts of the country or world. Community organizations have further reach through social media and online platforms. There is exponential growth in how small organizations can meet, fulfill their mission, and make an impact.
With Our Core Values – Mainstream societal values have been disrupted, releasing what was pent up in order to maintain the status quo. In its wake, there is a value war happening between people and ideologies. With the disruption there is a resurgence in social justice movements and protests for equality and human rights.
For our individual lives, there is more potential than ever before for having autonomy in how we make money. Jupiter in Taurus supports us in sharing our talents, expertise and the message we want to give to the world. Coupled with Uranus in Taurus, there are ways to do this as never before. If we feel entrepreneurial, we can readily build an integrated website, take payments, and hold webinars. We can have a mobile business, meaning we can work from any location. My astrology practice is an example of this. Before 2018, my practice was primarily local and by word of mouth. My posts are now reaching across the globe and I do readings and classes for people who live near and far.
For those of us who do not desire to own our own business, Jupiter in Taurus supports us in using technology to form community, as well as find new ways of working with nature the earth and food production. We are each looking to enhance our self-worth and natural talents and interests and move with them. We are not to go it alone but to use technology to connect us with the people who can support us or benefit from what we have to offer
We are to let go of wanting what other’s value or society expects us to value. We are to believe in the worth of our capabilities and say: I can start that business; or I can start a social media site; or, I can take that trip; or I can teach and share my own expertise; or join that community group. or…We are meant now to succeed on our own terms and believe in what we already have within ourselves.
To get the juices flowing, we can ask ourselves:
How have I been underutilizing my natural gifts?
How has societal or family values hampered my success?
Where have I abandoned myself to fit in?
Where am I restless and in need of reinvention?
Where is my autonomy and individuality underserved.
Where am I less inclined to going with the ‘program’
Do I have a message, expertise, or talent to share with the world?
What is stopping me from enjoying life, to be content with what I have?
What is the next step to believing I am enough and am abundant in all I have?