New Moon/Solar Eclipse Saturday, April 30th 
                                                                     4:28 PM EDT/1:28PM PDT 
                                                      at 10 degrees and 28 minutes of the sign of Taurus

The skies are busy, after a period of quiet, during the month of May. This weekend kicks off with a gorgeous New Moon that doubles as a solar eclipse. Both New Moons and solar eclipses are essentially about new beginnings, in this case they come gift wrapped in the sign of Taurus. If you have planets or significant points in your natal chart from 7-13 degrees of Taurus, Leo, Scorpio or Aquarius you are directly being impacted by this eclipse.

When I envision the essence of Taurus words like abundant, lush, fruitful, rich and plentiful come to mind. It’s almost like I can taste it - which is also Taurean. Sensual, embodied, the first of the earth signs, all of which are about making it real: Manifestation. Taurus likes things it can touch.

Taurus season takes place at the height of spring, everything is blooming with possibility. We are back to rich, lush, abundant, fecund. Taurus doesn’t rush in like Aries, it savors the moment. At its best it sensually feels the moment, embodies it and thus enjoys it. 

Venus governs two signs: Taurus and Libra. The essence of the Taurus Venus is worship–we worship what we truly value and vow to maintain it. It is the true meaning of the word ‘husband’–to take care. 

It’s time to fertilize those seeds we spoke about during last month’s Aries New Moon but  because of the eclipse this weekend and Mercury stationing and turning retrograde on May 10th you want to hold them loosely and let them develop (bloom) on their own time. Both of these astrological events bring unexpected turn arounds and changes. (There is a second Lunar eclipse at the Full Moon on the 15th) The one thing I can guarantee is things will not go as planned. Holding things loosely can be a challenge for this particular energy. Taurus is about what we own, what we possess, the heart of desire. It is a fixed earth sign, which means that it can become very positional when it gets uncomfortable as it can go into survival mode: When threatened it becomes the original unmovable object, often burying its lushness, its abundance underground like a buried treasure.

A reminder we all have Taurus somewhere within our charts. 

When threatened Taurus will resist true change more than almost any other sign. Because true change requires letting go of what it is holding onto (Objects as well as beliefs and opinions) and it likes owning things. They make it feel secure. 

The trick to working with your Taurean energy is distinguishing what is truly of value: Ask yourself and explore "What do you really want?” 

Getting to the core of what you really want, truly assessing that, is a very complex thing for many, if not most of us. While we might know there is never an external solution to an internal dilemma, it is still challenging when we have to let go of the unconscious expectations we have placed upon the outside world for fulfillment as feeling an embodied sense of satisfaction and completeness is an inside job. There is no perfect career, partner or place that will completely nourish our desires. In other words, where ever you go there you are.  So, as we evolve we have to let go of the conscious and unconscious roles we have been playing that maintain our own fixed state. We have to be brave enough to let go of the familiar, the comfortable, to let go of the past. We have to be willing to not “know” ourselves but instead to discover who we are in this moment, to embrace how we are evolving. To actually welcome, rather than fear, this emerging unfamiliar part of ourselves. As Einstein stated the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over while expecting different results. It is our own complicit behavior that has been keeping us in the very circumstances that are no longer fulfilling because we have outgrown them. Ironically, we have to be here now with what is, in particular with what is within us that is so very uncomfortable because it has outgrown the life we have been living. The life that was good, that felt like it was leading somewhere. And it was: To the moment you need to gracefully let it go as you evolve. 

The image of the princess and the pea is springing to mind as I write this. this type of change, is like the pea layered under twenty mattresses. We may be able to barely feel it but it is just uncomfortable enough that we cannot rest. It is a persistent unease and we don’t even know what is causing it because we can’t yet consciously see it. 

As I weave together the three astrological events mentioned above, a New Moon, a solar eclipse followed by a Mercury retrograde, here is how I am advising you approach this time of change, of transition over the next month: 

The true superpower of any Mercury retrograde is about paying attention and listening. It is always, always an invitation to revaluate, to shift our perceptions. Mercury rules communication, and yet, we so often overlook that listening is an intrinsic part of that. It is the receptive part. Which is different from simply hearing: Listening requires that we be open. That we shift, even subtly, in response to what we are hearing. It requires that we are in active, responsive relationship with what we are hearing. That we stop resisting what we are persistently hearing. Dancing is a delightful embodied expression of this. Our body is responding to the rhythm of what we are hearing, we are literally moved by it. 

This Mercury retrograde begins in Gemini, a sign that asks us to be curious, in a state of discovery and then backs down in to Taurus which bring us back to: What do you really want?

Remember, love, desire, is not logical, it is embodied. And that embodiment is a powerful force. You want to 'feel' this not think it. 

Journal, take walks and talk with close friends, explore this territory over the next month (Well, until after June 3rd when Mercury stations direct). Be in motion. Don’t get too attached, too fixed, to any one path forward. Remember, Mercury has wings on his feet, he is in constant motion, he is the most changeable of the archetypes. He moves between worlds. The word mercurial, changeable, is his word. And if you feel compelled to rush into a specific position ask yourself “What is so threatening about being open and not leaping forward for just a bit longer?” Being open requires that we be vulnerable, even to ourselves and dreams that we have discarded because…they scare us, as they really matter. Thus all too often we rationalize why something won’t work. We’re too busy, too old, too poor, have too many responsibilities…the list goes on. But the truth usually is that we are scared and that makes us feel vulnerable which we find intolerable. So we in essence run away from the feeling. Through busyness, through drinking, through taking care of others rather than attending to ourselves, etc, etc. 
Moving a vision into manifestation requires developing the spiritual and emotional muscle to hold it particularly when it is challenging. Saturn, who symbolically is in charge of time (and manifestation), is exalted in Libra, the other sign Venus rules. What this points us toward is how powerful it is we make time for what really matters to us, even when it seems impossible. What really matters to us is worth fighting for, worth rushing at with open arms, worth finding a way to make it work. And while that sounds glorious, it too can be scary. I get it. Personally. But this is the essence of what makes life glorious. Something truly to leap out of bed for first thing in the morning with an open heart.


Taurus season is lush, verdant, abundant…


Please click here for a ritual for the New Moon/Solar Eclipse

Light a candle and find a comfortable place to sit and meditate.   Breathe deeply into the center of your being.  Become aware of the sensation of your breath as it moves both inward and outward.  Just feel and savor the sensation. Allow yourself to relax and enter a space of not having to rush.  Gradually expand your awareness to the rest of your body, feel the beating of your heart, feel your energy pulsing as moves throughout your legs and down into your feet, your arms, your belly. Follow it up to your head, your scalp, even your ears.  Just experience your embodied self.  Savor it. If you notice thoughts rushing about (which you most likely will) take a deep breath and re center your focus on the sensations you feel within your embodiment. Consciously enjoy the sensations of your body.  Receive and welcome the sensations you are feeling,  all of them, practicing non judgement.   Send the energy of love to each cell within your physical body, this temple that houses you and carries you throughout life. Marvel at its complexity.   Continue to do this until you reach a sense of completion. 

You can finish the ritual here, move on to journaling  but to really ground and expand this energy put on some music that moves you and dance. Enjoy your embodied  self.  Simply allow yourself to be carried by the rhythm as you feel it coursing through you for at least five minutes. 

Spend a few minutes journaling, exploring, brain storming: what do you really want?
Don’t search for an answer in your journaling, it is early simply be curious an explore.  This curiosity is fertilizing your creativity - both what your consciously aware of as well as what is unconsciously gestating within. 

** Eclipses come in pairs. There is Lunar eclipse on May 16th in Scorpio, which is about release.  I will send out another blog prior to the Full Moon with a Scorpio Full Moon/Eclipse ritual.

In eight days we will be entering Taurus season, which is also the sign of our next New Moon and solar eclipse on April 30. There will more about that and how to focus the energy in two weeks but in preparation we need to once again turn our gaze towards Taurus’ governing planet: Venus, the Goddess of Love and Pleasure.

To be perfectly honest I had another entire blog planned around this subject but as I was walking this morning suddenly I knew how to cut to the heart of the matter. 

Think about the last time you fell in love or deep lust. In my experience, this always feels as though I am profoundly compelled towards someone. I am fascinated, enchanted, enthralled and it feels fabulous! Life becomes technicolor and it is as though my life has been completely taken over by some powerful outside force that is irresistible. This overwhelming, embodied sensual experience is always, always beyond our control on some level which is why it is so delicious. We are impelled to move past our fears.   We feel fully alive in its presence. We are magnetically drawn in, sometimes even to situations that we previously we sure we would never ever consider: Love and desire, in all of its juiciness, can be messy. 

My point is that love, desire, is not logical, it is embodied. And that embodiment is a powerful force. Love moves us. Sometimes to places we never expected to traverse. And most certainly at first blush love, at least in its infatuation stage, it is larger than life. Our bodies, our ‘hearts’ are essentially pointing us in the magnetic direction of true north towards something we may not have even consciously known that we wanted. Understanding this, experiencing this is the core of Venus. As the archetypal force of love she  rules what we own and want to own, what we give value, desire, where we find pleasure. At the heart of this lies what really matters to us under the surface, the things and people that truly give us life. She is fecund. Fruitful. 

All of these things, all of these experiences, go beyond our logic or thoughts. They are simply felt. 

Becoming embodied, which many, many of us need to work at because we have been so very conditioned to live in our heads, is key to this. Exploring what we truly want isn’t about logic. It’s isn’t about probability. And many times we have unconsciously become so guarded against hurt that by middle age at the very least we no longer even allow ourselves to truly dream and yearn. We have allowed ourselves to become cynical and resigned and hide behind invisible walls even from ourselves. Instead of running towards life as we did in our youth we find ourselves coming up with very ‘mature’ excuses and wonder “Is all there is?” because we instinctively know in our hearts that life is about much more .

Taurus season, Venus season, takes place in the height of spring when everything is blooming, bursting at the seams. The songbirds joyously sing. Flowers bloom and we can feel life surging everywhere.  

Where Aries, our last New Moon, is about the seeding of desire, Taurus is about the fertilization of that seed. 

Over the next two weeks as we move toward both a New Moon and a Solar Eclipse in Taurus (Solar Eclipses are always about new beginnings), Take the time to feel into what you want. Make time to slow down, simply to experience being immersed in the tactile side of life. Consciously cultivate familiarity with your innate sensuality by activating all of your senses. Be intentional and cultivate embodiment by being in the moment. Get outdoors if you can and stand on the earth barefoot, close your eyes and feel the breeze wash over you whilst you listen to the birds. Walk in the rain, take long slow baths by candlelight, be fully present when you eat or make love. In the immortal words of the spiritual teacher Ram Dass “Be here now.”