New Moon in Taurus on Earth Day 2020

Tarot Painting by Tammy Heintz

This month’s New Moon in 3’ 24” of Taurus is exact at 7:26 P.M. PDT/10:26 EDT. Both the Sun and the Moon in the first decan of Taurus (heavily influenced by its Aries energy) conjuncts Uranus in Taurus (6 degrees). This New Moon has a major impact on anyone with planets or aspects within 29-30 degrees of Cardinal signs (Aries, Cancer, Libra, Capricorn) and within 0-8 degrees of the Fixed signs (Taurus, Leo, Scorpio, and Aquarius). It affects everyone (for we all have the Cardinal and Fixed sings in our charts/lives. Look to the houses and what those houses signify, to see how this New Moon may be affecting you.

As I write this column on Tuesday, April 21, the Moon is completing its transit through Aries, and it will enter Taurus tomorrow around 12:30 PDT/3:30 PM EDT. Earlier this morning (Tuesday) the Sun formed a square to Saturn, the Great Teacher. Saturn is a very slow moving planet, taking nearly 30 years to orbit the Sun. It acts as a force that slows us down and forces us to learn lessons through direct experience, something that is not always pleasant since it usually pertains to an area of our lives which we don’t necessarily want to change/experience.  As this happens at a point when our  collective and personal pandemic experiences are just beginning, it will come as no surprise that you may be facing some difficult and challenging facts of life right now.

 Life has been transformed (as Saturn and Pluto turned the ground beneath our feet over the last few years) and now we are thrown into a new way of living and understanding life. As we’ve faced the challenges so far, we have learned that we are stronger than we thought we might be, and more capable than we maybe ever imagined. We’ve learned, through the grave reality we’re facing together, that the old saying, “things could be worse” has a new somber ring to it. So far, we’ve managed to adapt to the changes, though the uncertainty of what is ahead makes this more challenging than usual for most if not all of us.

The Sun in early Taurus is  also semi-square Neptune, making it more difficult to visualize or focus on our goals. What was important, is now becoming less so, and we are beginning to see or feel that our goals and dreams and plans may be less clear than ever. Because the degree of uncertainty that we face as human beings, and the uncertainty we individually are recognizing more and more are at such an unknown level, we need to do whatever we can to focus on what we can do right where we are now. The practice of mindfulness, of paying attention to what is right before our eyes and under our feet, is crucial. Channeling our energy, time, and attention into artistic, pragmatic, and concrete ways is the highest form of using our creative energy to help ground us in the ‘facts of life’ as they now exist.

Examples of this are all around us. We’re working in our gardens, painting our houses, inside and out, cooking up a storm, and making art as ways to keep focused and productive. Many of us are working harder than ever, but in new ways. And since many of us are working from home, we’re learning more about our life-work balance, often by overdoing or getting stuck in some new patterns of behavior that we probably need to adjust if we’re going to make the best of this stay at home mode of living. For example, we know we cannot stay in front of the screen 24/7 even though that’s been a kind of lifeline for many of us. We also know we cannot eat, drink, or obsess over household chores (DYI, decluttering) to the exclusion of more balanced ways of living. And for those of us who are going out and working through this difficult time, the levels of stress and anxiety must be dealt with as well. For those whose work requires that they put themselves in jeopardy, this can be a time that is  unparalleled in stress and uncertainty. Whatever our situation and the conditions we are living in, this New Moon in Taurus comes at a time when we need to be making the best choices we can in order for us to stay healthy and maintain our well being.

The Sun-Saturn square is exact today, Tuesday, and indicates we may be feeling where we are blocked or limited in some way. The Moon is in Aries all day, and gives us the feeling that we ‘have to get it done now’. This is an emotional reaction brought on by the Moon (guardian of our emotional temperment) being in the final degrees of Aries, the sign of the Ram who wants to charge headlong into the fray. Now is not the time to do so, and therefore we may feel more anxious and upset than usual. The fixed stars in the horns of the constellation of Aries, are called the Butters (those who butt like a ram). They are Hamal in the head of the ram, Sheraton (in the right horn)  and Mesarthim (in the left)  in the horns. This New Moon is aligned with Sheraton and Mesarthim, and they represent the energy of Mars and Saturn (action and slow, methodical movement). There’s a push me-pull me quality to the energy right now. We may feel compelled to get things done/started/completed, while at the same time feeling stuck or blocked in some way.

How do we cope with such contradictory energy? Again, we need to use the growing earth energy of Taurus Sun and tomorrow the Moon in Taurus as they push us to ground in the pragmatic and immediacy of what is right in front of us. What is it we can control or do right now? It may be simply taking care of ourselves, beautifying ourselves and our surroundings, or creating something beautiful through art, music, language, or some other form of creativity. What woke me up yesterday was moving beyond my dread of having to go out for the first time in two weeks, to do some necessary shopping. When the cat is almost out of food, I know I have to push myself beyond my own qualms and fears, and so out I went early in the day. In the two weeks since I’d last driven into town, the beauty of Spring had blossomed in unimaginable ways.

The bursts of color from flowers, blossoming trees was spectacular. The sky and beauty of the rivers and the ocean were striking and nourishing. And seeing people I hadn’t seen for a while, was life affirming. And there was nothing to be afraid of as I was being cautious and respectful of the restrictions we’d all agreed to follow, in order to protect one another. While this is far from feeling normal, it is a time when we have the opportunity to wake up to the gifts we possess within ourselves and the beauty that surrounds us, when we’re willing to open our minds, our eyes, and our lives to appreciating what is, instead of spending all our time worrying about what might be or what might not be. Practicing active mindfulness in taking care of ourselves, one another, and the world we have connection with, is key. The Taurus energy of the New Moon combined with that of the Sun, gives us a big push onto the path of finding harmony through grounding.

Taurus time is one of my favorite times of the year, for it is a time when we are drenched in the changing seasons, focused on the growing energy of Light/Lifting Up in the North and Darkness/Depth in the South. It is a time of sensuality. The great poet, John Milton, coined the word, sensuous so as to have a synonym of the word sensual that was not sexual in nature. The stimulation of the senses is key to waking up our connections with our body, mind, spirit, and emotions. Staying active and keeping our tactile senses awake and active, helps to keep us aware of our own gifts, talents, skills, and feelings as well as the tactile and concrete connection with the world around us. The integration of inner and outer minds and consciousness is crucial at this New Moon time.

And therefore, this New Moon in Taurus on April 22, 2020, the 50th anniversary of Earth Day, is the perfect time to  appreciate what blessings we have. The 50th anniversary is traditionally the time we pause to celebrate and appreciate what has grown in our lives. What have we accomplished? What have we created? What is growing in our selves, our minds, our relationships, our gardens, our friendships, our families, and in our communities? Where are we being called to grow and expand our thinking given the changes that have served to throw us into a great transformation and the subsequent transitions?  This New Moon in Taurus provides the perfect time to daydream, stop and smell the roses, and indeed to take stock of what is growing within us and where we are. It’s time to create some new dreams, draw up a new plan, and acknowledge what has already been accomplished as we wait on the threshold of a changing world.

We are each at a crossroads where we have the opportunity to make some new choices. When we are able to take stock, feel appreciative and open to new growth, then we are also capable of moving forward with a greaters sense of purpose. What do we do when we’re lost? We try to determine our direction. We take stock of who we are and where we are, and then we determine what goals, plans, and directions are pointing us in a new direction. As the New Moon in Taurus aligns with the North Node (Cancer) adjusting our perspective and direction for the future, and as the New Moon in Taurus for whatever path is ahead. With the Moon’s square to Saturn, we may feel blocked, but if we look more closely, it might be that we’re just beginning to understand what we’ve left undone or what we may have neglected, that needs attention in order to free us to move into a new direction.

 Blocks may be that what keeps us is a belief about who/what we’re supposed to be. It may be that we’ve neglected some aspect of our life that now needs tending to. Perhaps hygiene or physical exercise. Check in with yourself, and find ways to create more beauty in your life. Look at the things you may be butting your head/horns into, and see how you might let go of the struggle just long enough to see that maybe now is not the right time for something you’ve been struggling with. Slow down, smell the roses, dig your hands into the dirt, walk under the trees in blossom, and sit outside and drink in the beauty that is yours today. Be glad and rejoice, for we have a life yet unlived, and we just may find the best is yet to come.

The Sabian Symbol for this degree of Taurus provides a vivid description of the energy of this New Moon in Taurus:   “A woman of curly hair, having a single child who is dressed in clothes like unto fire, and she herself dressed in similar clothes.  And this is a face of plowing and working the earth, of sciences, geometry, of sowing seed, and making things.” ~ Picatrix