New Moon in Taurus

This is today, the 6th May, around 8.30 pm GMT.

I don't have a lot to say about this new moon, except that it looks lovely. Solid, slow, pleasurable, calm – all the grounded, earthy, steady Taurus stuff. It's a taking-bubble-baths, eating chocolates, revelling in physical existence kinda vibe, and it should calm and slow us down considerably. After a month of shocks and unpredictable changes, this slowdown is very welcome.

That said, the key word here is SLOW. Patience is a virtue, good things come to those who wait, etc. This is not a month for beating your head against walls. If you encounter blockages and delays in your endeavors, please just sit tight and wait them out. Don't go trying to power your way through. You'll only exhaust yourself. Things will happen when they're ready to, not necessarily when you want them to.

If you find yourself pushing against big resistance to accomplish something, it's a good idea to take a step back. You can use the blockage to reconsider and refine your plans, or you can divert your energy toward avenues that are not blocked – and there will be plenty of these. We have a grand earth trine in effect until the first week in June, and it means there will be lots of material opportunities and blessings flowing.

So if something is just not happening for you at this time, focus on what IS working. You can probably do a lot with what you've got; there is no hurry and there's no need to punch yourself out trying to force things. The way things are set up this month, delay is a gift. Please remember that if you find yourself frustrated!

If all else fails, you could just sit in the sun and have a beer. Life is mostly good! Whatever your problems may be, you are probably not dealing with this – I think it puts the everyday first-world problems into perspective. There is always a lot to be grateful for.

Anyway, re. the sky this new moon: we have a lot of stuff in Taurus right now. Sun, moon, Mercury and Venus. This is very slow, calm, contented energy.

And those planets are bound into a grand earth trine with Jupiter and the north node in Virgo, and Pluto in Capricorn. It's just very HEAVY and solid – but in a nice way.

Jupiter beneficially aspecting Venus denotes new opportunities re. love and money matters – and with all this Taurus energy, it's likely that things begun now will have some stamina and momentum behind them. We are looking at new beginnings and opportunities that stick.

That said, there will likely be plenty of delay. Five planets – Mercury, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn and Pluto – are currently retrograde. So your actions / effectiveness may be temporarily blocked in the outer world.

It doesn't matter! Remember Rome wasn't built in a day. Keep attending to the small stuff and the big stuff will sort itself out.

Things should flow much more easily after Jupiter stations direct on the 10th of May. He'll go direct in beneficial aspect to Venus, and this is like getting a beautiful present that you can actually use – something practical and real.

It's especially helpful because we have a jangly, tense t-square across the mutable signs, involving Jupiter in Virgo, Saturn in Sagittarius and Neptune in Pisces. This will be tightening all month, as Jupiter and Saturn square off (exact on the 26th May) – but this kind of tension will be in effect all summer, in one form or another.

Jupiter-Saturn aspects are about expansion vs. contraction: the tension between our grandiose visions of the future vs. what is actually possible and practical. This is hard enough to navigate on its own, but it's made trickier by Neptune's involvement. Neptune blurs the lines between the real and the unreal, so it's hard to know what is actually possible and what is a pipe dream.

So we'll have this background craziness and cognitive dissonance going on all summer – this low, constant buzzing drone of discontent, like a cicada chorus.

If you're in any doubt as to what's actually feasible and what is not, I'd say just focus on the small everyday stuff as it comes up (per Jupiter and the north node in Virgo). Don't drive yourself crazy with plans and schedules and long-term scenarios that may or may not pan out. Just do what needs doing on a daily basis, and have faith that the long-term will manage itself.

Under the circumstances, it's lovely to have the slowdown indicated by all the retrograde planets, and the calm and stability of the grand earth trine and stellium in Taurus. This new moon really does look like a soothing, happy, grounding influence to me.

So if you're feeling frazzled, please put your feet up and eat some ice cream for me, and don't worry too much. Things set in motion will come to fruition, even if it's slow. And in the meantime, life is beautiful.