There are two poles to this new moon in Taurus. On the one hand, we have deep emotional security, stability and comfort – a bodily kind of certainty. This is courtesy of beneficial aspects between the new moon and Saturn conjunct Pluto in Capricorn, Neptune in Pisces and the north node in Cancer. Whatever new start you're making now, know that it's solid and real.
On the other hand, we have mental agitation, disruption and a lot of very ugly stuff surfacing around money and relationships – the opposite of comfortable. I won't go into all the details because I don't have time, but it's a jangled, neuron frazzling, unsettled sky.
So what does it all mean? Uranus in Taurus means the stable structures of our lives are being disrupted in all kinds of ways, and Saturn and Pluto on the south node mean we are being forced to look at our toxic old programming. It's not supposed to be a comfortable time, and obviously our minds are reeling.
Despite all this, it looks like there's a deep well of internal calm and quiet to draw upon, even in the midst of jittery, confused chaos. Don't believe your mind and the stories it spins, or the stories other people spin - that stuff is more unreliable than usual at this time. But you can believe in your bodily instincts - you know what's true and what's good for you deep down, outside of all the mental chatter. And you also know what to stay away from.
If you're finding the jangled nerves and upheaval hard to deal with, you can do something soothing for yourself at this Taurus new moon. Take a bath, eat nice food, pet a cat, whatever. Things are probably not as bad as they might seem, but even if they are, there's comfort to be found.
The sky will be quieting down ahead of the full moon in Scorpio, so the mental overload stuff is temporary. It's in play for at least another week though. Mercury will conjunct Uranus in Taurus over the next few days, so mental breakthroughs are possible And the full moon looks very positive - calm, profound and transformative, especially re. love and money. I'll write about it closer to the time.
This happens today, the 24th October, around 4:30 pm GMT.
Taurus is comfortable, habitual, slow to change. This full moon is not at all like that though. Prepare to be zapped out of your comfort zone.
The moon will be conjunct Uranus at zero degrees Taurus, so this full moon is really all about Uranus. And Uranus is about revolution. Uranus in Taurus, the sign of stability and physical reality, portends a radical shake-up to the structures of our lives: our habits and routines, our values, our possessions, our relationships. It's unsettling.
In this case, the earthquake is likely to come from the depths of your psyche, as you realise that you no longer value things or relationships you used to cling to for self-worth. The sun entered Scorpio yesterday, so we're at the start of Scorpio season, and Scorpio is about depth psychology and death-and-rebirth type transformation. We have a stellium in Scorpio for this full moon: the sun is conjunct Venus in Scorpio, and we also have Jupiter and Mercury conjunct in the later degrees of the sign. That's a lot of psychologically probing and intense energy, geared toward letting go of what's no longer viable in our lives.
The sun and Venus in Scorpio oppose the moon and Uranus in Taurus, and this is all about shocks and abrupt endings, in relationships especially. But Venus also has to do with money and values, so expect lightning shifts in those areas as well. As Scorpio is involved and both Uranus and Venus are retrograde, it's likely that the shifts will be deep internal realisations – sudden “ah-ha” moments that have you re-assessing the structure of your life and what caused you to build it this way.
With the Venus-Uranus opposition, relationships can also start up quite suddenly, but as Venus is retrograde till the 16th November, it's inadvisable to begin anything new – what's begun under Venus retrograde is likely to fizzle out when she resumes direct motion. Old relationships can also come back from the grave to haunt you, and this full moon can be the moment you see those dynamics for what they were and finally let them go. Flux and upheaval around Venus themes (love, money and values) will continue into early December, as the Venus-Uranus opposition will be in play till then.
Uranus is headed backward into Aries, sign of the self, for a final four months (6th November 2018 – 6th March 2019), so we'll have some time to assimilate outer changes into our self-concepts. And Venus will move backward into Libra this Halloween, staying there till the 2nd December – so we'll also be re-assessing our relationships.
This full moon is fateful and has long-range effect, as it squares the north node in Leo and the south node in Aquarius. Anything involving the moon's nodes like this involves a heavy dose of karma: the road ahead is defined by the choices you make now. The way forward is shown by the north node in Leo, which is all about living from your heart, with courage, playfulness, generosity and creativity. The way backward is about shadow Aquarius: a cold, theoretical dogmatism, or using an ideology to justify destructive rebelliousness.
The full moon also beneficially aspects Saturn in Capricorn – again, this is about karma, getting back what you've put in. It also suggests that if you're willing to work slowly and put the necessary groundwork in, beneficial changes can be made, lasting new relationship and money situations can be built.
We'll have a new moon in Scorpio coming up on the 7th November, and it's a big one. Uranus and the north node both shift signs the day before – Uranus into Aries and the north node into Cancer. Jupiter shifts signs the day after, moving from dark, intense Scorpio into sunny, freewheeling Sagittarius. All this represents an abrupt shift in tone – things are going to feel very different, very suddenly. The Venus-Uranus opposition will be heavily in play, sparking sudden shifts in relationships – you could meet the love of your life under this sky, or break up with someone you thought was that. Or both! It's just very volatile. But I think overall it looks pretty good. I'll write more about it closer to the time.
It's a big deal. Something is bound to be shifting for you at a very basic level about now, and the effects are going to be long-term. You are not going to be able to stay stuck in the same old ruts. And collectively, the events unfolding now will have long-term consequences.
This new moon is all about Uranus, planet of shock, revolution and upheaval. Uranus is changing signs within 3 hours of the new moon, from Aries into Taurus. Uranus changes signs roughly every 7 years, and the odds that he'll be changing signs at nearly the exact time of a new moon in the sign he's shifting into is... wildly improbable, to say the least. The universe is being pretty heavy handed with its symbolism here. And the symbolism is of a thorough-going shake-up of an established order.
Then the day after the new moon, Mars shifts signs into Aquarius, the sign Uranus rules. His first order of business in Aquarius is perfecting his square with Uranus in Taurus – it will be exact at 0 degrees of each sign. More heavy-handed symbolism – and here we are dealing with a shock to the system, a bolt from the blue, a trigger event. A Mars-Uranus square is liable to be explosive, aggressive and abrupt: it's a blitzkreig aspect. And here it acts as the starting gun that sets off Uranus's rampage through Taurus - or the red rag to the bull, if you like.
Taurus is habitual, slow-moving, conservative, attached to comfort / possessions and resistant to change (but implacable once set in motion). Uranus, in contrast, is a live wire, very erratic and unpredictable, chaotic, uncomfortable by nature – and he demands change. So the transit of Uranus through Taurus is likely to set the ants loose in your pants. Over the next 7 years, we are going to be dealing with disturbances and abrupt shifts to our finances, our work, our values, our habits, our possessions – everything we cling to for a sense of security in this world. Shocking reversals of fortune are likely. Unpredictable political changes and environmental shifts are also likely.
I think it's a good idea to streamline and get rid of stuff you don't need in preparation for this – radical simplicity is one way of making this energy work for you. It's also a good psychological tactic, as the less you're holding on to, the less you'll have to lose and the easier it will be to maneuver.
You probably already have a pretty good idea of what this is about for you and are itching for change in some sector of your life. We had a Mercury-Uranus conjunction at 29 degrees Aries on the 13th May, just ahead of this crazy new moon. The moon in Aries was also involved, and everything was squaring Mars in Capricorn. And all this represents an intense lightbulb moment, a newsflash, a surge of tremendous irritation and insight. So I'm sure you know by now what has to change.
But it's one thing to know what you want to be free of and to open up space in your life for something new – it's another thing entirely to build a new operating system, from the ground up. That's the challenge we're looking at this new moon, and for the forseeable future. Thankfully, the sun and moon will be beneficially aspecting Mars and Pluto in Capricorn, which should be very good for making long term, practical changes. Whatever is set in motion at this new moon should have long-lasting effect and staying power.
There'll be plenty of impatience and irritation as Mars squares Uranus, but please try to keep things slow and steady. Also, with Mars square Uranus, please be careful around electronics and while operating machinery or driving. Sudden accidents are more likely at this time.
We'll have a full moon in Sagittarius on the 29th May, and it looks quite confusing and unsettled. I guess that's fitting after the Uranian shocks of the new moon – people will be rattled, and it will be hard to know what's true. Lunations along the Gemini-Sagittarius axis usually have to do with information, communication and truth vs. falsehood, and the full moon is no exception. But amid all the fried neurons and crossed wires, you'll have a strong ally in the form of your intuition. We have a grand water trine forming between Venus in Cancer, Neptune in Pisces and Jupiter in Scorpio, and it will be operative around the time of the full moon. It looks like a soulful, soothing influence in a jangled-up period. I'll write about it closer to the time.
This is exact early tomorrow morning, 5:20 am GMT.
Taurus is about the earthly stuff we hold onto – our money and possessions, our physical body and sense of self, our habitual patterns and our values. It's a grounded, happy, sensual energy, but it can get stuck in ruts like nobody's business. It likes to clutch onto things and has a lot of trouble with accepting change and letting go – even when obviously necessary.
A moon in Taurus is about the desire for comfort, stability and security. But this full moon is opposite the sun and Jupiter in Scorpio, which are voracious, extreme, probing and crisis-driven – the opposite of comfortable and stable. So it's going to be pretty hard to stay stuck, much as we might want to.
In addition, Venus, the ruler of this full moon, will exactly oppose rebel planet Uranus to the minute as the full moon is exact. This is a little cray.
Venus is currently in Libra, where she likes to glide around like a fancy hostess, making sure everything stays pretty and polite. She shares the Taurean distaste for conflict and abruptness. With the exact opposition to Uranus though, there's bound to be a shock – the careful Libran balance and poise will be knocked sideways by some bolt out of the blue, and everybody's drink will get spilled.
So clearly it's going to be hard staying within your comfort zone this full moon. Something is bound to come along to upset the equilibrium.
That something is likely to come from other people, and it's especially likely to have to do with love and relationships – recall we are still in Libra lunar cycle, and Libra is about partnering. The forecast for the new moon in Libra two weeks ago still applies, but this is the culmination.
Whatever shock you encounter, the best strategy here is to embrace it. Let go of your need for things to stay comfortable and safe, go toward what scares you, let yourself be changed by the encounter.
The north node is in Leo, which is about opening your heart – and the north node is currently disposited through the sun in deep, dark Scorpio, which has to face what's most frightening and painful in order to heal. So getting all outraged at having your feathers ruffled is absolutely unproductive here. Your feathers are supposed to be ruffled.
Neptune is beneficially aspecting the full moon, which means that something deeper is at work here. By accepting life on its own terms and sacrificing your pride to the larger design, magical things can happen. Try to have a little faith..
This song is so cheesy, but it fits. Here you go, you sexy thing. (I forgot to mention that the Taurus/Scorpio axis is SEXED UP. So this is definitely a full moon for freaky yet deep sex stuff, and if that's where it leads you, more power to ya!)
We're getting a beautiful Venus-Jupiter conjunction in Scorpio on the 13th November, and it'll trine Neptune. This is a great gift for relationships, and it comes ahead of a very beneficial-looking new moon in Scorpio on the 18th November. So I think after the relationship drama of the past few months, things are going to start feeling a lot better. Even if it's just your relationship with yourself! If you've made it through the past few months without cracking up, hang in there. Things are going to feel much more solid and deep soon.
It's nice for a change. And it's simple: start something that makes you feel good and/or increases your resources. It's the right time for planting seeds.
Solid, grounded, tangible, pleasurable. These are Taurus words. Also: slow, deliberate, patient. The things set in motion this lunar cycle will grow quietly and slowly, but be very deeply rooted. It's long-term stuff and will need to be nurtured.
It also represents a radically new direction. Taurus can be habitual and complacent, but what's in development here is not the same old same old at all. We are not going back over old ground or doing what we've always done. We're in uncharted territory, consolidating the new.
New ideas and associations will be popping up all over the place. We have some intense, buzzing Mercury action going on: a mutual reception between Mercury in warrior sign Aries, and Mars, who has just moved into thinky Gemini. This is some lit-up mental energy.
Plus Mercury is getting set to station direct on the 3rd May, and he's conjunct Uranus, planet of upheaval and revolution, now and well into May. And he's very well aspected: trining Saturn in Sagittarius and also the north node. This is the beginning of our grand fire trine, full of enthusiasm and inspiration. We'll have it for much of the rest of 2017.
In short, if you can't come up with a new approach at this time, you never will. The sky is really supporting creativity, inspiration and innovation. It's a waste of this energy to keep on doing the same old shit and expecting it to work out. So take a bit of a gamble, change things up a bit, start something you feel excited about. What have you got to lose?
You may be moving on from something tough and painful, but it should be apparent at this time that progress is being made. Taurus' ruler Venus, dispositor of the new moon, is still in a tough place, but she's moving forward. She's back from her underworld journey after stationing direct on the 15th April, and she's finished tangoing with Chiron (unhealable wounds) and Saturn (limits), though she's still in range of both. So we're still feeling the effect of those aspects: deep hurt and harsh realities in love and money matters; painful limits that must be accepted.
But we are moving on from all the regret and nostalgia. Venus re-enters Aries on the 28th April, and then it's full speed ahead, and on to new vistas. And by the time of the full moon in Scorpio on the 10th May, our beautiful grand fire trine will be in full effect, and things will be shifting fast.
The north node moves to Leo the day before the full moon – and this is a big deal. For the past 18 months, with the north node in Virgo, I've been harping on about doing your Virgo – cleaning, organizing staying healthy, attending to details and everyday tasks, serving others, being humble. Virgo was the path through the fog of these weird times.
And that's still the case, now and for the next two weeks: so keep doing your Virgo! Double up on it if necessary – do the full Marie Kondo thing on your underwear...
But keep in mind, this emphasis on nitpickiness is nearly over. Once the north node shifts to Leo on the 9th May, the tone changes to something much more fun. Creativity, showmanship, romance, self-expression, bling, ego! That's what we'll be focused on for the next 18 months, and I'm looking forward to it.
Anyway, happy new moon in Taurus to all. Plant a seed now, with the intention of growing something luxuriant and fantastical, because this is a powerfully fertile time.
This is tomorrow, the 14th November, around 2 pm GMT.
It's a supermoon, as I'm sure everyone has heard. The biggest one since 1948 apparently – and we won't see another this big and bright till 2034.
Given the societal tensions we've been seeing and the way full moons amp up people's passions, I'd be kinda nervous about this...except this full moon is in settled, stable, reality-based Taurus. That should calm the emotional tone down a bit and make the tension easier to manage.
The story the sky is telling right now is one of tension, though. Go figure. Basically, everybody is angry, people are taking extreme stances and it has become very hard to know what's true. Talk about politics at your peril - firefights are the norm now.
--We have the sun in extremist, polarizing Scorpio, and this is intense by definition. Plus we have Uranus in Aries (populist rage) sending an edgy inconjunct to the Scorpio sun, triggering bursts of destructive collective anger.
--We have Mars (aggression, drive) in the revolutionary sign of Aquarius, in mutual reception with Uranus (shock, revolution) in Aries, a sign which is all about individual will - and this is about popular rage in action. People out on the streets demanding change.
--We have Mercury (speech, communication) newly in Sagittarius, where he is prone to ideological ranting. He is aspecting Mars in Aquarius. This fires up the rage and the potential for wounding, crude, shocking (and/or incisively insightful) communication.
--We have Neptune in Pisces stationing direct on the 19th November, nearly exactly conjunct the south node. This is a swamp of confusion, delusion, lies, inertia and stagnation. Destructive nostalgia; the pull of old addictions, utter head-fuckery and bewilderment.
--We have Jupiter in Libra getting set to square Pluto in Capricorn (exact 24th November) and oppose Uranus in Aries (exact 26th December). This is a test of our civility, our tolerance, our ability to find common ground in the midst of disagreement. It is also a painful magnification of the sense of a corrupt power hierarchy (Pluto in Capricorn) and individual rage against it (Uranus in Aries).
In short, we have not seen an end to populist rage, or to duelling ideologies, or to polarized discourse. Or to the reign of utter crazy bullshit and delusion. Or to the dissolution of everything we thought to be true and stable...
We are still dealing with the aftermath of the transformative, destructive Uranus-Pluto squares (2012-2015), and we will be dealing with this for a long time. Recall that the last time we had a series of squares between these two planets was the 1930s, during the run-up to World War II. This is similar.
Pluto (toxicity, corruption and transformation) entered Capricorn, sign of the establishment, in 2008. That was the year the banking system fell apart. It was propped up at the expense of ordinary taxpayers.
Then Uranus (shock, revolution) entered Aries, sign of individual will and combativeness, in 2011, and collective anger erupted. That's when we watched the birth of the Occupy Wall Street movement, which demanded accountability from governments and the financial system. That's also when we saw the Arab Spring explode all over the Middle East, as people took to the streets to demand change.
Pluto and Uranus squared each other seven times between 2012 and 2015, and they hit like a wrecking ball, reducing a lot of lives to ruins. Populist revolt and shocking violence (Uranus in Aries) vs. extreme efforts on the part of authorities to maintain control, though the systemic rot could no longer be hidden (Pluto in Capricorn). Syria is a perfect example of how this sort of thing plays out on a collective scale - and with Neptune and Chiron in Pisces, the horror of that war can't be contained to just Syria; it is a contagion affecting the entire world.
But on the individual level, plenty of people have been through their own private apocalypses these past few years. Much of this (job and home loss and financial difficulty especially) is tied to the collective catastrophe - the failure of governments and the financial system to provide stability.
This year, to top it all off, we had three squares between Saturn (structure, order, reality) and Neptune (dissolution) – and this has dissolved the scorched earth right out from under people's feet. We no longer know what to expect. The future has always been uncertain, but this is something else entirely. None of it makes sense. And this uncertainty fuels more extremism – people retreat to polarized viewpoints when their sense of stable reality is threatened.
So here we are, at this supermoon in Taurus, and I hope it brings some calm and pragmatism, because we all have to figure out how to move on from here. New foundations have to be constructed; new realities have to be attended to. The old ones are torched.
The sky offers some clues as to how to move forward. Chiron in Pisces (a sense of existential woundedness) supports the full moon, and this says to me that compassion is the right response to turmoil – hard as it may be to come by. Compassion for the oppressed, and for the suffering that underlies the rage of the oppressors. We are all in this planet-sized shit show together.
Chiron is also about healing, and I hope some of that will be on offer. Because the collective polarization and savagery have grown hard to bear.
Another way forward is highlighted by the north node in Virgo, now exactly opposing Neptune and the south node in Pisces. I have been harping on about this for ages, but it bears repeating: pay attention to reality, to the bedrock facts of your everyday life. Attend to the little details of what needs doing. Stay grounded, serve others, help whenever you can, keep to your routines. Do not get stuck in the swamp of your own inertia or delusion or emotional ungroundedness.
All this is easy to say, but it will be pretty damn hard to do. Especially as Neptune stations direct later this week conjunct the south node, and in square to Mercury. It will feel like a complete headfuck, and the temptation will be to retreat into cloud-cuckoo land or a bottle of gin. Try to stay anchored in reality, one mundane task at a time. This has been important all year, with the north node transiting Virgo. But it is absolutely imperative now.
There is a yuuuuge need to accept and be willing to work with reality at this full moon - we must get down to business. We have Venus newly in security-seeking Capricorn, moving to conjunct Pluto on the 25th November - and this, along with the Scorpio-Taurus stuff, is about a fairly ruthless, realistic assessment of the bottom line in relationship and money matters. What you give vs. what you get back.
And by “bottom line”, I don't just mean money – I mean energy, though money and energy are often interchangeable. With Jupiter in balance-minded Libra, exchanges have to be fair, above-board and equal. The energy drains have got to go. This may entail getting rid of things you're quite attached to, and it will hurt.
But you have to drop the dead weight in order to move forward - and the dead weight in this case may be your dreams and illusions about how life should be. We have to work with what life IS.
This is not a time for burying our heads in the sand - this full moon is all about accepting reality, working with it and striving for fairness and balance in the face of conflict, delusion, polarization, shock and instability.
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.
The sun, now in early Scorpio, will be facing off against the moon in early Taurus.
A Taurus moon needs stability, physical solidity and comfort. It speaks of a deep attachment to pleasure, routine, habit and the status quo: Taurus doesn't like change. Whereas the sun in Scorpio requires change, discomfort and transformation – it wants to tear its skin off.
So you can see how these two energies are at odds. Further, Taurus and Scorpio are fixed signs – very focused and stubborn. Wherever this full moon falls in your chart is where you'll experience this tension between holding on/consolidating (Taurus) vs. purging/transforming/letting go (Scorpio).
What's nice about this full moon is that it should be easy enough to work with these opposing imperatives. The moon in Taurus is disposited by Venus (love, values, possessions) in Virgo; and the Scorpio sun is disposited by Mars (will, drive, sex) in Virgo and Pluto (death, transformation, sex) in Capricorn – and all these planets are in easy dialogue.
It's all very deep and workable – in a low-key, quiet, pragmatic kinda way. And pretty sexed-up as well. Scorpio and Taurus are a sexy combo, and we have Mars, Venus and Jupiter conjunct, aspecting Pluto – all in earth signs, which are very... physical. It's a real 'sexual healing' kinda vibe, cheesy as that sounds.
Cue the saxophone music!!
O yeah!!
(Sorry, sorry, sorry.)
Besides watching Kenny G videos, you could use this influence to do nice, healthy things for yourself physically. Resting up, eating well, getting some decent sleep. The past few weeks (hell the past few YEARS) have been rough on everyone...so this is a good time for building your energy and resources back up.
Anyway, recall the relationship re-boot theme of the new moon in Libra two weeks ago. What was implied at the new moon – tension, shifts, re-balancings, especially in the context of love and money matters – all comes to fruition at the full. This is where whatever was set in motion becomes a lot more solid and real.
Venus has by now left her square to Saturn and is conjunct Mars and Jupiter – and this stellium in Virgo trines Pluto in Capricorn. So it's time to act now, on whatever you want to create or repair. The blockages and obstructions we've been dealing with since the summer are falling away.
It is entirely possible to fix any relational/money/career problems you have at this time – to shed old problems like a snake shedding its skin. As long as you are willing to make a serious commitment: Saturn is in Sagittarius, and this is about consolidating (Saturn) a vision for the future (Sagittarius). It's serious stuff, and not particularly comfortable – but anything worth having involves work and discomfort. And also some sacrifice. You have to be willing to forgo some short-term comfort for a long-term goal.
It doesn't have to be about relationships, but with Venus and Mars conjunct and the north node at 0 degrees Libra, relationship and money issues take center stage in this.
But it could also be about your relationship to yourself, or to your possessions, values, psychological issues - you name it. It could be about getting clear of an addiction, decluttering your house, dealing with a psychological pathology, fine-tuning a health regimen, making a course-correction re. money/career....
Basically, overcoming inertia in some area of your life that has become stagnant and needs an overhaul – and you'll know exactly what area this is, it'll be hard to miss. Time to pick yourself up and get the ball rolling again.
It's as likely to be about an ending as it is about a re-boot: remember full moons signify culminations or endings. Something has to be dealt with decisively here, or purged in the interests of long-term stability. Something in your life - a habit, a relationship, a job, an ideology, whatever - may be shown to be completely outworn and unviable.
There are some potentially difficult choices to be made here - but deep down, there is really no choice. Trust your instinct on this: what do you really need and value, and what can you dispense with? You'll know.
If what you need or value is broken or damaged in some way, you can fix it with a bit of work. With all this Virgo and Pluto stuff going on, there's tremendous, focused, practical energy available for identifying problems and working to fix them. Deep structural change is easier than usual at this time. Deep healing, compassion and renewal from the roots are also possible – the stellium in Virgo opposes Chiron in Pisces, which represents a wound that confers spiritual knowledge.
Fairy uncomfortable stuff overall – but any kind of growth involves discomfort. A cicada doesn't climb out of its old carapace because it is 'comfortable' there. It climbs out because staying there is uncomfortable – and impossible.
Anyway, there is likely to be some shocking communication or mental re-balancing at this full moon: a message or information that radically shifts your perception. Mercury in Libra is opposite Uranus and squaring Pluto - you won't see it coming, but it looks potentially quite transformative and/or traumatic. This is a wake-up call for sure, if you were in need of one.
If you find yourself in a situation where verbal nastiness is being flung around, be careful. With Mercury still squaring Pluto and the south node at 0 degrees Aries, communicating impulsively in anger will come back to bite you on the ass in short order. Keep your head down (Virgo), mind your manners (Libra) and curb your enthusiasm (Saturn in Sagittarius). There is plenty of work to be done on fixing what really matters to you, without making more work for yourself via destructive conflict.
The sun and moon will be conjunct at 27 degrees Taurus. This is a slow, steady, solid, grounded energy. Also utterly determined. Fixated.
Normally Taurus is about pleasure and solidity – it is comforting. A new moon in Taurus is a good time to focus on eating a lot and lazing around in the sun like a simple happy creature. Or to focus on what makes you feel happy and satisfied in general.
In this case things don't look so comfortable, though. This new moon is quite stressfully aspected. This looks like steadiness allright - but of discomfort and pressure.
The moon and sun will be loosely conjunct Mars, now in communicative, mentally hyperactive Gemini – and this speaks of mental and emotional reactivity. Also mental fixation.
The new moon is also opposite party-killing Saturn in Sagittarius, a dour influence on our minds and moods.
Mars and Saturn are known as the lesser and greater malefics...not such easy planets to be caught up with...and Mars-Saturn aspects are about frustration, blockage and cruelty. We currently have an opposition between these planets - it peaked on the 15th of May and is waning now. But this energy colors the tone of the new moon and the month ahead.
Mars is life drive, will, desire, anger...and Saturn is limitation, karma, fear. So with this opposition, we are looking at blocked will, blocked desire, intense frustration – specifically in the realm of communication and self-expression, as Mars is in Gemini. A frustrating inability to say the necessary thing or to communicate, and potential violence and nastiness connected with that. Communication hitting a wall – painfully.
Also, the ruler of Taurus – Venus, dispositor of this new moon – is stressfully aspected. She's currently in emotional, nurturing, motherly Cancer - and opposing Pluto, king of hell (exact on the 22nd May).
Venus-Pluto aspects are about love and power. Also love and death, love and pathology. Love that takes you to hell, toxic love, obsessive love. Dead loves coming back from the grave to haunt you.
At best, Venus-Pluto can be about regenerative, transformative love...but at worst it's about power plays and destructive relationships. Because Venus is currently in Cancer, a sign concerned with emotion – there is some very heavy, hellish emotional stuff connected with this aspect.
Venus is not just about relationships – she also has to do with money, values and self-esteem. These are Taurean themes. So this new moon really highlights a poverty vibe - deep feelings of lack in the love, money and self-esteem departments; frustrated desire courtesy of the Mars-Saturn opposition...aargh.
No satisfaction!
The new moon happens in the late degrees of Taurus, and in a few days the sun moves to sparky, communicative, jittery, social-networking Gemini. So this is actually the opener for Gemini season – and a particularly neuron-frazzling, hyperactive, wyrded-out Gemini season it is. Communication issues and blockages take center stage this month.
Gemini's ruler, Mercury, goes retrograde in his home sign the day after the new moon (19th May). Mercury retrogrades are times of communication breakdowns, glitches, problems with transportation and communication devices...
This retrograde lasts until the 11th June, and Mercury will be in Gemini till the 8th July. So altogether, he will have spent about two months in Gemini and by the end of it I guess we are going to be kinda fried in the brains department.
And Mars will be in Gemini as well – till the 24th June. Mars is moving to conjunct Mercury in Gemini (exact 27th May).
This is nearly too much mental energy and communication. Just zingy as hell, incredibly social and distracted. Intense mental chatter – frazzled synapses. Repetitive thought loops that just go and go and go. A good way to ground this kind of excess mental energy is physical movement and exercise - you pull it down out of your head and into your body. Letting it run riot in your head is a recipe for craziness.
Re. craziness: Mercury will be squaring Neptune in Pisces for much of this transit of Gemini – in fact this Mercury retrograde ends on the same day that Neptune stations retrograde. Mercury-Neptune aspects are about inspiration, intuition, guidance from beyond, creativity and art. But also mental delusion, lies, siren songs, general wooly-headedness...
Gemini is not the most truthful of signs, and Neptune is all illusion – so watch what you say and don't believe everything you're told. The rumour mill will be running at warp speed this month – you might want to turn off the social media, turn off your smartphone, avoid getting caught up in the hype. There will be a lot of frenetic gossip going on, much of it bullshit and insinuation. Try to avoid becoming a source of it.
(Aaargh, silly video. But the song fits.)
This influence will be strongest the last week in May & heading up to the full moon in Sagittarius on the 2nd June – which looks like a bit of a headfuck. I'll write about it closer to the time.
An aside – I was confused about what this new moon meant. I got in my car and turned on the radio, and immediately heard the two songs linked above, which seem to encapsulate the themes – poverty consciousness, frustration, romantic obsession, hectic social chatter, gossip.
Getting guidance from the radio (or billboards, the tv, random things you overhear people saying, or wherever) is a Mercury-Neptune thing. Messages coming from the aether.
This is a good time to pay attention to the messages you get - signs and synchronicities, your dreams, the advertising jingles stuck in your head. All these things can be considered messages from the unconscious – your unconscious mind instinctively hooks onto the information it needs. So don't ignore this stuff – it's valuable.
But use some discrimination too. Not everything is meaningful, not everything is true. Let your intuition be your guide - you'll know deep down what information you can trust (without necessarily being able to articulate why).
All the Venus-Pluto and Gemini stuff is happening as part of a yod - a tricky, tense, uncomfortable aspect pattern, in effect from now till late June. I am not going to describe this yod thing in detail, because my brain will explode...but the apex of the pattern is Pluto in Capricorn, which is about unearthing the truth underlying a corrupt status quo. The point of all this dissatisfaction and confusion this month is finding out what's true - what you really feel, what you really value, what's really fulfilling (all Taurus themes). And acting on your values; voicing them - in order to regenerate situations that have become blocked or ossified...or to do away with them so that something new can develop.
Taurus is supposed to be about fulfillment and comfort. But in this scenario, discomfort, lack and frustration act as spurs to direct us toward what might actually be fulfilling. And our intuition - the Mercury-Neptune stuff - serves the same purpose. There is a guiding design at work here, if we can calm down enough to receive the directions we're being given and act on them.
--Also, Taurus is about what's tangible, what we actually possess. Focusing on what you actually have as opposed to what you lack should help with the frustration. And focusing on the tangible, physical reality of your life can cut through the mental chatter and distraction.
--Forgot to say - drug & booze alert for the remainder of the month and the beginning of June. It's pretty easy to get in over your head with mind-altering substances right now, so be careful.
Social stuff can also function as a drug / addiction / distraction. For example, it's funny how many people I've heard talking about facebook as an addiction lately...I think that will be a theme. If you are overly influenced by social media, it might be good to take a break about now or set yourself some limits, because our circuits will be overloaded enough as it is.
OK, so this is an intense and really stressful full moon. Maybe you can feel it building.
Today (1st May) the moon in Libra is tangled up with the Uranus-Pluto square, which is still in effect, though loosening. This is a jagged and disturbing emotional tone. Painful, eruptive, explosive...
People will definitely be on edge heading up to the full moon, which happens early on the 4th May, around 4:40 am GMT.
A full moon in Scorpio shines a stark light on what is viable in your life vs. what is unviable. It should be pretty damn clear. Full moons represent culminations or endings, and that's exactly what we're looking at here.
The moon at 13 degrees Scorpio (intense desire, emotional unrest, transformation) will be opposite the sun in Taurus (comfort, habits, values, self-esteem), and both will be in exact square to Jupiter in Leo, which amps up the intensity and tension. Ugh.
This looks like a very uncomfortable reckoning, especially as far as love and money stuff is concerned. Commitments and contractual obligations will be cemented and solidified – or ended.
It's kind of a life-or-death thing. What's viable, you commit yourself to. What's unviable – you let go of or amputate, painful though this may be.
It's very simple...but also hard as hell. It can be as grindingly difficult as breaking a long addiction.
Breaking an addiction is a good way of looking at this scenario, actually. We have Taurean comfort-seeking and habit coming up against the Scorpionic imperative for transformation and purgation, and something's gotta give.
Look back to the new moon in Scorpio in October of last year – that was the start of this cycle. What began for you then, or ended? What kind of psychological roller coaster have you been on for the past half-year, as we moved through the last of the Uranus-Pluto squares?
Basically, if you are still holding onto things that are draining or harmful – well you'll have had a good six or seven months of wake-up calls and revelations by now. Longer, probably! You can't really pretend not to know any better anymore, can you?
This full moon is a culmination and a cut-off point.
That's not to say we'll be done with the particular Scorpionic issues it raises...We still have some psychological reckoning to do, as Saturn heads back into Scorpio from June to September of this year. This is about the karmic fallout – the consequences. Or the processing period and recovery.
Scorpio issues revolve around sex, death, emotional intensity, trust, power, pathology, the Shadow. Also debts, shared resources, inheritances.
Energetic transactions, basically – and these can be emotional, monetary, physical. But you'll know what belongs in your life by the way it makes you feel: what gives you energy vs. what depletes your energy. If something – a habit, a relationship, a situation – consistently drains and devitalises you, it has to go. Or if leaving it is impossible, it has to be transformed somehow...
But please rein in your illusions that situations or people can be transformed if they have consistently disappointed you. With Scorpio, the most viable option is usually amputation. Cold turkey, yo.
Scorpio is ruled by Pluto, and retrograde Pluto in Capricorn supports the full moon with beneficial aspects – this is about internal reckoning, depth work and restructuring. Neptune in Pisces (dreams, compassion, intuition) also offers support – so it looks like there'll be compassion, hope and faith on offer. This is all nice, given the level of discomfort and intensity we're looking at.
Saturn is now at 3 degrees Sagittarius, moving backward toward Scorpio, which he'll hit in six weeks. We'll have Mercury in Gemini (hyper communicativeness) opposite Saturn (blockage) for this full moon, and both will be squaring dreamy, delusive Neptune in Pisces. And this looks tough. Blocked or deceptive communication; communication hitting a wall. A requirement for truth and free expression, or for absolute clarity – denied. Negotiations hitting an impasse. Anxiety, depression and the inability to think straight. Mental confusion.
I dunno – the whole thing just looks hard. Like something very deep and of far-reaching importance has to be hammered out and decided – and the emotional imperatives driving this are huge. But actually solidifying anything via thinking or communication will be difficult, with this Mercury-Saturn-Neptune square going on.
In circumstances like this, where you can't necessarily trust people's words or your own thinking – it's best to go with your gut instinct. If you feel like someone is lying to you or obfuscating, they probably are. If you feel you might be deluding yourself, you probably are. Don't talk yourself out of what you know deep down.
A Scorpio moon can be a ruthless bullshit detector, with great instinctive insight into people's deepest motivations and trustworthiness. It's a kind of tingly spider sense. That bodily knowing is much more reliable than verbal communication right now – so trust it.
Here is a link to hexagram 47 of the I Ching - it seems relevant. The hexagram is about fated adversity and constraint - a situation where words won't change anything, and you have to stake your life on following your deepest intuition and will.
This full moon setup also reminds me of the Tarot card for the 9 of wands:
It's like a line drawn in the sand. An energetic blocade - and the willingness to defend what you value. And what's at issue is crucial - this is a matter of psychic survival, and of safeguarding your will to live.
The moon in Taurus will be facing off against a stellium of planets in Scorpio: the sun, Venus, and Saturn. Taurus-Scorpio axis issues will be all lit up.
Taurus-Scorpio issues have to do with money, sex, power, personal and shared resources, possessions, values. Taurus is about holding onto things in order to create security and stability, and Scorpio is about letting go of what has become dead or outworn. Acquisition vs. purgation. Or anabolism (the processes that build and grow body tissues in an organism) vs. catabolism (the processes that break tissues down).
Obviously, these polarities require each other. Taurus can become overly materialistic and complacent without Scorpio's drive toward transformation. And Scorpio can be all perpetual upheaval and crisis without a bit of Taurean calm and stoicism to ground it.
The scenario we are looking at with this full moon puts me in mind of clearing a space with a bulldozer and then building something new there, from the ground up. We are nearing the 6th exact Uranus-Pluto square, and this is part of a protracted cycle of change and upheaval. And we just had a new moon at zero degrees Scorpio a couple of weeks back, opening up a focused opportunity for purgation and transformation.
By now if you've been doing your work, you are hopefully opening up a space in your life where all your old shit and garbage used to be. What are you going to grow or build there? That's the question this full moon shines a bright light on. What do you want this open space to become? How do you develop it?
Because Venus is tied up with the full moon, new developments likely have to do with relationships. They could also be about money, investments, possessions, personal values – or art. But relationships really are a big focus right now with the north node in Libra.
Anyway, the message here is: there's no need to rush into anything. Taurus is slow and steady...and realistic. Keep your feet on the ground. Invest your resources carefully and cautiously.
There's definitely a danger of going kinda overboard: the full moon will be forming a t-square with Jupiter in Leo, and Jupiter magnifies anything he's involved with. So beware of drama and over-the-top emotional bombast. Stay calm and let things develop slowly, no matter how urgent it all might feel. Try to curb your enthusiasm.
Here are some I Ching hexagrams relevant to these themes: 53 ('Gradual Development') is about the steadiness and patience you need to build something lasting. The next hexagram (54 – 'the Concubine'), is its opposite: it's about rushing things, skipping stages, letting desire lead you into situations where your integrity is compromised. Becoming a slave to desire. Needless to say, you want to avoid that scenario.
There is a real builder's vibe going on with this full moon - solid and deliberate. We have a Mars-Pluto conjunction in Capricorn harmoniously aspecting the moon and the sun, and this represents an intense drive to construct something step by step, and to get it right. I really like the way it looks – absolute determination to build something real and true.
Mars and Pluto rule Scorpio, and are in a mutual reception with Saturn (Capricorn's ruler) in Scorpio – and I think you could conceivably build the Great Pyramid of Giza in your backyard with this stuff going on.
Or a viable new business, or a relationship that isn't as fucked up as all the others have been...
Or the Death Star...
Kidding! What I mean is, you can use this to really challenge and surpass yourself.
That said, Mars-Pluto can be very violent and destructive - it can be the Death Star all right. War (Mars) plus death (Pluto)... and this conjunction is presently squaring Uranus (shock). Please be very careful and mindful of sudden accidents over the next two weeks – especially around the 11th November, which looks like a really tense day.
Drive defensively. If you start feeling full of murderous rage, try to translate it into physical activity – go run 10 miles or hit a punching bag or break dishes or something. Don't kill anybody if you can avoid it, and try to avoid angry people and sharks and rabid dogs etc.
We have Mercury moving into Scorpio on the 8th November, and heading into a square with Jupiter – and with this aspect, you can blowtorch people with your words. So maybe try to be mindful of what comes out of your mouth.
There's a lot of heaviness and intensity over the next two weeks - the stinging tail end of Scorpio season. It doesn't look like the easiest fortnight ever. But it's definitely a huge amount of energy, and I think if you can channel it into constructive activity, you'll be doing well.
We have a new moon at 0 degrees Sagittarius on the 22nd November, and this should lighten things up considerably. It'll be the second in a series of four new moons at 0 degrees of their signs, which is really kind of amazing and exciting. Like a series of magical portals, or phase shifts.
We are doing some focused work in the context of these four successive signs (Scorpio, Sagittarius, Capricorn and Aquarius) over the next few months - moving stepwise from psychological purgation and clearing-out (Scorpio) toward the establishment of a new status quo - something radically new and hopeful (Aquarius).
The overall theme echoes the theme of this full moon: catabolism (breakdown) and anabolism (building). Getting rid of what's outworn, dreaming up a new kind of life, building it in stages. Razed earth and the blueprint for something new, and the will to make it a reality.
I would advise going as deeply as possible into the themes of these signs while each is in ascendancy. Doing your Scorpio work as fully as possible over the next two weeks - however heavy and dark it might feel - will clear the ground for the next phase.
(That means dealing with your shit in a ruthless, focused way. Getting rid of whatever drains and devitalises you.)
This is on the 29th April, around 7:15 am (GMT). It is still in eclipse territory: a partial solar eclipse. Eclipses are powerful, even if partial...and this one comes just as April's amazing cardinal grand cross wanes in intensity.
Remember new moons represent new starts. We've been through some chaos this month and it's going to be around for a while yet. But this new moon represents something solid to hold onto: a rock in a stormy sea.
Maybe it's the rock of complete disillusionment and loss...or maybe it is some kind of bedrock faith in life and in your own ability to persevere. Maybe it's thought, communication or information that lays a complex situation bare, so you'll know what's actually possible and what's not. Hopefully you'll know what you have to work with from here on in, and plans will begin to be solidified.
I think it looks quite internal, subdued and very deep and solid. The sun and moon will be conjunct Mercury in slow, stable Taurus, and they will be beneficially aspecting Jupiter, Neptune and Pluto – so this is about thought and communication that is intuitive, profound, straightforward and emotionally steadying.
We can certainly use this. We're dealing with some very heavy and inescapable situations and revelations under the cardinal grand cross. This heaviness is represented by Saturn in Scorpio, which will be opposing Mercury in Taurus for the new moon. As May unfolds, the moon, Mercury and the sun will be opposed by Saturn (karma, limits) in their turn. This makes for a subdued, even depressed emotional tone - but it is also very practical and realistic. They say depressives see the world more clearly (see here ).
I am not advocating a depressive stance toward life, but there is some karma involved here that you can't whitewash away or outrun. You will just have to hunker down and work with it, even if it's hard. Radical change is the name of the game right now, and it's better to work with this energy than to resist it.
But before you can begin to work with it, you have to know exactly where you stand - and this is what you'll hopefully be getting some insight into right about now.
Because this new moon involves the Taurus – Scorpio axis, which has to do with money, possessions, energy, and personal and shared resources....it might be very important for you to take a good, hard look at where you stand financially. Money issues are likely to be very much at issue: you might be feeling totally broke, up to your eyeballs in debt, or trapped in situations where your efforts are not being adequately reimbursed. Between a rock and a hard place. This is pretty much the norm for most of the people on this planet, actually...but just because it's normal doesn't mean it's right. Something's gotta give, and you better make sure it's not your back.
On a less material level, money is just a form of energy. Scorpio has to do with energetic exchanges between people, so the issues you're dealing with may be interpersonal. Are you investing your life-energy in relationships where you get little or nothing back? Maybe it's time to look at exactly how you're selling yourself short. You deserve an adequate return on your emotional investments, and if you're not getting it, it's time to cut your losses and do something different.
Again, something's gotta give. If you're giving and giving and not getting what you need, well screw that.
(OK, let's play the song; it's fun! "So en garde, who knows what the fates might have in store, from their vast mysterious sky?")
Issues of self-worth are involved as well, and you can see how they link up with the money and relational stuff. How do you undervalue yourself, how do you settle for less than you're worth? How do you throw yourself away on people or situations that destabilize and drain you?
Taurus is about stability, self-esteem and personal resources. It's a fixed earth sign, the second sign in the zodiac. First you have Aries which is all edgy and impulsive: the raw new shoots fighting their way up out of the ground. Then, as the sun moves into Taurus, we see the established plants building their roots and fattening their leaves in the light. The weather stabilizes too. It's no longer the brink of a new season; spring is firmly rooted (in the northern hemisphere anyway). The new order has taken hold and it has momentum behind it, and vast patience.
Taurus is also about pleasure: simple earthly happiness. Flowers, good food, fine wine, soft pillows, physical comfort. It can be as placid and hedonistic as Ferdinand the bull, who was glad to lie around all day smelling flowers and never wanted to fight.
Taurus is easygoing and slow to start moving, but once set in motion, it is a force of nature. And it is also habitual and stubborn, resistant to change.
But what we are dealing with right now, courtesy of Uranus square Pluto and the cardinal grand cross, is change on a grand scale - like it or not. So there is some conflict built in here. It would be nice to be able to pretend everything is lovely as is and just keep doing what we've been doing, but I doubt that's really going to be an option for most people. Better to focus on moving your metaphoric cattle to new pastures.
(More bovines on the road. They are lovely!!)
To sum up, the story goes something like this: we are still caught in the crossfire of the cardinal grand cross, and a lot of things are being stripped from us, and a lot is being demanded of us. At the same time a lot of new possibilities are opening up. For many people this is quite literal and concrete. For others it's more internal – and I think you can count yourself lucky if you get to encounter this stuff on a more internal level, because plenty of people are reeling with the shock of outer events.
The point is, things are volatile and shifting fast. It can feel like being inside a pressure-cooker. And therefore this new moon in slow, steady Taurus is much-needed. It should provide some mental and emotional stability and an understanding of where to go from here. It's about laying a sturdy foundation for the changes you need to implement in your life. Knowing where you stand and where you want to go.
It's not about going back to the way things used to be, because you can't – but maybe you can harness the energy of change to set some new habits and patterns in motion. Hopefully they'll be ones that build you up and sustain you instead of depleting you.
Please don't try to be the immovable object standing in the way of an irresistible force! You're likely to get all busted up. Use the force.
PS, my friend Fran wrote this; it features a dialogue for the cardinal grand cross! Improv for planets...great stuff.
So tomorrow (17th November) we have a full moon at 25 degrees Taurus.
Taurus is a fixed earth sign concerned with material and physical stability, money, solidity, self-esteem, values. Like Libra, Taurus is Venus-ruled...but the Taurean Venus is a different creature than the Libran. In Libra, Venus's role is intellectual and airy and somewhat impersonal: she interrelates. She bridges gaps between people and creates social unity and harmony.
But in Taurus, Venus is all about personal pleasure and satisfaction...and groundedness. What do you actually love--not intellectually, but physically? What gives you pleasure and a sense of profound unshakeable satistfaction/security; what is the ground of your self-esteem?
Knowing the answers to these questions in a deep-down, physical way is what Taurus is all about.
A Taurus moon is about an emotional need for stability and solidity. And this particular Taurus moon is disposited by Venus in Capricorn, which is all about rock-hard standards and security in relationships: are your relationships strong enough to last and to build on? Can you rely on them for the long haul?
The Taurus moon will be facing off against the sun in Scorpio, sign of deep soul truth, intuitive understanding, healing and absolute trust. And the Scorpio sun is disposited by Pluto in Capricorn: so there's not much room for covering over or avoiding what's rotten here. No whitewashing. The rot is too deep and too systemic: it has to be addressed. You cannot put a band-aid on a bunch of pustulent gangrene or throw a pretty floral rug on the freakin' Death Star.
Likewise, you cannot continue giving energy to people or situations you know to be toxic and rotten. I mean, you can try--you can go on wasting your energy on these dynamics that you already know to be unbalanced and screwed-up. By all means do that if you need to...but understand that it can't work for long. You are going to have to face the music sometime....
So how about RIGHT NOW. It's the full moon after all: whatever's happening should be all lit up and in your face like a hundred watt lightbulb.
The alternative is to keep doing this:
Driving this message home, Venus, dispositor of the Taurus moon, is in Capricorn and conjunct Pluto in Capricorn, dispositor of the Scorpio sun. It doesn't get much more clear-cut than this.
So I will write it again in caps: VENUS IS CONJUNCT PLUTO IN CAPRICORN. That's really what this full moon is all about. Love and death.
(Sorry!!!)
But seiously: love and death. Or the death of love. Or till death do us part: rock solid devotion. Or dead loves coming back (unexpectedly! courtesy of Uranus in Aries) to haunt you and force you to exercise your Scorpionic skillset of bullshit-detecting and rot-amputation.
But this doesn't even have to be about relationships necessarily: remember that a Taurean Venus is also about money and values. It might be time to really sit down and sort out your financial situation. It might be impossible to avoid doing so.
Or it might be time to really look at what your values are about, and how they build or undermine your character.
Anyway, Venus is going to be in Capricorn for a good while. Until March actually...and nit-picky Mars in Virgo will be hitting her with trines till early December. Meaning: it's time to get real picky and high-maintenance and somewhat ruthless about who and what you choose to relate to and spend your energies on.
It's OK to be picky and have high standards! In fact it's very important. This is all about building something solid that will see you through. Life is not easy and it doesn't get easier as you get older. So who the hell needs fellow-travellers who are only going to make it harder: more full of needless drama and headgames and bullshit? Nobody! Unless you're into that sort of thing, in which case you are welcome to it...but it won't work out so great, I'm telling you now. And the whole sky is behind me on this...
Re. Uranus: Mr. crazy rebel planet is tightly squaring the Veuns-Pluto conjunction, adding an element of wild unpredictability to the mix. Maybe there are some shocks to your self esteem or your money situation or your relationships in store. But I would also take it as meaning it's a good time to cut your losses and get the draining, lousy crap out of your life. Like NOW. There is just no room for that stuff, going forward.
It can feel dull sometimes to be harping on about what these times mean. One week after another, and the theme stays pretty much the same. Heavy Scorpio, Capricorn and Pisces: deep, redemptive, traumatic, transformative, ruthlessly magical times. Stripped-down and simple, yet dreamlike and strange. Horrible/beautiful in equal measure...
Maybe life is always this way, but I don't think so.
And sometimes I don't feel there is much to say about it all - the words don't go deep enough. They can't. Mercury is in Scorpio conjunct the north node, after all: maybe the less said, the better. Holding back verbally is a necessary form of energy conservation...
But it's definitely a time of all the chickens coming home to roost, all the crappy old karma coming due (Saturn in Scorpio). Payback time...and you will know by the shape of your life right now what the payback is.
Anyway it's amazing enough just to be here and watching it play out, right? We're very lucky.
To sum up: the take-home message re. this full moon is this. Better get your values straight already. Know who and what you would trust with your life; get your committements stripped down to basics and nailed down. And get the energy-suckers and manipulators and day-trippers out of your life pronto, if you haven't done so already. Maybe you could make them a delicious cake, Taurus style:
