New Moon in Taurus: Take it Slow & Let it Grow
We have a new moon in the late degrees of Taurus this week (Friday 19th May, 4.54pm UK Time). This new moon connects us to a slower rhythm, that of the natural world; it seeks to impart to us the goodness of life, that we might engage in good faith with the first fruits of the season and to drop deeper into the sensuous, embodied dimension of life. This new moon rounds off a significant week astrologically, which has seen Jupiter ingress into the sign of Taurus and Mercury station direct, while a powerful t-square between Mars, Pluto and Jupiter has been gradually forming, becoming exact in the first degree of the fixed signs this weekend. More on this below…
The Gateway Medicine of Taurus & its Shadow
How luscious it is to draw strength from the Taurus energy during these times of great change and uncertainty. Taurus has the capacity to slow us down, bring us back into our bodies and connect us to nature’s bounteous abundance. Venus-ruled Taurus is the sign of earthy beauty and fecundity, and this new moon is a potent time to seed our intention to live in harmony with our surroundings, to recognise all the blessings we have around us, and the gifts we have been given.
To honour the ingress of Jupiter into Taurus on Tuesday, I ventured into the lush terrain of the Taurus landscape figure in the Glastonbury Zodiac. It is located in a beautiful, picturesque part of the Somerset landscape, and with its array of sweet-smelling widlflowers, rare butterflies and blossiming hawthorns, it is the perfect setting for a truly Taurean experience! Having been through a period of busy mental activity, the experience really helped me settle back into my body, and reconnect with the wisdom of the land. With the Sun shining, the fertility of life in the air all around me, and the promise of longer, light-filled days to come, my pleasure senses were heightened and I felt filled up with the good stuff that emanates naturally and effortlessly from the wild earth at the burgeoning of summer.
Taurus Zodiac map drawing by Yuri Leitch
Taurus is a magnetic sign of natural attraction and prosperity, but the image of the sign can be distorted in our culture, its shadow form manifest as greed, excess, possessive ownership, exploitation and the hoarding of resources. The unhealthy attachment we have to material wealth, born of a toxic belief that there is ‘not enough’ and that ‘more is better’ characterises the shadow side of Taurus. These beliefs keep us impoverished and prevent us from living in balance and harmony with each other and the beings that we share this beautiful planet with.
What if we could simply accept that there is enough, that we have enough, that we are enough and to dwell in that reality! What would that open up? What if we could let go of our incessant craving for more, and really recognise the resources that we have, both individually and collectively, celebrate that and share them openly with each other.
In my book, Your Zodiac Soul, I suggest that each sign has a ‘gateway medicine’; for Taurus it is the medicine of gratitude, to be thankful for what we have while we have it, and to recognise when it is time to relinquish it, offer it up with love, so that we can move on and the energy of life can continue to move through us. The word wealth, actually comes from the Anglo-Saxon word ‘weal’, which means well-being, and is also linked to our modern word '‘wheel’. So I like to think of wealth, not as an accumulated amount of money and possessions, but rather as a turning wheel of well-being that is always in motion.
Ask yourself these questions:
What am I grateful for?
What do I appreciate?
How often do I remember to count my blessings?
This is a perfect time to begin a gratitude practice where we can engage with these questions every day.
The Aspects to Sun/Moon in the New Moon Chart
The Sun and Moon are conjunct at 28˚ Taurus, and they are making sextile aspects to Mars and Neptune, which themselves are enjoying a trine aspect. The sextile to Mars in Cancer can be a opportunity for courage, in the defence of something that needs cherishing or protecting. The sextile to Neptune might allow something more-than-human to enter into awareness, and help us to accept a difficult situation, or surrender to something sublime. There is also a dissociate (cross-sign) trine aspect to Pluto which adds depth and emphasises that what is hidden or buried in the unconscious needs to be included and is essential to understanding what is going on.
Jupiter’s Shift From Aries into Taurus
On Tuesday 16th May, Jupiter, the planet of joy, growth, far-reaching vision, and metaphysical meaning left Aries and entered the sign of Taurus, where it will reside for the next twelve months or so. We could, with some justification, attempt to characterise the last twelve months as a time of accelerated cultural change, of new perspectives and meta-narratives - Jupiter in Aries wants to forget the past, and create the world anew. At best it is an enthusiastic, passionate, highly spirited position for Jupiter; at worst our vision of the future could be naive and lacking in historical context. You could perhaps see that in the way mainstream culture seems to have moved on (to some extent at least) from the covid narrative, the lockdowns and vaccine debates in the last year, almost as if the whole thing had never happened! Jupiter is how we imagine the world could be, and in Aries, that re-imagining has been at the level of individual identity. ‘I am more than I ever imagined I could be. I can let go of my old identity and create myself anew’. The shadow side of this, of course, is to be blind to anything which is not about my own individual re-emergence or identity make-over.
Jupiter’s sign position offers us a sense of what is growing culturally in terms of the way we make meaning as communities and as a society. As Jupiter moves into Taurus, we might expect the speed of growth and cultural change to slow down, and for our hopes and dreams to be more realistic, tangible, embodied. It might make us more conservative in our ambitions, and ideally it would encourage us to savour what we have and to let things evolve at a more manageable pace. With Juputer in Venus’s sign, it is a placement we associate with a certain type of abundance that draws from nature’s wisdom. On the other hand we might become more unwilling to relinquish or share; unchecked the Jupiter in Taurus energy could spill over into greed. We might be more inclined to laziness, or over-indulgence, we might be a little more willing to let our waistlines go - we might feel more encouraged to shore up what we have, accummulate more, create more security around our possessions. If we have re-imagined our identity with Jupiter in Aries, then with Jupiter in Taurus perhaps we re-imagine our relationship to what we have, and perhaps the nature of ownership itself. It will be interesting to see the ways in which the cultural atmosphere changes.
Mercury Stationing Direct
On Monday we moved out of a three-week Mercury retrograde phase, as the realms of thought and information, communication and trade typically unravel, wires get crossed and it is more challenging to pass information from A to B, and get your message across effectively. Mercury remains in Taurus during this whole process, where it has been since mid March, and doesn’t leave until 11th June. As a thinker and communicator, Mercury is slow and deliberate here, it’s a case of ‘let me chew on it’, or ‘let me just digest that piece of information’, and then I’ll get back to you.’ So even as communications start to get back online again, we don’t want to be in too much of a rush. Better to let things unfold in their own good time.
The Mars-Pluto-Jupiter T-Square
This is a major three-planet alignment that reaches its culmination this weekend, with Mars, Pluto and Jupiter each occupying 0˚ of the fixed signs Leo, Aquarius and Taurus respectively. Mars and Pluto are in exact opposition, and both are making an exact square to Jupiter. So there is build up of tension between Mars in Leo, the proud warrior who asserts his sovereignty, and Pluto who has secreted away the repressed aspects of the shadow. This type of energy smoulders with intensity and frustration. The forces of the unconscious are strong, and can have potentially quite violent implications if there is no context for understanding. This is not necessarily helped by the agitating forces of the squares that Jupiter is receiving. Jupiter wants to expand and illuminate what is going on, and can potentially go overboard when receiving that type of energy. It’s true that Jupiter, being in Taurus, may be able to control the more volatile expression of that frustration, but there is some palpable tension present in this configuration. If it can be put to good use, framed in right context or held in the right setting, then this energy could find a creative outlet, and things which had been buried or suppressed could come to light in ways that could ultimately assist a broader cause or intention.
My Taurus Mantra
Taurus brings us into the present with the instinct to have and to hold. The value of what is presented to us can be experienced and can enhance our lives, and it is this that fuels our desire to acquire it and to own it. 'As I say in the Taurus chapter of my book: “Here it is, I want to have it. Now I’ve got it, I want to keep it.’ To dwell in a dynamic state of gratitude for our embodied experience can stand as a counterbalance to that acquisitive urge. My Taurus mantra runs thus:
“I take pleasure in the great fullness of my embodiment, here, in the sensuous delight of this moment.”
New moon blessings to all.
Announcing New Foundation Course: Starting 10th Oct 2023
We are very excited to be offering a new foundation course here at Kairos Astrology. It will be vibrant, fun and impactful, offering a uniquely experiential and embodied approach to learning astrology online.
This comprehensive astrology programme will give you all the foundational skills you need to understand the language of astrology, to interpret a birth chart, and to understand the nature and significance of planetary cycles, transits and progressions.
And we will be delivering that in a way that really brings astrology to life! In addition to the rich, deep material presented each week, you will also meet the signs, planets and aspects of astrology through mask, music and theatre and be invited to engage in an exploration of your own birth, including optional creative projects to deepen your learning.
The course is delivered through 27 live classes of 2 hours, run over three terms. The live, interactive classes are held on Tuesdays at 5pm UK time. They will be hosted by myself, John Wadsworth, with the assistance of fellow course tutors Tamsin St George, Gillian Crawford & Melissa Gledhill.
Planets Alive: Embodied Astrology & Astrodrama Retreat
Thurs 5th - Sun 8th Oct 2023
Earth-Spirit Centre, Compton Dundon, Glastonbury
I am happy to announce details of my next astrodrama retreat for October. It will take place at the wonderful Earth-Spirit Centre in Compton Dundon, a few miles outside of Glastonbury, right in the heart of the Glastonbury Zodiac.
Come and experience the healing theatre of your own astrological chart, over four days of embodied, experiential astrology play, dance and ceremony!
Open to all levels of astrological experience.
Early Bird Price: £595.00 (full board)
Click here for more details...
Testimonials from Previous Participants
"This workshop is the gift that keeps on giving well after the event. Such a rare experience to find a workshop of this quality, which explores the depth of the psyche from an astrological perspective. Highly highly recommended.” (Carmel)
"Astrodrama is a fresh, fun way to explore astrology and really get to feel the depth and power of the planets in their different aspects. I love the very experiential way of working, with a lot of dance and laughter, intensity and a great sense of play. It was very powerful dressing up as the planets, feeling the shifts as we followed where they led. John is masterful at leading the action through his intuitively spot-on music.” (Hermione Holmes)
"The Astrodrama retreat breathed life into the two dimensional chart producing a chorus of three dimensional planetary archetypes ready to to jostle for position and voice. I have spent over 30 years studying astrology but this format brought a whole new meaning to the natal chart. It was an honour to play other's planets and such fun choosing costumes for planets in signs." (Beki Martin)