New Moon Solar Eclipse in Taurus
Dear Friends
We have a new moon in Taurus on 30th April (9.29pm UK time) and we are entering the first eclipse season on 2022 with the new moon also being a partial solar eclipse. We now enter an 18 month period where the eclipse seasons are happening across the Taurus/Scorpio axis. This marks an important shift of orientation from the previous Gemini/Sagittarius period in which we had to confront a crisis of ideas and ideology, language and belief, access to information in the face of grand narratives. Now, in Taurus/Scorpio, the crisis is centred more on our direct relationship to the body, to money and wealth, our connection with nature, and to issues of death and survival.
The sun and moon are making an applying conjunction to Uranus in Taurus, which suggests unexpected developments over this new moon eclipse. It could bring exciting breakthroughs, but the energy is also unsettling and de-stabilising. And this is occurring in the midst of the rather blissful, dreamy (or escapist fantasy) period of the Jupiter-Neptune-Venus alignment in Pisces - the Venus-Jupiter conjunction is exact at the time of the new moon. This Uranian eclipse energy creates a strong contrast; harsher perhaps, more cutting, a sharper, more direct or immediate perception of reality.
One might expect our financial systems to be particularly vulnerable at this time, and financial markets to become increasingly volatile over this next period. And at a more immediate level, our whole experience of sensory perception may be liable to sudden change, and our relationship to nature and to our bodies. We are having to make radical adjustments, as we try to to live in an increasingly abstract world where common sense is replaced by ‘computer sense’, automated systems, algorithms and future modelling. It’s all very Uranian, this has been one of the major impacts of Uranus in Taurus over the past three years, this break with common sense perception; this new eclipse season now brings this theme again into sharp focus. Those who like to use computer language to describe the human experience (which I don’t) and see this as an inevitable, if not favourable, development might speak of this in terms of the human body needing an ‘upgrade’ in order to adapt to the advanced technological age. And whether this turns out to be the case or not, there is a lot of trauma to be reckoned with in the process. There is no by-passing that. Uranian trauma arising from shock and sudden change, tends to bring mental dissociation or disembodiment. And this is likely to be a theme of the times we are going through.
It is interesting to contrast this Uranian new moon eclipse with the more Saturnian-themed full moon lunar eclipse that will follow in two weeks time (16th May) where Saturn will be in square aspect to the full moon, at the nodal bendings. This suggests that whatever radical initiatives or sudden changes occur now will bear Saturnian consequences down the road, whether in the form of resource crisis, overstretched institutions, delayed progress or abandoned projects. That would apply during the acute period of this eclipse month, but can also apply over the next six months where the effect of this eclipse season is felt.
In the light of all this, it seems especially important then, to draw upon the Taurus medicine at this time, to bring us back into our bodies and connect us to nature. Taurus is the sign of sensuous beauty, abundance and fecundity, and this new moon is a potent time to seed our intention to live in gratitude for all the blessings we have around us, to recognise the gifts we have been given and to be thankful. We have Beltane approaching on Sunday, that festival of fertility and the in-coming of summer that is so gloriously celebrated here in Glastonbury, when I am fortunate enough to live.
The image of Taurus can be distorted in our culture, its shadow form manifested in greed and excess, an unhealthy attachment to material wealth, and a toxic belief in ‘not enough’ and ‘more is better’. Both of these perspectives keep us impoverished and prevent us from living in balance and in harmony with each other and with the magnificent array of different 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. What would that open up? What if we could let go of our incessant craving for me, and recognise the resources that we have, both individually and collectively.
The gateway medicine for Taurus is gratitude, so you could try asking yourself these questions:
What am I grateful for? What do I appreciate? And in what ways have I forgotten to count my blessings? This is a perfect time to begin a gratitude practice where you can engage with these questions every day. Taurus’s ruling planet, Venus is still strongly place in exaltation in Pisces, so can enhance the experience of gratitude and expand its scope; this is an excellent time let the Venusian energy of love, beauty and pleasure fill your life.
One thing we can perhaps be grateful for in the new moon / eclipse chart is the lack of hard aspects. The only other major aspect made to the Sun and Moon is a creative sextile aspect to Mars, which suggests energy directed in a constructive way that can make the most of an exciting opportunity.
In my book, Your Zodiac Soul, I talk about Taurus as the 'belly urge’: this is a good moment to connect with your belly - put your hand on your belly every now and again, and just hold it there for a while. This can be very reassuring. It's also about the way we feed the belly, of course; slow cooking, slow eating really helps. We can practice being more mindful around food and what we take into our bodies, not overfilling our bellies, and begin to discern that experience of being satisfied, of having enough, and acknowledging that distinction.
This eclipse season can bring with it a more intense longing and it can stir unconscious forces in us that crave experience at the expense of balance. We have the capacity to acknowledge those forces, to notice them as they arise, and not simply become prey to them. Mindfulness is the key, and staying alert to what is moving in us. I wish you a nourishing and pleasure-full new moon, and Beltane blessings to all.