The New Moon in TAURUS will grace the sky on May 7th reaching peak illumination at 11:22 pm EST.
This blog post covers all you need to know about the New Moon in Taurus along with a simple eco-somatic ritual.
In this blog post you will find:
Introduction: Moon 101
The sun and moon are in a cyclical relationship as they weave through the seasons of the zodiac. This celestial dance provides us with an intuitive road map to explore our own inner/outer journey as we too make our way through the ebb and flow of nature's seasons and come into new and ever-changing dimensions of our lives.
While the sun is ruler of the day and influences our "outer" expression in the world, it is to no surprise that as ruler of the tides and queen of the night the moon is also ruler of our emotions and "inner" felt experience. Our emotions have long been associated with representations of water and the sea: fluid, ever-changing, ebbing and flowing. As the moon pulls at the tides, we also experience this influencing force on our emotions, desires, shadow realms, fears/worries, psyche, and dreams.
Self-knowledge arises through a process of uncovering hidden layers of self through revelation and integration. This process is mirrored in the ebb and flow of the moon which is why it's something we learn to observe and track. As the light of the moon waxes, more of what lies hidden becomes revealed - our deeper motivations, mechanisms, and feelings. As the light of the moon wanes, we are given time to integrate these new learnings and discoveries.
This New Moon falls within the sign of Taurus. Keep reading to learn how you can use this moon portal to explore new dimensions of self seeking expression in the world.
New Moon Energy
The New Moon in Taurus marks the beginning of a new lunar cycle. The previous Aries Moon cycle ends and the Taurus Moon cycle begins. Since the moon is the closest "planet" to Earth, this satellite zips around the zodiac very quickly, completing its round in less than a month. Actually, the entire trip takes 29.53 days, to be exact, and is measured from one “New Moon” to the next. We call this a lunation or lunar cycle.
During a New Moon, the moon is sitting between the Earth and the Sun, hence the Sun is shining on the side of the moon we never see. Both the Moon and Sun are in the same Zodiac sign during a New Moon forming a conjunction, which means that the influencing energies are united and enhance the other. In this case, both the sun and moon are conjunct in the sign of Taurus.
You can think of the New Moon phase as the point of beginning again or returning to the conception stage of the lunar cycle. The darkness of the new moon represents fertile ground. New moon energy is a time for introspection, heightened intuition, surrendering to the unknown, releasing what no longer serves you, opening to magic and conjuring visions. At this time, you can plant your dream seeds or set intentions by consciously focusing on the "feeling' of your hearts' desires.
Taurus Insights
SYMBOL | BULL: symbol of strength, tenacity, virility, and power. Left alone, a bull will happily graze; but if it is bothered, it will charge.
PLANETARY RULER | VENUS: planet of love, beauty, harmony and pleasure.
ELEMENT | EARTH: element of physicality and matter.
HOUSE | 2ND HOUSE: The House of Value rules the degree to which we are faithful to our values, money and personal finances, sense of self-worth, personal possessions.
MODALITY | FIXED: represents stability in sustained action, the conscious development of awareness, and the growth process.
Two weeks ago we had the Scorpio Full Moon arrive just as the Sun entered Taurus. During Taurus season, themes of determination, stability, eros, embodiment and creativity are strong. Taurus and Scorpio belong to the Fixed Cross of Stability, together forming the Axis of Eros. This polarity can make for a powerful aspect full of growth potential as it deals with form (Taurus) and transformation (Scorpio). We now find ourselves past the halfway point between the Spring Equinox and Summer Solstice which was marked by astronomical Bealtaine (Irish) on May 6th.
The Scorpio Full Moon helped us to explore death as an aspect of the erotic and to embrace change as our fundamental nature. Our primary experience of life is a process of being magnetically pulled towards the world, towards others, towards relating. Life is a desire to meet life. Only through processes of relating can we know ourselves. With every encounter we are remade. If Eros is constant transformation, surrendering to Eros means making peace with dying; becoming edible to others. Death enables me to give what has been part of myself away so that it can serve others.
Now the Sun and Moon stand together (conjunct) in the receptive sign of Taurus, giving us an opportunity to integrate the inner conversations and encounters we've had, nourish our sensory pathways of connection, ground our learnings in the pleasure of embodied aliveness, and listen to how life is unfolding. Taurus is connected to the ancestral satisfaction gained when working and giving ourselves to the land, the pleasure experienced with wet grass between our toes, and the mysteries of an abundant Mother of life who keeps giving. She demonstrates through the seasons, year after year, how death feeds life. Through every relational encounter, we give our intention, imagination, time, energy, breath to the process of co-creation, to seeing and being seen, touching and being changed.
This New Moon emphasizes re-connection with body / land as a primary pathway to ancestral remembrance and the need to recover this deeper source of tranquil, natural pleasure at being alive in the physical world. Taurus is ruled by Venus, the goddess of Love, so this New Moon encourages us to nurture to our hearts as we reach out and connect with the world. For Taurus, love is a verb. As beings formed from Nature, we have an instinct to be close to Earth, however we are often led astray by the pull of technology, escapism, & materialism. By coming coming back to our bodies, back to nature (like land tending and growing food) we learn in a visceral way how love manifests in our giving and receiving. The nature of how we show up in our tending matters, because it shapes the relational field.
What you need to know about Taurus
THE FIXED CROSS
AQUARIUS - LEO AXIS
TAURUS - SCORPIO AXIS
Stability, directed choice, immovable intent of soul, direction
This Fixed Cross (highlight in green) is one of the three zodiacal crosses. The Fixed Cross represents the conscious development of awareness and the growth process.
"Fixed signs are still and inward, drawing energy to themselves rather than thrusting outward. They correspond elementally to water and geometrically to the in-drawing circle." - Vicki Noble, Motherpeace
Taurus is the fixed earth sign (circled in the diagram); opposing it is the fixed water sign of Scorpio. Together they create one axis of the Fixed Cross. Earth and Water (feminine) always create an axis and Air and Fire (masculine) create the other axis. There are three crosses that make up the zodiac wheel. Each cross contains each of the four elements. In this case the fixed signs are represented by: Aquarius (Air), Leo (Fire), Taurus (Earth), Scorpio (Water).
ELEMENT: EARTH
EARTH: BODY & PHYSICALITY
CAPRICORN, TAURUS, VIRGO
Earth is the element of stability, growth, and home. It is related to fertility, prosperity, grounding, and centering, planting and harvesting and animals.
"Earth is our home, the one place in our known universe that has just the right conditions for a myriad of life forms to evolve and flourish. Earth provides everything we need—from the healing medicine of plants and herbs to the water for us to drink, all of our core needs are provided for from this abundant planet. We simply wouldn't exist without the Earth." - Kayla White
Earth signs feel at home tending to core routines, crafting rituals, working on tangible projects like building garden beds, cooking with nourishing foods, and love anything deep, sensual, practical, grounded, and stable with a particular orientation toward action.
RULING PLANET: VENUS
Qualities: love, aesthetic, attraction, beauty, sensuality
Venus is all about sensuality and embodied pleasure. This planet concerns itself with love, romance and harmony in our relationships and emotional attachments. Venus orients us toward elegant beauty found in simplicity, being here and now immersed in the sensual delights of the material world, and experiencing the abundance that comes with a heart overflowing with appreciation and gratitude.
CONSTELLATION
Taurus the Bull is a constellation of the zodiac, which means that it lies on the ecliptic, or path of the sun and planets through our sky. It is visible during the fall through spring in the Northern Hemisphere (or spring through fall in the Southern Hemisphere). It sits in the evening sky close to Orion.
According to EarthSky:
Taurus the Bull takes the shape of a two-pronged fork, with the center V-shape consisting of an actual star cluster – a family of stars in space – that we call the Hyades. The Hyades marks the face of the Bull. The bright red star Aldebaran shines in the V, and represents the Bull’s fiery eye. In addition, Taurus holds another famous star cluster, which we call the Pleiades or Seven Sisters. It has the shape of a tiny dipper. (Source)
Ritual Elements
Taurus New Moon Ritual
What You'll Need
1. Elements for your altar. Drawing on the ritual elements above, consider what you might want to bring to your altar. Start simple. There is absolutely no need to go out and "buy" altar items. This is something that we encourage you to unlearn. Everything we need is within us and can be found around us. A simple candle will do, or a yellow flower for example.
2. Candle & lighter for the eco-somatic practice
3. Journal & something to write with for the journaling portion.
Important Considerations & Prep
1. RIGHT RELATIONSHIP: being in right relationship with your spiritual practice means approaching each aspect with humility, curiosity and reverence. This includes checking yourself on the nature of how you relate to "objects" as things and the process itself.
For example, if you feel called to stones as part of your ritual, consider WHY first. Then contemplate the impact of whatever action comes next. For example, instead of mindlessly purchasing cheap precious stones from somewhere like amazon (which have more than likely been harmfully mined/extracted and then shipped across the world as part of the consumer machine that's destroying our planet), perhaps part of your spiritual practice is to resist such a prompting and instead take the time to go for a mindful walk in your backyard, or a nearby stream and see if the right stone presents itself to you.
2. CLEANSE & PURIFY YOUR SPACE: Cleansing, also known as purification, is the practice of clearing out and releasing negative energy from your space, as well as energy that’s just old, stale, stagnant, or no longer serving you. Here are a few different methods:
Physical cleaning: dusting, vacuuming, opening windows for fresh air
Salt: a common element used for purification and protection in many different cultures. To use, simply sprinkle salt along doorways and windowsills to protect them from negative energy entering or just keep a small bowl of salt on your altar or nearby surface.
Smoke cleansing: light incense or burn a bundle of dried herbs such as rosemary, cedar, or mugwort. Choose plants that you have grown yourself or that grow abundantly wild nearby, plants that you have ancestral tied to or just those that have been grown and harvested ethically.
NOTE: If you do not have meaningful/authentic relationships to Indigenous culture and customs, "smudging" with white sage cultural appropriation and is dishonoring to Indigenous nations across Turtle island. It is important to understand that smudging is not just about burning sage to purify the negative energy from your space but is a sacred ritual that is culturally specific to tribes such as the Lakota Sioux, Comanche, Cheyenne, Arapaho, and Navajo. If you have been gifted sage by an Indigenous friend, use to your discretion in how to engage with this medicine. This sacred plant is being abused, exploited and mass-harvested for commercial and consumer use which perpetuates the violence of white supremacy and settler colonialism. Take some time to locate yourself within a settler-colonial context interwoven with the land you currently occupy. Check out Native Land to learn the name and more about the territories you occupy.
3. CLEANSE & PURIFY YOUR BODY-MIND
Take a shower our bath; visualize any negative energy that has accumulated in your auric field to be washed away as the water goes down the drain.
Meditate, center and take some time to ground in stillness and embodied presence.
Write or speak your intentions for your ritual out loud
4. BE MINDFUL & STRIVE FOR INTEGRITY ALWAYS.
Altar Creation
Creating an altar is optional. Altar tending is a beautiful practice, especially if you have a designated area in your home that you can tend to over the course of each moon and seasonal cycle.
Tending to an altar is an intentional practice that supports your exploration of nature spirituality and carries the potential to deepen your relationship to the energetic archetypes of the unfolding seasonal & moon cycles.
To set up your altar, simply play with any number of the ritual elements offered above in the chart by using symbols, colors, precious gemstones, symbolism, etc.
There is no right or wrong way to go about creating, tending or being with your altar, however we do not condone cultural appropriation or theft of any kind.
Eco-Somatic Practice: Holding the Gift of Life with Care
For this eco-somatic we will be drawing on the element of EARTH since Taurus is an earth sign. To amplify grounded connection, perform this part of the ritual outside, under the open sky.
In this practice we are sensing, honoring and being with the yielding and receptive qualities of earth / body - qualities that support us to cultivate the energy of devotion.
STEPS:
Begin by finding a comfortable seated posture on the ground.
Take some time to settle into your seat and notice the weight of your body descend into the earth as the crown of your head lengthens toward the sky. Let everything in you soften as you maintain structural integrity of a lengthened spine.
Begin to notice and sense your breath from the inside as it travels down into your chest and belly. Ride the waves of the breath as you inhale and exhale, like gentle waves lapping against your inner shore.
When you feel grounded and at ease, bring your hands together in front of you to form a cup. You might let your cupped hand rest on your lap.
Notice the shape of your hands, how cupping them forms a container for holding. Take some time to contemplate this gesture of holding, as you feel yourself held by earth (as though YOU are in the cup of earth's hands).
With appreciation, continue to gaze at your hands and notice any sensations, feelings or emotions arise as you are with this receptive gesture. Consider what it means to hold.
Next, visualize yourself and your life circumstances being held in your hands with a spirit of love, devotion and faith.
How does this change or deepen your experience? What subtle shift do you notice in your body-mind-heart and being?
Begin to take slow, soft, and deeply pleasurable breaths:
Inhale, breathing compassion into your hands. Exhale, soften into the feeling of being held by earth.
Inhale, breathing trust into your hands. Exhale, soften into the feeling of being held by earth.
Inhale, breathing curiosity into your hands. Exhale, soften into the feeling of being held by earth.
Inhale, breathing reverence into your hands. Exhale, soften into the feeling of being held by earth.
Receive the gift of your life and bow to it by turning your cupped hands into a prayer position. You might also feel called to bringing your forehead to the earth, a gesture of humility and devotion.
How does this change or deepen your experience? What subtle shift do you notice in your body-mind-heart and being?
When you are ready, come back to your seat.
Now let your body be the cup. Sense how life, with every experience and encounter, touches, moves and shapes you in body, heart and mind.
Take some time to listen to your body-mind-heart. Sense which body part wants to be held, seen and nurtured.
Place your hands there and notice how the hands are making a connection with that part
Begin to take slow, soft, and deeply pleasurable breaths:
Inhale, breathing compassion into that part. Exhale, soften into the feeling of being held by earth.
Inhale, breathing trust into that part. Exhale, soften into the feeling of being held by earth.
Inhale, breathing curiosity into that part. Exhale, soften into the feeling of being held by earth.
Inhale, breathing reverence into that part. Exhale, soften into the feeling of being held by earth.
Offer gratitude or speak to this part and let it know that you are here and listening.
How does this change or deepen your experience? What subtle shift do you notice in your body-mind-heart and being?
Journaling
What came up for you during the eco-somatic practice? Take some time to reflect on anything you'd like to hold onto.
Journal prompts for the new moon:
Do I tend to respond or react to life circumstances?
How do I know when I am grounded and centered in myself?
What does it mean to be in active receptivity?
How am I in conversation with life? Am I listening?
How can I practice listening with all of my senses?
You may also feel called to finishing the following sentences:
A habits of thought or behavior that I am releasing is....
A new practice that I would like to incorporate into my routine is...
Something that I am letting go of is...
Something I am welcoming in is...
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