2010 Taurus New Moon

by Stephanie Azaria

May 13-14 2010

23 Taurus 09

9:06 PM EDT / 6:06pm PDT/ 1:06 AM GMT

The Taurus New Moon directs attention to the physical resources we have at our disposal and invites us to revisit and refresh our attitude toward them. It continues the grounding and grounded theme of Mercury’s retrograde in Taurus, as well as the call for change of the ongoing Saturn/Uranus opposition. As a result, we find ourselves simultaneously immobilized staring at the circumstances of our lives and also mobilizing for change.

The slowness of this Moon’s effect and unfolding comes not just from its being in the most deliberate of the earth signs, but also from its occurring while Mercury in Taurus is stationing direct. In Taurus, the planet of communication and travel is as down-to-earth, on the ground and, above all, slow as he can possibly be. Add to that the impact of stationing — meaning he’s still in the degree in which he’s changed direction — and matters in his domain will feel like they’ve come to a complete standstill. This sensation colors the New Moon and everything that grows out from it. This means both the experience and process of the New Moon and also how we proceed as this new phase plays out. Slow, steady, deliberate, practical, concrete and sensory are a few of the adjectives that we’ll be invoking and experiencing.

So this New Moon will set up circumstances that cause us to look at what’s before our eyes. A travel delay will lead to having a conversation with someone we see so frequently that we don’t actually see them anymore, and we’ll end up getting to know who’s really besides us. The cable will go down and the repairman won’t show up on time, so we’ll clean the bookshelves and reacquaint ourselves with the CDs and books that usually fade into the background — or maybe even walk outside and take note of what’s happening in our yard, in the street or down the block. The grocery store will run out of fish from the Gulf and we’ll start thinking about what foods are raised locally. Some of the triggers may be less pleasant than these, but all of them have the effect of riveting attention to something that we take for granted.

With each good, long look that you take, consciously rethink whether the object or situation still has a place in your life. The fact that it’s been with you is not reason enough to keep it there. Use the ruler of this New Moon as your measuring stick: Venus, the goddess of love, beauty, and everything we value, from money to baubles and possessions to aspects of ourselves. She wants quality; she wants objects and relationships with meaning; she wants experiences that feed the heart and delight the senses. And she’s in Gemini, the home base of Mercury, who is dragging his heels in her sign — a relationship that’s drawing three heavy black lines under the words slow and steady communication and movement. She’ll have us thinking and talking a lot about whether we’re getting value and whether what we’re experiencing matches our values. And don’t be surprised if at some point this week you look around your home and wonder why you have so much stuff — and realize that a lot of it belongs to someone you no longer are. There’s a significant element, too, of pressure to walk our talk. Are we living consistently with what we say we value? Are we appreciating our physical resources, simply consuming them or wasting them outright? Are we being responsible caretakers of the vehicles and forms through which spirit is experience physicality, or are we being selfish or worse?

Some of the answers are not going to line up nicely. Fortunately, we’ve got plenty of impetus to do something about them. The New Moon and its ruler are all in contact with Saturn, the planet of structure and commitment, and Uranus, the planet of radical change and liberation, who are still traveling in their final opposition on the Virgo/Pisces axis. The Sun and the Moon are trining Saturn, which makes it easy to shoulder responsibilities, and sextiling Uranus, which opens the door to fresh perspectives and innovative solutions. Venus is between them both, the focal planet in a dynamic t-square, which funnels Saturn and Uranus’ tension into and through her and demands action. Bring your values to mind and act on them. Lead with the heart. Higher guidance is available, too, and so is awareness of our role in the greater community and the impact of our choices and actions on others. These are gifts of the trine, or open flow of energy, between Venus, the Moon’s ruler, and Neptune in Aquarius, the source of compassion and higher love, and who taps us into spirit and the global community. We’re being pushed to accept this flow and put it into action, by the square between the New Moon and Neptune.

We’ve been evolving rapidly and drastically. Now is the time to look around your environment, see what and who is really in it and what your heart and body need that is not. When you hit those moments of wondering who made this mess — and there will be a couple — don’t linger over the question. What’s more important is: who’s going to do something about it? You are. We are. Starting now.

Here is Lynda Hill’s interpretation of the Sabian Symbol for the New Moon at 24 Taurus, reprinted with her kind permission from her book The Sabian Symbols As An Oracle, the Special Edition:

AN INDIAN WARRIOR RIDING FIERCELY WITH HUMAN SCALPS HANGING AT HIS BELT

Commentary: An Indian Warrior Riding Fiercely With Human Scalps Hanging at His Belt’ is a Symbol of great force and conquest. ‘Scalping’ is often associated with American Indians. The fact is, however, that the Indians learnt the practice of ‘Scalping’ from the Europeans, where it was a well-established tradition. It is not well known that the English also paid bounties for Irish scalps. The original Indian tradition was for the ‘Warrior’ to steal something from the person conquered to show how strong his medicine was to others. Regardless of who does it: a vengeful heart creates only sadness for all concerned, and there are no real winners, in the end.

Oracle: Someone may have been holding back from pursuing what they’ve wanted and are now going after all they can get. Consideration may need to be made concerning other people’s rights as this can point to the invasion of other people’s space or territory. The “us or them” mentality can lead to disputes, and separations and the forgetting of a sense of people’s humanity. Perhaps you haven’t been given a fair share of things by society, or these have literally been taken from you. There can be a chain reaction set off with this Symbol, so there needs to be care taken that a real “war” is not started with people seeking revenge. There may be a need for someone to mark their territory and claim their dues. Look to see if there are barriers up to prevent invasions of territory, yours or another’s. Be wary of excessive competition, in the marketplace or the home, as this can scare people off – making the environment unsafe and unsound. Taken to its extreme, this Symbol can point to all-out wars between people.Alternatively, with a level of controlled aggression and taking necessary risks, you can be recognized for your abilities as a successful leader, prepared to face risks to succeed. Bravery and honor are often admired and respected by others.

Keywords: Race wars. Claiming one’s soil. Fighting for territory. Trophies of conquest. Aggression. Basic instincts. Territoriality. Chain reactions. Tit-for-tat. Competitive natures. Risks for the clan or group. Trophies, medals and diplomas. Striving for recognition and respect, deserved or not. Blood and sacrifice. Tribes mourning their losses and their dead. Ritualistic behaviors. Marking victories. War crimes.

The Caution: Conquering others without emotion. Showing off to intimidate others. Domination and ruthlessness. Taking things because one can. Violation of other’s space. Testosterone. Feeling taken advantage of. Notches on the belt, or gun. Cycles of retribution. Vengeance.

To win without risk is to triumph without glory. Pierre Corneille

There is no decent place to stand in a massacre. Leonard Cohen

Do not throw the arrow which will return against you. Kurdish Proverb

Anger will never disappear so long as thoughts of resentment are cherished in the mind. Anger will disappear just as soon as thoughts of resentment are forgotten. Buddha

You win battles by knowing the enemy’s timing, and using a timing which the enemy does not expect. Miyamoto Musashi

Courage is being scared to death but saddling up anyway. John Wayne

He that is not with me is against me. The Bible

There are many humorous things in the world: among them the white man’s notion that he is less savage than the other savages. Mark Twain

*The excerpts from Lynda Hill’s book The Sabian Symbols As An Oracle, the Special Edition, © Lynda Hill 2002, have been reprinted by permission of the author.