TAURUS 2018 - the stirrings around us

I was a whirling, flitting, wind-driven wisp of a human until one day in my early thirties. I did not know what stillness was, other than some strange practice that boulders and mountains engaged in. The world was something I moved through, and although I noticed my surroundings, I noticed them only in passing.

Inevitably, there came a day when I paused - not out of necessity, not out of being knocked down by fever or injury (those events never stopped me anyhow). It was awe that finally stilled my insistent motion.

I was walking through a stand of pale spindly birch trees, golden leaves glowing in the slanted sunlight of late summer. The trees appeared still as I moved past: the furniture of the forest.

Uncharacteristically, I stopped moving, and looked up. Suddenly my entire perspective of the forest shifted. The long, thin birches swayed wildly in the slight breeze, and moved about me in every direction imaginable. I was surrounded by movement, and had been for quite some time. But it was only when I came to stillness that I could perceive the movement around me.

We are busy creatures - doing, going, moving, acting, making - and fixated on our involvements in ways that can obscure that the rest of the world is busy too. Sometimes what we do can actually gets in the way of things that are being done for us, often in a much better way than anything we ourselves could imagine.

This brings us to the riddle of 2018's Taurus month:

When is it time to do/move/act,

and when is it time to be still, and

allow the doings/movements/actions of the world to shift things for us?

For best results, pause often to consider this.

Sun in Taurus: 4/19/18 - 5/20/18

All you need to know about the sun's transit through Taurus is right here - herbs, insights, meditations, and the slow flow of the month of the bull.

Pluto retrogrades: 4/22/18 - 9/30/18

Take note of any significant events, insights or encounters that occur on or around April 22nd, when Pluto appears to be motionless in the sky, as these will give you a sense of what you'll be reconsidering during Pluto's retrograde. Pluto rules major processes of transformation that occur over time, and while Pluto is in Capricorn we find these processes overhauling the structures of our lives and of our communities (most notably in governments). During Pluto's retrograde phases, we tend to focus on internal overhauls - although sometimes these are stimulated by outer events. Considering our theme for the month of letting the world's motion move you, this just might be the case.

Full Moon in Scorpio: 4/29/18 at 5:58 pm PDT

At this particular full moon, consider what in your life to hold fast to, and what is ready for releasing. A "fixed grand cross" pattern forms at this moon. The tension of this configuration highlights the grasping quality of the fixed signs, but the Scorpio moon bids us to release something, to relinquish control, and to let something outside of our conscious awareness - creativity, nature, wildness, energy - come through us.

What helps you let go?

What is worth holding fast to?

What is no longer worth the energy of maintaining?

How can you welcome in a fresh energy to move through you?

Herbs for the 4/29/18 Scorpio full moon:

Here's a letting-go-and-making-space-for-new-inspiration recipe -

Put 1 Tbsp each of BURDOCK & ELECAMPANE roots, 2 Tbsp of PEPPERMINT, and a pinch each of CAYENNE and LICORICE in a quart mason jar. Fill the jar with boiling water, cover and let steep for several hours. Place in the sunlight and/or moonlight for added energy. Strain and drink.

Uranus in Taurus: 5/15/2018 - 2026

Read about this major paradigm shift here. Uranus has been in Aries since 2010, stimulating much high-speed, sometimes combative, and revolutionary activity. Things will slow down a bit with Uranus in Taurus, grounding the intense electrifying energy of this wily planet from inspired action (Aries) into liberating forms (Taurus). We have several slower moving planets in earth signs now (Saturn and Pluto in Capricorn, and now Uranus in Taurus), indicating major shifts in the realm of solid forms. Change is occurring in the very matter and substance of our lives, and not just in our minds and actions.

The planet Earth itself receives the energies of these distant planets, and it too will respond to these imperatives to change. Changes in the shape and tilt of the Earth, changes in the weather, changes in the landscape - changes we can already see coming, and changes that are beyond our imagining.

New Moon in Taurus: 5/15/18 at 4:47 am PDT

New moons often have a turning-the-corner feeling to them as we shift from the end of one lunar cycle to the beginning of the next. This particular new moon will have an even stronger sense of completion-commencement because just a few hours later, Uranus exits Aries and enters Taurus, another ending-beginning. On this day, you will feel a completely new experience of Taurean energy, so pay attention!

What insights come to you this day?

What surprises are popping up around you?

It is a TAURUS new moon, so we also need to harness that most excellent planting time. Literally put seeds in some soil on this day, and sew metaphorical seeds in your life-garden. And additionally consider -

What matters most to you?

How can you now plant a garden that will yield the blossoms and fruits that reflect and nourish your true values?

Herbs for the Taurus New moon:

This is an excellent day for a solar infusion. Put a quarter cup of herbs of your choice, especially flowers - some good Taurus herbs are mentioned here - in a quart mason jar, fill with warm but not hot water, cover the top with a screen or cloth to keep bugs out, and place the jar in a sunny spot for 4-6 hours. Strain and drink, and also pour a bit of it on your freshly planted seeds and seedlings.

Next month...

...we'll review our dreams as Neptune stations retrograde, and we'll take note of discrepancies between our actions and our true desires and goals as Mars prepares to retrograde for most of the summer. In the meantime, feel free to schedule a consultation or contact me. Here's wishing you a month of profound presence, and deep stirrings in points of stillness, Rae