Today (5/19) at 11:53 AM ET, there’s a New Moon at 28º Taurus. There’s already been a lot of action in Taurus this week.
To review:
Mercury stationed direct (aka ended their three week retrograde period) at 5º Taurus on Sunday, May 14th.
Jupiter entered Taurus for the first time since June 2012 on Tuesday, May 16th (and will remain there until May 24, 2024)
We’re still in Taurus season and now we’re coming up on a New Moon with the Sun, Moon, Mercury, Jupiter, Uranus and the North Node all in Taurus!
With this New Moon, the Taurus part of our chart is not only getting a fresh start, but it’s getting a lot of attention. On this week’s pod, I talked about how 2023 is a very different year than 2022, and yet, it seems like we still can’t shake some of those 2022 feelings. 2022 is haunting us! This New Moon ushers in the most dynamic part of the year, finally starting a completely new story (or at least a new chapter).
Taurus is obsessed with reality. So to be super real with y’all, I thought I’d go a slightly different direction than usual with this newsletter, and help you break down this astrological moment for yourself. This isn’t just about the New Moon, but also about this convergence of planets in Taurus, the Mars and Venus cycles, and Jupiter’s recent entry into Taurus. It’s about the t-square that’s about to form between Jupiter, Mars and Pluto (which is basically just a lot of dynamism and synergy).
First off, where is this New Moon (and all this Taurus action) hitting my chart? (if you don’t know your rising sign, you can look at this from perspective of your sun sign or the moon if you were born at night)
Aries rising: 2nd house of money, worth and security
Taurus rising: 1st house of self, identity and image
Gemini rising: 12th house of secrets, the unconscious, what’s out of your control
Cancer rising: 11th house of friends, community, coworkers, audience, who makes your dreams come true
Leo rising: 10th house of career, status, public image, leadership
Virgo rising: 9th house of travel, education, vision, and expertise
Libra rising: 8th house of shared resources, emotional/financial baggage, debts, power dynamics
Scorpio rising: 7th house of other people — relationships, business partnerships, close friendships, and even best frenemies
Sagittarius rising: 6th house of service, care, daily labor, and managing dis-ease
Capricorn rising: 5th house of romance, sex, creativity, pleasure, and recreation
Aquarius rising: 4th house of home, family, roots, foundations, ancestry, and land
Pisces rising: 3rd house of daily schedule, communications, rituals, immediate environment, and close friendships
The topics covered by the Taurus house in our chart are being overwhelmingly highlighted right now between this new moon, the Jupiter ingress and the recent Mercury retrograde. If you have planets or prominent chart points in Taurus in either 0-7º Taurus or 25-29º Taurus, you’re likely feeling this energy especially hard.
But that’s just the first part of the story! The next part is where Venus is hitting your chart. Venus is the ruler of Taurus, and thus also the full congregation of Taurus planets currently gathered in the sky. Venus is currently in Cancer where she is sitting pretty as an evening star visible for a few hours in the western sky around sunset. Venus is currently approaching her longest elongation (or the farthest away she can possibly be), a place where Venus is more of a lover and less of a fighter. Evening star Venus doesn’t lose her mind for love or go to war for it. She swims in it. She lives and breathes the poetry of it all.
Now it’s time to find where Venus in Cancer is hitting your chart:
Aries rising: 4th house of home, family, roots, foundations, ancestry, and land
Taurus rising: 3rd house of daily schedule, communications, rituals, immediate environment, and close friendships
Gemini rising: 2nd house of money, worth and security
Cancer rising: 1st house of self, identity and image
Leo rising: 12th house of secrets, the unconscious, what’s out of your control
Virgo rising: 11th house of friends, community, coworkers, audience, who makes your dreams come true
Libra rising: 10th house of career, status, public image, leadership
Scorpio rising: 9th house of travel, education, vision, and expertise
Sagittarius rising: 8th house of shared resources, emotional/financial baggage, debts, power dynamics
Capricorn rising: 7th house of other people — relationships, business partnerships, close friendships, and even best frenemies
Aquarius rising: 6th house of service, care, daily labor, and managing dis-ease
Pisces rising: 5th house of romance, sex, creativity, pleasure, and recreation
This New Moon is about initiating something in the Taurus house through focusing the Cancer house.
In example, for Libra risings, this is about a fresh start for power dynamics (Taurus/8th house) through focusing on public image and career (Cancer/10th house). For Aquarius risings, this is about making a fresh foundation (Taurus/4th house) through focusing on service and daily rituals (Cancer/6th house).
How are these two topics blending for you?
Now that we’ve got the headline of this New Moon story, what are some dates to look back to in the past to make further connections?
Every 8 years, we have New Moons in almost the exact same degree of the same sign. The last time we had a New Moon in very late Taurus (26º to be exact) was May 18, 2015. Though there were no other planets in Taurus at the time of this New Moon, Venus was also in Cancer at a very similar degree.
4 years after that on May 18, 2019, we had a Full Moon at 27º Scorpio — a lunation that potentially brought what was seeded at that 2015 New Moon in Taurus to full culmination.
How does this moment relate to what was going on with you in Spring 2015 and Spring 2019 (especially around the middle of May). Based on what’s transpired since May 2019, how can you approach today’s New Moon with a sense of both closure and initiation?
OK, this all sounds good and interesting, but why are things also feeling super stressful/gnarly right now? When do I get some relief?
Ok so the other thing going on is that Mars is a mess. This week Mars reached his degree of “maximum fall” aka when he is the strangest stranger in the strangest land. Mars-ruled topics in everyone’s chart are having a rough go of it, and energy/morale is at an all-time low. Today’s New Moon makes a sextile to Mars who is now in the very last degree of Cancer. This moment is quite literally: it’s always darkest before the dawn.
Tomorrow (5/20!!) at 11:31 AM ET, Mars enters Leo, and we get an almost instant boost of Leonine confidence and energy. Though Mars isn’t doing his best in Leo, he’s certainly not doing his worst. It’s the best shape he’s been in since July 5, 2022.
Now once Mars enters Leo he immediately forms a t-square with Jupiter in Taurus and Pluto in Aquarius—an extremely dynamic planetary configuration. Things start and end quickly under this influence. What’s broken cannot be fixed. What works well moves at warp speed. Things are coming together this week! Literal and creative children are being born. Can’t wait to see what everyone makes.
Right now (5/19), the Moon is fresh and new. We’re still sitting in some darkness. This weekend is a great time for some quiet reflection before initiation. On Tuesday morning (5/23 at 8:45 AM ET), the Moon (in Cancer) connects with sweet Venus just as she reaches her visible crescent phase. Seeds become sprouts. This is a great time for setting intentions and moving ahead with the plan. The impulse will be there to jump immediately ahead but it’s okay to hold back. Things will change regardless. I’m excited to see what’s about to come.
If you want to chat more about where all this movement is hitting for you, you can book a reading with me.