The Full Moon in Taurus at the end of the world

joy as resistance, rest as fuel + checkpoint horoscopes

As the results of last week’s US Presidential election sink in, I’ve been ruminating on why an overwhelming majority of astrologers incorrectly predicted a Kamala Harris win. It’s made me double down on my thinking that predicting the outcome of what is essentially a coin flip is not the best use of astrology. These are turbulent times. We are a system in upheaval and transition. What’s most clear in the astrology is that no matter who is President, the problems in the US, and the world at large, are not going away. We are pummeling toward a chaotic climax. I know you don’t need an astrologer to tell you that.

2025 is a strange (positive, IMO) year. The outer planets Uranus, Neptune and Pluto all change signs. These planets speak to societal trends, collective experience, ideologies, what’s breaking down, and what’s rising up. To get an idea of how different things will feel, I think an important reference point is 2008-2011. Pluto changed signs throughout 2008 and 2009, then Uranus and Neptune both changed signs throughout 2010 and 2011. Think about how different the world felt in 2012 compared to 2007. How technology changed. How priorities changed. How the focus on self vs. community changed. I know some of you (fixed signs) might not want to hear this, but the same will be true when we compare 2023 to 2026. It’s time to get on board with this ever quickening reality.

I started my astrological writing practice in 2016, a year that foreshadowed our current chaos. Writing to a growing audience on new and full moons is one of the things that kept me sane in that wild year. Both a creative outlet and an act of service, then and now, I feel so much gratitude that I can express myself this way. 

I also know that I’m a very different person than who I was in 2016. I’ve been through a lot, but I’m much lighter now. 2016 Jaime, pre-Saturn Return, had a lot of resentments that have slowly, painfully, and often against my stubborn will, shed away. I’m much more positive now. I think my calling is finding hope in the dark. Defensive irony doesn’t do it for me anymore. I’ve accepted optimism as praxis. I know it’s not for everyone, and we need all kinds, but it’s my best form of resistance.

This isn’t about finding a silver lining to clear and present dangers or invalidating very real fears. This isn’t about bright siding horror and abuse. Trust me, I also want to be real. I’m not here to sugarcoat pain. But I think we all deserve joy while the empire collapses. I want to make room for that joy any way I can.

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Lots of major shifts happening right now in astrology and life. I’m still renovating my offerings, but want to make myself available next week to anyone who wants to process their own shifts together. I have a few appointments available so grab one now :)

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The Full Moon in Taurus

Photo by Sunil kumar on Unsplash

Today’s full moon in Taurus is one that’s been circled in red on my calendar for months. Both a deep tremor and a careful pause. It’s beyond the tipping point. 

This full moon is the adrenaline-fueled moments after escaping quicksand, the full body exhaustion after fleeing disaster, and the stunned freedom that arrives after hitting rock bottom and surviving against all odds. 

What happens after being pushed out of a comfort zone?

What happens after the worst possible thing comes to fruition?

The answer—if this full moon has anything to say about it—is: not what you’d expect. 

The full moon in Taurus goes exact on Friday, November 15 at 4:28 pm ET in a near-exact conjunction with Uranus, the planet of sudden change, rebellion and Promethean fire. The gut punch of the unknown ignites the spark of creation.

The moon is in her exaltation in Taurus. An honored guest. Abundant. Well fed. Also hellbent on maintaining her special things in her special way, i.e. the bed must have no less than six pillows, the butter must be Kerrygold, the coffee must be ground for Chemex. But Uranus insists these demands get thrown out the window in service of a more sustainable order. Uranus is an electric current. A wildcard. There’s a new brand of butter on the table and it’s produced by union cows in a barn run on solar power. With this full moon, we replace nostalgia with futurity.

Venus—the ruler of this full moon—is in Capricorn, another grounded earth sign. Capricorn is a sign that insists on high quality. Often depicted as focused on the five year plan. But let’s not mistake desiring quality for having patience. Taurus can wait forever, but Capricorn needs to be where the action is. Pluto’s transit through Capricorn over the past sixteen years has been like training for a marathon over and over and over again and never making it to the race.

Venus is currently at the crossroads of fate, at the bending of the nodes which are the points that bring Eclipses. Venus is at the turning point between the North Node which tips toward infinity and the South Node which distills and contains. The events around this full moon are surprising but also inevitable. The thought is, “Of course things are happening this way.”

The full moon is in the final decan of Taurus, a part of the zodiac connected to the fixed star Algol. Algol (from “Ras al Ghul” in Arabic which translates to “Head of the Demon”) is associated with feminine rage. Not the second wave feminist kind though. It’s the feminine rage that remains on the outskirts, eschews the mainstream. Algol is the maligned idea of “losing one’s head” during battle or an “important meeting.” 

Algol is like Lilith, Adam’s first wife who left him in the Garden of Eden, refusing to be submissive to his needs. She fled paradise and started haunting men through the wind. Some might call that a demon. Others (like me) call that brilliance. Lilith is considered curséd because she represents temptation, seduction, fantasy. Lilith isn’t asking for much. She just wants pleasure, and tbh, respect. 

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With the moon in Taurus, and Venus in Capricorn, both earth signs, the literal Earth is fighting back. Here in New York City, we’ve been dealing with a new horror of drought and forest fires. It’s become obvious who is and isn’t a good steward of the land. Yesterday (November 14) in New Zealand, a meeting of Parliament was brought to a halt as members performed a haka, a ceremonial group dance, in protest of a bill that would rewrite the country’s founding treaty with the indigenous Maori people. As rough as things might feel right now, there’s a real grounding in fighting back. 

This Full Moon shows us the last gasps of the rotten past while also making way for a future where loyalty won’t lie with rules or nations, but with ideas and community.

The Finale of Pluto in Capricorn

Today’s Full Moon in Taurus is also the final lunation in our lifetime while Pluto is in Capricorn. Since 2008 when Pluto first entered Capricorn, we’ve experienced the radioactive decay of systems, structures, governments, and leadership. Abuse of power is no longer a surprise. Corruption is no longer hidden in the shadows. Emperors have no clothes. 

In an attempt to avoid minute by minute election results on the night of November 5, I decided to watch The Bling Ring (2013). Though Sofia Coppola is not the director to turn to when in need of a distraction as her storytelling is more screensaver art than plot, I was happy to step into an (albeit anachronistic) time capsule of Pluto in Capricorn’s early years. The Great Recession, Bernie Madoff and the false hope of the early Obama administration are all captured in the story of the Bling Ring.

The real Bling Ring was a group of teenagers in Calabasas, California who from October 2008 through August 2009, pulled off a series of burglaries in the homes of celebrities such as Paris Hilton, Orlando Bloom, Rachel Bilson, and Lindsay Lohan, stealing millions of dollars in cash, jewelry and designer clothes. Pluto takes things to an extreme, and the Bling Ring was both teen kleptomania driven to its maximum potential, and a harsh spotlight on the disgusting excesses of the elite. 

The Bling Ring teens were also obsessed with fame. The motivation to steal was less about capital and more about access. Surveillance footage of the break-ins and later videos and images culled from the group’s social media profiles lit up TMZ in the months of peak public interest. As the Bling Ring went to trial for their crimes, breakout star of the group Alexis Neiers had her own reality show Pretty Wild and they were covered in Vanity Fair.  A video shot in PhotoBooth of Nick Prugo—the token gay guy in the gang of girls and gays—lighting a bowl and dancing around his bedroom to “Drop it Low,” that it remains so iconic, is like an oil painting of a society in decline. 

The costuming in Coppola’s The Bling Ring barely bushes the surface of the clownish conservatism that was 2008 style, but my rewatch allowed me to reflect on the absurdity of that era’s business casual clubbing outfits. I can’t help but draw a connection to the budding style of the new Generation Alpha who were all born during Pluto in Capricorn, with their Stanley Cups and Lululemon bags, and premature obsession with skincare. The easy fame that comes with growing up on Instagram and TikTok makes the Bling Ring kids look like losers and try hards.

Pluto in Capricorn isn’t just about systems in decline, it’s also about systems taken to authoritarian extreme. Regulation is at a max—kids never seem relaxed because they’ve grown up under surveillance, and it’s also out the window—tech companies build cartoon villain monopolies with zero checks and balances. The Saturn-Pluto years of 2018-2020 ushered in the most extreme authoritarianism and sureveillance of this period, the results of which we’re struggling through now.

Pluto enters Aquarius on November 19, a transit that will be less focused on exposing crimes of material capital and instead will expose crimes of social capital. Today’s Full Moon in Taurus is the final illumination of the Pluto in Capricorn abuses of power. It also gives clear direction for breaking free. Venus is in the early degrees of Capricorn during this Full Moon, allowing us to, finally finally retreat from the furthest limits and begin a new story. Now we get to fill the empty space.

Saturn stations direct in Pisces

As this electric yet earthy full moon is peaking, there’s also a need for rest. Saturn stations direct in Pisces at 9:20 am on November 15. Saturn, the planet of discipline, structure and boundaries, has been in Pisces since March 2023. The Saturn agenda in a sign about infinity and universal love might seem like an impossible task, like trying to put a fence around the ocean. How could one possibly give form to the formless? This is especially true because Saturn is co-present with Neptune, planet of illusion and haze. Since 2011, Neptune in Pisces has brought our collective delusions to a peak. With Saturn in Pisces there’s joy and affirmation that comes with kicking our false idols off their pedestals and finding a real shape for our dreams.

Saturn went retrograde on June 29. This is when construction on that ocean fence halted. Saturn retrogrades are not for moving forward, but for integrating lessons and strategizing. As Saturn stations direct today, the time for review is over and we get back to the tasks at hand. When a planet stations though, the days that come before and after have a profound stillness. It’s now that the anchor is lifted. This is a time to do nothing in a radical way. Rest is a part of the hard work ahead.

The astrology of March and April 2025 has a pileup of planets in late Pisces: it is then when the hard work we’re putting in now slow fades into a rainbow. Though the material path forward may be hazy, by the spring, the heart is onboard and the dreams we’ve labored to shape won’t evaporate.

Checkpoints

Today’s full moon is a culmination of what began six months ago at the New Moon in Taurus on May 7, 2024. It is also part of a lunar phase family which includes a New Moon in Taurus on May 19, 2023 and a First Quarter Moon in Taurus on February 16, 2024. What narrative can you map through these dates?

I think it’s also useful to take note of the work you’ve put into building your dreams since Saturn stationed retrograde on June 29. There’s likely been more progress here than you realize.

It’s also a good idea to meditate on the journey you’ve been on with Pluto in Capricorn since 2008. Make a list of the final decay to leave behind and then another list of how you want to fill the (at last) empty space.

I’m still overhauling and updating my offerings, but I’ve opened up a few spots on my books next week if you want to get into these stories together.

Here are some specific reflection notes for each sign to, in a way, write your own horoscope:

Aries

• The Full Moon is culminating around money, resources, value, self esteem and what keeps you fed. What’s being revealed?

• Saturn is asking you to pause and reflect on the care and labor you’ve put into meditation, the unconscious, rest and surrender for the last four months. Sit with it.

• Pluto is taking his grand exit from your career and public life sector, a place that’s been burnt down and built back over the last 16 years. Now a new chapter begins…

Taurus

• The Full Moon is culminating around topics of image, identity, style and health. What’s being revealed.

• Saturn is asking you to pause and reflect on the care and labor you’ve put into community, audience, friendships, and pursuit of your public goals for the last four months. Sit with it.

• Pluto is taking his grand exit from your travel, education and spirituality sector, a place that’s been burnt down and built back over the last 16 years. Now a new chapter begins…

Gemini

• The Full Moon is culminating around topics of surrender, meditation, the unconscious and mental health. What’s being revealed?

• Saturn is asking you to pause and reflect on the care and labor you’ve put into your career, public image, and relationship to authority for the last four months. Sit with it.

• Pluto is taking his grand exit from your debt, power dynamics, and shared resources sector, a place that’s been burnt down and built back over the last 16 years. Now a new chapter begins…

Cancer

• The Full Moon is culminating around topics of community, friendship, audience and public goals. What’s being revealed?

• Saturn is asking you to pause and reflect on the care and labor you’ve put into travel, education, and mentorship for the last four months. Sit with it.

• Pluto is taking his grand exit from your committed partnership sector, a place that’s been burnt down and built back over the last 16 years. Now a new chapter begins…

Leo

• The Full Moon is culminating around topics of career, public image and authority. What’s being revealed?

• Saturn is asking you to pause and reflect on the care and labor you’ve put into shared resources, debts and collaborations for the last four months. Sit with it.

• Pluto is taking his grand exit from the part of your chart that deals with daily work, health routines and managing dis-ease, a place that’s been burnt down and built back over the last 16 years. Now a new chapter begins…

Virgo

• The Full Moon is culminating around topics of travel, education, spirituality and mentorship. What’s being revealed?

• Saturn is asking you to pause and reflect on the care and labor you’ve put into committed partnerships for the last four months. Sit with it.

• Pluto is taking his grand exit from the part of your chart that deals with daily work, health routines and managing dis-ease, a place that’s been burnt down and built back over the last 16 years. Now a new chapter begins…

Libra

• The Full Moon is culminating around topics of shared resources, debt, power dynamics and collaboration. What’s being revealed?

• Saturn is asking you to pause and reflect on the labor and care you’ve put into a day job, health routines, managing dis-ease, and lifestyle changes for the last four months. Sit with it.

• Pluto is taking his grand exit from the part of your chart that deals with home, family, ancestry and your most private foundations, a place that’s been burnt down and built back over the last 16 years. Now a new chapter begins…

Scorpio

• The Full Moon is culminating around topics of committed relationships. What’s being revealed?

• Saturn is asking you to pause and reflect on the labor and care you’ve put into romance, sex, dating and creative practice for the last four months. Sit with it.

• Pluto is taking his grand exit from the part of your chart that deals with close friendships, familiar environments, and daily schedules, a place that’s been burnt down and built back over the last 16 years. Now a new chapter begins…

Sagittarius

• The Full Moon is culminating around topics of physical health, daily work, and health routines. What’s being revealed?

• Saturn is asking you to pause and reflect on the labor and care you’ve put into home, family, ancestry and private life for the last four months. Sit with it.

• Pluto is taking his grand exit from the part of your chart that deals with money, resources, self worth, and values, a place that’s been burnt down and built back over the last 16 years. Now a new chapter begins…

Capricorn

• The Full Moon is culminating around topics of romance, sex, creativity, and play. What’s being revealed?

• Saturn is asking you to pause and reflect on the labor and care you’ve put into close friendships, familiar environments, daily schedule, and communication for the last four months. Sit with it.

• Pluto is taking his grand exit from the part of your chart that deals with self, image, identity, style, and personal health, a place that’s been burnt down and built back over the last 16 years. Now a new chapter begins…

Aquarius

• The Full Moon is culminating around topics of home, family, ancestry and private life. What’s being revealed?

• Saturn is asking you to pause and reflect on the labor and care you’ve put into money, resources, values and self worth for the last four months. Sit with it.

• Pluto is taking his grand exit from the part of your chart that deals with surrender, isolation, mental health, and meditation, a place that’s been burnt down and built back over the last 16 years. Now a new chapter begins…

Pisces

• The Full Moon is culminating around topics of close friendships, familiar environments, daily schedule and communication. What’s being revealed?

• Saturn is asking you to pause and reflect on the labor and care you’ve put into your health, image, identity and style for the last four months. Sit with it.

• Pluto is taking his grand exit from the part of your chart that deals with community, friendships, audience and public goals, a place that’s been burnt down and built back over the last 16 years. Now a new chapter begins…