Taurus New Moon

New Moon in Taurus  *  20 May 2023, 2:54am (local time - Bilpin, Australia)

New Moons are times of manifestation. They are the turning points of the dark cycle where the light of attention and awareness begin to grow into being. Taurus as fixed earth energy is particularly strong when it comes to manifestation, and this New Moon finds not only the Sun and Moon in Taurus, but Jupiter, the North Node, Mercury, Vesta and Uranus all in Taurus as well. With this lunation trining Pluto in Aquarius and sextiling Mars in Cancer we have a very heady and potent mix of energy available should we choose to activate it. Trines and sextiles are considered easy energies and as such while they offer much stability and juice into the mix, their gifts are often wasted unless engaged with consciously. If you have any placements in Taurus in your birth chart or placements in fixed signs in the late degrees this Moon can be particularly potent for you.

Taurus energy wants tangible stability. Ruled by Venus it is particularly concerned with stability in our relationships to the material world. This can mean money and finances, but more deeply it is about stability in relationship to our sense of personal power in the world. With a New Moon, both the Sun and the Moon are conjunct and therefore they are yoked into the same vision and desire. Taurus is an energy of embodiment. It rules our animal natures. And so it wants our animal body to feel content. This is achieved by seeing to our most basic of needs – food, shelter and safety. Taurus wants to be nourished and craves simple pleasures like a nap or the sun on our skins. Taurus can work hard, but it also rests hard. It does not need to brag and boast, in fact Taurus prefers silence – so that it can listen to the rhythms and messages of its own body and own animal instincts.

This New Moon is a potent time to review where you are falling short in terms of attending to your own instincts and what your body is telling you. The sextile from Mars can lend us a ferocious commitment to taking care and nourishing ourselves and trine from Pluto suggests that when all these energies are consciously yoked, great healing can happen at a collective and societal level - simply through the process of individuation and attending to our most basic needs and standing strong in our core values. Uranus helps us to make radical shifts and Mercury lends our intelligence to sort out how to bring about those changes. Jupiter always makes everything bigger, so he can lend a generous wind to those efforts. Having said that, every energy has two sides. This combination can very easily lead us into the extreme opposite direction. Taurus energy can be very pigheaded and Taurus really does not like to change. We all know that the health of our planet and our society and most likely our own lives is degrading at a rapid rate. Change is happening all around us and very quickly, and mostly due to a result of selfish idealism that fears diversity. Taurus energy can dig its heels in and stubbornly stick to its own story. We all have a somebody-done-me-wrong sob story where we are the hapless victim. There is no shame in that. Its simply a product of being alive in a human body at this time. Not being able to drop the story or tell a more interesting one is where the danger is. Mars in Cancer can lend a lot of ego to the pity party should we choose to throw one. Taurus can be determinedly shallow and selfish, believing that if it accumulates enough it can build a fortress of safety for itself. The energies and ideals of the last 500 years can double down with a continued Me-First mentality. These kinds of choices can catapult just as easily into an extreme manifestation as those aiming towards a healthier, more equitable planet and society. The things we decide to elevate as our values in our personal lives will ripple out into the collective. The world out there is a direct reflection of the world in here. Its time to do some house cleaning, to grow up and take responsibility for the state of the world by owning your part and getting clear on your values. If we are to have a healthy community, we need to have a broader vision of society than the BOOORIIIING, dumbed down homogeneity and monoculture vision capitalism and colonialism has been spoon feeding us. Lets all use this New Moon energy to commit instead to stop being sheep those in power can fleece to continue to line their own pockets and instead take responsibility where we can. This not only means daring to individuate - actually to be our honest, naked, vulnerable and diverse selves, but also to make room in our stories for the individuation of others. We do not all have to believe the same thing, we do not all have to agree on what is right or best for there to be respect and tolerance. We are smart enough and creative enough to build a more interesting world we can all be proud of. Taurus can help us tap into what we already all know: that biodiversity creates a healthy, strong and resilient ecosystem of abundance and overall peace. Taurus knows that it isn’t complicated. Its actually quite simple. Conserve your energy for what truly matters and bask in the beauty and aliveness of the present moment.

LUNAR ECLIPSE : Scorpio Full Moon

     * 6 May 2023, 4:34am (local time)

There is a lot of online astrological hype. As counterpoint lets review some Astrology 101:

Astrology describes energetic weather patterns. Having a thunderstorm at my home in Mount Tomah, doesn't mean that everyone in the entire universe is going to get wet. Further, there are personal planets, social planets and trans-personal planets. If Venus and Mercury (two personal planets) are conjunct, this might be a ‘non-event for you, UNLESS you have planets or other significant points in your birth chart falling on the same degrees or in aspect to this event. Likewise, if Uranus and Pluto (two trans-personal planets) are square, this speaks of a more universal energy, affecting the zeitgeist and as such will be noticeable more in the headlines than in your personal sphere (UNLESS it hits something in your birth chart). This is true across all of astrology. And if the ‘weather’ is not affecting you personally, understanding what others might be dealing with, helps you to step out of the drama and instead make informed, wise and compassionate responses. GO TEAM !

Ok, let’s talk about the Lunar Eclipse in Scorpio!

Scorpio rules intestinal digestion and decomposition. Its idea of a good time is being eaten and transformed. Full Moons are culmination points, so they're heady energies - like being at the top of a roller coaster hill about to race down. They can be 'ah-ha' moments, or times of tremendous release, or times to look around and decide where to put your foot next. The twist with a Lunar Eclipse, is that as the Sun (conscious understanding) gets blocked by the reality of the Earth plane, something deeply primordial (Moon) enters our awareness. Often what we have been ignoring comes front and center. It's a good time to notice your dreams, coincidences and gut feelings. Warning: Scorpio energy may not feel pleasant. There is a necessary amount of discomfort, as Scorpio often works with things we fear, things that disgust us, things that cause us to cringe and flinch. Don't let that deter you. Keep your senses open and try to be with what arises. Transformation, by its very nature, requires some discomfort. It also requires time. Eclipses have ramifications that become apparent in 6 month’s time.

The Sun’s energy activates from the polarity of Taurus. Scorpio likes to release, Taurus likes to accumulate. Taurus prefers basic, obvious, tangible concepts, whereas Scorpio prefers complex, hidden, emotional ones. This Sun is conjunct Uranus, Vesta and retrograde Mercury, suggesting an opportunity for something surprising (Uranus) to be illuminated (Sun) that can revise how we think (retrograde Mercury) about our patterns of accumulation and possession (Taurus). If you know which houses this Moon and Sun fall in your chart, look to those areas of your life to hone in your attention further. Vesta is our internal flame, her job is to tend our spiritual light. Taurus energy, concerned with our basic needs, works hard to build our reserves giving us a secure base from which we can then relax and be at ease. With Uranus here, we can assume something to throw a curveball into that base. Expect some upheaval. And while this has visible consequences on the material plane (Taurus), with Vesta here and the opposing Moon in Scorpio, there are much deeper reasons for this upheaval. Scorpio always asks for some form of purging. It makes the space needed for new life to emerge. As much as Taurus might resist change and letting go, this Lunar Eclipse is here to show us its necessity. This Full Moon is a great time to review your finances and make a budget; or clean out your closets and take a load to the Op-Shop; or clean out your fridge and take stock of what you think of as food. Pay attention to what comes up and ask yourself "What is unnecessary here? How can i let go of unhelpful excess and use that energy and space to address my actual basic needs?" Make a 6 month plan to simplify and get back in touch with what really matters.

Lets also remember that Scorpio is fixed water. Water signs in general are not about isolation, but about connectivity. This particular Full Moon especially is not really a great time to be alone. Facing the dark is often more productive with company. This Full Moon also finds Venus sextile Jupiter and square Neptune. Venus always shows us where we cannot do our work alone, for she is a relational energy. The square to Neptune suggests that we run a risk of falling into the spell of our own story, rather than doing our hard work and the sextile to Jupiter means that we can get into deep water without even trying. This is not a good time to 'check out'. This is a time to be in touch with people who can check us. It is a time when we need to lean into our relationships for support so that we can face what we need to face, own what we need to own. It is a time to be in community with others, so that our individual shadows do not overwhelm or hook us into simply feeling powerless, afraid, miserable or bitter - all perfectly possible manifestations of this particular Full Moon. It can be difficult to share space with folks when we are so close to our own internal discomfort, but if we can call ourselves in, and remember that there is a bigger play going on in the macro-cosmic level than the little bit we can see or the part that we carry... if we can remember that it takes all of us to shift culture and paradigm, then we can realise that our piece is just a part of a larger story and we don't have to feel so alone in it.

In-person classes available through YogaFromTheInside studio in Berambing. Check it out here: Information on Classes

Solar Eclipse in Aries

Solar Eclipse - Thursday, 20 April 2023 - 2:14pm, local time (Bilpin, Australia)

This New Moon finds us entering Eclipse Season from the anaretic degree of Aries - the last degree of the sign. Its often thought of as a kind of 'final exam' of an energy before it leaves and ingresses into a new sign. So what does an Aries final look like? And more importantly, how do you pass it? That is kinda hard to tell during an eclipse - for they are like wild cards, often heralding major beginnings and endings of chapters in obscured, often tricksey ways that we can't possibly grasp fully. (But lets try anyway!)Aries is cardinal fire, so it is initiatory and transformative. It wants most to awaken - and it does this by moving into action, being decisive, taking a stand, making a point, charging ahead, claiming its space. One of my favorite descriptions i have heard about Aries energy is that it learns about boundaries by running into them. One of the less helpful things i have heard about Aries energy is that it wants to make things personal. Eh...kinda... Sure - i mean that is what taking a stand and claiming space require of us - to put your own personal skin in the game, but when Aries energy bumps into you during the charge, its not personal. It really has nothing to do with you whatso ever. We can understand the difference most easily when we remember to consider its polarity (patterns of two). The Aries-Libra axis is about learning how "i" need to take up space vs. how "you" need to take up space. Aries moves forward to activate its own energy imperatives whereas Libra, cardinal air energy, its imperative is to move over -making room to include more and more others. Look and see where Aries falls in your chart - the house will give you clues as to where in your life you are going to be feeling this energy most. The Sun is our conscious self and the Moon is our intuitive, feeling self...its like they are sitting down to tea planning their next big move. New Moons are initiatic energies that mark the beginning of a new cycle. And this new cycle has the potential for a lot of healing, for the Sun and Moon are in a loose stellium with both Jupiter - the planet of expansion - and Chiron - the planet also known as the Wounded Healer. But healing isn't a guarantee. Remember, we live in a reality modeled on a binary system energetic system of understanding - every up has a down. So these two planets can also just as happily throw themselves a giant pity party and wallow in their trauma story, regurgitating a model of reality that serves no one (for some interesting sidebar on all of our trauma stories,  i highly recommend The Emerald | The Revolution Will Not Be Psychologized, Part 2 (Interview w/ Báyò Akómoláfé) https://www.podbean.com/ea/dir-khg4w-1783154a). What this Aries combo 4-pak in the anaretic degree suggests, is that we are at a point of self determination. ....But wait?! Did i mention its eclipse season? Yes, a solar eclipse. So the Moon getting inbetween us and the light of the Sun - or if you will, our feeling self is somehow disrupting the flow or getting in the way of our conscious self. Download disrupted. Vision occulted. Comprehension obscured. Sometimes life is like that, and sometimes the Way is Dark and you need to put some skin in the game anyway. This is one of those times. Let's be completely transparent. None of us really knows what is going on - the world as we know it is CHANGING and very, very quickly. Everything is untethering and show no signs of slowing down in this process. We can insist on trying to be on top of things things and put up barriers and act with willfull aggression, panic or stubbornness, all stemming from a me first attitude in such circumstances. These options are easily available to Aries energy. Or we can sink deeply into ourselves - into our own intiatic spark - find our bottom line and just stand there, alert, ready, willing and courageous come what may. This New Moon is really not about doing anything. Its about being. What are you gonna be in the world? Whats your bottom line?

Think of Eclipses as a moment where there is a break in the coding. Something outside of our perception has the opportunity to enter and change the game. Lofty visions are grand, but every true warrior knows that it is hard to hold onto lofty ideals when you are in the thick of the moment, just trying to move the ball forward. Its important to just keep it simple. Try to embody a sensation, a feeling or perhaps a single word. Interestingly Vesta and the North Node also conjunct this New Moon, but out of sign from Taurus. So we have those energies lending their influences. Vesta, Keeper of The Flame and the North Node, the Dragons Mouth - what we need to move towards to release karma and evolve out of our own soul cage. Oh! And did i mention that its squaring Pluto in Aquarius?!!! (gulp) Ha! A momentus and heady time for sure! Vesta in Taurus - fixed earth - reminds us to go into the body, and breathe deeply and tend the Flame from there. Fixed earth is quietly determined and patient. It knows what it knows. But be attentive - this is not a knowing of the mind, it is a knowing of the body... a knowing the body carries - bottom lines are like that, they are instinctual, not of located in the rational mind. Pluto squaring from Aquarius - fixed air - is going to be rattling the mind, peeling back and shredding the knowing it finds there to expose any rot. This can be a very deeply unsettling square. Its point is to shake something loose from our collective place of blind individualism. The way to navigate this passage well is not to become more stubborn, Taurus can do that even better than Aries. The mind can close its eyes and ears and just hold on tight... but gosh, that sounds painful and a waste of this really quite amazing signature.
This New Moon is not a time to check out, but rather check in. Check into the humble resting place of your own bottom line, the seed spark from your own soul and just stay there, tending the Flame. Be focused there, let the quiet simple rythms of your own body guide you. Stay with your breath. Stay with your spark. Activate your own healing power - for yourself and the world - by simply deciding to become bigger than your fear, bigger than your grief, bigger than your anger, bigger than your pain. Expand beyond whatever too small story your mind has been telling you. Instead, claim your space. Claim your own story. Be courageous. You've got this. We all do. Chiron and Jupiter tell us that we just have to decide and then act accordingly.
We make reality through our participation in every moment. What is your story in this moment and this moment, and this one? If you don't like your story stop carrying it around with you. If its not worth repeating - then don't. When we do this (and we all do this) all  we are doing is scattering the seeds of the same thing before us. What this moment asks of us is simply an act of willful embodiment. So just stand on your bottom line and let the rest come or go, stay or leave however it needs. This is not a moment to get distracted with baggage that is not ours to carry. We may think that our pain or our story belongs to us... but that too is just an idea that's been given to us that we keep repeating into exisitence over and over.

To get through the eye of a needle, its best to practice Camel Medicine and remember that we don't have to carry anything but our own hump. We were made for exactly now. Go Team!

Announcing a New Class Series!

Yes! I am still giving readings

.....and (drumroll please)

I am really quite stoked to announce that in April 2023 i will be offering monthly in-person astrology classes catered to YOUR OWN BIRTH CHART. These will be small, intimate personal classes, in the lovely studio of YogaFromTheInside located in Berambing, NSW.

In each two hour class we will be using the charts of the class participants as the study material, so you get to learn about astrology and learn about YOU all in one go! (Can't beat that!) There will be optional private mentoring add-ons available.

You can opt for a single class of $60/class or a bulk purchase of 3 for $150.00.

If you are interested sinking your teeth deeper into the stars than the internet search engines allow, and if you actually want to understand the nuanced layers of your own chart and how it all fits together, than please email me using the 'request a reading page link' or you can register using the YogaFromTheInside link below. (If you are interested in purchasing the bulk rate class bundle, then from that page, click the blue "View Products/Packages" at the top of the page.

YogaFromTheInside

I'd love to meet you there!

I'm not great at blogging, but i LOVE to give Readings!

Yes! I am still giving readings...