Gather ’round and root down, my babies: the new moon in Taurus is upon us.
Rising in the dark sky at 11:22 p.m. ET on Tuesday, May 7 at 18º01’ of Taurus, this is the first new moon since the quaking, quickening, total solar eclipse on April 8. Because eclipses are not a time to embark or set intentions of any kind, this spectacle is the first true new moon of the spring season and the astrological new year.
Blessedly, we’re all being born brand-new — and with a gilded set of bull horns.
Ruling the second house of wealth and worth, Taurus is a sign of creature comforts, capital gains and tangible goods. Because of the relationship between Taurus, value and valuables, this new moon asks us how we invest our energies and indulge ourselves
New moons are synonymous with new beginnings, fresh starts, fertile fields and introspection. Because darkness expands the imagination and our concept of what is possible, plausible and desirable, the new moon is a celestial slate-cleaning, a summons to dream and an invitation to initiate.
The new moon marks the start of a new lunar cycle when the sun and the moon are cheek to cheek in the same zodiac sign. This month, that sign is Taurus, the fixed, stabilize to survive, masturbate to dominate, first earth sign of the cosmic wheel.
Never has the need for stability been more pronounced.
After the upheaval of eclipse season, the onset of Pluto retrograde, a conjunction between Uranus and Jupiter, and a scorched earth Mercury retrograde in Aries, we’re staggering — dazed — out of the flames, licked clean and rendered ready for a heel of bread, a home to call our own, and something light and linen to wear.
This month’s theme is restructuring and integrating: how to create a foundation that can withstand and even welcome in — with open doors and a charcuterie board — the wild winds of change.
As an earth sign, Taurus belongs to the body, and under these skies, our primary lesson is to deepen our relationship with the language of the self, responding to need and staying nourished in every sense of the word.
As once said teacher/Scorpio sage Soeuraya: “The body is a catalyst to get to know the landscape underneath. Where is my mind, what are my thoughts doing, are they dictating, or is that me?”
Super new moon
This new moon is especially potent as it is not only the first non-eclipse new moon of spring, but it is also a super new moon, meaning the moon’s orbit is closer to we humble Earthlings — thus, we will feel the pull and power of the moody mother more than ever.
Taurus is synonymous with both steadfast toil and absolute hedonism, a dynamic that suggests an understanding of the true nature of life, of energy, investment and exertion; the value of doing it right, and doing it thoroughly the first time, and the joy of taking your time when it comes to feeling good.
The moon is exalted in Taurus, meaning it can express itself freely and fully. The moon governs instinct, comfort and emotionality, and in the fertile fields of Taurus, it gets all that it needs — and then some.
This is a moon that expects satisfaction but ain’t afraid to work hard for the payoff.
“The thing about life is that you must survive. Life is going to be difficult, and dreadful things will happen. What you do is move along, get on with it, and be tough. Not in the sense of being mean to others, but being tough with yourself and making a deadly effort not to be defeated.”
Katherine Hepburn, double Taurus, certified bad b–ch
Examples of celebrities with the sun and moon in Taurus include Iggy Pop and Katharine Hepburn, a pair of bulls that seem both in command and in service of their animal bodies; elegantly defiant, arrestingly physical, utterly and inescapably themselves, and ever bent on being free and getting theirs.
Here, here!
Get fed, get yours, get full, go bull
As Hepburn herself extolled, “The thing about life is that you must survive. Life is going to be difficult, and dreadful things will happen. What you do is move along, get on with it, and be tough. Not in the sense of being mean to others, but being tough with yourself and making a deadly effort not to be defeated.”
The moon will be kicking it in the pleasure pastures of Taurus alongside the sun, Venus (planet of attraction), Jupiter (planet of expansion) and Uranus (planet of upheaval).
The dense concentration of those radical forces in this earth sign suggests that who we are, what we desire, how we meet those desires and what we think we deserve may radically shift in the coming weeks.
As the glutton of good, Taurus wants for itself and others to always — and in every sense — feel full; sated with food, secure with finances, satisfied by a lover and slaked by beauty.
This moon and the season it heralds ask us to consider what makes and keeps us full: to name it, claim it and hold out our proverbial cups for more of it.
Astrologer Reda Wigle researches and irreverently reports back on planetary configurations and their effect on each zodiac sign. Her horoscopes integrate history, poetry, pop culture and personal experience.
