We all want to be liberated from something right now. We are like caged birds.
Rather than blaming the government or engaging in hateful social media, I wonder what might happen if we take the time to look a little deeper.
Maybe there is an emotional pattern we can't stop repeating.
Or a physical addiction. A tendency to reach for the chips, or the bottle. Or the Netflix.
What about that relationship dynamic, that familiar hamster wheel.
Because of social restrictions, many of our 'self-soothing rituals', our habitual ways of soothing pain, are not available. Water cooler gossip, drinks, tinder hook ups, retail therapy. We are EMPTY. Anxious. Uncertain. Afraid. What balm do we apply our inner child now? With all this time and space, what will we fill ourselves with?? News media? Fear? Conspiracy theories?
Well, perhaps it's a good time to face in. With the Sun/Moon in Taurus conjunct Uranus and square to Saturn in Aquarius, our 'thème du jour' seems to be:
liberation and evolution of personal forms
in the face of collective restriction
The invitation of this Lunar Cycle is to examine our PERSONAL VALUE SYSTEM (Taurus), inviting us to LIBERATE attachments not reflecting our values by ELEVATING into more intuitive practices (Uranus). And we do so within the confines of the uncomfortable limitations arising from SHARED RESPONSIBILITY TO COLLECTIVE COHESION (Saturn in Aquarius).
It is an EDGY New Moon, to say the least.
Taurus is all things FORM. She is the MEAT of life. The BODY. The PLEASURE of incarnation. Pure bliss. And pleasure is so healthy! FORM is healthy! Routine can be so well-adjusted!! We love to create rituals that make us feel good, do we not? Think of your morning coffee, of kissing your child to sleep every night, of those 20 minutes of meditation that are a lifeline, of your friendships which nourish you, of how 'date night' makes you feel a little more alive.
Habits and attachments and pleasures are important. They kind of make life worth living, in many ways. They keep us feeling secure and happy on planet earth.
Yet when FORMS become outdated, they prevent us from feeling at ease. They become addictions that keep us from what really MATTERS.
And then they have to die.
In Esoteric Astrology, the Taurus/Scorpio axis rules the Human Kingdom, expressing on the 4th Ray of HARMONY THROUGH CONFLICT.
What does this mean in laymen's terms?
The destiny of Human Beings is to CREATE what we want, become a attached to it, OUTGROW it, RELEASE/DESTROY it, and then BIRTH something anew. And so doing, EVOLVE.
As a friend of mine said to me this morning, his garden grows in the dirt born of rotting vegetables and egg shells. It smells terrible. Yet it is from composted dead material, no longer useful, that we grow new life to feed us.
The cycle of birth and death. From the old comes the new. As we let go, we are reborn.
To bring this to life (and to make you smile) I'll give you an example.
We all have a set of internal values. Generally our natal VENUS tells us a lot about what these are. Say, for a moment, you have VENUS IN TAURUS and one of your core values looks like this:
'I value feeling well nourished and sensual, like I am making love to myself from within. Like I am filled with warm light, pulsing from the deepest part of who I AM.'
Given our society, you may have never learned to fulfill this value spiritually (which is how ALL of our values want to be fulfilled at an essential level). Yet given that this value is intrinsic to who you are, you NEED to fulfill it. So you use your best knowledge, learned from your upbringing or environment, to do so.
'MMMMMM Cheescake is so good - I love eating it. It makes me feel sexy inside. Safe. Nourished. So gluttonously good."
And so you create a habit, a FORM of feeling/thought/behavior, to ensure that this need continues to be met.
"I'm will buy cheesecake and eat it, every day!!!'
At first, this habit feels great! Yet remember: you are seeking to have your innermost need met through something material, outside of Self. So at some point, this will have a consequence which is unpleasant.
'OMG I put on 10 pounds in 2 weeks! I can't fit into my pants!'
So if you are smart, you will re-evaluate.
'What is it I REALLY want? Cheesecake? Or the FEELING that it gives me? Are the diminishing returns from eating this really worth the consequence? Am I willing to GIVE UP CHEESECAKE to find a new way to meet my need? Even if I am SO SCARED of not having that cheesecake?? Even if leaving this cheesecake behind means changing myself at the most fundamental level, and embracing some mystery beyond my awareness... and, armed only with FAITH that there is a better way to be, essentially, DYING??'
And so it goes: we DIE to re-generate old forms. We enter the EMPTY SPACE... filled with anxiety and insecurity... where the NEED is no longer met by external sources... where our ADDICTION no longer holds us back... and where we face the MYSTERY OF THE UNKNOWN in order for the NEW to be born.
"I'll enjoy a beautiful warm bath. Take time to delight in the feeling of sunlight on my skin. I'll spend more time making love with my partner. I will walk slowly in nature, feeling the earth under my feet."
and maybe even eventually...
"I will slow down... go SO slow... that an organic and natural uprising of love enters me. A bath of golden light rushing to fill my empty spaces, wholly fulfilling. And no matter where I am, this deep food of divine love will nourish me from within."
Talk about getting your needs met. ;)
So during this Taurean month, coupled with our continued confinement, we may find a deeper way to know our self and fulfill what matters most to us. And with Venus, the ruler of Taurus, out of bounds until early June (see my last blog entry for more details on this...), we certainly have the unlimited power of Love to fuel our efforts. Our hearts. Our minds. Our bodies. Our Souls.
Have we the courage to die to the old, and birth the new? To come INSIDE this beautiful form, this BODY that we are, and listen to its wisdom? To go slow enough to hear our own heartbeat? Still enough to become the song of our soul?
To work consciously with this lunar cycle, here are a few questions one might consider:
1. WHAT MATTERS TO ME? What are my deepest VALUES?
To locate them, imagine what you NEED to feel truly safe on this planet. What is the FEELING of security you are looking for? Where does it live in your body? What does it look like?
2. Are my behaviors, the things I create, the habits I have, reflecting my values?
Go through these patterns, these habits - one by one - and notice if they make your body feel safe, or anxious. Do they bring you father IN to your Self, or take you father out?
3. What can I liberate from, so that my life choices reflect my inner values?
Choose some patterns or habits that you can change - now. Decide to spend some time living from a place of more authentic embodiment, from a deep inner place of security and simplicity. Make a plan, if you want to. Or just FEEL it deeply, and know it to be true. It will surely present itself.
"Shall we release our organization of worlds,
drift still on pleasure sweetened breath...
Shall we rest easy inside this golden place,
roll with its intensity
while laughter ripples like velvet wings
across our bodies...
When in this life have we allowed ourselves this privilege?
And are we ready to face our own consequence."
So this month is our planting season!! This month, we till our ground.
Let's start digging.
Blessings,
Sara Elise.