In the ancient, Hellenistic scheme of astrology, the Moon is said to be “exalted,”like an honored guest, when it makes its way through the sign of Taurus for a few days each month, and once yearly as a New Moon in late April or May. On May 7, at 8:22 p.m. on the West Coast, the Moon will begin a new phase with the Sun at 18 Taurus. We’re just past Beltane—May 1—and astronomical Beltane, May 5. These holy days are for celebrating fertility, between the spring equinox and the summer solstice.
Taurus is our fixed, i.e., stable, earth sign, associated with qualities of reliability, sensuality, love of comfort and beautiful possessions.
Venus, the guiding planet of Taurus and of this lunation, is also now traveling through Taurus, as are Jupiter and Uranus, which recently conjoined to start a new 14-year cycle. The conjunction of Jupiter and Uranus marks a time of innovative expansion. Now is a time also to simply luxuriate in Taurean physical pleasures.
But there’s much more to Taurus than just loving good food and being, at best, a bit resistant to change. All of the planets, houses, and signs hold deep wells of spiritual significance and invitation.
The glyph, or symbol, for Taurus the bull is a circle with a crescent Moon, like a cup or a cap, on top. The circle is a symbol of infinity; the crescent Moon, a symbol of receptivity. Taurus is one of the yin, or feminine, signs. The Earth herself is the Mother of all. Taurus represents continuity and fecundity, not necessarily about birthing biological, human babies but about nurturing everything we love into fruition.
The sign of Taurus, the bull, comes from the constellation of the same name. Over millennia, through the astronomical phenomenon of precession, the parts of the sky called signs have gradually separated from the fixed start constellations. But thousands of years ago, when humans studying the night sky started developing astrological knowledge, Taurus was both the part of the sky and the constellation where the Sun rose on the vernal equinox.
In many ancient cultures—including those with no apparent contact with each other—bulls and cows have been revered and worshipped. Cattle have symbolized virtues of strength, determination, fertility, and sustenance.
Most people now live far afield from the animistic systems of spirituality that were the norm when people worshipped bulls, and the sky. Animism is a way of life based on the perception that all things—animals, plants, rocks, rivers, weather events—have a living spirit and a power worthy of respect.
Foundational to astrology, as well as to numerous esoteric traditions, is work with the elements: earth, water, fire, air, and also a fifth, ineffable element called ether or spirit. The elements are physical and metaphysical. They are beings in their own right. A basic practice for mystics of various stripes is to meditate daily in some form with the elements. The methods include breathing exercises, contemplation of colors and themes associated with the elements, or walking so as to cast a circle while marking the four cardinal directions, each corresponding to one of the four elements.
A useful way to practice astrology is to focus each month on the element of the sign where the Sun resides. Such practice is particularly potent at the time of a New Moon because both the Sun and Moon join up in the same sign (and they may be joined also by transiting Mercury, Venus, or Mars.)
At the May 7 lunation, for example, the Sun, Moon, Venus, Jupiter, and Uranus are all in Taurus. We might consider how the element of earth is a living being. Notice the quality of solidity as you walk and stand. Notice the smoothness of rocks, the smell of garden soil, the permeability of earth to flowing water. Sense that the minerals of the earth live in the bones of your own body.
As I’ve been writing this post, I’ve been remembering a particular earth image from the teachings about the Buddha. The Flower Sermon is the origin story from when Buddhism migrated to China as Chan and to Japan as Zen. As the parable goes, the Buddha had been giving verbal discourses to his disciples, and through the teachings, some monks had become wise.
One day, the Buddha confounded his students. He didn’t speak. Instead, he pulled a lotus flower from out of a muddy pond and silently held it up. The students were confused: what did this mean? No one knew, except for one disciple. That was Mahakashyapa, who smiled, acknowledging receipt of the Buddha’s silent transmission of prajna/wisdom. Then, the Buddha announced his intention to entrust to the monk Mahakasyapa, and to his spiritual heirs, a singular role for the future, unspoken transmission of the dharma, the perception of reality just as it is.
From the Earth itself comes the essential wisdom of the miracle of existence, present in a single flower. This realization is indescribable, the Buddha taught with one gesture, and it is passed most profoundly, from one being to another, outside of any concepts or words.
Blessings for the Taurus New Moon in May, and with prayers for peace!
~ Sara
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