Taurus New Moon: May 19
Taurus season gets so much sweeter when Jupiter enters Venus' garden of earthly delights at 1:20PM ET on May 16. This once in a decade transit is here to reorientate us towards pleasure, embodiment, our relationship with Mother Earth and the 5 senses.
The condition of Jupiter relates to the nature of growth on the planet. The last transit through astrological earth was Jupiter in Capricorn, the sign of its fall, in 2020. We collectively experienced scarcity and recession that year, and watched as the foundation of our systems crumbled.
Uranus has been destabilizing our experience of the Taurean realms of food production, employment conditions and compensation, banking regulations, and environmental health. Now Jove has arrived to give us a new experience of the material realm. We all need help with embodiment and this transit is a well deserved boost for the fixed signs–Leo, Scorpio, Aquarius, and Taurus.
Jupiter moves into Taurus and immediately squares Pluto at 00°18 Aquarius at 9:10PM on May 17, forcing us to feel the fundamental conflict that still remains from the Saturn-Uranus squares. Between December 2020-March 2023, Saturn sought to restructure Aquarius. Over the next 20 years, Pluto will take us into the next level of transformation. For many of us, what Saturn requested was not possible because the conditions of our lives did not allow it. But Jupiter opens up possibilities and lends generous aid. Look for opportunities to arise in mid to late May that have previously felt unavailable. Someone could make an offer that would change the very ground beneath your feet.
Jupiter is a teacher and has entered Taurus, which correlates to The Hierophant card in the tarot Major Arcana. The archetype of the teacher, wise one, or priest. From the Greek hieros for “sacred” and phaine “to reveal”, the Hierophant is the revealer of sacred truth.
The Hierophant tarot card
From now until May 2024, Jupiter's ambition is to improve the health and vitality of our relationship with this planet and our own experience of embodiment. One of the core issues we’re grappling with as a species is how to live sustainably on Earth. In Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants by Robin Wall Kimmer begins with the quandary that her botany students could not even imagine what beneficial relations between human and other species might look like: “How can we begin to move towards ecological and cultural sustainability if we can’t imagine what the path feels like?” (6). We can take her question as the jumping off point for our own exploration of Taurus.
Thankfully, Saturn in Pisces plans to improve our imaginal abilities over the next three years. It's a gift to know what needs to change, even if we can’t see how. The answers start to come as Jupiter moves into a sextile with Saturn over the next month. The stories we tell ourselves about our world shape our beliefs about what’s possible. Kimmer contrasts the difference between the Western creation myth of the fall of Adam and Eve with the indigenous story of Skywoman:
“One woman is our ancestral gardener, a co-creator of the good green world that would be the home of her descendants. The other was an exile, just passing through an alien world on a rough road to her real home in heaven. (7)”
There is no better time than Taurus season to consider what a generous embrace of the living world would feel like; to conceptualize a way to live on the planet in a mutually beneficial relationship with the more than human world. People could choose to stop poisoning the plant, animal, and mineral world, and ourselves. We could make decisions based on global considerations and care, not just greed and personal security. These are the breakthroughs that Uranus has been leading us towards in Taurus. The arrival of Jupiter and presence of Saturn, will help us move towards creating a more utopian reality.
Jupiter is present at the exalted Taurus New Moon on at 11:53 AM ET on Friday, May 19, which is blessedly not an eclipse. This lunation is ruled by Venus in Cancer creating a sympathetic and symbiotic relationship between their two homes. The astrological concept of mutual reception, when two planets are in the domicile of the other, demonstrates the concept of mutual aid. There's an easy flow of resources based on the emotional needs and capacity of one to the other. The cozy cosmic neighborhood vibe between Luna and Venus creates a luscious atmosphere to begin the weekend and close out Taurus season.
The New Moon at 28°26 Taurus is in a sextile with Mars in Cancer, about to depart for Leo. If difficult family dynamics have arisen over the past several months, this lunation may cause a change of heart. Let yourself soften beacuse what both Cancer and Taurus truly desire is greater intimacy and stability. If you can, use the good feelings on Friday to create closure for yourself before Mars and the Sun change signs.
The Sun in Gemini tends to overthink and endlessly analyze and Mars in Leo is much more brash about its positions. Both planets will be less inclined towards reconciliation once they move into air and fire. Mars enters into Leo at 11:31 AM ET on Saturday, May 20, creating a fix t-square between Jupiter in Taurus and Pluto in Aquarius, spurring us to action and bringing tension to a head. Use the Taurus New Moon to seek advice or wise counsel from a Hierophant type figure on how to move forward.
Traditionally, the title of Hierophant was given to a devout and learned person who interprets spiritual truths, religious texts, and esoteric principles. It was a rare and honored name, but as organized religion has broken down, it falls on each of us to delve into the mysteries and find answers to the questions in our heart. Taurus season is about finding divinity through the cells of our own body and the experience of Gaia’s creation.
The Hierophant
If you’re not sure how to embrace the living world or yourself, this Hierophant New Moon is a great time to reach out to a trusted source and make a beginning. A little of divinity’s mystery will be revealed to each of us who earnestly seek. Use this lunation to seek out a mentor or guide to initiate you into the wisdom of earth. Request book recommendations, sign up for a workshop, or finally crack open that deck of tarot cards you’ve been sleeping with under your pillow. It’s the praxis phase of exploration. We’re all dreaming a different part of the story and each of us plays a crucial role in healing the whole.