April 29, 2003 – May 1 is the New Moon in Taurus. A longtime holy-day, this May Day becomes even more special marked by a New Moon‹for sure a year to dance around the May Pole! Any special tree will do.
The Belly-Dancer Goddess is dancing with us. The Sun and Moon in Taurus are joined by the BLACK MOON LILITH, an invisible vortex intimately involved with the gravitational attraction of the Earth and Moon. There is something supremely soul-full about this Moon. From the deepest desires of our souls, Earth Mother Gaia and her Black Moon sister Lilith weave the invisible into the ground of our experience. Et voila! a profusion of blossoms.
The Sabian symbol for 11 degrees Taurus is:
A WOMAN WATERING ROWS OF FLOWERS IN FULL BLOOM
We've had April showers galore here in the Virgin Islands, giving us a particularly lush spring. We have all been exclaiming about the extraordinary flowers. One of my favorites is the watapana, a scraggly, rather nondescript tree that produces sprays of lavender-pink blossoms along its branches that hang over the roadways. Cedar trees surround themselves by pink frilled blooms dropped willy-nilly along streets in town and trails in the bush. Many subtle-smelling blossoms join jasmine with their perfume — thin white spider lilies, miniature deep-throated brunfelsia and a whole host of the tiniest flowers of rose, blue, yellow, and some little red berries. I dream of the ephemeral night-blooming cereus yet to emerge at the end of their cactus-arms.
Many places in the northern hemisphere will see a lush spring season, but of course some areas of the planet are in distress. This New Moon offers a promise of new growth and rebuilding even to war-torn areas. Our prayers help, as does the renewal of the Goddess through women's freedom in the Middle East. The fertile crescent of the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers was in its full glory as the Garden of the Goddess in the Age of Taurus.
An earth sign, TAURUS is about primary experience, phenomenological perception. We pick up much information from our environment, via our sensual, organic being in the world and of the world. We have many more senses beyond the five (Recommended reading: "The Black Goddess and the Unseen Real: Our Unconscious Senses and Their Uncommon Sense," by Peter Redgrove). Before we think about, reflect on or conceptualize experience, we live it. This May Day. Black Moon New Moon urges us to revel in worldly delight, to feel down into the ground of our experience. To dance, sing, exult in the richness of our intimate creative medium, the body as an instrument of spiritual expression. Taurus exults in textures and sensations. What could feel better?
Ah, yes — that is the key question. The coming month inaugurated by this New Moon is the time to regain our ground, and come back to the essence of delight — the reason we came into this world. Redirect our energy to enjoy the moment to its fullest.
MERCURY agrees, now RETROGRADE in TAURUS.
Conjunct the New Moon, the Messenger of the gods gives us a slow-down time to chew the cud, to think back over what's been going on, appreciate what we have produced and consider what's worth it from here. No use pushing the river for this next three weeks, especially when it's changing course. Dig down into some deep rich Taurus earth for the spring planting, heap on more manure from the past, repair the stone walls and imagine the rich harvest to come. Doesn't that vision make you smile? That smile goes a long way to invite the universal flow to come your way.
This New Moon is centered in a dynamic pattern with the ongoing JUPITER in LEO opposite NEPTUNE in AQUARIUS. A philosophic quest engages our collective consciousness, as we dream a new Dream. The world is as we dream it, say the shamans. An ego-based dream can be a nightmare. The heart is the True Dreamer.
MARS, glowing brighter as spring goes on, joins Neptune in Aquarius for the next two months. Mars and Neptune together activate signals from the higher atmosphere and our higher minds — opening up the New Dream. On the other hand, there is a push by some to amplify the illusion. Beware of false advertising. Jupiter adds flair and drama, encouraging us to enjoy the creative opportunities that are so potent in times of chaos such as these. This is the best game in town, it's the co-creative dance of life. The beat is changing, so let's listen in and get in step with the new rhythm.
With URANUS now in PISCES, the most exciting news comes in the waters. Nature has many voices: Messages are in the whisper of the winds, the murmuring ripples across the lakes, the gurgle of streams, the booming of thunder beings that accompany rain clouds. Look and listen. We are the fish of Pisces swimming in the cosmic sea. The subtle currents of this aetheric sea give rise to and move through all matter. The power of our attention and desire draw the aetheric energy fields into a coherent direction. This is an interactive, co-creative process. When we feed these energy fields with our enjoyment, gratitude and prayers, they become fabulously fertile. Beautiful thoughts are the seeds that sprout with joy. Let's follow the beauty path in every choice we make. The cosmos tells us to take time now to tune in to the ground of our experience and our inner reality. Consider turning off the radio and TV for a while. Nature has the real news.
Remember that classic advice of the '60s: BE HERE NOW.
Editor's note: Astrologer Kelley Hunter is a resident of St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands, where she leads stargazing nights and teaches with Self Centre International at Caneel Bay Resort. She is finishing her Ph.D. in cosmology and myth. To be on her e-mail list for monthly articles or for an astrology consultation, write her at [email protected].
Author's note: Whoops, last article there was a typo in my Web site address. Thanks to those of you who wrote in. Corrected Web site: www.heliastar.com, with a list of workshop offerings and material on Lilith, among other things.
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