The new moon in Taurus will happen on the nineteenth degree of the sign, at 18⁰02′. It will be exact on Tuesday, May 7 at 8:22 PM in California, 21:22 hours in Mexico City, or at 05:22 hours of Wednesday, May 8 in Santander. There are two distinct types of energies, one is personal and keyed by the five planets forming a stellium in Taurus while the other is global in nature, primarily resulting from Neptune and Pluto.
When one looks at the enclosed chart, it is easy to spot the Taurus stellium of Venus, Sun, Moon, Uranus and Jupiter. The midpoint of Venus (10⁰40′) and Jupiter (25⁰48′), the outermost planets in the stellium, is Taurus 18⁰14′, in the same degree of the Sun–Moon conjunction which therefore acts as the stellium’s center. Venus will have entered its sign Taurus recently, I will say more about that later, and Jupiter and Uranus (22⁰48′) are exactly 3⁰ degrees apart, still acting in unison. Thus, the lunation will begin with potentiality to use (Taurus) the powerful energies of the conjunction while metaphorically jumping into the abyss. Besides the stellium, we find other important influences, including a same-degree conjunction of Mercury and Chiron, Mars firmly placed in its sign Aries, Neptune arriving at the final degree of the zodiac, and the usual strong energies of Pluto and Saturn which will be linked by a 45° semi-square aspect.
A Strong Taurus Modality
But we must begin with the five planets that focus their energy in a 15° arc of Taurus (11°–26°), which will “rock the boat” to those of us having planets or angles within those degrees in any of the fixed signs (Taurus, Leo, Scorpio and Aquarius). When describing the Taurus psychological type, we mentioned that it represents the need to materialize the raw energy of Aries into something concrete, a body. It represents a phase when the processes receive energy and turn it into matter. An example is the process of photosynthesis, which takes solar energy and turns it into assimilable matter.
History is full of spiritual and religious movements that denigrate matter, and thus the body with its needs and pleasures, making it a lower vehicle for the higher spirit. Taurus is when the body is built. It is the sign of the incarnation of the soul which is unable to evolve without a body. Recall that only individuals, taken as the combination of body, mind and soul, are able to evolve toward a soul purpose. This is why it is said that the Buddha was born, reached Enlightenment, and died during the full moon in Taurus.
At the last full moon, we amply discussed the Taurus–Scorpio polarity in the context of this year’s emphasis on personal sovereignty and valuable relationships. Even though the Day Force in Taurus is very strong, the Night Force is quite present in the subconscious realm, such that Taurus reaches out to its opposing sign, Scorpio, for guidance on how to materialize the Aries energy. As a result, the stellium in Taurus receives the Scorpio depth of relationships, emotions, sex and finances so as to materialize them in our “new” manifestation. Note, however, that such Scorpio characteristics are present in our mind as they exist in our personal unconscious, in other words, within our memories formed under the old paradigms.
The lessons in consciousness obtained from the recent full moon are able to influence the seed of the upcoming new moon by assimilating them consciously during the waning phases, so this is an opportunity to break with the old paradigms still present in the Scorpio characteristics mentioned above. We need to look at how we have been relating in the past and where our intuition is asking us to go (Jupiter and Uranus) so as to materialize in a “new” individuality the enormous energy obtained from the solar eclipse. And it will be new, for Uranus represents one of the processes seeking to be part of the individual.
Venus in Taurus
The enclosed diagram, courtesy of the European Space Agency, shows the sun and the orbits of three planets: an inferior planet (Mercury or Venus), Earth, and a superior planet (all others). From Earth’s point of view, superior planets can form conjunctions and oppositions with the sun, whereas inferior planets may only form two types of conjunctions, confusingly called inferior and superior as well. An observer on Earth sees the sun and all planets normally moving counterclockwise, as indicated by the arrow. However, when an inferior planet is between its greatest eastern and western elongations,1 it appears to move in the opposite direction, called retrograde. Superior planets also appear to move retrograde but as a result of moving slower than Earth.
From our vantage point, any planet closer than 13° to the sun will disappear into its brilliance. In the article about last year’s new moon in Leo, we mentioned the Sumerian myth of Inanna, the “Queen of Heaven” and goddess of love, beauty, sex and fertility, among other things, which was associated with the planet Venus. In the myth, Inanna disappears from the evening sky to make a trip of deep transformation to the underworld before returning as the morning star.
Inanna’s symbolic death occurs at the inferior conjunction, while Venus moves retrograde. Since Sun always moves direct, they are like two vehicles encountering each other in a highway while going in opposite directions. As a result, Venus goes through the 26° of “disappearance in the underworld” very quickly, in about two weeks. The situation is different at the superior conjunction because both planets are moving in the same direction and the slightly faster Venus is slowly catching up with Sun. The next time they will form an exact conjunction will be on June 4 but Venus has disappeared from the morning skies since April 15 and it won’t be seen as the evening star until July 22. For a large portion of these three months, Sun and Venus will be within orb of a conjunction, emphasizing the importance of working on our relationships.
Sun has been in Taurus since April 19, being ruled by Venus from Aries until last Monday, April 29, when it entered Taurus. Whereas Venus in Aries was eager to satisfy its rather abstract relationship needs, in Taurus it becomes much more patient and the needs more material, relating to nature and the senses, to pleasures of the body, to beauty and harmony in relationships. However, it immediately formed a square with Pluto at Aquarius 2⁰06′, the ruler of the subconscious Scorpio characteristics mentioned earlier. This is an energetic aspect impulsing some kind of construction between the two planets, so there is a lot of energy for their archetypes to mix. When talking about Pluto and Venus, we must mention the issue of attracting or being attracted by shady relationships, or by the darker aspects of sex and pleasure in general. However, the combination may add depth and passion to new or existing relationships, bring out secrets, or engage in power struggles. Pluto exposes the true nature of what it touches and Venus in Taurus refers to the substance of our relationships, the value system that originated than and now maintains them.
Jupiter, Uranus and the Personal Planets
Undoubtedly a key event of 2024, the conjunction formed by Jupiter and Uranus on April 20 (at Taurus 21°50′) began to exert its influence on March 20 and will continue to be felt until May 20. During the first month, they closed the previous fourteen-year cycle but we are now in the initial stages of a new one. As the personal planets pass through the twenty-second degree of Taurus, where the conjunction occurred, they will be activated by the still-relevant archetype of a white dove flying over troubled waters, the inspiration received upon overcoming a crisis. Afterwards, each one will form conjunctions with both planets, receiving novel and perhaps crazy ideas from Uranus which Jupiter will then try to turn into something socially viable. Uranus in Taurus is prone to seek new pleasures and sensations that Jupiter will “bless”, socially speaking.
Ignoring the fast-moving Moon, Sun will lead the way by forming a conjunction with Uranus on May 13 and with Jupiter on May 18, marking an auspicious period to “legalize” something novel, for instance, start a new business or sign a contract about a new venture. After Sun, Venus will be conjunct with Uranus on May 18 and with Jupiter on May 23, the day of the next full moon; we’ll discuss the implications in the next article. Mercury will follow later this month and, in July, Mars will complete the parade of personal planets in front of Uranus and Jupiter.
Sun, Moon and Lunation Influences
The Sun–Uranus conjunction of May 13 will happen while Moon is in the anaretic (final) degree of its sign, Cancer, and forming an exact trine with Neptune, also in the anaretic degree of its sign (more on that later). Not only that, Moon will form a tight opposition (3°) with Pluto, thereby being in contact with the three transpersonal planets. Such impetus for change, which the three outer planets always bring, will be felt (Moon) very strongly at the First Quarter phase (May 15), when we always encounter “external” resistance to the actualization of the new-moon potentialities. Uranus will bring rebelliousness, Pluto trauma, and Neptune uncertainty and confusion. There may surface unexpected events and it is important that we keep a clear head since shady figures may try to take advantage of the turmoil.
The anaretic degrees always intensify the signs archetypes, often bringing to light their shadow aspects. Those days (May 12–16) are bound to be stormy, especially for those of us with planets or angles in the 20°–27° degrees of the fixed signs. In general, the personal planets will tell us that they cannot provide security (Taurus) under the old paradigms, and that we will have to forge new relationships with nature and even with our own bodies. Of particular importance will be to scrutinize how we feed ourselves, so expect new ideas and even technologies with respect to agriculture and the like.
Sabian Symbol
The symbol for Taurus 19⁰ has the image: “A new continent rising out of the ocean”, further explained as the surge of new potentiality after the crisis. Quoting Rudhyar’s interpretation: “When the mind has been emptied and light has been called upon to purify the consciousness freed from its attachment and contamination, a new release of life can emerge out of the infinite Ocean of potentiality, the Virgin Space”. As with any Taurus symbol, the question is: What will it be used for? The answer lies in allowing the infinite Potential to operate in unconstrained Spontaneity, which is the symbol’s keyword that refers to a state in which the conscious, rational ego is no longer a controlling factor.
We are reminded of two important relationship cycles, symbolized by the Sun–Moon and Jupiter–Uranus pairs, both starting in Taurus, in other words, seeking materialization. Together they are asking us to leave the crises aside or, better yet, behind, and jump into the abyss with faith in the stability of what we are co-creating, a new continent where the new civilization of subtler consciousness will flourish.
On Mercury and Chiron
At the time of the new moon, Mercury at Aries 21⁰55′ and Chiron at Aries 21⁰06′ will form an exact conjunction. Just three days earlier, on May 4, Mercury will have passed through the degree where the last Sun–Moon conjunction and Chiron were located at the solar eclipse. The current conjunction with Mercury at the following new moon is a huge opportunity for Chiron to communicate its perspective of “having lived” through the current (ending) lunation that, in many ways, was his lunation; recall that I titled the article Healing for the Future. As any great conductor, Chiron returns to the stage to receive a deserved applause or booing, whichever one is delivered by Mercury, the perennial messenger.
From Chiron’s perspective, it has moved two degrees from where it was at the solar eclipse (Aries 20⁰) and which was symbolized by “a young girl feeding birds in winter”, an image we analyzed a month ago. Two weeks later, at the full moon whose article I titled Healing Relationships, Chiron was at Aries 21⁰, symbolized by “a pugilist enters the ring”, which can be interpreted as overwhelming power, the symbol’s key phrase, to be used in the pursue of victory at the expense of disfigurement, or as the give and take that occurs in a boxing match, akin to the Yang–Yin alternation where any “victory” is temporary.
For the new moon, the Sabian symbol for the Mercury–Chiron conjunction, at Aries 22⁰, has the image: “the gate to the garden of all fulfilled desires” with the key phrase of cosmic optimism. The contrast between the first two symbols in any five-degree sequence is always very sharp. Boxing is an individual sport, a well-stocked garden is the result of collective effort, one is about confrontation, the other about cooperation. In the context of our Taurus lunation, gardening is relating productively to nature and to feeding our bodies. Rudhyar notes that the symbol may also be given an erotic interpretation related to womanhood. What I find highly significant is that the symbol specifies the garden’s gate, bringing our attention to the start of the aforementioned cycles.
Mercury in Aries is very communicative and, after a few weeks moving retrograde, it is moving direct once again. It is the planet that builds mental images of what goes around in our lives, often creating the illusion of duality: object and subject, observer and observed. It is not considered a “masculine” (Yang) nor a “feminine” (Yin) planet, instead having an almost hermaphroditic nature detached from the same polarizing notions it uses in its dualistic images. Mercury is also a trickster who is unafraid of being burned by the sun, despite being the nearest planet to it. However, its ability to see the world from many angles makes it a great messenger and at times “negotiator” with the non-personal planets. We will likely get concrete examples of the healing done in the past month, both externally and within ourselves.
Looking ahead, Mercury will enter Taurus on May 15 and, while in that sign, it cannot build images of the world around us without touching it and sensing its substance at the closest levels. Mercury in Taurus seeks barefoot walks and skinny dipping, bringing to mind the feeling of how our body is an extension of the natural world and the only temple our soul has for its evolution. The second half of May offers a time to relax and enjoy the pleasures of life.
Mars in Aries
Two days after the solar eclipse, Mars and Saturn were exactly conjunct in Pisces, and we already mentioned how that could bring up issues related to military strategy. It has been linked to new wars or new battles in existing wars, which is evident in the Ukraine and Israel wars, both of which are getting a new influx of money from the United States.
Mars formed a conjunction with Neptune in the last degree of Pisces on April 28 and two days later entered Aries, its own sign. At the time of the new moon, Mars will be at Aries 5⁰46′ so their conjunction will not be as tight (about 6⁰). Mars and Neptune conjunctions often bring violence at sea or against the masses. Shortly after entering Aries, and indeed at the time of the new moon, Mars is being energized by Pluto, with whom it forms a sextile. When Mars is in Aries, it energizes all that is located anywhere in its sign, and this is doubly true with the Pluto energy. If we are sure of something, is that Mars in Aries will result in action. As always this will be more strongly felt by people with tons of energy (planets) in Aries, in the first few degrees of the Cardinal signs (Aries, Cancer, Libra or Capricorn), or those who have a prominent Mars in their charts.
Neptune in the Final Degree…
Neptune will be at Pisces 29⁰08′ when the new moon occurs. It will get to 29⁰56′ before moving retrograde on July 6 and will not enter Aries until March 30, 2025. After that, it will be back in Pisces on October 22, 2025 to spend three more months in its sign before moving definitely into Aries on January 26, 2026 for its important conjunction with Saturn less than a month later.
At Pisces 17⁰14′, Saturn has been in that sign for some time like a sea cliff under constant erosion by the crashing waves, being ruled by Neptune who was also in Pisces. Saturn refers to crystalized institutions based on old paradigms and Neptune to the masses moving at the rhythm of Pluto, wishing for change, relentlessly. Their conjunction, which will be within orb starting March 14, 2025 with both planets still in Pisces, won’t be exact until February 20, 2026 at Aries 0°46′.
Unlike Pluto who destroys the obsolete, Neptune erodes it, dissolving it to the core. Neptune represents the masses, especially in countries where they have been ignored despite loudly crashing against the shores. We are talking about countries with large neglected masses, like Russia and China. Their cliffs, the old structures, will crumble to the sea from the pounding of the waves, the masses. Curiously enough, both Vladimir Putin and Xi Xinping have Saturn and Neptune conjunct in their natal charts.
…and in the Driver’s Seat
The Minor Grand Trine will tighten as Uranus moves farther into Taurus and Pluto returns to Capricorn such that they will again form a trine from those two earth signs, completing the configuration with Neptune. Next year, Uranus and Pluto will have moved on to the subsequent air sign, Gemini and Aquarius, as Neptune will also change sign to Aries and the configuration energies will be much more Yang. Those will be exciting times! You may recall that a similar Minor Grand Trine happened during WWII, when two major situations captured humanity’s consciousness: the nuclear bombs in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, a threat we are presently living once again, and the Nazi genocides against Jews and Russians, both of which have now transformed themselves from victims to executioners.
The transpersonal planets are in charge, they represent slow processes of massive, generational changes. When they are in agreement about what the next move should be, as it is in the configuration with aspects that could be termed fluid: two sextiles and one trine, we are in their ride. They work as a team for change. They will operate this time guided by Neptune, which works by exposing the confusion inherent in our current mode of living so we can rise above it and expand our consciousness. What is confusing at one level becomes order at a higher one, as we explained in the introduction to the holistic zodiac. Uranus will generate instability so we can realize the fragility of the crystallized structures of Saturn, and that will shake us to the core (Taurus) as it did during WWII. Pluto is traumatic, it will destroy whatever is not anchored by having a true substance.
The goal is to produce changes, from deeply personal ones to those of humanity as a whole. We will have to work with the changes in order to stabilize them, which is the job of Saturn. That is why its months-long conjunction with Neptune is so important, for together they will structure the new paradigms that move us to a higher level where order will be once more found. They will operate initially under the umbrella of Pisces’ compassion and later with the forceful energy of Aries.
Pluto Retrograde
Pluto will have just become retrograde two days prior to the new moon and it will be back in the final degree of Capricorn, its anaretic degree, between September 1 and November 19. It will begin to move direct once again on October 15. Upon entering Capricorn, and more so once it moves direct, it will mark the time when the old paradigms make a last stand. There will be a “final exam” submitted to all patriarchal institutions. If they don’t have substance, they will have to be destroyed, but if they do have substance, they will be greatly empowered.
The main event is the US presidential elections on November 5 because that country will have to face its shadow, especially since September 1, when Pluto enters Capricorn in retrograde motion. Pluto will uncover the worst once it begins to move direct on October 15 from Capricorn 29°39′, less than 2° from where it is located in the USA chart. Pluto will not be subtle the third time around and can’t care less about politics, if something must be known, it will. The issues around women’s sovereignty in regards to their own bodies and about the economic facilitation of a genocide war in Gaza will take the stage, front and center.
Wrapping Up…
It is time to materialize our new individuality based on all the work done seeking personal sovereignty and valuable relationships. The key is to let our intuition guide us in the spontaneity that sets our egos aside.
Planets in Taurus, especially Sun, Moon and Venus, mark a time when feeling good should be a priority. Not a time to ponder or to dwell in world affairs, the next month is made to relax and take care of nature and our bodies.
Mars and Venus are transiting through their own signs, empowering the sacred masculine and feminine archetypes. At a personal level, our desires and our needs revolve around the material aspects of our existence and especially our bodies. Sex will occupy a prominent place.
While the first few days may still be somewhat chaotic, the second half of the month should bring plenty of relaxation and ease.
As with every new moon, I encourage you to declare your intention before next Tuesday, perhaps based on the new-moon energies.
Always Love. 🌹🙏💖
- This means that Mercury and Venus cannot appear farther apart from Sun than their maximum elongation. For Mercury, that amounts to 18°–28° whereas it is 45°–47° for Venus. In practice, this means that Mercury can only be in the same sign of Sun or in an adjacent one, whereas Venus may skip one sign. ↩︎
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