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This New Moon highlights our sense of self-worth and survival instinct, and asks us to contemplate what we truly value and give meaning to in our lives. It also calls into question our relationship with Mother Earth herself.  New Moons represent a mini death and rebirth in the area of life symbolised by the sign they are in, which is Taurus, and the house in which it is found. Something may need to fall away in the dark of the Moon in order for new energy to come in as the Moon starts to wax towards fullness again. This is an ideal time to plants seeds and set intentions, as the soil is especially fertile now. Taurus asks us to contemplate what we need to feel safe and secure, and how we are relating to ourselves in terms of our self-worth, self-confidence, self-esteem and the inner dialogue we have with ourselves. Our inner vibration, inner magnetism and inner relationship with ourselves all have a direct relationship with what we attract into our lives, physically, emotionally and materially. As within, so without! This is a good time to be very mindful of the internal messages we we send ourselves and to monitor any feelings of insecurity or self-doubt that might be preventing us from attracting what we would wish for into our lives.
 
Taurus is that part of us that knows how to take care of our own needs and become self-reliant, self-sufficient and self-sustaining, both emotionally and physically. Rather than looking outside of ourselves to have our needs met, we learn to look within and nurture our own innate capacities and inner strength. Wherever Taurus is found in our chart shows were we have the talents and abilities that help us to survive in the world. It also shows where we are most resistant to change and may tend to get stuck in a rut. This New Moon is an ideal time to work on our relationship with ourselves and to recognise how our outer reality is a reflection of our inner vibration. What do we need to feel safe and secure? Are we able to take care of our own needs or do we rely too heavily on others? Do we truly feel like we deserve love and abundance? Do we have fears around money and survival? What are our innate abilities that help us survive in the world? What do we truly value most in life? Where are we most resistant to change? Are we overly self-reliant or too dependent on others? What might need to change internally in order to attract what we need externally?
 
The Sun and Moon are forming a harmonious trine aspect with Saturn and the South Node of the Moon, which are very prevalent right now in the cosmos. These two joined forces in Capricorn on 30 April, but the energy is still strong. This Moon could give us the capacity to see our old conditioning for what it is and to recognise how it can still tend to run the show. We have a chance to go backwards in order to move forwards, looking at our familiar patterns with a critical, realistic eye and seeing how the past still governs our behaviour in the present. Issues around control and suppression of emotions could come up, as could material around societal or parental conditioning and specifically the legacy of the dark side of fatherhood, the patriarchy or authority figures. Any issues or difficulties from our past that we may have around our relationship with our fathers or authority figures could come to the surface now to be examined.
 
We are being asked to really see, with open eyes, the more detrimental patterns of our own South Node and how is impacts our lives and relationships. The South Node is our Achilles heel; our greatest vulnerability and the set of habits and patterns that feel oh so familiar and oh so old at this point! This Moon could really help us to recognise and work on this karmic material and to see it for what it is, in a realistic, sensible light. It can also help us to “grow up” somehow and take responsibility for the old patterns that keep repeating through our lives; for that “old chestnut” that has come up so many times at this point. Saturn also went retrograde on the 30 April, and so Saturn and the South Node will meet again on 4 July and one last time on 28 September, so this is the beginning of a karmic maturation process that will impact us both personally and collectively. We are being asked to really take responsibility for our South Node issues now. On a collective level we are being made very well aware of the dark side of Capricorn in terms of our societal structures, government and the patriarchal system. It’s completely impossible not to see the flaws at this point!
 
Venus, the ruler of this Moon, is forming a square to Saturn, Pluto and the South Node of the Moon. This energy will be building over the next week, as Venus exactly squares the Node on May 6, Saturn on May 7 and Pluto on May 9. Venus square the Nodes could have a profound effect on our relationships, as we are forced to recognise how our old patterns and conditioning govern the way we relate to those we hold dear. We all have habits and tendencies that come from our childhood experiences and tend to have a sabotaging effect on our relationships. This next week could definitely highlight any control issues, or power struggles, emotional suppression or inhibitions around intimacy and sharing that we may have within our relationships. We may find ourselves going back over old material that we thought we has already resolved, or recognising our more compulsive patterns of relating that seem to come from a buried place deep within our subconscious. We may be forced to look at how we put protective walls up, shutting people out instead of allowing ourselves to be vulnerable and share how we are truly feeling.  This next week could certainly bring a reality check to the realm of our relationships.  
 
Venus and Mercury are still in brave, honest and forthright Aries for this Moon, combined with Mars in Gemini. This brings the potential for open, honest discussions whereby we have the opportunity to lay the cards out on the table and get any uncomfortable material out into the open. There is no hiding where Aries is concerned, but rather we are asked to be brave and say what we mean and mean what we say. Mars is forming a crisis inducing aspect to Pluto and Saturn during this Moon, which could bring up some rather intense material. Mars and Saturn are not very comfortable together with this aspect, so we may feel held back somehow from acting or speaking, either through guilt, inhibition, control, authority or our old conditioned habits. Saturn inhibits our Martian capacity to act and assert ourselves, so this could be a bit frustrating. With Mars in Gemini we may feel a strong urge to speak our minds, while Saturn puts the breaks on and makes it difficult to do so. We may also have to deal with boundary issues in some capacity. This aspect is exact on 1 May, but will still be prevalent during the New Moon.  
 
Mars and Pluto in aspect is an intense combo that holds the potential for profound transformation and moving past our limitations, but not without a bit of difficulty. There could be some kind of power struggle, or a battle within ourselves. This combination could bring some uncomfortable, thorny issues out into the open, although there is the potential for us saying things that are a bit below the belt. Our more compulsive, conditioned habits and behavioural patterns could cause us to act or speak in ways that we can’t control very well. It could feel like we are on some kind of auto-pilot, with our behaviour and actions at the mercy of our subconscious fears and desires. However, some amazing insight into our psyches could come out of this process, uncomfortable as it may be! This aspect is exact on May 5, and is very prevalent during the New Moon.
 
The Sabian symbol for this New Moon is “Head covered with a rakish silk hat, muffled against the cold, a man braves a storm”, which Dane Rudyar describes as “The courage to meet the crisis precipitated by social ambition. The man with the silk hat has seen some of his ambitious efforts bring him social success; but he learns that often ‘nothing fails like success.’ The storm may be within him, or it may attack his social status. He is ready to face it daringly. This shows a willingness to accept crises and to go on through them – and therefore great character, the soil upon which a higher kind of consciousness may develop.” This symbol shows the capacity to put on a brace face when confronted with crisis and “weather the storm”, but the silk hat could also point to a tendency to be so self-sufficient and dignified, “putting up appearances” so that we don’t allow others to see that we might need help.
 
There is a lot of deep and karmic material being churned up at the moment, and so this earthy Taurus Moon can help us to recognise how we can strengthen our relationship with ourselves and Mother Earth. Neptune in Pisces is also helping out with a nice sextile aspect to the Sun and Moon, imbuing this Moon with the spirit of unconditional love, compassion and empathy. Combined with Saturn’s dose of realism, common sense and clear boundaries, this Moon could help us to navigate through some choppy waters as we are forced to confront some ancient material that we have faced many times before. This is a great opportunity to see our South Node patterns for what they are, but in order to do so it is quite possible that we will find ourselves in their grips so that they are so glaringly obvious that we can’t possibly avoid them. Neptune and Saturn could help us, however, to be both grounded and accepting of ourselves and others, and to take responsibility for whatever comes up. This is a powerfully transformative time, on many levels.
 
Much Love
 
Amy
xoxo
 
Picture: Unknown