The Way of Beauty—Taurus New Moon—May 19th.
Nature is not a place to visit, it is home―Gary Snyder.
The sun-dappled days of May unfurl in a rapture of colour. Whether we live in cities made bearable by parks and public gardens, or whether we have our own small patch of earth to tend, nature calls us back home.
The constellation of Taurus rose at the vernal equinox, accompanying nature’s re-birth around 4,000 BCE-1,700 BCE. Over thousands of years, the earth has wobbled, and the Sun has shifted in what is called precession of the equinoxes. Now, as the Sun moves through Taurus, spring swoons to the warm exuberance of summer and Taurus season is festooned with flowers, daubed in many shades of green. Bluebells and buttercups, flutter of delicate pink apple blossom. A showy froth of cowslip and white daisies dance across the meadows. Trees flame out, emerald, lime green.
Encrypted in the sliver fire of the starry skies this month, are three important sky-stories:
- Mercury stations direct
- Jupiter enters Taurus and T-squares Pluto and Mars
- New Moon in Taurus
Mercury enters the morning sky and stations direct (at 5° Taurus) on May 15th and by May 29th will be at its greatest distance from the Sun. Mercury leaves the ambiguous Retrograde shadow on May 31st.
Mercury in the sensual clothing of Venus-ruled Taurus guides us across the threshold of change as one lavish British spectacle merges with the most-watched spectacle on earth. The Eurovision Song Contest staged in Liverpool, with an estimated audience of 180 million people culminates with the finals on May 13th, as a Taurus Sun makes an electrifying conjunction with unpredictable Uranus. This signifies a high-voltage energy, tempered by a tender Pisces Moon conjunction with serious Saturn trine Venus in Cancer.
Just before sunrise, Jupiter emerges from behind the moon, shining like a yellow citrine in the apricot light of dawn. Jupiter enters Taurus on May 16th and will square both machismo Mars in the royal sign of Leo and Pluto in Aquarius on May 21st. This is potentially a cathartic T-square which may explode in the wastelands of war in Ukraine and Syria and could spark panic on the financial markets. The Pluto/Jupiter square at 0° Taurus/ Aquarius is a waxing square in a cycle that began with the Pluto/Jupiter conjunction at the beginning of 2020.
Jupiter and Pluto connect in a combustable square in May, April and June and move close once more from early December 2023 to February next year.
On May 19th, the Sun and Moon caress the cool, soft flanks of Taurus. Her fleeting embrace with the sun is a heartbeat that pulses through our bodies, a monthly reminder that we are stardust, sea-borne, rooted in our animal bodies. New moons are celestial pause points. Tender moments when we can begin again, this time more gently, more slowly, more tenderly. To focus on one thing at a time. This is our prompt to breathe in beauty and cherish our belonging in the delicate web of life. Virginia Woolf remembers a moment of grace in a garden in St Ives, “It seemed suddenly plain that the flower itself was a part of the earth, that a ring enclosed what was the flower, and that was the real flower, part earth, part flower.”
This lunation in a fixed earth sign represents those things we value and desire. For some this may be a simpler life, a strong urge to pare down, to soften inside as we love and nurture ourselves. Author Anne Lamott suggests that that we start taking action, even if we don’t really have a conviction that it will ever help and change… “Little by little, I think the message becomes that we’re worthy of that and we’re deserving of that. We start to notice the softening inside of us, of being loved and nurtured by our own selves. Then buckle up because it is going to change every single thing about the world.”
Taurus which is not simply a personality trait or a list of keywords.Taurus is a metaphor for beauty, sensuality, and indulgence. Taurus invites us to attune to the slow circles of nature, to be receptive to those things that bring us pleasure and delight.
The new Moon in Taurus invites us to draw down, to focus on our senses, to dig our hands into the earth, to plant seeds that will grow. Where Taurus is in our birth chart is where we must work the ground, nurture our gifts and talents, attentively manage our resources, cherish those people and things we value.
“Everything that slows us down and forces patience, everything that sets us back into the slow circles of nature, is a help. Gardening is an instrument of grace,” writes May Sarton.
The moon is exulted in moist, fertile Taurus. If you have a herb or vegetable garden, now is the best time to plant root vegtables and salad greens and ease back on the weeding.
The Chelsea Flower show is now re-branding “weeds” as “hero plants” and Alys Fowler suggests “rather than going to work in our gardens, we could all relax a little, spend more time looking and listening, waiting rather than reacting, being in the garden as much as actively gardening.”
Neurologist, Oliver Sacks once said, “in forty years of medical practice, I have found only two types of non-pharmaceutical “therapy” to be vitally important for patients with chronic neurological diseases―music and gardens.”
There are many ways to remember our connection with the natural world and cherish the beauty that is all around us. We might take ourselves on an “artist’s date”, allow ourselves to be seduced by beauty when we visit a gallery. We might let music fill our senses. Wrap our arms around a tree. We might start this new day with a cup of tea or coffee in a beautiful mug, a fresh flower picked from the garden in a vase on our breakfast table.
Cheryl Strayed writes, “there’s always a sunrise and always a sunset and it’s up to you to choose to be there for it… put yourself in the way of beauty.”
To book an astrology consultation, or to join me and spiritual guide, Eileen Heneghan on June 24th as we celebrate the Summer Solstice please email me: ingrid@trueheartwork.com
Midsummer Celebration of Light—June 24th
Breathe in the Light, the sweet scent of flowers. Today we celebrate this ancient feast of fire, the pairing of the Sun and the Moon, the strength and vitality of Midsummer.
Join archetypal astrologer Ingrid Hoffman and energetic healer and teacher, Eileen Heneghan for an inspiring afternoon of story, myth, folklore, and meditation at this still point of the year.
Our Wise Woman gathering will be on Zoom with plenty of time to reflect and to share, to deepen our connection with others, to explore new ways of finding ourselves a-new.
Together we will allow ourselves to be transported to the lush green hills of County Kerry, as we immerse ourselves in a powerful old Irish story of love and triumph. There will be plenty of time to reflect on what it teaches us about how we might live more authentically, how we might forge our souls, in challenging circumstances; how to make sense of a world that is changing so fast.
Join us on Saturday, June 24th, 14.00-15.30.
Payment in advance: £20 via Paypal or €23.
Zoom link will be sent to you via email.
Contact Ingrid Hoffman: ingrid@trueheartwork.com
Marriage is not a ritual or an end. 
Amidst the blush of cherry blossom and the pristine purity of white-thorn, tradition and ceremony, street parties; amidst the flags strung against blue skies in celebration of the Royal Wedding, the stage is set for a sequence of astrological aspects that herald unexpected events and an opportunity to stretch and bend with changing circumstances in our lives.
For astrology readings on Skype or in person, and for information on womens’ workshops, please contact me