A rare Black Moon, a partial solar eclipse and Beltane celebrations.
This week the heavens are treating us with not just a New Moon, eclipse season but also a rare planetary line-up visible in the night skies.
As we reach the end of April and approach May Day/Beltane the skies gave us a rare and unique planetary line up. If you were lucky, you might just have caught Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn lining up behind the moon just before Sunrise during the last week of April. In the Northern Hemisphere they’ll be seen more in a diagonal line, the Southern Hemisphere gets to see a line that looks straight up into the heavens. If you’re into stargazing, then this gets even better on the mornings of the 30th/1st May when Venus and Jupiter conjunct closely and will look as if they’re actually colliding. The last time we had a planetary line-up such as this one was around 1000 years ago so it’s a once in a lifetime thing to witness, and yes, we’re fortuitous to be able to see it without the use of a telescope too, although obviously major light pollution will have an effect.
A rare Black Moon
And it’s eclipse season, and by now we’re well into our first eclipse season of this year. The door is well and truly open and as the new moon arrives on the 30th (in the UK that’s at 21.28pm so it just squeaks in on the last day) it comes with a partial solar eclipse. This is our second new moon this month, the first one being on the 1st of the month which makes this one a black moon. A black moon occurs when we have either two new moons in a calendar month making the second one a black moon, or four new moons in a quarter/season in which case the 3rd new moon is known as a black moon. Generally speaking, this happens every 29/30 months.
New Moon in Taurus Meaning
New moons happen when the Sun and Moon are aligned, and this new moon we’re in Taurus season so both planets are in the earthy sign of the bull. Both are also conjunct Uranus and the North Node in Taurus. A conjunction happens when 2 or more planets ‘meet’ or pass each other in their ecliptic orbit. Each eclipse season this year takes place on the Taurus/Scorpio axis, and each eclipse works specifically with either the north or south lunar node. (Nodes and their effects on us are covered more in my Eclipse Season blog if you want more detail on what, why and how eclipses affect us). This Taurus/Scorpio axis lasts until July 2023 when it then moves back into Aries/Libra until October 2024.
What does all this mean for this new moon though?
Taurus is a fixed earth sign ruled by Venus so is an earthy, sensual sign. Astrologically taurus is concerned with finances, security and self-worth. They love being surrounded by luxury; think tactile, soft and soothing velvets, fine wines and gourmet foods. Venus brings in both a sensual, touchy side and a creative, artistic soul. Generous, pleasure seeking and sociable they both love creating and enjoying the fruits of that labour. The fixed element here can arise in stubbornness or immovability rather than just a good old, grounded soul. If you want someone patient and dependable Taurus is your guy.
This is the time to take a good, hard, honest look at your finances. Where are you spending money, where can you pull back, how can you generate a better supply. As Uranus is also in play here think about technology, if you’ve been considering taking your business online, or selling off things you no longer use now would be a good time to do it. Uranus rules technology and is known as ‘the Awakener’ capable of bringing sudden changes and even shocking events. It's currently being provoked by Mars the planet of action so any changes you want to make are star supported right now.
Focus your attention on what you want to build and create now. Really consider what you’re worth:
do you need to raise your prices?
Create new programmes, products or services?
Where do you have money blocks?
Is what you earn, and how you earn is satisfying your moral values and integrity?
What do you need to earn and how can you use it best?
It’s time to set up your own stage, write your own play and star as the principal player in your own life. Don’t be afraid of earning a decent wage. We often talk about spiritual work and spiritual souls having a money block as it doesn’t ‘feel’ soulful to want money. But and this is a big one, just think about what good you can do with any excess. I personally love reading about giving back and there are several people I have huge respect for who earn a vast amount and put it to good use building schools, funding education, creating businesses for women in communities that traditionally struggle – where could you put your excess to good use?
Eclipses themselves are times of change, often sudden and unexpected. They are portals or gateways. This one occurs in Taurus and is in the North node which is the part of our astrological charts concerned with our soul purpose and life path.
Easing through an eclipse.
The key to weathering this new moon and partial solar eclipse is to stay grounded and present. Both Taurus and Scorpio are fixed signs and like to be in control, eclipses are best weathered by riding the wave and ceding control over to the Universe. If this eclipse does affect you personally my best advice is to trust what’s happening, let go of trying to control the direction or change that’s underway and role with the punches. If you have your sun, moon, or rising sign, or a significant planet in either Taurus or Scorpio, specifically, if you have your north and south nodes in Taurus and Scorpio, then the chances are that you will feel some effects from this eclipse season, it will facilitate some kind of change either in your work, in how you earn your money, in what you do, or it can go the other way, and look at relationships and friendships and where you connect with people. Any changes that occur during eclipse season might seem scary at the time but they’re usually for your highest purpose and work in your favour ultimately. Try and allow yourself to relax, to breathe, to go with the energy of the changes that are occurring.
Traditionally new moons are a time when we press the pause button, go inwards, reflect and rest, when we think about what and how we want to create and set our intentions for the next month, 6 months or year. Eclipse season however brings what has been hidden into the light, the effects might not actually be seen until the time of the later eclipse season in October, or at least a few months post eclipse season. Ideally, we should be waiting a few days before beginning new projects or making new decisions. Whilst the Sun is concerned with our external world and the Moon with our inner world, under a Solar Eclipse we often realise what we need versus what we have. When you’re setting your intentions under this moon try and consider where you can align the two.
Normally when we have a New Moon in Taurus I also like to remind us that it's a time for self-care, it's a time for those wonderful rituals that bring us back into ourselves, whether that be creating something wonderful, taking a special bath, using a face mask, going out for a walk, taking some time to meditate, whatever it is that really brings you back into yourself and back into your sense of your sole purpose and who you are. Take some time out during this new moon to really enjoy those self-care rituals that you love because Taurus is a very sensual sign. We should enjoy surrounding ourselves in those lovely little luxurious things that make us feel cared for and warm inside.
Take some time to think about what intentions you want to set this weekend, and whether you write out your intentions, create a vision board, a dream board or some other means consider some of the points I’ve raised to make the most of the energies that this Taurus new moon and eclipse season bring.
Crystals for a Taurus New Moon and Partial Solar Eclipse
I’ve chosen this time to work with crystals for not just Taurus, finances, self-worth and intentions but also for the solar eclipse part of the energy that’s whirling around. Here’s my guide on using crystals specifically for this New Moon and Solar Eclipse:
Sunstone is about good luck and fortune. It has a bright, positive energy and is said to align the chakras making it a good one to put things back into balance before you start doing your work.
And then I've chosen a beautiful Citrine, which is the stone of abundance and growth. It's also very joyful, positive stone and one that’s used for instilling self-confidence.
A lime green Peridot again, another abundant, joyful stone, but also a very peaceful stone and compassionate one.
A Golden Tigers Eye. I can't work with Taurus without working with a Tiger's Eye, particularly the golden variety. It’s a very grounding, stable stone that brings a protective energy. And again, it's also about abundance.
Petrified Wood is one that I'm not sure I've ever mentioned before. Created over aeons of time, this particular stone is very good for keeping us grounded, but it's also a connective stone. Great for working on relationships and those people that matter to you, but also about ending the relationships that don't matter to you. It's a stone of strength, resilience, and transformation and when you're working with Eclipse Season, any help you can get to ease you through the transformations that are happening is a good thing.
And one I think I’ve mentioned recently is the gorgeous Lepidolite, again another stabilising and balancing stone. Ideal to use during transition times for its harmonising and peaceful energies.
And then lastly, two stones that I like to work with during the new and full moon, the lovely Moonstone and Labradorite.
There’s no hard and fast rule about which crystals to use, pick the ones that call to you to work with them under the energy of each moon. It might be that you choose to work with stones that are more for relationships or more transformative stones. Allow yourself to be still and silent for a while and ask your higher self to guide you to the crystals that you need, or simply choose the ones that feel intuitively feel right to you when you're making your crystal grid.
I hope the eclipse season is kind to you and that any sudden and unexpected changes are ones that you can see will put you on your path and bring you joy. Stay grounded, if it does feel turbulent focus on your breathing and taking a bit of time out. Reflect, focus and relax, everything is as it’s meant to be.