Welcome to the Beltaine New Moon in Taurus. Today we step into a dance through long time. A dance in which we’re invited to participate.
This partial solar eclipse falls near the end of a Saros cycle that began in 850, under a sky eerily like this one. All those centuries ago, Uranus in Taurus was likewise conjunct a New Moon eclipse. Which tells us the cycle we’re in represents a force for change deep within the Earth. Change we are invited to dance with.
By the calendar, this is Beltaine Eve. And since the ancient Celts flowed with the lunar cycle, Beltaine begins at dusk today. This is a thin time. Portals open. The fae are abroad. Spirits of Earth reach out to us. New connections are made. Old ties are renewed.
This sky is filled with power. It’s difficult to find the right words to convey the feeling. I’m a wordsmith and I’m struggling to express it.
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The New Moon falls at the end of the first decan of Taurus, where the Moon is exalted. This decan is a place where we seek the balance between trusting in life to provide for us, and realizing we need to put steady effort toward reaching our goals.
This is a decan that can provoke anxiety about whether things in the world will really be ok, a feeling the current state of the world certainly enhances. We long to trust. We fear that trust is misplaced.
Eclipses have always heightened this sense of anxiety. Today, eclipse chasers feel elation, knowing the darkening of the Sun, the silence, the unique feel of the light will soon pass.
But even today, there’s a sense of momentary dread as we watch the Sun disappear. Will the fire that keeps our world alive return? Can we count on it?
Uranus conjunct the New Moon in Taurus heightens this juxtaposition.
We feel the Earth under our feet. In the northern hemisphere, spring is arriving everywhere, with all its enticing promises of warmth and growth.
Yet this renewal itself triggers concern. Will the promise of this spring be fulfilled? Do we have the strength to carry on in the face of the challenges before us? Where do we find hope?
Less than an hour after the New Moon, Venus and Jupiter reach their exact conjunction. Look to early morning skies to see these two together.
Having the two benefics, Venus and Jupiter, conjoined showers this New Moon eclipse with magic of the best kind. Magic that can support us as we move into and through this time of change if we know how to partner with it.
We might want to wrap ourselves in the Venus–Jupiter magic and step away from everything else, anything troubling, disturbing, upsetting. Here, we might say, here is the hope. Here is the promise. I need do nothing.
That would be a mistake. The magic is clearly here, but we need to step up and step in, not simply take it for granted.
Remember the old tales. Consider the patterns. There are three sisters, perhaps, who must each go on a journey.
The sisters who demand, who insist, who feel entitled do not succeed. Their early promise is eroded by their belief that all will be given to them.
One sister is different. Not treated as well at home, perhaps, and so has learned patience, the need for hard work, and the value of kindness.
On her journey, she reaches out to help. She shares what she has. She learns, grows past her fears, and in the end, receives the boon.
We know when we hear these stories that working, sharing, and helping are what we ought to do. Yet we forget. Or we think, those tales were for children, to teach them how they should act. We’re adults now. We know how the world really works.
But do we?
Pluto, powerfully still at this time, sextiles Venus and Jupiter. This ethereal magic has deep, deep roots. Pluto connects us to the chthonic depths that exist within our psyches and within all things.
These are forces beyond our control. Beyond our comprehension. Yet we know they exist. We call them “instinctive” and “primal” and “wild” and “dark.” In the words of Tom Hirons’ poem, Sometimes a Wild God, they do not know the ways of porcelain, of fork, of mustard, of silver. They erupt out of us when we least expect it.
The magics afoot at this year’s Beltaine are wild, untamed, and other. They are Plutonian, Plutonic, and well as Jupiterian and Venusian.
They still invite us to dance.
Then there’s Saturn. Saturn in late Aquarius who is squaring the Nodes of the Moon. Hold on, we might hear Saturn say, hold on there. Do you know the steps of this dance? Do you foresee all the possible consequences here?
But Saturn’s effect on the Nodes is muted by a trine and sextile from Neptune, who reframes the whole question and concept of “consequences” to fit the very long timeline we step into with this eclipse New Moon.
To quote a wizard of note, even the wisest cannot see all ends. So what are mere humans to do?
At this New Moon Beltaine eclipse, we dance. We dance with uncertainty. We dance with hope. We dance with dedication and commitment. We dance with gay abandon. We dance with trust. We dance with love.
Images adapted from the following:
Franciszek Augustyniak : https://unsplash.com/photos/82I3FAg4YtU
Alexander Andrews : https://unsplash.com/photos/mEdKuPYJe1I
Vincent van Zalinge : https://unsplash.com/photos/WHrwb43vH9E
Olivia Bauso : https://unsplash.com/photos/nKWXb8EGzO0
Markus Spiske : https://unsplash.com/photos/WWX2bPqP-z4