by Robert Wilkinson
Over the next 4 weeks, the New Moon in Taurus indicates we will all get a “cosmic visitation” wherever we have early Taurus in our charts, and need to communicate with others to compare and contrast our experiences. It’s a time that will bring us all to major turning points in our lives due to two powerful septile-driven configurations, one of which involves the Grand Irrationality. Have faith, since this New Moon promises some great things!
This New Moon in Taurus will solidify the new initiatives of the past two years, and now that Mars is direct in motion again, we can “cut to the chase” and through practical action cut through obstacles. This chart features a Grand Earth Trine along similar lines of the one in early March, so we should see developments that began then quicken in development. It should be a great 4 weeks for making tremendous practical progress in any area we’ve been planning for the past few months but felt was “on hold” somehow.
This continues to stabilize many future oriented areas of our lives through harmonious understanding that we can apply in specific and favorable ways. Based in what decans the planets are in, it'll be a time of very action oriented productivity with a social emphasis. It’s a time to ground your spirituality in action!
The Light of this New Moon shines on a more solid level of action to stabilize the new beginnings. All the planets except Saturn and Pluto are direct, showing many areas are moving forward, either exposing us to new ways and circumstances, or (in the case of Mercury and Mars both in their shadow zones) giving us a final “practicum” on lessons we’ve been exposed to before now.
Intuition is sky high at this time thanks to favorable aspects to Neptune and Pluto from the Lunation, with at least one major shakeup in everyone’s life, revealing divine workings that will leave us in awe. The main challenge is to act with purpose, clarity, and inspiration, and the presence of only one difficult angle will give us all a great experience without a lot of friction.
The New Moon occurs at 2 Taurus on April 21, 2012, 0:18 am PDT, 3:18 am EDT, 8:18 am Greenwich (20 March in Maui). When a Lunation is on one of the angles of a chart, it is said to be particularly powerful. This month the Lunation is culminating in Pakistan and India, setting in Tokyo, Melbourne, and Bisbane, on the west coast of the Americas, and rising in Rio.
The Lunation finds 4 Capricorn rising in Santa Monica, 18 Sagittarius in Vancouver, 17 Aquarius in Montreal, 17 Aquarius in Washington DC, 6 Aries in Rio, 30 Taurus in Lisbon, 23 Gemini in London, 29 Gemini in Amsterdam, 7 Cancer in Berlin, 24 Cancer in Tallinn, 6 Cancer in Sofia, 5 Cancer in Cairo, and 8 Gemini rising in Johannesburg.
Moving into Asia and Oceana, we find Ascendants at 13 Leo in Abbottabad, 14 Leo in New Delhi, 7 Leo in Trivandrum, 1 Virgo in Bangkok, 15 Virgo in Hong Kong, 8 Libra in Tokyo, 9 Virgo in Perth, 23 Libra in Melbourne, 1 Scorpio in Brisbane, 6 Sagittarius in Wellington, and 20 Sagittarius rising on Maui (20 April.)
This is the twentieth in a sequence of New Moons that fall in the same sign as the following Full Moon. It is the next in the 12 phases of how things come to be each year. The cycle could be described as follows: Life energy is initiated in Aries, substantiated in Taurus, explored in Gemini, grounded in Cancer, renewed and creatively expressed in Leo, refined and ordered in Virgo, balanced in Libra, purified in Scorpio, expanded in Sagittarius, organized in Capricorn, solidified into a vision in Aquarius, and ended/perpetuated in Pisces.
This New Moon at 2 Taurus jumpstarts Taurus energy wherever it falls in our chart. As I mentioned earlier, this period involves some form of “cosmic visitation,” where we’ll be left in awe of the Divine workings at play. It’s a time to communicate with others, compare notes and understanding, and envision new dimensions of being where we can use our creativity more effectively.
This Lunation puts the focus on stabilizing a new yearly cycle directly connected to the new reality that began for all of us in June 2010 and accelerated in growth between early March and early May 2011. This can help us revisit events from June 2011 that “sat on our heads” in December 2011 and January 2012, leading us to a new naturalness in how we express what we express, how we enjoy our emergent process, and how to simplify our focus so we can capture what we need to stabilize our life.
Between August 2011 and March 2012 we tended our "garden of life and personality" (or not!) What we have cared for during that period is now moving forward swiftly since Jupiter in Taurus is direct in motion and Mars has FINALLY gone direct after many weeks of being retrograde.
Here's more backstory on Jupiter this past year. Jupiter entered Aries for the first time in June 2010, then retrograded back into Pisces in September 2010. It then re-entered Aries in January 2011, ending an old vision and quest forever while setting the tone for the new initiatives since then.
In May 2011 we saw a multi-level long term vision we could act on, and then mobilized and acquired some of what we need to further those initiatives over this past year. Last June we sorted out what we needed to leave behind while asserting our rights in order to grow through new experiences, new situations, and new understanding. These different perspectives have assisted the past to give way to the present which is rapidly blossoming into radical new futures.
This New Moon has an actional, material plane focus. As it falls in Taurus, Venus and TransPluto are the worldly and spiritual ruler of this New Moon. That would imply this 4 week period will be interactive, where we discover many things about our individuality and/or spirituality, as well as how others are practicing these. There will be much to share over the next 4 weeks, and faith will be a big theme given we are experiencing the indestructible elements of our lives and existence.
So like last month, this Lunation has elements of being practical, functional, organized, detail-oriented, grounded, and productive, with big lessons of learning how to be efficient and find new ways to view fellowship, freed of preconceptions, too much focus on distinctions for their own sake, and attachment to specific beliefs that separate rather than unite. Execute the plan you’ve been rehearsing or was put on hold a while back, take care of details, and see this time as one where you combine faith plus works so that by May your plan will be in play in remarkable efficient and effective ways.
Neptune and Chiron at the Cusp of the Age:
Other than the brief look we had in mid-2011, this is only the third New Moon with Neptune in Pisces for the next 150 years. We had Neptune in Pisces for the 3 New Moons for May, June, and July 2011 which gave us a front end look at how Neptune will function through 2025.
Between August, when Neptune retrograded back into late Aquarius, and the recent January New Moon, we were given one last look back at a greater ideal, and the changes of the last half of 2011 helped many to break out of our "chrysalis" and transform how we live and all our relationships. That is now established in the collective consciousness, as well as a growing sense of the larger light field in which all sentient Beings live and love.
If you want to know what's coming for many years to come, take a look back at the intuitions and sense of belonging to a vaster interrelated whole you were shown in May, June, and July 2011. It may help to give a sense of our collective lesson in dissolving our separateness as we finish this transition through "the Winter of the 21st Century" on our way to Spring, beginning in 2025!
During those months that both Neptune and Chiron were in early Pisces, we were offered chances to learn about bargaining and trade-offs, with the ultimate payoff a deeper and larger feeling of being connected to others. During the last half of 2011, Neptune retrograded back to 29 Aquarius, the degree where humanity was forced to emerge from its "chrysalis" as a new world is being born.
Chiron retrograded back to 1 Pisces. So those two dancing together kept us attuned to elements of this transitional span of experience for all of 2011 as we prepared to cut loose into the Neptune in Pisces era for many years to come. During 2011 both Neptune and Chiron revealed our unique part to play within a larger light/life field.
During that time, these planets at the beginning of Pisces and end of Aquarius occupied degrees representing "the Cusp of the Age," the span where the Age of Pisces and the Age of Aquarius meet. From one point of view, where we were collectively between February 2011 and March 2012 revealed what the period of (approximately) 1990-2140 is all about in the broader context of human evolution. I suspect that future generations will look back at 2011 and 2012 as being crucial in showing long range patterns of larger evolutionary necessities.
Neptune and Chiron dancing between signs on "the Cusp of the Age" had the effect of making it seem like we have all been occupying a very weird dreamscape which we'll be navigating for years to come. The trick for us is to apply our new strengths and understanding freed from the ghosts of the past, and by riding the waves of intense (but curiously steady) pulses of spiritual energies shaping our minds, we can find techniques where our efforts will lead us to forms of good fortune.
During the year they danced together in this critical degree span, they provided us a bridge to understanding the global lessons we all must embrace, and helped us graduate into a new view of how we are an essential part of a greater whole. I'll give you links to articles explaining more about "the cusp of the Age" at the end of this article.
In this New Moon Neptune is at 3 Pisces while Chiron is at 9 Pisces. This will help us heal anew through our positioning within collective consciousness, with a focus on healing into our Higher Selves through dropping every unnecessary consideration and quickening our striving. Catch glimpses of your indestructibility, and you could see what “permanent records” you’re here to leave as a legacy to your world.
More About Saturn's Universally Important Influence
Though not as prominent as when it was the nozzle for all the other planetary energies (returning for the last time December 2012 through February 2013, but in Scorpio), we'll continue to put a spotlight on Saturn in Libra, the cosmic timekeeper, since it does symbolize the ongoing lessons and limitations within the larger field of existence. Saturn will remain in Libra through early October 2012.
Saturn continues to be a very powerful influence since it is in its sign of "exaltation." That means Saturn's discipline and personal power focus is able to become very effective as it shows balance, rhythm, moderation, and reasonableness in how we demonstrate it.
What we learned from Saturn in Virgo in 2007-2009 will have to be applied in forms of practical action as Mars transits Virgo between now and early July. Once Mars enters Libra, we then get to apply the wisdom forms we learned via Saturn in Libra beginning November 2009.
With Saturn retrograde since early February, we are reviewing how to repair or reconstruct things from the past to come to a philosophical completion between now and October 2012. This will involve not simply reconstructing something, but also seeing things from a holistic perspective that enables us to be more well-rounded in our understanding before we enter a deepened, more intense period beginning in October 2012 when Saturn enters Scorpio, introducing a new set of lessons.
During this period of coming to a holistic philosophical view, many will be able to read meanings in symbols and things, and will move beyond knowledge into true balanced understanding. We can recognize a cosmic order in things, and use that to reorder our world. Here we perfect our integrity, and in doing so find a gift for furthering what we want in the way of a more ideal reality.
As Saturn rules Pluto in this chart, it shows that when we are confronted with the need to deal with something or someone in an organized, efficient manner, reference Saturn in Libra and the lessons of balance, justice, proportion, and moderation in judgment you've been learning. Naturally, the usual Saturn keywords will be crucial to effective behavior - patience, discipline, organization, patience, maturity, wisdom, patience, authority, responsibility, and of course, patience.
So as you open to the fourth New Moon of 2012, take stock of what you've been learning and put it together in a larger holistic understanding. In 2011 we learned about karmic consequences from a wider angle of view, while playing by the rules of whatever system we've been dealing with, or acting within, showing as much balance, grace, and equipoise as we could, given Saturn's penchant for heaviness.
We are all learning a lot about Dharma during Saturn's stay in Libra, as well as what we should not be trying to prop up through a misplaced sense of responsibility or obligation. If we run into roadblocks or delays, it should tell us a lot about patience, as well as what limitations and burdens we can live with and what we cannot.
As noted in previous articles, Saturn continues to usher in allies, friends, fellow truth-seekers, more balanced views, and corrective actions as techniques for community building or group awareness. The transfigurations in our actions and relationships we've gone through since January 2011 have led us to do forms of "repair work," where we confronted the consequences of past actions, whether our own or another's. The repair work could as easily be in the realm of our inner self as in outer affairs.
A Little More About the Recent Past As Prologue
As I mentioned earlier and will explain in greater detail in part 2, Venus is now in the Gemini zone of the Grand Irrationality, directly triggering the long wave influence of the Gemini Solar Eclipse in June 2011 which triggered the Grand Irrationality. Between that intense activation showing as hectic intense bursts that often made no sense during the past 10 months and the current “off and on” patterns of other planets in irrational relationships, choose wisely, since the past months and current weeks challenge us to find ways to liberate ourselves from unhelpful views and attitudes while staying on track with the new elements that have presented themselves over the past 12 months.
As noted, Autumn 2011 was a time to cultivate the "plants in our garden of personality and life" that will be what we draw on in 2012. At this point in the process many have experienced three "cosmic visitations" that have changed their lives in big ways. Jupiter strengthened that theme in the 2012 Aquarius New Moon, accelerating this major transformation time that will have wide-ranging effects throughout the first half of 2012! As this New Moon falls exactly on that same degree expect spectacular developments related to the past times that Jupiter occupied 2 Taurus!!
Last August put us all through "a liberating ordeal," leading us to be freed from old social rigidities and finding joy in fellowship with new associates with whom we can work and play. Since then we’ve been practicing a new freedom, with efficiency sky high due to Mars in Virgo since last November. This Lunation continues that efficiency, and will stabilize a lot of things for all of us. It’s a great time to make money, or put a plan into play that will make you money in the future, so go for it!
Over the past 10 months Jupiter has shown us a greater life dedication, how to find hope and/or happiness in the face of coldness or barrenness, and how to cultivate purity of heart and faith in a transformed future. We were also shown how to use knowledge and skill to anticipate the future, allow a new quality of being to supersede an old lesser order, and through releasing elements of the past, find our "pot of gold at the end of the rainbow" where we have accepted the Divine workings that show us who we are and who we aren't.
Jupiter went direct in motion last December, launching our 2012 Jupiterian adventure. Through early June, open to larger ideas, larger opportunities, larger understanding, larger ways to look at resources and values, and larger futures.
We originally entered this phase of concretizing a better life between early June and late August 2011. We got a different perspective from August through December, and a few weeks ago completed the third pass across the first 11 degrees of Taurus.
This helped us demonstrate mastery of what Jupiter's been teaching us in terms of opportunities to enter into a creative partnership with Nature Herself, and could see where we can naturally "pour ourselves out" into some way to manifest our Soul.
So contemplate the wreckage of the last half of 2011 as necessary to make space for the future growth of the new initiatives and expansions originally set into motion between March and May 2011. Things should have become more solid and stable in late February and early March. This will lead all of us to numerous new discoveries beginning June 2012.
Overall, due to the mix of Virgo, Libra, Capricorn, Pisces, Aries, Taurus, and Gemini energies, this will be a very naturally grounded, practical, and highly energetic New Moon period. The sheer quantity of planets in Aries and Taurus (Moon, Sun, Mercury, Jupiter, Uranus) may make for some very rapidly developing events that should stabilize quickly.
As noted earlier, practical action is accented and imagination will lead to a greater, wider vision of who we have become, who we are, and what unique individuality we want to live in the future. This gives us more information, understanding, and insights into what Uranus has awakened up to now.
We have some extraordinary aspects forming in this Lunation, which I'll speak about in the next part of this series. The major influences are the Sun and Moon trine Mars, sextile Neptune, and trine Pluto (the Grand Earth Trine I spoke of earlier), Mercury conjunct Uranus and square Pluto, Venus quintile Uranus and biseptile Neptune, Mars tredecile Jupiter, septile Saturn, quincunx Uranus, and trine Pluto, and a wide but significant Jupiter triseptile Saturn and semisquare Uranus with the ever-present and ominously looming Uranus square Pluto in the background.
In the next part of the series we'll discuss the various aspects at play in the chart, as well as some important degree symbols and other interesting elements affecting all of us for 4 weeks to come.
Here are two articles related to "the cusp of the Age."
Neptune Then, Neptune Now - The Cusp of the Age of Aquarius
Neptune Retrograde Into Aquarius - A New Look At the New Age This one has links to articles related to this theme, so enjoy following the breadcrumbs through the woods of time!
© Copyright 2012 Robert Wilkinson
Sweet Spring, happy earthlings... it's like a birthday to me when all the big guys start to enter my 1st house Taurus. Earth trines inspire me. The next month will be magical... go green.
Thanks Robert for always being here!
Posted by: jan | April 20, 2012 at 06:21 PM
Interesting, Robert. I have Sun, Mercury, Jupiter, and Uranus in Taurus in House 9. This has been a mind-blowing year from late last March until now, and with 6 planets spanning 12 to 25 Taurus, I expect it to continue. Bring it on! And thanks again.
Posted by: Anne | April 20, 2012 at 07:43 PM
Last March 2011, I should say.
Posted by: Anne | April 21, 2012 at 05:05 AM
Your words are like a breath of fresh spring air, thank you great one! It's just all good and I'm loving it.
Posted by: Sue Moon | April 21, 2012 at 05:43 AM
Really, Too good Thank you very much to sharing huge information and interesting post.
Posted by: Astrologer in Gujarat | April 21, 2012 at 05:47 AM
Thank you Robert.
Posted by: Mike | April 21, 2012 at 06:20 AM
Hi all - This is going to be a great month! With the Earth Trine, what we've been waiting to move forward is happening, and all we need to do is follow the plan that's been formulating these past 5+ months. Believe me, I'm as happy as I can be that things seem to be moving forward with precision, even if there's a bit of craziness out there due to the Grand Irrationality (which is sitting on some points in my chart!) Even when things seem irrational, we can still make progress if we have a plan and execute it in the right time. But that's what astrology is all about, right?
Posted by: Robert | April 21, 2012 at 08:51 PM
Very enjoyable and encouraging article. Many great starts and happenings, and continued progress, with many aspects, and able to juggle it all. Thanks for all you do!
Love and Light~
Nancy
Posted by: Nancy Robinson | April 22, 2012 at 02:40 AM
Thank you, Robert, you always lift my spirits when I need it. Bless you always. Sue
Posted by: J. Sue Gagliardi | April 22, 2012 at 12:04 PM