Tomorrow marks the New Moon in Taurus, and a few hours later the planet Uranus will be moving into the same sign for the next 7 years, quite a big deal from an astrological perspective! We'll dive into this momentarily. But first, let's get Taurus straight from an evolutionary perspective. While pop astrology may have given Taurus a bad rap, (as it has many of the astrological signs), Taurus is deeper than what you might have read in a horoscope. For, evolutionarily, Taurus is here to create a true sense of embodied equanimity. S/he is here to be able to feel comfortable in her own skin; grounded, strong, and clear in her being; connected to the natural world in ways that allow her deeply-seated peace; kinship with animals; open to life through her senses; perhaps a love of the subtleties of music that soothe her soul; and a need for silence and its splendor. Yet so often what we hear about Taurus is that s/he's stubborn, digs her heels in consistently, is too materialistic or vain, or too wrapped up in sensuality. What I've just listed are the aspects of Taurus that, in evolutionary astrology, we'd call the "shadow" aspects of Taurus. It's not the they aren't real, because they certainly can be! But it's that we have a choice as to how we work with the energies of Taurus, or any sign, planet, and house, for that matter. And the shadow elements of the sign only come out when someone isn't doing the energies of their specific signs well, be they Taurus, Sagittarius, Gemini, you name it. Because we all have free will, we get to choose how we respond to and work with the energies of our birth charts, and thus our lives, recognizing the important interplay of "fate" and free will. We get to create and manifest our own destinies, hopefully led by the deeper forces of Life that guide us into harmony rather than succumbing to folly that could be avoided. And doing Taurus well is spending time with things that allow for this feeling of inner tranquility:: connection to Nature and its inhabitants, music and its melodies, silence and its mystery and virtue. 

So, as promised, Uranus. A dinner party last night prompted the conversation of how to pronounce this mysterious planet. Ur-A-nus or Ur-in-us or Ur-Ah-noose? I like the middle one, but it's likely a personal pronunciation preference! More to the point, he is the god of thunder and lightning bolts; the god of change that comes when we least expect it; the god of authenticity and individuation, something that the late Carl Jung would ask of all of his clients, and likely every human. Uranian energy, in shadow, can be rebellious, teenager-ish, stubborn without having a real reason, and dissociative at its most traumatized. Yet, he's also the energy that gives us the ability to do what we need to do for ourselves in life, even when those around us think we've gone mental. This planet gives us the ability to live our authenticity out loud in ways that perhaps we couldn't have even imagined. And when we get it "right," we feel free, alive, and connected to life; we feel more like ourselves, and less like an idea of who we think we should be because people want us to be that way.

When we bring the two together, Uranus and Taurus, interesting things can happen, as with many combinations in astrology. I think a story might best illustrate this one, though. My partner and I had 4 dogs up until a few days ago. We'd raised them mostly together, the first 2 with my late soulmate of a dog Dakota, the last 2 after Dakota had made her transition beyond the veil. There were 2 males, and 2 females:: Izzy, Grommus, Tema (short for Artemis), and Ødin. Recently the girls, Izzy and Tema, stopped getting along (hormones!), and started getting into bloody fights with each other. Tension built in the pack, and they could no longer be trusted together. We literally had to keep the 2 females separated at all times, and there was a feeling of unrest in the house, in the yard, all around. One night last week, while trying to reconcile their differences, a fight broke out again, and Izzy put a few holes in Tema's face. Not terrible, but bad enough to pull the plug. My partner Cheyne called his parents, amazing people who certainly show up unconditionally for us. Perhaps they've wanted grand-kids, but they've learned to treat their grand-dogs like royalty. Although Cheyne's mom absolutely never wanted a dog, she and Cheyne's dad agreed to take Izzy after a transformational conversation with Cheyne. It was a moving situation, sad for us in many ways, yet super beautiful considering how much his dad loves animals and has wanted one as a companion for a long time. On the phone last night, the truth came out: Cheyne's dad has wanted a dog since he was 6 years old. And now at 73, he finally has one. The even more amazing thing about this story: Cheyne's late sister Tara always wanted a puppy growing up, but she never got one. Though Tara left the planet too early, her memory lives in Cheyne's and her parent's hearts, and part of that memory is her kind spirit and her love for animals. And now, each of us knows that Tara had this all planned from the beginning: Izzy found her dad, and he found her. So as sad as Cheyne and I were to see her go, it couldn't have been a better scenario.

All of a sudden (Uranus), we had to do something to create more stability, security, and peacefulness (Taurus) in our home; something that was authentic to us and our pack family. We had to let go of an idea of what we thought "stability" was and open to a new version of this. It was the right thing, and we're moved by the details of the story. Because I don't do predictive astrology (I can only tell you the influences coming into your life and how to work with them well, not the decision you'll make), I don't know what this movement of Uranus into Taurus will create for you. But if you have Taurus prominently in your chart, or Scorpio, or Leo, or Aquarius, you'll be asked to get more authentic to your unique needs and desires, perhaps faced with an "out of the blue" scenario that you wouldn't have imagined, and if in Taurus, one that attunes you to an embodied easefulness and calm. It might not be easy to initially get there, but when worked with well, most anything is possible. 

A final contemplation question to go with the mood:: Have you gotten so comfortable with an aspect of your life or what you consider to be yourself that really isn't you anymore? Uranus will invite us to question these so-called parts of ourselves, encouraging us to new territory that invites greater freedom if we go with it.

The Force is with you! Enjoy.