The last New Moon on April 12, 2021 came with the dynamism of fire, supported by friendly planets, like a bow pulled to let an arrow fly out into the future. Every lunar cycle unfolds for 28 days and this one lights “the force that through the green fuse drives the flower,” the power of life returning. My own dreams have been full of animals, among them, an elaborately horned wild Auroch made a recent appearance. To me this speaks to the return of instinct, after so many months of being bound by caution, fear and lockdown. My dreaming mind spoke to the onrushing emergence of Uranus in Taurus, a sign symbolized by the bull, the water buffalo, the wild ox, and yes, the ancestor of them all, the Auroch, Bos primagenius, called up in paint on the walls of prehistoric caves.
In the next ten days, Venus, Mercury and the Sun will join Uranus in Taurus in the heavens, lighting up our earthy nature, our senses, and desires. Taurus is the most embodied sign in the Zodiac, and it has been held in and held back by the pandemic, so that many of us have forgotten how to feel ourselves. Like it or not, many desires have been held in check. When repressed energy emerges, it may erupt in an untamed form. As hope returned with large numbers of vaccinations in the US, it regrettably came accompanied by the raw violence of mass shootings, and new police killings. The bottled up tension of the pandemic has also come out in the justified fury of demonstrators, fighting for breath, equality, freedom. The Aries New Moon was in a close sextile to its ruler, Mars, an exchange between air and fire that favors the uprush of flames. As creative as fire can be, it can also be destructive, something that has been mirrored at the University of Capetown, in South Africa, where many books have gone up in flames, and by a criminal fire at the Findhorn Foundation, in Scotland, which destroyed the community center and sanctuary. This New Moon was also conjunct dwarf planet Eris, named after the goddess of discord. She throws out the golden apple and war seizes the world.
So which will it be, bright joy or battle? The push to release what has been pent up is fundamental to both. Just after the planets conjunct freedom loving Uranus, they will create a square aspect to Saturn, straining to pull away from constraints. Each of us is pulled internally between these forces, the key theme of the year. Among the questions they evoke are how much freedom do we give ourselves? How do we respond to rules that feel oppressive? We are in the middle of systemic change. It is possible that a counter-force rises up, too strong to move through, as it has in Burma, in Hong Kong, and in Russia. The danger of a doubling down of authority, of severe repression can come in response to this threat of change.
This time, with so many planets gathered around Uranus, the forces for change are stronger than the energy of stasis, and this is especially true in the US. The Full Moon on April 27th invites a climax in this process. When authority is abusive, when rules serve only for repression, the Saturn Uranus square can break the system.
I love the latin appellation of the Auroch; Primogenius. Primo- first, and Genius, the origin, the ancestor, the spark. While etymologies differ, Auroch sometimes becomes urus, related to the ancient Greek ouros. Which in turn connects to a proto-Indo European word meaning “to move, stir, spring”, “to awaken”. I imagine the great bull stirring to life. May we all awaken into movement. This seems to be what the ancient Cretan Bull dancers celebrated, the dance of life- the ability to engage forces that are so much bigger and powerful than any individual. And to find joy and beauty in that dance.
image: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bull_leaping_minoan_fresco_archmus_Heraklion_(cropped).jpg
https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%CE%BF%E1%BD%96%CF%81%CE%BF%CF%82
