Tag Archives: Uranus in Taurus

Breath and Butterflies, Blue and Beltane

By Amanda Painter

On Saturday, we have a New Moon right at the midpoint of Taurus — the Beltane zone, when the ancient Pagans celebrated the fertility of the Earth by having sex out in the fields. I’m supposed to tell you all about this interesting chart, and I will; but to be honest, I’m still ruminating on some of the events and recurring themes I encountered last week while I was away, during the Sun’s first conjunction to Uranus in Taurus.

Photo by Amanda Painter; Orkney, Scotland, 2018.

So if you’ll pardon the indulgence, I’m going to start there and will make my leisurely way to the astrology. You know how a Taurus hates to be rushed.

With the gracious support of my Planet Waves colleagues, I was just immersed in a weeklong intensive class in Orkney, Scotland — a particular method for freeing the breath and voice for theater — taught by its 83-year-old originator (and fellow Taurean) Kristin Linklater. It was a rather spontaneous opportunity, though it built upon my 2018 trip there for the same purpose.

During last year’s class, Uranus — “The Awakener,” the cosmic sparkplug — made its preliminary ingress into Taurus. During my trip this year, the Sun made its first of its annual conjunctions to Uranus in Taurus between now and 2025. I already knew before I got the email for the class (three weeks before it started) that it was exactly the way I wanted to return to the sense of ‘being in process’ that had marked last spring; the moment I noticed the Sun-Uranus conjunction would be occurring, it was like a bell rang.

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Dancing on (or with) the Edge: the Libra Full Moon

The Day of Realistic Inspiration: Birthdays and Planet News

The View from the Other Side

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By Amanda Painter

At last, the major astrology of this week (this month, really) has occurred: Mercury is retrograde in Pisces as of Monday; Uranus is in Taurus as of yesterday, and the Pisces New Moon is separating. As I write this, it’s all so fresh that I’m still getting a feel for whether the edginess and sense of anticipation I’d been experiencing has dissipated.

Utility poles in Orkney, Scotland, the day after Uranus — the cosmic light socket — ingressed Taurus in May 2018. Photo by Amanda Painter

I’ve tried to think back to last May, when Uranus first dipped into Taurus, to compare how I felt and what was going on for me, to see if there are any correlations. I have to confess, though, I feel like last year’s ingress was easier somehow.

That could be more the result of time softening the edges of memory than an actual contrast. But I’m curious to hear whether anyone reading this has a similar sense of it all.

I know that last year, like this year, I was involved in a theater production; immediately after, I traveled to Orkney, Scotland, for an intensive workshop on voice and breath for theater. It was during that workshop that Uranus entered Taurus. I recall feeling busy before the trip; maybe a little overwhelmed; but when Uranus actually made its move, I was simply focused completely on the workshop and on exploring my surroundings when I was not exploring my own breath and voice.

So I’ve been wondering: was it partly being in a strange place, on an adventure of self-discovery, that aligned with the energy of Uranus and therefore seemed to smooth the change? Are my situation and activities somehow less in harmony with Uranus this year? Was it the resonance of a voice class with the sign Taurus (which rules the neck and throat)?

Or does this year’s edginess in the lead-up relate more to the succession of other planets we’ve had hanging out in the final degrees of signs? Maybe having Chiron in the sensitive first degree of Aries, conjunct Salacia, is providing more agitation than I’ve been giving it credit for?

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Getting Ready to Get Going

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By Amanda Painter

Even though the calendar page will turn to a new year in a few days, the astrological year still has most of a season left to it. Yet the sense of one thing ending and something new beginning is still strong — and there is some major astrology on its way to support that sensation, even if the timing is not exact.

Photo by Amanda Painter

For one thing, Uranus will station direct on Jan. 6. This means that ALL the sign-ruling planets will be in direct motion for a spell — Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and Pluto (the Sun and Moon are never retrograde).

If that doesn’t sound like a cosmic green light to finally move important projects forward, I’m not sure what does. I don’t know about you, but after the continual feeling of limbo I experienced with this year’s inner-planet retrogrades, I’m really looking forward to a phase of momentum and traction, even if it’s brief.

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Tilling the Ground

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By Amanda Painter

We’re in a week marked by movement and an impulse toward something new: on Tuesday, we had the Taurus New Moon, and Uranus entered Taurus; yesterday Mars entered Aquarius, and formed a square to Uranus. Between the adjustment phase that comes with planets in new signs and the fact that we’re going to get an echo of this energy later in the year, these recent movements are worth a closer look.

Post-pussywillows; photo by Amanda Painter.

First, think for a moment about the idea of tilling the ground when gardening. “Tilling” does not refer to harvesting the fruits of your labors; it’s not tending the plants during the growing season; and it’s not the actual seed planting that seems to start things off, either.

Tilling is what comes before all of that. It’s the preparation of the ground: preparation in the form of disrupting what had become settled, compacted, and dormant. Whether you use a horse-drawn plow, a small rototiller, an industrial-size agricultural tiller, or just a shovel and rake, this step is crucial for the planting and growth to come. Space must be made in the soil for best results in the months to come — the stabilizing roots can then reach further and draw more nutrients, allowing the rest of the plant to flourish.

Seasons of change work the same for human beings, though the process is often less ritualized and can happen any time of year. We fall into habits and routines; we get comfortable and stale; we allow limits to restrict us and lose sight that we can challenge them and push back. As a result, we often need to go through a conscious phase of disruption to make the space in which our next phase of growth can emerge and develop. You can think of it less as chaos and more like introducing a little room to reach your roots further, allowing you to branch out into the unknown.

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