The Cosmic Story becomes clearer as we travel through time to meet our future. Don't you feel we're living in extraordinary times? During extraordinary times, the world as we know it changes. We are best served when we look at our expectations and beliefs about life and see if they're still viable for this new reality. And then we have to decide what values center us during this change.

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The cosmic story becomes clearer as we travel through time to m

 

The Cosmic Story becomes clearer as we travel through time to meet our future. Don’t you feel we’re living in extraordinary times? During extraordinary times, the world as we know it changes. We are best served when we look at our expectations and beliefs about life and see if they’re still viable for this new reality. And then we have to decide what values center us during this change.

These are Taurus and (its ruler) Venus issues. Our values and self-worth will make all the difference to us as the old structures give way to new forms that will house new collective purpose (Pluto in Capricorn). This Taurus New Moon is in a wonderful relationship to Pluto, the planet of regeneration. This is the only way we’ll achieve both personal and collective transformation – letting go of the old and opening up (a feminine quality) to the new. Death and re-birth. And our planetary energies are there to support us.

The Cosmic Story says: We are coming into the zone of the first square (a challenge and change of course) of the energies that marked the 60s. It is a call to action. Back in the 60s, the energy was more instinctual (a new cycle began, like a new Moon), and we were caught up in the opposition of energies of revolution (Uranus in Virgo) and evolution (Pluto in Virgo) and old patriarchal structures that no longer served us (Saturn in Pisces) Uranus and Pluto began a new cycle of cultural, sexual, artistic, social evolution. The Seeds were planted in the 60s. The next few years will mark the next energetic aspect of the cycle of these planets – Uranus and Saturn will oppose each other while Pluto squares them both. A tense and volatile T-square of energies, this is the point in the cycle when we see if the plant has deep enough roots to survive or not.

We are at the next big marker of that cycle. Now we are coming up to the challenge to take action on that original awakening to our responsibilities as conscious humans. The first of five oppositions between Uranus and Saturn (New vs. Old) occurred last November 4^th, the US’s Election Day. The American people took a stand for the New. The world is changing, and the powers that have created the old structure do not like it and will struggle to maintain their power, but the Cosmic Story says they’re on their way out. But we still have to do our part.

All of the planets, except for Saturn in Virgo, are lined up in the last three and first two signs of the zodiac. This means that we (first two houses are personal) individually have the opportunity to incorporate the more collective energies of the planets in Capricorn, Aquarius and Pisces into our new vision of life. Once we accept our new instructions, Saturn in Virgo will help us integrate new behavior patterns into our everyday life, creating healthy, conscious, responsible lifestyles.

Pluto (creative evolution) is moving backwards in Capricorn, bringing to light torture memos, bank and credit card companies’ stranglehold on consumers, and the basic unsound principles that guide our economy. The North Node (collective destiny), Jupiter (opportunity), Chiron (healing) and Neptune (imagination) in Aquarius continue to open us to a more humanitarian vision of unity here on Earth, a better way to live. Uranus in Pisces continues to open the veils between the worlds, allowing in a more spiritual vision to oppose that solitary Saturn in Virgo, who’s still holding back on universal health care and food issues. With the asteroid Ceres, the corn mother, now moving forward again through Virgo, we will hopefully resolve many of the food issues (including the Darth Vader of the food industry, Monsanto) our corporate agribusinesses have created. But we’ll have to stand up to their last attempt to control food sources through genetically modified seeds and opposing organic farming.

Then we have our personal planets Venus and Mars in Aries, giving us new hope for relationships and creativity. With the New Moon, the Sun and Moon are both in Taurus, planting seeds that will take root in our lives for the future. Mercury is also in Taurus, squaring the stellium of planets in Aquarius, opening our minds to think outside the box, allowing us to see ways that benefit all, when we begin to manifest our new reality. Since Mercury will be retrograding on May 6-7, it will be dancing with these three planets through May and the beginning of June. Get ready to stretch your minds!

This would be an auspicious time to pay attention to your dreams (Neptune and Mercury). Keep a dream notebook besides your bed – dreams are one of the voices of Lady Wisdom. If you want to make the right choices for your life, this is your source of insight and consciousness.

Now that the Sun has moved into the sign of Taurus, it’s time to build on what we’ve accomplished already since last year. Taurus is the sign that rules new life, returning life after the apparent death in winter. New life that will find its harvest in the fall. We are the co-creators of life, and now is the time to create the new life we want for this year.

Taurus rules worth and possessions; self-worth as well as money, gifts and talents as well as possessions. If you’ve found your self-worth, then don’t be afraid to go out into the world and create change through your gifts and talents. If you’ve been inspired this past month while the Sun was in Aries, urging you to go beyond where you’ve gone before, then what are you ready to build? What wants to grow? Just remember to create it in beauty, grow it with love, and present it to others with grace. Taurus creativity is all about love, beauty, grace, joy and peace.

Taurus rules our senses and our instincts. When we open ourselves to them, we must learn to trust them. The Celtic poets were said to drink from the fountain of wisdom with the 5 streams (senses) running from it. Our poets and musicians inspire our senses to perceive the world as they do. Our senses pick up information from our environment and attune us to ourselves and to the world. If we were more attuned to our senses, we would cringe at the ugliness we’ve created in the world. So re-tune your senses this month and learn to feel, see, hear, taste and smell the beauty of nature - and perhaps take time to sense the ugliness of malls and concrete boxes and stop going to them.

Earth Day takes place at the beginning of Taurus, the sign that rules Mother Earth. It was just after these major conjunctions in the 60s that Earth Day was instituted in 1970. We saw then that we were disregarding the sacredness of the Earth, and now 39 years later, it seems we have the political will to finally do something about it. In getting in touch with our senses, we insure that we will never deaden ourselves again to the environmental damage our consumer society creates.

Venus, the ruler of Taurus, just turned direct on April 17^th after 5 weeks of retracing her way through the fires of Aries and stepping back into the cooling waters of the collective womb – Pisces. Re-born, like Aphrodite from the oceanic waters, she connected with her desire. Mars, warrior and lover energy, caught up with her on April 21, at 30 Pisces, the very last degree of the Zodiac, which means the end of an old cycle of love and desire, releasing us from old love karma so we can see love from a higher perspective.

Something is ending so something new can be born. It’s time for men and women of good faith to give each other a little slack and work on respect for each other rather than political correctness or just plain annoyance with each other. If we learn to connect with respect, most of the issues between the sexes would begin to heal.

For this new Moon in Taurus, Venus and Mars have both moved into the first two degrees of Aries, ready for a new beginning in truth. Pluto in Capricorn squares them, forcing them into the depths, where they can touch their foundation – the truth of their being. Each of us has Venus and Mars someplace in our charts, each placement telling us how we’ve lived out our loves and desires. Now it’s time for something new to emerge from the ocean of new beginnings. Those placements tell us what lessons we came into life to learn. So have we learned them? If we have, we get to create love anew. The reality that the patriarchy has repressed is, Love Conquers All.

We are here on Earth to learn and evolve. Our love relationships have hopefully taught us how to be free by forcing us to deal with how we aren’t free. Only when we are free of old conditioning can we really love ourselves and another. So be thankful for all those old bad relationships and see what you’ve learned about yourself and love. And now, with this new Moon, begin to trust love again, because you’ve learned to love yourself.

So, the question is: What do we love? What do we really want? How do we intend to get it? The old ways no longer work. We get to create new ways to love, to create, to value, to desire. How lucky are we? Venus and Mars move forward together over the next few months, ensuring that we’ll have plenty of time to figure out this new beginning. They once again engage in their Sacred Marriage on our yearly Sacred Marriage - Summer Solstice, June 21^st, in Taurus. This Piscean union is grounded in love and compassion, mysticism and imagination. The next union will build what we’ve learned into our foundations. Plan ahead for a sensual, joyous day of pleasure and delight with the one you love.

Taurus is the place of foundations, the ground of our being, Mother Earth. The challenge is to be our Self, the unique individual we are beneath the cultural overlay. It’s time to strip down and stand naked, at least in your own rooms if not in the world. See yourself for who you truly are, and then love that being and nurture her or him. Let your soul be your guide and dare to be You! Taurus wants lilacs to be lilacs, not genetically modified, non-reproducing simulations of lilacs.

To Thy Own Self Be True.

The Sabian Symbol for 6 Taurus is: A cantilever bridge in construction across a deep canyon.

What better symbol than a bridge to symbolize the ability to create new bonds, bring together different points of view, solve problems that will take us across the great divide and create unity amongst all peoples.

Planetary action:

April 21 – Venus and Mars conjoin at 30 Pisces.

April 22 – Earth Day. Mars goes into Aries.

Friday, April 24 – Venus goes into Aries; New Moon in Taurus.

April 26 – Mars squares Pluto.

April 30 – Mercury goes into Gemini.

May 1 – Beltane

May 2 – Venus squares Pluto.

May 6-7 – Mercury goes retrograde until May 30.

For more information about these times we're living in, check out www.wisdom-of-astrology.com

Authors Website: http://www.cathypagano.com

Authors Bio:

Cathy Pagano is a spiritual advisor and Jungian psychotherapist, storyteller, author and teacher.

She is the author of a book on the return of the Goddess, "Wisdom's Daughters: How Women Can Change the World".

Cathy trained at the C. G. Jung Institut-Zurich in dream interpretation, has an M.A. in Counseling Psychology in Feminine Spirituality, and is a certified Life Coach.

As an astrologer and storyteller, she weaves the Cosmic Stories written in the stars. From The Bard's Grove, she writes about emerging archetypal themes in movies and books.

Cathy works with the tools of the imagination - dreams, alchemy, myths, astrology, symbolic language, storytelling, ritual - to awaken the Soul's wisdom.



I believe that Americans are called to a higher consciousness at this point in our history. We are called on to live up to our ideals and create the country our forefathers imagined. Inner consciousness needs to be acted upon for social justice.



Cathy believes that our writers and artists must take up our responsibility to create art that inspires, teaches and heals our humanity.



Cathy writes about political, psychological/spiritual, and cultural issues.