2015 Venus in Taurus – What & Who Do You (Truly) Value Most?

Venus entered the sign of Taurus earlier today, 17th March 2015 at 3:14a PDT. Under its influence, you get to recognize which partnerships make your life easy, comfortable, safe, and secure. That means that for the next 3.5 weeks, you get to assess which of the one-on-one relationships in your life prove most valuable to you.

Taurus is earth fixed energy, and represents what makes you feel solid, safe, secure, and stable in your lifestyle. It’s what is easy for you, what you are comfortable with, and often indicates your “default” lifestyle standards and values.  Even if you don’t really like your lifestyle and/or what composes it, if it’s easy for you to stick with and you’re used to it, you’ll more than likely choose it over any other options presented to you.

That said, it’s usually difficult for you to make changes in the areas of your life that are influenced by Taurus. Taurus, Ceres, and the 2nd house of your personal chart as they reveal how you’re hardwired for comfort and ease regarding your physical-material-financial resource needs. However, though you may not be able to change what’s truly important to you in these matters, under Venus in Taurus you may be able to alter your perception of what is important to you.

2014-2015 Ceres in Sagittarius – Valuing Your Freedom Above All Else

Ceres changed sign on Monday, 27th October 2014, moving out of the intense extremes of Scorpio into the open-minded exploration of Sagittarius.  In doing so, Ceres in Sagittarius opens up a search for truth that occurs through the experience and assessment of our lifestyle values and resources.

Ceres, which I have found to be the ruler of the sign of Taurus, represents our fundamental needs and resources or to put it more bluntly, our survival needs.  I like to describe Ceres as the practical mother of astrology, making sure we have the material, physical, and/or financial resources to feel nurtured, safe, secure, and cared for.

In Sagittarius, Ceres is being called to venture out into the great big world to explore and gain wisdom through first-hand experience.  Through these adventures, Ceres in Sagittarius helps each and all of us find and learn the truth about what is really essential in living a nurturing, safe, and secure life.  There is great value to be discovered in stepping out of your comfort zone to try new activities and have new experiences during this time.

This 2014-2015 Ceres in Sagittarius period isn’t about survival as much as it’s about experiencing the world and life in ways that help re-connect you personally and collectively with what is truly important on the physical, material, and financial plane – that your lifestyle resources and circumstances have you feeling nurtured, cared for, and secure in your ability to grow and thrive in the world.  After being in the all-or-nothing mindset of Scorpio for the last few weeks, Ceres in Sagittarius helps take our lifestyle matters and values out of the polarities of good vs. evil, right vs. wrong, and/or darkness vs. Light, and brings them back into practical and potentially expansive reality and application.  Though Sagittarius has a reputation for being larger than life, in this case of Ceres in Sagittarius it helps develop  a sense of the big picture and how it serves us well to look at ourselves and the state of our lives and resources through the bigger picture of the whole world.

As result, the presence of Ceres in Sagittarius may lead you to become more intellectually and experientially aware of the standards of living not only in your immediate surroundings, but also around the world.  By awakening to these facts, you may begin looking at your own standard of living in a different light.  You may also notice that it doesn’t serve you well to see yourself as a success or failure in life solely upon comparing your lifestyle values and resources to those of others.  It’s an opportunity for you to realize that your standards for survival (and therefore success) are relative to the environment you are in and how open and free in your self-expression your environment allows you to be.

In other words, once you see your life from a bigger perspective, Ceres in Sagittarius may have you valuing your freedom above all else.

Questions that may be coming up for you and all of us collectively during this 2014-2015 Ceres in Sagittarius period:

• Do you have the material, physical, and financial resources to free yourself from what you feel holds you back in life?
• Are the real or perceived restraints to your freedom of expression physical-material-financial or are they intellectual-mental-psychological, or are they both?
• Do you need to learn more or do you already have the knowledge you need to forge ahead on your life’s journey?
• Does your environment support you in finding and stepping into your individual (or collective) freedom?
  • Could it be that trying to sustain your comfort zone is holding you back?
  • Could it be that the people and circumstances that help you maintain your current lifestyle (that are giving you or providing you with money and other resources) are actually holding you back from your independent expression, growth, and expansion?

The answers to these questions may not be easy ones, but with the Sun, Venus, Saturn, and soon Mercury in Scorpio, you will have support in making clear and decisive choices and taking steps toward your personal freedom.  This 2014-2015 Ceres in Sagittarius period may have you embarking on an experience of yourself and your life that you may have only dreamed about before now.

Ceres will be in Sagittarius until 7th January 2015.

Thanks for reading and sharing Signs and Numbers.  Until next post…

~ Light, Love, and Blessings,

Grace

2014 Taurus 3 Sun trine Pluto Retrograde in Capricorn – Growing Your Future by Facing Your Past

The Taurus 3 Sun was in an exact trine transit with Pluto Retrograde in Capricorn at 5:37p PDT today, 04 May 2014, bringing your knowledge and the gathering of information about building a solid future for yourself to the fore.  You may find yourself assessing what you already know about approaching this process and asking yourself what else you need to learn.  However, this transit is actually an opportunity for you to learn what you really need through a very practical experience of facing and clearing your past in order to create your future.

Taurus and Capricorn are both earth signs.  Capricorn is cardinal, initiating movement toward the goals, while Taurus stabilizes the resources and assesses the value of everything that supports the manifestation of the goals.  This Sun-Pluto trine is a time for taking tangible, physical, and/or material steps to build a solid foundation for the eventual manifestation of those ideas.  This is “practicing what you preach”, “putting your money where your mouth is”, “where the rubber meets the road”, etc.

Mars in Taurus Opposite Saturn in Scorpio – Big Changes Bring New Rules

Mars in Taurus takes action. Eventually.  It always starts out by taking its time.  Mars in Taurus likes to do things slowly to make sure it gets everything exactly how it wants them.  It’s not so much about planning – it’s more about strategy.  It’s about getting what it wants (or as close to It as possible) on its own terms.  It wants to be sure that it’s comfortable with whatever is established as the new normal.

However, Mars in Taurus may have met its match with Saturn in Scorpio.  In Scorpio, the planet of goals, ambitions, discipline, and responsibility finds itself dealing in extremes.  Things are either structured and solid, or in a state of chaos and destruction.  Either way, Saturn is letting you know that whatever is happening – whether the event’s scale is large or small – you are responsible for how you choose to deal with it and/or respond to it in your own individual life and as part of the collective whole.

With so many major and dramatic changes taking place around you and/or for you, you may find that you don’t get to have things happen on your terms.  In fact, you may find that you have to deal with a reality that is nothing close to what you expected.  With this opposition transit of Mars in Taurus and Saturn in Scorpio exact at 10:12p PDT on April 30^th, you may as well toss all of your usual specs, standards, and rules out the window.  They probably won’t apply now if ever again.

That’s because the changes that are happening now are likely permanent.  They are structural changes – changes that alter the way we do things in the world.  As the world changes around us, our focus must also change.  Our goals and ambitions must also change.  Our responsibilities must also change.  And therefore, our actions must change along with them all.

The old ways won’t work anymore.  No matter how much we try to set “old world” goals, a new world is being established that doesn’t accept them.  Status and power have different meanings now – they exist in a context of collective goals, influential efforts, and selfless service to others.  With Mars in Taurus opposite Saturn in Scorpio, you are now being asked to play the game of life by some very new rules.

Yes, there are still some lifestyle basics that need to be attended to.  Yet, how those occur for you in the face of the emerging new world will affect your actions now, during this powerful opposition’s influence.

Notice how your actions now may be setting your course for the foreseeable future.  Take notice of what inspires you to act, and which steps have you feel solid and secure in the face of profound change.  You may be surprised how what you thought you believed has changed or is changing.

And if you are challenged by the fact that you aren’t getting what you thought you wanted out of all this change, take time to notice that during this Mars-Saturn opposition, you may now be in a position now to look at how ego-based beliefs may be driving your life.  You might be being challenged to let go of proving your rightness or status to others (and yourself!) in order to experience being who you truly are in the face of whatever changes may come.  It’s the “you” who weathers these storms of change that is truly who you are.

Thank you for reading and sharing.  Until next post…

~ Light, Love, and Blessings,

Grace

Venus in Taurus – Standing By You

Venus entered Taurus at 12:25a PDT this morning, and with it, we begin to feel some solid ground beneath our feet after many months of ebb and flow on open water and tests of moving through fire.

The thing is that though there is some earthy goodness in sight, you may be surprised to find that you have not come upon it by your own actions alone.  In fact, your experience of this solid foundation you may have been almost desperate for comes to you courtesy of your one-on-one relationships of all kinds.

With Venus now in Taurus, you now get to experience a grounding and centering of your energy through individuals who are and have been really and truly by your side as you’ve sailed the uncertain seas of Pisces through the fog, steam, and smoke of Aries’ burning passion to arrive in this moment now.  Here in the safety of the port of Taurus, you get to be greeted by these people who never wavered in their trust and faith in you.  We experience a new sense of reality and stability through the people who have been there with you and for you through the whole rough seas experience of the last 5 months.  They stand on the dock, cheering you into port as your ship comes in.

The important thing to remember at this time is that though these people are here to greet us, you also get to receive their welcome.  It is important to acknowledge their presence in our lives and their importance to us.  Taurus is about lifestyle resources – financial, material, and physical, and Venus is about partnership, balance, and mutual benefit.  Extending gratitude to others by acknowledging them in a way that has value to them helps them know just how much you value their presence and role in your own life.  It doesn’t have to be anything major – just a small or simple “thank you” to let them know that you know that you all stood by each other through these last few stormy months.

You may also have met a few new people as you’ve traveled through the challenges of the last few months.  Some of these people may have taken places by your side as well.  Honor them, too, as you take sight of the shore and step off your ship onto the ground.  Thank them for becoming part of your solid foundation as well.

In the midst of Spring – the season of new beginnings, it is a wonderful time to have this Venus in Taurus energy present.  Embrace it, and embrace the people who have been standing by you all along the way as well as those who have come to your side through the journey.

Venus will be in Taurus until May 9^th.

Thanks for reading and sharing.  Until next post…

~ Light, Love, and Blessings,

Grace

 

Sun and New Moon in Taurus – Blessings in Disguise

New Moon in Taurus arrived at 12:19a PDT on Saturday, April 21, 2012, officially ushering in support for and acceleration of the Sun in Taurus energy that began on April 19^th.

Taurus is about our “survival needs” – food, shelter, and sex, which translate into our material, physical and financial resources at a fundamental level.  Taurus represents what has us each feel comfortable, safe, and secure in our lives.

However, along with Sun (and for now, the New Moon) in Taurus:

• Mars is direct in Virgo, letting us know our choices and actions of all kinds really do have effects on our day-to-day lives.
• Mercury is direct in Aries, letting us know that what we really think about our lives is going to be reflected in those actions.
• Venus is in Gemini, making sure that we give positive and loving thought and consideration to all of our options and all possible scenarios in front of us.
• Uranus in Aries brings unexpected events that help us see who we are choosing to be for ourselves and others in our lives.
• And Neptune and Chiron are both in Pisces right now, helping us not only be aware of our visionary dreams and ideals, but also where we may be deluding ourselves with fantasies and escapist behaviors.  These influences may also be bringing us into awareness of the wounds or insecurities we are trying to hide or protect with our idealism, romanticism, and escapist behaviors.

It’s a combination of energies that is going to bring about many awakenings, many ending, and many new beginnings.  It’s likely to be a time of many “blessings in disguise”.

I’m choosing to use that term because many of us are going to be experiencing changes on an individual level that may not be easy or pleasant for us in the next few days.  In fact, in some circumstances, they may be downright emotionally or spiritually painful.   There are likely to be situations, circumstances, relationships, resources – things that we have always counted on or grown accustomed to – that may no longer feel like a “good fit” for us, or we may be in a time of serious assessment of them to see if we want to commit to them for the long haul.  We will also have a chance to clearly see what we are stubbornly holding onto in our lives, and to ask ourselves whether or not it is wise and/or genuinely loving for us to continue to hold on so tightly.

Many of us may find that we’ve known the answers all along, but we’ve resisted them.  For example, I’ve known I’ve needed to sever ties with a particular family member for a very long time, but I’ve resisted cutting the cord because “it’s family” and I was trying to give the person the benefit of the doubt.  I’ve allowed them to continue to be a detrimental presence in my life until very recently when I made the choice to start doing whatever it takes to put permanent distance between us.  I’ve begun taking the steps to free myself of the situation with the unexpected understanding of my other family members, and I though I feel sad about the choice, I also feel relieved and free in making it, knowing it’s been a long time coming. In fact, I wonder why I didn’t make the choice sooner now understanding what it could open me up to experience in my life.

That said, questions to ask yourself in the time of this New Moon are:

• What are you holding onto in your life? Is it real? Is it good? Is it really a good thing? Or are you trying to convince yourself that it’s good because you don’t want to let go of your ideal or fantasy about it – because you don’t want to give up on the dream…or maybe it’s not a dream, but the resources it provides for you?
• Is there something in your life that you’ve known in your heart and soul is ‘over’, but you haven’t let it end because you don’t know or you’re afraid of who you may be without it as part of your everyday life (whether it’s a circumstance, a relationship, or a way of behaving in your life)
• What beliefs or behaviors did you take on earlier in your life to help you survive or “survive”?  Are those survival behaviors and beliefs still serving you well now?
  
• What life experience are you hiding from or afraid of? Or are you simply afraid of the unknown of the future? Is that fear keeping you from moving forward in the rest of you life?

You may find that you may take unexpected actions or make unexpected choices in regard to certain areas of your life, especially in the areas that affect your “‘survival” resources.  In some cases, others in your life will make those unexpected choices or take those unexpected actions which may affect your foundational resources and possibly the course of your life.  Understand that the choices and actions occurring right now are allowing for things to come to an end for new things to come and begin in their place – things that are more in alignment with the life you want for yourself, or rather, the life you believe you can have and manifest.

Strangely, in this New Moon cycle, the new beginnings that usually come and/or are best started under  New Moon energy are actually new experiences of life after certain long-standing situations that affect the foundation of your life come to an end.  These endings are happening so you can replace those outdated and outworn elements with new ones which will help solidify and strengthen the foundation of and the resources for your life.

Remember that these unexpected endings and beginnings…they may all be blessings in disguise.

Thanks for reading and sharing. Until next time…
~ Light, Love, and Blessings,

Grace