A Moment to Breathe

Astro Notes for New Moon in Taurus monthly cycle (April 27-May 26)

Let’s zoom out once again to the big picture to understand the context of this monthly cycle. Since 2020, we’ve been engaged in an epic struggle to mid-wife the birth of a fundamentally new era for humanity. The period from November 2024 to July 2025 represents the final push out of the birth canal, with Pluto, Neptune, Uranus, Saturn, and Jupiter all changing signs — marking the most concentrated period of cultural change in our lifetimes. In my annual astrological year-ahead overview, I named this first quarter (from the Spring Equinox to the Summer Solstice in the northern hemisphere and from the Fall Equinox to Winter Solstice in the southern hemisphere) Crowning, the phase when the shape of the new era will first come into view.

Pluto’s ingress into Aquarius in November 2024 signaled the beginning of this culminating sequence. Yet just as the contractions started to intensify, Mars moved retrograde (December 2024-late February 2025), applying a cosmic brake, and inviting us to slow down, recalibrate, and come into deeper alignment before the final push. Venus followed with her own retrograde (March 1-April 12), drawing us inward to reflect on deeply personal issues regarding love, relationships, and self-worth.

March also brought a powerful eclipse season marking the end of long-standing karmic cycles and the release of deeply embedded patterns and scripts. Then, at the end of March, Neptune entered Aries — the second major planetary shift in this birth sequence — rekindling our spiritual flame and calling us onto the path of the soul warrior. March and April also saw an extraordinary alignment of planets in late Pisces — Venus, Mercury, Saturn, and the North Node — bringing profound soul lessons, weighty decisions, and karmic completions. The new frequencies, directions, and soul assignments have been arriving thick and fast — exhilarating, yes — but with all the Piscean energies in play it’s like we’ve been asked to run at full speed in soaking wet clothes. It’s been inspiring, demanding — and at times utterly exhausting. And there’s still a way to go before the baby is born.

The good news is that the intensity will likely ease noticeably during this month’s cycle, especially toward the second half. It’s not a total release — we are still in labor, after all — but we’ll have a welcome chance to catch our breath after a couple of pressure-filled months.

Yet to gain entrance into this more spacious realm, we first have to pass through a fiery gate of initiation.

Since early November 2024, Mars and Pluto have been engaged in a tense oppositional dance. They first came into exact opposition on November 1, then again on January 2, and for the third and final time on April 26 (with Mars at 3 degrees of Leo and Pluto at 3 degrees of Aquarius). The Mars-Pluto oppositions on November 1 and April 26 bookend the most intense and trying phase of the birthing process.

When the God of War and the God of Death do battle, it’s no small matter. A profound conflict must be resolved between our survival instincts (Mars) and our need to transform and evolve (Pluto). Mars doesn’t want to reflect, it wants to act, move, do. It wants to gratify its impulses. But Pluto demands consciousness: that we become aware of our deeper drives and heal the wounds that cause us to act out destructively. Ultimately this transit calls for a deeper integration between our personal will and the collective will, so that what we want for ourselves aligns with what the universe wants for us. With Mars in Leo and Pluto in Aquarius, we’re being asked to mold our creative self-expression and desire to be seen into forms that serve the greater whole.

At the New Moon on April 27, this Mars-Pluto opposition forms a t-square with the Sun and Moon in Taurus.

New Moon in Taurus April 27 - t-square highlighted

This tense aspect pattern, active since April 20, reaches a climax with the New Moon. With all planets in fixed signs, we may feel compressed into a very tight, pressurized place, pulled in different directions by powerful forces unwilling to budge an inch. Alongside the fireworks of the Mars-Pluto clash, the Sun in Taurus adds a strong determination to stay put -- to seek peace, comfort, and stability. Pluto in Aquarius compels transformation. Mars in Leo drives us toward self-expression and visibility. Yet another part of us just wants to sleep in, eat comfort foods, and stay cozy.

It’s a very uncomfortable jam.

The way out is offered by Venus, ruler of the Taurus New Moon, who is conjunct Saturn and the North Node in Pisces. Venus calls us to draw from our spiritual maturity and act from the highest consciousness we know. Maturity here means embodying the wisdom we’ve already realized, however imperfectly. All we can do is our best. This conscious effort unlocks the gate, allowing us to absorb and integrate powerful archetypal forces and realize our capacity to be a steady rock in times of crisis.

From April 27 to May 4, all planets are moving forward, generating considerable momentum for our life and projects. Pluto stations retrograde on May 4, which may intensify themes of power, control, and the need to release compulsive patterns.

But when Mars finally moves out of opposition to Pluto, which it will by May 6-7, we may feel that we have passed through a storm into calmer waters. The astrology for the remainder of the cycle is relatively quiet compared with recent months, dominated by harmonious aspects.

The Full Moon in Scorpio on May 12, opposite Uranus in Taurus, could bring unexpected developments — particularly around financial or material matters — leading to emotional disruption. However, the overall trajectory this month is calmer and lighter. For the final two weeks of the cycle, Mars in Leo forms a flowing trine with Venus in Aries, while the Sun, Neptune, and Pluto create an auspicious Minor Triangle from May 19-25.

In the background, Saturn moves through the final degrees of Pisces, closing out a thirty-year cycle of manifestation. On May 24, Saturn enters Aries — the third major planetary shift in our birth sequence. Saturn in Aries will play a pivotal role in the massive changes to come, anchoring the revolutionary energies with patience, discernment, and grounded wisdom. As the Time-Keeper, Saturn reminds us that true creation cannot be rushed, but comes through alignment with diving timing and awareness of consequences. With Saturn’s entrance into Aries, many of the nascent dreams and visions seeded during these intense months will start to take concrete form.

(I’m excited to announce I’ll be offering a live, experiential workshop on the archetype of Saturn in Aries with internationally-renowned channel Kahreela An-Ra on May 19 — announcement coming soon!)

Amid the monumental shifts unfolding, this Taurus New Moon cycle offers us a precious opportunity to catch our breath. While profound changes continue to unfold within and around us, we are invited to find moments of peace, ground ourselves in what is true, and gather strength for the path ahead.