Trusting Your Body's Wisdom - New Moon in Taurus

Emily Trinkaus is currently my special guest speaker in the Creative Soul Circle. She will be participating in our Q & A Group so if you want to talk with her personally please sign up below. General membership to the Circle is free, but access to the private Q&A Group is $19 a month or $144 annually, which includes my Q&A Group, a Moon Musing Group and the Awaken Your Divine Feminine Soul eClass plus TONS of other goodies! Join the Creative Soul Circle.

*Every month in our Circle I will be featuring a new guest; in June I’ll be featuring Susan Rodio, Mystical Artist. You can view the entire year's line up of special guests here.

Trusting Your Body's Wisdom - New Moon in Taurus by Guest Astrologer, Emily Trinkaus May 2, 2011 11:51 pdt

"Suppose... the body is a God in its own right, a teacher, a mentor, a certified guide? Then what? .... Are we strong enough to refute the party line and listen deep, listen true to the body as a powerful and holy being?" - Clarissa Pinkola Estes, Women Who Run with the Wolves

On April 20th, the Sun moved into earthy Taurus, initiating the season of the Bull -- a time to slow down, appreciate simple pleasures, and nurture your body and the planet. The Taurus Sun energizes sensory awareness, reconnecting you with your body's wisdom and guidance, with the beauty and magic of the natural world, with the miracle of life on Earth in every moment.

Taurus is the sign of stewardship, cultivation and building, and tonight's New Moon (11:51 PDT) asks you to prioritize and get practical. How you can best support the new growth that sprouted during the Aries season? What's worth sustaining, and what's in your way? What really matters?

While Mercury was Retrograde (March 30-April 23), the desires, ideas and intentions that got stirred up at the Spring Equinox weren't quite ready to come into form. This felt like a particularly obvious Retrograde -- not surprising since Mercury was in Aries (a sign not known for its subtlety). The purpose of this Mercury Retro was to realign with your passions, restore your vitality, and re-inspire you to create what you really want.

Now that Mercury is moving forward again and getting back up to speed, and especially after the New Moon, it'll be easier to bring your plans into reality. The Taurus New Moon has a lot of traction, and carries a kind of "be careful what you wish for" energy. While the Sun and Moon unite in Taurus, five planets -- including Venus, Taurus's ruler -- are still in fiery, passionate, risk-taking Aries. As astro-blogger Elsa P writes, "this is just not the kind of fire you want to play with" (New Moon in Taurus).

The line-up of Aries planets inspires honesty and authenticity and can help cut through an over-attachment to security -- Taurus's shadow. Are you going after what you really want, trusting your body's wisdom and guidance, or are you playing it safe and following your fears?

In the context of escalating global crises (see Earth Day), you might as well go for it. And between now and June 4th -- while Jupiter is still in Aries (see Jupiter Enters Aries) -- you have an ideal window for taking the initiative and acting on your passions.

On a practical, astro-technical note, if you want to set New Moon intentions, it's best to wait until after 10:09 am PDT on Wednesday. The Moon will turn "void-of-course" just after the New Moon and all day Tuesday, which, according to Jan Spiller (author of New Moon Astrology) is an inauspicious time to make wishes.

Patience, patience. Taurus is all about slowing down enough to be able to tune into the intelligence of your body and of the Earth. Today and tomorrow are perfect for spending time in nature, cultivating your garden, sending gratitude to the planet, and indulging your need for pleasure, affection and beauty.

More About Emily Trinkaus

I fell in love with astrology when I was 13 and read Linda Goodman’s Sun Signs. Suddenly the world made sense! I’ve been a passionate student of the cosmic science ever since. The more I learn, the more I’m humbled by its elegance, power and profound mystery. I started giving readings professionally in 1999.

I also have a background in creative arts – writing, painting and movement – and founded Portland Women Writers. I love working with other artists and writers to offer support for breaking through blocks and increasing access to the creative flow.

http://virgomagic.com http://virgomagic.wordpress.com/

I'm Interviewed on the Feminine Mojo Radio Show

My interview on The Feminine Mojo Show is ready for a listen; fun was had by all, plus some serious talk about creativity, the nodes of the moon, karmic mission,  lunar cycles, the Divine Feminine, past lives, and turning forty plus one call-in.

Listen to internet radio with Feminine Mojo on Blog Talk Radio - for some reason this show has been lost - sorry about that folks!

Nodes of the Moon Explained

What are the Nodes of the Moon? When astrologers refer to the "the Nodes," they are generally referring to the North and South Nodes of the Moon. The Nodes of the Moon are not planetary bodies; they are points formed by the Moon's orbit around the Earth intersecting with the Earth's path around the Sun. In following the path of the Nodes of the Moon, and thus rebalancing our emotional bodies, we are going a long way toward easing internal stress and reclaiming confidence in our individual beings.

The Moon In astrology, the Moon rules our feelings, our moods, dependency, insecurity, the feeling of belonging - it rules our emotional bodies, self-image or the way we instinctively see ourselves. Considered by Jan Spiller to be the most important planet in the chart from a karmic/past life perspective, it underlies the rest of the personality structure.

North Node For each of us, the North Node is located in a sign and in a house. This can be obtained from an astrologer or a computerized birth chart. For each of us, our deepest core issues are shown in the sign and house of the positions of the North Node at the time of our birth.

The Astrology Chart The astrology chart itself is actually a schematic: a graph that shows people's "inner writing." The wiring in each of us is different. It's not "good" or "bad," it's just wired the way it's wired. Your birth chart provides a picture of the inner wiring you were born with, but what you do with that wiring is up to you. When you can objectively see the patterns of your own behavior, you can make adjustments for more efficient results and better performance. By having a clear picture of your inner wiring, you can become aware of the built-in "glitches," and you can choose not to continue behaviors that aren't working for you.

Position of the North Node in Your Chart In examining the position of your North Node, you are looking at the basic lesson underlying this entire lifetime. Therefore, the changes may not happen all at once. Keep in mind that as you take steps in a new direction, you're going against habits that have become deeply ingrained over many incarnations. That's why you need to keep remembering to do things in a new way and keep moving toward resolution of the past life imbalances you've inherited.

The sign in which the North Node falls denotes the psychological shift that needs to occur within the personality. The house containing the North Node shows the experiences that allow the person to access this new psychological awareness. The house position also indicates the arena in which the life lessons of the North Node are learned. For example, if you North Node is in Cancer in the 11th House, you are learning to get in touch with and communicate your feelings (Cancer) through cultivating the energy of friendships and learning to "go with the flow" (11th House): if your North Node is in Aries in the 4th House, through getting in touch with your gut instincts (4th House) you can discover and communicate who you are (Aries).

Astrology List of Planets and Signs

Duplicate Sign/House Position If the sign of your North Node is in the same sign as the house containing your North Node (for example, North Node in Gemini located in the 3rd House, which is also Gemini; or North Node in Pisces in the 12th House, which is also Pisces), it simply means double the intensity of the same life lesson.

Opposing Sign/House Position If your North Node is in a house opposing the sign of your North Node, it will be necessary for you to carefully and continuously check with yourself to find the right blending of behavior. Remember that generally, the house indicates where to learn the lessons of the sign. The house is like a shell -- the environment you need to support the content of the sign. For example, if your North Node is in Aries in the 7th House, you are learning to develop a new sense of self-identity (North Node in Aries) through becoming aware of the identity of others (North Node in the 7th House). Through working cooperatively with other people and supporting them in reaching their goals, you will discover your own true identity. However, when you turn that around and focus on yourself, you lose your identity in trying to please others and be the nice person they expect you to be. In this case, the key to self-identity would actually lie in helping others in their search for identity.

The South Node The South Node position in the birth chart depicts an aspect in our character that has been over emphasized in past lives, and thus tends to take over the personality in this lifetime and throw us off balance. When we are acting without awareness, we tend to "act out" the South Node position in response to our environment because we have been accustomed to that approach working to our advantage. However, in this lifetime, our experiences show us that approaching a situation from the stance shown by the position of the South Node in our chart is not longer working.

Excerpted from Astrology for the Soul by Jan Spiller

Learn more about the Astrology Houses in a natal chart here.

Astrology Reports can be purchased here.

Spotlight on Divine Feminine Moon Muser, Dawn Pinke Anderson

Divine Moon Muser, Dawn Pinke Anderson

Divine Moon Muser Dawn attended Awaken Your Divine Feminine Soul several times and had this to say about her experience:

Eighteen months ago I came to a turning point in that I could no longer suppress myself and my desires to explore and live my life my way. I always knew there was another plan for me, a path, and I'm happily exploring all the myriad of options available to me.

I found this course while looking at Susun Weed's site and her herbal courses (following some advice to get into nature, etc.)

Leo New Moon Collage by Dawn P. Anderson

I have come to the conclusion that I will never truly fit in the way I see so many women group together.  Half the time when I am inside the 'inner circle' of these groups, I am bored to tears with the ridiculous things (gossip, etc.) being discussed.  I don't need or want that!  I long for the deep, meaningful connections and conversations that feed my soul!  Like these discussions we're having online!!

I can't thank you enough for having this course and for it's wonderfully open and supportive atmosphere. It has been totally transformative for me and has given me so much direction, I just can't believe it.

But most importantly, taking this course and delving into astrology again, particularly learning about the nodes of the moon and reading Jan Spiller's book (Spiritual Astrology), OMG! it all came together...I get it now, what I'm supposed to be doing in this lifetime, etc., etc.

What did you like best about this course?

All of it!! Especially the online discussions. I especially liked the amount of frequent and expansive feedback from Kathy AND the networking, chats, and connections, etc. with the other students...my long lost moon sisters.

What could I have done to make this course better for you?

This course is so great that it's hard to imagine any improvement.  That said, I so enjoyed the student and instructor interactions that I wish (1) it were longer and (2) everyone involved were located in my city so that we could meet in person for discussions, art work sessions, perform moon rituals together, etc.  I feel a connection to each like they are my long lost sisters (Moon Sisters, yea!) and I want a family reunion!!

Has this course been of value to you and why?

Yes, extremely! This course has helped me uncover profound insights I wouldn't have gotten to in YEARS of talk therapy! It has given me such valuable insight into my soul purpose, my intended path, why I gravitate toward certain beliefs and practices...deepened my awareness and respect for the earth, the trees, the plants, the plants, the planets and the unseen world! I especially appreciate that it set me on a path of regular journaling, meditation and introspection AND gave me a family of sisters with whom to share my experiences.

Are you continuing to moon muse, journal and collage on your own?

Absolutely!!! I am even more aware of the moon, planets, the earth seasons, etc. and am following all the subtle (and not so subtle) signs and energies in all aspects of my life.

Have you ever taken an online course before, and if so how was this course in comparison?

The other online courses I have taken did not have the wealth of interaction and feedback via their forum. Feedback and interaction from the 'leader' was nearly non-existant.  The student forum was bleak and it was impossible to get any interaction going with other students.  I became bored after 3-4 weeks (It was a 3 month course) and quit.  In contrast, this course was fun, lively, tons of discussion and feedback!  It was hard to imagine we were spread out across the continent as the warm and friendly discussions and comments made it feel like I was chatting with my best friends.

Are you interested in taking this course again?

Yes!  This was actually my second time taking this course and it further deepened the insights from the first time, added more learning, and really opened up my creative juices!  Not to mention opening me up to noticing more messages from the earth, from nature.

To learn more about the Awaken Your Divine Feminine Soul eClass please click here.

More Student Spotlights can be found here.