07.05.24: New Moon in Taurus

May 7

“Realize deeply that the present moment is all you will ever have. Make the NOW the primary focus of your life.””

― Eckhart Tolle: The Power of Now

Hello, dear One,

this newsletter will be a briefer one because of some very egocentric reasons.

After 3 years living in Mexico and not leaving the country, I just landed in Berlin, I am still embracing jet lag, seeing family & friends and I have an apartment to empty and say goodbye to within the next two weeks.

And I know, probably I wouldn't even need to share this with you in such detail but since this love letter has always been a private affair for me, I'm happy to take you with me on this sentimental journey.

Nevertheless, reflecting on this New Moon in Taurus is also a ritual for me. In phases like these, when life pulls you into a faster pace, it's a dedication for me to sit down and reflect on the current cosmic energies.

…and as I am writing these initial lines, I feel my breath becoming deeper and my heart feeling more content. Isn't that magic?

NEW MOON IN TAURUS: SLOWING DOWN

“Slow down" is probably the last thing I want to hear right now, honestly. I have 14 more days to empty an apartment I lived in for 15 years – and if you know me well – then you know that I can easily get into a wonder-woman-mode which allows me to handle many many different things at the same time – often for an expensive cost of almost burning out.

So, when I read that we're dealing with a New Moon in Taurus, I had to smile. And I felt resistance to slow down. And whenever that happens, we know it's time to become slower.

TAURUS: ABUNDANCE FROM WITHIN

This phase of the Moon occurs at 18 degrees and 2 minutes of Taurus, affecting people born with personal planets and points at approximately 14 to 22 degrees of the Fixed signs (Taurus, Leo, Scorpio, and Aquarius) most significantly.

Taurus is the second archetype in the zodiac, it comes straight after Aries and introduces the body, self-worth and resources to us.

It's a fixed sign which means it's rather patient, slow and likes comfort. It's ruled by Venus, the planet of beauty. So aesthetics is a topic here.

Taurus appreciates a good meal, a nice table to sit at, time to digest impulses coming from the world and the present moment.

It's also often interpreted as "the archetype of abundance”, reminding us that true abundance comes from the inner trust we have to ourselves rather than what we own.

That's a big one for me right now since I am letting go of a whole apartment. You can imagine the process as such: I am doing little circles for things to throw away, gift, sell or take to Mexico. Within the last days, some items might be stuck in a loop between “selling” and “taking to Mexico”. It's easy to say “let go” but it's harder to actually do so – especially if you feel such an attachment to things as I do.

So I'm collecting my precious things and trying to figure out how to get more stuff into the luggage I will take with me back to Mexico.

WHAT MEANS ABUNDANCE ACTUALLY?

Speaking of wealth and abundance, I am realizing that the teenage and 20s-version of me was accumulating lots of things, especially clothes. Back then, it seems that I thought that this might make me more worthy.

Ironic that now, on a New Moon in Taurus I am sitting in an apartment full of stuff, trying to figure out what to do with it – and maybe embracing the process that as of today, I think that my self-worth has a lot to do with the things I have experienced in my life, I feel in my body and I have learned rather than bought.

TAURUS: A REMINDER TO SLOW DOWN

The bull reminds us to slow down and to take a deep breath. Something that I was honestly not doing enough the past days, running around like a maniac, trying to organize everything here.

What I realize in such moments is that my mind starts racing at night, my chest burns and I am obsessed with all the tasks I still have to do.

Eckhart Tolle is right, when he writes: "As soon as you honor the present moment, all unhappiness and struggle dissolve, and life begins to flow with joy and ease. When you act out the present-moment awareness, whatever you do becomes imbued with a sense of quality, care, and love – even the most simple action.”

As soon as I stop running around and take a deep breath, I feel how my body is winding down. And I'm wondering: How did I survive before? When I wasn't breathing deeply? Well, probably buying some more clothes to soothe that burning chest.

TAURUS MEDICINE: APPRECIATE THE MOMENT AS IT IS, NOT AS YOU WANT IT TO BE

What I've been learning since I've landed here in Berlin is as well that things are the way they are and not the way I want them to be.

This is something I've been studying, probably often unconsciously, for years now.

I used to live in control, trying to orchestrate every moment of my life – and honestly, I still fall into this sometimes – BUT, I've also learned to accept. And if accepting is not an option, at least I let myself feel the resistance that comes up and accept this very resistance.

And you know what? I figured that life is much easier this way. But I also feel like a hypocrite telling you “to let go” because it sometimes could be as easy as pulling a switch but very often it isn't – especially when we store lots of anger in our subconscious that is getting triggered by life.

Having said that: Calming into some true Taurus presence and calm, is a very different process for everyone and it's worth finding your unique way: For some it might be meditation, for others it's martial arts and others it's co-regulation through relationships.

Nobody can tell you what you should do, you'll need to find out for yourself.

NEW MOON: SETTING INTENTIONS

As we know, New Moons are a good time to set intentions. To contemplate about your life and invite something you've been missing lately.

Today is a good day to think what “abundance” actually means to you. And please, if it means to drive a freakin' amazing car, that's fine too. But if you're one of the few people receiving my newsletter, I'm sure there's more to it.

QUESTIONS THE MOON WOULD ASK

If the Moon in Taurus could speak from the heavens today, it would ask:

How can you create some inner peace these days?
What's your way to connect to your inner world?
What makes your body relax deeply?
How can you treat yourself?
How much deeper can your breath go?
Could you pause just a little longer before giving an answer?

A NICE NEW MOON IN TAURUS EXERCISE

Maybe, and that's just an idea, you could set 3 timer for today and every time it rings, you drop into your body and feel the sensations going on in your body.

How does it feel to do what you're doing right now? And how could you bring only a second of presence into this moment?

It might be a deep breath, rolling your shoulders up and down, closing your eyes for a second or just observing the exterior in front of you.

I know it sounds funny, trivial and often esoteric but this is part of the fundament of so many ancient philosophies such a tantra, buddhism and others – so it's worth practicing it.

TRUE FREEDOM COMES WHEN WE DROP INTO OUR BODIES

And isn't it funny that – in the end – this newsletter wasn't that short?

I have to giggle myself here on my couch, contemplating about how much writing calms my nervous system and is my medicine.

Often we're lost in our minds so that we forget to witness what's going on inside or around us.

I believe that true freedom is experienced when we don't allow the head to rule but our body to feel. When we make embodied decisions that feel good in our hearts and bellies rather than intellectual decisions that seem to have reason.

And to not be a hypocrite, I will take some deep breaths now so that in some minutes I can start racing around again, solving some existential problems here.

With a deep breath,

Karina

** header graphic from GIPHY.com

Karina Schönberger