By Brandon Alter:
The thing about Mother Nature is that she’s persistent. Even though we’ve all spent the last month rooted in our homes, the Seasons keep changing. You can’t stop the slow, steady progress of the natural world; birds and butterflies will migrate, flowers will bloom. And in some ways it should bring us comfort to know that there are gigantic forces at play that will carry on their momentum regardless of human participation or intervention.
That having been said, our inability to participate fully in the arrival of Spring can also bring up a lot of grief. It’s important we feel this. I don’t know about you but these days, I have been missing the Ocean and the Desert and the Mountains as much as I miss my dearest friends. I feel cut off from our great planet home. But the truth is, even if we can’t drive out to witness the super bloom in person, even if our travel plans to national parks or coastal campgrounds have been waylaid, there are always hidden avenues to connect with nature, no matter how landlocked we are.
No matter where you look, nature is everywhere. She’s in the weeds that sprout up between the sidewalk cracks. She’s in the hazy morning light that kisses our kitchen floors and the palpable dark of after midnight. She’s in the symphony of rainstorms and the blanketed hush of late-season snowfall. Most of all, she’s in our bodies, in our breath, in our skin and our hair and our soft-strong bones. We are nature. And even if we feel isolated from the larger Earth, our little Earths, these bodies we possess, are as plugged in to the organic truth of being as any tree planted firmly in the ground.
The reason I’m talking so much about nature is because Taurus Season is upon us. Taurus Season is our fixed Earth sign, and she ushers in the gentle luxuries of the great outdoors. Taurus energy moves at a leisurely pace in alignment with the cycles of nature. And there has never been a more crucial time to remember our place in the cosmic web of all that lives. The slower we can allow ourselves to move the more we can come to relate to ourselves as extensions of the natural world. We are so much more like trees and gardens then we are like computers and phones. And perhaps this time is a forceful reminder of how natural we really are.
The New Moon in Taurus happens on Wednesday evening, Earth Day.
A New Moon is always a sweet energy to have in the sky. It opens a portal to the powerful optimism of new beginnings. No matter how far gone things seem to be, every twenty-eight days the Moon begins a new cycle, and in doing so she gives us permission to do the same. A Taurus New Moon is particularly lush, ruled by Venus, goddess of love and beauty. It is said the Moon in Taurus is exalted, meaning she thrives in this sign. And when the moon thrives, we all do. This New Moon window is a time to sink into the luxuries of the physical world, the flesh and soil, the water and the wine. If we consider that the Moon rules our innermost needs, the temple of our heart, this New Moon in Taurus wants you to build yourself a new sanctuary.
But this New Moon isn't all rose petals and Italian lace, it arrives with it a significant charge. Remember that the New Moon is when the Moon and the Sun meet up in the sky; this moonth, their reunion occurs at three degrees Taurus. They aren’t alone, however. Sitting at six degrees Taurus, practically next door, is Uranus. Uranus is the lightning bolt of inspiration, the volcanic eruption of creativity, chaos, and, most significantly, change. This New Moon conjunct Uranus adds electricity to the sky, meaning that what you commit to can catch fire quickly. And above all it’s time to commit to change.
When I meditate on the true invitation of this New Moon, it’s all about planting your heart in different soil. The time has come to uproot your heart from the old flowerbed of productivity and despair and plant it in some new gorgeous vessel. There’s even a little ritual you could do to empower this. Find a plant, a succulent clipping, anything that’s green and grows and treat it as if it were your heart. Re-pot a beloved indoor herb or a friendly backyard cactus and tend to it daily. Sing to it, leave it love notes—maybe even place a crystal or favorite stone on top of the soil. When you tend to it, see if you can consciously make deeper contact with your own inner heart. In this way, we make watering our heart a part of our daily practice. Start to consider more deeply what sort of soil your heart really needs to flourish.
Lastly, as an attempt to help y'all blow off some steam, channel your grief, and shake up your energy, we are hosting a series of Healing Breathwork Circles every other Saturday for the foreseeable future. Breathwork is an incredibly powerful tool to plug you back into the electrical socket of spirit and help you shift the old, stuck, stagnant shit that everyone carries around all the time. It’s an active meditation that will truly bring much-needed healing and release. It’s safe and effective, and it’s practically free. Breathwork basically saved my life when I discovered it, and it’s truly part of my life’s work to be able to hold space for you to experience it.
Don’t forget to reach out for help at this time. You aren’t supposed to go through this alone even if literally you are at home, all alone. Nature reminds us that we are deeply and inextricably interconnected. If we can be of help in any way, please reach out. Readings and healings are still happening at this time, and we are working extra hard to make our podcasts not just entertaining but uplifting, empowering, and full of useful spiritual tools to help you fully accept the invitation of this insane global crisis.
When preparing to channel your Tarotscopes for the moonth, I was guided to ask the cards to describe the type of soil in which your heart would flourish. Consider that these are spiritual messages to help you take deeper care of your innermost core. In honor of the exalted New Moon in Taurus, we are doing things a little differently: you should read for your MOON SIGN, not your Sun or Rising. If you don’t know your MOON SIGN, it’s a quick Google away.
Consider if your SUN sign is your outer compass, your MOON sign is your inner North Star. It’s the style in which you get your needs met, how you practice self-care, and the way your personal magic wants to be expressed.
TAURUS MOON The Chariot
Taurus Moons are gentle creatures, sensitive but not delicate. They desire physical comfort, and in some ways that makes you the easiest moon to please. All you need to do is bake yourself some cookies or draw yourself a sensual bubble bath. Massages, designer sheets, even a new outfit can give you a deep sense of satisfaction. But if shopping and fucking seems to be only skimming the surface of your self-care, perhaps we can look to the Chariot to describe the type of soil your heart would thrive in at this time. The Chariot is all about ambition and will. Perhaps your heart is actually craving a little more structure and goal setting at this time. I’m not suggesting you need to amp up your productivity, but maybe you would start to feel better about yourself if you began to inquire about the true goals your soul has for this lifetime. I hate to break it to you but nobody’s soul came here just to drink Prosecco on a yacht—each and every one of our souls came to Earth with a serious mission. And perhaps now is the perfect time to slip into one of your softest pairs of sweatpants and start to unearth what that mission is.
GEMINI MOON Magic
Gemini Moons take care of their feelings through expression and creativity. Nobody needs to talk about their feelings more than a Gemini Moon. But it’s not always about asking your friends to play therapist. One way to really satisfy this moon placement is to channel your emotions into gorgeous works of art. Perhaps it’s time to let your heart write some songs or some poetry. Maybe you could choreograph a dance that tells the story of your experience during this crisis. This is a heart that loves to ask why, why, why, and then it loves to talk about all the possible answers—but don’t waste all this energy in conversation, transmute it into something that will bring about healing and connection. The Magic card is the bonus card of this deck, and it is all about our ability to move into mystical realms and make impossible things happen. We could even call it the miracle card. Your heart wants to be planted in magical, miraculous soil. And when you meet your inner needs by making art out of your life, the final product isn’t just something you just hang on the wall or upload to Soundcloud; it’s a power object, something that contains a life-force and a spirit of its own. Even if you’ve never thought of yourself as a creative person before, now's the time to let your heart express it with an unfiltered abandon. Making art heals your heart, so get to it.
CANCER MOON Five of Pentacles
A Cancer Moon is perhaps the most sensitive placement in the Zodiac; she feels deeply down into the marrow of your soul. And this is where your magic comes from. The Moon is most at home in the sign of Cancer, she is our inner sensitivity expressed through the changing of the Ocean’s tides. You need to allow yourself the full range of emotion because, baby, you have got the range. Cancer Moon’s are also incredibly psychic creatures because they use their inner sensitivity to pick up on all the invisible truths of the world—if other people think you can read their mind, they’re right, you can. If we look to the Five of Pentacles to describe the type of soil your heart would thrive in at this time, we want to find the most spiritual soil there is. The Five of Pentacles represents a crisis where the physical world can only provide so much; so we call in our Angels and and our ancestors, we call in the Great Spirit and hand over our problems to the highest power. Your heart doesn’t want to have to take care of itself all alone. It wants to feel connected to the great all-there-is. Spend some time this month finding your way to plug your heart back into the big heart of the cosmos.
LEO MOON Five of Wands
A Leo Moon is a moon that feels things intensely and needs to express those intense feelings publicly. Even if you’re an introvert, your Leo Moon is going to make you sigh and gasp and groan—you can’t help but express your heart and you shouldn’t! Leo is the sign that rules the heart, creativity, children, and uninhibited joy—so this is a heart that needs to dance and sing, to run naked through the fields, and then make a short film about it. It’s also a heart on fire, meaning you may be emotionally combustible without caring about the consequences. The key to letting your Leo Moon thrive is to let it be playful. Don’t lean into the woe-is-me, lean into the pleasure of being so damn alive and the privilege of getting to feel so damn much. If we look to the Five of Wands to describe the type of soil your heart would thrive in at this time, you want to think about an air plant. Air plants are able to feed on the utmost basics. They flourish by being able to derive nutrients and moisture from the sunlight and the air itself. This is essentially invisible soil. Your heart might benefit from being a little more rugged right now, leaning into the joy of self-sufficiency and discipline. I’m not saying to restrict yourself, I’m just saying you need to shake it up. Plant your heart in a compassionate tornado and let it be cleaned out. Perhaps spirit is just trying to get you to clear your heart before you plant it in any more dense, nutritious soil—you only want for the magic of your heart to grow, not the unnecessary drama or despair.
VIRGO MOON Eight of Cups
Virgo Moons are powerful healers. They are deeply sensitive to their inner wounds and as a result, they can heal the shit out of them—but this same skill of identifying inner hurts can also be why Virgo Moons are incredibly hard on themselves. In fact, I find those with Virgo Moons to be the most self-critical in the Zodiac. They hold themselves to a higher standard than anyone else and can be quite unforgiving when they fail to meet their unrealistic expectations. Softness and self-acceptance can be hard to come by but is most important for their inner well-being. The more a Virgo Moon can surrender to the inherent wisdom of their body and their breath, the more power they will have to remind their perfectionist heart that everything is perfect already. If we look to the Eight of Cups to describe the type of soil your heart would most thrive in at this time, we might suggest just throwing out the old soil completely. I know you want to save some of the heartier chunks and try to rescue with mulch and care, but the time has come for you plant yourself in the soil of the tree you would most like to be. You know the old adage, dress for the job you want, not the one you have—that comes to mind. Your heart is not your enemy. Your heart does not need to be shaped, sculpted, modulated, or mended—it just needs to be. And perhaps if you just let your heart reveal itself to you, as it is, you’ll find it’s evolved and that its needs have changed. Consider that your old way of tending to your needs is outdated, and you shouldn’t have to settle when it comes to how you meet yourself in your innermost chamber.
LIBRA MOON Three of Wands
Libra Moons require sumptuous peace to feel their best. They need finery and poetry, luscious surroundings, and they too, like their Taurus cousins, need beauty. Also ruled by Venus, a Libra Moon doesn’t see beauty and luxury as an extravagance, it’s a vital necessity. Elegance is a fundamental part of living, and the Libra Moon will spare no expense to give their heart the most extravagant palace possible. When a Libra Moon honors themselves with imported chocolates, designer sheets, or expensive candles, they honor the source of all powers. Above all, we might consider that a Libra Moon really thrives on a vibe, and whatever is required to curate that perfect vibe is considered essential. If we look to the Three of Wands to inform what type of soil your heart would most thrive in at this time, we want to be seeking out the visionary soil. The Three of Wands is all about cosmic vision, seeing the world through your third eye. Your heart wants you to stop using your regular eyes and try to see through your heart itself. The only way to do this is to begin to tend to your heart as a keeper of cosmic secrets and celestial wisdom. Another way to say this is to plant your heart in some big picture soil; don’t get mired in the details—stay focused on the overall scope and scale of how your gorgeous needs get met.
SCORPIO MOON Queen of Pentacles
Scorpio Moons go deep; their depths have depths. When the moon finds herself in this watery underworld, her psychic potential goes through the roof, but so, too, do her resentments and grudges. This is a moon that forgives but never forgets. The needs of a Scorpio Moon go so far below the surface it can sometimes feel overwhelming to even begin to engage in self-care. But the truth is, you’re so in touch with your own inner depths and emotional life that even a little bit of self-loving can go a long way. If we look to the Queen of Pentacles as a descriptive of the type of soil your heart would most like to be planted in at this time, we are looking at the most nourishing soil there is. The Queen of Pentacles is the absolute mother of the Tarot, she knows how to nurture and coddle and soothe and care. When we embody this archetype, we are embodying the energy of self-trust; knowing that we can and we will continue to be a good parent to ourselves. Your heart needs to feel safe with you at this time. It needs to know that no matter what it feels or has to say, you will be there for it. Practice accepting everything you feel. It’s valid and it needs you to wrap it up in a blanket and cook it a healthy meal. Even if it seems crazy or like an over-reaction, everything you feel is actually perfectly valid exactly as it is.
SAGITTARIUS MOON Death
I lovingly call the Sagittarius Moon a party girl moon. This is a heart that wants to have a good time, let her hair down, turn on the music and dance her cares away. It signifies a deep spiritual need to escape and explore, to forget the cares of the moment for the universal solutions always available to us humans. Even if the world is ending, nobody said you can’t dance, nobody said you can’t sing, nobody said you can’t tear it up and tear off your clothes. This is a Moon on fire, and sometimes that means your heart doesn’t want to stay put in one location for too long. Your heart wants to see the world and love the world, but if those latitudes are currently unavailable, you can still shift your vantage from your current position. If the Death card is informing the type of soil your heart would thrive in at this time, it’s basically saying you need to start from scratch in terms of your self-care. It’s not that you don’t know how to tend to your deeper needs; it’s just that you’ve gone through some significant changes recently and your inner core has rearranged. Pretend you’ve just met yourself. Imagine you were taking your heart out on some first dates. Get curious about what it really wants. Maybe, just maybe, you don’t actually know what you need right now. So get still, get quiet, or at least put on a mellow song and slow-dance with your heart—let it reveal itself to you. You might need to learn a new skill or technique to meet a need you didn’t know you had. But a Sag Moon loves to learn by heart, so perhaps the greatest way you can take care of yourself at this time is to learn how to caretake this new you.
CAPRICORN MOON Knight of Cups
Capricorn Moons are tough cookies; they take care of themselves through self-discipline and often self-denial. This is a rugged, resourceful heart that is quite adept at compartmentalizing and even disassociating from emotional turmoil. “Feelings?” asks the Capricorn Moon? “I don’t have any of those. Trust me, I’ve checked.” But the truth is Capricorn Moons can often be some of the most sensitive people in the Zodiac—I should know, I am one, Cher is too . . . you don't think Cher has feelings? The Capricorn Moon wants to put business before emotions, but sometimes the business can’t get done until we really get right with ourselves. The journey of a lifetime for the Capricorn Moon is walking the long, winding road to the innermost chamber of their heart. If we look to the Knight of Cups to describe the soil that your heart would most like to be planted in at this time, we might consider this is a very Buddah-like soil. The Knight of Cups is Zen, not without emotion at all but able to observe their feeling state without getting swept up into it. Perhaps that’s the first step to being able to enter into the wildness of the heart, just noticing it to begin with. Spend the next few weeks as a detective in your heart, a feelings detective. Notice everything you feel—the good, the bad, the uncomfortable, the unusual—let it all wash over you like a wave crashing on the shore. The more you can spot your feelings as they approach, the less backlog you'll have to wade through when you finally start to feel like you can’t keep them bottled up anymore. Process as you go, and you’ll be able to keep going.
AQUARIUS MOON Queen of Swords
An Aquarius Moon is a cool customer. Detached but not cold, they are the heart surgeon of the Zodiac, inquiring into the strange logic of emotions without getting carried away. An Aquarius Moon takes care of themselves by taking care of the world. It's a humanitarian heart after all. They love the world as a whole but they may struggle to connect with people one-on-one. It’s almost as if the Aquarius Moon is an alien from another land who has to learn the language their heart speaks before it can converse with others. The soil your heart most wants to be planted in at this time is the crispy, rocky soil of truth. An Aquarius Moon loves information, the more they can understand the world the more easily they can start to feel their way into it. But if you delude yourself from the truth of your own inner world, you may never be able to connect. The Queen of Swords is the objective observer of the deck, she speaks the truth and is never swayed by passion, allegiance, or emotion. Your heart craves this sort of grounding right now. Can you take care of yourself by telling yourself the truth about yourself? Can you lovingly and honestly approach your heart and not pretend it isn’t aching for a little TLC. The sooner you can tell the truth on yourself, the sooner you get to tell the truth on others. And you might just find, in your special Aquarian way, that what’s true for you is true for all us.
PISCES MOON Page of Pentacles
The Pisces Moon is the most mystical and watery of the moon placements. For those born under this Moon, their psychic gifts are not just bottomless, they are without end. And that can be terrifying. The key here is to create strong boundaries so that you don’t get swept away with any current of energy that comes along. Truly, this moon is so intuitive that you could be feeling the grief of your great-great-great-grandmother or just the person in front of you at the grocery store for weeks on end without realizing it. This is a heart that loves to dream, to create, to be imaginative—but it’s also a heart that longs to escape the cruelties of ordinary reality. Of all the Moons, this one would love to lose themselves in the bottom of a bottle of vodka or a bong. If we look to the Page of Pentacles to describe the type of soil your heart would thrive in at this time, it’s a rich, layered, dense soil. The Page of Pentacles is pure Earth energy, rooted and secure in their space. You need to make sure your heart is firmly planted in your body. Because your heart is so willing to get swept up in any passing sea, your ability to claim your space and maintain some serious boundaries is tantamount at this time. Other people's problems are not your problems—at least not yet. Start with your heart. Tend what is truly yours, slow and steady. And maybe next month you can start to volunteer to help others.
ARIES MOON The World
The Aries Moon is a heart on fire. Consider Aries as the first sign of the Zodiac, first to feel, first to express how they are feeling. The Aries Moon is a tempestuous force of nature that likes to erupt, sometimes over nothing. It’s a war energy in the heart, and for an Aries Moon sometimes fighting can feel good. And if you can’t fight, then you debate, argue, compete, or just fuck your brains out. The key to thriving with an Aries Moon is recognizing the transitory quality of your emotions. Yes, right now you want to rip her head off, but in five minutes it’ll probably pass. Learning to not voice everything you feel can save you some heartache in the long run. If we look to the World as a descriptive of the type of soil your heart most longs to be planted in at this time, it’s the soil of responsibility, tried and true, heirloom soil. The World is connected to Saturn, the planet of serious adulting and follow through. Your heart longs for you to tend to it, not just in the moment when it cries out for attention but ALL the time. Saturn is what we do every day, rain or shine, and your heart wants that sort of undivided attention from you. The World also signifies monumental endings and beginnings, the end of a major cycle and the beginning of your next big adventure. Perhaps the adventure you’ve been craving is deep inside your chest, with your strong, steady heartbeat narrating each next step on the path.
BRANDON ALTER is a queer healer, Tarot reader, teacher, mystic and writer living in Los Angeles. He is passionate about sharing spiritual tools that have helped him reconnect to the wisdom of his heart. He is the Tarot reader in residence for The Numinous and he co-hosts The Spiritual Gayz with his husband, a twice-monthly podcast dedicated to exploring the wide reaches of spirituality, without pretending that it all makes sense. Brandon’s mom took him to his very first psychic when he was seven and gave him his first Tarot deck when he was eleven. Since then he has devoted himself to the study of Tarot, Yoga, Pilates, Reiki, Astrology and Shamanic Skills.
Visit www.brandonalterwellness.com to learn more. And to sign up for his twice-monthly newsletter, click here.