Taurus - Self-Sufficiency and Manifestation

by Guru Rattana, Ph.D. - Issue #104 - April 23, 2005

The Sun moved into Taurus April 19th, and will stay in this grazing paasture through May 19th.

The Scorpio Full Moon/Lunar Eclipse is April 24th at 3:08am PDT (10:08am GMT).

The Taurus New Moon is May 8th at 1:46am PDT (8:46am GMT).

Security and Pleasure in the Physical World

When the Sun moves into the earth sign Taurus, things seem to calm down a bit. Life can feel scattered and frenetic when the Sun is in fiery Aries. We are reborn during Aries springtime. The major focus of Aries is to feel alive and to establish a sense of Self and Soul. Taurus introduces us to our body, the earth and physical things. The Bull's path focuses on its rapport with the physical world. The Bull seeks security and stability. Its ultimate goals are pleasure, relaxation and peace.

Taurus must establish a relationship with the Earth that makes it feel at home, comforted and nurtured. Taurus must bring its soul into its physical body and find pleasure in embodiment. Taurus must also learn how to manage possessions and the material world, so that it can satisfy its basic needs. In sum, while the Sun is in Taurus we realize that our home is the Earth; we live in a body, and we have needs that must be met, if we are to feel safe and secure and enjoy our human journey.

Taurus taches us that we must learn how to maneuver and manifest in the physical world. To do so, we have to have an intimate relationship with the Earth, and feel taken care of by the Earth Mother. We need to feel supported by her abundant generosity, comforted by her beauty, and encouraged by the unfoldment of her cycles. Our psyche must compute sufficiency - there is enough for me and everyone else, and I will be provided for.

Scorpio Full Moon/Lunar Eclipse - Examining Our Needs

Taurus gets us in touch with our needs. What do we need to survive? What do we need to thrive? What do we need to be happy? How can we get our needs fulfilled? This tour through Taurus invites us to deeply examine these questions.

The Scorpio Full Moon/Lunar Eclipse on April 24th opens our psyche to penetrate to the core of these questions, which are both practical and existential. In its quest for security, the fixed sign Taurus secretly hopes that once it gets things organized they won't change. Its complementary sign, Scorpio, reminds Taurus that everything always changes and evolves. Life, death and rebirth are givens.

During this Full Moon, Scorpio illuminates our deepest desires and fears. We need to be very attentive to our needs and feelings during lunar eclipses. The shadows of our emotional programs and unconscious beliefs come into the light. This eclipse invites us to engage in an honest emotional inventory. It encourages us to be open to review what pulls us away from authentic security, pleasure and peace. The more we do so, the less disturbed we will be, and the more we will benefit from this opening consciousness.

As more Light infuses the Planet, it gets harder and harder to deny our feelings, programs and hidden agendas. We can't escape our fears, and we can't hide our passions. The good news is that the more we get in touch with our sabotaging programming, the more our energy can be released to live our lives fully. Eclipses offer us an opportunity to examine what is authentic and what is illusionary. Even better, there is support for letting go of the latter and moving forward with our dreams.

Security through Self-Sufficiency

Taurus wants to feel secure, but as Helen Keller pointed out, security is mostly a superstition. Our customary attempts to achieve security are generally delusionary, and often disappointing and disheartening. What ultimately makes Taurus feel secure is self-sufficiency. While the Sun is in Taurus we need to talk with our Inner Taurus and find out how we can cultivate security and self-sufficiency within ourselves.

Our inner exploration is facilitated by a close square of the Sun and the Moon to Neptune. The energy of a square (90° angle) calls for action. Action for Neptune is translated as connecting with our intuition, meditating and communing with nature. We need to slow down and be alone, so that we can take advantage of the expanded bandwidth that allows us to get in touch with other realties. We need to trust our intuition and our instincts, and dare to explore the inner reaches of our psyche.

A time of introspection is further supported by Neptune going retrograde May 19th. When a planet appears to change direction, it slows down and then stops in order to shift. This slow motion period is termed stationary. When Neptune is stationary the vibe is Stop and don't think. Let the messages of the universal field effortlessly come into awareness. Allow the qualities of the universal field to resonate in your being.

Can we Meet Our Own Needs?

We may return from our inner adventure with some radical adjustments, in how we think and relate to ourselves and what we have. We may have another understanding of what we really want and need. What we thought was solid may be the dust of illusion. We many find contentment and comfort simply by enjoying living in our own skin.

What we are really being asked to do at this time is to take ourselves to the level where we can meet our own needs - where we touch the internal foundation that gives us the security we have been looking for outside ourselves. Inside our bodies we can experience the Earth and the Universe as our ultimate sources of support. Once our physical and emotional bodies compute that the Earth and the Universe are supplying us with everything we need, we will no longer project neediness.

When our internal voice says I have instead of I need, a major shift has occurred. Our projection changes from neediness (pleading, prayers) to satisfaction (gratitude). Satisfaction and gratitude for what we have are the two key elements of a prosperous projection. This shift in projection opens pathways for a free-flowing exchange between ourselves, the Earth and the Universe. This transformation in consciousness makes it possible to manifest, and create in ways unavailable to us when we send out vibrations of lack, and fear of not having enough. We may be surprised how things start coming to us effortlessly.

Needs are Human

Moving our psyche from I need to I have is not about negating our needs; it is about cultivating an attitude that facilitates getting our needs met. The optimal strategy to get what we need is to match our frequency with the abundant quality of the universal field. By definition, being human means that we have physical, emotional and spiritual needs that must be satisfied. Being human also means that we have to figure out how to do so. Moving out fear into sufficiency is one of the ways, and one of our basic human challenges.

Aries, the first sign in the Zodiac and our first human lesson, teaches us to know and identify ourselves. Self-value is a prerequisite for moving into Taurus territory, where we identify our needs and learn how to take care of ourselves. Just as shame doesn't create a positive sense of self, denial of our needs only sabotages our efforts to figure out how to handle the physical plane. Neither shame nor denial are access channels to prosperity.

One way to always cover yourself is give thanks for everything that you receive. The magic mantra is THANK YOU. When we express thanks, we are giving back. The cycle of giving and receiving is balanced. The circuits for exchange remain open. An attitude of gratitude always moves us to the next level. We can learn from our breath. When we exhale fully, we receive more air in return. The more we give, the more we can receive. (Attitude and breath are not be confused with codependent, needy giving, to get attention and plea bargaining.)

Vibrating Satisfaction

When we vibrate satisfaction, gratitude and contentment, the Earth and the Universe receive messages of prosperity. When we feel prosperous, our Inner Taurus can relax and enjoy her green pastures. I love turning my astrological calendar to May, and contemplating the perfect contentment of the Bull sitting in a beautiful environment with flowers around its neck. It is inspiring how much the Bull enjoys its physical existence, and how appreciative it is of the gifts from its Earth Mother, and indeed for the Mother herself. Now is the time to indulge in the pleasure of enjoying your own Taurus garden.

Kundalini Yoga - Meditation for Self-Sufficiency

The subject of our introspection this month is self-sufficiency. Ask yourself What do I really need? Then listen, feel and simply be aware as your body, instincts, intuition and heart communicate with you. Listen without judgment, evaluation or intervention. Be present with kindness and empathy. Do this for a few minutes every day. Keep going deeper. Boldly and honestly be with yourself. It is all about you and no one else. You will find what you need within. You will find your soul in your body. You will find a beautiful garden inside your skin. Enjoy the pleasure of being in your own perfect garden. Love it with all your heart.

Then love the Earth, that is the source of all our sustenance and pleasures. Love the Universe, that is the Source of the prana in every breath. Love the Sun for its warmth and energy. With every exhale, give back in gratitude. Remember, our exhale is an inhale for the plants, the trees and the Infinite field.

Meditation for Inner Contentment

The following meditation can be done to clear our channels, and to open our inner space for introspection on self-sufficiency. This meditation moves us deep inside, where we can establish an appropriate relationship between our body, the ego and the infinite self. We can experience pure contentment inside our skin. In this space we can create our own Taurus garden. It is found on page 167 of Relax and Renew 2nd Edition.

Sit is a meditative posture with a straight spine. The hands are in the lap. The back of the left palm is resting on the top of the right palm. The fingers are flat pointing out to each side. The forefingers touch at about the first knuckle. The thumbs are touching. Eyes are 1/10 open, looking straight ahead and focused at the third eye.

Inhale in 8 equal parts so that the lungs are filled on the 8th sniff. No mantra was given for the inhale, but you can silently repeat SA TA NA MA twice. Or simply listen to your breath. On the exhale chant WA HE GURU. You don't have to completely exhale. Enunciate the WA HE GURU clearly and project out from the third eye.

This meditation is very energizing if the breath is taken seriously and is pumped from the navel. To get maximum benefit, pull the root lock with the inhales and feel the energy go up the spine to the third eye. On the exhale pull the root lock up to the navel.

Practice for 11, 15, 22 or 31 minutes.

Sit quietly afterwards and be silently and lovingly with your sensations and breath inside your skin. Feel the qualities of your inner space, and use the pleasurable sensations and the energy of the breath to create your own inner garden. At the appropriate time for you, include the meditation for self-sufficiency.

References and Footnotes

"Scorpio Lunar Eclipse, April 24, Taurus New Moon, May 8th", Stephanie Austin, The Mountain Astrologer, Issue #120 April/May 2005, pp. 108-9.

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