It's not impermanence that makes us suffer;
What makes us suffer is
wanting things to be permanent
when they are not.
Thich Nhat Hanh
We naturally seek comfort with the Taurus Full Moon October 31
Taurus is the Earth and the sensual pleasure found in indulging our senses, whether it is observing the fall leaves, the taste of pumpkin pie, or the feel of a soft blanket against our skin. It is listening to music, candlelight and making love. It is the quiet joy found in nurturing the simple joys that are abundantly found in daily life.
We also look to increasinging the value of what we have spent our lives building and stabilizing. In modern culture, our value and sense of self-worth can easily be tied to material security – the land we live on, the money in our bank accounts, and the quality of our possessions. If our security is threatened, our ability to enjoy sensual pleasure diminishes. To soothe insecurity, we may overindulge in sensual pleasures or use pleasure as a way to escape the anxiety of an uncertain future.
Uranus, planet of change, is in exact conjunction with the Full Moon
We may be feeling less than comfortable with this Full Moon with the instability and lack of permanence in our lives. We may be aware of how powerless we are to affect the course of current or looming changes.
Taurus is dedicated to building and stabilizing a way of life. Taurus values predictability and prepares for the inevitability of change by trying to build a life immune to change, or at least one that can absorb and weather the unexpected. Change is one thing we know to expect in life, but we often forget this simple truth or want to be in charge of when and how change happens. Our efforts for ensuring our material security are unhinged by the presence of Uranus and its eruptive and disruptive ways. The urge for freedom over restriction, rebellion over conformity, and truth over comfortable lies are shaking life up.
We are a society invested in material security. We buy health insurances, car insurances, and life insurances. We have retirement accounts and sock money away for a rainy day. We invest in a home, a job or way of life that will withstand whatever may be just around the corner.
But what if the foundation on which we have based our stability is the very thing that needs changing? The Jupiter, Saturn, Pluto conjunction this year speaks to the deconstructing and re-visioning of the the very infrastructures of modern human society. The prominent and undeniable presence of Uranus aligned with the Full Moon reminds us that the change is happening, and what is yet to come will be surprising. It is not about armoring and protecting ourselves from the unexpected, but leaning into and welcoming what it has to offer us.
Illuminating our insecurity, the Full Moon invites us to explore the source of what makes us feel secure. If security is money in the bank, a steady paycheck, so and so loving us, or something that is essentially subject to change, than we may be increasingly anxious as we try to ensure, even bolster the value of these things in our lives. While we take actions to ensure our material security, we can simultaneously invest in building an alliance with activities that will endure change. Often these are things that we have come to take for granted: the air we breathe, the sun that warms us, the water we drink. There are sensual pleasures afforded us daily that cost us nothing, that the earth provides freely.
The planet Uranus has received little focus this year in my posts, and other astrologer’s posts, as other dynamics have dominated the sky above. Yet, the unfolding story of Uranus is not a small one. The Full Moon brings Uranus’ journey in Taurus center stage. Uranus will be more in the forefront for 2021 and so we will take a moment to reflect on what is happening with Uranus.
Uranus is in Taurus May 2019 – April 2026
Uranus = sudden, unexpected change
Taurus = Earth (includes finances, resources, food supply)
Uranus in Taurus = Earth Changes
Uranus is the release of energy that has been pent up and its release naturally disrupts the status quo that repressed it in the first place. Its disruptions are not without purpose. Its actions may feel unpleasant or revelatory as it breaks down or breaks through what has become stagnant. Uranus is erratic and surprising. So, the outcome of what it introduces is unpredictable. In the face of this, we experience a loss of control which can be oddly refreshing, anxiety producing, or both.
Life is a series of natural
and spontaneous changes.
Don't resist them –
that only creates sorrow.
Let reality be reality.
Let things flow naturally forward
in whatever way they like.
Lao Tzu
Our modern world is built on top of the natural world. It rose up from a fundamental belief that humans can somehow control nature, even harness it to do our bidding, so that ultimately we are in the driver's seat determining what changes we will accept or tolerate. The natural relationship between humans and our environment has essentially been trapped beneath the foundations of modern life for millenia. What has been trapped is now finding a way to break through. Earthquakes and volcanic eruptions are two literal ways this may happen. But disruption can happen in many forms. Some eruptions will come as disclosures of once hidden information that shifts our perception of reality. Our financial systems and food supply chain are other key areas where we can expected disruption.
To the degree that we have sought security in worldly things and the assurances that modern society promises, we may find ourselves working harder to ensure their continuance. But if we try too hard to keep change at bay and not heed the call for change, the more tension and anxiety we may experience. It is akin to putting our finger on a crack in the dam to keep the dam from overflowing.
This Full Moon lights up Uranus’ agenda in Taurus. What has been trapped, ignored and repressed is now breaking through the rigidity of the reality we have created. We may not understand what is happening or where it is taking us, but we can move more easily with it if we shift our perspective. If we acknowledge that what is being released is long overdue, and is needed in order to move from where we are to the creation of something more desirable, than we move in sync with the transformative process that is happening. If we open to what Uranus is offering, it can breakthrough the rigidity of our thinking. We can experience flashes of insight and innovative solutions for how to live in better harmony with our planet and each other.
The more you seek the uncomfortable,
The more you will be comfortable.
Conor McGregor
Seek Discomfort
While contemplating the Full Moon, I was reminded of a group of young men who founded a business called ‘Yes Theory’. Together, they devise challenges where they must face some fear and do something they have never done before (ie, skydiving, being dropped off in a foreign city with no money, approaching a stranger for help...) The YouTube videos they post of these challenge has an international following which has spawned communities of people who support each other in taking risks to do something they did not believe they could do. The goal of Yes Theory is to be a daily reminder that the best things in life are outside one’s comfort zone. These young men are enlivened by their mission. Watching them live outside the box of what they think they can do is inspiring. To whatever challenge they throw at each other, the response is Yes, let’s do it.
“Seek Discomfort” is the name of the product line that was generated from the Yes Theory project. You can by a T-Shirt or a Mug that features the words “Seek Discomfort.” To meet the twists and turns, challenges and opportunities that humanity is facing, it is to all our benefit to Seek Discomfort. In doing this, we get ourselves out of the rut of how we think our life is supposed to go, move beyond what we already know, and open to doing things we instinctively have shied away from.
Seek Discomfort is a great motto for the Taurus Full Moon conjunct Uranus and for what Uranus in Taurus will bring in the next few years. Taurus seeks comfort. To seek discomfort may be counterintuitive to the Taurean urge. However, the Sun is traveling through Scorpio, a sign that revels in change and transformation. Scorpio seeks empowerment and is driven to discover how to move out of a state of powerlessness. To tell ourselves that we are actively and purposely seeking discomfort, is to find comfort in the unpredictable and to welcome the challenges that the Full Moon and the coming weeks will bring.
No chaos, no creation.
Evidence: the kitchen at mealtime.
Mason Cooley
Instability - A Natural and Necessary Ingredient
Taurus seeks stability. Harnessing the energetics of the Taurean Moon, we can nurture our enjoyment of activities that comfort and center us - in our morning routine, the preparation of a meal, or in a daily walk. We can identify and shift out of routines that on the surface give comfort, but ultimately are not nourishing and tend to cause more imbalance within us.
There is tension, confusion and volatility surrounding the Full Moon. Currently, six planets are in Cardinal signs, compelling us to take initiative and decisive action. But with the current Retrogrades, we are invited to take a step back and re-evaluate. So, we are receiving mixed messages. There is a feeling of urgency around making decisions but not the clarity in which to make them.
Mercury is retrograde until November 3 and will go direct in Libra squaring the Jupiter, Saturn, Pluto trio. In Libra, Mercury will inspire protests, actions and speeches focused on justice and equality. Mars is retrograde until November 14, reflecting frustrated energy and a feeling of impotency. Mars' prolonged square to Jupiter, Saturn, Pluto creates great internal pressure and the desire to relieve that pressure or to feel 'potent' can have us making taking rash, bold and ill-considered actions. The third and final conjunction between Jupiter and Pluto happens the middle of November, which may prompt power moves where people flex their authority and leaders come on strong. This is all happening within the context of the Jupiter, Saturn, Pluto conjunction that is destabilizing the status quo. The chaos that comes from this is a necessary component for the creation of a way of living that is truly sustainable and respects all life on our beautiful planet. But the road to this is messy and fraught with uncertainty.
The way through is to slow down and take each day as it comes without thinking or looking too far into the future. We can practice patience and complete projects that are in front of us, that can easily be done in a finite period of time. We can take walks or engage in practices that keep us centered or help us return to a place of calm. When we are overheated or worked up about something, it is best to take a break and avoid reaching the boiling over point.
At this Taurus Full Moon let us embrace the small pleasures readily available. We can appreciate and engage with what the natural world freely and continually offers us. Let us breathe deeply, feel our feet on the earth, the sun on our faces. We can savor the flavors of a meal and delight in the softness of a blanket that gives us warmth.
And with Uranus, illuminated by the Moon, we can seek discomfort, lean into the challenge at hand, and find ourselves enlivened by being on our edge, engaging in an unknown future, where we can discover something beyond what we know and potentially more of who we truly are.
On this Hallow's Eve, the encroaching US presidential election and the darkest time of the year fast approaching, we can contemplate impermanence, that much of what makes up our life will wither with time, how death leads to the birth of the new, and how we are held within the cycle and rhythms of a cosmic order that is at once beautiful, fierce and true.
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