This Taurus New Moon (exact at 8:16 am April 26th in NYC, 3:16 pm April 26th in Estonia) feels like a long-awaited “aaah!”, a thorough exhale of all the past month’s tensions and exacerbating efforts.  This April has not been easy for many of us – while the spunky Aries energy has urged us forward into action, the overlapping retrogrades of Venus, Mercury, Jupiter, Saturn and Pluto have thrown many a curve into our tracks.  These delays and detours can direct us to a wiser, better thought out path…and, perhaps, most of all, teach us patience, the hardest of all virtues in these “instant download” times.  But, arrrgh, these lofty perspectives and glimpses of a greater plan don’t always save us from feeling like a volcano of frustration ready to pop.  At least, this has been my own experience with a construction project on my boat (which is also my floating home for several months in winter).  The contractor slides out with a smile and another “tomorrow…for sure…manana!” and leaves me steaming in Mexican mid-day heat.  To make matters worse, I’ve watched many a day of stellar surf pass by while “waiting for Godot” on the docks.

As the lunar cycle drew to a close, the waning Moon in Aries got a boost of raw fuel from Uranus, the cosmic rebel.  My patience reached the boiling point.  I stormed the welding shop with my husband, grabbing tools and materials and literally taking matters into my own hands.  This desperate act, and the dragonbreath of determination fuming from my Taurean nostrils seemed to make an impression – the project is finally moving forward, slowly but surely.  You too can expect to see the first forward steps in many of your Earthly endeavors, with steady Taurus energy at the helm for the next month.  Yes, it won’t be fast, and with Mercury still in retrograde till May 4^th, some amount of rethinking and redesigning is bound to occur.  But, the satisfaction of at least SOME progress is sweet indeed!

Since the Springtime sign of Taurus rules the senses, there’s a way to add some “oomph” to this process of growth and germination – taking in and fully APPRECIATING any positive experience that occurs along the way.  Rick Hanson, a neuroscientist & meditation teacher has coined the phrase: “our brains are like velcro for negative and like teflon for positive” – meaning, our long process of evolution, focused on mere survival, has honed us to search keenly for the tiger in the bush while ignoring the hummingbirds, rainbows and flowers.  I certainly observed my mind spinning into many a sadistically satisfying negative loop with this stalled project, while there was plenty of beauty around to enjoy –warm breezes, sunsets, supportive smiles of friends…and the occasional surf sessions squeezed out from the chaotic construction schedule.  Luckily, part of me was awake and aware enough to laugh at my own folly and consciously redirect my “evolutionarily embattled” neural circuits towards more soothing and enjoyable stimuli.

Now, with this mellow Taurus New Moon gracing the sky, this process of “taking in the good” will be infinitely easier.  Rick Hanson suggests spending at least 15-30 seconds consciously enjoying a beautiful or pleasurable experience, to make sure it truly sinks in.  If we do this often enough, we can actually evolve our brains out of the twitchy-tense fight-or-flight mode and become more like the serenely smiling Buddha (who was a Taurus, by the way!:)  The fruits of this practice of conscious pleasure don’t need to wait till some far-off ideal of enlightenment – enjoying moments of delicious delight in the very here and now will make us instantly more happy, healthy and ALIVE.   And, an added bonus – this more mellow, mindful and appreciative approach will redirect our life to an easier flow, more in tune with the magic of nature’s cycles of growth.  Our projects will blossom and progress with way less struggle and strife.  As the ancient Chinese sage Lao Tzu remarked: “Nature doesn’t hurry, yet everything is accomplished”.   Hmm…perhaps the wayward welder was in fact my teacher here, a distressing “Buddha in disguise”!:)   ”manana, tranquilo, take it easy…breathe”:)

• A New Moon Spell to practice and play with: “What I appreciate, appreciates!” Take a loving look around you – craft a ritual of GRATITUDE, add in daily doses of delight…and watch your life blossom in beauty.  Earth magic is seductively simple…and profoundly potent!

• And, don’t forget the most magical words in every language (as my parents taught me in childhood, when I wanted something…”use your magic word!”;) “Thank you, Gracias, Aitäh, Grazie, Merci!“ These simple sounds are like cosmic fertilizer, coaxing ever more growth, abundance, satisfaction and smiles!