April 29, 2024 at 4:29 pm EDT, is the start of the Sun’s season in Taurus II, The Lingam Yoni as Austin Coppock named it (T. Susan Chang called it mysteries at the threshold, based on its associations with the Six of Pentacles). It begins at 4:29 pm EDT. Although Taurus as a whole is the dominion of Venus (lately entered the sign), Taurus II is the special province or department of the Moon who stands in a temporarily favorable trine to this part of the chart from Capricorn — though that favor won’t last long, once she crosses the 19° 59′ mark a mere 73 minutes after the Sun’s ingress. It has all the possible connotations of a missed connection at an airport or a train station, or in the baggage claim area — The businessman Sun setting out on a difficult journey through the eighth house of odious duties and unavoidable obligations, his homemaker wife dropping him off at the terminal with a chipper good-bye, to go home and deal with her own ongoing drudgeries. Each is secretly miserable but doing their best to cheer the other one on — and the brave face lasts an hour and thirteen minutes.

This isn’t surprising. Taurus II is administered by the Moon, and her ever-changing nature invites us into considerations of autonomy, agency, and mutual engagement — which are the hallmarks of a favorable and appropriate relationship between Lingam on the one hand and Yoni on the other — we may feel ourselves roused to action or feel our appetites whetted to receive energy, but without agreed-upon boundaries, the co-creative potential of this decan turns to ash: respect for one another’s agency turns to a trauma bond between oppressed and oppressor. In that context, it doesn’t take long before the standouts are trampled by the bull and beaten down.

The ancient Greeks assigned this decan’s days to the Horae, or Seasons. Although Boreas the the north wind was also considered the god of winter because he brought storms, the Horae or goddesses of the seasons — Thallo of spring, Auxo of summer, and Carpo of the harvest — were looked to as the managers of the changing seasons: the first leaf of the garden, the ripening of the fruits, and the threshing of the grain. Because they were the arbiters of time’s passage in the natural world, though, they also became the managers of the day — and the Horae also became the Hours, inviting us to consider how to use our time and energy wisely as time moves on by slow degrees, with the cool of the morning giving way to the heat of noontide which in turn cedes the fight to the sleepy heat of afternoon. Time indeed moves on.

Both the Lingam Yoni, and the Six of Pentacles, and the Horae, both speak to this idea of time passing. The beggars in their ragged cloaks receive generosity from the hands of the well-dressed lordling who has used his time wisely… or whose ancestors have used their time in accumulation, so that he in his own time can be generous (or profligate). It is the nature of energy to disperse over time, but it is the nature of life to accumulate energy — as wealth, as muscle mass, as genetic information, — so that it can be released: as alms, as seasonal labor… as seeds. Not for nothing does this decan bear the Hindu names for the aniconic representations of penis and vulva — the specifics of agency, of autonomy, and the gathering and release of energy in an act of passion are all appropriate for Taurus II.

The dodeks, or twelfth-parts, of Taurus II are Virgo, Libra, Scorpio and Sagittarius — somewhat like the intellectual negotiations of virgins about to have sex for the first time… turning into the complicated rebalancing of the relationship afterwards… followed by an excited, secret awareness of the mysteries that happen between the ears when there’s excitement between the hips…. and finally the emergence of a new story, a new kind of fire — that is at once feral and humane like the centaur, and eager to find a way forward like an arrow from a bowstring.

I’ve written about Taurus II before, in 2023, 2022, 2021, and 2020.

Planetary Placements

In this chart, we’re looking at a day chart, but with the Sun sinking low in the west toward the horizon. It’s still a few hours before sunset, and yet all the planets are in the western or reactive side of the chart — events will be hastening on without our direct intervention, and we’re going to be stuck, more often than not, in catch-up mode, trying to fulfill our obligations and duties in a rushed and not entirely pleasant way. The day-sect nature of the chart lends additional power to the Sun, Jupiter, and Mercury since they’re all above the horizon, but weakens Venus; while the Moon and Mars, holding the night region below the horizon, are similarly empowered while Saturn is weakened. The Lot of Fortune in Gemini and the Ninth House puts emphasis and focus on college campuses and airports, but LGBTQ+ rights and particular trans activism will see shifts this week as the distance between Moon and Sun narrows.

The Ascendant in early Libra invites us to consider larger definitions of justice than usual. It’s easy to shout “justice!” in the marketplace while overturning the merchant’s stalls, or while blocking access to a highway. It’s harder to bow the head or bend the knee while whispering “justice” to a person you’ve wronged. And yet, says the South Node, we are inextricably linked both to our foes and our oppressors, and to those to whom we’ve done harm. Where the shit comes out this week, is where we’ve broken our own rules or bent our principles to serve our own greediness: make apologies early this week, and consider what’s appropriate restitution.

The Moon is in Capricorn in the fourth house, in the Twenty-third Mansion, Good Fortune for the Glutton. I’ve always liked the image of this Mansion, a cat with a dog’s head — but I’m wary of it, too, for it usually represents the idea of dispersal or sudden wasting of resources. In the case of this position, it could easily mean “eaten out of house and home.” Care should be taken to protect resources, with distinct efforts to shield household and property from predatory diminishment: it’s not a good idea to take out loans against what you own; and be on the lookout for bugs, rot, or other vermin.

Pluto is in Aquarius in the fifth house, inviting us to luxurious idleness and the squalor of riches. Obviously this is contingent on both class and economic circumstances, but for some this is a nicer dinner than usual, prepared at home — and for others it may be a debauched weekend. Yet Pluto in this placement also offers criticism both toxic and commercially accurate; illegitimi non carborundum sed caveat emptor, as the Latin goes: don’t succumb to fretfulness when the jerks tell you off, but do be a financially aware and conscious consumer.

Saturn, Neptune and Mars are all at work in the second half of Pisces — the decans called The Net and The Cup of Blood. These are not particularly “fun” decans, and having both malefics in the same sign is an invitation to shipwrecks, bridge collapses, and wetlands disasters of various kinds. However, I am pleased that Neptune’s retrogrades will no longer take it into The Net, which I’ve observed coincides with reports of state-sponsored active disinformation campaigns on the World Wide Web. The far greater threat posed by Neptune in The Cup of Blood is active zealotry from religious movements, divorced from factual reality. In all such questions, though, Pisces’ own nature of contradictory beliefs may result in a weird mixture of both restraint and enthusiasm for any course of action.

Venus has moved on, so Mercury is on their own in Aries in the seventh house. It’s not a terrible position for the herald planet, lately completing their retrograde but still in their own term. Ancient sources are pretty firm on the meaning of a planet in its own term: “like a general riding in his chariot.” Mercury may have no particular power in fire signs generally, but here at least they’re grand marshal of the parade — and this will make communication with your spouse, business partner (or foe) easier than usual.

Four planets in Taurus in the eighth house! Venus, sign ruler, right at the very beginning of the sign, urges you to do any particularly odious or difficult tasks with more attention to aesthetics and beauty than usual: get dressed up to go to the post office, your accountant, the DMV, the grocery store; the results of making this ongoing effort may take six months to arrive, though, so keep at it. The Sun, while not particularly dignified here, absorbs this lesson and takes it to heart with more deliberateness than usual, but the results are more immediate and bring you proper attention. Jupiter and Uranus are separating from their April 20 Conjunction, but you may still feel this shocking, revolutionary commitment to re-ordering and undoing the messes in your life. Lean into that feeling, but don’t try to set everything in its place, all in one day: a little bit at time will do you more good.

Horoscopes by Rising Sign

Decan I of any sign (usually covering the 21st of the month to the first of the following month) is free to all visitors; Decan II is only available to Patreon and Ko-Fi.com subscribers; and Decan III is available to Patreon, Ko-Fi, and MailChimp subscribers.

I recommend reading your Sun sign, Moon sign, and Rising sign for best results. I write them with rising sign in mind, but several people have told me they find that they do better with all three.

Libra:

Scorpio:

Sagittarius:

Capricorn:

Aquarius:

Pisces:

Aries:

Taurus:

Gemini:

Cancer:

Leo:

Virgo:

Colophon

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If you want to read some of my astrologically-oriented poetry, the largest collection is called A Full Volume of Splendor and Starlight, available through my Etsy shop, and containing poems and hymns to the planets, constellations, decan deities, and Moon Mansion angels. While not astrological, Festae contains hymns to some of the older Roman gods and spirits from the calendar created by Numa Pompilius, the second ancient King of Rome.

I use iPhemeris for my charting software, and screenshot it to make charts. I want to thank the team that develops iPhemeris for the addition of Terms and Decans to their charts. I also use Hugh Tran‘s Physis typeface to craft logos for this blog, as well.

I use Christopher Warnock‘s The Mansions of the Moon as the basis of my Moon placement delineations, and Austin Coppock‘s 36 Faces for much of my planetary delineations. Neither gentleman endorses me.