Speaking of talented co-workers, our incomparable 12Academy staff is offering an incredible sale on their classes on Wednesday, April 22nd.  On that day, all featured classes will be on sale for $10.  From a Course in Miracles, to Angel numbers, to live meditations, 12Adacemy offers a vast array of metaphysical information.  To support this special event, I am offering five free minutes, a $30 value, when you enroll in any 12Academy class the week of April 19th.  Just email me your receipt through your Click4Advisor account, and I'll send you the complimentary minutes.

    Now, let's get to this month's feature story, the Taurus cycle.

          Warm rays of sunlight stream down from a white sun lazily sailing across an afternoon sky.  Ripples of water gently flow across a quiet lake after a fishing line dips beneath its placid surface.  Birds share the latest news as they languidly work their way through springtime chores.  The shoreline is rich with lush emerald fauna, stretching as far as the eye can see.  The monkey mind wants to interrupt this splendor with its endless litany of problems, incessant chatter, worries about the future concocted with every imaginable worse case scenario and their attendant reactions, and its ultimate weapon, your story, the one about what's wrong with your life.  But on this long, glorious May afternoon, your canoe drifts effortlessly with the mild currents.  Your soul is enraptured by the symphony being performed by the soft breezes through rustling leaves and the songs of cranes, hummingbirds and bluejays.  One casual glance at the 200-year-old pine trees majestically reaching heavenward, and you are reminded of your truth.  You are not your problems.  You are not your income.  You are not your story.  You are not your relationship, your workplace, your issues nor any of your labels.  You are eternal.  You are unnamable.  You are love, and you are safe and sound.

    On April 19th at 9:30 P.M. PST the Sun enters the sign of the bull, Taurus.  From then until May 20th you are granted an all-access pass to the voice of spirit, centeredness and serenity.  Supported by Saturn retrograding back through fellow earth sign Virgo, Pluto churning backward through the zodiac's other earth sign Capricorn and Mercury retrograding in Taurus, this solar cycle is the ultimate grounding tool and an excellent time to strengthen business, financial and career endeavors.  With Jupiter and Uranus spending their last days in dreamy Pisces until late summer, prescience also abounds.  A Saturn Uranus opposition close to the April 28th full moon challenges the tranquility, yet this solar cycle is no less than a Cosmic meditation on security. 

    The bull stops here.  Ruled by beauty seeking Venus, Taurus veers decidedly toward the luxurious side of life.  Perhaps the most physical of signs, earthy Taurus experiences reality through the senses. Consequently, its world is often filled with the most exquisite objects of pleasure, sensuality and comfort. We're talking high-thread count, velvety dark chocolate, and typically a handsome portfolio here.  This year however, Taurus' opulent tastes will be curtailed by Saturn in Virgo and Pluto in Capricorn.  The last time stern Saturn transited Virgo, the real estate market crashed, bank bailouts began and the current recession got underway.  Back in the meticulous earth sign of Virgo until July, lesson baring Saturn will again be encouraging fiscal austerity and restraint.  Ruthless Pluto in conservative Capricorn will echo the call to realistic and conscious financial planning and ethical business practices.  Add a Mercurial review of money to the mix via its retrograde in materialistic Taurus, and you have a formula ripe for more banking and financial reform, publicly and privately.  This substantial earth sign alliance is not here to crush caviar dreams per se.  But irrational exuberance isn't coming back on its watch either.  This Sun, Mercury, Saturn and Pluto combination is all about building, values and responsibility.  It will support sound foundations, reward hard work and give the needed stamina to reach worthy goals. 
   

    Mercury rules our thinking and will be retrograde in patient Taurus until May 11th.  According to author Julia Cameron, it takes 90 days for the brain to groove a new neurological pattern.  During this retrograde we can review our ideas about security and our inner-dialogue about insecurity.  A Taurus Mercury retrograde further suggests that we can sprout some new neural pathways and perhaps adopt new grounding practices.  Also assisting us access an enlightening perspective are Jupiter and Uranus now at the end of their Pisces transits.  Before they move into boisterous, provocative Aries and those intense T-squares, they give us a little more time to connect with our inner musician, writer, painter or poet.  Finding a psychological safe space now might serve us well when the atmosphere intensifies this summer.  Gardening, chanting, hiking and playing a musical instrument are all excellent keys to Pisces' peace and Taurus' incredible centering power.  And they can serve as touchstones for the times ahead.

     On April 26th our newly found chill out practice may get a test run.  On that day erratic Uranus will directly oppose staunch Saturn.  Because two of the large outer planets are involved in this confrontation, its influence will be felt for a few weeks on either side of the exact date.  With an added full Scorpio moon on the 28th, we're likely to have a strong opportunity to try out those new grounding techniques.  The last series of Uranus Saturn oppositions occurred from 1964-1966, a time of enormous political and social turmoil and transformation. This current set of oppositions began on Election Day 2008 and will end on July 26th near another very powerful full moon.  No matter how dramatic the news or how tumultuous the times it reflects may seem, our perspective is what makes the biggest difference in how we experience these events.  Taurus comes to help us plant our feet firmly into the terrain of eternal knowing.  Deeply rooted in our connection to all that is, we see the transitory nature of the rest.  Through the bull we are reminded of our resourcefulness, and our world is once again made calm, sturdy and steady.