Taurus: I am generous
A guide to nurture your creativity and tend to your Spirit during Taurus season
This letter is part of our Creative Contemplation practice— a way of harmonizing with our internal and external landscapes and remembering our connection to spirit, nature, and each other. ✨💗🌿
Together, we’re studying the cosmic forces weaving through our lives by working with tarot, astrology, and archetypes. Each month, a themed nature journaling workshop helps us cultivate a sense of wonder and delight as we begin to notice the ebb and flow of energy in our lives throughout the changing seasons.
Hello.
What do you think of when you hear the word generosity?
Do you automatically withdraw a little bit, protecting yourself from having to give even more? As a mother and long-term caregiver, I get it. Generosity, when confused with productivity, has a bad rap.
Our affirmation this month is “I am Generous.” Download your free copy of the Creative Contemplation journal and lunar calendar with all the monthly affirmations here.
Taurus season (April 19th- May 20th) is here to help us reframe our relationship to abundance and materiality. The first earth sign of the zodiac, this fixed sign is pragmatic, steadfast, and slow. In terms of how to embody this energy, think sustainable, not stubborn.
While Taurus rules material possessions, the challenge is to widen our perspective of generosity and abundance. Can we stretch our definition to include resources like life experience, our various skills and talents, character strengths, or community connections?
The New Moon in Taurus arrives May 8th and is the perfect time to start a new cycle or plant intentions for the next six months (the Full Moon in Taurus, November 14th, 2024 will be a culmination of what you set into motion now).
Venus, the planet of beauty, pleasure, and love is also in Taurus from April 29 to May 23, 2024, inviting us to make these next few weeks sensual and simple, infusing them with our presence. When we awaken to the generosity of the infinite now, how does that expand our capacity to receive? Centering our body as an epic form and channel for creation, how can we apply a generous perspective to ourselves, first and foremost?
Cultivating abundance isn’t about accumulating more, rather it’s increasing our capacity to notice and appreciate what we already have.
Keep reading for intuitive insights on this month’s archetype, tarot reading, creative inspiration, and more.
Archetype
The Goddess and Empress archetypes are rooted in fertility and the power of the creative life force within all of us. This month, we’re being asked to shift our focus from creating to being created.
What softens in your body when you see yourself as a creation of love and life? Notice how this shift from doing transforms into a state of passive reception. The Goddess/Empress archetype is about fullness, not scarcity. Life generates more life.
What gives you life?
Spend some time honoring your own needs (yes, this means being “selfish” if necessary!) and slowing down enough to notice the difference between your wants and needs. Do the distractions and daily, instant gratifications really feed you? If not, what does? Now is the time to indulge in leisurely hobbies, activities, and habits you can sustain that provide long-term value.
Simplify your schedule with purpose and devotion. Whatever streamlining you do now will create a sturdy foundation to add more complexity later.
Creative Inspiration
I first encountered Saya Woolfalk’s work at the Nelson Atkins Museum in Kansas City and was blown away by her futuristic, ChimaCloud exhibit, an imagining of a race of half-plant, half-women “Empathics.” I can’t imagine a more inspiring work of art for Taurus season!
I recently listened to an episode from We Can do Hard Things about burnout and the difference between “faux” self-care and real self-care. In a capitalistic culture that continues to influence the wellness and “self-care” industries, I benefited from learning more about the origin of self-care as a movement and how we can truly tend to ourselves by building relationships and community.
My favorite takeaway was learning how to grow our capacity to receive by “micro-dosing” ourselves and saying YES when others offer help, no matter how small the offer may be!
Tarot Reading
The Two of Pentacles has been coming up strongly in the last few weeks. This is where we marry the energy of Aries and the more spiritual form of manifestation (The Visionary) with the tangible, physical aspect of creation (The Empress). How does one influence the other? How can we balance our inspiration with action?
How do they create a feedback loop for each other?
Take time to inventory where you are procrastinating, stuck in brainstorming mode without taking a small step forward. Notice where you might be taking too much action without tapping into the spiritual insight that will help inform and inspire those actions.
The Knight of Pentacles is a reminder to be generous with the seeds we sow without expecting they’ll all grow into their fullest form. If we’re constantly worrying about each individual dream, goal, or project, we’ll stop ourselves from taking risks. It takes trust to accept that not all of our visions will come to fruition but if we’re diligent in doing the work of planting (surrendering) our hopes to Spirit, they will grow.
It’s not our job to figure out how in this season. Don’t let ambition trick you into needing results before the seeds go into the ground. This is not a time for urgency but steadfastness. Set your intentions with care and focus on becoming fertile and receptive to the nourishment you need from life itself.
Don’t forget, we have our monthly Tea + Tarot community gathering on May 8th for the New Moon in Taurus. Join us for an hour of tarot reading, poetry, and journaling to refill our well and connect to Spirit.
If you’d like additional guidance or clarity, book a one-on-one tarot reading with me 👇💗
Notes from Nature
“There’s always a sunrise and always a sunset and it’s up to you to choose to be there for it,’ said my mother. 'Put yourself in the way of beauty.”- Cheryl Strayed
Last month, on the morning of the Full Moon in Scorpio (Taurus’ opposite sign), the tensions in our household were high as we drowsily woke up from another sleepless night with our toddler. I felt miserable. Instead of tackling my daunting to-do list when our babysitter arrived, I filled up my water bottle, packed my nature journal, and drove to one of my favorite spots near the water.
It was exactly what I needed.
“From the mountains to the sea, I have everything I need, all of this is within me,” I sang over and over out loud, to no one. I took off my shoes, crossed the clear creek and sat on a sandy rock in the sunshine, filling my cup.
It didn’t change my circumstances, the daily challenges of navigating new motherhood and marriage. It didn’t take anything off my to-do list. But it did change my perspective.
This is what’s possible when we put ourselves in the way of beauty.
Our theme for this month’s Nature Journaling workshop is “Noticing Seeds of New Life.” Join me this Saturday, May 4th at 12:00 pm EST to play, create, and remember our connection to the natural world.
We’ll spend an hour exploring what’s growing in our inner and outer landscapes while cultivating a sense of wonder, delight, and appreciation for the abundance of life. 🦋🌿📓
This is an ongoing series, free for paying members of Heartbeats. You can purchase each class separately or upgrade your membership for free access to each month’s workshop. A replay will be available. As a bonus, if you purchase a ticket to an upcoming Nature Journaling Class you’ll receive the recording of our Intro class as a gift!
Journal Prompts
The next time you have a meal, stop and consider all of the resources, both natural and man-made that went into creating it. What minerals in the soil allowed the food to grow? Who cultivated it, picked it, shipped it, or prepared it? Who contributed to the transportation system that brought it to the store or restaurant?
Create a list of your intangible resources. Maybe you’re more patient than most. Maybe you’re a skilled cook. Maybe you can make even the most curmudgeonly stranger belly laugh. After you write down everything you can think of, notice how generous you are with your gifts. Is there a small way you might share or receive more?
Create space in your schedule for leisure. Identify one activity or chore you can temporarily pause (as an experiment!) for a few weeks. Perhaps there’s something you can delegate to afford yourself a bit more luxury? Notice what happens when you indulge your senses.
Taurus Season Blessing
May you feel your roots reach down to anchor new growth. May your body become a sanctuary of rest. May you trust the sensations as they move through your physical being, gaining wisdom and clarity with each new feeling. May your body be a holy temple through which love can flow generously, like an unbound river, softening the banks and rocks in its path.
All my love,
Mariah
P.S. How is Taurus season treating you? What insights are coming through? Where are you finding resonance on our Creative Contemplation journey together? I’d love to hear from you!
Upcoming Workshops
Save the date! The lovely
and I are hosting a community open mic January 9th. Share your poetry or simply come to listen. Everyone is welcome to this free event!
I always find these contemplations so nourishing. Today "think sustainable, not stubborn" not stubborn stood out for me. I was journalling on the definition of sustainable the other day, and found one I really liked "meeting the needs of the now without compromising the needs of the future". I also felt I really need to hear "The Knight of Pentacles is a reminder to be generous with the seeds we sow without expecting they’ll all grow into their fullest form." A reminder to be patient that's for sure. Thank you Mariah 🌼