the new moon in taurus

what are you planting?

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The New Moon arrives at 18* of Taurus at 11:21pm Eastern this evening. 

Finally, we have put some distance between ourselves and eclipse season. The last shadows of the year’s first Mercury Rx are fading. Which is to say: this is a wonderful week for planting new projects and re-committing to ones that were put on pause. 

The moon loves being in Taurus. If the moon is at home in Cancer, where it has all the emotional and physical ferocity of a rushing river, then the moon luxuriates in Taurus, which is to say: here, the moon quietly sips her evening tea in the backyard garden. 

This moon is about being present — with ourselves, but also with the world around us. About tending to what the body not only needs, but also desires. About acknowledging that bodies can be good, actually, and that they are not a burden simply because they need things. 

(Rest is good, actually.)

outdoor bathtub, yes please

Creatively, this lunation encourages us to compost old, restricting ideas about who gets to be a writer, or claim the title of writer. This moon sloughs off the shoulds and oughts like a gentle sugar scrub on the skin. (And it would be an excellent night for a ritual bath or shower with a candle, a sugar scrub, and slathery, moisturizing lotion to follow.)

Sitting closely to Uranus, this particular moon speaks to our desire to be both rooted and reaching — to grow our roots deep, to also break free of traditional constraints. With benefics Jupiter (the teacher) and Venus (the artist, and also the ruler of Taurus) co-present, this breakage — of seed to root, of a bud bursting open — has a distinctly healing, creative quality in the most literal sense of the word. 

We can rewrite our own narratives of what our work is “supposed” to do, or how we are “supposed” to work, if we allow it. 

A Mary Oliver, as a parting benediction: 

​​Things take the time they take. Don't 

worry.

How many roads did St. Augustine follow 

before he became St. Augustine?

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Writing Prompts for the New Moon in Taurus

• What is your relationship to creativity? How is it different than your relationship to productivity? 

• What are you beginning, or recommitting to, that feels generative, healing, and holistic? 

• If you are in the process of working on a book or similar project, and are also tending or re-creating your writing process, then describe your ideal writing process at this moment. But also: ideal in a way that acknowledges your lived experience and reality, and doesn’t long for a time in the past that is no longer available to you. Now, describe how many thousands of words books in your genre typically cap out at. (If you don’t know, Google.) Work backwards, and divide that 40k or 70k or 90k by however many words you usually write in a session, or by your weekly average. From there, look at how many days a week it is truly, honest-to-goodness, genuinely feasible to write, factoring in things like summer trips, your kids getting out of school, upcoming wedding weekends, That Time of Month, and such. And now, look at your calendar for the next 6-12 months. Set a reasonable date as a goal. There. A New Moon ritual has been done. 

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ICYMI

You can still pre-order the self-paced version of How to Write a Book Proposal, which comes out in a little more than a week!

My agent Dana Murphy of Trellis Literary is, once again, joining me for my annual LGBTQIA+ Publishing Q&A on Thursday, May 23rd at 12p EST. The event is totally free (no hidden sales pitches!), but registration is required.

And also! There are only a few days in June still open, if you want to book My Best Writing Routine, a 3rd House birth chart reading.

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