"Precious body, imbued by the richness of the senses, I gratefully honor your beauty and strength each evening when night falls."

Dear beautiful one,

Almost half the year has passed in 2023. May is the perfect month to evaluate your achievements manifested for the year so far. Take a good look where you are at right now on your path and outlay your ambitions for the months to come. The Sun’s transit through earthly Taurus for the first three weeks of May supports qualities like determination, stability and tenacity. These characteristics come handy now as impulsivity and hurried decisions can create various problems and conflicts. With a concrete strategy, you will be able to strengthen your material foundation. Focus on the constructive things in your life so that this month becomes a positive experience for you!

On Monday, 1^st May (Tuesday, 2^nd May NZ) Pluto in Aquarius goes retrograde until the 11^th October 2023.  With this intense movement, the power of the people becomes more evident collectively and individually. Potent and transformational energies might surface awakening deep insights in you. Reflect on your need for power plays and self-destructive tendencies and reassess how you can best use your power. This is a favorable time for any research you undertake as well as the search for truth. 

 
A Lunar Eclipse and Full Moon in Scorpio is happening on Friday, 5^th May (Saturday, 6^th May NZ).  You are facing an unsettling day which can accentuate deep emotional issues. Confront your fears, go to their core and try to understand them. You will emerge from this process empowered and liberated. Secrets which were hidden from you might come to light. Be gentle to yourself today. Venus in Gemini is also sextile Jupiter in Aries.Despite the unease you might feel today, there is a desire to socialize with friends or to enjoy a night out at the movies. A realization about how lucky you are might emerge! 

Things to contemplate on this Full Moon day:

• Have I become preoccupied with external issues to distract myself  from what is within?
• Have I looked to others for security instead of standing in my power?

 
Venus enters watery Cancer on Sunday, 7^th May (Monday, 8^th May NZ) and stays there until the 5^th July 2023.  Your home is your castle during this transit. You enjoy attending to home matters and being with family. There is a strong need for comfort, protection and nurturing. 

On Friday, 12^th May, retrograde Mercury inTaurus is sextile Saturn in Pisces.  Inner focus comes easy today as you have the mental discipline to concentrate on essentials. Take time for meditation and listen to your inner guidance. Pursue with what has been revealed to you while meditating and manifest it! 

Click here to access "Intro to Meditation' inside the Aligned Life Studio

On Monday, 15^th May (Tuesday, 16^th May NZ) Mercury in Taurus goes direct again.  Slowly there is more movement in your life and areas where you felt stuck and held back start to open up again. There is finally a free flow of energy when the Mercury post-shadow face ends on 31^st May 2023. Communication, travel and technical/mechanical devices will be hopefully without disruption from now on! Activate whatever you have held in store and move forward with it! 

Click here to access "Root to Rise' inside the Aligned Life Studio

On Tuesday, 16^th May (Wednesday 17^th May NZ) lucky and expansive planet Jupiter enters Taurus until the 25^th May 2024!  This year long transit brings blessings, stability and growth to your possessions, your values and financial matters. Investments, property and bank deposits shine under a bright star! Make sure though that  you approach any financial opportunities with diligence and care. The tendency to overindulge in fatty and high calorie foods during this period is high. Pay attention to your diet. From 17^th to 19^th May Pluto in Aquarius squares the Jupiter transit and can manifest as power struggles and control issues. Use these couple of days to strengthen your inner power and work on your personal transformation for growth.

 A Taurus New  Moon is happening on Friday, 19^th May (Saturday, 20^th May NZ).  The Taurus New Moon brings you back to the simple things in life. Delight in the sensual pleasures that connect you to nature and your own body. Be consciously aware of the beauty around you and immerse yourself in the scents of the plant world. Connect to the earth and walk bare feet in the grass. Soak up the grounding earth energy and make it your own. Savour good food and pamper yourself with nurturing body treatments. Abundance is here to enjoy! Move slowly and deliberately in this physical world. And ask yourself: “What truly makes me happy?”

This New Moon is in tune with Mars, Pluto and Neptune and honours your intention to start afresh. It is a favourable time for changes based on a solid and realistic foundation. Enjoy reaping the fruits of your invested efforts!

Taurus New Moon Recipe - A Ritual of Devotion to Nature

Plan a special meal and gather together an array of beautiful, fresh ingredients of bright colours, and irresistible fragrances and textures. Offer the food with gratitude in your heart, and this sense of ongoing partnership, co-creation and understanding of the flow of abundance between you and Mother Earth.

Try the Yacatan Chicken with Papaya and Avo Salso Fascia Food recipe inside the Aligned Life Studio

Intentions for this Taurus New Moon:

I feel more grounded, stable and centred in my day to day life.

I sit in nature and listen consciously to the multitude of sounds.

Energetic Mars enters Leo on Saturday, 20th May (Sunday, 21st May NZ) and stays there until the 11^th July 2023.  Pick up your paint brush, kick-start your piano lessons or go on a wild adventure trip with friends. Your creative energy is surging during the next few weeks, and your hobbies call out for your attention. Romance can lure your heart into love affairs. Your self-confidence and passion for life are high. However your attention to detail may suffer as you prefer to not  think about the nitty-gritty of things during this transit. Pluto comes into a hard aspect with Mars  on this day too and can create selfish actions and a desire for quarrel. The energy is intense and there is no middle way, nor an openness to understand the viewpoint of others but a fixation on your own opinion. How about having an honest and objective look at your beliefs?

 On Sunday, 21st May, the Sun moves into the dual sign of Gemini (Monday, 22nd May NZ) and stays there until the 21^st June 2023.  During the Gemini season life is about interaction with others, social gatherings, talking things through and stimulating your mind. Under this Gemini influence you seek to learn, to teach, to guide and to share. It is a cheerful phase with much laughter and fun. Watch yourself gossiping and being unreliable! Your mind can rule over your heart easily now. This is a good month for studies and for processing information. Transformative Pluto is harmonising with the Sun in Gemini today too and gives you the opportunity to find power within yourself and through your verbal expression. Whatever you communicate, make sure that it is truthful and honest! 

 On Tuesday, 23^rd May (Wednesday, 24^th May NZ) there is tension between Mars in Leo and Jupiter in Taurus. There is a lack of motivation today. You are pressed hard to make a move at all and there is a sense of being stuck. Being seduced by comfort and by indulgence can make you feel sluggish. Try yourself at small movements instead of leaping for a biggie!

Click here to access "Rest, Digest, Heal' inside the Aligned Life Studio

On Sunday, 28^th May, the Sun in Gemini is challenged by Saturn in Pisces.  Finding boundaries and structures is the theme for today but you seek playfulness and sparkle instead. Hard work and taking on responsibilities can overwhelm you easily. Best to work with them in a detached and light-hearted manner.

Key phrases for this month to remember are:

• Confront your fears, go to their core and try to understand them.
• Pay attention to your diet.
• Be consciously aware of the beauty around you and immerse yourself in the scents of the plant world.
• How about having an honest and objective look at your beliefs?
• Whatever you communicate, make sure that it is truthful and honest!

Nature calls on you during the month of May. Honour its abundance and resourcefulness and delight in the sustaining and life-giving produce it gifts to you. Immerse yourself in the sensual world of scents and sounds and give thanks to your body for its ability to move you through this precious world. If you are grateful for all that is around you, you have opened the gateway to grace!