Mnemosyne in Taurus

The Muses dancing with Apollo

by Baldassarre Peruzzi

There are at least several ways to think of the term ‘reflection.’ We could be reflecting on something, or we could be reflected in some mirror, glass…or reaction. 

Often simply listed (and referred to by present company) as ‘one of the Muses’ Mnemosyne is not pretty much but literally the mother of all Greek Muses. Primal Titan essence that she was, she slept with Zeus (Jupiter, i.e., knowing as to comprehend) for nine nights and from that came the nine ‘common’ muses such as music and poetry.

Why this would be is where we come to why Mnemosyne operates as it does in astrology: if Mnemosyne is ‘memory,’ where memory comes to have ‘intercourse’ (either intercourse of discussion or sexual intercourse) with knowledge (Jupiter/Zeus), from that would come the ‘most poignant moments’ one knows one remembers… and the ‘expression’ (child) which embodies that: poetry, music, comedy, history, dance, etcetera.

Astrologically, Mnemosyne is thus where we reflect on what we know or have learned, and from that express our best. 

In that, Mnemosyne expresses our values…and what we value most about life, or among our own abilities.

And that, my friend, equals Taurus to the max. Where Aries, first sign of the zodiac, is what we are, how we appear, how we express ourselves and what we do, Taurus – second sign of the zodiac – is what we are capable of, what we make of ourselves and our abilities, how that works with/in terms of others and what we gain through what we do.

The ‘old fashioned’ astrological way to think of Taurus is “I have” – which is why people think of it as ‘my money’ and ‘my possessions’ and ‘my satisfaction.’ But Taurus, like all four of the first signs is the start/end of a process. Aries is who we are and for every action we generate, so we get various kinds of reactions which give us feedback on our success or need to refine our methods or timing or whatever else. Taurus is what we have to offer…and thus what we get through developing it, refining it, making it properly appealing (or at least palatable!)...even maybe useful!...as we put it out there.

This is why Taurus is said to be about our resources, abilities and self worth…and maybe determination or motivation, given the Taurus-bull(headed) connection.

But any way you look at it, these are the raw ingredients with which we create whatever it is we create in life which earns…or doesn’t earn…what will make us secure and satisfied. You know, with that money in the bank.

So as of 5:09pm (UT/+0) on April 14th, Mnemosyne is entering Taurus – a combination which seems both worthwhile (all implied puns intended!) and productive, providing we are willing to take stock as to what needs doing.

For those who live in the northern hemisphere, this is very much a spring-has-sprung time of year and many people are changing out the cold weather gear for that they will use in the summery months to come.

Meanwhile, those in the southern hemisphere are putting all those summer things away as fall heralds the coming of winter.

  European Beech in Autumn

by Jean Pol Grandmont (Nov 2007)

So there’s a natural orientation towards looking ahead…but not all that entirely far ahead. And that’s fine – that’s obviously part of the theme here. Getting things in order to frisk on into the next season always gives us that sense of personal accomplishment.

But don’t just think short term. Particularly if your life is already in some sort of flux…maybe you’ve just moved, maybe you’re going to graduate this year, maybe you need to change your line of work, maybe someone in your family has passed away…this is a time to take stock and prepare yourself to move ahead with your life. 

Why would I say that? No, it’s not just about Mnemosyne entering Taurus – that comment stems from Mnemosyne entering Taurus in light of everything else which is going on. The Big Picture world is changing and everything our lives depend on (and therefore our lives) will change either in tandem or as a consequence of things going on right now.

Yes, right at this moment.

A lot of people tend to think that big ingresses like Uranus entering Aries or Neptune entering Pisces are ‘once-and-gone’…an energy of the moment. But they’re not. My favorite way to think of moving from sign to sign is to think of it as moving through a rainbow. For a while everything seems yellow, yellow, yellow….then it becomes green…then it becomes blue…and so on.

And the reason why I give you those big broad-stroke entering/exiting dates (for say, Saturn being in Libra or Uranus in Aries) is so you can begin to see how astrological interpretation is an amalgamation of influences. Uranus in Aries is the signature of a time we have just entered into which says life will change. We can change our lives or be changed BY life. Neptune having moved into Pisces, especially while Neptune traverses Pisces first decanate is an indication of a split of dynamics – the ‘gaps’ in life (for instance between have and have-not) growing larger. Neptune in Pisces indicates a lot of situations which will dissolve the old, which will arouse great emotionalism in us, challenging how well we accept the process of life.

It’s merely up to us to decide how we want to approach these times. That’s one of the really useful things about a blog – or the internet in general, when it comes to articles and astrological information. The posts here at astroPPM on Uranus entering Aries or Neptune entering Pisces are going to be there for you to come back to. They’re there to help prompt you to think.

And from now until late June when Mnemosyne moves from Taurus into Gemini, this is a good time to think. It’s a good time for internal discourse with what you know about who you are, what you’re doing and what you really need to do in, and with your life.