This week of April 21st - 27th, 2025 has brought some heavy hitting power plays. We are in a state of rebirth + regeneration. Just like Taurus season brings the natural world back to life, something in us is blossoming just like the lilacs in my backyard. The stars have been serving up a transformative feast this week, so I hope you brought your appetite for change. The great news is that this week ends with a beautiful Taurus New Moon litcherally begging you to manifest under it. Before we get into how to work with the energy of this lunation, let’s review some of the power struggles this week has been presenting.
On Wednesday 4/23 we had the Sun square off with Pluto, creating friction between your desire for stability and the world’s demand for (r)evolution, between material comforts and radical transformation. The vibes were intense, the power dynamics were playing out and hopefully you got a little poke and prod that we need you to step out of your comfort zone to step up the revolutionary plate. Seems like a prime time to remind you of the importance of practicing your anarchist calisthenics, aka the delicious practice of taking small, seemingly insignificant acts of breaking arbitrary rules to build your tolerance for challenging larger systems of authority.
Then Thursday 4/24 brought us Venus conjunct Saturn in dreamy Pisces – the final chapter in a trilogy that began back in January (exact dates of this story line are January 18th, April 7th and April 24th). This is a sobering transit that asks us how are we really actually gonna to commit to our desires, our values and our self-worth. The conjunction can bring some clarity around all of this but you gotta put in WERK, HUNNY. Your dreams aren’t gonna build themselves!
Saturday 4/26 brings us a ser.i.ous power struggle in the form of a Mars-Pluto opposition. Flip back to November 3rd, 2024 and January 3rd, 2025 to recall how this tension can possibly play out. When these two planets face off, it creates an epic showdown between your personal power (Mars) and personal subterranean (Pluto).
Now I bet you thought living through another Mars-Pluto opposition for the third time in 6 months was plenty, but noooo, we also have Black Moon Lilith entering the chat to make a T-Square with Mars and Pluto. We have Mars and Pluto pulling on opposite ends of a rubber band, and Black Moon Lilith is right in the middle, amplifying that tension and creating what astrologers call a "achievement triangle”, pushing you into action whether you're ready or not. It’s basically a pressure cooker situation where your feral, primordial nature + desires (Black Moon Lilith) are pushing you to transform how you wield your ambition (Mars) and power (Pluto). Your shadow self is saying, "Time to play!" and refusing to stay politely hidden. Those parts of yourself you've kept caged? They're rattling the bars. Those power dynamics you've been ignoring? They're showing up in HD. The magic happens when you stop trying to control your feral nature and instead let it be the unapologetic solution.
Notice how anger, frustration, irritation, or the need to be right is showing up in your life or in others around you. Arguments and confrontations are lurking around every corner rn, but they contain seeds of profound growth if we're willing to look deeper, to sit with the shadow. Every trigger is an invitation to heal. Every conflict is an opportunity to restore balance. Every slice of shadow is an invitation to integrate. This may be arising this week, but this type of shadow work is a long game. Remember, slow and steady wins the race, it IS taurus season after all.
✨This Taurus New Moon is for MANIFESTING ✨
PHEW, let's talk about this beautiful Taurus New Moon happening Sunday, April 27th at 1:30 PM MST. It’s such a sweet salve to a tension fill week. Time to alchemize all the realizations of the week into some long lasting magic. Taurus is an earth sign ruled by Venus and concerned with all earthly delights, security, embodiment, and imho is the master manifestor of the zodiac. Giving major King of Pentacles energy, the bull knows how to build empires one brick at a time. Venus, Taurus's ruler, is currently exalted in Pisces (a very magical and happy place for Venus to be) and conjunct Saturn and the North Node, serving slow-cooked manifestation realness. This line-up is asking us to get serious about our dreams, hunny. The North Node's presence makes the act of manifestation - plucking a thought/idea/whimsy from the astral plane and animating it on the physical plane - an extraordinarily prominent part of this lunation.
Picture yourself as a cosmic gardener right now. You are standing barefoot and embodied in ridiculously fertile soil (thanks Taurus), your seeds have extra magic sprinkled on them (thanks Venus in Pisces), you've got a sturdy fence to protect your garden (thanks Saturn) and a magical grow light (thanks North Node). I want you to think about what you're truly hungry for right now. Not the surface-level wants, but the deep, primal desires that make your cells hum with recognition when you think about them. Those are the seeds to plant under this moon. With the Venus-Saturn-North Node situation, we're being asked to commit to desires that have staying power, that can actually nourish us through multiple seasons.
The key to working with this New Moon is to get embodied AF. Taurus wants you to feel your desires in your body, to taste them, touch them, smell them. Get sensual with your manifestation practice! How does your intention feel in your hips? Your chest? Your throat? Let your body be the bridge between imagination and reality. Run your hands through soil. Hug a tree. Kiss a rose. Taste something sweet and let it melt on your tongue. Light candles that smell like roses or forest floors. Taurus teaches urges us to engage all the senses - your body is an alchemical vessel.
This is a lunation for some plant magick, some earth magick, some sex magick, some big vision baby. The kind of manifestation work that gets your hands dirty and your heart racing. And remember - Taurus doesn't rush. Lasting abundance comes through patience, persistence, and pleasure in the process. So take your time, roll a joint, and feel the magick.
🪄New Moon Ritual Ideas🌱
Floral Honey 🌹 This sweet kitchen witchery honors both Venus and Taurus energy through taste, smell, and earthly delights. Where I live the lilacs are poppin’ so that is the flower I will be using, but feel free to use roses or another edible plant material you feel called to. Use the honey for spell work all year long or simply consume it to boost your own magick.
What you need:
Local honey
Mason Jar
Flowers, if using fresh lilacs collect them in the morning!
Simply fill your jar with the plant material, as full as you can as they will shrink in the honey. Then slowly pour the honey on your flowers while visualizing the intention you would like to imbue this honey with. Since honey is thick, it will take a while for it to soak through the flowers. I suggest using a chopstick to gently push down the honey and release the air bubbles. Continue to top off the honey and release the air bubbles till the jar is completely full. Screw on the lid and set the jar somewhere in your kitchen or on your altar. The flowers will wilt and break down, quickly floating to the top and this is totes normal. Leave the flowers in the honey for at least a week up and up until six. While the flowers soak, flip the jar at least once a day, speaking your intention to as you do so.
Floral Honey Beacon 🍯 If you are making the floral honey, you may as well make a honey beacon as well! Take a small dish and add just a spoonful of honey to it along with one lilac blossom/rosebud/whatever flower you are using. Set it on your altar or somewhere sacred and undisturbed in your home. When you place it, visualize it as a magnet for what you wish to attract into your life under this new moon. After it has sat for a few days, you may use it as a nature offering or you can consume it.
Magical Planting 🌿 This is a favorite for me when earth signs are involved. Planting season is just beginning so this is an ideal ritual! The concept is simple, get yourself a plant start or seeds or a house plant and plant it! While you a planting it, fill your heart and body with the intention you are setting and imbue it into the soil and plant through your hands. This plant will act as a visual reminder to keep moving toward your intention and will support your magically as you tend to it and water it. For an added layer, here are some plants with specific magic affinities. But this is just as powerful to do with any ol houseplant that is calling to you. I have a money plant I did years ago with this magick that is still a mainstay on my altar. Make this ritual work for you and your space!
Plant Basil if your intentions include growing wealth, abundance, self-worth or love of any kind. You can also use it to protect whatever it is you are calling in.
Plant Chamomile if your intentions call for a bit of luck or you are looking to attract money. You can also use it to protect whatever it is you are calling in.
Plant Mint if your intentions relate to calling in prosperity, breaking generational patterns and curses, or to call on the support of your ancestors.
Plant Rosemary to call in protection around what you are manifesting or to support you on your healing journey.
Plant Thyme if your intentions require some added courage or energy to achieve.
Plant Dill to amplify ANY manifestation! It amplifies the energy of what you desire.
Lilac + Bay Leaf Wish Bath 💜 If you’ve been following me for a while you know I love a BATH ritual and spell (Pisces sun, Cancer rising so what can I say!). Where I live, the Lilacs are GOING OFF, and as a flower that is ruled by both Venus and the Moon, I thought this was a perfect new moon ritual. Lilacs support new beginnings and a very high frequency of positive energy (from my experience and also validated by my herbal teachers). It is worth noting here that there is lots of folklore around the bad luck of Lilacs. I do not feel this way in the slightest, but if you do, then this one is not for you! If you have access to Lilacs, pick them first thing in the morning so they are as fragrant as possible. I like to soak my in a bowl of water so any debris or insects fall off before I put them in my bath. Before running your bath, cleanse yourself with smoke, a selenite wand or intentional dry brushing. Draw your bath and add Epsom salts for grounding and protection, sprinkle in Lilacs for positivity and new beginnings, and add a few bay leaves stating your wishes/manifestations/intentions as you drop them in. As you enjoy your bath, visualize your manifestations entering your bloodstream as they soak in through your skin, imbuing your body with all the information it needs to move forward towards your goals with the utmost success.
Apple Manifestation Spell 🍎 Not only are apples associated with Venus, they are also a fabulous fruit to use for manifestation work as they are associated with abundance and fertility. You just always want to be as specific as possible when working with apple. If you are clear on what exactly it is you would like to manifest under this new moon, this is a perfect spell for you. Gather the following ingredients:
An apple
Bay leaf
Any combination of cinnamon, basil and chamomile
Clove mixed with salt (for protection)
Honey
Pen and paper
Yellow, orange or white candle
Cut a hole in the center of your apple and dig the core out, scooping out flesh to make space for the mixture of honey and herbs we are going to created. In a small bowl mix together your honey and herbal mixture, imaging that this paste is acting as magnet for your desires, dreams or manifestations your are calling in. One a small piece of paper write down what you are calling in, add it to the paste. Then sprinkle the paste and paper with the salt mixture stating aloud “May my desires be shrouded in protection as they make their way from the astral to the physical, so mote it be.”
Spoon the paper and paste into your apple. Utilize remaining mixture to dress your candle if using. Place the apple and the candle on your altar and speak your desires aloud as you light the candle. Remove the apple once it begins to soften/go bad.
However the week finds you, I’m sending you big hugs and bid magick. Looking to dive in deeper? My May books are open here. And if you are a Taurus or Taurus rising get 15% off your year-ahead reading with code BDAY! XOXO, Lily 💋