Empty Space
Here’s why I love the desert: it’s so empty, and the sky is so big, that I feel free to do and be anything. I love my creature comforts, and my real life is filled with beloved possessions. But there’s no question that “stuff” weighs us down in many ways, as we pay for it, store it, and maintain it. It’s probably a common fantasy to think of chucking it all and starting over someplace new, with a big, empty slate and limitless possibilities.
There comes a time when even cherished possessions have outlived their usefulness. The emotional connections they represent may need to be released, or we simply want to lighten our load for the journey ahead. As Venus trines Pluto (April 28, 2026, 9:40 am PDT) this week, don’t be surprised if you feel a sudden desire to get rid of stuff – and create more space for yourself, and who you’d like to become.
The Carrot and the Spreadsheet
The Lunar Nodes represent the process of releasing old patterns and embracing new challenges. This is generally difficult; it’s safer to stagnate in a toxic but familiar situation than to reach out to an unfamiliar one, however potentially positive. But when a planet squares the nodal axis, it provides an incentive – or a shove – in the direction of growth.
As Venus in Gemini squares the Lunar Nodes (April 29, 2026, 6:31 pm PDT, at 7º09’ Gemini, Virgo/Pisces), pleasure provides the push, and in the form of a carrot rather than a stick. The Virgo South Node would prefer that we remain in the world of spreadsheets and careful discernment; but the Pisces North Node, on the Sabian symbol 8 Pisces: A girl blowing a bugle, encourages us to make a big, joyful noise and spring into the loving embrace of our dreams.
Why would we hesitate to embrace this life-affirming, North Node world view? When you’ve been disappointed and mistreated, hope and optimism can feel like a sucker bet. But have faith. If we take steps, however tentative, toward the North Node, we’re rewarded with happiness.
How to proceed? Venus is connected to sensual pleasures, so let your senses guide you toward new and different food, scenery, sights, sounds, and smells. And Venus is in sociable Gemini, so smile at strangers on your morning walk. Have lunch with a friend. Let your senses bend you toward the invigorating pleasures of everyday life.
Confronting the Mystery
When Qin Shi Huang, first emperor of China, ascended the throne in 246 BC at the age of 13, work began on a mausoleum to protect him in the afterlife. In 1974, workers excavating a well just outside the city of Xi’an uncovered the mausoleum and thousands of life-sized terracotta statues, mostly depicting soldiers lined up in formation to escort the emperor into the valley of death.
A few years ago, when a Scorpio friend received a troubling health diagnosis, he chose to make the journey to China to see this grand display of funerary art. It makes sense. Taurus represents our attachment to the earth, but its opposite sign, Scorpio, symbolizes the sobering reality that we’ll leave it someday – taking nothing, not even our flesh and bones.
Everyone deals with this knowledge in their own way. Some stockpile possessions. Others obsess about diet and fitness; surely there is some magic formula that will make us live forever. And one or two even replicate (or visit) an entire dynasty in terracotta.
Forever, humans have sought to decode the great mystery of death. We confront it when a loved one dies, childhood heroes appear in the obituary pages, or a health crisis brings the whole matter a little too close to home.
The Scorpio Full Moon (May 1, 2026, 10:23 am PDT) highlights two truths: One is that, against all odds, each of us exists. And the other is that eventually, we won’t. Someday, we’ll walk off into the unknown, alone, naked, probably a bit frightened – without our possessions, and almost certainly unescorted by an army of terracotta soldiers. Until then, enjoy the gift of now, and savor the mystery of what comes later.
Dialogue with the Physical World
Mercury enters Taurus this week (May 2, 2026, 7:57 pm PDT, until June 11). Deliberate, taciturn Taurus may seem like an odd fit for Mercury. But that’s only if we assume that Mercury’s work is confined to speaking, writing, and conversing. Mercury is also the planet of perception and learning, which are by no means confined to language.
Mercury in Taurus symbolizes our dialogue with the physical world. What can our bodies teach us? What knowledge do we gain from being embodied, living on a planet? How do we communicate with the world through touch, fragrance, beauty?
To have a dialogue with the things of the physical world – to let them teach us – means letting go of some of our attachment to the mind. It means slowing down chronological time so that we can focus on the present moment. Mercury in Taurus excels at slowing down. Try not to fight it. We’ll find plenty to occupy Mercury’s curiosity beyond what’s written on a page or spoken with words.
Writing and images © 2017-2026 by April Elliott Kent
