‘Why do you have to go and make things so complicated?’ -Avril Lavigne, Venus in Scorpio

It’s the Taurus Full Moon and I’m comfortable, safe and secure tucked away in a comfortable pocket of the world, Vienna, Austria. This is our fifth (or sixth?) time visiting and Vienna despite the rash of pickpockets (our Indian friend was robbed of several thousand euros on the subway in a cheap change-dropping trick) it remains a haven of respite from the day to day grind. A change of scenery is like a shock of inspiration to the entire system and trips like these always does a girl, and her marriage, good.

Every year the Sun enters Scorpio & our internal furnaces heat up. Then Taurus Full Moon comes along to alleviate the kind of build-up that could cause boil-overs, volcanic eruptions and the kind of honesty that hurts instead of heals. Unlike complex Scorpio, Taurus is so not complicated. Both signs really do appreciate straightforward and unpremeditated honesty in human relationship, the kind you’d get from a friend or partner who would tell you you had spinach in your teeth, though Scorpio would make the whole thing into an incident because Scorpio just feels things deeply, and whether you’re talking about spinach or a sex scandal, finds it difficult not to get emotionally invested. That’s why Taurus is a balance to the season, and a relief. Instead of working with unknowns and suppositions about what the other person might be feeling and thinking, we seek middle ground by trusting our senses, what we can feel, taste, touch and see. We speak plainly and forthrightly about what’s in front of our nose. This clear-seeing is welcomed and helpful.

The keynote of a Taurus Full Moon is simplicity and indulging in creaturely comforts that restore a sense of well-being to our lives. Some people get hungry at Taurus Full Moon, others indulge in a spot of relaxation and pleasure, or spend a fist full of money on simple luxuries they might not purchase on any other day, and yet others have really good sex. Why not do it all?! It’s a sensual season. Neither my husband or myself have Taurus or Scorpio planets, but in our composite chart Mars and Moon in Taurus oppose a Scorpio ascendant. We experience these signs most acutely through our relationship. Every year when the Sun enters Scorpio, my sweetheart and I discover the stinging Scorpion in each other and have to find a way to be honest about our feelings without being hurtful. And every year, by the fruition of the Taurus Full Moon, we return to the uncomplicated pleasures of be-ing in the body together – snuggling, good food and good sex, appreciating the simple awe and gratitude we have for each other, and for the good life we share. I do believe we’ve turned ‘spooning’ into a fine art form. We both know: it doesn’t get much better than this.

During this Taurus Full Moon you can claim refuge in simplicity and appreciate the abundance that’s yours. You can even appreciate the things you already have into a renewed sense of value. Do this by repairing your favorite shoes, or getting that beautiful suede purse of yours fixed. You can turn dog-walking, cooking a simple meal, a hug, a walk in the autumn leaves into your own personal safe-haven, a way to renew your vital connection to being in a body on this blessed earth. You can facilitate a feeling of well-being by doing anything that gives you a sense of safety, strength and self-provision. You can pleasure your self (sexy innuendo intentional) because your happiness pleases the rest of us. You can honor your own personal Eden, in it’s individual shape or form. Speaking of Eden, as I write this I’m noticing the nagging temptation to complicate things just as the perpetual red apple of knowledge dangled from a simple tree. The urge to dive into complexity is as fascinating and tempting as that sign which compulsively wants to get to the bottom of things (Scorpio). This urge is justified; there’s much going on astrologically – Saturn has just entered Libra, immediately having made a square to Pluto in Capricorn. Tempted as I am to dive headlong into ‘it’s complicated’, that’s not keeping in the spirit of this Taurus Full Moon. And since Taurus Full Moon respite is already short, all we need do is keep it sweet and simple. It’s so not complicated.