Our body is connected to the body of Earth. The energy and quality of our days as we spend them on Earth’s plane is a direct mirror to the quality of our inner world and how we interact with ourselves. When we forget, Taurus season is here to remind us; a time of quiet intent, connective to the source of matter.
Walking in the woods, I stop to investigate a patch of moss. I look up to see a hemlock towering over the trail. Amidst so many hemlocks in the forest, I had not noticed this particular tree before despite walking this trail regularly. I look up at the silhouette against the grey sky, the spaciousness between needles and branches frees my heart. Hemlock, Tsuga canadensis, is a close companion of mine, and it always catches my attention in this way — with the assistance of a helper: the moss, a set of deer antlers in the grass, a cedar tree who came to me in a dream.
When I visit the helper and look around, only then do I see the hemlock tree that was calling to me, and I melt into the embrace of an old friend. “Thank you,” I say, “for finding a way to get my attention; for, once again, figuring out how to get me to listen.” I pick up a fallen branch, perhaps from this tree, perhaps from a neighbor, and I put it against my chest between my shirt and my sweater.
There are so many ways to listen. We can listen to what is directly in front of us, so often found in the words and sounds around us. When we listen with our ears, we can listen to what is being spoken, and we can also listen to the layers beneath; we can learn to listen to what is not being spoken, what is being felt and shared through omission. We can also listen to the world around us with other parts of our body: by observing symbols, following clues, and paying attention to arrivals and departures. And, we can listen by slowing down, opening ourselves to stillness and receiving what is being spoken inside of ourselves.
When I told my children they were not listening, only in the wise rebuttal of my then 4-year-old did I realize I used the word “listening” to mean “following my instructions” — two different propositions entirely!
I have changed my ideas about what it means to listen over the years. I remember a wonderfully humbling parenting moment when I told my children they were not listening. Only in the wise rebuttal of my then 4-year-old did I realize I used the word “listening” to mean “following my instructions” — two different propositions entirely! It is not infrequent that the verb listen takes on this skewed meaning. Listening is an act of attention and perception. Equating listening with the act of following instructions teaches us to bypass our feelings, our bodies, and our very instincts in favor of fulfilling the expectations of others.
Learning to expand our listening practice involves paying attention in new ways, and opening curiously and bravely to our perceptions. This requires connecting to our sensitivity — all the ways that information comes into our body — and the feelings they evoke when they do. We almost always need to slow down, resist the urge to bypass our vulnerability, and acknowledge voices of shame. This is required to build and restore a relationship with the language of our body, and learn to decipher, separate and hold boundaries between the needs, desires, and expectations of others and those authentic to ourselves.
One of my favorite qualities of Taurus is the desire to perceive and observe the universe in all its beauty and complexity without trying to figure it out. It is an exercise in listening, observing, and appreciating beauty without being called to analysis, assessment, or action. It is an exercise of the heart; a time to settle into a place of connection, simplicity, and beauty and focus on nothing more than enjoying it. In the flow of creation, it is a quiet rest to feel the synergy of that which we are a part of, and to find, feel, and connect with the sacred along the journey.
This Taurus season is an invitation to expand our listening in a broad sense by expanding our attention, our perceptions of all that is around us, and our sensitivity, while releasing any expectations that we have to understand or make meaning from what we learn, experience, or feel when we do. It is enough to slow down and connect with our bodies and the body of Earth long enough to open ourselves to a new kind of listening.
Resisting the urge to hide from our vulnerability, analyze, problem solve, plan, or even wonder too much is all an act of resistance — the very resistance we need to reclaim our sense of agency in this instinctual process of listening. Releasing our agenda and need to control allows us to slowly separate what we perceive of the world at an instinctual level from our and others’ expectations of what we hear/see/feel and how we respond. Learning to listen, your instincts take over.
When I get home, I take off my sweater and the hemlock branch falls to the floor. I pick it up with a smile and add it to the altar on our dining room table. It can be easy to forget that we are a part of Earth, but when we listen, and follow the threads that we find when we do, it becomes easier to remember.
Brittany Wood Nickerson is a writer, astrologer, herbalist, and interspiritual minister. You can learn more about her work and offerings at ThymeHerbal.com. Sign up for Brittany’s substack newsletter at BrittanyWoodNickerson.substack.com.
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