This week sees the major astrological event of Uranus moving into the sign of Taurus, just a few hours after a New Moon in Taurus. With this pairing, the basic becomes revolutionary. Uranus is classically ahead of its time, and most of us have become familiar with the notion of “radical self-love” – a phrase well-suited for the pairing of the revolutionary Uranus and the inner-side of Venus, Taurus. But now we’re going to see how far that can go! On the more grave end, we can be addressing our inner and collective traumas around survival. How can we innovate such that thriving is the baseline, and the basics are there so that survival isn’t taking up one’s time and energy? What would happen if more (perchance all) beings had what they needed? I know this is lofty, but Uranus is also about Utopia, and contemplating Utopia allows us to stretch closer toward it. I’m asking the question because I want to invite us as a collective to really consider the implications of what the world would look like if people had access to more resources and grew up well-nourished, rather than having to address basic trauma for the rest of their lives that came from growing up with lack. (Uranus is also about justice, and Taurus relates to our survival needs.)
The Universe, or Nature – moves towards complexity and we may find that as we address our basic needs (food, comfort, self-esteem), we experience radical amounts of space and freedom to develop more complex parts of ourselves. If these are the years you really want to take your life game to the next level, start with your roots, and tend to your body! Uranus is also about technology, and those of you who are geeks about manifestation or law of attraction like myself, know that feelings of wealth/wellbeing can be attuned to vibrationally and in a real sense channeled, and this consciousness technology is yet another access point for thriving. I will be speaking more about Uranus in Taurus through the forecast and into the future, so stay tuned.
In other events of the week, Mercury has long been squaring Saturn but no longer, and now as it speeds up through the end of Aries it enters hard contact with Mars and Uranus… and then enters Taurus this week shortly before the New Moon in Taurus and Uranus’ entrance into Taurus. At the end of the week, Mars enters Aquarius. It’s special that Mercury and Uranus change signs together – as they are said to be octave planets; Uranus is the higher octave of Mercury (the “higher mind” is one of Uranus’ associations). This conjunction lends more surface-layer or readily accessible insight into the feeling of Uranus in Taurus.
There’s a lot of dynamic activity happening this week so it’s a longer forecast. I hope you find what you need to find in here! 🙂 Here’s our week, after a short announcement.
I am coming to Portland, OR on May 19th to teach a lecture and workshop on Evolutionary Astrology via the Oregon Astrological Association. Please tell your Portland friends to come, and if you are in the area you are invited to come and get the download on how to get started learning how to read natal charts from the perspective of the soul. If you would like to arrange an in-person astrology reading during my trip (I’ll be there for the weekend), I am taking a limited number of sessions. Please write me an email at sabrina@monarchastrology.com to book. Get your ticket for the lecture here and for the workshop here.
Sun in 21 Taurus trine Pluto in 21 Capricorn: 4:10 PM PDT
The Sun in Taurus relates to the dimness or vibrancy of our relationship to ourself: our self-worth and our capacity to feel and receive pleasure. It relates to the relationship we have with the physical plane, which includes our possessions or the things we are in relationship with (either way you may look at it), and how our creativity may flourish in this material realm.
Pluto in Capricorn is an era of major transformation of the bones, the structures, the codes, the laws, the government, the authority. It relates to the death of structures which no longer work; but the simultaneous attachment and addiction to whatever rules and codes have thus far defined our relationship to reality (whether or not they really serve).
When we watch these two planets gently infuse each other via the trine aspect, these are some potential themes:
This transit carries with it a field of transformation which is comfortable to go through. Transformation, as we know, varies in feeling welcomed or enjoyable versus cataclysmic and disruptive. What tends to make our most uncomfortable transformations uncomfortable is that they represent stored/repressed energy, of changes that are past overdue. So, when we can take advantage of easeful transformative times (like now), it’s great to!
(Image: Flower of Endimion detail, Agostino Arrivabene)
Themes relating to shame and the ways they hinder self-esteem may shift. We might become more aware (Sun) of unconscious shame (Pluto in Capricorn). By peeling back these layers and processing what comes up, we can develop a more vital relationship to the self and consequently to others. One effect of shame is that it inhibits our capacity to receive love – we mark a boundaried part of ourself as unworthy of love. When we process shame, we can end up having more compassion for ourselves but also letting others do the same. (And as a greater stretch – Reality in its entirety as the other, also being something we can have a better relationship to when shame is transformed.)
The dynamic that the more pleasure and love we experience and open up to, the deeper our inner-work becomes because we now have the energy to deal with shadow content and pain/traumas/etc. that a less emotionally-resourced version of ourself would be able to handle. (The psyche compartmentalizes things generally for such protective reasons.) So, evolving our capacity for pleasure, enjoyment, and esteem in life and in ourselves comes with it greater responsibility for caring for the psyche. It’s possible to derive enjoyment and satisfaction from this process, but knowing that deep stuff comes up the happier or deeper into spirit that we get, might help take away the shock that there are consistently yet deeper layers of this human journey to process through the emotional body. (“why can’t I just be happy?” ——> happiness is complex)
May 12
Mercury in 28 Aries square Mars in 28 Capricorn: 6:30 AM PDT
Mercury in Aries had long been locked into a square to Saturn – during the last Mercury retrograde it aligned that this square lasted weeks rather than just passing through. But now Mercury is advancing through the last few degrees of Aries and forms contacts to Mars and Uranus this week, both of which have energies that accelerate and speed up the things they touch. Some themes to consider:
A greater mental impatience emerging, especially when there is a conceived block upon one’s freedom.
Recently freed-up mental energy and not being totally sure where to direct it; experiments in directing hot flows of energy.
Accessing more bold, daring ideas and plans than normal; a window to download action plans on these bold ideas; a tension on the timing of when or if to act on ideas versus letting them gestate.
As this constellates under a dark moon (we are heading toward the New Moon), watch your nerves! Higher flows of this transit can be accessed when basic needs are attended to, so if you start to get agitated consider taking a break and attending to needs, than to keep forging on. Many people are more tired than usual during the dark moon, but don’t know it’s correlated to the last week of the moon cycle – they think it’s them and so they try to push. Know when to stop.
May 13
Mercury in 29 Aries conjunct Uranus in 29 Aries: 3:50 AM PDT
This is another nervy Mercury transit occurring at the lowest ebb of the Moon. On a practical level, this is a good week to be well-hydrated and well-nourished, as these transits are experienced differently from different vantage points. The gift of Mercury-Uranus is to have radical insights and accelerated mental processes – the drawback you might want to avoid is feeling mental burnout or feeling overtaxed by asking the nervous system to perform functions without giving it the rest or lubrication to do so. Water conducts electricity — think of why/how some of your best ideas come while you are in the shower and literally in the presence of running water! If you are to more fully internalize this, Mercury-Uranus transits work better for the body-mind when the body is hydrated. 🙂 Some themes:
At the last degree of Aries, Mercury-Uranus here might prompt insights on how it is we are defensive. This is the difference between being instinctually defensive and not realizing one is even being defensive, versus being aware that one has just put up their armor. When defensiveness is conscious, it is more readily transformed; like the light of awareness burns it off. Some of our long-standing defenses may be ending at this time due to insight or changed circumstances.
There is also the consideration here of highly intelligent defense: defenses we employ which do actually serve and help.
A culminating or peak experience of insight in the realm of mental freedom; how certain ideas or modes of perception are emancipatory in nature. This can extend as well to any language of freedom beyond mental – such as one who has explored the body or soul deeply in some way and has for example the freedom to hear plants speaking to them (beyond the normal conditioned sense that there is separation there).
Mercury enters Taurus: 5:40 AM PDT
But now, speaking of plant communication! 😉 Mercury in Taurus brings us more communicably in touch with the Earth plane literally and symbolically speaking. Some themes:
Mental patience of a new kind arises – with Mercury-Saturn skies for some time we may have developed a patience with minutia and with allowing difficult processes to unfold, waiting as bureaucracies delay our will, etc. Mental patience via Mercury in Taurus is about the care and sensitivity involved in cultivating an idea fully.
Mercury in Taurus signifies a time to develop our nervous system sensitivity – what channels of information we pick up on and cultivate. What do we value and want to take slow, steady time with, even in a cultural landscape where information is readily available and coming at us from all directions? Taurus brings us to basics – in Taurean process we might like silence and time in nature and solitude to reconnect with ourselves, to other non-human animals, plants, and to the earth. Perhaps we want to clear some space in our internal landscape by taking in less (but more intentional) information from the outside world. Maybe we focus on one sector of a creative project and stop multitasking. Simplification opens up lush oasis space of sensitized consciousness.
Endurance for our projects, for communications, and for various tasks also can become a theme. Once in motion, Taurus is a force! Taurus works with inertia (resting hard as well) so as you go about the normal busy-ness of life you might notice that getting started takes a little more than usual yet once you get into a rhythm, you’re a force. See where Mercury is transiting your chart to get an idea of where you might be placing your mental energy.
May 15
New Moon in 24 Taurus: 4:47 AM PDT
The technical details: This New Moon is trine the new phase Pluto-Mars conjunction in Capricorn. We also have a Vesta-Saturn balsamic phase conjunction in Capricorn, and Uranus in Aries and Mercury in Taurus are conjunct and square the nodal axis. Jupiter in Scorpio squares the nodal axis as well. Venus, our ruler of Taurus – is in Gemini conjunct Athena. Mars in the last degree of Capricorn squares Uranus in the last degree of Aries.
Some themes to consider:
The Sun and Moon join to open up a union in our consciousness between our solar/manifestation self and our lunar/feeling self. In Taurus, the theme here can be cultivation. With tending, our dreams and plans are possible to bring into fruition. The ruler of Taurus, Venus – is in Gemini right next to Athena. The opportunity and conflict this brings us is the reality that many paths of fruition are possible. With the right cleverness; the right action plans, the right strategies, and sheer diligence and commitment, we are able to create and manifest an academic career, a business, a fully-fledged creative work, or any other substantial life plan. Several of these alignments (Mars in the last degree of Capricorn square Uranus in the last degree of Aries, Venus-Athena) point to a height in strategic consciousness: we might be able to see a whole plan unfurl before us if we follow the breadcrumbs of our ideas and how we might materialize them into things; products; realities. Because the paths are many, a prayer we might resource at this time is a deep asking: what do I most value cultivating at this time?
Additionally, however loyally positioned we are to a pursuit, with Uranus about to enter Taurus, the foundation below us might… shake up a little bit! We might be surprised at how our values change; or how our diligence in one area of life holographically shifts to another (what you learned literally gardening teaches you how to start a business…. or in other words, earth’s technology teaches you how cultivate a different kind of seed, such as an idea for a business. Or you trade in the work ethic you learned in the corporate world for creating your own destiny instead, etc.) As we might feel the call to shift our attention, we might realize that some of our inner-resources learned from the last pursuit transfer over.
For those who are much less aware of what they want or what possibilities lay before them, cultivating a passion or a skill that is readily available and supported in your current environment, is a way to begin to get this process moving. Taking account of your talents and inner-resources, and thinking about strategy may be fruitful during this cycle. (Such as: you know you are great at what you do for a living as a solo-entrepreneur – but what you really need to learn is how to communicate what your offering is to others! Or you know perhaps you’ve got some raw talent but you need mentors, and that it is time to take some kind of training or think about higher education, etc. Or as a final and less worldly example, perhaps you note a reoccurring relationship pattern and start reading about psychology or relationships to look into gaining the practical techniques to changing this dynamic in your life.) Taurus likes tangible and practical manifestations of its efforts, and these are possible for us to meet.
An opening potential within this lunar cycle is the art of synthesizing (Venus in Gemini conjunct Athena) – combining disciplines/crafts/fields you value and seeing what unique synergy they create.
In a world where so much information and so many ways of perceiving reality are available, we run into the sticky issue of moral relativism. However, without commitment to having a solid inner-ethic, the capacity to hold reality is more superficial. Experiences deepen when the container is stronger – such as by honoring a code of relevant, life-enhancing values. Consider the Saturn-Vesta conjunction at this time as an invitation to hold space for one’s moral ethic. Living in alignment with one’s ethics can condition the energetic field one is immersed within – the means are no different than the ends. This can be taken beyond the notion of “right and wrong” and also be extended to vibration, and any vibrational value one wishes to abide by such as compassion, kindness, etc. What does it look like to bring kindness into your work, into the way you treat yourself, into the way you walk your path? Living according to chosen values brings ritual space into otherwise mundane settings – a form of practical magic.
Uranus enters Taurus: 8:16 AM PDT
Uranus is giving us a preview of its stay in Taurus – it will retrograde back into Aries November 6, 2018, and then return to Taurus March 6, 2019. I will have more to say about Uranus in Taurus as we situate ourselves in its field, but for now here are some themes!
More and more people are realizing that they can’t just eat whatever food happens to be on the table. Specialized diets abound. Imagine the liberation of realizing which foods serve your body and which foods do not. Imagine the energy and life force that returns to one when we realize how to nourish ourselves. Moreover, imagine the acceleration of body-consciousness that occurs when one knows how to really hear the needs of the body, to know from an internal space what enhances one’s life force and what does not. Changing one’s body chemistry because of one’s diet could be a quantum reality shift that affects the whole interconnected field of one’s life.
Other paradigm shifts that may increase in number/popularity at this time is the realization of how connected we are to the Earth. How does it actually work to hear a plant or a tree talking to you? How do you connect to non-human (and non-domesticated) animals? How do you re-establish a connection to the Earth where there has been separation and trauma?
Some of our most revolutionary ideas and inspired life-changes may come from experiences of pleasure. Remember that “pleasure is merely high energy” (David R. Hawkins in Power Vs. Force). Think what learning how to circulate pleasure in the body via tantric practices or yoga (or deepening therein) could do to one’s life… it’s not like that stuff has to be compartmentalized. Pleasure can affect our thinking, and can be shared with others.
The opposite direction, or a trauma-side of Uranus in Taurus, is the soul-memory we both individually and collectively have around survival issues – not having enough, and however we have emotionally, physically and socially reenacted such traumas. That is what we can be working with and healing.
For the collective, it is going to be revolutionary to find more ways to take care of people’s basic needs – giving people the basic resources and foundations to thrive. Raising the quality of life for those who have the least. Creating more abundance for all. Quality food, quality education, quality access. If you’re called to addressing these issues, perhaps consider Uranus in Taurus an ally – survival justice and economic justice could very well become heightened parts of the zeitgeist.
Mars enters Aquarius: 9:55 PM PDT
Mars is slowing down (from the perspective of Earth, that is) and will retrograde in 9 degrees of Aquarius June 26, 2018. At the time of Mars’ entrance into the sign of Aquarius, it is in orb of conjunction to the South Node in Aquarius and will retrograde just a few degrees away from the South Node. I will also be continuing to speak of this dynamic. Here are some notes!
It can be important to have some detachment from anger that arises. When the South Node is conjunct another planet, it is like it sweeps up karmic debris related to the planetary archetype it is touching. One way to look at astrology is that it is the timing of karma. Karma comes up, and the way we engage with it determines if it snowballs into further karma or in other words, if and how that karmic theme sticks around. Does it get bigger? Does it dissolve? Does it devolve or evolve?
Mars retrograde resonates with the archetype of a martial artist; one who has an internal relationship to Mars – one who trains and studies in the art of skillful action. Or perhaps it is the yogi, who trains the strength and flexibility of the body and abides in non-violence. Mars retrograde archetypally resonates with Arjuna of the Bhagavad Gita wondering at the start of the battle: should I fight or should I not? Most of us know from life that certain situations and conflicts will draw out a necessity to act: but that acting skillfully is a great consideration and art. When we are triggered or reactive, we don’t as easily draw upon our skillfulness. Yet, training in a Martial capacity (such as with yoga, martial arts, mindfulness, meditation, etc.) allows us to have a sharper relationship to skillful action even when we are triggered. So practically: we are getting into a time-space where the importance of skillful action increases, and where blundering re-actions might grain on our flow more than usual. You might keep in your awareness that this is a better time to act intelligently than it is to just go with a gut reaction. Spiritually, see if certain cycles of suffering are open to change at this time, such as by re-focusing your consciousness rather than recycling an old story with re-actions.
Thank you for meditating on the planets with me this week! It’s really a big week with some potent shifts; so let us know how you’re doing in the comments or what you think about these transits and the ideas I posed here. Please share this forecast with a friend or on social media if you think it’s helpful!
New Moon blessings to you and lots of love,
~Sabrina Monarch
Offerings
Personalized forecast reading: Want to know how the transits specifically affect you? This reading is focused on how the current transits of now to six months out are personally impacting your natal chart. We’ll look at longer-acting outer planetary transits as well as significant transit events that exact their alignment in this six month window.
Natal Chart Reading: I offer an analysis of the placement of Pluto, the lunar nodes, and the planetary rulers of Pluto and the lunar nodes, to tune into a Soul-level interpretation of the natal chart. Because the Pluto and lunar node signatures make up what is like the base tone or root of the natal chart, we can access some insights on the deeper “why” questions of one’s life. In addition to providing a Soul-oriented portrait of the natal chart’s major themes, I synthesize any questions you may have with your natal chart’s wisdom.
Soulwork Sessions: Astrological consultations geared to answer your most pressing/difficult questions. Soulwork is a means through which I can provide guidance to anyone working with a challenging situation, paradox, yearning or existential question – something unresolved in your experience that you want to transform or have breakthrough with.
Sabrina Monarch is a soul-centered Evolutionary Astrologer who publishes weekly astrological forecasts and teaches. She has been collecting astrological experience for over a decade. She is a novelist and is currently pursuing her masters in Philosophy. She also enjoys kundalini yoga, meditation and ashtanga yoga.
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