More Things in Heaven and Earth… – Astrology of 4/8 – 4/14

“There are more things in heaven and Earth… than are dreamt of in your philosophy.” (Shakespeare)

This week is a special occasion of each of our inner planets – Mercury, Mars, and Venus – forming aspect to the wounding/healing asteroid Chiron. Chiron is a very deep archetype that relates to the medicine and wisdom we find in the places that are also our pain points or painful initiations. Thus transits related to Chiron can bring up unpleasant, painful places, as it can also bring healing to those places.

Chiron is not just a healer but a philosopher, and we may look to this as a teaching that we also need philosophies to mediate our painful experiences. (If you want to learn more about Chiron, you can read an article I wrote about it here). Some of the mental, emotional, and spiritual pain we experience in this life is so deeply instinctual, and until we have concepts and symbols to interpret it (like astrology, tarot, psychology, etc – any healing art), we are bound to it in a much different way than when we have some kind of story to diffract its rawness, and to catch a breath of clear air.

When we philosophize through whatever brings us distress, we may find sudden breakthroughs but these are often sparks of grace along a vaster journey. Attempting to comprehend what troubles and eludes us IS an initiatory path, and we’ve all got our thing that troubles and eludes us. If it offers any respite, consider that there is a far more interesting and fantastic story unfolding for you that you cannot totally see when you are walking through narrower maze-like tunnels. It is forming liberating questions that helps you turn the corner toward which you seek. Don’t wait until much time has gone by to notice how far you’ve come or what you managed to accomplish. If you can, now, consider how your current experience is the awakening journey and how you are the hero of it. Amplify the adventurer, the quester, the part of you that wholeheartedly seeks and recognizes the good, and who is open enough in mind and heart to discover new information that transcends what you previously knew was real or possible.

Welcome back! Or in case this is your first time here, I’m Sabrina Monarch and I’m a soul-centered astrologer. I love providing perspectives on the opportunities of transits and putting into words what the vibe may feel like at this moment in time, to support you on your path & open a dialogue between us and the cosmos. If you would like to receive these weekly forecasts to your inbox, sign up for my mailing list here.

Here’s our week, after a few announcements!

The Astrology of Awakening Virtual Summit: is a 3-day online event April 10 – 12 which brings together a constellation of 11 brilliant women astrologers to share their greatest insights on how to navigate the journey that lies before us.

I’m going to be presenting a talk on “The Integration of Awakening: Saturn in Aquarius”. Learn more and register here. Attend for free, with replays up to 72 hours or purchase lifetime access to the summit.

Latest on Magic of the Spheres! My friend and astrologer Cello Carpenter-Pierce posted an article about Saturn’s connection to covid19 and social distancing shortly after the shelter-in-place orders were issued, and promptly before the ingress of Saturn into Aquarius, and we had this conversation about it all just hours before the recent ingress. We discussed how social distancing relates to Saturn, the 12th house, the differences between chosen and unchosen solitude, and ways to work with solitude. 

So, very topical 😎 and I learned a lot about the significations of the 12th house from a traditional perspective! The astrological 12th house is an area of life that relates to our solitude/isolation and is invoked when we are in circumstances of such, so it may be worthwhile looking up which sign you have ruling the 12th house before listening if you don’t already know. It will be the sign just before your rising sign (most likely if you use quadrant houses, and definitely if you use whole sign houses).

Cello is a queer astrologer who uses astrology to help anchor and make sense of life. They seek to infuse anti-oppression, anti-capitalist ideals into their work. Cello is drawn towards rest, catharsis, community, creativity and care-work. In reclaiming relationship to their own body and personal autonomy, they have developed a queer/questioning approach to the amygdala’s hard edged perspective of fate/destiny/time.

Tune in where you listen to podcasts, or on your web browser here.

Here’s our week!

April 8, 2020

Mars in 6 Aquarius sextile Chiron in 6 Aries: 10:24 AM PDT

This current cycle between Mars and Chiron began when the two were conjunct in late Pisces on December 28, 2018.

• With Chiron in Aries, solitude and alone-ness is both the wound and the medicine. Given how present themes of isolation are in the current moment, it makes sense that it may be a theme we are thinking of more than usual.
• Solitude being both wound and medicine means that there may be initiations and discoveries that are made possible through solitude, regardless of whether or not solitude is something we chose or felt pushed into by inner or outer circumstances.
• Mars in Aquarius, especially as it is next to Saturn, can be a slower Mars – we may prefer to see the bigger picture before we take action, like we want to see an aerial map of it all before we take steps. If we allow ourselves this pause and reflection time, we may get downloads and insights that help us take more aligned actions moving forward.

April 10, 2020

Venus in 6 Gemini sextile Chiron in 6 Aries: 6:39 PM PDT

(Image: Mandy Jurgens)

While the Mars-Chiron cycle is close to ending, the Venus-Chiron cycle is just beginning (Venus and Chiron were conjunct in Aries on February 10, 2020). Venus-Chiron cycles relate to initiations of the heart, both pleasurable and painful, as we already know of love.

• This type of sextile, occurring at the beginning of a planetary pair’s synodic cycle (as opposed to closer to the end) is called a crescent phase sextile, and the crescent phase points to a need for inward reflection and withdraw from extraneous external influences. While Venus in Gemini may be thought of as a more extraverted placement for Venus, this particular alignment at the moment may be more resonant with the inward process of *writing* the love letter, before sending it. Writing the love letter means we have some stillness within to collect our thoughts, and to search for how to verbalize what is more instinctually felt but is yet to have language.
• Love letter metaphor expanded, this process applies for many processes around Venus right now – there are ample levels of curiosity available to us in experimenting with what we like and dislike, what we find pleasurable and valuable. In solitude (again, chosen or unchosen) that Chiron in Aries represents, we have an opportunity to get a deeper read on what is unfolding in our inner life. More fully realized (and externally-mirrored) expressions and evolutions in love are just beginning, and at this point in the journey it is important to thoroughly connect with our own essence and cultivate new sensations, fantasies, and discoveries opening at this time.
• This transit is a subtle opening to privately feel like a character in a romance novel through your own perception (if such a thought pleases you 😉 or choose your genre of choice!). It’s not about anything external happening to make you feel that way, but your own capacity to feel that way within your own being, and to then notice how your life is conspiring to confirm your inner-sensations. This is what the “create your own reality” teachings point to – how our experience originates in perception and the choosing of pleasurable thoughts and feelings.

Mercury enters Aries: 9:48 PM PDT

• Mercury entering Aries heralds a shift that much mental fogginess and confusion is coming to a close. Mercury in Pisces is a very mystical energy but also relates to headfog and confusion for many, and Mercury was in Pisces for a while due to the recent retrograde. Now, more conviction, direction, or assuredness may be entering our mental processes at this time with Mercury entering the confident fire sign of Aries. (To be fair, Mercury in Pisces has its convictions too – if we really believe in something.)
• Mercury in Aries natives can often think out loud, or speak of newer (not fully formed) ideas and feel somewhat discouraged at the lackluster response that they receive from people in their environment. When Mercury is in Aries, we may want to be mindful of how we give word to what is new, and how much we want to protect our newer ideas. Mercury in Aries is not a very secretive placement, but it is one to defend ideas. Defending ideas can happen through debate/argument, or not sharing them in the first place. Sometimes when we keep a process to ourselves for long enough, we have time to foster its development without having to defend it or be exposed to warring ideas we are not confident enough yet to face without risking our new flame go out in the process.

April 11, 2020

Mercury in 1 Aries sextile Saturn in 1 Aquarius: 4:58 PM PDT

• Mercury-Saturn contacts can relate to problem-solving – mentally working through obstacles. As spoken to above with Mercury in Aries’ tendency toward defending ideas, either through argument or not sharing an idea in the first place, this alignment with Saturn suggests that we can be workshopping an idea’s weak points by considering the arguments. Fierce, confident statements may play on people’s emotions and sway them, but can still be ungrounded and faulty arguments. Mercury-Saturn suggests forming more well-rounded theories by addressing those nagging questions we either have within, or repetitively get asked by others.
• If you are in any business to persuade at this time (such as if you are selling something, are asking for support/resources for a project, etc.) consider working on the weak points in your argument head-on instead of avoiding them. It will make your ideas stronger and your point more convincing. If you discover that you cannot address the weak points, it may point to a change of mind for you or even a paradigm shift (sometimes we need new tools for problem-solving, and the process of addressing problems allows us to discover innovative ways of approaching the issue at hand).
• Consider as well that if you don’t care to address the aspects of your thoughts and convictions that are half-baked, you may feel subtly thwarted in your life as you are indeed, working off of flimsy premises. This transit is a gentle and innovative time to ‘work’ on your thoughts. There is a difference between unhealthy self-doubt and responsible discrimination. If you have thoughts and premises that don’t really have a ground, inquire more deeply into them and see what you can find.

April 14, 2020

Sun in 24 Aries square Pluto in 24 Capricorn: 4:07 AM PDT

(Image: Wilhelm Sasnal)

• The tension between these two is dynamic. To start with, we can explore some basic themes of each. The Sun in Aries relates to confidence, self-assertion, feeling free to be oneself fully, the hero, being willing to start new adventures and try new things, and possessing the raw life-force/energy to take on challenges. Pluto in Capricorn relates to transformation of our most embedded rules and structures, the exposing of what doesn’t function or work at a deeper level, the power and necessity of inner-authority, the psychological projections we cast onto people in prominent or hierarchical roles or receive if we are in a prominent/public role, and reckoning with mortality/death/endings. Consider if the combination of any of these themes is showing up for you in a dynamic way at this time.
• We may feel an inner-tension between wanting to be in our confidence/power while also entertaining/experiencing much doubt and heaviness. There can be moments where it is actually the heaviness itself that is amplifying a heroic aspect of ourselves – we can feel a kind of swelling dynamism within ourselves when we feel capable in the face of difficulty.
• The Sun and Pluto have different agendas – in a sense they do both expose – the Sun with light and Pluto with removing top layers so one can see what is happening “underneath”. But the Sun itself is not as prone toward descent and underworld-journeying as Pluto is. The Sun wants to keep things clear and in the light. We can be wrestling with ourselves at this time around how much we are resisting descent and how much we are willingly plunging into it.
• This pairing can relate to ego death and a deeper discovery of self in the aftermath of that. If you trace your fears down to their ultimate meaning, death is often present. We feel that if we (insert: are not believed, are misunderstood, have a relationship end, etc.) we will fall apart/die. The more unconsciously we resist and cling onto our control mechanisms that we think allow our fears to not come true, the more armored and defensive we become. One of the ultimate signatures of a warrior is someone who is not afraid of themselves. If we are willing to face our fears as they exist in our minds and nervous systems, and loosen those themes up, we offer ourselves a more expansive, thoroughly explored, life.

Mercury in 6 Aries conjunct Chiron in 6 Aries: 10:02 PM PDT

• This alignment reminds me of the swords suit in the tarot – the concept that the mind is tool that can serve us and also cut us, that we can be tortured or enlivened by our thoughts. There are times when we feel beset with anxiety and tortured by our own thinking. This is why learning skillsets around thought-work or managing the mind is a perennially useful pursuit – there will always be occasions where a change of mindset is the deepest medicine we could access.
• Chiron is depicted with a key-shaped glyph and as an archetype relates to opening experiences or initiations. We may want to consider what thoughts open doors for us at this time. Consider the game of reaching for a higher thought – finding a positive, a silver-living, or a liberating idea that brings greater levity to your heart and maybe chills or sensations of resonance in your body. Just one of these liberating ideas is more powerful than hundreds of thoughts that weigh you down. Find the ideas and thoughts that boost your morale, and consider if you give these thoughts the energy and attention they may deserve. Do you listen to that which literally brings you alive?

Thank you for meditating on the planets with me this week! I really appreciate you being here with me as I know that if you connect to this writing we have likemindedness and that is so special. Please share this article with a friend who you think would resonate!

Please let me know what you think in the comments – truly I want to know so leave a note! I love you and you are soul family to me, thank you for finding your way to these words and resonating with them in whatever ways you have.

If you enjoy these forecasts and would like more personalized guidance re your personal astrology, I would love to read your natal chart and transits for you! If you would like me to explore the themes in your chart, book a reading with me here. 

I meditate on charts before the reading and combine my knowledge of astrology with my clairvoyant abilities to offer you some insights about themes you are working with in this life based on prior lives, and what is the evolutionary purpose of this lifetime. I recorded an episode on my podcast recently titled Befriending your Intuition and Clairvoyance if you’d like to learn more about my relationship with clairvoyance along with tips for increasing yours!

I can work with your specific questions and shed light on ongoing issues or patterns you would like to shift, as well! Book with me here.

I’m also becoming increasingly expressive on instagram, so go find me there @sabrinamonarch and say hello! I’m posting content there that I don’t share anywhere else and I love interacting with you there as well as on twitter @sabrina_monarch.

With love,

Sabrina Monarch

Sabrina Monarch is a soul-centered Evolutionary Astrologer who publishes weekly astrological forecasts, works with clients and teaches. She is a novelist and has a M.A. in Philosophy, Cosmology and Consciousness from the California Institute of Integral Studies.

(Top image: https://novice-at-play.tumblr.com)