Full Moon in Leo: Astrology of 1/27 – 2/2

This week has a fair share of tension and opportunities for liberation. Venus and Pluto join in Capricorn, the Moon grows full in Leo and the Sun draws into an exact square to Mars, Mercury stations retrograde in Aquarius, and Venus enters Aquarius.

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Aquarius Season is about insight and perspective – Aquarius sees systems. Leo, the energy growing into fullness of the light this week, is about the grandeur of the self and the magic that is being full of oneself. Not full of oneself in the way that it is used as an insult or as a character flaw – but the sense of being self-actualized, and fully radiating one’s essence and power. This Leonine aspect of life is friend to many strong emotions – it could be our yearning to be something (that we believe we aren’t) or the jealousy or ruffling that occurs when someone is a strong personality/energy and other people have reactions to it. Leo is ruled by the Sun after all, and at once we might be basking in the sunlight in the full erotic splendor of aliveness, or squinting harshly into the light, burning, wanting nothing more than to get to somewhere cooler and shadier. Leo actually houses all of this drama! It also houses the inner-regality of stepping fully into who we already are – perhaps if we only believe we are worth it and that it is true.

In light of tensions like Venus conjunct Pluto (jealousy and intense desire are possibilities) and Sun square Mars (aggravation and irritation are possibilities) this week, we might have the opportunity to get some insight about ourselves as though we were a character we were fascinated in studying. There is a deeper level of play in the game of life that is available to us when we are willing to explore our own mysteries and shadows, and even just our patterns from a more detached vantage point (i.e. “because I subconsciously expect people to reject me, I [you name it – withhold my truth, don’t ask for what I want, undervalue myself, etc.] and these are the ways this pattern shows up in my field.”)

Those of us who want to change our lives, to either step away from patterns that drain us or to step more fully into the gifts or aptitudes we know we have – there’s just got to be a little more fun to this game. This could be what this week opens a door to – an illuminating awareness that we already are that which we seek. But how is this game played and what are the rules? If we’re here, incarnate – that’s basically what we’re figuring out. And I think it is possible that if we consider it a game, and something that could be fun, we might invite our inner-player out, the one who is willing to play and experiment and really engage with life. If we don’t want to play and aren’t even trying to figure out the game and what its rules are, that’s when we sink into depressions or futility, or believe that everything should be already figured out (entitlement) and we give up on playing.

Granted, it may feel harder to play a game well if we don’t know the territory, the map, the rules. So as Mercury stations retrograde in Aquarius, this can be a good time to tune into systems of awareness that grant us more liberation in our lives. Different languages, personal development tools, or systems of knowledge (like astrology for example) offer maps. A map gives us sense of direction. When information excites us, or has an electric charge, it can be a clue that it is helping us activate our mental/intellectual sense of navigation. A concrete example would be education about communication skills in relationship. This is the map. But actually applying that and experiencing more connection and love in your life is the territory.

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 zeitgeist feels 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 and be notified of upcoming educational opportunities, sign up for my mailing list here.

Here’s our week after a few announcements:

LAST CALL – we begin January 31!

Introducing a new program for alumni of the Evolutionary Astrology Intensive (a level two training)! METEORITE is an Astrological Embodiment Accelerator, a deep nine-month dive into building skill and voice as astrologers. Expanding on what we’ve already learned in the intensive, we will practice our interpretive and delineation skills, continue to explore the transpersonal mysteries of the outer planets, work with the material of our own charts and transits, and create something (a work of astrological scholarship or art) by the end of the nine months to share with everyone. Call it an initiation.

Astrology has always been so fun and magical to me but also something I see as worth being dedicated about, which means training! There are many hours that go into studying, practicing, and then there are also the attunements of how to live astrologically (how to track the transits, how to evolve your expression of your natal placements in daily life, discovering learning opportunities everywhere, etc.) – so let’s develop skill and interpretive acumen in community. This is a space for astrological devotion, and for bringing this practice into earth – i.e. materializing it and making it a reality. Open to alumni. Learn more and apply here.

New episode off Magic of the Spheres: I had a delightful conversation I had with musician, mystic, astrologer Jonathan Koe, also known as Nate Qi @nate_qiabout the multi-hyphenate path (having multiple callings/vocations), mutable astrology (the mutable signs being Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius and Pisces) and other spontaneous avenues of conversation that you can expect would come up when talking about mutable energy, the astrological mode that is the most adaptable/flexible! We covered things like the myth of Persephone, the difference between ego and persona, and rewriting the myth of the tortured artist. Tune in where you listen to podcasts. ✨ Or on your browser here.

Astrology Reading Bookings FULL: My books are currently closed, but I am still taking new clients for ongoing mentorship/coaching (6 month – 1 year commitment). If you’re interested in working with me in that capacity, send me an email at sabrina@monarchastrology.com. And make sure you’re on my mailing list if you’d like to be informed of when my books open again!

Next Evolutionary Astrology Intensive: The intensive is currently in session. I will announce the dates for the next one in the coming months.

Here’s our week:

January 28, 2021

Venus in 25 Capricorn conjunct Pluto in 25 Capricorn: 8:18 AM PST

(Image: Criss Canning)

• Venus-Pluto contacts can be a time to more consciously address the dark side of our love experience – what we get out of putting ourselves in situations we know intellectually aren’t good for us (why we are addicted), noticing what sparks our jealousy or envy, noticing what lower impulses we have that we either indulge or correct with our ethical compass (but we still have the impulses). Venus-Pluto can lend the power to love what is in the shadow and actually relate to it, and work with/engage it, instead of suppressing it or trying to avoid it.
• Here in Capricorn it could be becoming more aware of judgements that we have about ourselves and others. Where do we just believe our judgements and our appraisals of good and bad, right and evil, instead of noticing that we are in fact, judging?
• In a video, Perri Chase recently spoke of jealousy as turn-on that we can’t accept, and that we seek to destroy. I found this perspective refreshing. What could it be like to accept the turn-on – accept something or someone that we think is amazing and beautiful, without feeling like we have to implode upon the source of that inspiration?

(Image: Martha Graham photographed by Barbara Morgan)

• This last week I have been loving Shaman Durek’s particular spirit hacks in his book, Spirit Hacking, around talking to the shadow and around liberating underworld spirits that come to us in the form of negative/cruel thoughts by interviewing them and then sending them to the light. One overarching message of his book is that we have to engage and take responsibility for the darkness – that being “love and light” isn’t about ignoring or trying to suppress that which we demonize or think is bad. For anyone who is seeking some practical magical/shamanic tools for engaging shadow work, this book has helpful activities.

Full Moon in 9 Leo: 11:16 AM PST

• This Full Moon can signify a growing of the light that is the energy of play/joy in our lives. It could be externally represented in our circumstances, but importantly this light comes from within. Joy is an energy that can be cultivated. A sense of humor can be cultivated. When these are internal essences within us, we bring levity and joyfulness with us wherever we go – it is not dependent on life being a certain way. But in fact, we tend to manifest more good times because we already are them.
• With this lunation involving Saturn (Saturn is conjunct the Sun and opposite the Moon) it can relate to the way that creating fun and creating a sense of internal happiness could take engagement or work, if you will. Our personalities create our personal realities. So we perpetuate more of what we’ve already been doing – if humor and play are already strong energies in our lives, they are easier to access. If we have been beset with grief, depression, or other heavier emotions, there is a way to both honor our feelings and create new feelings and therefore new experiences for ourselves.
• Leo relates to theater and acting, and actors know how to bring themselves into many different kinds of emotional states at will. But it’s not just actors who have this power. Consider your capacity to try on an emotion and run with it. The Moon in Leo can signify the creative powers of perception, and emotions that are chosen on purpose, a visionary emotion. The more you practice it or find agency in yourself to create a mood at will, you may notice external events mirroring your choices. When we tap into this creative agency, why wouldn’t we want to create wonderful experiences?
• In your interactions, tune into the energy of the player – within and without. I don’t mean the person who is insincere in their romantic affairs. I mean the person who is willing to play. The person with a clever grin. The person who doesn’t default to some stale pattern in a moment, but is able to spontaneously *play* with the energies available. This is the capacity to banter. The capacity to be curious and ask questions instead of short-circuiting or getting into a defensive mode when someone is a kind of person you wouldn’t normally associate with. The capacity to say “yes and” to life – that is saying yes to the moment and adding something to it.

January 30, 2021

Mercury stations retrograde in 26 Aquarius: 7:52 AM PST

(Image: Charles Ephraim Burchfield)

Mercury will station direct on February 20, in 11 degrees of Aquarius (between Saturn and Jupiter in Aquarius).

• I personally am pleased we get to spend extra time with Mercury in the sign of Aquarius. Mercury in Aquarius can relate to the delightful emotional sensation that is epiphany or insight, of making a connection that lights up a vast network.
• This can be a time of becoming more intelligent around how we manage or direct our minds. Do we have tools or practices that help us center ourselves amidst noise, static, chatter? Do we tune into the musicality or resonance of our ideas, to feel if they really land or resonate versus if they have a scattering or frying energy?
• At some point in the Mercurial journey of being a thinker, philosopher, writer, researcher, etc – there can be a sense of being zany, spun-out, a little manic. Touching this high buzzing frequency of mental stimulation and capacity for making connections can feel intoxicating or adventurous. However, grounding this energy into routines, into a healthy lifestyle, into good time management, into having a balanced life – can help these insights and connections have a real place to incarnate and come through. It’s not just our ideas and insights that matter – it’s how livable they are, and how they can be integrated into the whole system of our life. Allow what is mentally stimulating and exciting to you at this time fertilize other parts of your life, or trace the connections of how this is naturally arising. For example, some therapists that I’ve read books from or spoken to have talked about how they had to carry the charge of their client practice (the immensity of presence, the catalyzing conversations) into their personal life. They had to create that same space and availability in their marriage and home life, for example. As a writer whose ideas come out regardless of whether or not I have created ambiance in my writing space, I have to remind myself that I enjoy weaving a beautiful home, and not just words, and so I have to take the time to nest, too. Mercury in Aquarius can help us light up other parts of the ‘network’ of our lives by carrying the charge of where we are the most excited and alive into places that could use that boost of energy.

February 1, 2021

Sun in 12 Aquarius square Mars in 12 Taurus: 2:34 AM PST

• The Sun in hard aspect (conjunction, square, or opposition) to Mars can be a tense one. It calls to mind the sensations of frustration that we feel at an impasse, driving in traffic, or encountering a situation that as our blood boiling. It can be powerful to expand our range for sensation and to have self-compassion when we are in distress, when we are angry, when we want something we can’t have or can’t have right now. Like we don’t like our subjectively negative experiences, sure – but can we have self-esteem and feel noble in the way we carry ourselves through them? How we remain self-possessed enough to make choices we feel good about?
• This transit can also relate to the feelings that are evoked in the presence of personality clashes. How it feels to be annoyed by another person. How it feels to be in our expression and notice that someone is turned off by it. How it feels to have competitors – whether or not we feel competitive. Even in communities of mutual respect and care, there are still personalities that may have their frictions. Even in beautiful, stable relationships we can annoy one another. Again, how can we hold and engage these experiences in a way we feel empowered, noble, kind even?

Venus enters Aquarius: 6:05 AM PST

Venus will be in Aquarius until February 25.

• Venus in Aquarius reminds me of what astrologer Colin Bedell says about making our romances friendlier, and our friendships more romantic. This can mean extending the graces of friendship to the people we place the most expectations on (romantic partners), and bringing romance, gestures, gifts, etc. to our friends.
• Venus in Aquarius can relate to having concern with our relations to many people – being less interested in being completely invested in one person, and more interested in having a community – not wanting to be lost in one person’s world, but be a friend and ally to many. Individuals who have this disposition can receive the reflections from their intimate partners that they are not present enough. They may have to stretch themselves to be more present and attuned. They may also need to choose partners who grant them that kind of space, because of a compatible disposition or a similar commitment to community and friendships.
• Venus in Aquarius is not an energy that is super likely to bend themselves to please another – Aquarius is a fixed sign, the common adjective being “stubborn”. But we might also consider Venus in Aquarius relating to resonance, and just like we feel out of alignment if we live a life that isn’t true to our energetic signature, there is only so long we can relate to people from a place of inauthenticity or non-alignment before we feel drained. A transit of Venus through this sign may illuminate the ways that harmony and cooperation is something that naturally exists, and isn’t just something that can be manufactured. There is an erotic glue that connects us to people we are on a frequency with – people we want to care for, show up for, collaborate with – as opposed to situations where we only feel an obligation to do those things. The more we honor the truth of our own frequency, the more our frequency connects us with soul family.
• This is not to say that challenging or difficult dynamics won’t come up in the right, or in-tune relationships, but that perhaps we possess a deeper harmonic frequency with these souls which shows up as a commitment or interest in growing together through those things. It is not a manufactured loyalty. It just is. And we may have to get over ourselves and our stubbornness to honor these connections, just like we have to get over aspects of our ego to honor our soul.
• This placement can have withdrawn qualities, which can relate to alienation – such as, the more we withdraw ourselves in time or in true expression, the less people can see us an engage us in a way that we feel attuned with. Be aware of situations where you can and ought to make yourself known – assert your thoughts, fantasies, perceptions, words, feelings, preferences – instead of keeping them behind a cool and more unreadable demeanor where you are much less likely to be reached.

Thank you for meditating on the planets with me this week! If you would like further guidance, I have been increasingly focused on longer-term 1:1 work with my students and clients, in the form of mentorship – helping people form a depth relationship to their natal chart and personal transits over time, to develop themselves, to heal, and to reach their goals, all through the soul-making lens of evolutionary astrology. If you’re interested in working together in that capacity, I am currently accepting new clients. Send me an email at sabrina@monarchastrology.com to start a conversation and set up a free consultation call.

Find me on Instagram @sabrinamonarch and Twitter @Sabrina_monarch, get on my mailing list to stay apprised of all upcoming offerings and events, and I’ll see you next week!

With love,

Sabrina Monarch

(Top Image: Briton Rivière – Aphrodite)