Venus Square the Nodes: Astrology of 7/28 – 8/3

We have several significant transits this week to match the drama of Leo Season! Venus in Virgo will square the lunar nodes in Gemini and Sagittarius, and the Sun and Mercury will join together in Leo, opposing Saturn exactly in their moment of union and also entering into conversation with the ongoing Saturn-Uranus square of 2021. In early July we saw some catalytic transits of Mars and Venus in Leo coming in for a t-square to Saturn and Uranus, and now Sun and Mercury follow.

We will explore in more detail below, but Venus in Virgo squaring the nodes in this configuration looks like a reclamation of deeper value systems that are found in the truth of the wild body, the animal body, the erotic body. A particular crossroads around what would be socially conventional versus what is true in the body. Culturally, we are so often trained to override the body and extract from the body, even to identify as a separate or somehow higher than the body and to operate it with our minds.

And as that potential somatic awakening is happening, the very light of consciousness and of the mind (Sun-Mercury) activates the Saturn-Uranus square, relating to changes in paradigm at personal, social, and spiritual levels. Consider then, what dimensions of consciousness unfold and bloom from your place of opening: your deepest place of listening. As opposed to the version of you who is more tactical, controlling, and oversees, regardless of how the soft animal body feels in that. “I have to be… this certain way” as opposed to, “I am…”

The tactical mind, the overseer, the planner, can be amazing facilitators – the question is just what paradigm or what values they are aligned with. Venus in Virgo may question these plans this week in favor of something more truly erotic.

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.

This week, I’m moving again, but this time to a more long-term place of my own! For the reason of the move itself, however, I’m only bringing a written version of the forecast this week and look forward to being back on video in my new space soon. Subscribe to my YouTube channel here.

Here’s our week after a few announcements:

ew episode of Magic of the Spheres with astrologer and astro-mage @zaccpowell! We discussed magical stories from Zacc’s planetary devotional practices (like how Venus shows herself, and learning to commune with the Moon through Artemis), some ways to get started with planetary magic & communication, and the way that one can build relationships with the planets through particular associated deities. We also discussed ways to tread lightly with Mars and Saturn when it comes to magic. I loved this conversation and the inspirations it opened up around animism and devotion and I think you will find it inspiring too. ✨ Tune in where you listen to podcasts! Or on your browser here.

The course dates have been announced for the next Evolutionary Astrology Intensive. Enrollment will open soon. Get on my mailing list to be notified! Learn more about the intensive here.

Here’s our week:

July 28, 2021

Jupiter retrograde re-enters Aquarius: 9:25 AM PDT

Jupiter was last in Aquarius from December 19, 2020 – May 13, 2021. Now back in Aquarius after a few months in Pisces, Jupiter will station direct on October 17, 2021 in 22 Aquarius and re-enter Pisces on December 28, 2021.

July 29, 2021

Venus in 8 Virgo squares the lunar nodes in 8 Sagittarius (south) and 8 Gemini (north): 4:38 AM PDT

• Planets squaring the lunar nodes represent a karmic impasse or crossroads/crisis – the function of the planet squaring the nodes is wanting or needing to integrate more into our experience, but is hanging in the balance between extremes of either node. (We’ll break this down in a moment.)
• Venus in Virgo may represent some need or desire around being more accurate and conscientious in our relationships. Are we relating in ways that are difficult to digest, but are we just ignoring the issue? Venus also relates to self-esteem and self-image, and our relationship with pleasure and joy. Venus in Virgo here could relate to if our lifestyle and choices are in alignment with our self-esteem, and how upward shifts in self-esteem would also change some of our choices.
• The ‘extremes’ of either nodal reality relate to themes with South Node in Sagittarius conjunct Juno versus North Node in Gemini conjunct Black Moon Lilith. This is interesting because Juno is a loyal wife (and often vengeful wife due to Zeus’s infidelities) and Black Moon Lilith is big primordial wild feminine, sex magic energy. Imagine conscientious Venus in Virgo deciding which way to lean! And why there would be a conflict between committed relationship and full sexual expression? If partnership or connection comes at the cost of resonant sexual connection, there may be some issue of dishonesty/inauthenticity, or making unnecessary sacrifices. I grew up with a lot of messaging for example around “sex isn’t that important, it’s not the most important thing in a relationship” and that never sat well with me – I couldn’t imagine being with someone I didn’t feel deeply connected to in that way. But in a lot of our cultural conditioning, that’s acceptable and normal.
• Another likely conflict at play here is issues of inauthenticity within relationship because one or more parties are following the cultural script (South node in Sagittarius), defined by a worldview and its broader principles, in a way that compromises the truth of the individual(s).
• The mirroring issue to the last one mentioned would be throwing all fucks to the wind and being reckless with oneself and others as a counter-response to the restrictive worldview one had previously been identified with – but care and discernment is missing.
• Whenever planets square the nodes there is something called a “resolution node” which is the last node the planet made a conjunction with, which in our case is North Node in Gemini, conjunct Black Moon Lilith in Gemini. This means Venus had some important business with this node and Lilith!
• The very values of Venus are suppressed and de-valued within cultural conditioning that hates the feminine. The cultural conditioning that shames the body, that shames sex, that shames sensuality, and that over-emphasizes the importance of logic, reason, and uses the power of mind/technology to extract from the body, others, and from the earth itself – all of this is patriarchy, and Black Moon Lilith is like enemy of the patriarchy #1. SHE is the deep primal feminine that predominant culture is still afraid of. And we participate in that too, when we engage in misogyny or internalized misogyny, or we treat the body or bodies of others like machines that we can use instead of being in loving relationship with. The mysteries of Black Moon Lilith are a different frequency, living from the truth of the opening, the primal life-force within. This is a different kind of responsibility, a different kind of alignment.
• I’m considering with this alignment the way that cultural conditioning which has historically separated the mind and the body has created a disconnection/disassociation with the body. Black Moon Lilith helps us remember what it’s like to inhabit our entire bodies and to be in touch with our seat of power, which literally includes our genitals — not just our “root chakra”. Power is so easily given away when we outsource it or project it onto others. Power is also unclaimed when we don’t trust our own bodies because we are embroiled in addiction. Learning how to stop feeding our addictions (say, how turned on we get by unavailable partners or people who don’t treat us well) but still stay connected to the raw power of sex and the root may be an arising theme.
• Now imagine Venus in Virgo’s discernment par excellence when she is in touch with the truth of her sex and erotic life-force. She doesn’t need willpower or a belief to ‘do the right thing’. It just resonates in her body.

Mars in 29 Leo opposite Jupiter retrograde in 29 Aquarius: 8:50 AM PDT

(Image: Fantastic Mr. Fox dir Wes Anderson)

• The urge to be fully expressed is in dynamic conversation with our paradigmatic awareness of who we are, i.e. the story we have about ourselves. We may feel more cagey than usual about the ways we box ourselves in, as well as more liberated or energized by ideas that afford us a larger sense of possibility and creative range. Note places in your experience where you want to speak up more or take up more space but it goes against your sense of “who you are” or who you are in community. The way we conceptualize our identity can be a living, evolving process – though given this aspect is in fixed signs, there may be some more stuck/rigid places within our self-concept where we are experiencing the urgency for more freedom or creative development.

Mars enters Virgo: 1:33 PM PDT

Mars will stay in Virgo until September 14.

• Mars may offer tactical gifts while traveling through Virgo: the energy to plan, organize, and execute strategies related to goals or endeavors we are undertaking.
• This transit gives a boost of energy to the analytical mind or our mental register of detail – which, given the right avenue of expression could relate to a lot of creativity. In other contexts, it may be a sharper (Mars) form of self-criticism to be aware of and gentle around.
• However, sometimes our awareness of what feels out of alignment (Virgo) can be catalyzing (Mars) in a way that spurs initiation or action. If we recognize that we are being critical of ourselves or some dimension of our reality, this could be an area of exploration that needs further digestion, where we can unpack what is really going on and determine what some of our choices are. This is also a place we might be avoidant (“ah, I don’t want to overthink it!”).
• Mars in Virgo could also have some quality of cutting through the clutter: identifying unnecessary expenditures of energy or distraction and minimizing those.

August 1, 2021

Mercury Cazimi in Leo opposite Saturn in Aquarius

(Mercury in 9 Leo conjunct Sun in 9 Leo: 7:08 AM PDT; Mercury in 10 Leo opposite Saturn retrograde in 10 Aquarius: 2:50 PM PDT; Sun in 10 Leo opposite Saturn retrograde in 10 Aquarius: 11:14 PM PDT)

In general, Mercury cazimis – Mercury conjunct the Sun – are heightened moments of clarity or awareness – a message comes through loud and clear. This one is opposite Saturn in Aquarius.

• There is a kind of authority (Saturn) that is found in self-expression (Leo): a claiming of a right to exist as we are, an embodiment of confidence.
• There is a relationship between time and experience (Saturn) with this confidence (Leo), such as it can take us time to befriend parts of ourselves enough to feel comfortable embodying them or embodying them in a visible, public way.
• While Saturn can relate to blocking/restricting/negating, it is also wise restraint. If we think about this in the context of expression, an idea that comes to mind is the concept of “oversharing”, which as a concept includes a judgement somehow of something being too much or shameful. I’ve found that the real metric of oversharing is not a social value as much as the capacity we have internally around being witnessed in the space of that sharing. If we have come into a place of full acceptance, even celebration, of a part of ourselves, there is not really much room to feel shame about it, even if the sharing does not land well. When we reveal parts of ourselves prematurely or reveal in a way that is out of personal range, the discomfort we feel afterwards is our own nervous system truly – more than it is the external world mirroring that distaste back to us.
• It is also worth <thinking> about the inner-judge who is making the rules in these kinds of situations. Most people have aversion to being seen in particular ways in public, and it’s actually kind of subjective what these things are. (Examples: not wanting to be seen as overly emotional, not wanting to be seen as frivolous, not wanting to be seen as serious, etc.) If a true, spontaneous quality is emerging from us but it’s bumping up against our ‘judge’ who says no, we have an opportunity to think about our prejudice.
• And, when it comes to processing this material thoroughly before sharing (like editing a letter so it no longer triggers you to read it before you click send, or thinking about something carefully before revealing it in public), there may be a higher or cleaner caliber of work we are capable sharing.
• If all of this sounded controlling, it can be… Not every moment has room for premeditation. Sometimes pure expression, spontaneity, chaos, just comes through. And we can also approve (Saturn) of that dimension of our existence. However, it is also possible to use this attitude of approval as a way to avoid deeper work that is being called for. For others, letting go of control and allowing more free expression is being asked for. Being seen in a place we normally block visibility might be the most healing/integrative thing of all. 

August 2, 2021

Venus in 14 Virgo trine Uranus in 14 Taurus: 11:53 PM PDT

August 3, 2021

Mercury in 11 Leo square Uranus in 11 Taurus: 6:57 PM PDT

• Mercury in Leo is not just activating Saturn and Uranus individually this week, but is engaging the current Saturn-Uranus square that is characterizing 2021. Watch my video on the Saturn-Uranus square here.
• The Sun and Mercury are crossing the same points that Venus and Mars recently did when they each activated the Saturn-Uranus square. That happened in early July and now the Sun and Mercury will bring up similar dynamics, except much more through the lens of awareness or clarity than conflict (as we saw with Mars).
• One thing to consider might be any internal unfoldings that are occurring right now around purpose or creativity, such as how you are here to contribute to the planet. There is a really beautiful side of awakening that is eluded to in the kinds of ideas like, “you are the one you’ve been waiting for” or “be the change you wish to see in the world”. These sayings relate to the inner-awakening that we are valuable and that there is something deep and innate within us that is meant to be expressed and shared. Often we search outward, or need even to have external journeys such as the hero’s journey to uncover this inner world. How many hero figures in novels or movies go through epic quests only to realize that the quest has been leading them back home to themselves all along?
• So regardless of what the path looks like – inward reverie or journeying or outward adventure – we are learning about ourselves. Shame or the idea that we are not important can keep us from being friendly and curious about our inner life. Part of Leo’s medicine is the radical claiming of our expressive, creative self. So if we are to consider some of the greater challenges or dramas of our life from the perspective of personal evolution (i.e. being the main character of a story, as we each are of our own respective stories) what kind of story would it be? What are the plotlines of our lives calling forth from us at an alchemical level?

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 experiences in the form of the Evolutionary Astrology Intensive, higher level courses for alumni, and 1:1 mentorship – helping people form a depth relationship to their natal chart and personal transits over time, to develop themselves, to be in their power, and to reach their goals, all through the soul-making lens of evolutionary astrology. I would love to support you in building your relationship with astrology. The intensive is currently in session but will be offered again in the autumn, and I am to take on new coaching clients again in the future.

Find me on Instagram @sabrinamonarch, 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: Stoker, 2013)