After the heart of winter (on the northern hemisphere at least), the light is returning. The moon was recently new in Aquarius at the same time as the pagan holiday Imbolc marking the return of the growing light. This week sees a harmonious aspect between Mars in Capricorn and Jupiter in Pisces, which also feels like a boost of energy. Mars, Venus and priestess Vesta all gather close in Capricorn. The Sun and Saturn are conjunct in Aquarius. The moment feels fruitful, but with effort – like grounding or meditating before getting on stage, or the various labors that go into planning a party (and the labors directly pay off).
I noticed in the last week how deeply I’ve been hibernating and resting for some time. Internally my pace has been slow and I’ve not pushed it the way I used to push three years ago +. But I was feeling this other kind of swell, like the way the ocean tide pulls back before becoming a wave – of feeling rested and getting ready to spend more energy. Venus and Mars come together for aesthetic motivation, value-driven motivation, desire and follow-through. The emphasis of Capricorn planets and the Sun-Saturn conjunction feels like a kind of gravitas/accomplished energy is available.
Many of us have been going through deconstructive processes around work, work ethic, how we derive self-esteem from what we do or what we accomplish, and this is valuable to consider for where we are grinding away in a way that is really out of alignment. However, what about when we like what we are doing? Finding our *true* capacity to spend energy and our true need for rest is something very personal – a refined kind of self-knowledge we build through experience.
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.
No YouTube version this week, but I’ll be back soon. In the meantime you can subscribe to my channel and hit the notification bell for updates when you do!
Here’s our week after a few announcements!
Astrology reading books open – I am taking a small number of clients and hope to open my books more frequently than I have been. You can purchase a reading with me here (while spots are available).
METEORITE 2022: We begin again March 6, 2022! This is a yearlong advanced course for alumni of the Evolutionary Astrology Intensive (and the previous Meteorite). This group is in service to astrological craft andd voice, our mission is to become receptive to downloads and novel insights and to embody them. This is a high level practitioner group for people wanting to strengthen their astrology practice both for their own enrichment and for their participation in the world. By being in community and the unique field that opens up in this group, we’ll spark and accelerate our creativity. The course facilitates each student to produce a project of their own invention within the year program, whether this project is creative, scholarly, or personal.
Read more about the METEORITE themes for 2022 here.
“Meteorite is more than a course. It is an initiation into understanding and embodying astrology – not only a symbolic language, but an animate path into your soul’s true essence. The container is simultaneously expansive and electrifying, grounding and challenging. You will build relationships with fellow travelers who are all unified by the sincere desire to live more enchanted, magical lives. And yet, we come together with the understanding that we won’t all end up in the same destination – we take with us what’s most prescient in developing our individual paths. At the end of our first year together, I began to hear my own unique voice as an astrologer and to viscerally feel my path. The hivemind that constellated around Meteorite assisted me in further developing relationships with astrological archetypes and in communicating my knowledge with the communities that I serve.
Throughout, Sabrina held the container with integrity, stamina, and versatility in toggling back and forth between the leader and a community member. I appreciate that Sabrina was able to honor all our diverse perspectives while holding the energetic sacredness of the container.” – Jonathan Koe
New episodes of Magic of the Spheres:
This most recent episode is a beautiful conversation about codependency from social and spiritual perspective, with Loren O. Delaney. Loren inspires me by the way she is so clearly anchored in spiritual perspective & connection to spirit, that this conversation was like a transmission for me of remembrance. As I share this conversation now toward the end of Venus retrograde in Capricorn (and many of us have had Venusian story arcs in tandem & activations in the realm of the heart), may this conversation be an inspiration for integrating whatever Venus has brought you this retrograde season – challlenges, or gems, lessons learned with grit or grace. Tune in where you listen to podcasts or on your browser here.
Mo @thatwhichflows and I discuss the wheel of the year and this moment we are situated in between Yule (December solstice) and Imbolc (February 1). We also discussed the wheel as a whole and synchronizing tarot and archetypes with the seasons. Mo is very intimately connected with the seasons and their perspectives opened up a lot of magic for me. My dream life even expanded (as per this promise of this time of year) after this conversation! Tune in where you listen to podcasts ✨ or on your browser here.
Here’s our week:
February 3, 2022
Mercury stations direct in 24 Capricorn: 8:13 PM PST
- Mercury had stationed retrograde in Aquarius on January 14, a few degrees behind Saturn in Aquarius. Now Mercury stations direct a few degrees behind Pluto in Capricorn. That the retrograde is bookmarked by these two conjunctions can give us some insight on what this retrograde has been thematically about. The moment that Mercury is about to station direct again, it is like Mercury is particularly saturated with the message of the cycle. So, some thoughts-
- Mercury’s contact to Saturn a few weeks ago could have brought into awareness themes of mental boundaries whether we experienced those positively or negatively (like mental boundaries as a focus that is helpful for not being distracted, or mental boundaries as not having the capacity for certain conversations without significant distress).
- Because Mercury retrograde is about reflection and revisiting, we could have been visiting older patterns or themes with increased bandwidth and capacity this time – you may have noticed you found yourself more capable of addressing things skillfully that would have overwhelmed you in your past.
- On the more challenging end, for a moment here we could think of Saturn in Aquarius as a boundary that is like an electric fence. The attempt to cross it is not just hitting a wall, but getting shocked by the wall. Mercury-Saturn in Aquarius could have been issues in communication due to a block around the message being transmitted easefully/neutrally and instead being met with resistance, activation (trigger) or irritation.
- Then, Mercury returning to two more conjunctions with Pluto (one during the retrograde, another to come soon as Mercury is moving direct) there is a clear opportunity for mental transformation or shadow work related to what came up as a wall with Mercury-Saturn. Though, we often do have to choose to be curious about our own experience for that transformation to occur. Otherwise, numbing or disengaging is tempting in the face of that discomfort but doesn’t help us carry the thread through to the realization/shift.
- Mercury stations in a close sextile to Neptune, Moon, and warrior/strategist goddess Pallas Athena in Pisces. I see this as a reminder that not all problems need to be chased to their roots (for some it is certainly helpful!). Sometimes the opening is in a shift in emotional orientation. I’m reminded of the premise of what is a miracle is via A Course in Miracles – a transformation from fear to love. We can be discerning as to whether our current assignment in any given moment is to dig deeper (Pluto) or access the healing waters of a higher and more spiritualized perspective (Neptune). In reality, each of those realms influence one another and are worth tending to, but the context and timing takes discernment.
February 4, 2022
Mars in 8 Capricorn sextile Jupiter in 8 Pisces: 5:37 AM PST
- There is a boost of optimism around our endeavors and goals being possible, and/or a pleasure we can take in the process of meeting a challenge (finding the excitement and growth in it as opposed to strife).
- When Mars and Jupiter come together we can get inspired to do a lot, and potentially go overboard. The harmonious sextile aspect and the planets being in signs they are traditionally dignified in gives me more of an image of a smooth acceleration on the gas pedal – getting a boost that’s not out of control. If there is a place we have been cruising or a little on autopilot, there may be drive here this week to step it up again.
Sun in 15 Aquarius conjunct Saturn in 15 Aquarius: 11:05 AM PST
- A Sun-Saturn contact can highlight the relationship we are currently having to taking on responsibility – Sun-Saturn is prone to do that – to carry the weight of a situation. This can be meaningful and helpful or it can be martyr-like and more of a psychological complex (having shame, feeling like one has to sacrifice themselves/atone).
- In Aquarius, responsibility could be more innovative (if even only to us at a personal level) – trying a new solution that more resonantly fits the needs of the moment.
- Aquarius also has to do with friends, community, and social networks (and I also think spiritual/more-than-human networks), so there may be themes of distribution of responsibility. This can look like stepping up to provide something for a group as well as asking for team support on something we are shouldering alone.
February 6, 2022
Mars in 9 Capricorn square Chiron in 9 Aries: 4:57 AM PST
- Chiron in Aries is a longer acting transit (2019-2027) that has to do with initations/activations around Aries themes – this is learning how to take initiative/action, assert ourselves or stand up for ourselves; take risks and do new things; cultivate a healthier relationship with our impulses; heal our relationship with anger (people can tend toward not being able to access anger or having too explosive a relationship with it; being able to wield the sword cleanly is an Aries learning); developing courage; understanding ourselves as the hero of our own story.
- Mars in Capricorn forming a last quarter square to Chiron in Aries suggests that we may be learning greater restraint in places we have become tyrannical or too egoic/righteous, as well as learning how to stand more truly in our authority as a gateway to having courage in the conflicts that inevitably arise – having a firm stance where we have tended to be too bendy to our own detriment.
- Claiming authority can be frightening because it means taking responsibility and to a part of the self/psyche, it is easier to outsource that to others or to the environment even if the consequences are not enjoyable. Claiming authority is to pave out more agency in one’s life.
- Claiming authority is to also run the risk of being villainized, as people do archetypally take issue with leaders/rulers/strong figures. This transit could also relate to our experiences with authority figures or figures we have unconsciously projected authority onto.
- There is a possibility for breakthrough around how we have related to the age-old tensions of established (Capricorn) and new (Aries), elders (Capricorn) and youth (Aries), conserver (Capricorn) and instigator (Aries). It could be meaningful to assess what actions/boundaries/transformative insights would prevent further wounding in situations that are already chronically inflamed. What choices begin to unravel unhelpful patterns and initiate healthier expressions of sovereignty and respect?
February 8, 2022
Mars in 11 Capricorn trine Uranus in 11 Taurus: 6:57 AM PST
- Mars is also traveling with Venus and asteroid Vesta, a priestess and keeper of the sacred flame (who has associations with sacred sexuality and sacred spaces). Vesta can relate to having high, magical standards for sex (and why shouldn’t we? 😂) and being willing to be celibate while waiting for the right lover(s) to arrive, sometimes for long periods of time. However, within this Vestal archetype, this can set up a springloaded tension of really missing intimacy and at some point, having a relatively profane (according to one’s standards) sexual encounter as a response to the built-up hunger. Individuals who have this pattern can feel like these profane (again, in the context of how they define that) encounters were a form of self-harm, because although they consented to the experience, they overrode their true desire or their own boundaries.
- More generally speaking for this transit, we might expect that there is an appetite for ceremonial, magical, ecstatic experiences, and you can be mindful of either extreme of just waiting for it to happen, or trying to make it happen quickly to no avail. As an archetype, Vesta is very devoted to her temple practices – she relates to how we cultivate a frequency, a vibe, and live there often. It’s not just a mountaintop we find ourselves on randomly by chance, but a fire we’ve tended to again and again and again.
- If we consider Uranus in Taurus here, there is so much discovery in the realm of the sensual – worlds to open up through movement, touch, and our relationship with nourishment, receiving, feeling fed. Venus-Mars in Capricorn may be a significant desire to initiate connection, but they are also conjunct Vesta suggesting the priestess really wants a good experience! Not something hasty, or compulsive that comes from feeling under-nourished.
- Some remedies to this pattern are slowing down and getting intentional about finding real, concrete ways to nourish oneself more regularly; creating more concrete opportunities for connection and going slow or at a true pace (it’s not scarce, does not need to be rushed); developing a practice of sustainable expansion that does *not* involve overriding the capacity of the current moment to an extreme that creates a contraction; becoming more realistic/honest about one’s actual capacity as opposed to a fantasy or expectation of what the capacity ‘should’ be; putting in the practices/hours to expand the capacity so there is a real foundation.
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 and will be offered again and I am taking applications for METEORITE 2022 here.
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: Sylwia Górak)
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