Sanity, Self, and Sovereignty
Dates and times are given for U.S. Pacific Time zone.
Rumspringa
In astrology, the Sun symbolizes sanity. It symbolizes the sense of self and sovereignty that comes with an intact, healthy ego. It’s the self we take for granted, our default settings, our governing principles. A healthy Sun gives us a strong platform from which to launch out into the challenging business of building and maintaining a life.
The Sun tells us that there are Things We Do and Things We Do Not Do, by virtue of being who we are. “As an introvert, I hate going to parties,” might be one of these rules, or, “I’m not someone who will take a vacation by myself.” But on occasion, a fleeting transit opens up the idea of Self for a very brief, spontaneous rumspringa. This week offers such an occasion, as the transiting Sun in Aquarius squares Uranus (Jan. 26, 2021, 4:48 am PST). Even if the unpredictability of life this past year has left you holding on to stability with both hands, allow this quick transit to throw you off course. It’s time to adjust your settings a little bit. Let the unexpected thing become a Thing That You Do.


The fulcrum
This week, Neptune stands at the fulcrum of the Nodal see-saw. As the planet of illusion, faith, and deception squares the Moon’s Nodes (Jan. 26, 2021, 6:12 am PST), it applies pressure to nudge us from the Sagittarius South Node (“I know everything”) to the Gemini North Node (“Maybe I could benefit from some input”). In the process of separating inspiration from fantasy, of opening ourselves to empathy and intuition, we can begin to question our convictions and embrace a spirit of open-mindedness and questioning.


The value of the individual
At a moment in history when all humanity seems to be gerrymandered into ideologically polarized camps, and as most the zodiac stands for a couple of weeks in Aquarius, the sign of groups, this week’s Full Moon in Leo (Jan 28, 2021, 11:16 am PST) is a reminder of the value of the individual. I’m reminded of a clickbait article I got drawn into this morning about an actress who had been attacked by some of her social media audience for following the “wrong people.” I don’t know much about this woman or her beliefs, and I’m not arguing that she is necessarily a force for good in the world. But I appreciated her stance, which was well in keeping with the spirit of the transiting North Node in Gemini: “I believe in listening to a range of opinions and then making my own decisions.”
Humans are social creatures, and it takes nerve to stand apart from the crowd and to be your own person. The Full Moon in Leo sheds light on the ways in which we’ve followed the crowd to our own detriment and in contradiction to our own nature. It’s a time to contemplate the essential quality of our own character and to realign with our own hearts.


The moment of conception
There is a moment at the beginning of a new romance when you’re so besotted with the object of your desire that you can’t think of anything else, can’t eat, can’t sleep. Want nothing more than to crawl into their embrace and just stay there, luxuriating in their fragrance and nearness. It’s both ecstatic and overwhelming. This level of intensity doesn’t last forever, but it’s the almost narcotic infatuation that binds us together with another and seals our connection.
This is one example of the symbolism of Venus conjoined with Pluto (Jan. 28, 2021, 8:18 am PST). It is a moment of potential conception – not literally, necessary, but perhaps the conception of a relationship or a creative concept. Unless the planets involved are connecting strongly with, or evoking something in your own chart (they come together at 25.06 Capricorn), the focus of desire may not last longer than a few months. But if stronger influences are also present – if the time is right for you to give everything you have to a person or an idea – this is the moment, the planetary aspect, that can seal you together through whatever comes next.


Highfalutin’
Once each year, the Sun comes together in a conjunction with Jupiter (Jan. 28, 2021, 5:39 pm PST) and we ask: Are we everything we could be? Are we dreaming big enough for ourselves? The sign of the conjunction describes the nature of this self-examination. Last year, that was Capricorn, where we set (and possibly achieved) ambitious goals in career, status, and earning potential. This year, the conjunction occurs in Aquarius, and the benchmark is loftier: Are we attempting anything of long-term value to humanity?
If that sounds a bit highfalutin’, it is. Aquarius asks something more of us than mere ambition; it asks us to project our individual genius into the future, and to trust that it deserves to stand as a beacon to pull others toward that future. That takes confidence – and thank goodness, Aquarius brings that out in us.


No longer supported
This week, Mercury stations retrograde in Aquarius (Jan. 30, 2021, 7:51 am PST) for the first time since 2015. And like a closet in your house that you haven’t cleaned out in half a decade, the Aquarius house of your chart (here’s a blog post and video to help you find it) needs some cleaning up. That means taking everything out, sifting through it, and sorting it into files: this can be saved, that can be given away, and all of the rest needs to be thrown out altogether.
While Mercury is retrograde, it will visit transiting Mars in Taurus, and Venus and Jupiter in Aquarius. More about all that over the next few weeks. For now, it’s enough to know that this particular Mercury Rx period is a retrospective of everything we think we know about conflict, love, and beliefs. But in some cases, we’re running on an outmoded version of software in the Aquarius area of our charts, and we may miss a few important things. We’ve gotten away with it up to now; but this version is no longer being supported by the developer, and unless we upgrade our thinking, we’ll certainly run into problems down the road.


Writing and collages © 2021 April Elliott Kent
Jen and I explore all the week’s highlights in our latest podcast episode:
Episode 66 | Leo Full Moon: Dinner and Bingo!