Stellar Insights: November 5 – 11, 2018
Photo by Ahmad Odeh via Unsplash
I remember last year as I was looking at the astrological calendar for 2018, there was a week that really caught my attention. It featured two planets shifting signs, the Lunar Nodes moving into a new sign pair, and a New Moon. I was struck by this week given that it seemed like there was a lot of movement, a lot of shifting energy, and changing of the guard in the cosmic weather.
I then realized that this week was the week of the mid-term elections in the U.S., adding to my interest about what this time period—and the election—may auger (and this week has gotten closer, and events have unfolded, I looked upon it with even more curiosity and intrigue).
And now, here we are.
So, let’s look at the celestial components of this cosmically compelling week. After I share each of them from the perspective of collective themes, I’m going to focus upon them in terms of what personal invitations they may be offering, as a way to also provide you with insights that can help you navigate the week.
On Tuesday, we have Uranus shifting back into Aries. The pushing-the-envelope, changing-the-pattern planet spends about seven years in a sign. Uranus left this fight-the-good-fight sign in May, shifting into Taurus, with a promise to return to Aries for a several month-spell. Well, Tuesday November 6—(hello, election day!)—is the day of Uranus’ step back into the bold, I-focused, warrior-inspired sign (where it resides until March 6 when it firmly plants itself in Taurus).
And so, with Uranus shifting signs, our attention may feel fixed upon the radical, upon change, upon technology, and upon surprises. Uranus moving back into Aries will likely present us with a four-month period where Arien topics such as gun control, the power of the individual, the strength of youth, and even the head/face/brain (owing to Aries ruling these parts of the body) are the focus of shifts and changes.
Also, on Tuesday the Lunar Nodes shift signs, moving from Leo/Aquarius to Cancer/Capricorn (the signs North Node and South Node, respectively). And with that, we invite in an 18-month period where our collective destiny seems oriented towards the axial themes of patriarchy vs. matriarchy, career vs. family, doing things out of duty vs. out of emotional alignment, building organizational structures in the world vs. fostering foundations that make up home (while I shared these as oppositional pairs by using “vs.” the focus may also be on a synthesis and rectification).
Recently, in listening to radio shows and podcasts talking about current events, the word “tribalism” has been used more frequently than I have remembered in the recent past; the concept of tribalism—the banding together with people who are my clan or family, to the extent that one feels separate from other clans and families—feels very connected to Cancer and Capricorn, and is a collective theme that I have my eye on in terms of its possible elevation. As we know, family can be very important, and yet when we separate so strongly in an “us vs. them” orientation collectively, it can lead to extreme factionalization and warring.
What’s interesting is that not only do Uranus and the Lunar Nodes catch our attention this week because of their sign shifts but Uranus also makes a square alignment with the Lunar Nodes. And with this, it seems to expand the voice of this planet of change, chaos, and revolution, as we see that knowing and acknowledging it feels like part of our destiny.
This month’s New Moon—an intense and probing Scorpio one—takes place on Wednesday. A Scorpio New Moon ushers in a new cycle when it comes to diving deep, unearthing the hidden, connecting to our hidden feelings and desires, and living passionately. (See here for more on the Scorpio New Moon).
The theme of the darkness is quite strong this week, not only because we have this New Moon in Scorpio but because given that before Jupiter shifts into Sagittarius on Thursday it resides at the very tail end of Scorpio. Also, if we focus on the mid-term elections themselves, these occur before the New Moon, when the Moon is in its dark balsamic phase. Darkness seems to abound the first few days of the week.
Before considering what Jupiter entering Sagittarius may inspire, let’s bid adieu to its tenure in Scorpio by focusing on that. Jupiter enters Scorpio last October 10, and since then we’ve been collectively and personally focused upon what it is that we may have stashed away in secrecy, whether it be experiences that connected us to shame, our relationship with our passion and sexuality, and/or our connection to our power and regenerative talents. With Jupiter at the tail end of this sign, we may find that these themes enrapture us this week. (As the Harvey Weinstein story broke last year just as Jupiter went into Scorpio, with the #MeToo Movement birthed during this time, it may be interesting to see if any new chapters in this arena are inspired this week.)
As Jupiter bounds into Sagittarius on Thursday, we open to a 13-month period where our focus may orient to realms related to wider horizons. There’s an emphasis on growth and turning to topics of wider and more global considerations. Collectively, we may see an influx of our attention turned to topics such as religion/spirituality (including fundamentalism), immigration, publishing, law, sports, and travel.
In honor of Sagittarius, which takes a broader perspective to aim to synthesize, let’s now step back and see how this movement may inspire us more personally this week.
Firstly, if you find yourself whirling in the swirl of the week, do what you can to stay centered. Whether it be exercise, meditation, aromatherapy, flower essences, eating (or avoiding) certain foods/beverages, or something else, bring your self-care to the front lines this week.
Tap into the high Uranian energy by seeing how you can be the Commander in Chief in charge of changing up your life in the way you want. Consider the patterns you want to break out of, the rote that is depleting your vitality, the staid that is stifling you, and how you can move the pieces on the game board of your life so that you can find a sense of liberation and freedom.
The combination of the dark moon, the Scorpio New Moon, and Jupiter at the end of Scorpio invites us to look at the depths and hidden crevasses within our psyche, opening them to the light and acknowledging them, and opening up to the healing and wholism that this may inspire. Consider these Stellar Reflection Questions as part of this exploration:
What parts of myself or arenas of my life do I instinctively avoid?
How do I feel about keeping secrets, and how do I feel when I realize that others have kept them from me?
What do I feel passionate about and what can I do to allow myself to be more fluidly tapped into and inspired by my desires?
What’s my relationship with jealousy and envy?
What have I learned about my power and strength over the last year?
In terms of Jupiter shifting into Sagittarius, broaden your vista and start to connect into what truth means to you as keeping tabs on what is true and what is false is part of the invitation right now.
It’s funny because when I was writing about Uranus I was going to share the quote, often assigned to Mahatma Gandhi “Be the change you want to see in the world.” Yet, I remembered that, from my understanding there is no evidence that he actually communicated this, but rather it came from a more detailed refrain which I want to share here: “If we could change ourselves, the tendencies in the world would also change. As a man changes his own nature, so does the attitude of the world change towards him. ... We need not wait to see what others do.”
This extended quote captures so much of the energy of the week. We’re focused upon change, we are focused upon our relationship with the world, and that we need to dig deep to find the origin of things—including wisdom shared—so that we don’t continue to share things falsely assigned (like the short “Gandhi quote) and instead rediscover the source wisdom whose veracity we can have more faith in and which may provide us with even deeper wisdom.
Oh, one more thing…I feel like this Stellar Insights itself is very tapped into the Sagittarius energy, capturing its expansiveness in the much-longer-than-usual verbosity with which I shared it J
Have a good week, electing to make shifts in your life that you feel will allow you to live with more sovereignty and integrity.
All my very best,
Stephanie
Astrological Highlights
November 6
Uranus re/enters Aries
Sun/Neptune Trine
Lunar Nodes shift into Cancer/Capricorn
November 7
Scorpio New Moon
November 8
Jupiter enters Sagittarius
November 9
Venus/Mars Trine
November 11
Sun/Pluto Sextile
Dates noted reflect Eastern Standard Time