The Astrology Highlights of 2023
The astrology of 2023 promises another big year of expansion, change, and growth.
The one word that I used to describe the astrological energy of 2022 was SURRENDER. With the U.S. Pluto Return, the South Node moving through Scorpio, and a North Node-Uranus conjunction in July/August, we were given a masterclass from the universe in rolling with and accepting change and finding our inner peace regardless of external circumstances.
Looking now to the new year, if I had to pick one word to describe the astrological energy of 2023, it would be:
SELF-DISCOVERY
2023 will ask us to often turn inward to expand our self-awareness and our level of consciousness. We are being given opportunities to realize and rediscover lost and forgotten parts of ourselves - especially the parts that are connected to our soul - like past life gifts and memories, our inner power, and our innate inner guidance system.
Whether you’re new to the world of spirituality and self-discovery, or if you’ve been consciously healing and expanding for years, 2023 promises to put you back in touch with a fuller, more vibrant version of yourself if you take its lessons and opportunities to heart.
Here are the top astrological event highlights that we have to look forward to in the coming year ahead…
(PS - add all of these events, plus every Full and New Moon and major astrological transit of 2023 straight to your Google Calendar with my Free 2023 Astrology Google Calendar!)
THE NUMEROLOGY OF 7: FOUR FULL MOONS IN A ROW AT 16 DEGREES
2023 is a 7 year in numerology (2+2+3 = 7), and 7s are all about spiritual growth, introspection, reflection, and building trust with our intuition. Additionally, our first four Full Moons of the year all take place at 16 degrees of their respective signs, adding emphasis to the energy of 7 (1+6 = 7). Whenever we have multiple Full Moons taking place at the same degree point across zodiac signs, it’s a signal to pay attention to the energy of that number and work with it intentionally.
Full Moons signify moments of release, illumination, and culmination, so this January through April as these Full Moons take place in the signs of Cancer, Leo, Virgo, and Libra, we’ll have big opportunities to release the things that are holding us back from realizing our full spiritual potential.
For example, with the January 6 Full Moon in Cancer, we may focus on releasing the shadow tendencies of Cancer that hold us back from connecting to our own spiritual center, like over-focusing on everyone else’s emotional needs as a way of avoiding what our own emotions are trying to tell us.
LEARNING TO SET BOUNDARIES: SATURN ENTERS PISCES
Saturn has been in Aquarius for the past 2.5 years, so as it finally enters a new sign on March 7, we’ll be asked to learn and master new lessons.
Saturn’s energy is like a strict but ultimately supportive school teacher - think Professor McGonagall from Harry Potter. Whatever sign it’s currently moving through is an energy that we’re going to feel some restriction in in our lives, for the ultimate purpose of maturation and becoming more structured and disciplined with that energy.
Pisces is a watery, intuitive, and (again!) spiritual sign; its energy helps us connect to Spirit and to feel connected to everyone and everything around us. As Saturn moves through this sign for the next 2.5 years, we’ll be learning to set and maintain better boundaries, especially energetically and emotionally.
For people who are strongly empathic or highly sensitive, this can be a great transit to help you clean up your energetic hygiene and stop absorbing so much of others’ energy that isn’t yours. Remember, though, that Saturn teaches us through experiential lessons - so don’t be surprised if you end up encountering some challenging and tricky situations that force you to apply these boundaries, even if it feels uncomfortable.
Saturn in Pisces can also help us become more consistent and disciplined within our spiritual lives. So if you’ve been wanting to dedicate yourself to a meditation practice or more whole-heartedly commit yourself to a spiritual study like astrology or tarot, Saturn can help you apply yourself and stay focused.
BIG HEALING ENERGY: JUPITER + CHIRON CONJUNCTION IN ARIES
On March 12, Jupiter, the planet of growth and expansion, joins up with Chiron, the asteroid known as the ‘wounded healer’ in the sign of Aries.
Chiron has been traveling through Aries since 2018 and will remain here on and off through 2026. In this sign, we have been healing the Aries archetype within the collective: the way we pursue our own individual needs and interests without hurting others; the way we assert ourselves in the world; the expression of healthy masculine energy; and how we know, see, and project ourselves to the world.
With this conjunction, our healing journey takes center stage, and our opportunities for self-awareness increase. Healing our own self-concept, or what and how we think about ourselves, is the biggest lesson that one of my favorite spiritual teachers, Anita Moorjani, shares with us over and over again in her books as the way for us to bring Heaven to Earth.
In her book What If This Is Heaven?, Moorjani shares a message she received from her own inner guidance, reminding her of the wisdom she gained from her near-death experience with cancer:
“It’s easy to lose that knowledge of our true power when we are surrounded by people who don’t believe in it or have never experienced it—which often may seem like most of the people in this world. And if you continue to focus on how everyone else is feeling and what everyone else is wanting, you will get lost in the world of fear once more—and that is certainly not something you want to do again.”
This is the type of inner healing that the Jupiter-Chiron conjunction can bring if we open up to the possibility of rewiring the way we view ourselves and express our energy out into the world.
A COMPLETELY FRESH START: NEW MOON AT 0 DEGREES ARIES
Shortly after that Jupiter-Chiron conjunction in Aries, we have the most powerful and significant New Moon of the year. On March 21 - the Spring/Fall Equinox depending on which hemisphere you live in - we have the first New Moon of the astrological new year. And this one is extra important because it falls at 0 degrees of Aries - the very first degree of the entire zodiac wheel.
The Aries New Moon is always significant because it initiates us into a new zodiac cycle. As the first sign of the zodiac, Aries represents initiative and the pioneer spirit of going first, getting things started, and figuring it out as we go along the journey. But having the New Moon fall at this critical 0 degree point holds even more potential and power for us than with a typical Aries New Moon.
In astrology, 0 degrees of any sign is considered a critical point. It holds the archetype of the Seed, similar to the Fool card in tarot - anything is possible, and all potential outcomes are held within, waiting to burst forth in a specific direction depending on our intentions and the actions we choose to take.
It’s no accident or coincidence that this supernova-like New Moon takes place right after that Jupiter-Chiron conjunction in the same sign. In the month of March, we’re being given a significant opportunity to heal the way we see ourselves, come into greater contact with our full, uniquely individual expression, and then plant the seeds of what that expression will actually look and feel like out in the physical world. In essence, this Aries New Moon invites us to set our intentions and direct our energy toward a complete embodiment of our Highest Selves.
TRANSFORMING OUR RELATIONSHIP TO TECHNOLOGY: PLUTO ENTERS AQUARIUS
Two days after the powerful Aries New Moon, one of the most significant transits of the decade takes place: Pluto shifts from Capricorn to Aquarius.
Pluto spends an average of 21 years in a sign (because of its elliptical orbit, it ranges pretty drastically, spending 12 years in some signs and up to 31 years in another). As the planet of death, rebirth, and transformation has been moving through Capricorn since 2008, we’ve seen the fall of and gradual changes within old systems and structures - think the #MeToo movement shifting the patriarchal balance of power, and millennials and Gen Z toppling established corporate ways of working.
In 2023, we’ll have a brief preview of what the next decade-plus has in store as Pluto will move into Aquarius, then retrograde briefly back into Capricorn, before moving forward back into Aquarius for good in January 2024.
With Pluto in Aquarius, a whole new zodiac archetype comes into Pluto’s sights for destruction, regeneration, and collective soul healing. Aquarius represents our connection to technology, how the collective of humanity functions together, and social movements. I have lots of different theories and predictions around what this long transit will bring up, but here are a few themes we may see emerge in 2023:
Our shifting relationship to and reliance upon technology
The ethics and moral quandaries presented by AI
Rebalancing the innate ‘technology’ of nature with the technology of human innovation
New strategies and tactics that support global and national social movements
The power of the few vs the power of the people - especially regarding money and the economy
EMBRACING YOUR POWER: SUMMER ECLIPSE WINDOW
In April/May, we have our first eclipse window of the year. On April 20, we’ll have a New Moon Total Solar Eclipse at 29 degrees of Aries, and on May 5, we’ll have a Full Moon Lunar Eclipse at 14 degrees of Scorpio. This eclipse portal is notable because it involves four different zodiac signs, instead of just two: The Aries/Libra axis and the Scorpio/Taurus axis.
Again, with the strong burst of Aries energy, we’re being given the gift of understanding who we are on a soul and spiritual level. You are more than just your human traits - your race, your culture, your personality traits, your strengths and weaknesses. You are more than just the sum of your parts - your past lives, your traumas, your experiences and memories. You are Spirit incarnate, expressing itself from your unique soul’s perspective. The New Moon Solar Eclipse in Aries helps get you in touch with this concept and what it means for you.
The following Full Moon Lunar Eclipse in Scorpio continues the theme of karmic, psychic, and ancestral release that we’ve been experiencing since late 2021, when the eclipse axis first shifted into Taurus/Scorpio. Anything holding you back from your fullest expression and potential of your soul may come up for release or evolution at this time, especially related to your fears and the stories you tell about yourself that are based on old trauma.
HEARING THE WISDOM OF THE EARTH: 4 MERCURY RETROGRADES IN EARTH SIGNS
Noticing the patterns within a year’s Mercury Retrograde periods is one of my favorite ways to glimpse a preview of what we’ll be working out and asked to reevaluate in the coming year. In 2023, we’ll have four Mercury Rx periods, all falling within Earth signs:
Dec 29, 2022 - Jan 18, 2023: Mercury Rx in Capricorn
April 21 - May 14: Mercury Rx in Taurus
Aug 23 - Sept 15: Mercury Rx in Virgo
Dec 13 - Jan 1, 2024 - Mercury Rx in Capricorn/Sagittarius
When Mercury is retrograde in an Earth sign, it’s a signal for us to get more deeply connected to our bodies and to the Earth. Mercury Rx periods invite us to reflect, reassess, and re-evaluate. While each period above will have different themes specific to the signs of Capricorn, Taurus, and Virgo, the wisdom will be found in the same ways through each: spending time in nature, slowing down our movements and activities, listening to the signals and messages that our body sends us, and grounding our excess energy back into the Earth.
Another interesting note is that 3 out of 4 of these retrograde periods involve the 8th degree of an Earth sign, with Mercury either stationing direct or retrograde at this precise degree. In numerology, 8 is connected to abundance, prosperity, achievement, and enhanced spiritual flow. Money, resources, and the economy will no doubt continue to be a big theme we face in 2023, and I get the feeling that these Mercury Rx periods will help us navigate our own personal stories around abundance, lack, and receiving the resources we need to live a well-balanced and fruitful life.
RECONNECTING TO THE WILD HEART: VENUS RETROGRADE IN LEO
To be quite honest, I’m not usually a fan of Venus Retrograde periods, but for some reason, I feel excited about this one. Maybe it’s because I’ll be hosting my first-ever retreat at Heart Lake in Yellowstone during this time (more details to come!! Get on my email list if you want to be the first to hear about it), or maybe it’s because it’s taking place in the heart-centered sign of Leo.
In any case, Venus Retrograde periods invite us to go back inward, straight to our hearts, so that we can find and remember what has been there all along. This transit makes me think of the story in The Wizard of Oz, and particularly the ‘Cowardly Lion’ and the ‘Tin Man’ characters. The Lion wishes that if only he could have true courage, he wouldn’t feel so fearful and insecure; the Tin Man wishes for a heart, so that he can experience love and the depth of emotions.
While both characters receive a symbolic gift at the end from Glenda the Good Witch, granting their wishes, the irony within the story is that all throughout their adventures in Oz, the Lion consistently displays the most courage and the Tin Man consistently expresses the most heart.
Courage and Heart are two themes that Venus Rx in Leo will present us with, but regardless of what you’re seeking, the lesson will be to rediscover how it has been within you and present in your journey all along.
EXPANDING OUR RESOURCES: JUPITER ENTERS TAURUS
In mid-may, we have Jupiter, the planet of luck, abundance, good fortune, and expansion, entering Taurus, the sign of money, resources, and what we value. The beginning of this transit is marked by a harsh square to Pluto in Aquarius (read the next section for details), which gives me the feeling that while Jupiter in Taurus could ultimately be beneficial in the realm of money and the economy, we may not reap the benefits until a bit later on - perhaps after some collective breaking points and soul searching.
Overall, I see two sides of the spectrum that Jupiter in Taurus could take us down, with a million different possibilities in between. One, on the lower vibrational side, follows the old saying, “When the rich get richer, the poor get poorer.” On the other side of the spectrum lies the possibility of greater accessibility to wealth and resources for a greater number of people.
Ultimately, Jupiter in Taurus will bring expansion and abundance in the physical, material realm - but who will get to reap those rewards? That’s a question we’ll be grappling with collectively, especially around May/June as Jupiter squares Pluto…
A COLLECTIVE EGO DEATH: JUPITER SQUARE PLUTO
Right as Jupiter moves into Taurus in May, it makes a challenging square to Pluto, which sits at 0 degrees of Aquarius. With Jupiter in Taurus, the collective conversation shifts to our resources: money, the Earth, food, homes, energy. With Pluto in Aquarius, we have an opportunity to heal collective stories and connections (although with Pluto, that healing will often come via crisis and turmoil).
Something’s gotta give. For centuries, we have been mining and exploiting the Earth, with little regard for the long-term sustainability of our actions. Wealthy bureaucrats and corporate zealots, led by their insatiable hunger for control and power, have exploited their fellow humans, enslaving them to systems of capitalism and competition.
The Jupiter-Pluto square in May feels like a potential tension or breaking point. While I can’t predict exactly what this will look like, the stars are reflecting back to us what’s already been building and going on within our collective consciousness for a long time. A question we have been subconsciously asking: Does true power lie within people - within each of us, that when connected together are insurmountable - or does power lie within the objects and symbols we have created?
THE LUCKIEST DAY OF THE YEAR: JUPITER + NORTH NODE CONJUNCTION IN TAURUS
Even though Jupiter will still be loosely squaring Pluto in Aquarius, the luckiest day of the year occurs on June 1, when Jupiter makes a conjunction with the North Node of fate and destiny in the sign of Taurus.
Jupiter represents growth, expansion, and good luck, while the North Node represents our karmic destiny. When these two meet, there is sure to be fated occurrences and meetings - pay close attention to opportunities that come up, especially in whatever house Taurus is over in your personal chart. For example, I’m a Scorpio rising, so Taurus rules my 7th house - so I can expect a burst of good luck and opportunity in the realm of close relationships, commitments, and partnerships (woohoo!).
As mentioned above, the sign of Taurus governs our resources, including money and our relationship to the resources of the Earth. This day could also end up being a great day for making investments, buying or selling land/a home, or taking action on behalf of the environment.
COMING HOME TO SELF: NORTH NODE ENTERS ARIES
As an Intuitive Astrologer, the North and South Nodes are my personal favorite things to pay attention to. If I could only see one thing in a person’s chart, I’d want to know where their North and South Nodes lie. Together, they’re the greatest indicator of our inherent soul gifts, lessons, challenges, and purpose.
As the North Node moves into Aries on July 17 (and so the South Node moves into Libra), we move into a new chapter indicating what we are simultaneously releasing and stepping into. The South Node in Libra asks us to shed old individual and collective behaviors related to Libra’s shadow: people-pleasing, codependency, detachment from self, peacekeeping at the expense of healthy conflict, and indecision.
On the opposite side of the zodiac wheel, the North Node begins to illuminate the highest aspects of Aries that we are invited to explore and embody: Truly knowing and believing in ourselves as individuals, expressing courage in the face of our fears, taking action and aligning what we do with what we believe, fighting for what we believe in, and leading ourselves and others with integrity.
UNDERSTANDING YOUR PLACE: PLUTO SQUARE NORTH + SOUTH NODES
On July 23, Pluto Retrograde will be at 29 degrees of Capricorn, making a challenging square aspect to the North Node at 29 degrees of Aries and to the South Node at 29 degrees of Libra.
The North and South Nodes are giving us lessons and reflections from others in our lives at this time that ultimately serve us in remembering who we truly are. The square to Pluto in Capricorn adds in an element of inner tension and potential identity crisis: Who am I, if I am not my job title? Who am I if I don’t have the outward appearance of status and success that I once held? Who am I, outside of what I produce and achieve? Who would (or could) I be without the existing systems of patriarchy, capitalism, and oppression?
There could be a sense of a deeper, more innate soul purpose emerging through with this transit; one that is led more from a place of service and embodied soul expression than from a place of wanting to be perceived a certain way within the established cultural norms. Ultimately, our expanding and deepening sense of self is beginning to move us closer to the places where Spirit wants and needs us within the greater tapestry of life.
REDEFINING BEAUTY + PLEASURE: FALL ECLIPSE WINDOW
To open the Fall eclipse window, we have a New Moon Solar Eclipse in Libra on October 14. Two weeks later, we’ll have a Full Moon Lunar Eclipse in Taurus on October 28.
Libra and Taurus are both ruled by the same planet, Venus, which represents the part of us that seeks beauty and pleasure and that comes to understand who we are via relationships. These eclipses, and the window of time in between them, will be largely centered around these themes.
Eclipses aren’t times to actively manifest or set intentions; instead, they ask us to pay attention and trust the greater plan unfolding in our lives. New relationships may enter our lives around this time, old ones may fall away - and not just with people. Our relationship to anything significant in our lives - God/the Universe, money, our bodies, work, nature - will be upgrading and evolving. As we expand and learn to relate to others and the world in new ways, the world around us changes as well.
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