Mars-Uranus-North Node

Shake, Rattle, and Roll with It

The Mundane Chronicles is AO’s effort to bring attention to how the planets express their archetypal significations through real-time events. Our goal here is to be in awe of how the planets reflect our lives here on Earth, often with precision, and to share our observations. Posts are published randomly, sometimes timed with big transits, and sometimes simply to reflect a basic planetary meaning. Either way, we hope you enjoy these entries. It’s a great way to learn astrology!

If you read the headlines, you’re already trying to digest a daily barrage of words like “extreme, unprecedented, and record-breaking.” Most of our readers already know that astrologers have been predicting the effects of the upcoming Mars-Uranus-North Node conjunction in Taurus, exact on July 31/August 1 for some time now. Certainly, on a scale from one to ten, we're already at a ten in the run-up to this year’s biggest planetary show. So, what can we observe and even anticipate in the next few weeks?

When Mars, Uranus, and the North Node band together to upend stagnant energy, it heralds an amplified period of instability, marked by sudden, extreme, disruptive, even explosive events. This can manifest as weather-related disasters, accidents of all kinds, an increase in war and violent uprisings, and disruptions to agricultural and economic systems.

Clearly, we have already been living through life-changing events. Just since 2021, we’ve navigated the outbreak of a global pandemic, the rise of authoritarianism, and the ever-greater destruction of our natural environment. All can be seen through the lens of various stellar omens as each planet pilots a wheelhouse of archetypal significations that lead to a range of possible outcomes.

Look no further than the “fixed earth” designation of Taurus to understand the target of revolutionary events affecting the world right now. Gaia, the iconic feminine earth principle, provides us with everything we depend on to live. The soil beneath our feet holds a natural wealth of minerals and precious metals. We survive on the roots and seeds of countless plant species and drink from her waters. Basic material resources and the systems that produce them—money, food, and housing—all reside in the bull’s sign.

Based on a seasonal system, Taurus represents the sustained effort of a season at its peak; spring in the Northern Hemisphere. Transposed to the human experience we say “fixed” signs are steady, dependable, stubborn, entrenched, and persistent. There can be an aversion to change. An over-attachment to… you name it. When Uranus comes along, the shake-up is aimed at our core existence.

And what of the North Node of the Moon? Astronomically it’s the intersection of the Moon’s orbit with the path of the ecliptic in an upward or ascending motion. But its interpretive value comes from Hindu tradition: material ambition and attachment; hunger; rebelliousness; and an overall experience of increase or amplification. Referred to as Rahu, it’s the head of a dragon or serpent that has been severed from its body but remains mortal. Unable to digest, he has an insatiable hunger and swallows the Sun.

Current headlines echo the cosmic times: worldwide economic inflation and supply shortages; unparalleled high temperatures and fires in Western Europe; extraordinary flooding in India and Australia; uprisings in Sri Lanka; the Russian war against Ukraine; an epidemic of handgun violence in the US, and the assault on women’s health. And this is just a sampling.

Still, massive change, however sudden it may feel, does not happen in a vacuum. From the astrological perspective, we can see the waveform develop over time, peak, and then move into an integration phase. 

The graffiti was on the wall when Uranus entered Taurus in May 2018. Prognosticators knew this electrifying agent of change was not going to leave without its firebrand of “breakdown for breakthrough,” sudden disruptions, crisis as opportunity. In Taurus, Uranus stands for the liberation of earth’s beings and the call to a more sustainable way of living. The phoenix rises from the ashes; Uranus leaves Taurus in April 2026.

A few years later, Uranus went on to form a tense square with the conservative, slow-acting Saturn, in February 2021; a seminal transit that year. Making three exact hits, this combination pits the old ways against the new, tradition against innovation. The final closing square will occur this October and many say the experiences we are living through now will bubble and squeak in a major way through years end.

Looking back, we can also track the influence of the eclipses, the Lunar Nodes of the Moon. Eclipses are said to denote the intersection between significant endings and beginnings. From June 2020 to Dec 2021, philosophical-intellectual clashes and confrontations, from the kitchen table to social media, were all the rage when the eclipses held sway in Gemini and Sagittarius. “Fake news” has changed the ways we maneuver in the world. Now, with the Lunar Nodes on the Taurus-Scorpio axis, the focus is more tangible; Mars and Venus in an epic dance of birth and death. Starting in November 2021 with the first eclipse in Taurus, the concrete consequences of humanity’s global impact are laid bare.  

That leads us to the here and now. As soon as Mars entered Taurus on July 5 things really began to pop. And now, we sit at the precipice of the triple conjunction, a rare combination when considering this particular lineup in Taurus. Astrologer SJ Anderson’s research finds this planetary phenomenon only two times in history, and both were BC.

What can we expect when Mars brings his fervor to join the already paired, revolutionary Uranus-North Node conjunction (exact on July 18)? Consider Mars, Ares, the God of War, the swordsman who slashes and burns. But also, the courageous protector who risks it all. Mars breaks things wide open, whether it be boundaries among nations or solid earthy structures.

It's clear that the presence of Mars is likely to exacerbate the turbulence we are already experiencing. Expect the best; prepare for the worst. Freedom and liberation are a process, not a moment in time. Life-changing insights and breakthroughs are available. Venus, the ruler of Taurus knows love wins.

As the Mars-Uranus-North Node conjunction proceeds to perfect on August 1 and ripples out over time, we just may have to shake, rattle and roll with events that leave a mark on global history.

If you have personal planets or sensitive points in the fixed signs (Taurus, Leo, Scorpio, or Aquarius) from 15-20 degrees, this transit may be more personal for you. Bring awareness to what’s shaking, and remember, transits most often do not manifest as a “ten” in our lives. To get AO’s perspective on “big” transits listen to our latest podcast as we muse about astro-anxiety (must be a paid subscriber to listen).