I’ll be real with you: I had every intention of using this newsletter to meditate on Mars’s complicated relationship with Venus. But a certain “power bottom rapper” dropped his debut album, and I refuse to talk about anything else.
That’s right. Lil Nas X’s “bussy water” finally broke at 12 a.m. EST on Friday, September 17, 2021, ushering baby Montero into this cruel, cruel world. I am nothing if not capable of tying everything back to astrology, so naturally, I opened Luna App and pulled up the chart for the moment of Montero’s inception.
Y’all…I need to talk about this birth chart!
If you’re a queer person with eyes and internet access, you’ve surely noticed the out rapper’s epic marketing strategy leading up to Montero’s release. Nas X, 22, took the notion of “birthing” a work of art quite literally, posing with a (fake) pregnant belly for People magazine while in promo mode.
It makes perfect sense, then, that Montero (I’ll refer to him as “M” moving forward) was born with his natal Moon in Aquarius in the 10th House. In a birth chart, your Moon placement signifies your emotions and your physical body. M’s Moon in Aquarius takes a familiar physical form (i.e., a visibly pregnant belly, the kind usually associated with cisgender women) and puts an unexpected twist on it, challenging societal conventions and expanding the mindset of the collective. This placement in M’s chart gets amplified by its co-presence with the cosmic loudspeaker that is Jupiter. Since Mercury in Libra (and almost, but not quite, retrograde) is also trining Jupiter, Baby M has the skill and finesse to get through to the masses as well as the platform to reach them.
And in M’s 10th House of career and public image? This album is here, it’s queer, and it’s screaming at you like a Swiftie begging Tay to drop “All Too Well (Taylor’s Version).” You can pretend you don’t hear it or see it, but it’s impossible to miss.
Also of note? Baby M’s Taurus rising closely conjunct Uranus, the planet of disruption and innovation, and ruled by Venus in Scorpio (and in the angular 7th House, no less). In Scorpio, a Mars-ruled sign, Venus is in her detriment, meaning she struggles to embody typically Venusian qualities — think beauty, pleasure, and harmony in relationships. She gets a helpful boost from Mars in Libra, a Venus-ruled sign, but she’s still debilitated. There’s no getting around that.
Luckily, Nas X, an Aries, sees room for beauty and harmony amongst all that intense, Martian discord. I mean, have you seen the music video for “Montero (Call Me By Your Name)”? The intricately CGI’d, unapologetically queer visuals earned LNX the top honor at this year’s MTV Video Music Awards…and an unrelenting barrage of anti-gay vitriol from homophobic haters across the web.
In his VMAs acceptance speech, Nas X dedicated his Moonperson “to the gay agenda.” He knows who he’s trying to reach. If we consider Baby M his offering to The Collective™️ — I reiterate, Moon in Aquarius in the 10th House — it’s going to cause a commotion. This is not easy, harmonious astrology; it’s challenging, provocative, and deeply felt in that classically Scorpionic way. The idea of a cultural taboo comes to mind. I’m also reminded of that old quote about good art comforting the afflicted and afflicting the comfortable.
His music and his message are not for everyone, but if it hits, it hits hard. And since Montero’s Sun is in Virgo, you bet it was designed that way.
Lunation du jour: There’s a Full Moon in Pisces this coming Monday (September 20). Pisces risings, Virgo risings, Gemini risings, and Sagittarius risings will probably feel this one most directly. Lunations operate on a six-month cycle, so think back to Pisces season earlier this year. Did you start anything back then? How’s it going now? (Look to where Pisces falls in your birth chart, as well as your natal Jupiter placement, for more personalized insights.)
If New Moons signify beginnings, then Full Moons mark culminations. This one is co-present with Neptune, a planet that loves being in dreamy, watery Pisces. It’s a wonderful opportunity to express yourself and your emotions through an artistic medium like painting or creative writing. If you’re a journal-er like me, put that pen to paper and resist the temptation to self-edit as you go. Mars is opposing this Full Moon from the Venus-ruled sign of Libra, so you’ll be able to clearly examine any dysfunctional relationship dynamics or persistent creative blocks despite Neptune’s rose-colored glasses. It’s getting a productive boost from Pluto, too, which empowers you to actually do something with whatever insights you glean.
Fave astro tweet du jour: Pallas Augustine tweeted this when Venus entered Scorpio, and I haven’t stopped thinking about it since.