Life has felt up in the air lately. At the start of this year I had predicted it would be one for reevaluation and clearing the decks, and it has been that to a degree of intensity that I had no idea was even possible. We are in times of major internal change and revolution. The call to abandon activities, attitudes and persons that do not align with our spiritual process is growing louder by the day. As the invisible & subtle reality merges more acutely with the dense, physical reality our minds and our bodies are undergoing painful and confusing transitions. We are in a moment in life where everything matters. What we choose to do and be defines us now more than ever. Deep subconscious issues are arising at alarming rates, and with the right attitude and willingness we can shift our consciousness around a given situation nearly as quickly as it appeared. The key, no matter what, is to maintain the integrity of a positive direction and move towards that which makes us feel happier, lighter, and more free. The other night after working for several hours in the office, I went out to bathe in the moonlight and for the first time in some weeks, take a moment to reflect upon all of the recent changes and overall direction of situations in my life. The past few years in summertime, I have been so BUSY and this summer in particular, I’ve entered an unprecedented phase where the present is the only reality I have much time to worry about. Summer used to be my favorite season, but since moving south I find the intensity of the active yang energy a challenging contender. It is more difficult in the summertime to sink in to the lengthy periods of reflection and internal work that come so easily in the slower seasons and staying balanced in the midst of constant activity can be quite tricky. However, with so much shifting energy in the cosmos this past week and next, life seems to have put on the brakes to some degree. I feel we are all getting the opportunity to look more closely at the action taking place all around us and making determinations that could slightly or significantly alter our course from here on out.
In astrological terms, the major events that I am referencing are those in the title of this article: Venus Retrograde, Uranus Retrograde, and Saturn moving Direct and out of Scorpio, as well as today's Blue Moon in Aquarius. As an astrologer and intuitive, I very often feel and sense these types of cosmological shifts for a period of time before I write about them. Retrograde/Direct cycles especially of the outer planets like Uranus, are not highly unusual, but since they are happening together we feel these energies very acutely and perhaps more dramatically than usual. Uranus is the signifier of change and awakening. Venus relates to harmony, luxury, and relationships. While Saturn is the lord of karma & matter: the “work” of life. The feeling of this past week has been somewhat “strange” to me. There is a very intense sensation toward making, in some cases, unanticipated changes as immediately as possible in order to be in better alignment with our true spiritual direction and overall peace of mind. I find myself commanded to quickly shift gears and refocus in ways that I did not expect at this juncture, but am nonetheless grateful for. The clear message coming through the Uranian principle seems to be: “The time is now to live the life we wish!” Change now what demands to be changed – ESPECIALLY as it relates to Venusian aspects of our life: Creative pursuits, love relationships, and financial matters.
Venus is spending the majority of its Retrograde cycle in Leo the sign of fun, self expression, and creativity. Since Venus has entered its shadow (the area of the sky over which it is moving retrograde) in late June, I’ve been seeing the themes of the retrograde cycle – and in many ways am finding a direct correlation between this Venus Retrograde and the Saturn Cycle that has been so prominent throughout 2015. Saturn is in Scorpio for the very last time, demanding our final word on the Scorpionic lessons we’ve been working with since October 2012. Throughout this transit I have concluded that Saturn in Scorpio can be summed up as such: A firm, deep, and fearless commitment to our own path, our own evolution, and our own empowerment irregardless of all obstacles or realities that aim to take us down, don’t understand what we’re doing, or otherwise keep us from realizing our own true strength. And this very much includes our own inner psyche’s negative patterning. The lesson of Saturn in Scorpio has been to persevere through the depth of our fears around true power, true love, true strength, true intimacy, and true vulnerability in faith and trust that what we truly want and need will await us on the other side. It has been very much like a psychological “clean up.”
Saturn is stationing at the very final degrees of Scorpio, while Venus is moving through the same patch of sky in stressful, restructuring, reevaluting, releasing waning square to Saturn, along with Jupiter who is also in Leo in the final degrees. What I have been noticing about the themes of Venus retrograde that have thusfar arisen is that there is a sensation of finality. Many old and crusty characters and behaviors have been popping up all over the place – in dreams, in people on the street, in current relationships, you name it. All of these things relate to old psychological scars that we might be carrying from past relationships and around love in general. With the Scorpio energy really pushing us to purge our fears and psychological hang ups, I feel this Venus Retrograde has a lot of energy around really finding what LOVE and FREEDOM IN LOVE means to us and how we want to shift our psychological patterning around partnership, friendship, and creative processes. What do our past relationships show us about what we desire in love, and also what we feel is missing? What are the projections we experience through others saying about how we relate to love and relationships – is it all roses and daisies, or are there some shadows there? What is happening in your current relationship that you no longer tolerate? What choices can we make around relationships of all kinds that will bring more fun, lightness, and joy into our lives?
Generally speaking, I’ve really noticed a sudden flourish in social connections, as people around me seem to be expressing a desire to connect more often and more meaningfully. In love relationships, I see partnerships departing, deepening, and most definitely reevaluating and shifting based off of what the two partners most deeply value in relationship, as well as what will bring the relationship to an overall happier and more harmonious place in the long term. I also see people craving time for themselves to rejuvenate, relax, and take care of their relationship with self on a deeper level -- in a realization that this allows them to be more present in connection with work and others. And all of this seems to be happening in a “now or never” sort of way. Venus is about what we DESIRE and the sense I am getting is that what we want can no longer be put off. What makes us happy is tantamount and those things that make us unhappy we are willing to shift completely sans the usual hemming and hawing. The reason being those parts of our relationship with life that make us unhappy are REALLY starting to feel old and burdensome, and we’re recognizing the extent to which many of these things are just reflections of our own self limiting beliefs and psychological fog. Our own disempowered behaviors.
The overall feeling is one of moving forward with the aim to improve. This might mean some significant changes in particular patterns that are pretty firmly embedded in our relationship to others, self, and even our work and creative life. There can be some frustration around this as so often lately it feels that every time something is settled or resolved, it’s quickly dismantled for rebuilding. This uprooting feeling can be disturbing, especially to those of us who sorely wish for reality to be more fixed and predictable. However, it is my sense that we should get used to this to some degree and learn to create our lives from the consciousness that change not just a possibility but inevitable. In other words, what we create in our lives needs to have plenty of room for evolution – as the more walls we build, the more walls we’ll have to take down later. A firm foundation can still be established, but all other elements must be highly malleable. Simplify everything and be ready to be “on the move” so to speak.
In my contemplation of the times, of truth, and the messages of the Retrograde cycles and today’s Blue Moon in Aquarius -- I wondered about a certain phenomenon one encounters when walking a spiritual path and working on one’s internal growth – in the stages between major breakthroughs there are these phases where one can feel utterly out of sorts and look around at one’s life only to wonder if any progress has been made at all. I thought back to myself in earlier stages of my life and journey and how it seemed so much easier to grasp certain concepts that in times more present seem as if they are far away on some high mountain. Were they not even further from me then? The answer I got was this: The truth can be known in an instant – but to realize it, to practice it, to live it, takes years – a lifetime, many lifetimes.
The bottom line of the universe, of creation, of action, of being – is intent. We place our intention in the direction we want to go, and yield to the obstacles that fall in our path. We sometimes need to weed whack our way through some emotional crap but the pathway is still there and muck or no muck we still walk forward if it is our aim to do so.
In some fashion, at least on this earthly plane, there is no change without some sort of muck. Even if we manage to transcend some of our own, there is the junk of other people, of society, of consciousness in general that we all contribute to, experience, and are, in our own ways, responsible for. In this sense the path is always being realized – our journey upon it is eternal as there is no end to the possibilities of growth. If we master one or two elements of life, there is an infinity of others we know nothing about. And even upon mastery, we have to understand the inherent nature of change – the spiraling, cyclic nature of the universe, of cosmic influence, of life in general. For every culmination there is a decline, a reevaluation, a release, and a letting go, in order to make room for new levels.
I feel that this is what we’re enduring at this moment and in many ways, what we are also learning how to do. We are discovering how to process immense amounts of new information on all levels of consciousness and balance the most disparate aspects of ourselves, our environments, and the world at large as a community. In this moment, it doesn’t matter so much where and who we are, per se – what matters is our intention and our direction towards authenticity, freedom and humanity. Our intention towards gentleness, love, and respect. The world needs this enlightened vibration. It needs people who are concerned with balance, who wish to deeply live and love, who are here to serve from the heart. These intentions, actions, and choices awaken the possibility of change and of balance on a much larger scale. We have the ability to create life more directly than ever before. In the moment it doesn't always look as we envisioned, but the envisioning is so fundamental. What we desire to be, we can be. What we aim for, we can have. What are soul craves can be realized. Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but in time with perseverance. And even then, the vision will take a new form. The important part is now: To be dedicated to the process of change, of growth. To make wise choices, and to move forward with hope -- knowing that there is no end, and that it won't be linear, and that the results rarely look anything like the ideal, but somehow are ideal regardless.
What is it you're REALLY here to create? What changes do you need to make to move in that direction? See that, and go from there...