There’s an epic amount of retrogrades, eclipses and solstices happening right now, all within the overall context of the greater cycles occurring this year!
It’s overwhelming to look at the whole bang-shmoodle. So I’ve concentrated on the current time’s energies, and what that means for you, in your deepest of hearts and truest of minds.
Retro Weird
Well, it's retro explosive season for sure!
We’ll soon have SIX planets retrograde in the sky:
- Pluto in Capricorn ruled by Saturn |
break down and rebuild | April 25 – Oct 4
- Saturn in Aquarius ruled by Saturn | restructure our world | May 11 - Sept 29
- Venus in Gemini ruled by Mercury re-align values | May 13 – June 25
- Jupiter in Capricorn ruled by Saturn |
re-envision world values | May 14 – Sept 12
- Mercury in Cancer ruled by the moon |
review feelings | June 18 – July 12
- Neptune in Pisces ruled by Jupiter |
re-imagine collective conscious | June 23 – Nov 28
Mercury retro - old hat
Yes we've heard all this before, everyone is aware of Mercury retrograde and its supposed problems. It does happen a few times a year though, so its not that weird. Six Planets being retrograde at the same time, IS however weird and wonderful!!!
The symbolism of this massive backwards drag all at once ... is actually a LOT weird and wow.
Retro what?
From our vantage point here on earth these planets slow down so much they appear to be moving away from us, backwards. Like when you pass a stationery bus, it moves into your rear window as you zoot past it. It's moving away from you, or retrograding.
Retro rulers
The ruler of the retrograde planet is who is driving the bus.
You’ll notice there’s a lot of Saturn driving this "RE-everything" retrograde period.
Saturn is restrictive, responsible, stoic, hard-working, looking at the long term. It’s the old institutions, corporations and social structures. It’s the big things that are being broken down and shifted this year. It is heavy, dark, and difficult work. Sound familiar?
So now what? The new norm
The world as we know it is being restructured, Boom! Yes, yes, we all know there's explosive change. We've caught our breath, and kind of re-oriented ourselves a bit. We've learnt how to manage online meetings and watch tv. All cool y'all, we've got this!
It's scary, but we're treading water and trying to stay on top of it all. We're dealing with this 'new normal' as best we can. Perhaps we've built a little life-raft, or just added stilts to our home, and life in the ocean of change is somewhat normal.
This new world has been around a while now. We've all built up a bit of resilience to not getting up and rushing to transit somewhere. It's not so shocking anymore.
The communal comfort has been that everyone is 'in the same boat' to some degree.
We may see a professional expert giving a tv interview from their bedroom. We can relate – our online work meeting from home is exactly the same. All the caregivers are struggling a bit with the kids at home, all the shared living spaces are a bit tense with the proximity of all the occupants at once. All the people in the world are trying to find hope in pictures of nature, or extravagant shopping outfits, or funny pet antics.
We've built up this stoic wall of purpose, doing what we can to get through the day, to take care of the basics. Food, shelter, rest.
Your head is telling you we're all in the same boat, so its all OK.
(Pluto and Saturn cycles and configurations throughout 2020).
But your heart
How do you feel?
You may feel sad, emotional, angry, cry. You may be stoic, or rant and rave. You may just feel tired. Or perhaps you're even wildly happy that you've had family time, gotten to those to do lists, and gotten to live your values your way. Maybe you’ve found a new way of connecting, and being grateful, and slowing down.
When you're off the treadmill of life, you're forced to stop and look around.
You are obliged to FEEL because you're not doing.
Many of us have not let ourselves evaluate what we FEEL about all of this.
Do we feel better not being around things that don't suit us?
Do we feel worse for not having contact?
Do we feel happier not rushing around frantically?
Do we feel sad staying still?
(Final Cancer / Capricorn eclipse 21 June, on the solstice)
Looking back
We’re looking at this bus in our rear-view window, all done and dusted right?
Well, no.
We need to acknowledge that we also ‘got hit by a bus’.
There was a meme going around that our fore-bearers were called to fight wars, and we've been called to sit on a couch. Our actions may be different, we’re washing hands instead of handing out ammo. But people are still dying, there is protest, confusion, hidden truths.
And core to our way of being - the usual fabric of life, our daily rituals and pathways are different. The structures that make up society, the politics, financials, food pathways - are all different. They can not go back to what was.
That has an impact.
It may be traumatic, it may be a wonderful new lease on life.
But there is an impact.
Regardless of the reason, cause, source, purpose etc. - we've been hit by a bus, and
dealing with the basics include acknowledging how we feel about it.
Hug YOU
These retrogrades are enabling us all to stop, and look over our shoulders. They’re asking us to acknowledge what happened, how we feel about it. And give ourselves a hug.
If you hug yourself, what’s behind you? A supporting hand, comfort, care.
Go within - identify what YOU value
We're being asked to rebuild within ourselves, not out there.
Yes, there’s work to be done out there. But it all starts from within you. That’s the source of the flame that will change the world.
Go within, be honest, identify what you value and hold dear.
These little flutters of light and care and value have been brewing. You may even be actively incorporating them daily, good for you!
Perhaps you have realised that you can exist not working 18 hour days, what a surprise! Necessity could have facilitated you finding out that you really really like gardening, who knew?
Maybe you discovered with great delight that cooking is a wonderful creative outlet for you.
(Venus retrograde in Gemini is about re-aligning our values with our life).
Happy Touchstones
1. Identify the little joys you’ve discovered
2. Write them down
3. Wrap them in a ribbon, put them somewhere safe
Remind yourself now and then of your happy touch stones.
Put these little treasures of value in the basket of what your life is right now.
Hold onto those magic findings. These are the touch stones that will provide you a path through the confusion.
When you don’t know where to step next, lay down a little happy touchstone and do that.
Go cook something, dig something, find a moment of calm. That feeling is your next step.
The mental part
Eclipse changes
The ending eclipse cycle
An annular eclipse occurred on 26 December 2019. That one was in Capricorn (shortly after the December solstice), and brought great restrictions. Being a solar eclipse, it also brought opportunities for new ways of defining structures.
This solar eclipse is in the sign of Cancer, amplifying emotions. New opportunities arise for caring and nurturing, yourself and others.
This cycle of defining and balancing structures and emotions has been ongoing since January 2019, and will end with a Capricorn lunar eclipse on 4 July. The upcoming eclipse will be to gently let go all that no longer serves.
The last 6 months have been a whirlwind of restructuring. We are being given a final shot at defining our inner structure. This is our chance to fully immerse ourselves in these lessons and close them off. It is the final hoorah of looking at those walls around our heart, and peering into what is inside. It is the epilogue of identifying what we value, and building our world around that which matters most.
The upcoming eclipse cycle
The new eclipse cycle blipped on June 5th with an idealistic Sagittarius peek over the wall. The moon south node in Sagittarius was a light encouraging whisper of what to let go. It helped us feel a little better when we released the reigns a bit.
After 4 July we’ll fully enter the new Gemini / Sagittarius eclipse cycle. These will be more light hearted, and ask us to bend and connect - not break. They are orientated towards creating our higher selves.
(Retrograde Jupiter in Capricorn, mutable eclipse axis; North node in Gemini)
Solstice changes
- What do you value?
- What makes you feel loved and secure?
- What soothes your senses?
- What makes sense to you?
- What counts deep down?
This emotive ‘up-swirling’ is not about someone else's values, structures, ‘shoulds’, ‘coulds’ or desires … these are yours, and yours alone.
Articulate YOUR desires, wants, values and what you hold dear. Bring your heart and mind in sync.
Do the work, because from here on out we have new battles to face. And in order to do so we need to know what we care about, what truly matters to us, and what we want to fight for.
Honouring the light
Summer Solstice 2020 is holding an online event live from Stonehenge. to welcome the longest day in the Northern Hemisphere live from Stonehenge. It is calling all ancient light and holding that space of hope and brightness for the season ahead.
Take your own moment to recognise the light in the world, honour it, and carry it in your heart.
And when you feel lost or lonely, revert to your happy touchstones for the next step. Let that feeling flood over your whole being. If you can’t physically do it, then immerse yourself in the imagineering of what it feels like (Neptune retrograde in Pisces).
“So now, all alone or not, you gotta walk ahead. Thing to remember is if we're all alone, then we're all together in that too.” -- Cecelia Ahern (P.S. I love you)
Lighting a flame of hope to new, and better changes in our heart-land.
With endless love and light,
xxx Liezl @ Astral Hippie Astrology
[Republished from prior website; shares, likes and comments omitted]
