We are all breathing a collective sigh of relief now that
Mercury has stationed direct in its home sign of Gemini. The forward movement for Mercury began on June
11th in 4 degrees of Gemini. This has been a particularly intense, grueling
Mercury retrograde for many people. At
least that has been my experience with retrograde Mercury in my 8th
house and I have certainly been hearing it from my clients.
On June 12th, Neptune will station retrograde in
9 degrees of Pisces for five months and resume direct motion at 7 degrees of
Pisces on November 18th.
Obviously, Neptune is a much slower moving planet than Mercury, but what
can we expect from this transit? Neptune
works behind the scenes, so this may be a boon for healers, counselors, artists
and writers because it favors spiritual and creative pursuits. I strongly endorse utilizing this powerful
energy for meditation and journaling as well. But Neptune is also about confusion, self-deception,
escapism, nebulousness, lack of
direction and dissolving old boundaries, limitations and attachments that no
longer serve us. Neptune pertains to
boundaries—either dissolving or creating them if necessary. It is not uncommon during Neptune retrograde
to feel adrift and sense that things are floating away from us. Neptune is associated with the sea, and with
Neptune retrograde in the watery sign of Pisces, the quality of feeling adrift
is amplified.
The highest vibrations of Neptune can manifest as
enlightenment, spirituality, idealism, and inspiration. The lower vibrations of Neptune can play out
in addiction, deceiving others and the self, delusion and engaging in a martyr
complex. Neptune is very much about
dreams as well. Don’t be surprised if
your dreams become very vivid and meaningful during the next five months. When Neptune is retrograde, logic appears to
go on vacation, but we may become more attuned to the flow of life and our
intuition. Retrograde planets slow
things down and force us to reexamine the meanings of that planet. In Neptune’s case, that may not be such a bad
thing because Neptune at its best is about spirituality and enlightenment. So if you are forced to go within and
confront some issues, it can ultimately serve your highest good. In addition to
our nocturnal dreams, we have the opportunity to become more in touch with our
personal and collective dreams.
We are also on the receiving end of a planetary assist in
attaining our dreams from the Jupiter in Leo trine to Uranus in Aries that will
be in effect through the month of June.
This is the time to follow our hearts and instincts to engage in the
transformations that are essential for us. Jupiter, the Greater Benefic, is
making nice with Uranus, the planet of surprises and sudden changes, so take
advantage of this energy and run with it.
This kind of lightning doesn’t strike twice.
How is this going to play out for me? I am already feeling the effects of Neptune
retrograde, and in a good way. While
Venus is technically the ruler of my chart, I consider myself to be a
full-blown Neptunian because it is conjunct my Libra ascendant. I am relishing this opportunity to drift
along in the passage to change. And
Neptune is considered to be the higher octave of Venus because it involves more
compassion and love on a collective level.
One example of this is that I am learning to incorporate astrology into
my tarot readings, which have been increasing lately. One client called me this week to book a
tarot reading and I had the strongest urge to look at his chart, which I did
prior to the reading. It really helped
to clarify the issues he was facing. I
am also more mindful of the fact that I have a tendency to attract clients with
similar issues to mine so that I can follow the advice that I give them. I am enormously grateful for that benefit
because otherwise I would probably not figure out the solutions on my own!
And speaking of the watery depths, on June 14th
retrograde Saturn slips back into Scorpio.
Saturn will be in 29-28 degrees of Scorpio from June 14th
through September 17th before it goes back into Sagittarius through
December 2017. The 29th
degree of any sign is frequently referred to as the “anaretic” or “karmic”
degree. The karmic 29th
degree of Scorpio has to do with forgiveness. The next few months will provide
us with the opportunity to review lessons learned from October 2012 through
December 23, 2014. We will have one last
chance to address internal changes that need to be made and get in touch with
our motivations and desires. I
experienced my second Saturn Return during this period, and believe me, it was
no cake walk. But I can honestly say
that it was well worth the pain to be able to come out on the other side as a
much stronger, happier person. I hope that I addressed all of the issues that I
needed to by December 2014, but if there is unfinished business, I won’t flinch
or run from them. There is no doubt that
Scorpio is a tough sign, not for lightweights, but it has stamina, perseverance
and can go the distance. Michael Lutin
has said that if one sign could survive a nuclear holocaust, it would be
Scorpio. So let Saturn dig up whatever
needs to be released so that we can move
forward. I know that Saturn has a bad
rep for punishing and limiting us, but we also need to remember that it can
reward us for doing the hard work. That
is the silver lining of Saturn.
If you are confused during these challenging times and need some guidance in empowering you to move forward, that is yet another reason to obtain an astrological reading. You can learn more about my menu of astrological services at:
Don’t forget to follow me on Twitter for my daily astrological insights at:
I'd like to leave you with an image of a painting called Through the Eye of Safe Passage which encapsulates the whole Neptune retrograde experience for me. Many thanks to the artist, Harvey Low Simons, for his permission in letting me use it.
You can see this and more of his paintings at:
This painting is on page 4 of his site.
I wish you all an enlightened and safe passage during this season of Neptune
retrograde!
No comments:
Post a Comment