Tag: Neptune in Pisces

The Saturn/Neptune Square, In Action

~ EmpwrdDstny ~ Leave a comment

I have already touched upon the “delusion-busting” potential of the approaching square between Saturn in Sagittarius and Neptune in Pisces in a previous post, but now it’s the “illusion-busting” part I want to focus on today as this certainly is a key and pervasive theme we’ll see playing out over the next year while the energy of this square is active. Soooooo on that note, remember how I said in my October newsletter that we would start seeing the effects of the approaching Saturn/Neptune square by the end of October even though this formation wouldn’t be exact until late November? Well almost right on cue, it appears we have been given Exhibit A: The recent news surrounding young social media maven Essena O’neill.

Essena is a 19 year old Australian girl who was, until very recently, a rising star of Instagram, Youtube, etc.. Just a few days ago she made headlines for abruptly decrying how “Social media is not real life” through exposing the illusory nature of her carefully crafted Instagram pics et al and then subsequently quitting social media. If you really want to get a clearer feel for this astro-energy, do an internet search of her name and read some of the news stories concerning this hoopla.

If you hadn’t heard of her up until now, don’t worry because neither had I.  I am by no means a pop-culture junkie, but I do find it useful to attune myself to it on occasion purely for the purposes of more clearly illustrating the workings of key astrological energies. And when this story floated up to my consciousness, all I saw was the Saturn/Neptune square in action. The tearful video explaining the pressure that she felt to project herself a certain way, the selfie she took and re-captioned “THERE IS NOTHING REAL ABOUT THIS”….one key thing this square does is distort our perception of reality, and it appears Miss O’neill is tired of it all and wants to “keep it real” so to speak. The effects of this square are a lot like a record scratch; a sudden and full stop where the music suddenly cuts out. Or a buzzkill – pick your metaphor. The point is this square represents a time where we can and should expect the ManBehindTheCurtainGreat and Powerful Oz to be exposed as simply being “the man behind the curtain” – he isn’t really a wizard and certainly shouldn’t be anyone’s guru/messiah (more to come on that line of thought later)…it is only an illusion. Or perhaps more accurately: a projection based upon what we WANT to believe. But if and when it doesn’t serve our Highest Good to believe in a False Prophet, rest assured the energies of this square will help to provide us with a little reality check.

Now there is a flip to Essena’s story in that many are calling it a publicity stunt. The point is not whether it is or it isn’t; the point is there absolutely IS a kernel of Truth in her message regardless under the Saturn/Neptune Square.

11/06/2015

Under The Virgo Stellium: The Health Of Your Feet

~ EmpwrdDstny ~ Leave a comment

Virgo – the sign of health and wellness – has been quite supercharged lately! Jupiter arrived in this sign for a year-long tour (see excerpt from my newsletter) back in August, but more recently the planet has also been joined by asteroid Hygiea, Mars, and even Venus! The long and short of it = our wellbeing is (and had been) a pretty big running theme as of late, and with Jupiter’s energy anchoring this whole collection of planets I think it important to take a macro, more holistic view of things rather than just focus on the typical Virgo nuts-and-bolts of diet, nutrition, and exercise alone. Things get a little more “woo-woo” anyway with these planets making oppositions to both Neptune and Chiron in Pisces, so our viewpoint on health matters benefits from looking at health in a more spiritual context as well. Pisces, as the polarity of Virgo, is a more restorative energy than its busy bee counterpart, and we bring our bodies into better balance byWhatIfIToldYou also incorporating complimentary practices for healing and wellness that are more reflective and still in nature. Solitude, meditation, yoga, cultivating a connection with The Divine, focusing on good quality sleep, and even reflexology (which deals with the feet; a Pisces keynote) are favored at this time.

On that note, I decided to make a reflexology appointment the other day. In conversing with my reflexologist, I found myself quite intrigued by how the feet serve as a map for the body’s various systems and internal organs, from the pituitary gland to the spine, liver, and even the lymphatic system. There are corresponding “points” in the feet for EVERYTHING, and her gentle touch served to both relax and to also stimulate all the internal mechanisms of my body that nutrition and exercise alone couldn’t reach.

RainbowFootprintsThe health of our feet can say so much – in Western society, we tend to get hung up on aesthetics rather than look at their appearance as possibly being a helpful diagnostic tool in assessing the potential for certain imbalances within the body. For example, if you have calluses, what points in the body do they correspond to on a reflexology chart? Your spine? Your parathyroid? Maybe it’s not just your shoes or your gait that are causing them…perhaps your body is trying to “protect” these areas with extra skin because the organs they correspond to in the body might be weak or injured for some reason? What about the dreaded cracked heels – do we possibly have some lower back issues and/or are we potentially deficient in Fatty Acids? If we REALLY want to get woo-woo with it, could those cracked heels actually be a sign of a Root Chakra issue? Perhaps some underlying security fears exist and may need to be addressed and there might be some asanas we could also do to help out on that front.

Now I’m obviously neither a doctor, nor a reflexologist, nor do I specialize in medical astrology. But I always find it interesting to examine the subject of health in a more holistic multi-dimensional sense, even if this includes using a more abstract point of view from time to time. So why not use the energy of this Virgo stellium to take a look at YOUR tootsies? Non-judgmentally reflect upon their condition and try to figure out if there’s something they might be trying to tell you about the state of your health?


11/4/2015

Under The Saturn/Neptune Square: Estranged

~ EmpwrdDstny ~ 4 Comments

Have you ever had the surreal experience of seeing somebody that you “used to know” from afar? Time and distance causing their familiarity to erode and making them virtually unrecognizable to you, almost as if they had been a complete stranger? And I don’t mean the physical appearance changing so much; rather that the path of your soul’s development and theirs seems to have diverged so widely for so long there is a profound disconnect where barely even a dim spark of recognition can be made. It’s as if you are worlds…or perhaps oceans…apart.

It is a strange thing indeed, like stepping into some sort of temporal vortex.

On that note, speaking of time warps – I am considering the phrase “Use Your Illusion” (referencing of course the Guns N’ Roses albums of the same name) an appropriate and totally relevant theme for the approaching Saturn/Neptune Square. Astro-geeks will appreciate knowing the first album was recorded as Neptune and Saturn were conjunct in Capricorn. Fast-forward 26 years and here we are with these two planets squaring one another from Pisces and Sagittarius, respectively – echoes of the past haunting the present…

10/30/2015

If You Consider Yourself “Spiritual”, Please Read This

~ EmpwrdDstny ~ Leave a comment

So it’s Public Service Announcement time, as we are officially gearing up for the first exact square between Saturn in Sagittarius and Neptune in Pisces on November 26th, 2015. One huge theme that keeps resurfacing in my consciousness with this square is the idea that we had damn well better be practicing whatever it is we’re preaching and doing our best to get a handle on any behaviors that might be considered *ahem* hypocritical, as one of the things Saturn presents to us in Sagittarius is lessons regarding honesty!

The hazard with Neptune involved in an ongoing, contentious serious of squares to this planet is that it’s very easy to become delusional about whether or not we’re “getting right” in a spiritual sense, so this is a really good time to start looking at any possible incongruity between what we believe and how we put this into practice so we don’t wind up with egg on our face. Or worse – Saturn in Sagittarius represents the good reputation and with Neptune’s tidal waves repeatedly crashing against it over the next year, our good social standing could well be washed out to sea if we aren’t careful. Saturn + Neptune would have us get real about our own human faults and foibles – especially in a moral or spiritual sense – and do the work needed to keep us humble and honest; ensuring we’re not applying some kind of feigned high principle or double standard and then fooling ourselves about it. NoBullsOur belief structure and how we apply it comes into question, and we while we may try to pull the wool over our own eyes, there’s a good chance Divinity will see what we’re up to & provide adequate consequences that will serve as a bit of a “reality check” under this series of squares – this may or may not come in the form of someone else calling us on our bullshit.   😉

So consider this fair warning.

But instead of getting defensive about it and slipping into self-protective denial that there may, in fact, be a problem, this may be a challenge to take a hard and honest look at ourselves and our spirituality. We don’t have to beat ourselves up about it, either – we ALL make mistakes! But the goal is to work on anything that might be preventing us from staying on the spiritual straight-and-narrow, and in this instance the best approach is leading by example. We can lecture and/or sermonize all day long, but the REALLY hard part involves applying the same spiritual rules to OURSELVES. It’s not going to be enough to just pay a high moral or ethical standard or ideal lip service with this energy; we have to roll up our sleeves and actually apply it to our own lives. The takeaway? Hard and honest (yet compassionate) self-reflection does us good now – remember, this is only the first of 3 exact squares we’re facing, so we have a long way to go yet. These squares will be the prevailing influence from now until the latter part of 2016, so if we’ve somehow gotten spiritually off-track, there is still plenty of time to right the ship.

10/23/2015

Venus In Virgo Opposite Neptune In Pisces

~ EmpwrdDstny ~ Leave a comment

An anecdote that perfectly illustrates the current Venus in Virgo opposition to Neptune in Pisces, which will be exact tonight at 10:53PM EDT –

I was out running some (Virgo) errands this morning and one of the things on my to-do list was to stop at the grocery store to pick up a few stray ingredients I needed for the pozolé I intended to make later. I needed *something* to counteract the dreadfully damp and windy autumn chill in the air, so a hearty pot of soup seemed like a suitable antidote! I rolled up to the grocery store – noting that for some ungodly reason the parking lot seemed to be an absolute mass of confusion – and once I managed to make it past the guy who was traveling out-of-his-lane and threatening for a moment to hit me head-on, avoided 2 clueless pedestrians darting in front of my vehicle on their way into the store, and skillfully maneuvered my way around an 18-wheeler that had been left idling unattended (presumably offloading a delivery) in a very bad spot, I breathed a sigh of relief and miraculously parked without further incident.

Approaching the front of the store, I saw some kind of stand had been erected near the front entrance – it was a table with three men seated behind it, and two women standing a bit off to the side. As I drew closer, one of the men smiled kindly at me in greeting and then said something I didn’t quite hear over the din of the 18-wheeler’s rumbling idle, so I closed the gap between us and asked if he could repeat himself since I didn’t catch what he had said.

The Six of Pentacles as depicted in the Robin Wood Tarot; A wealthy patrician judiciously distributing alms to the needy.
The Six of Pentacles as depicted in the Robin Wood Tarot; A wealthy patrician judiciously distributing alms to the needy.

“Would you like to make a donation?” he inquired. I was close enough now to see the stand was for a local halfway house for the developmentally disabled. There were decorations, pamphlets, etc. and even a large platter of home-baked cookies laid across the table. With barely a nanosecond of time elapsing between his query and my response, I smiled back and said “Sure!” as I reached into my purse for my wallet. I am very much a softie when it comes to charitable causes, so I pulled out the $20 I had earmarked for the groceries and instead put it into their collection tin. It was then that I realized the three sweet, cheery-looking men who sat before me were all presumably residents of this halfway home; my heartstrings twinged sympathetically while bidding them adieu and wishing them a great day. Screw it, I thought – I can always use my debit card for the ingredients.

So how is this story astrologically relevant, you ask? Venus is money; Virgo represents the everyday chores and errands we perform, such as buying groceries with that Venusian money. Neptune in Pisces is the very essence of charity; the outflow of concern and compassion for our fellow Man and the resultant willingness to sacrifice the personal for The Greater Good. Is it any wonder that someone might elect to give their pocket money for groceries away under such astro? Their timing and location seriously couldn’t have been better for this fund drive!

If we take this a step further, Venus is not traditionally considered well-placed in Virgo, which is the sign of her fall. She makes a great budget, sure, but her preference for having each cent allocated and accounted for may mean that under ordinary circumstances she might be less inclined to give away any funds she had earmarked for other purposes. There can be another angle of Venus in Virgo in play, too – the influence of Virgo (being a Mercury-ruled sign) tends to shrink things….if this is Venusian dollars we’re talking about, sometimes it may just mean that she has a smaller budget to work with and simply doesn’t have it to give away. But put a powerful, astrologically dignified Neptune in Pisces into this mix opposing her and suddenly it’s very hard to resist the surging feelings of altruism that would have us part with our cash.  Even a modest donation would surely allow our money to do some good in the world and help others in need, yes?

In this specific planetary face-off, Neptune in Pisces always wins. As such, if we’re going to give our money away to a cause, it’s good to do our Venus-in-Virgo due diligence about a charity when possible to make sure the funds are going to the right place and being utilized appropriately. Websites like CharityNavigator.org can help us make prudent choices about where to donate. In my specific case, I was peripherally familiar with this small, local, community-based nonprofit, so felt reasonably confident the money would be going to a good place and directly helping those in need. Moreover, the *feeling* I got from the representative faces that had been soliciting this donation left me with the distinct impression these men were happy and well-cared for – the two women caretakers who had been standing off to the side seemed warm and appeared happy to unobtrusively help encourage their independence by letting them run the show.

Perhaps in the opposition between Venus in Virgo and Neptune in Pisces, it isn’t Neptune that wins the day so much as love; the infinitely tender heart beating somewhere inside each of us that is able to find the worth and value inherent in every single Being without regard to circumstance  ❤

10/16/2015

Saturn In Sagittarius Square Neptune In Pisces

~ EmpwrdDstny ~ 2 Comments

This is a perfect little clip for the impending squares between Saturn in Sagittarius & Neptune in Pisces, the first hit of which will be happening in late November 2015. Do watch, because it will give you a pretty good feel for the contrast we have going on with these two astrological energies.

Note the clock (Saturn) sternly tolling in the middle of the segment, LOL…

So what have we learned from Cinderella and how does this apply to the astrology of the Saturn/Neptune squares of 2015 – 2016? I think the first theme of these squares center around the notion of staying strong in your belief and protecting your faith in your dreams, even when this is being challenged. With Saturn, a delay or obstacle shouldn’t be misconstrued as a denial – difficulty is NOT an indicator to throw our hands in the air and just give up! In reality, while I would indeed add a proviso onto the premise that if we just “keep on believing, a dream that [we] wish will come true” and state that we’re also going to need a hefty tub of Elbow Grease (work) to make it happen, the core takeaway is to protect our vision; whether it be personal OR vocational. And incidentally it IS worth noting how I did mention elsewhere that I do see this square as a potential indicator of professional disillusionment and a subsequent quest for meaningful vocation; particularly for two groups of people – those born circa ’86 who are just now experiencing their first Saturn Return & the ’72 – early ‘76 vintage who have Neptune in the early-mid degrees of Sagittarius and are contending with a simultaneous Neptune Square. Though we are all dealing with this to a greater or lesser extent over the next year+ depending upon which planets or points in our individual charts are being impacted, these specific age brackets are especially sensitized as a whole.

But I digress…my point is a challenge in manifesting our dream should be thought of as a philosophical test to hammer out how we might perhaps be seeing things the wrong way; where our well-intentioned implementation or execution of that vision is for some reason askew and thus cannot yield the results we wish to achieve if we were to leave it as-is. We may need a better, more supportive framework to protect that dream and make sure it will stand the test of time rather than allow it to be gradually eroded away via negligence like a sandcastle completely bereft of a seawall left standing at the water’s edge when the tide is coming in. When we seem to hit a wall, we must utilize a certain degree of intuitive wisdom to sense how to keep things fluid and able to adapt to shifting conditions while also recognizing the necessity of having a safe and sturdy container (a form) to hold that dream so it doesn’t wind up slowly seeping out and disappearing into the ground beneath our feet.

For this reason, I am equating the energy of Saturn in Sagittarius square Neptune in Pisces with the concept of  imagineering a better system – the difficulties we encounter may just be a prompting from The Universe that we need to go about things another way if we’re looking to turn that dream into a reality; perhaps by adjusting our plan, methodology, etc. for optimum functionality. During these squares we simultaneously have to learn how to flow/float while keeping ourselves tied off to a beneficial anchoring structure/framework of some kind…an interesting proposition for sure! It’s a bit like cave diving – even the most skilled divers know it’s easy to lose your way underwater if you don’t have a literal guideline to follow. Vision can be totally obscured by silt, the current can shift and carry you away….the point is drifting is not advised! So whether we are attempting to manifest a vision that is personal or professional during this square (which will run more or less continuously from late 2015 – late 2016), it is certainly good to keep this in mind.

With this test – as is usually the case with anything Saturn-related – if we don’t throw in the towel and give up when we encounter hardship, our persistence is usually rewarded 9 times out of 10. I say “usually” because if there IS a firm and repeated spiritual “no” involved w/ Saturn in Sagittarius, we can absolutely be sure it is for our own good – maybe Divinity has something better in mind that we just can’t see with our narrow focus. Maybe that dream we so badly want to come true is actually too confining for us…perhaps our imagination had certain limits we weren’t aware of and so we couldn’t dream what else might be possible due to certain contextual limitations. We could be blind, for example, to how the realization of that fantasy could actually somewhere down the line potentially restrict opportunities or stunt growth.

The point is, we may lack the capacity to understand the spiritual reason or lesson at the time, but I assure you that it IS there! I believe in the wisdom of The Universe and trust it fully, and I don’t think as mere mortals we can ever possibly pretend to know what the Divine Design is, exactly, because this would take all of the magic out of life. So if we work hard to realize a dream during the squares between Saturn in Sagittarius and Neptune in Pisces, making many sacrifices only to have it not to come true, we must at least stay strong in the belief that The Universe knows what it’s doing. Sometimes the “no” is because life has something better in store for us at a later date; something beyond the bounds of our current level of understanding that will become clear to us possibly years later. The blessing about having Saturn involved with Neptune is that our life lessons tend to be delivered with an infinite amount of mercy and compassion, even if there is a delay in the realization of this fact ❤

FootprintsInTheSand

08/26/2015

Learning To Fly w/ Saturn In Sagittarius

~ EmpwrdDstny ~ Leave a comment

Though Sagittarius is currently getting a brief reprieve from Saturn’s energy until September 17th due its temporary backtrack into Scorpio, I find the effects of this energy still lingering on my mind nonetheless. There is a particular a visual image conjured forth when I contemplate Saturn in Sagittarius – it is that of a bush pilot skillfully navigating through dicey terrain; soaring toward an as-yet unknown landing zone in some remote, aboriginal destination. Sadge has long been associated with air travel, and with Saturn as our captain it seems we are indeed learning to fly in a metaphorical sense.

Being this planet squares Neptune in Pisces a total of three times between now and late 2016, we should expect this could turn out to be a water landing, so hopefully you will come prepared for this possibility and thus equip your aircraft with pontoon floats. In a figurative sense, the ground beneath our feet is not solid at all during these squares; rather it is liquid. Consequently, conditions such as this can make it difficult to gain traction; however this is not the point. As is always …Read More…

More Mercury Square Neptune Messages

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For those who grieve over troubled sibling relationships under Mercury square Neptune – a perfectly fitting and possibly cathartic listening/viewing experience:

Mercury represents our brothers and sisters, Neptune can signify the dissolution of this bond; the sadness and suffering connected to a brother or sister becoming “lost” to us. Perhaps there is an estrangement, or heartache caused by a substance abuse issue, for example. But if this is indeed a source of sorrow, I think it important to retain an elastic heart. Stretch the heart center; keep it open and allow yourself to feel the softer emotions like grief and compassion that are often hiding behind feelings like anger and frustration, even while acknowledging What Is and giving the situation over to The Universe/Divinity to handle. Sometimes the state of things just cannot be helped – we are often powerless in situations where someone dear to us chooses a path that hurts themselves and/or others. But it is still possible to connect to unconditional love for a sibling on the spiritual plane and wish them healing and wholeness, even as you do what is necessary to love and protect yourself on a physical/emotional level. Finding forgiveness in our hearts to bless and release the situation can at least help us to accept the things we cannot change and reach some measure of serenity.

05/21/2015

Mercury Square Neptune’s Jedi Mind Tricks

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Remember that when Mercury in Gemini squares Neptune Pisces, words can (and usually do) have two meanings. Is ambiguity a subtle form of trickery?
Remember that when Mercury in Gemini squares Neptune Pisces, words can (and usually do) have two meanings. Ambiguity may be a subtle form of trickery – read the fine print and don’t ignore. Especially if you’re buying a cell phone, LOL.

So if you’ve been paying attention to the astro-climate lately, you know that mental Mercury has been squaring illusionary Neptune since the beginning of May and this will continue to be the case through most of June. Mercury is associated with sleight-of-hand, while Neptune’s penchant for smoke and mirrors makes it all too easy to be fooled by the information our eyes and ears provide now, especially given the fact that Mercury just turned retrograde yesterday. There is something akin to a hypnotic suggestion inherent in this energetic pairing, not unlike Obi-Wan’s famous incantation, “These are not the droids you are looking for”.

Indeed, we have to filter information more carefully than ever now to avoid either being deceived OR deceiving ourselves. There is something about this energetic coupling that can tend see data as a buzzkill, so it doesn’t ask because it would prefer *not* have anything hard to go off of. Sometimes, it would rather just not know and it’s this kind of voluntary ignorance that has the ability to be quite harmful now. It’s far from bliss and more like an opiate (or perhaps “glue fumes” is the better analogy, LOL) that impairs cognitive function and maybe even kills a few brain cells.

Mercury is naturally curious – that’s what it does; it asks questions. Neptune’s soft edges, however, may tend to dissolve any inclination to help us fact check in this manner so we can be sure our stories are straight. What if we found out important information was being hidden from us? Or that someone has pulled fraudulent figures from their ass in an attempted ruse?  What if gossip were literally “unbelievable” and turned out to be total BS?  Could we be deliberately handwaving pertinent facts away because our sympathies are aroused and/or we’re idealistic about a “cause”? We can only stick our heads in the sand for so long before it comes back to bite us, ya know, even if we think we are being a sucker charitable. And with a total of 3 exact squares hitting between these planets by the time June ends, it might be a good idea to do a little more research before aligning ourselves with something/someone we *think* is for The Greater Good. Because that’s exactly the kind of guise deception is apt to come cloaked in with this astro. All is not as it seems, and making decisions based upon what we *want* to believe could possibly leave us hoodwinked – remember that Lo-Fi Neptune can be quite the greaseball. So don’t succumb by drinking any mind-numbing Kool-Aid, kids – stay sharp, stay sober, and definitely read my tips for how to find your way to clarity under this influence.

If we *have* been in denial about key details or had material facts obscured by somebody else, expect to have news or knowledge of this around the 3rd week of June, if not sooner. And if it’s something *really* big, it’s wholly possible this could even drag out until later this year or even 2016 when King Of Clarity and Reality Check Supreme Saturn reactivates the echoes of this square. Methinks there may be some hard truths coming out around the holidays this year, and if we don’t want to run the risk of having the magic of the holiday season dampened, best get a jump on finding lucidity now just in case, yes?

05/19/2015

Mercury Square Neptune

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Some tips & tricks for surviving & thriving under Mercury square Neptune. With this energy in play through June 23rd, be aware of literal (as in, while driving) and metaphorical “blind spots”!

05/12/2015