January 31st ~ February 7th
“The Triad Descending to the Mother Sea” by Kahlil Gibran
The only thing that makes life possible is permanent, intolerable uncertainty: not knowing what comes next. ~ Ursula K. LeGuin
There are many things that can contribute to this feeling of uncertainty that so many are experiencing. Coupled with a sense of dread, we just had the final Saturn/Pluto semi-square on January 26th. This was brought to the foreground by the Sun/Pluto conjunction on January 21st followed by the Mercury/Pluto conjunction on January 29th. These inner planets brought home that feeling one gets when we are confronted with desperate circumstances, choices and imminent loss. Combined with the retrograde Mars in Cancer our instinct is to protect and defend those things that are most important to us and our survival. The Saturn/Pluto transit is a transit of deep and upending change, the sorts of changes that can even feel like the inevitable destruction of all that we had previously relied and depended on. Losing these important structures in our lives can leave us feeling ungrounded and adrift in uncertain seas.
Another reason for this uncertainty is the current Neptune/North Node conjunction in the sign of Pisces. Neptune to the North Node is neither positive nor negative. It depends on how we respond to and use it. But perhaps more than anything it is tuning us into the recent Nodal change, where the North Node just recently entered Pisces. The heroes of the next 18 months are going to be found in this sign. The clerics, the bishops, the spiritual healers, the artists, the light workers and compassionate seers. These are the sorts who usually work from behind the scenes. But now with the North Node in Pisces, they are going to have a more public presence.
Neptune is a planet of visionary ideals. But when distorted through its material expression, we are confronted with the lie run amuck, unchained, and totally unrestrained. Even the most level headed people will find themselves wondering when Neptune meets the Nodes in this way. This is often because Neptune also represents a Void. An absence of something. And when we lack the information we need, or are told untruths that hold no substance, we fill in the spaces with our own imaginations and stories. And then claim it as true. We have been getting an abundance of Neptune energy for years! This is the energy in which conspiracy theories replace science, snake oil salesmen reign supreme and lies are seen as facts. This is also the very definition of the South Node in Virgo opposite Neptune, which in its exasperation for needing facts and answers, attempts to make sense of the insensible, and fill in the void.
The Universe is under no obligation to make sense to you. ~ Neil DeGrasse Tyson
The South Node of the Moon points to what is ailing us as a society, and which consequently leads to our undoing. Some examples of the South Node in Virgo could be:
In the face of suffering, instead of offering compassion and mercy, will seek criticism and blame, or look for someone to serve as a scapegoat.
Focusing on our differences rather than our commonality, by putting everyone in boxes and labeling them.
Needing to have everything be logical and have to make sense.
The need to be perfect.
Focusing so much on the small things and details that we lose sight of the bigger picture. We can’t see the forest for the trees.
What we are needing to cultivate with the North Node in Pisces:
The ability to accept and be present with impermanence and uncertainty.
To have faith that we are being led precisely where we need to be, even in the face of uncertainty.
Recognizing that we are all swimming together in this Great Ocean we call Life, and that if one person suffers or falters, we all suffer together.
Compassion and the over-riding desire to have mercy and relieve the suffering of others
Our capacity to Dream, to Wonder, and Imagine.
Our ability to think in terms of vast possibility, perhaps even beyond our previous expectations.
To realize beauty in imperfection.
That sometimes in order to find ourselves we have to get a little lost.
Cultivating and Trusting our own inner gps: our conscience, our intuition, and the connection with the Divine in Spirit.
Hope in the face of difficulty. Hope in the face of uncertainty. The audacity of hope! In the end, that is God’s greatest gift to us… A belief in things not seen. A belief that there are better days ahead. ~ Barack Obama
On February 4th, Jupiter, the traditional ruling planet of Pisces, stations direct. Whenever it does so, it always coincides with a trine from the Sun instilling hope and anticipation for what is about to unfold over the months ahead. This year it does so with a trine to Mercury as well. Jupiter is a planet of growth and expansion and will not be bound by limitations, borders, prejudice or intolerance. Multi-cultural, multi-lingual, multi-racial, a health and well-honed Jupiter embraces all without exception. Therefore as these other transits cast us adrift, unground us and leave us shattered on the shore, Jupiter aims to mitigate this.
It is also at Imbolc at this time of year, halfway between the Winter Solstice and the Spring Equinox that we celebrate this ancient Solar holiday with the first imminent signs of Spring: Snowdrops, crocuses, and the early signs of budding on trees and shrubs. Spring does not arrive all at once. It is a gradual process beginning first in the dark time of potential. Growth is gradual, and may not yet be apparent. Even so it is already beginning. Imbolc is a celebration of newness and rebirth, of Hope and the return of the Sun.
Neptune can also serve as a guide. Rather than looking outside of ourselves for meaning and direction, Neptune advises us to look within. Neptune in its highest expression is a planet and messenger of that one divine essence that we all share. That divine spark symbolized by the light of the Sun, as well as the spark within. Some are capable of hearing the still small voice of Neptune’s spiritual essence a little better than others. And those who dare to listen are more likely to hear. Neptune speaks to us through our conscience, through the subtleties of the intuition, and our dreams. Neptune speaks to us through that part of the heart that is centered in the divine and which brings us the faith that is needed in times of uncertainty. It is that slight effervescent kernel of hope, that even in the face of extraordinary change, the good will some how prevail. And so may it be that we find comfort and guidance in these liminal times.
For this week’s horoscopes, click below: