Slowly coming back

I finally completed my master’s degree.

(Nothing else to be done other than wait for my dissertation to be marked)

I am so happy to have managed it, but then, at the same time, it is also such a strange feeling. To finish something that you were dedicating your full attention and commitment for 4 years is bittersweet. On one hand the great feeling of accomplishment: you managed, you did it, after so many sleepless nights and stressing over deadlines and whatnots. But at the same time: what now? I feel a little empty…

Have you experienced anything like that before too?

It hasn’t even been a month since I submitted my thesis and I’m already feeling anxious with the need to be busy again. To have my sense of purpose validated by external activities.

And that leads me back to astrology.

Life is cyclic, seasonal. We breath in, breath out. Why do we so easily forget that and keep trying to ‘breath out’ all the time?

Back to astrology: new moon, transits to the IC, planets progressing into the twelfth house, progressed new moons, retrograde planets…

Life is also about resting, about quietly gestating or preparing the ground for a new phase.

Let there be balance. (a reminder to myself)

October is such an interesting month astrologically. Many planets still moving retrograde, with Mars in Gemini joining in the backwards motion soon, and the start of eclipse season. We are in a period for evaluation and creative envisioning. What would you like your life to look like? What direction do you want things to go?

I am here writing this to remind you (and myself) that these times of contraction and introspection are valuable and necessary for creation. The conception of an idea is as important as its execution.

I’ll be back soon with more, and I wish you all a great time of rest.

A note on Mars retrograde

I officially moved into my flat on Saturday night and yet I feel strange. The current energies seem to be so heavy that I can almost touch it with my hands.

During the day I felt sad, nostalgic, lonely, irritable, I don’t know what else…

Retrograde Mars in Aries is coming up to square Saturn again, followed by a square to Pluto and Jupiter, all in Capricorn. In addition to that, Mercury in Libra is also coming to an opposition with Mars.

We better brace ourselves!

If you feel angry and frustrated the probability is that you are also picking up on these tense, to say the least, energies. Better not to act out unconsciously. This isn’t the best time to set your boundaries, to tell someone off or to go with road rage.

Be cool, be calm, this should be the mantra!

The best we can do with retrograde planets is to go inwards rather than outwards, is to reassess how we express the archetype reflected. In this case, with Mars, how do we deal with anger? How do we express frustration? What triggers irritation? These are some of the questions that are worth asking ourselves now until the end of November. Ask yourself but try not to take action right now as when the planet moves forward again we tend to regret what we did during its retrogradation period.

Wishing you (me included) all peace, patience and calm as much as possible during the most challenging moments until the energies shift again.

Be well everyone.

Brief acknowledgement of retrograde planets in 2020.

 

2020 seems to continue to be a very busy astrological year indeed!

Venus will be moving retrograde in about a month until the 24 of June.

On 29 of May Mercury will move to Cancer, and on the 18 of June it will be going retrograde at 14 degrees Cancer, going all the way back to 5 degrees Cancer. Mercury will move forward on the 12 of July.

Neptune goes retrograde on the 23 of June at 20 degrees Pisces.

Before that, on 26 of April Pluto goes retrograde at 24 degrees Capricorn, then Jupiter goes retrograde at 27 Capricorn on the 15 of May,  and a few days earlier, on 11 of May, Saturn goes retrograde at 1 degree Aquarius popping back into Capricorn from July 2 until 17 of December when finally moves to Aquarius for good. (the Saturn and Jupiter conjunction happens on 21 of December!)

On the 10 of September Mars will go retrograde at 28 degrees Aries.

That’s a lot of information to process but my purpose with bringing this all up is to have a general look at this info.

It seems to me that for the next few months there will be a lot of pondering and rethinking. Retrogradations in general are looked at as something negative but I usually find them enjoyable (sometimes painful) periods of contemplation and reflection.

Where are we in our journeys?

My idea was to write about Venus going retrograde and the possibility of reframing our values but with most of all the other planets somehow also going retrograde in the next few months period, it feels like something larger is at stake here.

This seems like a turning point. Collectively and, at the same time, Individually. Perfect for reassessment before taking action to move forward. May we use our time wisely!

 

 

Brief acknowledgement of retrograde planets in 2020.

 

2020 seems to continue to be a very busy astrological year indeed!

Venus will be moving retrograde in about a month until the 24 of June.

On 29 of May Mercury will move to Cancer, and on the 18 of June it will be going retrograde at 14 degrees Cancer, going all the way back to 5 degrees Cancer. Mercury will move forward on the 12 of July.

Neptune goes retrograde on the 23 of June at 20 degrees Pisces.

Before that, on 26 of April Pluto goes retrograde at 24 degrees Capricorn, then Jupiter goes retrograde at 27 Capricorn on the 15 of May,  and a few days earlier, on 11 of May, Saturn goes retrograde at 1 degree Aquarius popping back into Capricorn from July 2 until 17 of December when finally moves to Aquarius for good. (the Saturn and Jupiter conjunction happens on 21 of December!)

On the 10 of September Mars will go retrograde at 28 degrees Aries.

That’s a lot of information to process but my purpose with bringing this all up is to have a general look at this info.

It seems to me that for the next few months there will be a lot of pondering and rethinking. Retrogradations in general are looked at as something negative but I usually find them enjoyable (sometimes painful) periods of contemplation and reflection.

Where are we in our journeys?

My idea was to write about Venus going retrograde and the possibility of reframing our values but with most of all the other planets somehow also going retrograde in the next few months period, it feels like something larger is at stake here.

This seems like a turning point. Collectively and, at the same time, Individually. Perfect for reassessment before taking action to move forward. May we use our time wisely!

 

 

6 planets going retrograde! (+ Chiron)

The last two weeks seemed to have been especially intense.

I haven’t particularly observed the effect of many planets travelling in retrograde motion together, but it is interesting to see that we have currently 6 planets plus Chiron moving backwards at the moment.

For the last 18 years (I only checked until the year 2000!) the outer planets (Uranus, Neptune and Pluto) have had a period of retrogradation together during the month of August, so this isn’t new right now.

During this month I’ve always felt a strong energy of rethinking and checking with myself what direction should I be taking in my life. But my birthday is also in August, so this is probably a major influence, I think.

{The solar return (what we call birthday) is an important time for reevaluating your sense of purpose and expressing/reconnecting with your core self more authentically. So I’ve never thought much of August’s outer planets retrogradation.}

But if we think about it though, there is an interesting energy in August. A quiet and yet transformative energy is in the air, when the seasons are once more drastically beginning to change (from summer to autumn, or winter to spring in the Southern Hemisphere). At least the building up for the change is starting to happen.

The outer planets astrologically reflect different forces of collective change. Collective longings and yearnings tend to be revisited in the month of August I suppose?

What seems to be new though (and most probably not entirely new), is Saturn, Mars and Mercury joining in this year’s period of revisiting and reconnecting with the collective/big changes.

I feel that we (specially westerners) tend to struggle with these periods of introspection and no action, reflected astrologically by the retrograde planets. We are socially conditioned to believe that being active and productive is the only way to guarantee a successful and meaningful life.

We prioritise doing rather than being.

My last two weeks have been difficult because taking time out is something that does not come easily. We have to work and socialise …  really, there is always so much to be done that feelings of guilt creeps in whenever we are doing nothing without being ill or having a good excuse for the lack of activity …

With 6 planets currently going on retrograde motion what we need most is silence. It is a break from the over stimulation that we expose ourselves to on a daily basis.

I feel that the cosmos is reflecting a moment in the cycle of life where contemplating is more urgent than going forward. This is the moment to stop and re-access where you’re at in your life, where you’re at in your process of growth.

It is a time to take time and reorganise yourself.