We are living in the midst of many rare aspects, most of them involving Saturn. The planet of structure, limits, boundaries and the passage of time is in opposition to the largest planet, Jupiter, giving the feeling of ‘two lifetimes at once’; it’s opposed to the inventive, revolutionary planet Uranus, which is putting us under the constant (seemingly external) pressure to grow and adapt — though marking the end of a 20-month phase; it’s square Pluto, which is more of an internal sensation that says ‘change or die’. Notably, all of this is, and has been, happening at once, which is more than most people can stand. When you look back at this time in your life, you may decide that it was the time you really took responsibility for your existence. On a mundane note, Mercury is retrograde in Virgo from August 20 through Sept. 12.
We take gender roles entirely too seriously in our society, and I’m here to let you know that you have options. You will see these expressed in the people and opportunities you encounter the next few weeks, and these experiences may come with a sense of needing to make a decision. You don’t have to decide anything, and any decision you make can be unmade; what you can do is explore your feelings and experiences honestly and vividly: really get into what you’re experiencing. Notice if you feel a sense of vertigo if you unhook some of your false allegiances to the Blue Team and the Pink Team. Notice if the uber-macho men and the beyond-femme women start to seem like cartoons. Look for the wide area where the two are seeking a sacred marriage in your body and soul.
You are passing through a series of initiations: spiritual checkpoints that are designed to bring you into the present moment. These involve the work that you do, your commitment to personal healing, your presence in your relationships and something basic about your health. For the moment, your health is your sexual health, which relates closely to your sense of emotional wellbeing. If you encounter what seem to be obstacles or limitations, work through each of them persistently and patiently one at a time, until you resolve the issue that’s at hand (whatever it happens to be). Look for the integration point of all of these seeming different experiences; they are closely related, and what you learn working out any one of them can be applied to any of them.
An idea represents the seed potential of something new; ideas are expressed in the world through experimentation and revision. Often a breakthrough follows a seeming setback or error, so if you encounter one or more of those, make sure you pause and look for the opportunity. This will require your staying just a little emotionally detached, and I would in all aspects of your life avoid courting frustration. Keep this in mind if you’re trying to work out a family or home issue, especially if people seem to ‘not understand what you’re saying’ or refuse to open up and tell you what’s on their mind. You will learn a lot about yourself as you navigate this territory, particularly about how many old mental patterns have been dominating your life. Invent your way to the future.
I trust that your life is settling down from the excitement of the past month or two. You are standing on much stronger territory than you’re accustomed to, though you might question how you got there. In fact, you might want to question where ‘there’ is: that is to say, where you are. You have gone through a growth spurt and you may be feeling hemmed in by your physical environment. Whether or not it’s time to move, I have a suggestion for you: you feel cramped by the emotional stuffing of your family’s history. It is time to break free and find yourself. For quite a long time you’ve been striving consciously to feel better about yourself: to love and respect who you are. You don’t need them or their hallucinated ideas about you.
Take money matters in stride. Yes, conserve your cash and make purchases wisely; most of what you think you need you really don’t need. You may not believe that, but I could tell you some funny stories about Mercury retrograde. What the forthcoming Mercury retrograde in Virgo is about, though, is understanding how you evaluate yourself: your successes and failures; your value to the people around you; and whether anyone notices how generous you are. The next two months are a reminder to go easier on yourself, and to listen the most carefully to the people who express their faith and gratitude to you. At the moment the world is an unusual kind of mirror and you may be doing some sorting out of mixed signals. Just be sure you know which is which, and take a day to decide.
At long last, Saturn has left your sign — but not your life. The past two years have been characterized by pressure to mature, enforced changes and increased responsibilities, though I trust you reached that point where you wouldn’t trade them for the world. Now you have a new project: gaining some mental stability. That will be an adventure with Mercury retrograde from late August through early September, though you’re up for the task. You will have occasion to apply your awareness of the significant difference between your opinion about yourself, and the underlying facts about yourself. Your opinion may change but the basic facts remain stable: that is how you are now. The other difference is that the facts speak volumes about your integrity, whereas your opinions might be inclined to doubt.
Saturn has entered your birth sign, accompanied by three other planets — Venus, Mars and Vesta. You may go through a wild identity crisis or two this month (perhaps a delayed reaction: most people went through it last month). I suggest you not make things any more complex than they need to be. Keep them simple by honoring your devotion to your inner core creativity. That’s your gentle passion, your consistency in your relationships and the fire that burns within you. You know you contain many different opposites. You know that you are the one who must now take over the process of raising yourself into an adult who both honors his or her role in society. Too often we give this job to others; it is yours and yours alone.
You are searching deeply and at times desperately for understanding about how your life is changing, and how you will adapt to those changes. You have to do far less than you may believe. I suggest working with isolation consciously. Anytime you feel alone, raise your level of awareness and turn your gaze within. You contain everything you seek, and the only way you will find that out is to test the theory. Don’t go missing on yourself; keep your focus on yourself (rather than, say, obsessing over a relationship). When you do this you will face fears that others are reluctant to admit, much less address. You will ask yourself questions about existence that rarely see the light of the human mind. And you can, if you are open, discover a lush world of passion, sensuality and contradiction.
You can finally get some work done. There is nothing like having to obsess over details to slow down a Sagittarian mind. There is nothing like the Sun in Leo to speed up your quest for adventure. And, as Saturn in Libra would have it, you are about to make a good bit of progress on putting your talent to use in the world — and I say that no matter how specific and focused your talent may be. Remember that every worldly success is built on relationships, and this counts even for those who have no interest in other people: those people take an interest in them, and there must be some form of reciprocity. You are offering yourself to the world, and you do have plenty going for you. Notice who is interested and focus on them.
Charm, persuasion and to a certain extent seduction are appropriate tactics to use in leadership. The truth is most people have little clue what they want, and even less knowledge of what would benefit the common good. Further, our neighbors tend to either resist progress or put us in the position where they beg to be persuaded that it’s a good thing. Pay no attention to those who resist. As for everyone else, some will yield to your self-assertion. Others will be drawn to your attractive dynamism. Others will be turned on by how devoted you are. The rest will respond to simple authority, which you are exuding in bright colors right now. Trust that you have a resource to work with every situation that can be worked, and the ones that seem stuck will take care of themselves. You just need the wisdom to know the difference.
Saturn is making many aspects in these weeks and months, and one by one every aspect of your life will come up for reconsideration, adjustment and restructuring. Remember that you are not really making changes to the outer world: you are making up your mind about what you want and what is appropriate for you. Then you’re engaging with the world based on what you discover. If you try to make your changes from the outside you will likely run into confusion and resistance; if you discover that to be the case, then tune into what you want and what you have decided is necessary and focus on those truths clearly, with full awareness. Then, what you need to do, or change, will be obvious.
You have more influence than you think; this, at a time of profound changes when lots of energy is being liberated. Also, you can put less energy into ‘making money’ and more into creative flow: they have finally morphed into the same thing, if you are willing to allow that to be true. This is the tricky part, though by now you’ve figured out that resistance to what you want doesn’t get you anywhere. I suggest you experiment with focusing the most positive, life-affirming thoughts on what you desire, then proceed as if it will come to you. Don’t be surprised when it does — therefore, make sure to focus on what you consider the most significant or satisfying first. I am not saying you can bend the universe to your every whim; that’s the whole point: keeping your heart and soul oriented on your authentic truth.