November 21st, 2022
Putting it behind us and moving forward.
This isn’t always the easiest thing to do. Consider a bad break up, it’s not so easy to just move on. Some people recommend having a few one night stands, ya know, getting back out there. This, depending on the nature of the challenge, might work and it might not.
This is an apt metaphor for the return of Venus and Mercury here in 2022.
Venus and Mercury are returning, in their primal and fiery forms. Breaking free from the light of the Sun as we shift into Sagittarius. The depth and stronghold of the fixed water sign of Scorpio never actually loosens, we just choose now to go out into the world, with all of its beauty and horrors. To hold onto the past will only make us sick. It is time to move forward.
Venus enters a New Phase
Since the Rx of Venus at the end of 2021 beginning of 2022, Venus has been reformulating and shifting our value systems. There was certainly plenty to relive and reevaluate during this time.
Since the previous Rx of Venus, a lot happened. To put it plainly, 2020 and 2021 happened… need I say more? So as Venus intensified our reflective energies in Rx, we were brought on a trip down the not so distant memory lane.
***The power of a retrograde is to give things an intensified focus. A chance to see things for a longer time but also from different angles.***
See something once, you experience it and get some idea of what it is. See something twice, and you start to realize what you do and do not like about it. See something over and over again through multiple years and iterations, you really know what needs to shift. Whether through personal experience or collective evidence, we likely have a gameplan or at least an inkling of how things should or should not happen.
So now we find Venus back in the sky. Traveling alongside is Mercury, back from a similar but much more frequent and comfortable cycle (Mercury Rx 3 x’s a year as opposed to Venus 1 x per two years). As the two travel at variable speeds, Mercury takes the lead November 21st, late in the day. This indicates a changing of the guard on these new ways of doing things.
Both Mercury and Venus have been blending and transforming in the light of the Sun. As they head out of this chamber of pressure, heat, and light, Venus was in front for just a few days. Big feelings to explore and then consider. Perhaps some trouble communicating clearly but communicating nonetheless. The aspect of Mars square Neptune wasn’t helping any of this as our enhanced projections (Neptune) are influenced and somaticize through the activation from Mars. Some misdirected hostility, passive aggression, big projection and fantasy.
**Mars square Neptune*** As that aspect wanes in influence, we step into a little bit of freedom and clarity.
No longer held back by our feelings and senses, we can use the info brought forward by them to initiate cleaner, clearer, and more effective communication. This will ruffle some feathers, for sure, but it is better than being overwhelmed, saying nothing, and building resentment.
Mercury takes the Lead
In my years here on Earth, I have learned ‘to be clear is to be free’. When we limit ourselves, dim our light, or people please, we put ourselves into psycho emotional prisons. We refuse to give others the chance to actually know us. We rob ourselves of opportunities to grow. Feeling small doesn’t serve anyone. Keeping the ego in check is a lot easier when you put yourself out there and receive feedback from your body and environment. To hold it fosters blockages, build up, inflammation, and despair.
This time is anything but that. You may have to show some courage, but the planets are supporting us in expressing our needs, desires, and…GASP… opinions!
Think about what is going on. Notice the connection between your thoughts and your feelings. Stop burning down the house because you feel a certain way. Grasp the breadth of the situation, tune into something bigger and ask for guidance. Forgiveness is love and it shifts our vibration.
Revenge and punishment are not essential, they are choices that create more pain and suffering. Consequences often play themselves out naturally, give that time to happen. The more you honor and take care of yourself, the less you will feel the need to fight and claw for what you believe in.
Remember that no one has power over us, we give it to them. Every choice brings us more in alignment with empowerment or disempowerment. We are not guaranteed anything. I am incredibly grateful for the teamwork and systems that enable my life to run as smoothly as it does day to day.
Getting YOU to the Surface
If we can’t get to the bottom of things, we will always be treating symptoms. Like mopping up the floor constantly instead of fixing a leaky pipe, this is insanity and highly inefficient.
Express yourself in what ways feel comfortable. Leave room for others to do the same. Otherwise, what kind of world are you fostering. Discussion, not dismissal. As a group, we will know when to intervene in the affairs of others, leave that for emergencies, not policy.
And so here we have it, on the precipice of the new moon in Sag. Just two days prior to the forward movement of the Sag and Pisces ruler Jupiter. The expansion is here. We are here to lead by example. What we have gleaned from the past is the fuel to curate our future.
It may be anger, it may be disgust, it may be pure joy. Whatever it is, use it to create something new, something better, something inspiring!
These planetary energies are fostering a split and trust me, you don’t want to be stuck in the past. We are moving forward. Play your role by engaging in new and exciting ventures. If you have some things planned, and you can’t quite get it off the ground, don’t fret, just move on.
Make it your daily work to do one thing that is new or different. Build upon your lifetimes of wisdom and alchemize it with your newly discovered inspiration. This is a time to create, not destroy. When the new growth comes in, it will choke out the old, manipulative, inauthentic patterns.
Is Censorship a Slippery Slope?
If you think you can just block out the noise, you may have a heavy lesson coming. The existential truth within things vibrates at a frequency that is static. It doesn’t change. This essence of authenticity, which has its roots in our very existence, is forever expanding in its influence. We are awakening. Each child, when born, is immediately indoctrinated into this world. Each human that has walked before them has been taught the lineage of thought and experience that preceded them.
Traumas and wisdom. Pain and joy. This is all passed down. The prevailing ways of being and seeing the world are impressed upon the child. The little mavericks, as they enter this physical realm, have no defense against this obliteration of their pure and free expression.
When will parents learn? When will society learn?
I am certain that some have, but to the larger degree, we live in the shadows of the past. Like an echo down a long canyon, we keep hearing the same expressions over and over. The systems we live in, built by some archaic or ancient being, owned and controlled by the beings who most recently sought to dominate others.
There is much promise in new techniques and technologies. Psychedelics may be the forefront of all of this. The state created under their influence enhances one’s ability to tune into the field of authenticity. Prior to these experiences (which can be brought on without any outside influence) we simply putz around in the field we have been taught.
Do you feel as if you have freed yourself? Have you come to the realization that what you’ve been taught is mostly nonsense? Have you considered that over the last few hundred years, with the massive technological advancement, most people are still living as poisoned and brainwashed peasants?
There is no shame in this, for this force was put into place long before our birth. Systems to control and maintain power own every corner of the globe. The only true free space is within our minds. This final frontier of authentic exploration requires vigilance to keep as such. As I spoke of above, we can’t just be born and expect to be in touch with the divine. We have to break the coding of the past, of our childhood, of our painful and abusive soul memories.
This isn’t about the perpetrator or being a victim, this is about reclaiming what is rightfully yours. Don’t believe the hype, do not censor yourself. The views and opinions shared by others are a warming glow on the planet, even the ugly ones. Shutting others down through censorship and shaming is an embarrassing display of fear and disempowerment.
Seeking to change or hide what people say and think is not helpful. It is hurtful. If, collectively, we decide that certain expressions are harmful and misguided, we can speak to these people about their words. Perhaps we can even share with them something new, something more fruitful.
Censorship is a waste of time. If you feel that censoring others is a good idea and you support it, I am not telling you that you are wrong. What I would ask, however, is how you could be more honest. How you could find a way to confront those who you find appalling or offensive. Find a way to bridge the gap instead of burning the bridge.
People’s thoughts and opinions are part of them. To subjugate them to silence or shame has some very serious consequences. The strongest and most vile expressions are symbols of underlying imbalance, pain, and discomfort. To push them into the nether regions is to starve them of the light they seek and love they deserve and crave.
In this way, censorship, as it has been playing out in our society of late, is a cowardly attempt at confrontation. A rising tide has come from constantly trying to push the Ocean back. We are too busy attempting to create personal security to take time to speak with one another frankly. Our self concept has become attached to the opinions of others. Being disliked can mean being cancelled. This is not healthy. If we are scared of being disliked, and change ourselves to fit in, are we really living?
As the age of authenticity takes center stage, be willing to let go of the past. Whatever happened, we have learned from it. If some haven’t that is their job to do. You…and I… are not the arbiters of karma. Honestly, that job would be a terrible one, stay out of it.
In order to break free, you have to break something. Don’t be afraid of being disliked, instead, be terrified of not being honest.
James is a Master Astrologer and Intuitive Guide. When he isn’t spending time with friends, nature, and family, he is exploring the movements of the planets and their implications in the development of human expression and consciousness.
