I ask you in the depths of this winter’s center, how are you?

How is your heart?

The grandiose pain of these collective contractions from the old world to the new have us all screaming for the epidural, but there is none to be found.

We are being asked to feel it all so that it may be released completely.

Not only are we feeling the excruciating pain of birth, but we are in deep mourning over the death of the world as we knew it. Allow this.

Regardless of what you believe, there is no denying we are on the precipice of a new era. Have any of us ever felt these extremes before?

Perhaps shifts here and there. But nothing of this magnitude.

~*~

May you allow yourself a moment to really sit with that question: How is your heart?

May you allow yourself to listen to what bubbles up and demands itself to be known.

May you release judgment from all that surfaces.

~*~

We are feeling profound energetic shifts on the planet as a result of what is moving in the ethers.

There is so much afoot right now. Not only do we see this collectively, but it is affecting all our personal dramas and individual psyches in tandem.

There is no separation. There is only Oneness.

~*~

My intention is to make astrology accessible to all. My hope is to help others see that the planetary energies are reflected on the worldly stage. Understanding them is not to make predictions and control the future. Understanding them is to feel a rhythm and learn leverage points.

For every planet and every Zodiac sign, there are shadow expressions and evolved expressions. Each entity has its duality. Planets in particular signs or various aspects may affect these differently.

I think the easiest, clearest way to truly see this is through the examination of composite charts. This is the synthesis of two people’s natal charts. The composite is the alchemical third ~ it depicts the energies that are created through the merging of the two.

I suppose it brings visual evidence to why we feel or behave a certain way around certain people and not others.

And, perhaps most importantly, a natal chart provides a blueprint of clues for the evolutionary journey of one’s soul. It is neither a life sentence nor a definitive guide. It simply nods to the awareness of energies we inherently carry within.

When we learn more about these – when we learn about the shadow + exalted expressions – we have discovered a profound opportunity for ourselves.

The opportunity to transform.

~*~

I can’t claim myself to be an astrologer. It is just something that has fanned the embers in my heart for as long as I can remember.

I believe I first learned about the Zodiac when I was in middle school. I would excitedly search up the Daily Horoscope every day for the Libra sign. I felt enchantment when it resonated, as well as disappointment when it didn’t. I didn’t understand why some days it felt accurate, and others were completely off the mark.

It drifted out of my life for some time. I believe it was college that I learned how much more to Astrology there is. Moon sign, Ascendant, etc…

Don’t even get me started on Chiron, North / South Node, and asteroids…

Wow.

And this is when it really began to ring true. This was a harmonization of both enchantment and exhalation. Oh, there really is a purpose to this all. One that is not entirely random, at that.

As I continue my studies in various other realms – herbalism, gardening, bodily constitution – I am developing an entirely new appreciation for the study of the stars.

I am deeply grateful that this closet passion hobby has not been in vain, and, furthermore, comforted in not feeling like some crazy woo woo chick.

I feel that is why many fear and / or are turned off by astrology in our modern day. It has infiltrated and been shared through the spiritual bypassing society in a way that is not embodied. It speaks from breath caught in the throat as opposed to feet planted in the ground.

To develop a coherent understanding of the moving energetic currents, it requires both rootedness and openness. It is to become a channel. A passageway.

I am not a master of this. I am still learning. But I am not entirely ignorant either, and I feel there is much hope to be shared through this lens.

~*~

Let’s return to the birthing of a new world.

In Mayan tradition, it is said that laboring mothers leave their bodies in search of their babies in the spiritual realm to bring them down to Earth.

The physical pain of this process is so tremendous that the mother must also leave her body. There is a moment of dissociation in the physical realm, but it is highly purposeful.

The current status of our world mirrors this image, and the planets bring evidence to it.

The pain is so potent, and though it appears that we are lost, we are, as Dickinson says, out with lanterns looking for ourselves.

Aries is the first sign of the Zodiac. It is strong-willed, determined, and fiercely independent. Its shadow expression is selfishness; its evolved expression is self-sovereignty, and the respect for all others’.

We are in the throes of a collective world point with both Neptune and Saturn moving into Aries this winter. One of the most talked about conjunctions is upon us, and happening quite soon. On February 20th, Neptune and Saturn embrace at zero degrees of Aries. This is the precise omen of the emergence of the new era.

This is the moment.

Neptune is the planet of vision. I would equate it to the crown chakra. Its shadow expression is getting lost in illusion, spiritual bypassing, and lacking boundaries. Its evolved expression is unconditional love, artistic inspiration, and universal eros. To merge, to become One with all that is while maintaining the truth of the self. The orbital period of Neptune is 165 years; it spends approximately 14 years traversing each sign.

Saturn is the planet of form. Because it provides foundational soundness and structural integrity, I would liken it to the root chakra. Its catalyst to the soul’s evolution is given through karma. It provides challenges and limitations so that the individual may learn how to navigate reality appropriately and effectively. Its orbital period is 29.5 years; it spends roughly 2.5 years in each sign.

Perhaps even those not deeply literate in Astrology have heard of the infamous Saturn return – the period of time Saturn returns to the natal placement. Happening every 30 years, it is often correlated as a cosmic slap in the face. A reality check. Are you really living your truth? Are you really living in alignment with the whispers of your heart? Are you really living in integrity with your dharma?

So for Neptune and Saturn to be moving from Pisces to Aries? This is absolutely major. Looking at this through the alchemical lens, it is the harmonization of polarity. The root chakra and crown chakra come to touch.

This is beautiful. This brings chills of potential. This carries the frequency of heaven on Earth.

~*~

Despite the enchantment afoot, the current turmoil threatens to overwhelm the system. When we are ignorant to what is changing, it is a natural nervous system response to enter fight-or-flight. The fear of the unknown – the uncertainty – hijacks the body/mind/heart coherence.

Remember that the antidote to the chaos is to ground the feet and remain open.

I have called upon many plant allies to aid me at this time. Milk thistle to aid in the cleansing of the liver/stagnant emotion, ashwagandha to settle the nervous system, marshmallow root to soothe and digest, hibiscus to brighten + invite joy, red raspberry leaf to nourish rhythm, and oat straw to sing me calming lullabies in preparation for a full cycle of rest.

~*~

These plants carry correspondences to planets, bodily constitution, and tissue energetics as well.

I am writing about new topics, and while they are all connected, I am trying to figure out how best to share about them.

I would love to know what you might want to hear more about – the plants, the planets, their correspondences to the body, or everything organically at once.

~*~

My prayer through these writings is to bring you closer home.

No one can do it for you. No one is going to save you other than yourself.

Plants + people can hold our hands on the way there, but the journey of the soul is discovered through solitude to realize harmonic oneness with All That Is.

My prayer is that, in asking how your heart is, you are able to speak honestly. You share from deep authenticity. You are planted, rooted, and blooming from the home you have fought + surrendered to discover deep within.

Artist Unknown