July 4th ~ 13th
“Abysm of Time” by Edmund Dulac
This being human is a guest house. Every morning a new arrival. A joy, a depression, a meanness, some momentary awareness comes as an unexpected visitor. Welcome and entertain all! Even if they are a crowd of sorrows, who violently sweep your house empty of its furniture, still treat each guest honorably. He may be clearing you out for some new delight. The dark thought, the shame, the malice, meet them at the door laughing, and invite them in. Be grateful for whomever comes, because each has been sent as a guide from beyond. ~ Rumi
Over the next 10 days both Neptune and then Saturn station for their retrograde phases. Neptune stations on July 4th, and will appear to retrograde back through the zodiac (and back into Pisces) through December 10th, when it makes its direct station. Saturn stations for its retrograde phase on July 13th, which lasts until November 28th.
Planets seem to be even stronger as they station, burrowing in and creating a deeper imprint. Conjunct, and barely a degree apart from one another, this year Saturn and Neptune station while so closely entwined, bringing us ever deeper into the vague and ill-defined Saturn/Neptune world of uncertainty and trepidation. And perhaps even sorrow for what may have been.
Know that during the retrograde phases of these two planets we are all being given an opportunity to confront our own Saturn blocks and Neptunian illusions. That can include whatever fears or trepidations are preventing us from growing and living our own best lives. Ultimately doing this inner work will allow us to have greater confidence moving forward. But we cannot do this without confronting the beasts at the door, even the crowd of sorrows.
Together, Saturn and Neptune in the sign of Aries have been asking us to be the co-creators of our own destinies. In the very first degrees of Aries there is great potential in this conjunction. Neptune inspires us with a vision, vast and hopelessly idealistic. Saturn can indeed bring us the tools that are necessary in order to manifest that dream. But first we are needing to return to Pisces with both Saturn and Neptune to remember once again just what that dream was.
Saturn is a planet of boundaries, borders, the very foundations and supportive structures of our lives. The very structures, institutions, laws and rules that we have always relied on and assumed would be there to hold us and support us. Neptune has this capacity to dissolve these structures, leaving us floundering and feeling like the ground is shifting, and consequently struggling to find our footing. As a result the future looks so uncertain, making it very difficult to be able to create plans or know what the next day will even bring.
Living with uncertainty is extremely uncomfortable. So we fill in the void with our own stories, our imaginations and fears. And it becomes difficult to know what is true, and which is the illusion. And so we are needing to get back to the very core essence of not only what the original intention was, but to the very core of our own being. That part of us that sets the standards for our own moral and spiritual compass. Whether that be Conscience, or that which we call Spirit, our Higher Self, or the very source of all. Our future depends on making this connection.
When Neptune is retrograde is is imperative for us to pay attention to this core of our being. Especially so if it has been compromised, ignored, overshadowed and denied. The stations of Neptune and Saturn will make it very difficult to ignore any more. They will hound us through our conscience, they will visit us in our dreams. At the very least it will feel as if something extremely important is missing or lost, leaving a void that cannot be otherwise filled. The reason why it is so important to reconnect with this core essence each year is because this is the very essence of our Humanity.
It can be difficult to see things clearly when Neptune is afflicted by Saturn and vice versa. We are prone to seeing what we want to see, and to ignore the things that we don’t. The lie becomes the truth and the truth is portrayed as a lie. The only way through this veil is to lean into both Saturn and Neptune during their retrogrades and hold to that core essence that can so easily get lost in the shuffle.
When Saturn stations, it can often feel as if we are being stopped in our tracks. We come up against obstacles, we are denied, and told No. However, Saturn also gives us permission to set our own limits and say No More.
If something has become too much, if we feel that we are at the end of our ropes, this can often be when we decide to retreat or back out of situations that are simply not worth the inner turmoil and aggravation. And it cannot be ignored, that as both Saturn and Neptune station retrograde together, the importance of feeding our psyches and psychological well-being, becomes that much more important. Therefore anything that is draining you, and/or blocking your connection to the core essence of your being, will need to be confronted.
And rather than denying it or blocking your connection to the sublime, to that spark of divinity within, use Saturn to protect that still small voice that reminds us that we are indeed spiritual beings involved in a human experience.
Ways that we can cultivate that crucial connection to during the 5 months that both Neptune and Saturn will be in their retrograde phases:
Just listen! Pay attention to your intuition, listen to your conscience. Don’t ignore it. It may speak to you in whispers and in subtle messages. Saturn’s focus and discrimination can then help you to recognize that still small voice in the silence.
When Saturn meets Neptune we are reminded that thoughts and prayers don’t always suffice. That real issues require practical and effective solutions. This is about following through on our ideals, and looking for ways to put them into application in our everyday lives.
Make a commitment to your spiritual ideals. Do not allow these to be compromised.
Make a commitment to a spiritual practice. Include practices that are calling you. That can also include mind/body practices that require a little discipline. But it can also be about finding inspiration in ancient and sacred places and spaces.
Having a regular meditation practice. Or making time for reflection. At the very least eke out time to connect with yourself in some other meaningful way.
Listen to music. Dance. Reflect. Indulge in those things that touch your heart and makes it sing. Immerse yourself in Nature. See great films. Read some excellent books. Do art. Even if you are not very good at it. Learn to speak without having to say anything.
Confront your fears, or any resistance to change. Where are you stuck? In what ways are you procrastinating and making excuses?
Embrace Saturn: be more focused, exercise self-restraint. organization, self-reliance, self-respect and Patience. Perhaps most of all, patience. Rome was not built in a day. Neither are our lives and the things that matter most.
Embrace Neptune: cultivate your imagination, do everyday acts of compassion, honor your ideals, read the cards, throw the coins, scry the tea leaves, walk by the sea. Immerse yourself in the beauty and profundity of nature. Figure out what beauty is for, and then allow it to change your life.
Did you too see it, drifting, all night, on the black river? Did you see it in the morning, rising into the silvery air, An armful of white blossoms, A perfect commotion of silk and linen as it leaned into the bondage of its wings; a snowbank, a bank of lilies, Biting the air with its black beak?
Did you hear it, fluting and whistling; A shrill dark music - like the rain pelting the trees - like a waterfall; Knifing down the black ledges? And did you see it, finally, just under the clouds~ A white cross Streaming across the sky, its feet Like black leaves, its wings Like the stretching light of the river?
And did you feel it, in your heart, how it pertained to everything? And have you too finally figured out what beauty is for? And have you changed your life? ~ Mary Oliver (Swan)
For what the retrogrades of Saturn and Neptune might mean for your sign, check out this week’s horoscopes: