What the F*ck is Going On?

(This is part 1 of a 3 part series)

Archetypal cosmology is a language of patterns woven through time and histories. Astrologers learn to read this language as it correlates to the rhythmic chorus of the planets in our solar system and so, in times like these when the movements crescendo, we are often asked to try to explain what the f*ck is going on. Has anyone else been wondering about that recently?

I’m writing this in mid-April of 2020, almost five weeks into my state-mandated isolation during the Coronavirus pandemic. I’m doing alright, really. The days are rolling in and out like waves and I seem to have found a rhythm in it. My weekly cycle tends toward two days of despair and frayed nerves with lots of crying, followed by three days of feeling like I quite enjoy being home all the time and not even having to think about wearing button-pants, rounded out by another two days split by worrying about my loved ones/the world/everyone who is struggling more than me, and just staring out into the void. Amidst all of this I am working from home for my day job, attempting to not fall completely flat as a doctoral student, trying my best to get my cardio in, and giving astrology readings when I have the time. I am lucky to have work. I am so lucky to have work! I realize that I am very lucky to have work. And at the same time, right now, when the world is a very uncertain place and I’m working with three good days per week, working is very, very difficult.

Through everything; the worrying, the fear, the sporadic irreverence, and the sobbing grief, I am deeply grateful to have the language of astrology to contextualize this time. And if you would like to know more about what I understand regarding the patterns of whatever it is that’s happening now, you may keep reading.

Explaining astrology to non astrologers is difficult. It’s like trying to describe a foreign language to someone who doesn’t speak it. In person and over my zoom readings I tend to use my hands a lot (“see, this is a square and this is how it works,” [hand movements it would take paragraphs to describe]). I’m going to do my best to make this brief because if you’re anything like me right now you don’t have much of an attention span for anything longer than a couple of pages (cue a 5 minute mental digression to best practices for maintaining a sourdough starter, or how many pole beans you’d need to plant for an entire season if you had the space, or when you’ll be able to hold your friend’s newborn again…)

One way to describe the effects of transits – the movement of the planets, including the Sun and Moon, in our solar system relative to our position on Earth – is to use a wave metaphor. One might look ahead at the transits to their own birth chart just as a surfer would look out at the sets of waves rolling in at their favorite spot before going out into them. If we can observe the patterns and rhythms of the waves – how and where they are breaking, how often they come in, if there is a pause between sets, etc – then they might have a better chance of knowing what kind of ride they’re in for. It would be laughable to suggest that a surfer could change the waves, just as we cannot change the kneading of the outer planets that plays through our lives, but a surfer might take a different board, wear a different wetsuit, or choose to duck or ride based on the pattern if they know them. Are you still with me?

Major outer-planet transits happen slowly, like waves unfolding in slow motion. They build, crest, and settle. Depending on the length of orbit, these  transit waves might last for months, years, or decades. They might have one crest or they might have two or three. Part of how the patterns play out is the way we ride them.

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Join me this Thursday evening at 7:00 pm Pacific time for an astrological conversation with Rick Tarnas, Chad Harris, Laura Michetti, and myself. For more information visit the Facebook event page: Gimme Shelter: Reflections and Strategies for our Current World Transits