Not So Fast

When Urgency Isn't the Move

Our backyard creek in January… caught between motion and stillness

The planet Neptune has been in the sign of Pisces for the past fifteen years, since 2011, and is now about to move into Aries until 2039. What feels especially striking is that, (at least in the United States where there is clearly a lot of tension and unrest) this transition is being preceded by a widespread ice storm. Much of the country has been affected by extreme cold and frozen conditions.

That timing feels symbolic to me. Neptune’s lessons involve pausing, stopping, and taking an honest look at what is actually present. During an ice storm, movement is difficult or even dangerous; if you try to push forward, you slip, slide, and lose control. On top of that, cold forces people to retreat inward and hunker down. This external imposition of stillness and slowdown, right before Neptune shifts from Pisces into Aries, feels like an interesting and meaningful moment of collective pause.

There is a strong impulse to take action right now. To get busy, take a stand, make the decision. To act (even if only to avoid the discomfort of inaction, or the fear of being judged for not doing anything). Many feel compelled by beliefs, a sense of justice, or an idea of how things should be!, especially when reality refuses to cooperate.

But here’s the rub: the astrology is not currently supportive of action that is driven by illusion, incomplete information, or fear.

With Neptune perched at 29 degrees and Saturn moving toward 29 degrees as well, we are in a liminal space. We simply do not have all the information yet. Neptune enters Aries for good on January 26, with Saturn following closely on February 13. Clarity will begin to emerge, but even then, it’s important to understand what this shift actually asks of us.

Aries is associated with charging forward, initiating and acting boldly. But neither Neptune nor Saturn rewards reckless motion. Neptune in Aries says: move only if your action is spiritually aligned. Saturn in Aries says: do not move until you have a strategy and until you can act from neutrality rather than reactivity. If your information is distorted, fear-driven, or incomplete, Neither Neptune or Saturn will support momentum.

So we find ourselves at an interesting crossroads. External forces like social pressure, conditioning, outrage cycles tell us we must act now. Astrology, however, says: not so fast.

This moment is a significant spiritual journey about our relationship with the greater collective. Well, it’s longer than a moment… this era is a spiritual journey. The power struggles with people or systems that are not playing fairly… following rules while watching others break them… wanting the rules to be rewritten to match a personal sense of right and wrong. These challenges are made even more complex when we pretend that some are purely selfish while we are purely altruistic.

The North Node in Pisces does offer guidance here. Wherever the North Node is, it functions like a North Star, a connection between the human heart and higher intelligence.

Pisces is the energy of the spiritual teacher. When we ask Pisces what to do, it suggests that there is already a flow in motion, one we may or may not be able to control one we can’t control.

There is a creek that runs through my backyard, and I spend a lot of time observing it. Something that never ceases to amaze me is how the water just keeps coming. Whether the river is high or low, frozen or not, pounds and pounds of water continue to move downstream. Where does it come from? All this endless water?

Sometimes there’s too much water and it spills over the banks. Sometimes there’s so little that fish are confined to shallow puddles. Is there anything I can do about that? No. All I can do is observe. There’s beauty and difficulty in both conditions.

Right now, many feel certain of what’s right. Many are filled with criticism, judgment, and urgency. And if we’re honest, most of us are also filled with fear. All of these things scream “do something!”, “Tell someone what you think!”Change someone’s mind!”

Higher guidance says something different, though: move with what is here and go with the flow.

With Pluto now in Aquarius, the collective is undergoing a deep transformation. Collective shadow is being revealed. Systems are being reworked. These are processes that cannot be controlled through outrage, shaming, or reactive action alone.

As I said in my forecast this week: we are not putting our heads in the sand. We are not ignoring what we wish to change. But we are choosing action that is well thought out and rooted in truth, strategy, and spiritual alignment rather than fear.

Real change (under this energy) requires clarity before motion, but clarity takes time. Sorting through illusion and fear for what’s real and true takes time.

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