Hi guys, how are you doing?
Today, I will start with a little linguistic observation.
With fascination, I have noticed a shift lately in the way people communicate and in the flavour of the words they use.
This is NOT limited to opinions about the handful of powerful men running the show at the moment (however, by listening attentively, I have expanded my vocabulary of swearwords quite a lot lately!!!).
Overall, I have been surprised by how much less political correctness, less evasiveness, and more authenticity there is when people share their opinions about matters that are close to their hearts. In my country, Sweden, “the land of consensus”, this really stands out.
Particularly in the realm of adjectives, I notice the tendency to use stronger words. Instead of keeping the conversation lighthearted and avoiding too much emotion, I hear words like: upsetting, devastating, tragic, unbearable, horrific, terrifying, unsafe, scary, terrrible, idiotic, stupid, cruel, pointless, hopelessâŠ
But I have also heard a lot of strong words that do not belong on the negative end of the stick: fun, interesting, surprising, exciting, amazing, wonderful, kind, joyful, beautiful, fantastic, brilliant, lovely, newâŠ
As people share everyday anecdotes, it more often ends with: “We had such a good time, it was so lovely…”
Does all the bad and crazy stuff make us see the good thing more clearly? Or what has happened?
A check-in
Perhaps you have also noticed that something is different. Therefore, I have put together a little quiz for you:
Here is the first question: If you think back over the last three to four months, have you experienced more challenges and upheaval in your personal life or in your immediate environment? Have you seen it happen in the lives of people around you?
The second one: Have you had epiphanies and unusually clear insights about what needs to change in the way you’re living your life (or felt regrets about how you handled things in the past)?
Number three: Have you surprised yourself in your interactions with others by behaving in a way that would have been unthinkable a while ago?
And the final question: Has that which used to be so important for you lost a bit of its glow, and you wonder what’s wrong with you?
If these questions touch on something and you find yourself nodding your head while examples from the recent past organise themselves in neat little piles, it might be worth continuing reading. Because you are not alone in experiencing this.
So what is going on?
This is what change looks like
For many months now, the sky has been extra busy.
If astrology is not usually on your radar, hearing that the sky is busy may not make a lot of sense to you â but you may have noticed a stronger emotional volatility and a more stubborn resistance towards what is (in yourself and others).
And we have all witnessed what this looks like in the outside world – chaos and mayhem!
If we look up at the sky and consider how the stars are arranged, we will see a pattern that mirrors the chaotic, messy reality we experience down here on Earth. This is what CHANGE & TRANSFORMATION look like.
âAs above, so below”, if you ask any astrologer
Change â I love you, I love you not (at all)
We all have our personal relationships to change.
In some areas of life, we handle change better than in others.
There are probably some things in your life where you would be ecstatic to see change, and you would welcome renewal with open arms. – If I could be/do/have ( fill in the blank) âŠ.. â OMG, that would be FANTASTIC!!!
And yet, we humans tend to dread change. Even if the change eventually leads to all those lovely things we’re dreaming about.
In other areas, we are reluctant to let go of what feels familiar, even if it is uncomfortable. We might even wait to make the necessary changes until the situation feels unbearable. The uncertainty that change brings is scary, and we fear losing control and the lack of guarantees.
Most of us behave like cats being forced to take a bath â not even the loveliest, fragrant bath foam is tempting enough to make us voluntarily sink down in the waters of change.
Astrology can ease the panic
As I am writing this, one of the drawings I made in the very beginning of the pandemic came to mind. Perhaps you remember how feelings of insecurity and a lack of control led people to empty grocery store shelves, just to create a sense of imagined safety. As far as I remember, I never got around to publishing it then, but it expresses an emotional state that feels similar now.
This is where astrology can be so helpful.
By looking at what is going on in the sky, we can get a hint of the nature of the changes we are moving towards. We can even pin down which areas of our lives will be most affected, giving us an opportunity to prepare and make better choices.
A bit of astrological awareness can take the edge off the loss of control, and it can help soothe the reactivity and the unconscious instincts to resist “everything” when what feels familiar begins to crumble.
Instead of drowning in overwhelm, worry and fear, more of our focus can be directed toward understanding what is actually going on. We can consciously take steps in the direction we actually would like to go. It becomes easier to discern which actions would be appropriate and beneficial for us to take and which decisions will lead us towards the results we would like to see in our lives.
My astrological version of Da Vinci’s Vitruvian Man
What you will see below is a “naked” astrological chart (no planets or transits). What I want to show you with this image is that we can compare the astrological wheel to a map of our mind or a diagram of our energy field.
When the planets and their connection to each other are added, then we have a chart.
When we think about astrology, the birth chart might be what comes to mind first. That is an image of the planetary positions, combined with the time and place of a person’s birth.
But we can cast a chart for pretty much anything â a business, a relationship, the present moment, when to start a project, etc. And what can the chart tell us?
The planets travel counterclockwise around the astrological wheel most of the time, and it is almost as if they bring a really strong flashlight that shines on the parts of the chart they visit. When a planet passes through, it lights up what we are conscious of within ourselves, helping us see what we are already familiar with, perhaps from a different angle or with more depth and clarity.
However, this flashlight also shows what dwells in the shadows and in our unconscious closets. We gain access to a layer of the truth that previously was hidden from us (which, of course, is very good for us but not always pleasant – there is often a reason why we hide things from ourselves).
The centre of the universe
Astrology is a very subjective art.
A birth chart, for example, will show how we tend to perceive ourselves, the world around us, and life in general. It is a snapshot taken through the lens through which we observe reality. In real life, this lens is a mix of everything we have experienced, everything we have felt and thought, and these ingredients have created our beliefs about ourselves, the world, and our future.
Astrology will never accuse you of having a too self-centred perspective. Subjectivity is one of the great gifts of this art, and maybe that is why it has been sticking around for so long. We need to know where we are before we can point the compass needle in the direction we want to go.
In your birth chart, the universe truly revolves around YOU and YOUR truth, and Earth IS at the centre of everything (even if poor Galileo Galilei became a victim of his times’ cancel culture, shunned and placed under house arrest when he proved it to be astronomically incorrect.
A two-minute-long astrology course
Astrology is known for its complexity and takes years, perhaps even decades, to become “fluent” at it. But if we, for a moment, put all the complicated stuff to the side. Let’s forget about the intricate mathematical calculations, the transits, aspects, lots, and all the technicalities, and instead just look at the chart as an image, then add the three most important parts.
The three major building blocks in astrology are the planets, the 12 signs of the zodiac and the 12 houses.
Each of the 12 houses represents an area of your life: the first house is our sense of self, the second our abundance, the third our communication, etc.
Each solar sign expresses itself in a particular way: Taurus are stubborn, Gemini talks a lot, Leo is honourable but loves compliments…
And then we have the planets, where each planet is connected to a part of our psychology: Mercury is connected to our intellect, Venus shows our connection to love, and Saturn has to do with discipline etc.
As the planets orbit the sun, they stay for shorter or longer periods of time in each house (depending on their placement in our solar system), and as I said before, they light up that area of our life with their flashlight. The planets express themselves according to the astrological sign that coincides with the house (life area) in a chart.
The examples I have given you above belong to the “cookbook-astrology”, but I hope you get the gist of it.
The sky at the moment â a perfect teaching example
Now, finally, I will try to sort out what is going on.
Let’s take a look at the chart of the present moment, and there you can see that one area/one house is really crowded.
Like a naughty teenager, the Sun told his parents that he would just have a couple of friends come over when they booked a weekend trip. But as soon as the car left the driveway, he invited the whole neighbourhood… And the Sun and his friends are making a ruckus that lifts the roof. And it all happens in the solar sign Aries.
Aries has a flavour of novelty. The ram comes with a breath of fresh air and a lot of ambition.
This solar sign starts at the Spring equinox, and with the sun’s entry into Aries, this marks the beginning of the astrological year and spring in the northern hemisphere. Energetically, it can be compared to how we feel as December gives way to January.
Aries brings new dreams, aspirations, and plans; new beginnings, new projects, new ideas, and ways of doing things; and a deep desire to move FORWARD. In our lives, we experience this as a surge of energy or a need to uplevel, either from within ourselves or from outside demands, as change is forced upon us.
If you are familiar with your own birth chart, you may already know in which of the astrological houses Aries falls for you, and you already know what’s going on. But even if you don’t have a clue in which house Aries lives in your chart, you can probably guess it.
What area of your life is the messiest right now? Where is the ruckus?
Unfortunately, for those who dislike change, this process will not end when the Sun sneak out the back door and pops over to Taurus. Some of the other planets which are in Aries right now will stay there for years to come. So we are in for the long haul.
I hope that, after seeing this image and perhaps after taking a moment to reflect on what this means to you, you have more compassion for yourself.
What we are going through, and are asked to transform on a personal level, as well as collectively, is massive. Life is extra wobbly right now, and it takes a lot of energy to adapt and to just hang in there.
Demolition, renovation and refurbishing
We are asked (and forced) to reinvent ourselves in a particular part of our lives. We are asked to let go of that which no longer works or is viable in our lives. To do that, we are working our way through profound layers in our individual lives and as a Society. We are letting go of deeply ingrained patterns and outdated belief systems. Even if we try to resist change, the world around us shifts so quickly and so dramatically that we are forced to follow the flow, whether we want to or not.
What we and the world at large are going through right now, I would compare to replacing the rebars in the walls of a building weâre still living in. Some structures crumble and need to be rebuilt from scratch, while others still have enough stability to be reinforced and remodelled.
Only by being present in the moment and attentive to what is happening as we move through our everyday lives can we fully understand the extent of these structural changes. This awareness will help us take the appropriate next steps.
A house falling apart might sound harsh, but I want to remind you of all the valuable gifts Aries also brings. There is a surge of energy available to tap into, and Aries’ warrior nature gives us the strength to push through. There is inspiration and an innate optimism that lead to new possibilities, openings, and many new ideas.
A longing to see how far we can go, what we are capable of, and a curiosity to discover what is unknown can also be found – the pioneer within us awakens.
And now, more than ever, we need the capacity to maintain health boundaries, which Aries can also assist us with. He loves independence!
Well done if you kept reading until now. I must admit that I feel a bit worn out myself by writing about all of this. It has given me perspective on the changes I am going through right now.
After all this astrology, how about some music?
This time, we will visit a new country on our blog music world tour â we are heading to Kazakhstan.
This is the place where todayâs artist, Dimash Qudaibergen, was born (in some sources, his name is spelt Kudaibergen). I invite you to listen to a goosebumps-producing voice, a multi-instrumentalist, a classically trained vocalist and composer. He is renowned for his exceptional vocal range, which he puts to brilliant use in the song I have chosen.
I find the lyrics so fitting for the time we are living in. We are learning to navigate unfamiliar terrain while also finding out more about the new ME, who is putting their foot on this new ground.
New ground far as I can see
New ground underneath my feet
Stranger in a strangerÂŽs land
new chance to know who I am
If I have the strength to begin again…
If I got it right, Igor Krutov is co-composer to this song, and Sharon Vaughn (who I discovered has ties to Sweden) has written the beautiful lyrics đ
Voila, here is Stranger by Dimash Qudaibergen đ
Lots of love,
Carin
