By: Janette Dalgliesh – Confluence Daily is your daily news source for women in the know.
Currently all the outer planets are in retrograde (Rx), and we know what THAT means: whatever area of interest that planet has, it’s an invitation to review and reassess.
Plus the very outer planets (Pluto, Neptune, Uranus) tend to be the ‘generational’ ones, so wherever your planets were at birth, the folks of a similar age probably have them in the same signs. That means we can also look at geo-political and social trends with those planets.
Pluto – Rx in Capricorn – asks us to reexamine our correct relationship with power. Political shenanigans coming to light, anyone? This can also be an invitation to examine our relationship to our OWN deepest, scariest primal powers.
Neptune – Rx in Pisces – basically, you couldn’t get more Piscean if you tried with both hands for a week. If your dreams become a little more turbulent than usual, it’s not a problem. Keep a dream journal and let ‘the other side’ know you’re listening. And if it’s too much, send a simple message to the non-physical / your higher self to ask them not to shout please.
Uranus – Rx in Taurus – upheaval and a willingness to burn bridges, but in the most stable sign of the zodiac. Time to reassess where you might be holding back from a personal revolution because the discomfort is scary. Becoming fully your own self is a process of trailblazing, and that’s inherently not comfortable. AND Taurus reminds us – you can use your body (aka sensory delight) to help soothe your nervous system as you push through the jungle with your machete.
Saturn – Rx in Aquarius – the curator of our life mission in rebellious Aquarius – alongside Virgo Sun this is a brilliant support for reassessing your relationship with your work in the world – what is ready to drop, what do you want more of? Ask yourself, is this part genuinely ‘my thing’ or is it out of date now, or was it never mine to begin with? If change is needed, it’s going to make itself felt now.
Jupiter – Rx in Aries – expansion and infinite possibility, turbo-charged by the spirit of adventure and fearless questing. If you’re feeling at all ‘ants in the pants’, take yourself to somewhere you’ve never been before (a new art gallery, a new-to-you farmers’ market, the pages of a new novel, a new superhero movie) and relish the fun. If you’re feeling it’s all too much / too scary, lean into the Virgo Sun and ask ‘what’s the smallest, tiniest adventure I could give myself today?’
Meanwhile, we’ll have Mercury in Libra joining the Rx party 10 September, and with Mercury Rx, the invitation is always to ask “What am I being invited to accept, to understand, or to stand up for? And how is it true that this is a gift for me?”
Rx season can definitely feel unsettling AF, because we’re being invited to reconsider a bunch of stuff – assumptions we’ve made, decisions that feel ‘rusted on’, unconscious beliefs, opinions we thought were simple facts, old systems and structures we inherited and have never questioned.
You can see how that might feel disconcerting, to say the least!
Ultimately, it’s incredibly useful if we know how to use it.
AND it can also require extra energy to navigate, a bit like the extra energy needed to keep our balance on a surfboard compared to dry land.
Here’s my recommended strategy for handling the Rx season:
- any time things feel too much or too unsettled, come back into your body and remind yourself it’s Rx season and it’s natural for your nervous system to be a bit jangled. Do whatever body-grounding things help to calm and soothe you.
- massively amp up self-care, self-compassion, and anything you do to increase energy levels – more rest than you think you need, and more play than normal (if you’re not sure what play is, or how to do it, I highly recommend Stuart Brown’s book Play)
- if you have a suspicion deep down that you’re being invited to do some deep, transformative work of any kind, go with that nudge even if you think it might be uncomfortable – blazing a new trail is always a bit uncomfy, and that’s the only way to be even more powerfully YOU.
Change is the zeitgeist, and you’re better served by going with the flow rather than clinging to the status quo even if it feels scary AF.
If you have any doubts about how or where to navigate, do reach out for some help. Sometimes tackling white water rafting is easier and more comfortable with a mentor, guide, or coach who’s navigated those waters before.
It’s definitely better to shoot those rapids than to cling to a rock in the middle of the turbulence, and wonder why it feels like drowning.
You can hire me, or Lisa Hayes, or Dee Frayne, or Jacqueline Gates for this kind of work and you’ll be in a safe pair of hands.
NOTE: This article was originally written as a message to participants of Liberation Zodiac, with recommendations of specific techniques to use. You’d be welcome to join us and access those different techniques, including Taurus ‘Vibe Rehab’, Leo ‘Channel the Lion’, Aries ‘Filling the Well’, Cancer ‘Release Meditation’.
Janette Dalgliesh is a gifted life coach and astrologer based in south-east Australia. She helps women of all kinds, from all walks of life, to set themselves free from the unconscious, toxic BS of the patriarchy in which we all grew up – through the lens of astrology, mythology and archetypes. Her signature work is Liberation Zodiac, and you will always find her at www.janettedalgliesh.com
