Stellar Insights: April 22 - 28, 2019

Sh*t + BS

I can’t but think that this may be a theme that captivates our attention this week. After all, we’re in the midst of the Pluto station, as the planet of the underworld is set to shift retrograde on Wednesday. (And given that the Saturn station is upon us, with the planet of structure beginning its retrograde phase next Monday, it seems that whatever is happening now appears to have even more gravitas.)

As I’ve written about before, when a planet stations (right before and after it appears to shift directions), what it archetypally represents seems to be more apparent in our consciousness and play itself out in the collective.

Given that Sh*t—and it’s colloquial cousin BS—in all its forms seems related to Pluto, it literally and figuratively be everywhere.

You may find yourself facing your own Sh*t—realizing the places that you hide, or illusory fears that keep you from full living life, or how your need for control gets in your way of freedom, or the way you skirt an issue because you’re unsure how to face it head one, et al., et al. And as you open to what you are seeing, remember to hold yourself with compassion as you also begin to see that there may be a different way to live, and begin to deal with your Sh*t.

You may find yourself really clearly seeing other’s BS, and calling them on it (or at least, really wanting to).. Before, you may have just given it—the dishonesty, hubris, slippery ways, et al.—a pass. But this week something may feel different, as you sense that you just don’t the time and patience for all the BS. After all, one thing that can arise during times that Pluto’s invitations are reverberating strongly in our consciousness is that we remember that life is really short, and we truly do want to make the most of it.

We may also find that skimming across the surface of issues feels itself to be a bit BS, that we’re wanting to dive deeper and see what’s underneath the surface, the places we don’t usually probe. Some examples of this may include our cleaning out the back of a closet, probing our health to figure out what’s at the root of the rash of symptoms we’ve recently been having, organizing our finances, and looking at end-of-life* issues. We may even find that turning away from deep feelings, such as grief, feels like BS and we want to find a new way to be with them.

And we may literally be focusing on Sh*t, whether it’s our digestive health, sewer system, garden compost, or news in the world. (Talk about Sh*t synchronicity: just as I was writing this piece, the news that came through my email while I was writing this that a truck filled with human waste spilled it on a highway near me—I kid you not.)

Look to the Sh*t and BS, and see how by seeing it and dealing with it, you find yourself living your life from a deeper place, more open to the wholeness of life, and the richness it can yield.

Oh, one more thing about BS, something that came to my mind this morning. I woke up remembering that today, April 22, is Earth Day. As much as I love Earth Day, I wanted to call collective BS, as I began getting really upset thinking about how it’s only one day each year that we celebrate and honor our home. And then I though how striking it was that this is the first "Earth Day” since its inception that the Sun is united with shake-it-up Uranus, both in the earth sign of Taurus. Given this, and given this year’s Saturn/Pluto Conjunction in Capricorn—which is making us look at the issues of sustainability, regenerative capabilities, and life/death issues—I couldn’t but then help thinking whether this may not be the year that a shift occurs, when more and more people realize the reason behind the phrase “Make Earth Day Every Day”, begin to embody life in this way, and our collective priorities begin to shift.

May your week of dealing with Sh*t and BS be one that you find transformative, remembering that when things feel like they are falling apart that we can look deep within as well as to trusted others to help us see how to rebuild with greater strength of heart.

* My friend Chanel Reynolds started an organization dedicated to helping people organize their financial and end-of-life matters—think wills, financial planning, health care directives, et al.—since as she notes, you never know when life may go sideways. She called her organization Get Your Sh*t Together. If you’re interested in this subject check out her website and her new book What Matters Most.

Astrological Highlights

April 22

Sun/Uranus Conjunction

April 24

Pluto Stations Retrograde

April 27

Mars/Neptune Square

All dates reflect Eastern Daylight Time