You can see more about Astrology projects at www.traumainformedastrology.com – Kirby offers Astrology Interpretations, long-distance Somatic Experiencing sessions (somatic process sessions), and in-person bodywork in Virginia, USA. In addition, he and a team of colleagues are working on Courses for the Trauma Informed Astrology platform, which will be available by mid-February. Thanks for visiting!
Hello Dear Readers,
Anyone breathing a sigh of relief now that Jupiter is in Aries? (And the Sun is in Capricorn)
I wonder about anyone with a plethora of planets in Pisces, or a number of 12th house planets, or even having one (strong) or several moderate Neptune hard aspects in your chart. You may be joining me in this breath of relief. And especially anyone with planets (the Sun / Moon in particular) in late Mutable signs – Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius & Pisces.
With Neptune currently tenanting Pisces, Jupiter joined it there from very late December 2021 – May 11th, 2022 when it went into Aries for a bit; then in late July it went retrograde and began gradually heading back toward late Pisces. It was late October 2022 that it actually re-entered Pisces (from our perspective – of course the planet is not actually going backwards). And then Jupiter went direct Dec 1st of this current month (end of 2022). And it re-entered Aries 20 days later (it had been hanging out – stationing direct in the very last degrees of Pisces) on Dec 21st – yes on the Winter Solstice.
Neptune in its home sign of Pisces can be a very positive thing. Neptune brings creativity, enhanced imagination, mystical leanings, poetic / romantic / idealized perspectives, intuition, dreaminess, spiritual experiences, and color and artistry. And for anyone who is more earthy, more practical, more pragmatic, more of a roll-up-your-sleeves-and-get-to-work type of mentality, then Neptune can soften harder edges and ask us to watch the gorgeous sunset happening over the mountains, or to spend some time gazing at nature as we sit near a beautiful lake, to take in a play or musical performance, etc.
However, too much Neptune in the chart – whether that takes the form of Pisces planets or actual hard aspects to Neptune itself or 12th house planets – can be a challenge. In addition to the positive traits above regarding Neptune, it can also have to do with escapism (through substances or binge watching screen time or even overly idealizing and lots of day dreaming, etc). And lots of Neptune often is associated with deception – which means self-deception, which must come first, before we deceive others. Remember Neptune rules the fog coming in off the ocean – so it can also indicate illusions, delusions, hyper-idealizing, rose-colored glasses, and having many dreams but rarely ever doing practical work toward any of them.
Neptune, being unusual (not very worldly), can often be misunderstood. Then when we blend that weirdness with a difficult time setting boundaries, and an increased sensitivity, we have the tendency toward isolation. I have heard so many people with strong Neptune in their chart saying, “I love to recharge by myself.” That is great – it is good to know what you need! And I wonder if we can improve their energetic boundaries, their ability to speak their needs (they must be able to identify those needs first), and improve their ability to move those awesome dreams from their minds and hearts to actual manifestation!
If we have poor interpersonal boundaries, then it is hard work being around other people. We have to constantly check in with ourselves – is this thing I’m feeling, it is mine? Is it someone else’s who is here in the room with me? etc. That is a lot of work! So it makes sense that Neptune would rather spend time in nature, time with plants, or time with animals (or time alone). Then there is not an interpersonal tug-of-war happening on an energetic or emotional level.
With Neptune & Jupiter in Pisces, and then Mars retrograde in Gemini (this would have been November & December 2022), I noticed a couple days where I was exaggerating things really easily. I was even tempted to tell little white lies – why was I doing this?! I typically lead an intentional, meaningful, and conscious life. I have done tons of personal growth work on myself, such that I can be fairly transparent with most of my friends and loved ones. I have nothing to hide anymore. However, my history includes secret keeping in my childhood (which is terrible – confusing, sticky, shame and other yucky results) and some deception, so if I get really stressed out, then I can regress back to some high school type mentality – I am 43 years old now, so this is serious regression(!). (And then I KNOW I need support, and I scamper to receive it!)
Therefore, I literally felt, on the Solstice, when both Jupiter left Pisces and the Sun left Sagittarius (which was making a square to Neptune, and opposite Mars Rx). It felt like things simplifying, like I could move forward with my purpose with more ease and clarity. There wasn’t the fogginess of Pisces clouding over my having meaningful work. The illusions I was dealing with, at least for a few weeks there, had dissolved.
In my Natal chart, I have 3 asteroids, the Sun and Mars in Pisces, with Neptune in Sagittarius. This is probably why I have felt this particular transit of Neptune, and Mars Retrograde so acutely. I appreciate being so fluid and flexible, but we can even have too much of that! I want to maintain easy boundaries, I want to be able to express my feelings and my needs with ease and grace, and I would rather not be overly tempted by the shadow side of Neptune. If that happens, I intend to schedule sessions with bodyworkers (massage, Craniosacral Therapy) and with my SE person (somatic experiencing). In other words, I need to lean into support. And I am so grateful to be able to do this! (Many people don’t have this opportunity.)
It has been a wild little ride. Having transiting Neptune conjunct my Sun. My intuition is improved, I literally have visions at least once a week – whether in my own meditation, or lucid dreams, or in bodywork or Somatic Experiencing sessions with clients. So I am glad overall to have this aspect happening. But I now feel the saying, “having a spiritual practice is like walking the razor’s edge,” much more acutely. If I push too hard, I feel tempted to escape, to isolate. And yet, my spiritual practice feeds me, it helps with those boundaries. With Neptune conjunct my Sun, there are days when I feel like I have regressed several stages. Ugh! Thankfully I have done enough work on myself that I can see that, I can notice the deviation from what is usually an easier connection to Source.
Then there is Jupiter in Aries. This is a fresh start, a new beginning, possibly even a rebirth of sorts (except Jupiter was there over the summer and fall of 2022). But I think that time always had a Piscean flavor as Jupiter was going to be Retrograde back into Pisces. Now Jupiter has left Pisces for at least eleven years. It is moving forward quite rapidly – it will only be in Aries a few months before getting into the heart of Taurus.
Depending on where Aries is in your chart, this is how you can see how you will benefit from this Great Benefic (Jupiter). I have Pisces on my 8th house, so with Jupiter entering the 9th house soon, it literally is a rebirth. (When we consider the 8th house as the house of death, then the 9th is God or Source, among other implications. And then continuing on this theme, that puts our literal conception or the conception of big projects on the Mid Heaven, the 10th house cusp.) It is time to get down to business for me. It is awesome working on these Trauma Informed Astrology courses. But it has been slow going (my bodywork practice is my main work). Now that I have more clarity, I can get the power points done, get them uploaded and hopefully have the class finished by the end of January!
Thank you for reading!
Kirby Moore
konchog chakchen
Meditation Informs Healing Facilitation 