Dear Flora, It’s time for me to start a career, my dream is to facilitate workshops in self-growth (shifting limiting beliefs) yet I am procrastinating, I am doubtful about my ability, I am paralyzed by a limiting belief. I’m in a relationship that confounds me, I’m showing up very differently than I ever have, it feels karmic and kinda awkward at the same time. I wonder if I’m distracting myself with it. Where is the best place to put my focus?
Dear Karen, Imagine you are in a kind of spiritual boot camp right now, exercising the “muscles” of self-confidence, trust in the divine and belief in yourself and your gifts and abilities. It may be painful in the moment and hard for you to see clearly the strength and power that will emerge from this process, but this invisible work is steering you through a magical mystery tour towards your own divinity and inner spiritual truth.
In your natal chart your Aries rising, Mercury, Sun and Venus in the first house give you a great boost of confidence and “can-do” attitude. Combine that with a grand Earth trine between your Natal Sun/Venus in Taurus, Moon/Mid-heaven in Capricorn and Mars in Virgo and you seem not only unstoppable, but very, very capable.
Of course there’s always more to the story, otherwise you wouldn’t be writing to Flora! And so we turn to your perfectionistic Mars in Virgo in the 6th house of service which is conjunct Uranus and Pluto in Virgo and opposed by Saturn in the 12th house, making you want to serve in your own unique way, but feeling blockage and doubt about doing so. Saturn in Pisces opposing your Virgo stellium can present you with issues of faith and whether or not you can really trust in spirit as well as create mysterious undermining influences which come from your unconscious fears about your abilities to get things “just right” and not make mistakes.
Over the last several years you have been experiencing Neptune, the ruler of Pisces and also the 12th house, which has been transiting this Virgo/Pisces story in your natal chart. A series of Neptune transits including Neptune opposing your Mars, have encouraged you to ease up on yourself while at the same time encouraging you to “let go and let god”. But Neptune opposing Mars can also feel quite destabilizing and a bit distracting from your purpose. As you said about your relationship, “feels karmic and kinda awkward at the same time”, a very apt description of a Neptune transit! Neptune will continue to conjunct your Saturn and oppose your Pluto until late 2018, so getting to know this dreamy, magical, mystical (but also confusing, destabilizing and ambiguous) energy and how to work with it is a good strategy for the next couple of years.
It’s also no surprise you asked this question leading up to the New Moon Eclipse in Pisces on February 26. This New Moon lights up the Virgo/Pisces planets and the ongoing Neptune transit in your chart, offering a new chapter in the story and a time for fresh starts and intention setting. This particular New Moon is a perfect time to make the commitment to shift old patterns and cultivate a stronger relationship and trust in spirit/the divine/however you experience God/dess, etc.
So what are some ways to “work” with Neptune and navigate your time in Spiritual Boot Camp with grace? Flower essences are one of my favorite tools, as it’s hard to get more Neptune than by working with the divine spark of nature as it manifests in one of our earth’s greatest blessings: flowers!
The first essence that jumped out at me when I read your letter was Wild Oat. I could almost see these delicate grasses in my mind, waving gently in the breeze. A common weed, when used medicinally, Wild Oat is a nourishing tonic with numerous healing properties ranging from soothing irritated skin and calming anxiety, to easing digestive woes. As a energetic medicine in the form of flower essences, Wild Oat is a spirit soother, helping you to calm down and find your center.
This essence brings clarity and focus around to your life direction and your work in the world. It can help you to align your inner sense of purpose with your outer expression of meaning and values. Wild Oat is an excellent “constitutional” remedy for anyone with Virgo planets because Virgo energy needs to have a sense of meaning in their work, to feel that what they have is needed and valued in the world.
Because of your Neptune transit, I would also add in the remedy Star Tulip, which can help you soften and open to your own inner wisdom and divine guidance. Star Tulip helps you to listen to your 12th house of dreams, spirit and the unconscious mind.
Additional support tools to help you as you navigate Neptune include: listening to music, praying, meditation, time spent in nature and with plants and animals. Spending time near the ocean, exploring creative expression (particularly with film, photography or music), experimenting with all forms of healthy, life affirming ways to shift your consciousness from the day to day towards a more spiritual perspective.
May Flora bless you as you continue to commune with the magical flow of Neptune in your life!
Flora aka Fern Spring
We’re thrilled to offer a new voice for Ask Flora.
Fern has many gifts, including deep knowledge of the archetypes of flowers and sky.
Fern Spring of Wisestars Astrology has been an astrologer and flower essence practitioner for the past 25 years. A massage therapist and energy healer, as well as an initiated priestess in the Reclaiming and Feri tradition, Fern has also studied with Steven Forrest (through his astrological apprenticeship program) and Asata Gabriel. Besides co-authoring the book Simply Sacred: Everyday Relationship Magic, she has written for The Mountain Astrologer, Llwellyn Books, Organic Spa Magazine and Wellbeing Magazine. She is also the editor (under the name Heather Vuchinich) of the forthcoming book, The Ghost Dance: an Untold History of the Americas. Sign up for her newsletter of flower essence tips and astrological news at www.wisestarsapothecary.com or to find out more about her line of planetary potions and flower essence infused products.