When Pluto, Saturn, Venus and Jupiter ALL Go Retrograde: It’s Time to Cultivate A Taste for Bittersweet Going Forward

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When Pluto, Saturn, Venus and Jupiter ALL Go Retrograde: It’s Time to Cultivate A Taste for Bittersweet Going Forward

“There is no better fuel (than sicknesses) to burn off the bad karmas. Don’t get into entertaining a sad mind or negative views (over the sicknesses). But see them as signs of the waning of your bad karmas and rejoice over them.” Rigdzin Jigme Lingpa (1729–1798)

Apparitions of the Self: The Secret Autobiographies of a Tibetan Visionary

“There is a crack, a crack in everything.
That's how the light gets in.”

Leonard Cohen

Dear One,

Happy Earth Day and Happy New Moon in Taurus! Earth Day has been celebrated every April 22 since 1970 to honor Mother Earth and all She does for us, as well as to renew and deepen our commitment to taking better care of Her. Having a New Moon in steadfast Taurus setting the tone for the coming month on Earth Day is a rare and special event indeed--a double blessing!

The major astrological events of the season are: On April 25, Transformer Pluto stations RX, followed by Karmic Teacher Saturn on May 10, Lover Venus on May 12 and Optimist Jupiter on May 14. All these planetary energies stationing retrograde within three weeks are turning our focus inward in a major way.

Over the last few months, the pandemic has compelled us to place more focus on external conditions, as they’ve been changing so rapidly. But, with Pluto, Saturn, Venus and Jupiter RX turning us deeply within, it’s time to adjust our attitudes towards the new world we’ll be living in by the end of this year. As we spend more time acclimating internally to our brand-new normal in relation to others and Life itself, we’ll begin to see more and more glimmers of light and hope about what is to come which will help illuminate our way forward throughout the rest of this year and beyond.

Cultivating a taste for bittersweet is key because it is highly unlikely that we’ll ever be going back to the good old days in our lives. Many of the people, places, things and circumstances that we may have taken for granted and become complacent about will no longer be exactly as they were ever again. So, we have the next five months to stop resisting this complete reboot of the Earth plane’s operating systems.

Until Pluto stations direct on October 4, we’ll have the chance to release any clinging to comfort zones which no longer serve our highest soul growth. It’s not called “growing pains” for nothin:). For more:

All Your Stagnate Comfort Zones Are Going, Going, Gone

So, even though the pandemic may calm down a bit through the summer, when Pluto goes direct in the Fall, we may be due for another round of Mother Nature’s bitter medicine. Pluto, who rules the masses and death, transforms into Kali/Shiva in this regard, as does Gaia. For more on this:
Mother Nature’s Bitter Medicine and the
Deeper Game Plan Behind It All

Some of my clients who seem to have been karmically hit the hardest by the pandemic—regardless of financial circumstances—are those who work as healing practitioners in modalities which can really only be done when they can place their hands on their clients or patients. This includes those healing arts such as acupuncture, craniosacral, varieties of bodywork, massage, chiropractic and even hair stylists.

These hands-on healers do not have the option to switch to an on-line presence or phone for their work, and thus are especially frustrated and experiencing more karmic stuff coming up for them than on average.

This period, between now and the Fall, is a time, not just for hands-on healers, but for all of us, to go within and dissolve our attachments to karmic ruts of identity through our vocations. So, no matter how rewarding we find our work, no matter how altruistic and service-oriented, no matter how much meaning and value our professions give to ourselves and others and the world through the ripple effect—it’s time to let go of who we think we are based on the relative importance of our vocations to feed our little self/ego/personality.

We’re all in this existential crisis together. So, as we witness and honor, perhaps for the very first time, the contributions to our society that essential workers are making, our whole perspective on what gives meaning and value to a life is undergoing a massive metamorphosis.

In addition, as we give ourselves the time now to go deeply within and sit in the inner void, the inner emptiness, we’ll remember that we are energetic microcosms of the Universe and contain within us as much space as All That Is. Once we viscerally experience our true nature as timeless Beings in a precious human incarnation, we can begin to value our essence as human beings—rather than human doings.

This can definitely be an “ouch” moment karmically as well as a major FGO (f**kin growth opportunity) for us all, especially for those of us experiencing financial hardships, illness or loss of loved ones. But nurturing an emotional tone of bittersweet for What Is, as well as for what was and will, perhaps, never be again, is realistically embracing the true nature of the Divine- Orderly-Chaos of the Earth Game in its newest manifestation.

When I was scrolling through my newsletter archives in search of a particular image for this newsletter, I was quite shocked to discover, in a cosmically humorous way, that I wrote this as a preview of 2019:

2019 COMING ATTRACTIONS: How to Be in Paradise During a Cosmic Flu Pandemic

I had no recollection of writing this, as I tend not to dwell in the past as regards my writings. But, after rereading it, I was pleasantly surprised to discover that my suggestions for thriving during an energetically-driven pandemic brought on by the Quickening are equally applicable to our present circumstances.

I’ve always said that pain is a signal tone from our higher Self that a course correction is indicated. First, our higher Self tries to get our attention with pain or discomfort on the spiritual, psychic and energetic levels. Then we get hit on the emotional and mental levels and, finally, in most cases, as the subtle levels are not uncomfortable enough to get out attention, we get a physical manifestation of pain and dis-ease. And so, here we are.

While I encourage you to read the entire Cosmic Flu Pandemic newsletter, here are some highlights that I’ve editing to bring it up to speed re the current coronavirus pandemic.

“I think that all of us who are being affected by the Cosmic Flu need to give ourselves permission to be human Beings, instead of human doings. I know this may be difficult for those of us with over-full and busy lives: hectic work schedules, bills to play and loved ones to look after. HA!

But however impossible it may feel to add on more rest breaks and just BE, with the Quickening affecting more of us, isn’t it better to wind down some of the hyper-active ego achieving horizontally, and focus on more vertical communing with Source and pure Being, before we’re absolutely forced to? HA!

This also includes cultivating more compassion and loving kindness and less judgement when it comes to how we view those who are debilitated in their capacities to be “doers” by their Cosmic Flu symptoms, whether emotionally, mentally, physically or all of the above. YES!

Here are some thoughts to contemplate to help support the upgrade in consciousness that the Quickening and now this pandemic are gifting us with:

I. Always maintain the witnessing perspective, which allows us to never take anything personally, no matter what is going on.

II. Keep in mind the deepest secret of Tantra: Accept everything just as it is in the moment. Resistance creates suffering.

III. The Flow of Life is not under our control; our true power lies in how we choose to respond and move with it.

IV. If we go for healing and growth in any situation and simultaneously enjoy the ride, we’ll have no regrets later.

It’s good to keep in mind that we’re only on the threshold of the next Great Age in the sign of Aquarius, which will last for over 2000 years. The Quickening, i.e., the higher-frequency galactic energies bombarding us—while necessary to kick-start this next stage in the evolution of human consciousness—are also playing havoc with all levels of our bodies, from the psychic to the physical. We’re all becoming evolutionary guinea pigs in the vanguard of this New Age. OY!

So, how do we make the most of this particularly challenging time with its overabundance of FGOs coming our way? And, especially, how do we best prepare ourselves to live in an empowering way in what can feel like a combat zone on just about every level—besides just yelling “INCOMING!” and hiding our heads under the covers? OY!

Since there are infinite levels of heaven and hell, all available to be experienced—right here and right now— we always have a free will choice to live with internal freedom and at peace within our conditions—no matter how difficult.

So, if you’d like to learn how to be in your own paradise during this ongoing Cosmic Flu Pandemic as well as the ongoing Coronavirus Pandemic and allow inner peace to permeate your Being as the major emotional tone of your day—here are some of my personal guidelines:

1. Paradise is ALWAYS an inside job. And while you might enjoy traveling to an external paradise from time to time as a treat, you actually NEVER have to leave your seat. But rather, choose to travel deep within your own BEING to find that which you have been eternally seeking.

2. No amount of external flux can take away your capacity to experience paradise within—if you make it your priority, above all else.

3. While there are often mosquitos in external paradises and upsetting thoughts buzzing around internally, we can still choose to reboot our consciousness as needed to stay focused on peace of mind and joy in Being.

4. It’s impossible to be in paradise all the time unless you are comfortable first with sitting in emptiness, i.e., the void, as this is the primordial space out of which all forms (including all planes of consciousness) continuously arise and fall way.”

Chogyam Trungpa called the above state of consciousness “cool boredom.” To explore more meditation options, please check out:

Spiritual Practices Reading List

In closing, in the Japanese art form of Kintsukuroi, the philosophy is to mend the cracks in broken things with gold, thus making what has been broken even more valuable than before. So too will the buried cracks in us, individually and collectively, be healed by excavating and embracing our wounded humanness.

All the karmic lessons that we’re going through now, if we don’t resist them, become the alchemical gold that transforms our heart/minds (Taoists don’t differentiate) and make us spiritually healthier and stronger than nothing less than our present circumstance could ever do.

And, finally, here are my current daily reminders:

I. Enjoy the ride today—even more—by acting as if each day is our last . . . and smile.

II. Hold the faith that: Life goes on, our Souls live on and that which we have always been seeking—Source—has been inside us all along . . . and smile.

III. Be grateful that Life is doing its damnedest to help us remember why we are truly here . . . and just keep on smiling.

Wishing us all bittersweet equanimity in the Flow,

J O A N

“The universe that we inhabit and our shared perception of it are the results of a common karma. The actions of each of us have contributed to the world we live in. We all have a responsibility for our world and are connected with everything in it.”

THE DALAI LAMA

For more: Teachings to Surprise and Inspire