Saturn and the Muladhara Chakra
Issue 23 Volume 8          2 June 2025

When we do yoga, we are more focused on the muladhara than anything else because if you stabilize this, the rest is easy to create. If the foundation of the building is loose and we try to hold up the building, it will be a daily circus. 

That is what has happened to human life. Holding themselves in some state of balance and wellbeing… every day is a circus for most human beings. If the foundation is unstable, anxiety is natural. But if your muladhara is stable, life or death, you will be stable because your foundation is good… 
 

Place is security, space is freedom.
~ Yi-Fu Tuan (1930 — 2022) Chinese-American geographer; originator of humanistic geography

Dear wonderful neighbour and fellow traveller;

Consciousness underlies all existence, including what you call you. Consciousness is Love. When we’re plugged in, everything in our life blossoms and we experience love and bliss and contentment. It is closer than a thought and only a moment away. Your task is to make this sublime moment your ongoing reality…

Burntisland is a wonderful little coastal village on the Scottish coast. It’s small enough to know everyone by name and big enough to have all the trimmings that make life colourful and alive. There’s an amazing organic bakery second to none, a hardware store that offers everything from finishing nails to curtain rods to carpenter’s squares, and a ‘Veggie Man” who can sell you fine Italian tomatoes just as easily as local grown strawberries pesticide free.

Place… and space; the two are intertwined though each points to different aspects of time — without time, place and space do not exist. Place is where we are and space is what exists between places. Can we ever overestimate the importance of these two as long as we have a body? Home is where the heart is and for now, Burntisland has captured my heart. However, it’s important to understand that place should not become another ball and chain, but an expression of who you are. When that expression changes, you may find your place changes, too.

Fundamentally, I find fulfilment when I help others experience God in the world whether through the written word, astrology, or simply in chatting with a stranger. This is most closely aligned to ‘space’ and has formed the bedrock of my life on Earth — it is a natural expression of who I am. In the boyhood days of long ago, I would often awake before anyone else to slip on my insulated wellies and venture into the November woods. Feeling at home in the stillness of a light falling snow, I’d use an old stump for a chair and simply sit… no purpose save to witness life around me. I think back on those mornings and that young fellow who sat in such quietude. He certainly was not thinking of places to see or adventures to capture; where he sat was both the destination and the journey. The stump was his place; the woods his space…

Saturn is aligned with the muladhara chakra. Mula is Sanskrit for root or foundation and highlights the importance of Saturn in astrology. In the kingdom of the planets, Saturn is the castle that offers protection and a firm foundation upon which the other planets express their qualities. When Saturn is weak or afflicted, the other planets are unable to properly fulfil their roles and their associated aspects of our life suffer.

Saturn and the muladhara chakra are vital to a steady and balanced life. Sadhguru tells us that without a strong foundation, we will not even be able to sit still. This is why, he said, most yogic practices and asanas are designed to strengthen the muladhara chakra. How can we glimpse eternity if we cannot even embrace more than a few moments of stillness?

Sadhguru: When we talk about balance, we are not talking about sanity, we are talking about finding that perch between sanity and insanity where you can venture and adventure. Madness is an adventure. It is a most wonderful thing as long as it is in control. If you lose control it will become ugly. Similarly, sanity is a beautiful thing but if you become perfectly sane, you are as good as dead. This ability to venture and adventure into whatever you want at any moment will come to you if your muladhara is well-established (Sadhguru, Mystic Musings, 2017).

May your Saturn find you resolute and loving. 

 🤗

David 🔆

astrologyofjoy.com


In this issue:

• Weekly Planning Forecast
• Astrology of Now
• Practical Vedanta: Millet and chia jam recipes
• Hero’s Journey: Free App

Saturn Special! If you would like to know the potential and possibility of Saturn for you personally, I am offering an hourly special: £45/hr online. Contact me here.

Practical Vedanta
Tips to strengthen your inner and outer foundation through practical living

Saturn and Jupiter and the good life
Issue 22 Volume 8          26 May 2025

~~ Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev, bestselling author, yogi, mystic, humanitarian
Image © 2011 Summer on the Farm by Robin Moline, a real human artist/illustrator 

“Thank you, God, for this good life and forgive us if we do not love it enough.”
~  Garrison Keillor, American author, singer, creator of radio’s The Prairie Home Companion

Dear wonderful neighbour and fellow traveller;

The only thing you need in your life to make it flow like honey is to increase your capacity to perceive life as it really is. To discover how, we can look towards those enlightened wonders who live in a state of complete awareness — think Sherlock Holmes on steroids. There is nothing they need do; their life is simply an extension of living untouched by a conditioned mind. They exist solely to lead us to this same natural state — our natural state.

Many years ago in upstate New York while walking along a wooded path at the ashram of Gurumayi Chidvilasananda, a self-realised spiritual master, I came upon her gazing into the woods. She was alone and turned to me as I approached with a big smile. Without a word, she pointed silently towards a thick group of trees. I desperately tried to see what she wanted me to notice, but all I saw was bark and branches and a thousand different leaves. After what seemed an eternity, the gods must have had mercy on me for she gestured again towards the woods and this time I saw it; a hummingbird’s nest about fifteen meters away. Hummingbirds are not naturally found in Europe, so for my European friends, a hummingbird’s nest is about the size of half a walnut shell. It was the first time I had seen one in nature. What struck me most, however, was the incredible state of perception required to notice that teeny-tiny nest on a small branch among hundreds of other branches…

From their heightened state of aliveness, spiritual masters also perceive the Gordian knots we carry inside, the castle walls we hide behind that prevent us from living life to its fullest possibility. During the beginning of my ten-year stay in the ashram, I was assigned to the kitchen to assist the head chef with breakfast for the four-hundred staff who stayed through the winter. Breakfast consisted of oats, fruit, toast, chai, and a delicious savoury porridge developed by Gurumayi’s guru consisting of grains, ginger, dates, fresh coconut, chilis, tomatoes, onions, cilantro, salt, and several spices associated with Indian cuisine — jeera, ajwan, and dhanya. To work, each ingredient required perfect balance or whoever made it would suffer the indignation of hundreds of diners. 😁

At that time, I was young and impatient which is another way of saying I was not paying much attention to what the head chef was doing. He told me to stir what needed stirring and simmer what needed simmering. He’d toss cinnamon, nutmeg, and cardamon into the chai telling me “about this much” for each, then ask me to turn my attention to an industrial blender where he’d blend several of the ingredients for the savoury cereal to be added to the grains and spices simmering in a steamer — all 300 litres of it.

After about a week, I went into the kitchen one morning at the usual 3AM time slot and waited for the head chef. We were expecting higher numbers for breakfast as the Christmas retreat was just beginning. I looked at the clock as the minutes ticked by, perhaps a bit nervously. Where was the chef? Just then, the ashram manager came through the door looking jovial and upbeat and straight at me — a sure sign I was about to pay off a karmic debt.

“Hi, David! Yesterday, Gurumayi sent the head chef to Australia to help organise the kitchen at the Melbourne ashram. You are on your own this morning making breakfast, but I do have helpers to bring it out to the dining hall. It needs to be ready at 7AM sharp. Have fun!”

I stood there unmoving, not by choice, but because I had forgotten how to move. When she got to, “You are on your own” my mind was not able to register anything else. There was no use trying to explain how I didn’t know how to make breakfast. The curtain had lifted, the show was on, but I was still getting dressed.

“Oh, by the way, an influx of participants came in for the Christmas retreat. You’ll need to make breakfast for 2000 guests — perhaps 2100 to be on the safe side.” She relayed this information to me like she was telling me about a new pair of shoes she had just bought. No worries. All is well. Have fun!

After I regained my ability to breathe, I immediately went into a desperate search of the kitchen filing cabinet. Surely the recipes were written down somewhere… anywhere! And just as surely, I discovered they were not. These recipes had been part of ashram life for as long as the ashram had been around. They were stamped into the minds of all the cooks… but I wasn’t a cook. I was just a helper — or so I thought.

The irony of the situation did not escape me. I had a computer science degree, yet I was put in the kitchen to replace a Culinary Institute trained chef who was placed in the, you guessed it, computer department. She barely knew how to find the on/off switch on the computer and I had made not much more than a PBJ sandwich. My greatest accomplishment was toasting the bread before slabbing on the peanut butter.

As we hear so often from the gurus themselves, the guru we seek is not found in the guru’s body, but in the guru principle they imbibe. There are many anecdotes of Gurumayi’s guru admonishing crowds of gawking onlookers to stop looking towards the guru’s physicality for answers and embrace the guru inside. Sadhguru, too, has said the guru is not a body, but a principle that permeates Life. It’s our task to plug into this aspect of the guru’s unlimited nature even as we are enjoying the guru in physical form.

As it turned out, I made breakfast on time though I lost 5 kilos of body weight in the process. In the midst of sheer terror, I was able to piece together the recipe with the help of a memory in desperation mode and a guru principle which did not want 2000 guests starting their day with indigestion. The real breakthrough, of course, happened within me. I learned a valuable lesson to live life as a participant and not a spectator. Along the way, a good dose of pride melted away replaced by shock and awe in the power of the guru’s grace.

For the next couple of years, Jupiter and Saturn will be playing a game of hide and seek and how we play the game is more important than the results. As Sadhguru teaches, the success we seek is a natural result when we become awake in our own life. Saturn is our karmic destiny whose path is changed only by right action in the right moment. Jupiter is the grace that is always present in our life to make it happen…

All we have to do is care.

 🤗

David 🔆

astrologyofjoy.com


In this issue:

• Weekly Planning Forecast
• Hero’s Journey: Free App

Revolution Special! If you would like to go over in detail the potential and possibility of the next six months for you personally, I am offering an hourly special: £45/hr online; audio recorded. Contact me here.

Saturn: The Price We Must Pay
Issue 21 Volume 8          19 May 2025

Astrology Monday:
Just the facts, please! 
In the land of ’60s American television, hard-boiled detective Joe Friday always insisted on “just the facts”. Here’s this week’s no-nonsense forecast:

20 May — Sun joins Jupiter in Gemini (Varuna)
Vedic astrology: An influx of the masculine brings reward through the faculties of logic and reason. Step back and re-evaluate where you are heading as a botanist might examine the health of a forest. Remember to see the forest AND the trees.
Aditya astrology: Varuna relates to the loving embrace of Life: the Sun and Jupiter do well here. Slow down; be kind to yourself. Your path and way forward is revealed during quiet times.
25 May — Saturn joins Neptune and Venus in Aries (Aryamaa)
Vedic astrology: Saturn in Aries is a bit like a ship at sea taking on water during a storm. Knowing what to keep and what to throw overboard can be confusing. Seek a safe harbour through the healthy masculine of the Sun and Jupiter in Gemini. Act on your loftiest goals. This is not the time for sensuality and sense gratification, but for sensibility and sensitivity.
Aditya astrology: Aryamaa relates to the heart chakra and the external world. Saturn reveals lack of vision and harms Venus (support of friends). Lean on Mars, the dharma warrior within you.
25 May thru 9 June — Saturn aspects Jupiter and Sun by sign
In Vedic astrology, aspects also occur as whole sign aspects. Thus, beginning 25 May, Saturn aspects the Sun and Jupiter by sign. Saturn relates to survival and Jupiter encourages revival. Let your zest for life guide practical decisions and necessary choices, not your pain body, worry, or concern. The world is fine; it’s the prescription of your perception that needs correction. 😉

Dear Wonderful Neighbour;

Let’s chat about Saturn. It’s going into a difficult sign on 25 May, so maybe a chat can reveal a plan of action.

Saturn is the price you must pay if you are to assume your rightful place on the throne of eternal joy. Saturn represents the unravelling of your karmic trajectory and is the medium through which you learn to keep what is beneficial while letting go what is not. Saturn always gives you what you deserve — even if it hurts — but it is the elephant goad that keeps you moving in the right direction towards the ultimate realisation.

In world affairs, Saturn needs a healthy Jupiter lest its power goes unchecked resulting in trials and tribulations and never ending misery. During the COVID-19 pandemic, for example, Saturn (authority) was very strong, while Jupiter (good fortune) was debilitated. Saturn is a planet of destiny, the karmic price we must pay for what has occurred in the past and Jupiter is our highest conscience, truth, and selfless intent. Thus, it was through the door left ajar by Jupiter’s weakness that Saturn rectified the world’s karmic debt, but the fee exacted was high: hardship, calamity, and death.

On a personal level, even as millions were dying, some people thrived: it all depended upon one’s individual karmic trajectory. What is significant to understand is that most of the world acts unconsciously, including its leaders, so much of life simply unfolds the way it does because the conditioned mind does not perceive what is best. The world exists on autopilot.

According to social psychologists, all inputs, including familial, environmental, social, cultural and economic, impress themselves upon the developing mind affecting behaviour, choices, attitudes and what we consider valuable and significant. However, like all impressions, value and significance are not set in stone; rather, they are like a sailing ship on the open sea whose direction is dependent not only upon the wind but whether the sails are unfurled. Likewise, what we consider valuable and significant is influenced not only by external circumstances and events, but by a changing inner landscape which allows us to “unfurl the sails” when opportunity presents itself.

A healthy Saturn rids you of what you don’t need so your authenticity can shine forth. In this way, Jupiter’s unconditional Love becomes your inspiration and you perform deeds for the good of all. This is why an unchecked Saturn (as during the pandemic) can be so devastating: it causes one to indulge their pain, blocking the brilliance of their authenticity (Sun). A healthy Saturn and Jupiter are both needed to evolve and when one or the other is challenged astrologically as we experienced during the pandemic and are about to again beginning 25 May, progress becomes more difficult to experience. 

On 25 May, Saturn enters Aries, its debilitation, and about two weeks later on 9 June, Jupiter enters Cancer, its exaltation. Saturn is the foundation of all things, the root, the earth. Jupiter is water and takes the shape of what you give it. In Cancer, Jupiter needs the dispassion and objective thinking of Saturn to keep it from becoming needy. Jupiter is also the fire of purification that must be endured to enable us to bring good to the world. Saturn’s structural integrity helps Jupiter maintain itself as a force of revelation and not a conflagration fuelled on greed and self-righteous indignation. 

Best-selling author Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev pointedly reminds us, “Your mind is not your own. It is a complex amalgamation of all kinds of influences. The more you are identified with it, the further away you are from yourself.”

We are not the body, we are not the mind, and we should not fan the flames of such falsehoods in ourselves or others. Saturn in Aries can be uncomfortable and disjointed as we look for something to hold onto. The world can at best only give us a temporary hold while we catch our breath. The real answer lies in allowing the strength of our magnanimous Jupiter to make the world a better place. 

Seek truth. Practice kindness without it becoming narcissistic. Jupiter will be strong over the next two years, and this alone can soothe the aches and pains of our Saturn.

 🤗

David 🔆

astrologyofjoy.com


In this issue:

• Planning forecast and weekly reminder
• Astrology of Now
• Hero’s Journey: Free App

Moon Planner
Has the Moon got you hurried and harried?
 

No worries! The Moon represents your capacity to receive, a feminine quality, and recognising the resources you have available to fulfil your emotional needs.  Too often, we get distracted with what is not ours and miss out on the available opportunity, experiencing disappointment and disillusionment… or worse, we become like the poor fellow in the photo — Mr Lou Garou. 😉

Moon Gauntlet:
The Moon goes through a bit of a gauntlet this week and so do our emotional needs:
Yesterday, 18 May:
Moon conjunct Pluto in Aquarius: Pluto asks the Moon to look closely at the emotional needs. Perhaps they are not as critical as one might imagine.
Thursday, 22 May:
Moon conjunct Saturn in Pisces: Saturn’s influence causes the Moon to needlessly worry and fret. To make matters worse, Moon’s influence makes Saturn believe the grass is greener in the neighbour’s yard — it’s not.
Moon conjunct Rahu in Pisces: Your Moon just jumped onto the back of a bucking bronco thinking it was just a carnival pony. All you can do is hang on and hope that when it throws you off you land safely!
Moon conjunct Neptune in Aries: Moon and Neptune together are like going for a walk in the early morning fog: silent, mysterious, perhaps discomforting… you never know what you might find there!
Friday, 23 May:
Moon conjunct Venus in Aries: Moon and Venus make for some interesting imaginings, especially in relationships. Today, at least, what you want to happen will have to wait another day.

Put astrology aside for a moment: transformation begins with your willingness to change. Retrograde Pluto in Aquarius thru 13 October helps you push the reset button. Where in life do YOU want to reinvent yourself?

This week: Saturn/Jupiter preview

Transformation Special! If you would like to go deeper into the potential and possibility of the next three months for you personally, I am offering an hourly special: £45/hr online; audio recorded. Contact me here.

Saturn: Planet of Destiny
Issue 20 Volume 8          12 May 2025

Astrology Monday: Just the facts! 
Sergeant Joe Friday from the hit 1960s cop show Dragnet on American television always insisted on simple truths and pithy statements. Here’s this week’s boiled down astrological forecast:

12 May — Full Moon in Scorpio: 
Allow your emotions to turn inward where your needs are not being met. This is where you hold a falsehood about who you are AND a tendency to create château en Espagne: castles in the air. Stay on the ground and see through the illusion.
All week — Saturn squaring Jupiter in Gemini:
In Vedic astrology, Saturn causes Jupiter’s cheer and optimism to turn inward and practical. This is not a problem as long as you don’t let pragmatism drain you of your lofty intentions and generosity. Saturn relates to survival; Jupiter encourages revival. Let your zest for life guide practical decisions and necessary choices.
17 May — Moon conjunct retrograde Pluto in Aquarius
Beginning with the Full Moon, this week reveals a transformational possibility around needs. Pay attention to your unfulfilled needs and determine whether they deserve your attention. Depending upon your answer, either let them go or come up with a better plan to fulfil them.
18 May — Sun conjunct Uranus in Taurus
Unexpected events at work or through someone you know is pushing you towards more authentic expression. Don’t think you have reached the end of the road; there is a LOT more of you left to discover. 😉

We do not know if, out on the moons of Saturn, you will meet with good or with evil—or only with ruins a thousand times older than Troy.
~ Arthur Charles Clarke (1917 — 2008); science fiction author including 2001: A Space Odyssey
 

Dear Friend;

Poor Saturn. The most misunderstood of all the planets. Just because he devoured his own children does not mean we should not welcome him as a friend. As one of the most beautiful objects in the sky to amateur and professional astronomers across the globe, who do we have to blame for Saturn’s less than stellar reputation?

The Greeks certainly presented Saturn (Cronus) as a bad boy, a power-hungry titan who devoured his own children as a preemptive measure against a prophecy he would be overthrown by his own son. Not exactly an endearing quality, of course, but the Romans were more appreciative of his proactive nature and gave him the role as god of agriculture, justice, and strength who was said to have ruled over a Golden Age of abundance, prosperity, harmony, and peace. They even had a major gastro-busting and gift-giving festival in December (Saturnalia). Sound familiar? Saturnalia was later appropriated for the birth of Christ by Christians seeking to put an end to paganism in the Roman Empire. 

For hundreds of years, at least from the time of Alexander the Great, there was much commerce and cultural interchange between the Greeks, Romans, Mesopotamians, and Indians. Their mingling influenced many aspects of astronomical and astrological knowledge. For example, we find many instances in classical texts where it is apparent Greek, Persian, and Indian astrologers exchanged knowledge.

In astrology, Saturn is associated with infrastructure, time, karma, and dissolution. As a symbol of death and the inevitable passage of time, Saturn “devours” everything, even his own children. Nothing with a physical attribute will last forever, not even the Cosmos and certainly not our body born of the elements. This is why the scythe which was a symbol in Roman times of Saturn’s rulership over agriculture later became associated with Death — the ever swinging scythe cuts down the stalks of life with stoic indifference. 

In Vedic astrology, Saturn is the planet of death, time, and the cycle of karma that brings us face-to-face with our destiny. Saturn is the inevitable retribution necessary to rectify the karmic debt delivering its results based upon past thoughts, speech, and deeds. Though, he has gotten a bad reputation because of the trials and tribulation he symbolises, Saturn is always just and the force behind the adage “you reap what you sow” and “what goes ’round comes around.”

Saturn in its fall in Aries
On 25 May, Saturn will cross the threshold from Pisces into Aries. In Vedic astrology, the signs actually take precedence over the planets, so when we consider transits, we must ascertain the sign and its  ruling planet. Aries, ruled by Mars, is fundamentally the sign of the zodiac that relates to the unlimited possibility inherent in the “conscious nothingness” before creation. Through Aries, we envision what is possible and conceive plans to make it happen. As a Mars sign, Aries is bold, courageous, enthusiastic, and focused on the goal. It is a fire sign that represents the spark of creation erupting from Stillness and exploding outward in a Play of Consciousness.

Saturn, however, is in its fall in Aries. For more or less the next three years, Saturn’s power as an aspect within us will struggle to find security in the unlimited expanse of Aries. Saturn is structure, security, borders, and pragmatism. In the expansiveness of Aries, it becomes disoriented, uncomfortable, and even fearful. Even in terms of the Earth there may be an uptick in earthquakes, volcanoes, tsunamis, and other natural disaster relating to the earth element.

What to do?
For starters, you might fire up the grill, invite some friends over, and have a modern day Saturnalia celebration. This may appease Saturn and get him on your side. Of course, Rome did fall… 

Better, yet, seek to understand the greatness of your own Saturn and appease this aspect of yourself through concrete steps and strong effort. Saturn symbolises Shiva, the aspect of God manifesting truth, authenticity, and identity with the immortal Self. When our Saturn is vibrant and pulsating with duty, dispassion, and dharma, we are organised, objective, embrace routine as medicine, and put forth our best efforts. Now is the time to strengthen the foundation of your physical body and mind and tend heroically to your external affairs and circumstances. Your obligations will one day be seen as your treasure.

We’ll chat more about Saturn in Aries. Stay tuned.

 🤗

David 🔆

astrologyofjoy.com


In this issue:

• Planning forecast and weekly reminder
• Hero’s Journey: Free App
•  

Moon Planner
Has the Moon got you hurried and harried?
 

No worries! The Moon represents your capacity to receive, a feminine quality, and recognising the resources you have available to fulfil your emotional needs.  Too often, we get distracted with what is not ours to have and miss out on the available opportunity, experiencing disappointment and disillusionment… or worse, we become like the poor fellow in the photo.  

Full Moon in Scorpio:
Monday, 12 May: Full Moon in Scorpio (16:58 GMT)
Full moons magnify your emotional mind, good or bad. There is science behind this: just as full moons create higher than usual tides on earth, so there is a natural draw of fluids into your brain. Full moons are a great opportunity to access profound emotions bringing you deeper insights and intuition.

The Scorpio Full Moon can help you understand how your emotional tendencies colour your perception and thus, your world view. Emotions are aspects of our personality which make the experience of life more enjoyable. However, as we witness with so many of the mindless rants in public and across social media, when we allow emotions to hijack our logic and reason, common sense takes a vacation. 

Emotions are not meant to destroy life; they are part of nature’s way of enhancing life. Yet, every day our emotions rain destruction upon ourselves and others because we allow the survival mechanism to influence their expression. Contrary to popular opinion, life is not about “me”; life is a multiplayer game where the only rule is to express yourself as a piece of the Cosmos. This is not selfish; this is about experiencing yourself as a part of everything else.

The bright half of the moon cycle is an opportunity to expand your capacity for emotional expression in a healthy way using the resources available to you. During the dark half, there is a natural drawing down of the attention which is useful for rexamining what you consider is a need. is it a valid need or is it an expression of your fear that seeks survival above all else. Ask yourself what is it that thinks it needs to survive even when you are in the quiet of your home in bed or at the dinner table…

Scorpio is the sign of transformation. Allow it’s energy to power-wash away your false needs and you will step into a you that is more real, more vibrant, and more beneficial to the world and yourself.

Mother’s milk from mother Moon: Gurumayi of the Siddha lineage once shared with us two practical ways to harness the full moon energy. The first is to simply go somewhere quiet and gaze at the beauty of the full moon for an extended time paying close attention to your feelings. Another is to leave milk in a clear, covered glass overnight in a window sill where it will catch the full moon’s rays. In the morning, consume the milk. Milk easily absorbs the positive energy around it as well as neutralise negative energy and is used to purify jewellery of negative energies or unhelpful karmas that may be associated with the jewellery maker or previous owners. You can also do this as a jewellery rejuvenator every six months or so to keep your jewellery energetically fresh. It is best to use organic whole milk, raw if possible.

Put astrology aside for a moment: transformation begins with your willingness to change. Retrograde Pluto in Aquarius thru 13 October helps you push the reset button. Where in life do YOU want to reinvent yourself?

This week’s Sun-sign conundrum:

Transformation Special! If you would like to go deeper into the potential and possibility of the next three months for you personally, I am offering an hourly special: £45/hr online; audio recorded. Contact me here.

Pluto Retrograde: A Second Chance
Issue 19 Volume 8          5 May 2025

“Opinions have caused more ills than the plague or earthquakes on this little globe of ours.”
~ Voltaire (François-Marie Arouet) (1694 – 1778), French Enlightenment writer, philosopher, abolitionist; advocate of freedom of speech and separation of church and state.
 

Dear Friend;

I woke up this morning in the same room, the same flat, the same town, the same country — but it was also the ‘first time’ I did so. And this made all the difference…

Do you ever feel you complicate your life beyond measure? Do you sometimes look back and wonder when it was that you left the Highway of Joy and found yourself on a meandering road filled with potholes and scattered with boulders and debris? Could it simply be a matter of perception?

Pluto can help you change the prescription of your perception. It pushes you to experience your highest aspiration — to experience your infinite nature. Pluto means transformation and its retrograde status in Aquarius now through 13 October is an opportunity to reinvent yourself along your highest potential and your most cherished dreams. It’s a “second chance” you won’t want to miss and only your contrived opinions and self-defeating notions stand in the way.

Opinions are unique to human beings. In the madness of opinion, however, we confuse what we think is real for what is and thus, we become the agent of our own undoing and the suffering of others. Skilful driving will get you back on the highway, but first you need to stop and survey the road ahead as it is, then decide what you can do with the resources you have. No benefit to “what if” your life away, but please remember the wise words Shakespeare wrote for Hamlet: There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so.

Hamlet was right: thinking shape’s our perception of reality. What we call the world is simply a play of light and shadow picked up by light sensitive cells in our eyes and filtered through the brain where it is compared to past experience. Considering we not only have experiences in this life tucked away but countless experiences from innumerable lifetimes lodged in our subconscious, we have quite an extensive file our brain can access. This file is fine as a tool of survival, a mechanism the brain evolved because it got tired of being devoured by sabretooths and Pleistocene wolves, but how many of us need to call upon this tool in our everyday lives?

The survival brain has its use, but somewhere in our childhood we set it on automatic and forgot to take back control. For an observer detached from the consequences, it can appear as if we are intentionally choosing to self-sabotage our life through questionable choices. It’s not intentional, of course, but our “reshaping” of reality can alter the course of life in tragic ways.

Opinions are the castle we hide behind and a primary reason our life is the way it is. Untold amounts of energy and resources are expended in dead-ends and falsehoods. Still, we are going to make mistakes. What can we do if we find ourself in an intolerable situation? Ekhart Tolle addressed this situation in his bestseller, the Power of Now:

Wherever you are, be there totally. If you find your “here and now” intolerable and it makes you unhappy, you have three options: remove yourself from the situation, change it, or accept it totally. If you want to take responsibility for your life, you must choose one of those three options, and you must choose now. Then accept the consequences.

Pluto in Aquarius is asking you to rework your life in specific areas. Consult the “noteworthy notes” section below to discover these areas relative to your Sun sign. Then sit quietly. Chances are, you have already felt the stirring of some of these needing to be addressed, of a change you need to embrace so that transformation can begin. 

Now’s the time to rework, redo, and reinvent… it’s the prescription that will make all the difference!

 🤗

David 🔆

astrologyofjoy.com


In this issue:

• Weekly Planning Forecast
• Hero’s Journey: Free App

This week’s noteworthy notes:
Pluto is retrograde in Aquarius for about 5 months (thru 13 October). Retrograde planets are opportunities to redo, rehash, and recreate. Pluto in Aquarius urges you to reinvent yourself according to your highest aspirations. What is it you want? What is it you really want? Be warned: Pluto does not listen to beggars; assume your rightful seat on the throne as a child of God and what is yours will be yours.

Pluto Special! If you would like to go deeper and detail the potential and possibility of the next five months for you personally, I am offering an hourly special: £45/hr online; audio recorded. Contact me here.