#alchemichal process

Helios’ Astrological Angle on the Triple Conjunction– Heavy skies, broken lives, and broken hearts. That is where we are right now, Heretics. Worse will come. Horrors will be endured this year- And it is those who are most aware and awake who will bear the brunt of the pain. As it bears down on us, we feel crushed, yet guilty that we aren’t somehow taking on more of a burden; doing MORE to help those who cannot do for themselves somehow.

We crave peace and are given not only discord, but absurdity of the highest order. The news is not only awful but it’s ridiculous. Only the most unbelievable things, the ones that really hurt and twist the knife are given to us. Reality has become a farce. Its times like this you long for the halcyon days of the Cardinal Crisis… So what do we do with this? How do we survive? More importantly, how do we WIN?

Listen. These are Pluto times. Add Saturn, Jupiter and a square to Chiron in the mix and these times GRIND you down, straight down to the bone. These are times that reveal the truth of us- and that is their great gift. You see, for too long evil has plagued and dominated our world. It has thrived because it could fester, hidden in the shadows. It was a many-headed Hydra, stalking the night- if one head fell, infinitely more would be feasting on its corpse in the darkness. That is Pluto, both the Hydra and the darkness that hid it (along with its darkest urges)- but remember, this is Pluto in Capricorn. All of a sudden the Hydra is out in the open. It laughs, thinking that nothing can touch it so there is no longer a reason to hide. Now it can use fear and rule openly with terror- It does not realize that it is now vulnerable and can be destroyed once and for all.

Sure. You can buy into the fear of this year and its astrology if you want- I know its kept me up since 2014! It’s not worth the wailing and gnashing of teeth though, not anymore. There are a million ways that this year could end, and sure, one of those is the one where we’re all dead from nukes or coronavirus or something- but I wouldn’t count on that one winning out in the end. Or any of them where the Hydra is still standing at the end of the day. And why is that? Well, it’s because of all of you. All the Lightworkers, Darkworkers… hell, even all you insufferable Middle Wayers out there- All the gurus, bodhisattvas, prophets, martyrs… what have you. Every one of you who is sick of this world being less than it could be, you would do anything to make it better. Well, this is your moment- your LIFE is your moment, and it brought you here. You are exactly where you need to be. What you need to do is start taking action. Quit holding space, meditating and praying for things to get better while your life falls apart around you like a stack of plates falling out of a cabinet. Get up, pick up the broom and clean it up. Focus on what can be improved in your immediate control first. Then you are in a position to extend your domain and help others. This cascades into real, measurable change. Don’t allow the magnitude of the task in front of you to overwhelm you. When it does, plant your feet hard, breathe, and focus on what is under your control first and foremost. You can do this. You just can’t do it alone.

Now, I get it. When it comes down to it, you’re not sure you’re really up to the task. You’re hurt. Badly. Still carrying around that old pain. You think it makes you less than perfect. Less pure. Well, fuck that. You cannot be made less pure by your pain, your experiences, or your lessons. It only shows you who you are- in extremis we are revealed. You were not born to live a life free of pain- You are here to take that pain and learn from it. Open yourself up to the pain. Hiding from it doesn’t work. Your mission is to marry the joy of Heaven with the pain of Hell within yourself in divine ectasy. That is the true alchemy, the great work. Once you can accept both and own them within yourself, the truth of what you really are, you become the living philosophers stone that can change anything you touch.

Listen, you all love posting memes about how you are the ones who bring the light into the darkness or whatnot, but since you have been indolent, the darkness has crept in and overwhelmed you. It’s not entirely your fault that it’s here now, because its always been around, growing in strength and influence, but now it’s your turn to take up the mantle and deal with it. Put up, shut up, and show us what you can do. Take responsibility- its a form of power, of control over your own life. Your task is not to transcend the mundane in some glowy cloud of space dust and unicorns- your responsibility is to envision a greater world and then put in the work to create it.

True character is revealed in the choices a human being makes under pressure – the greater the pressure, the deeper the revelation, the truer the choice to the character’s essential nature.” – Robert McKee

Effective Dates: February 10-April 29, 2017

Helios’ Astrological Angle on Ceres in Taurus- Breathe. You made it through Ceres in Aries. Breathe again. Why do I keep telling you to breathe? Because you don’t want to anymore- you’re more likely than ever to give up on the path and the process right now. I’m truly sorry, but you can’t- not just now. There’s still work to be done.

It is a raw and battered people who rise to meet this transit. The last pass of Ceres ripped us to shreds and took everything we held dear from us, yet we still survived, if only barely. We were alone in our suffering, and had to come to terms with what that truly meant. Ceres took and took from you, and scorched the earth so that you were dependent on her mercy, unable to take care of yourself. You just wanted it to stop.

Well now it’s a new day. Now your mission is to restore what was lost, and to replenish your soul. Do not focus on what was taken, let that go- instead find something new to fill the void. Now you must rebuild yourself, with a much stronger, unshakable foundation.

Ceres is so at home in this sign, and it will go far smoother than her romp through Aries. More than anything else, you must practice self-care. Know that you are not truly beholden or obligated to anyone before yourself; Aries took much from us, but left us with that crucial lesson. You are not a slave: quit acting like it. Self-sufficiency is the first step to true freedom. If you take care of yourself first, then you will be in a much better position to help others.

Also- it is high time you were kinder to yourself. You have enough enemies out there, in the world, to be cruel to you; it doesn’t need to come from within as well. No matter how much you may be used to the punishment, maybe even telling yourself that you enjoy it to make it tolerable, it has to stop. You are not expected to be perfect. Stop holding yourself up to an unrealistic standard to avoid any real expectation of success or duty.

Artemis’ Tarot Take on Ceres in Taurus-

Cards:  Queen of Pentacles, 3 of Pentacles, The Hermit

Every death births a new life, and every life is subject to death and decay.  In ancient times, Athenian citizens would set out on a journey once a year to Elysium where they would perform rituals to place them into the mysteries of Demeter (Da Matar, The Mother, aka Ceres).  They would imbibe a drink made of mold found on ergot which possessed a very similar chemical make up to LSD.  During the trip, the Athenians witnessed the kidnapping of Persephone by Pluto (the riches of the earth) and followed the story right down into the underworld…

What did they see?  They saw the great renewal that the earth goes through every year.  No matter how brutal the winter, there is always a spring.  No matter how barren the land, shoots of green manifest from the melted ice once the cycle is ready to do so.  The earth will take anything into it’s gaping maw, and it will pressure cook it until it transforms.  This is the power of the myth of Ceres, Persephone and Pluto, and when Ceres moves into Taurus, the earth mysteries are magnified in your personal life as well.  You may feel like you are being pushed and squeezed into oblivion, but the myth of Ceres teaches us to trust in our ability to transform under this pressure into something far more extravagant than we could have ever become without it.

Some things need to be let go in order for you to continue with your grand master plan.  The Queen of Pentacles is sometimes symbolically associated with the bear.  And what does a bear do before the winter?  It stocks up the things that it needs and removes itself from the death that will soon surround it.  We have the 3 of Pentacles surrounded by two cards that essentially read “hibernate” to me.  One is asking me to tell you to care for your body, the other is asking me to care for your mind.  But you must hike up into the mountains with full faith in your plan in order to receive the benefits of this hibernation.

Sometimes we must remove ourselves and dive into deep contemplation in order to emerge later on with the knowledge we need in order to continue with our plans.  Ceres in Taurus is telling me to gather your resources during this time – and this includes the resources of the mind – and dive into deep contemplative study over the things which attach themselves to your goals.  This will be your chance to stock up before the snow melts into the earth, producing flowers and vegetation.

Persephone must descend into the earth to shed all of her masks before she rises as a Queen in the spring.  You must follow a similar formula.  Even though you may feel as if you are being dragged down into the center of hell by whatever it is that you may be going through, this transit is attempting to remind us that it is necessary to be broken down in order to see exactly what you are made of – and exactly what you REALLY NEED and what is actually just extra holding you to old ways of thinking holding you back from helping yourself thrive.