Butterfly Metamorphosis
We are knee deep in transformation with Pluto, Saturn, Jupiter, Venus, and Pallas Athene retrograde, meanwhile sandwiched post a Sagittarius Lunar Eclipse with two eclipses coming late June and July. Mercury is well into the shadow of retrograde, stationing retro next Thursday. Another major frequency today is Mars conjunct Neptune in Pisces. This is our instinct, how we take action merging with the spiritual realms of the high heart. This aspect can be dreamy and offer an ability to tap into unseen otherworldly realms. At it's worst, this conjunction could bring about disillusioned action, coming from a blind sighted view, acting rash or being completed diverted by false dreams with rose colored glasses on.
As a 29th degree Gemini in the midst of a Venus return and soon to be Solar Return, I have been feeling this retrograde and eclipse season in every single aspect of my life. It has required me to put all of my tools into full practice, which honestly is the name of the game in 2020. This is the year where the rubber meets the road. We draw down cosmic energy to anchor fresh, imaginative solutions to the outworn, age old cycles that are crumbling before our very eyes. Astrologically we are in the midst of closing out cycles upon cycles in 2020, some that literally stretch back to the beginning of the patriarchy.
In episode two of my podcast I spoke about butterfly medicine and this Gemini season. Gemini energy is twin flame union within one sovereign being. This is where two merge, the divine feminine and the divine masculine, and within that merging the dark and the light are fully integrated. In the tarot Gemini is represented by the lovers card, and there is something particularly Venusian about an integrated Gemini. One of the archetypes of Gemini is the Butterfly.
As Ted Andrews wrote in Medicine Speak, the butterfly symbolizes transmutation, the dance of joy, the ability to shapeshift, to dance into the realm of the Fae. The butterfly represents the process of metamorphosis, which has four distinct phases, which could even be attributed to the four cardinal points on the Wheel of Time, the Wheel of Life:
Egg (the fertilization process where we give birth to an idea, much like the season of Winter Solstice)
Larva (egg becomes the caterpillar, there is a strengthening of the intention, solidifying the foundation, a shaping of the clay, much like the season of Spring Equinox)
Chrysalis (a cocoon is woven around itself by the caterpillar, mummy like pupa forms, even though it seems life has come to a standstill, we become passive in the creative process, and from here a new light is birthed, like Summer Solstice)
4. Winged insect (the journey of going within to birth anew, wings represent the flight of the dream, much like fall equinox)
Each phase of this journey emphasizes the beauty of the process, versus a fixation on an arrival point, which is particularly Venusian, as the process is the art.
I'm looking forward to sharing episode 4 of my biweekly podcast with you next Venus Day. Until then, I invite you to reflect upon which phase of metamorphosis you are currently in the midst of. And if you haven't had a listen to my podcast, please do, share with your friends and family, and leave a review on itunes. To all my patrons on patreon, thank you so much for your patience as I settle from my move! I will be uploading new content within the coming days.