What do you do when you see a stressful transit coming and you just...

[BlueIris]

...want to run away? Today and tomorrow's forecasts for me look terrible (Moon square Mars, Venus square Pluto, then on Wednesday, moon opp Chiron, moon opp Venus, Sun square Chiron). I just--don't need that awfulness at the moment, thank you. Do you run and hide under your bed (assuming that's an option)? Something else? And please, no one tell me about the "opportunities for growth," I know that stressful transits are opportunities for growth, I just don't feel like suffering anymore to make that growth happen.

[DemExpat]

1. I take a break from Astrology at times when I feel I am

very fixated on it and it isn't working for me as an inspiration and positive tool.

So, I would "ignore" all forecasts for a few days (or longer!) and just deal with how I experience a day.

Just my take on being upset or overwhelmed and adding negative forecasts to this....I use Astrology as a tool to help me understand and move forward - using it basically as a psychological/spiritual profile of myself and my loved ones - so whenever I feel it is adding to my distress, I move away.


:hug:

DemEx

[LaurenG]

2. I'm with Dem ex

Don't read them for a while. I got myself all worked up over one of the transits yet to come for me. I finally just figured if it's going to come down that way there is nothing I can do about it. Besides it lasts over a year and I certainly don't need to waste my energy worrying especially if I can't do a thing to change it. Look at this. :cry:

Saturn conjunction Jupiter: Weather forecast

End of August 2006 until beginning of June 2007: This influence can represent different things to different people. It can be an opportunity for very careful sustained growth through patient endeavor. Or it can be a period of extreme restlessness and impatience.

During this time you may expect any of the following: a change of job or residence; a change in financial status, often for the worse; withdrawal from others in order to work; fondness for solitude; industry and perseverance.

Two attributes probably determine which kind of effect you will experience. First of all, if you are disciplined and persevering you will react with patience to the energies of this influence.

But even more important is your attitude toward the areas of your life that this influence may affect. You will persevere with the areas of your life that you are contented with, and you will work even harder on them than otherwise. In those areas of your life that seem oppressive you will experience tension and the desire to rebel against limitations.

It is difficult to say whether you are justified in being impatient with the areas of restriction in your life. Certainly you are more than justified in trying to improve your life. You will have to decide whether to cut off some element or build it up to a higher level. Either response may be appropriate.

[BlueIris]

5. I am definitely considering cessation of DAU. (Daily Astrology Use.)

For a million reasons, not the least of which is the fact that about half the time, it does me about as much harm as good to anticipate all of the "changes" coming my way.

[sofedup]

8. it might be best

to stop looking at your transits until you are feeling less stressed emotionally. Keep in mind that you experience those same Moon transits every month.

[BlueIris]

11. Yeah, that's a good point.

Because I know that they happen every month, but I did get overly freaked when fearing that today and tomorrow would be especially bad days, and lo and behold, the moon was doing yucky things with Mars, Venus, Chiron, etc. I think that falls under the psychotherapuetic category of self-fulfilling prophecy, though. Maybe with a little bit of unconscious self-sabotage thrown in.

[Dora]

3. Can you give yourself some time?

I don't pay attention to my astrological state of affairs, not much beyond daily horoscopes and the occasional plea to our experts for a glimpse of the bigger picture. I offer these suggestions to you as a way to break up the drudgery of dread.

Remove yourself from the familiar, if only for an hour. Variety is the spice of life.

Take a walk someplace you've never been. Buy a new cd and listen to it, beginning to end. Try a new recipe. Make a facial masque out of oatmeal and clay and geranium oil - startle a roommate or a housepet :). Buy some clay or make some salt dough and sculpt beads or a self-portrait or a silly ashtray. Lie down on the ground, be still, and let the earth carry your weight for twenty minutes.

:hug:

[BlueIris]

6. Yeah, I think I will go out later. Holing up in my room for a while

so that I could not be snarled at by the Psychotic Roommates has really helped.

[Crowdance]

4. Sometimes surrender is the only option.

I, too, am going through a rough astrological time. The only thing I can do some days is to surrender to it, reminding myself that the true "me" is not the one suffering these things, but the soul that is gaining knowledge and power through these small deaths. They are like deaths to me, because I see them as events calling me to sacrifice who or what I am for who or what I can become. I try to put my consciousness in the place of the one that I also am who is witnessing these things; it's hard, especially when the events are painful, to get myself there. And I have to struggle to get even tiny moments of surrender/relief. In those brief moments I do feel some sort of peace, and that gives me hope that on the other side of this astrological cycle is some more substantial peace.


A little trick to help with this shift of perspective: In a room of your house, define a spot as the "you" who is suffering. Set a timer for 5 minutes. Sit in that spot. REALLY feel your suffering. When the timer goes off, find another spot in the room. Sit in it. Don't set the timer. Imagine you can see the suffering you sitting in that spot across the room. What do you see? What do you hear? What do you feel watching this person's suffering. Notice your own feelings as you watch this person's suffering. Now notice if you, yourself, are still suffering. I usually find that I've been able to stop my own pain by being curious and compassionate about the "other's" pain. Also notice, perhaps, that time has gone by at a different pace than when you sat in your suffering spot, and gently examine what that might mean to you. I hope this helps.

[BlueIris]

7. Thanks, Crowdance. That really helped.

That's a good tip. Especially because my favorite technique for getting "time out" from the stress isn't working. It's a trick I learned from, of all people, Tonya Harding--I count the number of problems I have on the fingers of one hand, I touch that hand someplace and imagine myself leaving the problems in that space, vowing to pick them up again when there's a better time to do that. It usually works just fine, but when it's crunch time...sometimes, not so much. So it's good I have your "different spot" thing to focus on.

[Crowdance]

9. I'm so glad it helped, Blue Iris.

You help so many here with your love and your words, it gratifies me to help you this time. :hug:

I do have to say "Tonya Harding"--who'da thunk it?! Goes to show that I don't know half as much as I think I know.

[BlueIris]

10. Thanks, everyone. I...take back what I posted about suffering and growth.

I think I understand what the Universe is trying to tell me here a lot better now. Know what I don't give a shit about feel victimized by anymore, at least not obsessively so? My abusive ex, my old abusive friends, and my self-abusing lifestyle choices in the past. Recently, I've had (as some here may have noticed) a flare-up or two of anger about those traumas, some of which were sort of self-inflicted, some...not so much, anger I thought I'd safely purged last fall, this spring, this June. Especially during that awesome time when all of my chakras were clear and activated. That was a blast. And a huge step forward, I felt. I have no idea really, why the rage was back. It was weird to suddenly be in a place where I just could not see anything except my pain about the opportunities that the abuse took away from me, even when I would try to make my rational brain communicate to my emotional brain that obsessing about the pain at this time was putting every new opportunity I wanted to create for myself at risk.

This morning, when my fears of losing everything, for real, even my beautiful, beautiful novel, were staring straight at me--I realized that this doesn't have anything to do with that. Nor should it, after all the work I've done to get past self-limiting obsession with that--which I can't undo, get even for, even the scales up after, etc. I was finally able to do that last little bit of re-processing and recognize that my rage about the past is actually easy to let go of if I focus on the threat it poses to my book and my current attempts to move forward. I'm still not entirely sure what "triggered" the last bout of hostility, but I'm not sure that question is worth fixating over. I just hope this recent "ah-hah!" moment "takes." :-)

[Crowdance]

13. Excellent work!

It doesn't matter what triggered it--you got the work done! I'm feeling great gratitude for the result of your brave effort.

:toast:

[lildreamer316]

12. I'm sending you some loving energy.

Try to be as positive as you can. I know that can be challenging; but I trust you can do it.

[u4ic]

14. The inner planet transits don't concern me

and so far, I've got a couple major outer transits that are causing a lot of stress. T Saturn (conjunct N Venus), square T Jupiter (conjunct N Neptune), and opposing N Neptune.

T Uranus is also opposite itself in my chart (4 degrees), and within a couple of years, T Saturn will be opposite N Saturn. So I'll have both Uranus and Saturn opposite each other. The real kicker? They're in opposition natally, at either end of my 6th/12th kite. :crazy:

Now that...concerns me. I'm also learning a lot, especially from the former, and know it's in my best interest for this growth. There are lessons to learn, how they will manifest may be more difficult to predict.

I agree with everyone else saying to take a break. I've had to do that, and sometimes for years. When I look day to day, I start to realize (for myself) that I'm not focused on the present, and being in the moment. I also realize that for me, it's anxiety provoking, and that's when I know to just let things go.

Take care, BlueIris. :hug:

[SeattleGirl]

15. Hey BlueIris, I think the idea of just getting away from astrology,

or at least some parts of it, for a few day i probably a good idea. You sound somewhat similar to me, in that you can fixate (for lack of a better word) on a part or parts of something, and that fixation can interfere with the everyday task of living.

Sending you good thoughts for this time; as well as some calming ones. :hug:

[BlueIris]

16. Lesson learned. Today was great. nt