By Amanda Moreno

It seems like talk of releasing is coming at us from all angles these days. The astrology points to major opportunities for letting go, and it seems that so many people I come across are having the experience of feeling like they’re entering an entirely new way of being. I know that has been the case for me.

There are times when being aware of astrological transits and the opportunities for growth that they imply can result in feeling a lot of pressure, especially for those of us who are really trying to engage our internal processes. Hell, it’s a lot of pressure for those of us who aren’t.

Do we need to be consciously aware of what we’re letting go of? That might be ideal in that consciousness is perhaps what helps us to hone and refine the intention and vice versa. But right now it seems like the opportunities to let go, release and heal are hurtling our direction so quickly that it almost seems impossible to take conscious advantage of all of it.

I love astrology as a tool for expanding consciousness. Sometimes it just reflects a clusterfuck of paradox, though.

I keep seeing the theme of fate vs. free will popping up, especially in the astrological community. If it’s all fated, is it even possible to make the wrong decision? Isn’t failure part of the plan? Or perhaps it’s more along the lines of…fatedness in terms of spiritual and emotional trends, and free will to react to them.

I had to laugh when I read some astrologer’s commentary that those individuals who are ‘more spiritually evolved’ don’t face the same crisis and catastrophe faced by those individuals who aren’t. That kind of black-and-white thinking pretty much makes me insane — or at least it would if I spent much time on it. I don’t see evolution as acting in an inherently positive progression, for one thing. Things don’t always evolve for the better. Take, for example, a toxic environment in which species evolve into things that live underground. Is that a positive outcome? What about those we would deem “spiritually evolved,” such as the Dalai Lama. He’s certainly experienced his share of crisis.

Isn’t consciousness the critical key in evolving in a “positive” way? Addressing the issues that lead to the toxic environment with consciousness and awareness of the biological realities of evolution so that we don’t end up living underground? Or understanding that Saturn isn’t some big dude in some other realm who really wants to shove your face in your mistakes when you inevitably make them, but rather a force for constructive change and opportunity to take responsibility in order to experience reward.

Bringing consciousness to our lives can be tricky. Astrology is so helpful for consciously engaging our lives, but it sometimes amplifies experiences and reactions for good or bad. It can make things really complicated. I was reading Rudhyar’s Astrology and the Modern Psyche the other day. I have to quote:

We are dealing with the fact that the concentrated and eager study of one’s chart … is bound to force the potentialities of the individual life into more complete actualization; thus to identify the so-called ‘evil’ as well as the so-called ‘good’ in the individual personality. And, as human beings are usually more struck by and respond more crucially to the ‘bad’ than to the ‘good,’ if a person strives after self-knowledge by studying his birth chart with an intense belief in the validity of astrology, this study very often leads to an intensification of Karmic confrontations.

Ah, yes. Once again the attempt to bring consciousness proves potentially complicated. I’m so very into the idea that astrology is uniquely poised to help us transition into a more sustainable way of being because it creates a cosmological framework in which the individual can orient themselves within a tribe of other individuals. It’s so very Age of Aquarius in that way. But I sometimes think it should come with a disclaimer because, as helpful as it is, it can also be really complicated.

As modalities like astrology help us to expand our conscious awareness, they also help us to know or expand or reveal the faces of the gods and how they are reflected in our lives. In that sense, it’s incredible to ponder the philosophical (and practical) implications of the thousands of newly named objects in the past hundred years or so. They represent so many more opportunities for conscious engagement with parts of ourselves.

But it’s important also to keep things focused enough to be manageable. It’s okay not to ‘know’ everything. Which brings me back to the beginning, and the letting go. At this point, I’ve done so much releasing ritual this year that I’m more interested in resting and in celebrating and filling up all that space with as much joy and love as possible.

I looked at my chart earlier this week and saw some more transits, exact as of this writing today (Thursday) that could be paving the way for more healing and letting go. I think I just decided, however, that instead of crafting another ritual or meditation to facilitate the “letting go” of some things related to those parts of my chart, I am instead going to consciously use some free will and let go of doing more ritual for now.

In fact, I think I’m going to go home and watch something mindless. Because that’s what I want to do, having come through another season of intensity and finally returning to my more lighthearted and joyful persona. And because part of my path forward, as indicated by my chart, is taking the initiative to do what I want. Perhaps I will take a few moments to light a candle and reflect on what I’ve learned about these transits first, just to acknowledge them.

Conscious use of astrology? Free will? Fate? I know not. But I’m happy to get to experiment with it.