Find Your Freedom

Posted by Amanda Painter

New growth on a Balsam fir; photo by Amanda Painter.

This week, the astrology points us toward a question of freedom (particularly with Jupiter opposite Uranus-Eris), as we prepare for Venus to station retrograde. Yet Amanda Painter suggests it does so with a clear emphasis on how free you feel within your own self.

By Amanda Painter

People define ‘freedom’ many different ways: as adult independence; as the liberty granted by a democracy; as a lack of responsibilities and obligations; as sexual openness; as having a choice, and so on. Yet none of those definitions means much if you are not free within your own mind — to think, feel, decide, fantasize, question, grow and love in the ways that are most true for you.

New growth on a Balsam fir; photo by Amanda Painter.

New growth on a Balsam fir; photo by Amanda Painter.

This week, the astrology points us toward a question of freedom; yet it does so with a clear emphasis on how free you feel within your own self.

Today, retrograde Jupiter opposes Uranus (and Eris) in Aries (exact at 8:15 pm EST / 1:15 UTC Friday). Generally speaking, Jupiter-Uranus oppositions are about independence, determination and a desire to release oneself from obligations or restrictions. The signs Aries and Libra emphasize the theme of ‘an individual in a relationship’.

One basic interpretation would be to notice where in your relationships you’re chafing to break away. Or, in projected form, to notice if any of your partners (romantic, business or other) seem to be pushing away or looking for a soft way out of some part of your agreement. Dragging your heels on making a decision could be a clue that you’re having trouble being forthright with yourself about the extra wiggle room you truly want or need.

Yet it’s worth noting that Jupiter is retrograde. This is one of the factors that underscores the idea of “freedom within your own self.” Retrograde planets often signal a phase of review or looking inward. How freely do you acknowledge to yourself your own urges to break away? How often and how strongly does guilt, or a fear of letting others down, overshadow your need to renegotiate duties to liberate some of your time or creative energy?

That Jupiter is opposite the Uranus-Eris conjunction in Aries brings in the question of digital technology. Do you feel a need to take a break from Facebook, Twitter and so on?

In the relatively short time of social media’s existence (and that of the smartphone), people’s lives have become overwhelmingly dictated by a sense of online ‘duty’. You owe it to your career to network and position your ‘brand’; you owe it to your political or activist communities to stay abreast of issues, share articles, sign petitions and argue with oppositional friends-of-friends; you owe it to everyone you’re connected with to send a greeting on their birthday (even if you’ve never met them in person); you owe it to your own Fear of Missing Out to click on the latest event posting; you owe it to your friends and your own ego to post continual photos of your fabulous vacation, with witty captions, in real time.

Or do you?

There has always been peer pressure. There have always been social codes of conduct and ‘consequences’ for ignoring or breaking them (sometimes serious; more often easily disregarded if one’s self-esteem is healthy). But never before has social engagement been such a 24-7 mandate; never before has it been expected even when one is not in the flesh-and-blood company of others.

Don’t be surprised if today’s Jupiter-Uranus opposition feels like a wake-up call to release yourself from some of these technologically imposed ‘obligations’. Remember that if you crave contact and affirmation from others, there are many other ways to achieve that; ways that will leave you feeling alive and refreshed, rather than drained and stressed out. Perhaps it’s not that you need to break away from any valued relationships but rather that you need to break out of the proscribed online formats to which they’ve been unconsciously relegated.

You might also take a cue from both the Sun (consciousness) and Mercury (intellect) making conjunctions to Neptune in Pisces this week. How free are you in your imagination — both in terms of your creativity and your erotic fantasies?

I ask partly because this is the atmosphere in which Venus will be stationing retrograde in Aries on Saturday at 4:09 am EST (9:09 UTC). Venus will then backtrack into Pisces. On April 15, it will station direct in a conjunction to Chiron, a centaur planet associated with healing.

Eric has been discussing this Venus retrograde journey for months now, including in this week’s Planet Waves FM broadcast, and in the sign-by-sign readings of the 2017 annual edition from Planet Waves, called The Book of Your Life. Of particular note are the ideas that this Venus retrograde indicates “an introspective experience of questioning what you typically project to the world” in Aries; and that in Pisces, “We’re talking about sexual healing with this arrangement,” as Eric phrased it in a December 2016 article.

I see this week’s prevalent astrology as opening up this topic of ‘freedom’ to help you find the space within your life and within your psyche to take this trip with Venus. In a beautiful synchronicity, when Venus stations retrograde, it will be exactly one sign away from the asteroid Memoria in Taurus — one of the signs Venus rules.

In this position, Memoria seems to suggest that beginning on March 4, you’re kicking off a journey to remember what you value — specifically, to remember the tremendous worth inherent in your body, your senses, your voice and your erotic energy, and how intricately your emotions are connected with those things. These facets of yourself — though they may be in need of healing — are essential resources. It’s up to you to grant yourself the freedom to claim them.

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5 thoughts on “Find Your Freedom

  1. Michael MayesMichael Mayes

    This is interesting, because tonight I communicated for the first time via ‘Marco Polo’, a video texting app. It as you say, leaves me “feeling alive and refreshed, rather than drained and stressed out”. Perhaps that has a lot to do with the person I’m communicating with, combined with how fulfilled I feel inside, but nevertheless I am digging it. It’s interactive, fun, and a refreshing break from texting.
    Luckily, I’ve always been able to resist succumbing to the demands of facebook, which is to say more often than not I am genuine about what I like, comment on, who I wish happy birthday to. Yes, I’m guilty of wishing people happy birthday that wished me the same, but for the most part I’m blessed to not feel that social pressure too strongly. But I can see how it would be a slippery slope for some people.
    That said, I can speak there being more intention and action oriented on ‘freedom’ in my relationships by way of putting myself all the way out there for partners to see. This is to say being clear about my intentions, my thoughts, my feelings, and what I need from them. That’s giving myself the freedom to be who I am, while respecting, honoring, and holding space for them to be as well. So, in essence giving them freedom. The responses I get are so authentic, and genuine. I get such a kick out of seeing people open up, and be themselves, laugh hard & loud. I witnessed that tonight, it never gets old.

  2. Glen Young

    Was stuck by the subtle feeling of healing your (extremely beautiful) photo of the plant kingdom provided, which is ruled by Neptune; as is (the tool of) photography. In the next kingdom over to the plants, the third, I saw turtles swimming in a pond after the record breaking temperature that brought March in. But now its freezing again, as global warming is causing confusing for life at its most elemental levels. Would like to break out the steel horse, as there’s a feeling of a sense of freedom when riding on one; patience is always needed/necessary. Although people have been doing so since January, in search of this freedom feeling; I suppose. The sexual healing from Eric’s Mars in Pisces, PW/FM (therapy sessions) is radically different for the Mars in Scorpio woman who unintentionally help me. No doubt due to the different levels in consciousness along the theme of projection, as difficult subject he took head on. Thanks for the soul food!

    1. Amanda PainterAmanda Painter Post author

      Glenn Young — I’m truly grateful to know that something like a subtle photo of a tree shoot can offer a feeling of healing. It certainly spoke to me as I was looking for an image to accompany this piece; something about how all most of us really want is the freedom to allow whatever growth urge is within us to emerge and develop.

      And yes, the sudden snap of cold has been a shock to the system!

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