Mercury and Venus are moving through squares to Saturn right now…
Here’s what to watch for:
* Doubt, uncertainty, skepticism, hesitancy
* Criticism, careful or methodical thinking, harshness
* The need or desire to slow down, to backtrack or to reconsider
* Meeting an impasse in negotiating or seeing a red flag that makes you stop and wonder whether or not you’re making the right choice
* Punitive or judgmental language
* Mental blocks
* Getting caught up in self-doubt, negative self-talk, or rigid thinking
* Unable to recognize the forest from the trees
* Disciplined, committed thinking
* A declaration of intent
* Careful investigation
* Research methodologies
Add Venus to the mix:
* Criticism in relationships
* Older/fierce women
* The way that austerity sometimes hardens the heart
* Principles and how they open or close avenues of communication and open exchange
* Struggling to be kind and principled at once
* Women in authority, women being kept or blocked from positions of authority
* The conflicting interests of egos, and traditional authority figures, structures, etc.
* Hasty or impulsive relationship commitments
* Doubting the choice to love or enter into a deeper relationship with someone or something
* Beauty and ugliness…beauty, of some kind, as a necessary component of what makes something worth committing to
* Clashes of value or principle within organizations or traditions
As we are growing in our spiritual life we will always come to periods of doubt, conflict, and uncertainty. During these times there are a few daring things we might try to remember:
* When in doubt, we can be honest with ourselves about it. We don’t have to be in a hurry to try and solve or resolve our doubts
* When we are in doubt it’s often because we are moving into concern for our ego’s position or stake in the matter rather than focusing on the ego’s role as a temporary servant
* When we are in doubt it’s often because we aren’t remembering our practices…
* Doubt is a natural part of the deepening of real intimacy…if we had perfect, real intimacy with God all the time, there would be no need for practice…faith-based practices from all around the world are rooted in the recognition that faith takes practice specifically because the tendency of the mind is to stay stuck in self-interest, whose natural bi-product is doubt
* When we learn how to work through doubts in spiritual life, it becomes easier to work through them with greater intelligence and heart in all different areas of life…
Venus and Mercury in Aries square to Saturn in Capricorn may tempt us to put principles or self-interest above tenderness and heart-centered devotion. It’s so easy to interpret anything and everything as an offense these days. We therefore frequently miss opportunities to grow or opportunities to receive correction or instruction from our experiences. It’s also very easy to be so committed to our ideas or the righteousness of our personal position or history that we fail to see the person or situation before us as divine…a blessing, a message, a gift.
Prayer: May we learn to see our doubts and fears as gifts, holy invitations to return to faithful devotion. Fill us with trust that everything comes from and returns to you, even our doubts. Give us ears to listen. And may we learn to see one another, beyond the intensity of our temporary strongholds.
Here’s what to watch for:
* Doubt, uncertainty, skepticism, hesitancy
* Criticism, careful or methodical thinking, harshness
* The need or desire to slow down, to backtrack or to reconsider
* Meeting an impasse in negotiating or seeing a red flag that makes you stop and wonder whether or not you’re making the right choice
* Punitive or judgmental language
* Mental blocks
* Getting caught up in self-doubt, negative self-talk, or rigid thinking
* Unable to recognize the forest from the trees
* Disciplined, committed thinking
* A declaration of intent
* Careful investigation
* Research methodologies
Add Venus to the mix:
* Criticism in relationships
* Older/fierce women
* The way that austerity sometimes hardens the heart
* Principles and how they open or close avenues of communication and open exchange
* Struggling to be kind and principled at once
* Women in authority, women being kept or blocked from positions of authority
* The conflicting interests of egos, and traditional authority figures, structures, etc.
* Hasty or impulsive relationship commitments
* Doubting the choice to love or enter into a deeper relationship with someone or something
* Beauty and ugliness…beauty, of some kind, as a necessary component of what makes something worth committing to
* Clashes of value or principle within organizations or traditions
As we are growing in our spiritual life we will always come to periods of doubt, conflict, and uncertainty. During these times there are a few daring things we might try to remember:
* When in doubt, we can be honest with ourselves about it. We don’t have to be in a hurry to try and solve or resolve our doubts
* When we are in doubt it’s often because we are moving into concern for our ego’s position or stake in the matter rather than focusing on the ego’s role as a temporary servant
* When we are in doubt it’s often because we aren’t remembering our practices…
* Doubt is a natural part of the deepening of real intimacy…if we had perfect, real intimacy with God all the time, there would be no need for practice…faith-based practices from all around the world are rooted in the recognition that faith takes practice specifically because the tendency of the mind is to stay stuck in self-interest, whose natural bi-product is doubt
* When we learn how to work through doubts in spiritual life, it becomes easier to work through them with greater intelligence and heart in all different areas of life…
Venus and Mercury in Aries square to Saturn in Capricorn may tempt us to put principles or self-interest above tenderness and heart-centered devotion. It’s so easy to interpret anything and everything as an offense these days. We therefore frequently miss opportunities to grow or opportunities to receive correction or instruction from our experiences. It’s also very easy to be so committed to our ideas or the righteousness of our personal position or history that we fail to see the person or situation before us as divine…a blessing, a message, a gift.
Prayer: May we learn to see our doubts and fears as gifts, holy invitations to return to faithful devotion. Fill us with trust that everything comes from and returns to you, even our doubts. Give us ears to listen. And may we learn to see one another, beyond the intensity of our temporary strongholds.
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