Swallowing the Bitter Pill of Reality

Sometimes we'll be better off in the long run

Welcome to the week. It’s been wild out there, and my hope is to offer some grounding via a check-in with yourself. I’ve been away on solo retreat at the monastery again (picture of my room below, before all my old journals, books, and cards were spread all over) so I will jump right into the symbols and messages. As usual, what I received as a seer was aligned with the cards I pulled afterward, to further emphasize key messages for our consideration.

Isymbol for the week of 3.31.25:

An acorn falls from an Oak tree and settles on the ground.

And the words:

The individual as part of the whole.

Individual and collective wisdom.

Nature's wisdom as a model.

My interpretation will build on last week’s symbol and message regarding facing any delusions about perfection, and moving forward with the trust that all of the inner work you have done thus far has set the trajectory’s coordinates.

Speaking of delusions, Neptune has just completed its 14 year course through its home sign of Pisces. Now, as Neptune begins its course in the sign of Aries, we will see whether the trajectory we set is toward our ideals, our delusions, or any combination thereof. Don’t worry, we have the free will to make changes, as long as we have the energy to do so, and hopefully the wisdom to bring helpful adjustments.

Neptune reflects the dreams of the collective, and Saturn makes them so. Saturn will follow Neptune into Aries in May, at which time we may begin to see what resulted from the time these planets were close together in Pisces the last couple of years. Saturn will be in a foundational stage over the approximately next decade, in the signs of Aries, Taurus, Gemini, and Cancer.

The transition we are experiencing is reflected by that acorn, which carries the wisdom and trauma of its genetic forbears. We might look at the collective at the present time as an acorn. We, too, carry the imprint of all that came before us, and we, too, must decide how much of that versus our own intelligence we shall rely on. The acorn in the image also reminded me of the James Hillman book, The Soul’s Code, in which the acorn was an analogy for the unique innate purpose held within each individual.

Throughout history the Oak has been symbolic of wisdom, strength, fertility, and rainfall (it stores a vast amount of water). It is also one of the Bach flower essence remedies, for “…strong, steady people who never give up under adversity. They plough on with determination, and never consider resting until they are past the point of exhaustion.” [As an aside, I learned in my herbalism program that Oak is a remedy for alcohol use disorder, a Neptunian malady.]

I dare say many of us feel exhausted these days. Not by the physical world, but the world which is held in our screens and our minds. When I realized a couple years ago that I had a choice: my own sovereign imagination and mind versus the marketed fantasies or half-truths of others.

I started withdrawing my attention from the world of screens and instead decided where I wanted my attention spent. I became reacquainted with my imagination and creativity. Attention is energy, what we give our attention to becomes our reality, and a reality that fits in a 2.5” x 5” screen feels too confining to me.

Back to the message I received…I have also found such profound wisdom in Nature, offers us countless role models.

I spent decades doing endurance running for exercise and escape, but I now see the value in enduring what exists and in slowing down, in being with my doing. Plants and trees are a great model for this. From them, I recognize the wisdom in making small adaptations rather than overreactions. Ironically, slowing down has brought me back to the physical practice of running regularly, not to escape or burn calories, but simply for the enjoyment.

I may write more about these themes in Wednesday’s post, because I find that the Sabian symbol for Neptune at 0° Aries is synchronous with the symbol I received for this week.

Oracle Card Spread for the Week

Card 1. Past/Clarity on last week: Five of Air/Collie Dog (Animal Guides Tarot, by Raleigh Valentine, illustrations by Dan Craig)

This card is equivalent to the V of Swords, and speaks to a battle that cannot be won, and to continue is a waste of energy and may even harm you.

I was on a solo retreat again over the weekend, and one of the realizations while there was that I am still rinsing off the conditioning toward competition, urgency, and scarcity that I was swimming in while in the corporate world.

From the guidebook:

“Collies can signal that you’re caught up in other people’s drama when you’d rather be doing something else. Be careful that you don’t let someone else pick your games (or battles) for you!”

Card 2. Present/Help bridging last week to this week: Shadow (from Healing the Inner Child, by Nina Mongendre, with illustrations by EdieArt).

From the guidebook: “The shadow is an aspect of the personality. A memory, feeling or belief we repress and send into the unconscious… If we ignore the shadow, we will be ignoring the wounded parts and they will manifest themselves through overachieving, survival behaviors, numbing out with food or social media, victimization, lack of meaningful relationships, addictions, etc.”

We are presently seeing the shadow of the unsavory repressed and denied aspects of “the American Dream” play out before our eyes and becoming a nightmare for many.

Personally, I often experience an internal battle between what I believe I ‘should’ be achieving as an solo business owner and what I am ‘worthy’ of receiving, similar to the dogs in the tug of war.

Card 3. Future/Something to look for this week: Obstacle. Find another road. Flexibility. Change. (The Ancient Stones Oracle by Rebecca Campbell, artwork by Katie-Louise).

This passage from the guidebook echoes the Five of Air:

“You can try all you like, but attempting to move something that will not budge is probably a waste of your energy. You’re better off admitting defeat.”

I see this as giving up a battle to win the war sort of energy. Especially with Mercury in retrograde, is there somewhere you may be expending too much energy on technology or communication rather than on creativity or ideating?

For me, I’ll be revisiting my goals and swallowing that reality pill - seeing where additional efforts may be fruitless and I may need to abandon certain paths altogether.

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Wishing you love & peace this week and always,

Maria Luz