If you're not confused, you're not learning

The American Dream: An oasis for the few, a mirage for the many

I’ve been thinking a lot about the current transformation of our world and our lives, collectively and individually. The pattern I’m noticing about this moment is that we are experiencing a drastic shift in our belief systems, not only as individuals but as societies. The faith in our structures is deteriorating. For many Americans, the once held notion that we are safe by living in the “most powerful nation on Earth” is crumbling. Yet let’s understand that this idea of “safeness” in this country has been understood as truth to those with privilege, and as an illusion to those who are oppressed. Immigrants, trans people, people with disabilities, the unhoused, the poor, Indigenous communities — the list goes on. These are the people that have known for centuries that The American Dream only exists because they are its pawns. They are who the system can oppress so that people like Elon Musk and Donald Trump can thrive. But it’s not just the overtly evil ones. It’s also the Nancy Pelosi’s and the outdated Democratic leadership who are equally as concerned with building personal wealth and holding onto power, rather than figuring out ways to evenly distribute said wealth and power. They are mainly concerned with preserving the system without actually understanding that the system itself is not working for everyday people. This is why the Democrats have been failing to meet this moment and why I believe that the “progressive” ideologies of Bernie and AOC are about to take hold of a larger part of the population than ever before. The American Dream is just that, a dream.

In my last newsletter, I wrote about the planet Neptune changing signs from Pisces into Aries. As a reminder, this happens every 14 years and symbolizes shifts in the collective ideal of what is possible. Neptune changing signs shifts the image of what our reality appears to be. Right after this transit occurred in the sky, the president announced his tariffs, which shifted everyone’s state of consciousness into a new reality. When Saturn, the planet that symbolizes ideas taking on form through time, also enters Aries at the end of May, I believe that we will begin to see more concrete manifestations of the administration’s ideal. Saturn can impose a sense of restriction, and in the sign of Aries, that can be through sheer force by a concentration of power. Detention centers for migrants, taking away people’s rights without due process, and the actual consequences of American’s losing their wealth from the tariffs are a few things I see solidifying into place over the next two months.

However, we must remember that we contain multitudes and that two opposing forces can both be true in the same moment. As the power of the governing regime grows, so too does the resistance. I believe that by the end of May and early June, we will begin to see clear leaders of the opposition rise up into more powerful positions of influence. Their ideas for how to fight back will begin to fully resonate in the masses. Saturn’s transits in the sky bring ideas into form.

The personal is political

Don’t be upset that I brought politics into my personal newsletter, although I’m sure most of you aren’t. If you are, look inward and ask yourself what you’re avoiding. Fear? Loss of control? Stop holding on so tight to your ideals. You can’t make sense of things or learn to work with reality if you can’t embrace the discomfort of it. We adapt and we grow, that’s our nature. Your identity in the world is inherently political because we are each a projection of something to others — a projection of an ideal, someone with a desirable life, or that of inferiority or that which is unacceptable. We project these hierarchical structures onto our concepts of others because that is how we are conditioned to be. If you can see this, you can break the pattern within yourself.

Faith merging with form

Stop holding on so tight to your ideals — let’s get into that a little more. If what we put our faith in is what becomes our truth, and we as humans are living and evolving, what happens if our faith doesn’t evolve with us? What if you don’t change your beliefs as time goes on?

March and April brought us tests to our relationships, habits, and things we love. What relationship of yours met a limit? What self sabotaging behavior were you confronted with? What was keeping you out of balance? Sometimes we become so comfortable in how things are that we become blind to the ways they aren’t serving our highest good. With a lot of this planetary action happening in Pisces, the way many of us began to see again has been through confusion. Something isn’t right here but I can’t figure it out. Why is this happening to me? Why don’t they see what I see? What did I do wrong? Why isn’t my heart in it anymore? I remember my fifth grade teacher once saying, “if you’re not confused, you’re not learning.” Where have you been met with confusion and what is it teaching you?

If you can get to the bottom of this, then you can use it to evolve your faith. I’m not speaking of religious faith, but a faith in yourself, your ideas, your path, and your destiny. Your belief systems, whatever they may be, should be malleable and adaptive. Life’s trials and tribulations are meant to constantly give new form to what we believe in. Many of us get the feeling of being stuck in life because we put too much faith in an ideal that doesn’t fit our present life. For example, someone can be bound by shame their whole life and not see it. Shame becomes the internal belief system of the mind. This is how belief goes awry in our lives. We become encased by it, not knowing that we can let it go.

Astrologically, the moment we’re in is emphasizing the need for harmonizing our lives in real, concrete ways. Life probably hasn’t felt all that peaceful lately, but what if our conflicts are actually nudging us to find peace? Did a conflict arise and get resolved in the past month or two? And how do you feel now, a little more evened out? Now incorporate those lessons into your life — daily, weekly, whatever it may be. Harmonize your life and bring balance into your soul, but learn how to do that by incorporating the comfort and discomfort alike. Figure out how you can bring in the power of love, art, music, beauty, and connection to stabilize and nourish you. If it feels difficult to do that, remember than love is an energy that transcends everything and everyone. All that’s required is an open door to let it in.

These Venusian energies connect us to our truth. When we follow desire, we embark on a path of self-knowing. And when we suppress desire, we suppress the self. Our faith in life becomes distorted and can rot from the inside out. Hence, we need periodic reboots of our values, our beliefs, and what we put our faith into. It is only then that we can act in accordance with our true nature.

If any of this resonates with you, I’d love to hear about it. Feel free to hit reply and let me know what’s going on in your life or what you’re making of this moment.

Take care,
~Ry