Shadow Energetics of Empowerment
Striking a Net Gain to Sustain Feeling Empowered
Empowerment and disempowerment. Are they found on opposite sides of a scale? Or is there a more intricate interplay between these forces in your life?
The energetics of empowerment don’t appear to be simple math. Sometimes a disempowering moment can seem to have more weight than a string of empowering ones. It’s tempting to talk about this from an empowerment vs. disempowerment standpoint. Let’s try using a BOTH, AND framing, which seems more applicable to how life happens.
In reality, on any given day there’s a chance you can feel both empowered and disempowered. There’s a possibility for either one to show up, right? Life is complex. And from a high-level view, there’s something affirmative to say for both these energies. Not that I’m trying to call in more disempowerment. Rather I feel there’s benefit in consciously accepting that disempowerment is part of the process.
Nurturing an Upward Spiral
By disempowerment I’m referring to the dissatisfaction or disapproval that’s resulting in your life. Rejection, frustration, misfortune - these are all parts of life that can feel disempowering. Things that contribute to a downward spiral. Your relationship to these experiences is pivotal to how you continue to flourish. In order to maintain a net gain of levity in life you must engage an upward spiral.
Looking for the upside. Finding the silver linings. These aren’t just proverbial sayings. They’re part of healthy cognitive guidance. The sprinkling of affirmative thinking within the lexicon of your internal dialogue. A disempowering moment can be used to boomerang back into an empowered state of being. Not always, but there's a possibility for it to work that way. You can recognize such instances in retrospect.
It’s possible to plant seeds for the alchemy from disempowerment to occur more seamlessly. I’ve been thinking about this phenomenon and the nuances of empowerment a lot lately. It’s intricately attached to recent commentary around victim mentality and victimhood consciousness. Surely, there can be a larger purpose to all of it, right?
Having these talking points in mind, I see representation within our current astrology. Gleaning the archetypal patterns connected to these aspects and transits. I find the act of reading the stars to be empowering, even when things aren’t aligned. Similarly, there’s empowerment in acknowledging hardships in life, and moving through it. The personal experiences of being victimized, although negative, can be very powerful for delineating the optimal path going forward.
Activation of a Reset
Your ability to create is powerful. Your generative ability to direct your thoughts and apply different framings around your experiences. Use your ability to notice if there’s any attachment to suffering. Notice how you’re vocalizing your story. There you can find the cues of how you're thinking pessimistically about your experiences (which lends to a downward spiral).
Let’s break this down. There’s a disempowering event. This event affects you. Your disempowerment can be a defining moment in your life. It’s okay to honor it as a defining moment. But you want to ask yourself if that must be the thing that defines who you are. You are so much more than that. Be careful about tethering yourself to a negative identity construct.
Labeling oneself and over-identification with what ails you, will continue to disempower you. What if your experience was meant to be an initiation. An invitation to the next version of who you’re meant to be in the world. Continually evolving, resetting oneself in response to these profound activations. Building awareness from the disempowering experience. To learn about oneself and enact more self-care. Shaping your personal discipline on how you’re going to navigate your life.
When the Stars Remind Us
Let’s look at the current astrology to see how the empowerment/ victimhood dynamic is represented. Currently there are a few aspects that draw attention to this dynamic. Aspects like having a full moon in Virgo (plus eclipse). There’s also Mars recently coming out of retrograde in Cancer, along with the Sun/Saturn conjunction in Pisces. Each of these aspects could have significance when relating to your sense of empowerment. As these aspects occur in our sky, you can look to them as framework and symbolism for what you’re meant to focus on right now.
As I spoke about in my previous solocast, the Sun/Saturn conjunction is happening in Pisces. This will signify a figurative “death” of something you’re needing to let go of. Rather than falling into disempowerment from this process, it’s a chance to illuminate a big life lesson learned. It’s empowering for you to experience the full letting go of cycle that’s run its course. You’re allowing for the creation of a new archetypal agenda to take shape.
Another representation of empowerment relates to Mars and how your power is currently being welded. With having Mars just come out of retrograde, while still in Cancer, you can easily be questioning where your power has gone. Remain patient as Mars continues to go direct. You’ll feel into the momentum you’ve been craving. Soon enough Mars will be in Aries, and your power will likely feel more aligned. These aspects are reminders that phases of stagnation are temporary.
Give it Away to the Moon
Sure, the moon may not torch as fiercely as the sun, but don’t undermine the role it can play. When there’s a full moon, it brings light to the shadows. When there’s something bubbling up within you and it seems like it’s better to let it go, I say give it to the moon. At the very least you can give your worry or unwanted rumination over to the moon. Treat it like a particle vacuum. A diffuse light dissipating some of your stagnation.
Just like the full moon can be great for harvesting your previous new moon intentions, it can also be a great depository for getting rid of what’s no longer needed. Particularly with this Virgo full moon, there’s a big emphasis on letting go. If you're vulnerable to reflexive emotion, the eclipse doesn’t nullify this. The eclipse informs you on how to handle it. Refrain from acting on impulses and being reactive. Instead, reflect on the triggers. With these insights, see how you can assist your deliberate resetting. Acknowledge your shadow sides without getting consumed by them.
Use this time to let go of old patterns, releasing the negative emotions surrounding them. Virgo wakes us up to what is not working. Take inventory of what is broken. Allow this to be a humbling experience. This is the perfect time to reflect on what isn’t working for you. It’s not meant to get you down or disempower you. It’s meant to give a real-time accurate inventory, so that you’re aware of where you’re starting from this day forward. Find your inner wizard - alchemy and transmutation are at hand.
Ask me about how these astrological aspects relate to you and your personal chart!