We are moving into a time with outer planets in retrograde and for some that can create a feeling of being stuck or that things are moving exceptionally slow. But, we still have friends in the personal planets that are free to help us. We just have to change perspective and perhaps work in a different way with our magick and how we work with our projects. So, let’s grab a cup of coffee or tea and see how we can connect and still get things done this period.
It’s not about size
I have a friend in the astral world that says: “Size doesn’t matter. It’s about dimension”. If we compare a human to the size of an ant, the human is a giant. But if we compare a human to the size of a mountain, the human is very small. A small elemental being can be small in our dimension, but a giant in another dimension.
On more than one occasion I have had clients in a reading talking about their difficulties talking with their spiritual guides. As we are having the conversation they usually look upwards, reaching out for contact. At the same time they have a elemental or forest being standing at the floor next to them waving with their whole body for contact. Saying, “Hallo, I’m right here!”
The contact and their helping ally is right there. All they have to do is to just look down instead of looking up.
Småfolk och Tomtar
In Sweden and the north we have little helpers called “småfolk” — translated it means “little people”. They help with various things in life and in the home. They like shiny and glittery things. Småfolk many times live in families and collectives. They can help you find things and bring harmony and order in your home.
Usually they are in a good mood, but if you offend them in any way or ignore them they can create chaos in the home and making you forget stuff and misplacing your things. My great-grandmother taught me and my sister that if we needed to pee in the woods we needed to warn the little people before we peed by saying to the ground: “move away, move away, move away”. Otherwise it could burn the little people and upset them.
Perhaps the most famous helper is “Hustomten” or just “Tomten”. He is a mythological being from Nordic folklore, most associated with the winter solstice and Christmas. At Julafton (Christmas Eve) it is Jultomten that enters the home and brings Christmas gifts to all children who have behaved well.
But actually Tomten is there the whole year, it’s just that we don’t see him the rest of the year. Tomten is generally described as being short and very strong, having a long beard and wearing a conical or knitted hat (swedish tomteluva) in grey or red and white. I believe that they look a lot like what others would call a garden gnome, but larger. The Swedish Tomten is much larger than Småfolk. In old times Tomten would help out with the farm and the animals. In modern times you find him easiest in the homes out in the country, or if you love animals or are a very creative or magickal person. In Swedish the word tomten can also mean “ a piece of land” , depending on how you pronounce the word.
Planets in Retrograde
Right now we have Mercury (communication), Jupiter (expansion), Saturn (manifestation), Uranus (change) Neptune (intuition) , Pluto (transformation), and Chiron (healing) in retrograde. When a planet goes retrograde their energy becomes more directed inwards, it becomes internalized. That means that a lot is happening on the inside, but not on the outside. This can be very frustrating and all the roads may feel blocked.
What you can do is to work with the faster energies of the personal planets like the Sun, the Moon, Mars, and Venus. You can also work with little helpers like småfok and tomten, gnomes and fairies, to help with everyday life and manifestations. When all the big planes and trains are being cancelled you can still turn to taxis, cars, mopeds, and bicycles. This could be most frustrating for “big people with big plans” and easiest for creative and flexible people.
Pan and the Green World
Pan is a god from ancient Greek religion and mythology. He is strongly connected to the forest, the wild, and the green world. Right now the asteroid Pan is at 22 degrees in Gemini (communication). He is making a good aspect to both Ceres (nourishment, earth goddess) and the South Node (karma, the past) in Libra (communication) Libra is also ruled by Venus (magick, love, passion). Pan also makes a sextile (positive aspect) to Chiron (healing) in Aries. Chiron is a centaur and can help mixing the wild nature inside ourselves and others with the more intellectual ones without loosing power in either of them.
This is a perfect time for connecting with the wild and green world. Work with the green world (Pan, Venus) to help you manifest what you need. Use stones, plants, flower essences, totems from the animal kingdom.
Wisdom from the Past
The goddess asteroid Ceres (nourishment, earth mother) is right next to the South node in Libra (mentioned above). They are making a good aspect (trine) to Vesta (fire, priest and priestess) in Gemini. This can bring wisdom from the past, especially concerning communication and relationships. It can be from the recent past, and it can be from pervious incarnations. It is good to stop for a moment and ask yourself:
- “What have I learned from my relationships lately?”
- “Is there a theme in my relationships that is repeating?”
- “Do I want to run another round in the same loop, or do I want to break the loop?” If yes, then what is my plan for making that change?”
Vesta is also making a good aspect to Saturn (manifestation) in Pisces. That is a good aspect for getting help in manifesting the change that you want.
On the 14th of September, Vesta moves into the sign of Cancer, on the 16th of September, Ceres moves into the sign of Scorpio. But they are still in a good aspect to each other, trine in water, until the 15th of October.
Vesta trines Saturn until the 19th of October.
Projecting Change Onto Your Partners
Right now Venus (love, relationships) has just turned direct again (hurray!) in the sign of Leo and is right next to Juno (marriage, relationships, partnerships). This creates a lot of energy and focus on relationships. They are also making a challenging aspect to Jupiter (expansion) in Taurus. Jupiter is in a retrograde movement making him slower, he is also in Taurus making Jupiter more bound to the earth than he is comfortable with.
There is a danger of people taking their personal frustration, irritation, and longing for change and projecting it on the people around them. This can manifest in the romantic part of life, but also on business partners and colleges.
If you find yourself pushing your partner to change job, make lifestyle changes, or becoming irritated in how slow people are at work or how they live their life, you may need to take a break for a moment and ask yourself what it is really about? Perhaps it is more about you than them?
There´s a fine line in being supportive an inspiring people or being pushy. Everyone has their own pace in making changes, and right now many of us needs to find new strategies to make things happen.
Saturn and Manifesting
Saturn is great at manifesting things. He sometimes has a bad reputation because Saturn is also involved in many life changes and tests. Right now Saturn is in Pisces (art, spirituality). That tells us that Saturn is manifesting psychic and artistic energy. But he is also testing people in that area. Saturn is also in opposition and challenging aspect to Lilith Black Moon in Leo (creativity, uniqueness). Lilith Black Moon makes everything it touches hard to see.
Right now it can be difficult to see how you are manifesting things in your life and if it is going in the right direction? Perhaps you are in the middle of a project and you have no idea how it is actually going to end? This is extra strong if the project is creative or spiritual in nature (Pisces). Many times when Lilith Black Moon is involved it can become something very good, but very different, if we can let go of our need to control things. There can be hidden blessings there in the dark.
Saturn, Lilith Black Moon, and Spells
As witches and magickal people we have the power to take things in our own hands. If we feel injustice has been done or if our projects aren’t working out as expected, we can send energy, do a spell or a ceremony. The tricky thing is that with the constellations mentioned above we can’t see what is really going on.
What first seems to be something bad manifesting in our lives, can actually be the beginning of a change for something better, but very unexpected. Therefore my advise is to be extra careful before you go to magickal action when unexpected things happen. Read the Tarot cards for extra perspective. If you decide to do a spell or send healing on the situation, remember to ask for the highest good outcome.
This is the classical situation when you get fired from the job that you like and a few weeks later you get hired on a job that you love and it pays you even better. Or your partner leaves you unexpected, but it makes you free to find the love of your life a few months later. Instead of focusing on getting your old job or partner back, focus on the best outcome. The Universe may be conspiring for something better in your life it´s just that we can´t read the signs at the moment.
Summary: Many things are going on, but much of it is hidden. With many planets in retrograde a lot of frustration is in the collective. Things takes time and bigger processes are slow. But, we can still do things by working with what is right in front of us. Connecting to the green world, plants, stones, little people and personal allies. A chain of small good things makes a big difference in the end.
Imagine a big greenhouse. Outside of the greenhouse there may be storms, heavy rain or even thunder. But on the inside there can still be activity with spirits and gnomes tending the plants, turning their small lights on and working on manifesting good things.
Retrogrades for the outer planets:
- Jupiter is in retrograde from the 4th of September until 31th of December
- Saturn is in retrograde from the 17th of June until 4th of November
- Uranus is in retrograde from the 29th of Augus until the 27th of January 2024
- Neptune is in retrograde from the 30th of June until the 6th of December 2023
- Pluto is in retrograde from May 1st until the 11th of October
- Chiron is in retrograde from the 23rd of July until the 27th of December
(Dates may differ slightly depending on your time zone)
Blessed Be!
Karin Spirit Talker Turtle Red
Karin Ugander (Spirit Talker Turtle Red) is a spiritual channeler living in the south of Sweden. In Scandinavia she is known for the AstroNumerology and psychic readings she’s been doing for over 20 years. Together with her husband Niklas, she runs KaniSkolan, a school of astrology, numerology, tarot, StarCode Healing, and natural medicine. They are also the founders of Alven Inner Ring tradition, a Scandinavian mystery school with roots in shamanism and magick. Karin loves to create magickal oils, flower essences and sigils she combines in her “Karin Victoria” sigil candles and flower sprays. In her spare time she likes to travel, walk in the forest with her dog, and spend time by the ocean. Karin is an ordained high priestess and graduate of the Temple of Witchcraft’s seminary program. Her work can be found on Instagram @flowerpowerwitch and @karinuganderofficial and she can be reached at [email protected].