Q3. To Build A Brick Temple In The Days Of Fire

Edie speaks on major astrological shifts in 2025 creating opportunities for transformation. Uranus-Saturn alignment supports structured change - time to start new projects!

First: A quick note, and a check-in.

Q2 was distinctly a warm up round as we came out of that three years of Spiritual Boot Camp, but there still seems to be a bit of confusion lingering in terms of interpersonal relationships. To be clear, if a person hasn't been trying to actively initiate towards growth, healing, improvement, during this past three year period, if they’re still doing weird, toxic, problematic stuff, they’re not likely to turn over a new leaf anytime soon.

Doubly calling attention to this if you’re experiencing this from someone close to you, AND you’ve (almost disproportionately) been doing all of this growth, healing, and self-improvement.

I’m not saying it’s gotta be a perfectly executed “A+” journey, but you’ll know who’s who. We’re talking about the ones who REALLY did not even get off the bench to get into the game.

Remember that about Three Years From Now, you should be looking back proudly (or at least satisfactorily) and saying “Yes, that’s what I just spent 2025 to 2028 working on as a contribution to a better world…!”

That being said, let’s dive in!

BIG EVENT: Uranus (in Taurus) Sextile Saturn (in Pisces) for the remainder* of this year!

Technically, Uranus will dip into Gemini in July, then back into Taurus around November.

I want to lead off by pointing out that a HUGE and beneficial astrological even is in motion as of about mid-April of this year, continuing through the majority of this year's Retrograde season:

This is huge, especially for anyone who is currently in transition between big life events, starting something new, or feeling like it's time to shed the old versions of oneself.

For the remainder of this year, Uranus (in Taurus) will be in SEXTILE with Saturn (in Pisces).

This is a window that isn't bringing "good luck" per se, but FLUID OPPORTUNITY;

Do nothing, nothing changes (but still leads to entropy, and eventual decay),

Do something, anything, ESPECIALLY with intention, and spirit of healing, growth, repair, in reciprocity with community, and you'll set yourself up to Thrive & Prosper.

In Astrology, think of a Sextile Aspect as two planets (influenced by zodiac signs) as a POWER COUPLE contributing all they can to the workspace.

Throughout this year, as you move with intention, think of which team-up you're weaving into any given choice:

Team Saturn sextile Uranus:

Think of structure being brought to the chaos you've been feeling, intelligent tactical opportunities for change, bringing not "restriction" but GUIDELINES to corral and galvanize this chaotic energy into.

Team Uranus working with Saturn:

Think of Revolutionizing Your Limitations. Bring to the table all the different ways you've even loosely entertained for how to maintain balance, structure, but with sudden breaking of the old ways, and reinstalling New Ways of doing...Literally Everything.

Astrology tacticians have been planning for this moment since 2019, at least.

Change is coming, and "both sides" get to lay their hands on shaping the clay, but remember that to "get in front of it" you have to decide - with intent - what things in your own daily routine, in your life even how you interact, interface with your world purview, even what thoughts you decide get to take up space in your mind, and point that towards the world you want to live in.

This flavors the tone of the remainder of this retrograde season and highlights that things aren’t just "business as usual” but rather that we've got the wind at our backs for setting meaningful and impactful things in motion that will continue to grow for the next few years, and likely beyond.

IN SHORT (Event: Uranus in sextile with Saturn)

Start something. Kick off into a new direction. Blaze a trail into the future you want to participate in, contribute to, and ultimately live in. This may show up as a job change, or starting training for such a transition. It could be the memo we got a couple years ago, now marked “PRIORITY” which encourages us to create, either again, or for the first time ever, if you’re new to it.

Focus the energy that was so loud and chaotic at the start of the year, give it an assignment for the rest of the year, put its energy to good use.

Now is not the time to leave a thing and “finally get around to it.” Likely that’s actually gonna end up working against us later. Now is the time to Just Do The Thing, Finally - and I hear we’re getting double-punches on our Growth & Abundance Cards for initiating something new and healthy between now and the end of the year.

Artists, Writers, Musicians, Creatives, Public Figures, Performers, including (but also not limited to) anyone Poised At The Precipice of Starting A Brand New Project, you should be launching into a rhythm of starting to bring these ideas into existence -if you haven’t already started within the past year.

Mercury Retrograde (begins July 18, ends August 4) in Leo (with the third Mercury Rx Happening in Sagittarius, come November)

The fact that things Aren’t Just Business As Usual, as mentioned above is why Mercury Retrograde, for many people will feel, will have felt like we've got "homefield advantage," like everything coming at us quickly during that time is less like things are being thrown in our face and we've got to keep them from falling apart, and more like the universe is throwing everything at us that we need, and we just need to snatch it from the air, and put the pieces where they belong.

This year's Mercury Retrograde cycle led off with the first in Aries, in March, with this being the second of three Mercury retrogrades this year. This time it retrogrades through Leo; remember significance of Leo as each of us "looks back so that we can move forward:"

Leo embodies fun & creativity, leadership, but comes from standing in a spotlight typically where we create something, bring something to life, or in the most passive uses of the Leo Spotlight, are simply witnessed in our journey.

That spotlight is also associated with attention itself, being seen, witnessed, holding space, being present. On top of that Leo in part to more "classic (alchemy & divine magic)" origins where Leo is considered "The Orphan" - the Orphan often having some kind of void that needs to be filled (so it doesn't become an insatiable black hole).

Strengths of Leo: Lightness, joy, creativity, "can turn any situation into a Function (eg: party)," presence, attentiveness (sometimes as a kind of reciprocity; "I give you attention, would like some in return as well.")

Underbelly of Leo: (especially associated with "the orphan's void"), lacking confidence / self confidence / self-worth, experiencing imposter syndrome, insatiable attention seeking (again see:" the orphan's void"). This can be important to consider for anyone who feels like they might “still be getting in their own way” when it comes to creating, bringing a thing into existence.

Remember that Leo ultimately embodies Fun & Creativity. From July 18th to August 4th, what aspects of fun and creativity call out for you to carve out for yourself SO you can engage with these ideas, projects, or experiences again?

IN SHORT (Mercury Rx)

Depending on how well you've prepared for it, Second Mercury Retrograde (in Leo) is either asking us to examine what tools we've spent the past handful of years collecting, and getting good at, and what we're planning to build with them through this next 3-Year Period, or (if a person has been more susceptible to the underbelly of astrological movements in the past few years, is asking us what's necessary to sprint forward and catch up to the rhythm of our higher selves, and what we intend to bring into existence during this next 3 year spread.

Chiron Retrograde (begins July 30, into Q4)

in Aries

Chiron "The Wounded Healer" ultimately is about Restoring Wholeness. When we examine Chiron in a Natal Chart, Chiron indicates the wounds that we get to know intimately so that we can, within ourselves turn them into healing tools, not just for ourselves, but for others as well, as we come across those wounds in others we might be of service to.

Chiron in Aries is named as "The Wound of Identity." In one's natal chart, it tends to be an examination of how to heal the wound of putting the world's wants and needs before oneself. In the context of an entire world passing through the Wound Of Identity, each of us should be considering - as community, both local and global - OUR identity. Of course we're seeing this as not just a divide between the actions of world leaders, and how there is a disparity between that and where the hearts and heads of each nation's people, but also encourages us to stand for what we truly want, as a people, instead of just "settling for" the shape of the world, and then trying to figure out how we'll fit in.

IN SHORT (Chiron Rx)

This is the moment we’ve all been waiting for, if waiting is indeed what’s been happening: What needs to change in your daily life SO that you’re more aligned with the world you want to live in? Now, this isn’t just Woo-Woo talk: We’ve seen these existential life-hacks in place at least since the 1980’s:

“Dress for the job you want.”

“Start doing the work you want to do, so eventually you’ll look back and say ‘yes, that’s What I Do.””

“Visualize yourself in the place you want to be, and every day, believe that you’re making your way towards it.”

These are all the functions that Spiritual Esoteric Practitioners abide by, only we don’t just leave you with a handy catch-phrase. We back it up with method & explanation of how and why we enact these exercises of intention-setting.

That being said, the Wounded Healer, Chiron, is asking you what you need to embrace so you can be a participant in the future you want, OR what needs to healed up, and healed up STAT, so you can get on that path.

Neptune Retrograde (begins July 4, into Q4)

in Aries, back into Pisces in October, then back into Aries until 2038

These movements are huge, and again, movements that Astrologers, Spiritual Practitioners (especially those of us who operate in more professional functions), and general Mystics have been both anticipating and preparing for through the years, some of us even our whole lives.

Depending on what point in the timeline of your own personal story you tuned into these things, you may have heard chatter from the esoteric community about the notion of a "Spiritual War" - possibly even so far back that you may have been aware of this chatter your whole life. As of 2025 we have finally arrived in the "frontline-to-frontline" position - but before you freeze up in apprehension of such weighty words, let me illustrate how that shows up in our individual lives:

As mentioned in previous articles, our "job" is to starve out a nightmare world BY nourishing, nurturing, and protecting the dream world, and that's our focus to filter through the flow chart of "do what you can, when you can, and how you do the thing you can."

With Neptune shifting back and forth from Aries to Pisces, then back into Aries until 2038, we're seeing, have been seeing, the shift in Spiritual Leadership. This is the "all hands on deck" period of history we mentioned was coming up, as of the past few years.

What this comes down to is being intentional about connecting to SOME kind of spiritual practice for everyone, as a point of becoming more whole as people, as a society, as a world, as ourselves as individuals. Take leadership in your own life of being accountable to your own spiritual health. I mention this as that in modern contexts, Spirituality is often seen as either a luxury that a person might engage with “once they’ve made space for it” or as a kind of salve that’s allowed people to seek an escape from the frightening state of things (which, in the industry, we often lump into “Spiritual Bypassing” - which is not sustainable). In short, the reason why esoterics pay attention to a basic routine of spiritual hygiene is that we remember that it’s that connection to spirit - and the spiritual tools, like our Natal Chart (the “compass”) and Astrological Movements like retrogrades (the “map”) so that Spirit can inform Mind & Body what we’re supposed to be focusing on, prioritizing, as our parts in this world.

That’s the big focus for this particular Neptune Retrograde.

Science has finally come around to vetting what mystics have talked about for generations EVERYTHING IS MADE OF VIBRATION so we contribute to the thing by shifting our focus to what is the real shiz.

IN SHORT (Neptune Rx)

How are you taking initiative as to incorporating “Spirit” into the trine of yourself as a whole human who balances “Mind, Body, and Spirit?” The past three years were to soften us up to this incorporation, to be ready for this retrograde season, the first in a three year journey of building, creating, and ultimately shaping the world you want to live in. What practices have you either always been drawn to, but never stepped into? What spiritual practices have you let fall to the wayside in the fever-dream of scarcity and worry? Consider claiming those spaces in an effort to figure out what part you’re supposed to play in this next 3-Year Cycle. If you’re drawn to the idea of understanding your Natal Chart as a starting point, reach out to those you know who are knowledgeable at these things, or inquire at Twisted Thistle, as we now have Cinder, Shyra, and Edie in scheduled pop-up days to take on walk-in consultations. Whatever it is that you need to engage the spiritual side of things, now is the time to get that started.

Think of it like this:

Spirit inspires you to bring something into existence.

From there Mind gives you ideas for how that might work.

Body, then, is the space where you deliver that idea into actual existence.

Pluto Retrograde (continuing from Q2 into Q4)

in Aquarius

So we're pretty much at the dead center of the Pluto Rx arc, started about 3 months ago, which means we’re getting ready to pass through the most intense part of the Retrograde Season.

Now a few twists and turns aside, keep in mind that Pluto basically lives in Aquarius till about 2044.

What IF this is the actual, literal doorway “threshold” of passing from Age Of Pisces into Age Of Aquarius?

How will the legend of you be remembered? When history looks back to talk of these times, and the wee ones look up to you and ask “what did you contribute to at that point in history?” What beautiful brilliant blossoms of hope and humanity will you offer in tale?

These are the things to consider as we crest the mountain of Pluto Retrograde and get ready to stick the landing at the start of Quarter 4.

Pluto, as we already know is about Change,Transformation, how we deal with Change. Ending of the Old, Beginning of the New. Innovation, rebellion, reinvention, all to the tune of A Better Tomorrow, A Healthier Humanity. Aquarius is a rulebreaker, often stereotyped as the aloof weirdo who isn’t present in conversation -but that “aloofness” or “spacieness” is only because largely the world wants to be concerned with fleeting arguments that won’t be around later. Aquarius has historically “checked out of the convo” because the world has been too scared to have those Very Real Conversations about the immutable things that TRULY matter -but as you’ve seen, those conversations are becoming unavoidable, and Aquarius Energy has been WAITING for it.

And remember, the real trick here, as we wrap up the second half of Pluto Retrograde (ending October 14) is that we don’t wait for change. We initiate it.

Do what you can

When you can

And do it HOW you’d do the thing.

Let Aquarius be your compass, as you ask: “The seeds I plant now, will people generations from now be grateful that I was among those working the soil today?”

May the answer be “yes.”

Saturn Retrograde (begins July 13, into Q4)

in Aries, back into Pisces come September, back into Aries February 26 for a couple years

Let’s boil this one down to its most basic components. Let’s go wild and completely oversimply so the message is clear as a New Dawn, a New Day (see what we did there…?)

Saturn. Think of this as how you build structure. (yes, I know “borders, boundaries, limitations, authority, etc - but again, we’re doing an oversimplification on this one - so DO NOT reach for the low hanging fruits of self-limitation in regards to Saturn; We are Building Structure, NOT Confirming Blockages.)

Aries. This is in-your-face “house 1” stuff. It’s leadership, confidence. It’s about no longer doing the him-haw dance and actually setting a thing in motion. Don’t be impatient or spread yourself too thin.Take initiative. Don’t be shy to be seen as a leader in the thing you excel at.(this goes double if you are, or have been stepping into your own as a Practitioner of Spiritual Esotericism; let your Medicina shine).

Pisces. We keep talking about it; dream big, envision that which does not yet exist, and then figure out how to make it real. Don’t get lost in illusion, or drown in the waters of escapism trying to “Get away from all the dumpsterfires”

Many of you have been watching the tables turn; dwindling are the days when you get sketched-out sidelong glances for talking about full moons or astrology, where the rising norm is everyone embarrassingly averting eyes when that One Person announces in so many words that they “don’t believe in all that woo-woo stuff.” Eeek, might wanna tend to that, your 1984 sensibility is showing…! Which is all to say keep it up, keep reinforcing schedules, routines, and structures where you incorporate Spiritual Hygiene in the same way that the ‘90’s got people to incorporate Workouts into daily life, and the early 2000’s got us used to the normality of therapy, and mental / emotional health.

Taking initiative in building structure, boldly. And letting intuition (or at the very least a sense of Good Spiritual Health) guide these choices in what structure you’re building, and especially in consideration of how “what you’re building” is gonna look like in a few years. This is “The Assignment,” overall.

Now, I know, the “authority” side of Saturn might be seeing more volatility with the “conflict & aggression" side of Aries (or, as we mentioned the “I just wanna escape all this” Underbelly of Pisces) which can indicate that we’re still in the earlier part of the old adage “Things will get worse before they get better” but please remember they don’t Just “GET” Better -we have to be very intentional about how we, ourselves, actually Make It Better.

Saturn doesn’t wait around for rules to emerge. Saturn MAKES the rules, sets the boundaries, dictates the structure.

If you’re having trouble thinking like, embodying that Saturn energy, remember the vibe of that Monday Shark Meme back in the day:

“Do Sharks complain about Monday? No.

They’re up early, biting stuff, being scary, reminding everyone that they’re a shark.”

Okay, also, you’ll probably want to identify what Saturn is on you Natal Chart as well, so you have a better sense of how the Saturn Dance Steps feel most comfortable to the shoes you got on (or off, if that’s how you get down).

Uranus Retrograde (begins September 6, ends February 4, in 2026)

in Taurus till July 7 (then into Gemini)

then BACK into Taurus November 7h

…then in April of 2026 shifts back into Gemini until 2033….!!!

As we say “in the office” :

Taurus embodies Self-Worth & the Worth Of Things, the ability to receive with ease, to have reciprocity feel like a rhythm of balance.

Gemini embodies Mindset & Community, fluid and excitable communication, problem-solving, and unravelling riddles to the tune of delicious intellectual stimulation.

So for a few months here, we’re letting Taurus and Gemini tag-in and tag-out a bit to not just ask ourselves, but also to have conversations about what is and isn’t “worth it” - from daily life, to “society / the world in general” and we look for more and more days of -OPPORTUNITIES of - enjoyable challenges, and showing up in ways where we feel like our time, knowledge, experience, are not only respected, but valued. Literally valued. What are you amazing at that people always want to pay you for, but you’ve been too…something…to accept? Maybe it’s time to start saying yes to being of value in less traditional, less orthodox ways, and in ways that fill a need that community calls out for.

“Sounds good, Edie, but everything is a mess right now.” Okay, I hear you. So for anyone getting ready to “report me” for toxic positivity, let me say: That’s not what I’m talking about. I’m specifically encouraging each and everyone to Actually Literally Be Aware Of Opportunities, even shifts and changes that indicate these changes in the music, these strengths of Gemini & Taurus, while also NOT getting stuck in the Underbelly of each sign, the detrimental, or “less helpful” aspects:

Don’t get “stuck to the point of rooted” in refusing to keep an eye out for change (the classic “stubborness” we see with significant Taurus placements).

Nor fall into the Gemini trap of “too much naval gazing, not enough execution.” Again, Gemini teaches us the optimal “90/10” functioning: In this context, 90% ideation, 10% execution;

This is that Gemini Workflow of sipping Kava-coladas at high noon with a sketchbook on hand, and then suddenly in the last week pulling off 4 months worth of work - and pulling it off FLAWLESSLY (because Gemini has pictured it perfectly for 90% of the workflow).

And if you’re still having trouble getting away from staring at the muck of “toxic positivity” then I encourage you to think of it like this:

“Would you rather the next three years be ‘hard’ and then just settle for the outcome?

Or would you rather them ‘be hard’ but because you’re ACTIVELY trying to Do A Thing?

We’re facing difficult days ahead no matter what, so it might as well be Difficult But For A REASON.”

It’s not just about what a person is building, but let the YOU of yourself shine through, your individuality & eccentricity in this specific lane: What do YOU want to build? How do you crack the puzzle so that you can start doing it, so that in the next few years, you’re spending more time & energy building that, - AND enjoying what you’re working on?

Q3 Eclipse Corridor: “BECOME the Wyrd One that you want to find in the woods”

First Portal (entering the hallway); Full Moon LUNAR Eclipse in Pisces, September 7

Second Portal (leaving the hallway), New Moon SOLAR Eclipse (in Virgo) September 21

“Spiritual War?” psssh, try SPIRITUAL REVOLUTION.

As we step into this Eclipse Corridor by the door of Lunar Pisces, remember that we’re leaving behind the Piscean Underbelly stuff in the “old world” never to return to that again. The weird self-gaslighting we’d been previously invited to perform by those in active or passive authority positions, illusion, obfuscation, lies, escapism, all that’s getting left behind as we step though the Lunar Eclipse Corridor, filling our backpacks with the strongest and healthiest parts of Pisces (which embodies intuition & spirituality): Taking ownership of our spiritual health & hygiene, our technical esoteric chops (like a better understanding of the application of Astrology in optimal navigation of one’s own Life Adventure), and dare I say even our mystic practices, We step forward giving ourselves permission to dream of that which does not yet exist SO we can believe enough to make those dreams and visions REAL things that exist in this timeline we all share.

Every step along the way, as we march towards the light at the end of that Eclipse Corridor (Solar Eclipse in Virgo, in association with NEW MOON energy, no less!) we should be, every day paying more and more attention to the process and habits we are reinforcing that support that integration of the complexities of High Spirituality woven beautifully into Day-to-Day Life.

Before we even get to September, try to hash out a routine of Spiritual Hygiene for yourself, anything from Unequivocally Un-Re-Schedulable Meditation Days/Times, Daily Tarot/Oracle Pulls, or even just installing a Moon Phase Tracker with a widget that reminds you what moon phases we’re passing through, so you can line up your daily actions and choices to coincide with that energy.

Learning to work WITH the Spiritual, Esoteric, Mystic, or otherwise “the Unseen” World is like Acknowledging the rules of physics to step into a new era of brilliant engineers.

I know that a lot of these themes might seem “more connected” that what one might see in Astrology Reports coming back with a stone’s throw into the internet, but again, we’re here to really tap out a Rhythm to the Episodic Series of History We’re passing through, as opposed to isolating and then repeating the rote technical aspects of “this combination of planet & sign” that so often seem to ignore “what happened in Last Season’s Episodes” -often leaving one feeling like if you missed that “Super Significant Window” a year ago that you’ll never catch up -not true, hop on in!

Gestures at the cosmic double-dutch jumpropes.

I will point out the thing that’s historically come up as a counterpoint to astrology: “Little, if any of this opportunity you’re talking about seems to resonate with what’s happening with me during this period.”

Astrology, and specifically looking at these movements, it’s not like a “fate pill” that one can take and then expect results, they are exactly as we talk about them: Opportunities. And knowing how to position yourself so that you can access those opportunities comes from a plain-English understanding of how your Natal Chart reflects how you’re wired, what strengths you should be leaning into, what challenges you should account for, and thusly, any healing you need to facilitate for yourself SO you can engage with optimal navigation in your life.

If you know how to sail the ship, then the instruction to follow a bearing until you get to the promised island makes more sense than just standing at the shore staring out at the ocean.

And like any journey, it’s not going to be a guaranteed pleasure cruise - there will be storms, choppy weather, possibly even dangers on that sea. But as we’ve seen in more recent amendments to the original saying:

It’s not that fortune favors “the Brave” but RATHER that fortune favors the Prepared.

Remember, what gets highlighted in these Quarterly Astrology Reports isn’t about ignoring what’s going on in the world, but rather adding more to building upon, reinforcing, protecting, fostering, and nourishing the world that you want to see exists. Think of it as that old adage of the two wolves -you feed one and it gets stronger, while the other starves and gets weaker.

If you're done living in the world shaped around you, it's time to shape the world you WANT to live in.