We all run into some difficult times in life. It’s not the question of “if” (except for some very fortunate souls). For most of us, it’s the question of “when”.

And we've had some very potent and challenging planetary energies during the pandemic, affecting us as the collective.  Some of us though had a much rougher time than others. 

“Why am I going through such a long and difficult stretch? Am I cursed?” is the question that came up in many of my readings in the last few months.

Spoiler alert: 99.9% of the time, the answer is a "no"!  But, in the deeply investigative spirit of Scorpio Season, there are some things to explore, if you find yourself stalled in life, or going through a particularly difficult stretch.

1 - Is There a Transiting Planetary Energy “Stalled” in Your Natal Chart?

When Saturn or Pluto form a challenging connection with a natal planet – especially if it’s your natal Sun or the Moon -  there could be deep turmoil, or the time when you have to push through some obstacles and limitations.  By a “challenging connection”, I mean a square, and to a lesser degree an opposition.

But, eventually the energy will fade away, as Pluto or Saturn continue on their journey through the Zodiac. The challenging time you're experiencing will pass. 

If You Have a Stellium In Your Natal Chart: 

But, if you have a stellium - a “traffic jam” of 3 or more planets, all within 4-5 degrees of one another, at the time you were born – you could feel transiting Pluto or Saturn for a much longer period of time.

So it could feel like you’ve descended into an unusually prolonged difficult stretch. This is because Saturn or Pluto will be triggering each planet of your stellium in turn, and so you will feel their effects for much longer than what is typical for their usual span of influence.

For example, the effects of Saturn squaring your natal Sun can be felt for about a year. But, when Saturn squares a stellium, you could be dealing with its energy for 2 years or longer.

A square from Neptune can bring a period of major confusion, and a square from Uranus can bring unexpected, major changes.

My Beautiful Capricorn Client

I still remember a young woman who once came for a reading with me. She lost her grandma with whom she was very close. Just as she was trying to deal with the grief, she experienced abuse from her boyfriend. While she was still reeling from that, trying to get her life and her mental health back, her boss at work started misusing the power of his position.

“Am I cursed?”, she asked.  Pluto was going over her Capricorn stellium at the time, bringing what we expect to see:  issues related to survival, death, rebirth, and power.

In her case, she had to deal with feeling disempowered in her personal and professional life, through the abusive behaviours she experienced.  And through that, she gained a tremendous amount of personal power, unusual in someone so young.

Because Pluto moves so slowly, this exceptionally trying period in her life lasted for several years. 

The good news here, if your natal chart – and your life – is visited by a transiting planetary energy, it WILL eventually dissipate. And, we don’t experience many major Pluto transits in our lifetime.  (Saturn is another matter…)

"Saturn Hunting the Moon":

I've only seen this once in all my years of reading astrological charts, but this can pack quite a punch, too.  

Your Progressed Moon represents your current emotional state, and the aspects it makes to your natal planets or the transiting planets can be quite telling.

When a transiting Saturn makes a challenging aspect to your natal OR Progressed Moon, it can bring a period when you're feeling blue.  Usually it will pass within 1-2 months.

But, sometimes transiting Saturn and the Progressed Moon synchronize, moving in lockstep for a much longer period of time.  

On average, the Moon progresses by 1° a month.  And Saturn, when it's about to change direction (turn retrograde or direct) can slow down to 1° per month, too.   And if they synchronize, they can stay in orb (within 5° of one another) for an unusually long period of time, with Saturn crisscrossing over the Progressed Moon through its retrograde and direction motion - hunting the Moon! 

It can bring a prolonged period of a challenging and depressing time, and of emotional lows.  This is how my client described it:

"I lost my enthusiasm and zest for life, I became generally more risk-averse and surrendered to feeling that my life and destiny had taken a ‘down’ turn I had no agency about".

 Saturn was chasing her Progressed Moon for over 4 years....

2-  Karmic “Knots” – When We Inadvertently Contribute to Our Own Problems

If you have challenging aspects in your natal chart – and pretty much all of us do! - chances are, you have some karmic knots to work through. This is especially true if you have strong squares or oppositions that involve multiple planets, or if you have such planetary configurations as a T-Square or a Grand Cross.

You can think of these “karmic knots” as karmic debts from previous reincarnations (for those metaphysically inclined) or as unhelpful personality traits and learned behaviours.

The end result is the same:  these are the areas where we experience inner tension. When unrecognized, it can bring on a repeated pattern of external events. We just haven’t fully mastered our lessons…yet. 

Working really hard but never seem to attain the financial prosperity you want? That big promotion you want just keeps eluding you?  A fulfilling relationship always seems out of reach?

Look at the challenging aspects in your natal chart, and what they are trying to tell you. It might be your “blind spot” to work through – some self-limiting beliefs or behaviours that you picked up through your life’s journey.

The good news? By becoming aware of these karmic knots and the messages they are trying to deliver, we can work through them and smooth them out, so they no longer block us in life.

If this resonates with you, you might like my Shadow Work reading.

3 - Other People’s Energy: Yes, It Too Can Block You

In addition to astrology and Tarot, I also work with energy.  Over the years, I became very aware of how powerful the interaction between two people’s energy fields can be.

We are all human beings who came into this life in a physical body. But, we also have an energetic body – an energy field surrounding us. Most people are not consciously aware of it. But, we all intuitively know that interactions with some people energize us, and some drain us.

You may be a powerful personality who is not afraid to ruffle feathers. You could be a workaholic boss who drives your team very hard. Or, you and your spouse could have left your previous marriages for one another. Either way, you may have stirred some powerfully negative emotions from people around you.

“I sure hope someone in her family gets sick, so she can be off work for a while and stop driving us to exhaustion!”, someone on your disgruntled team may be saying in desperation. (A first-hand experience I had...)

“I hate her guts!”, someone who lost a coveted promotion (or a spouse) to you might be thinking.

They don’t have to know how to “curse” someone or how to work with energy. But, if you have majorly upset some people around you, intentionally or not, the cumulative effect of their emotions can start interfering with your own energy field, blocking you on your path.

The good news? By becoming aware of the power of energy, and practicing a few energy cleansing techniques, you can protect your energy field. While we can’t always control how we’re perceived, extending kindness and understanding others won’t hurt, either 😊

If interested to learn more about working with energy, my course MoonManifest is for you. 

Scorpio Season – getting rid of the energies we don’t want – helps us prepare for Sagittarius Season, coming next. And that’s the time to fill that newly freed up energetic space with your boldest, biggest dreams for your life!