2024 Vibe Check Challenge

I'm late to the party on what astrologers think about the new year, and honestly, I think of myself as less and less of an astrologer and more and more of a psychic who writes about astrology for fun at this point (because spirit guide readings give you way more information than chart readings ever will), but that's neither here nor there.

I'm throwing down a gauntlet this year.

Saturn in Pisces is moving, so if you have stuff (meaning planets or angles) in the very early degrees of Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius, and Pisces you can breathe a sigh of relief that it's going somewhere else to torment someone else, and for the rest of us with stuff in the mid-degrees of said signs (me; hi), we can collectively mutter "fuck." As a planetary energy, Saturn's not happy in Pisces and we're not happy to have it there, but dwelling on that is not going to brighten anyone's day. Rather, I'll be my reductive self and say that Pisces is vibes. It's a chaotic sign and so you can complicate my reductivity in any direction by adding descriptors, but let's stick with keeping this as simple as possible, and here is my challenge: in 2024, you can join me in cleaning up and fixing your busted energy. We all have busted energy somewhere, because we get in thought and feedback loops, and we try to impart change where we have no business doing so. Or we wish things were different in places we can't do much to change, and spend a loooot of time wishing. Or we can stay fixated on our past losses and fail to recognize present potentials as a consequence.

Here's how to address busted energy:

• Stop dwelling on things you can't control, moping, ruminating, or (yikes) attempting to take control of situations where you have no business meddling.

• Catch yourself when you're in places interacting with people you don't like, or performing activities you don't enjoy (especially things you're not paid to do!) and come to terms with yourself. Ask why you're hanging out with people you hate or doing things you hate (and if you feel obligated to—are those obligations real?)

  • Please note: people really resist being honest about this stuff, so it's hard, but try.

• Detect when you're exhausted or losing energy in situations where that probably shouldn't be the case. This one is tricky and hard to do, but figure out what activities are not serving you anymore.

  • It's okay to realize that something that once brought you joy now does not. Just be honest.

• Reduce time spent doing shit you hate.

• Avoid places you feel icky in, and spend as little time as possible there when you have no other option.

• Seriously reduce time spent around people who are draining you.

And here's the actual hard part:

• Start doing things you actually like to do BECAUSE you actually like to do them.

• Go to places you like BECAUSE they feel good, even if it's somewhat irrational.

• Find ways to smile more and do those things with increasing frequency.

• If your heart lifts when you're around a person/place/thing, be there more.

  • You can even tell people if they have nice energy. That might make someone's day, even.

• You have to do all of these things actively for this to work. You have to make a plan and then do the plan.

What I just described is an energy diet. It's easy to pay attention to what we put in our bodies, especially now that we have nutrition labels and googleable facts about what eating certain things will do to you/for you. What's not so googleable is that spending the afternoon at the DMV might suck your soul out of your body sideways or that your meeting with your boss might make you want to lie down and wish you were dead afterwards. Just like the reality that eating an entire cake in a short time span will probably do something bad to your waistline, being around negativity and despair (and other bad energies) will do bad things to your energy, so you have to do good things on purpose to correct the bad things. You are responsible for your energy, so stop waiting for good things to happen to you and do good things that you like to and for yourself. That's a Saturn in Pisces lesson. Here's another one: you can't do anything about anybody else's energy. That's their business.

The false trap of Pisces is the idea that you should feel bad all the time. Various planets in the sign (or a strong Neptune in your chart) might convince you that suffering is the way. This makes no sense whatsoever. If you have that belief, you may need a more extreme energy diet because you're doing stuff you hate all the damn time. No one suffers and radiates positivity and joy. Being benevolent is great if it comes from the right place, but using the word "should" in your good deeds is poisonous.

A word about people, before you decide to hibernate far away from everyone you know: we all have bad days. We all have tantrums. I just spent a significant amount of time around a toddler and his fluctuating moods, so I'm currently more acutely aware of the spectrum that people can be on, feelings-wise. What we are looking for is consistency and a positive-skewing balance: if someone consistently makes you feel not-great or completely exhausted, this is what you need to come to terms with.

People can change, too. Often, people with an active Neptune transit can become temporarily exhausting because they get lost (or trapped!) in some shitty vibes (this can happen for a variety of reasons), and when they pull themselves out of that, they're fine. Temporary avoidance might be called for, but if they're always an asshole, factor that in to your decision-making. Do you get in your car and scream after seeing someone? Who inspires you to doom-scroll? Pay attention. Look for patterns.

But my point here is simply do things that you love because you love them, focus on the good in your day, and let the bad slip away if it's negligible (please don't ignore a field of red flags, but if the option is letting something minor get to you and ruin your day or not, choose 'not'). Most of the good things in life are free (or relatively inexpensive), so what small things can you do to make your daily life more enjoyable? I mean literally today, not sometime next week. Embrace "this is dumb, but I like it." Play your favorite song, order your favorite coffee, read your favorite book, unearth your childhood teddy bear, and find no shame in doing this. Be out in nature. Observe children and animals: they do what they like because they like it, not because anyone told them they should. Practice doing small things that make a difference and they will add up. This gets easier with time and effort, just like anything else. Let yourself off the hook if you feel like you're terrible at it and then try anyway.

Please understand that your moods and your vibes are contagious, so observe what happens when you move the needle yourself: the more sensitive people around you will start to follow suit as long as you don't harp on them about it. Just be responsible for making your own day good, regardless of circumstances you can't control. The other option is less palatable, so I really recommend this one.

One more thing: if you look around and realize that the problem is you and that you're infecting other people with shitty energy, step 1 is owning it to yourself, step 2 is addressing it privately, and step 3 is recognizing it outwardly to other people. Don't promise people that you'll change and be different in an attempt to entice them back, *actually* practice doing the work and getting to a better place first, and then have that conversation (and apologize in said conversation).

Wherever Saturn is, we're working (whether we like it or not). So everything I just described is the work. 2024's a great year to learn about vibes.