🚨 Emergency vibe repair 🚨

One of the tragedies of life is that we don't necessarily get to choose who we spend our time around, and society is filled with all kinds of people with a spectrum of intentions. If you've been feeling overwhelmed and down lately (and you've ruled out medical causes!!!) consider your daily intake of vibes, some of which may be against your will.

Something you're not going to find in any astrology book is that if you have a heavy Neptune transit, you're SO susceptible to bad vibes, "energy vampires," and people who otherwise poison your psychic space, either intentionally or otherwise. Normally I'm pretty picky about who I want to hang out around for this reason, but when I've had heavy Neptune transits, my internal compass of what is healthy goes berserk. In one instance, I befriended a pathological liar. In another, I befriended a large adult child who refused to see herself as the common denominator of her problems and came running to me all the time (spoiler alert: eventually she decided I was a problem and that ended pretty badly for me).

Quick diagnostic:

• Do you feel paranoid that everything is about to fall apart? Like, if one more thing goes wrong, you don't know what you'll do?

• Is everyone dumping on you emotionally? (Clue: if anyone has ever said "you're the only person who understands me," MAYDAY.)

• Do you feel you're the only person who is adequately able to help certain people? (And you're not their mom?)

If yes, you're probably surrounded by bad vibes. And I count vibes of extreme neediness as bad, even if the people involved are nice people with good intentions. Codependency has never ended well for anyone. Consider what is motivating you to "save" others.

So if you have a case of the bad vibes, you should not (cannot, must not) try to convince yourself that you're going to feel better by taking no action. What people usually try to do is distract themselves until they feel better, and there are no shortages of distractions available, like anything with a screen. Also: dumping on someone else is not nice. I'm not saying don't vent, but bringing other people down with your shitty vibes isn't cool.

Solution time: you must counterbalance the bad vibes with the good ones. Where do you find those? Basically: away from others, usually.

1. Nature. Going hiking somewhere pretty will fix a lot of shit. Get out of your head and into your body. If you're still overthinking, move faster. Or sleep on the beach. That works, too.

2. Bodies of water. Do you have an ocean available to you? Get in it. Salt water does wonders for your energy field. Next: regular water. Take a bath, get in a pool: stay in there a while. Emergency option: take a shower.

3. Solitude *helps* but you also have to be doing something positive and productive. Solitude with wallowing does nothing. Use quiet to sort out who or what is bringing you down, and think about your options.

4. A meditation class where there's a group of people with good intentions all meditating in the same space. You can meditate on your own, but the presence of other people will supercharge the effects. Even probably yoga where they do a meditation at the end will move the needle.

5. Similar to #4: the type of religious institution where people *pray quietly by themselves,* as opposed to where people pray loudly in unison. You can go and sit in one of those, as they are typically open to the public. Even if you're not religious: ride the coattails of other people's pure intentions. If you try a space and it didn't work, try a different space. The ones that I'm talking about are really, really quiet, and you should feel a difference after 20 minutes of sitting without looking at your phone.

6. This is not a slam-dunk, but concerts can be good if everyone present is having a cathartic, enjoyable experience. In a way, good concerts can be similar to a religious experience, but nothing guarantees you a good time.

7. Spending time with pets you love and without anything with a screen.

8. Reading or watching something you find inspiring (if it makes your heart feel full of positivity/optimism, then it's a winner).

9. Places like Disney World where there's whimsy, or places children like to go, you can KIND OF MacGyver yourself into some good vibes, but you can't necessarily control your experience, especially if you get stuck waiting in line for an hour next to a loud asshole or a family having a terrible time. Plus, if you don't have kids, it's kind of weird to go hang out around kids. Whimsy is something to pursue though, as it is the opposite of slog.

The following things will make everything worse: substance abuse, doomscrolling, hanging out in bars, watching trash media (there are so many options it's hard to say this concisely), taking public transportation late at night (it's where they keep the sad people), spending a lot of time in medical buildings, or other places people don't like going to, like court or the DMV. Also: NO GRAVEYARDS.

If you can avoid it, don't let the needy sad sacks or anyone who has shitty energy into your living space or work space. Get them out of your space and meet them elsewhere, if you must meet them at all.

Basically, fixing your energy is an inside job, and no one else is going to do it for you. If you have other ideas that weren't on my list, tell me, and I'll add them.