Nathan Binford
Life comes at us in cycles and different periods of time have different vibes, different patterns, and so on. But these patterns repeat and you can learn to anticipate them when they’re coming around again.
There are times for growth, time for purging, times for building things, and times for quietly finding yourself -we all go through each of these phases. Some times are active, some are passive, and some are transformational.
Sure, everything is transforming all of the time but there are brief (and tumultuous) periods every once in a while where you go through a lot of big, big changes all at once. Like the first year living out on your own, or the first time you have a baby; these times forge you (or re-forge you) into who you are from that point forward. It could take place over days, weeks, months, or even years, but it comes and it goes like a wave that rolls over you, picking you up, rolling you around, and setting you down somewhere else entirely.
You can’t always look forward to these times exactly, because they’re not always pleasant to experience, but they always play important roles in the events of our lives that follow. These are fated experiences (part of your karma) and it’s best to face them with as much grace and enthusiasm as you can muster.
The Buddhists say that life is suffering but I think it’s all a matter of perspective…with enough time most suffering that you successfully endure becomes either strength or at least a good story.
Transformation will happen to you if the time is right, there’s no avoiding it, but you can get more out of the experience if you can identify that it is happening to you early enough to “lean in” and maximize your growth potential. Rather than just feeling lost when you’re approaching one of these transformative periods, you can learn to spot them, prepare for them, and to make the most of them.
Here are 5 signs that a big transformation is coming your way:
You feel lost, disconnected / unmoored and your confidence is very low
Just before you find yourself undergoing a big change, it’s not uncommon to feel listless, lost, and without any clear direction. It’s always frustrating when the body knows what’s coming but the mind hasn’t caught up yet.
A few days of feeling listless might just be a patch of unpleasant space weather (astrology) but an extended period of time where you feel out of sorts, disconnected from your life, and directionless, that’s more likely to be meaningful.
What does it mean? Purpose and fulfillment are balanced against each other on the fulcrum of desire. Human beings are like antennas that pick up energies from the spirit world and channel those energies into being in the physical world. How you do that depends on your talents and personality; sometimes it’s through art or writing, sometimes it’s the labor of hands working, or through bringing people together to achieve something collectively -all of these are valid expressions of fulfillment. But when you lack a feeling of fulfillment in the things you used to love; it’s time to make a change.
All your old tricks and strategies aren’t working
As you go through life you learn little tricks and techniques for working around the problems that you face and, eventually, this evolves into expertise. More complex strategies arise out of the habits and practices you learn or develop through our experiences until you become an expert and can navigate these challenges with an easy grace that sets you apart from people with less experience.
Then, seemingly out of nowhere, your luck turns and the tasks that used to be almost effortless require more of your attention. Everything takes more work than it should -and it’s not like you’re failing, you still manage to produce good results, because you know what you’re doing, but it just takes more energy to produce the same output. And you’re smart enough to look into the future and know that this isn’t sustainable.
There is a current to life that flows like a powerful river around twists and bends in the landscape of your experience. When you’re in alignment with your destiny -your purpose– you flow along with the river, moving around the obstacles like water. But when you move out of alignment, typically by expressing too much ego, or by resisting your destiny out of fear, you get smacked into every rock and stuck in every eddy in the river. This is always an indication of misalignment with destiny, or said another way, it’s a sign that you’ve fallen out of right relationship.
You’re going through a major synodic return (astrologically)
When a planet completes its orbit of the Sun all the way back around to the position it occupied in the sky when you were born (relative to Earth, not the Sun), astrologers refer to this as a synodic return. This happens frequently with the Moon, Mercury, Venus, and Mars but in much longer cycles with Jupiter, Saturn, and the North and South Nodes. And the outer planets move so slowly that you won’t live long enough to experience a synodic return of the other planets, Uranus, Neptune or Pluto.
Saturn returns are a hot topic among astrologers because they mark 28-30 year periods of life and are associated with being challenged and tested. Often health issues arise during Saturn returns that may force you to change your behavior and focus more on health and longevity.
Jupiter returns occur every 12 years and signify a change in our fortunes and a new phase of growth, and often spiritual growth. The return itself typically indicates a period of good fortune and improved luck; almost the exact opposite of a Saturn transit.
The North Node (aka Rahu) and the South Node (aka Ketu) are representative of destiny and karma or, more simply, that which you’re heading towards, and that which you’re letting go of, spiritually.
When you’re approaching any of these returns or, particularly when it comes to the nodes, even just a change in signs, you may experience a shift in energy in the period leading up to the astrological event.
You feel a great desire to be creative but nothing’s coming out
Creativity is an expression of emotional energy, and often relates to what you desire, and during the time of stagnation that leads up to a big transformation it’s common to begin to feel stuck -even constipated– creatively.
When there’s something bubbling inside you, percolating quietly in the background, there’s nothing coming out yet. Your creativity can’t flow outwardly when, inside your head, your subconscious is clearing out old passions to make way for new ones; and the time in between can feel very listless and unproductive.
Again, a few days of creative block is no big deal, it happens all the time, but an extended period of a week or more of persistent creative block is a sign that something is amiss. And this is a different issue than simply being in a creative rut, which can be the result of any number of energetic blockages. This is more like an emptying of creativity, like the source of inspiration has been turned off.
You feel disconnected from creative inspiration prior to big transformative periods, while still very much feeling the need to be creative at the same time. When this happens you’re anticipating a big outflow of creative energy subconsciously, and so you’ve got the itch to create, but you’re also preparing to realign your thoughts and beliefs so these impulses are at cross-purposes with each other.
You’re experiencing synchronicities, signs, and messages
If you’re attuned to the ways the universe, or the divine, or however you like to think of the intelligent force behind reality, you’ll be accustomed to receiving “messages” in the form of strange synchronicities, omens, and other supernatural “signs”. When you’re getting inundated with these messages from the universe, it’s definitely an indication that you’ve got some big stuff about to go down.
The more time you spend in flow, the more of these kind of transformational periods you’ll go through because you don’t get trapped behind some hang up and have to waste a lot of time learning the same lessons again and again. When you’re always moving towards your destiny, you’re always evolving your spirit as well, and this will inevitably fill your life with meaningful coincidences, fated encounters, and lucky breaks.
And if you’re not accustomed to living in flow like this, as you begin to align with your destiny (even subconsciously), the weird synchs and strange, fortuitous occurrences that start to occur take some getting used to…
You’ll Know When You Know
Experiencing one of these five scenarios might not mean you’re facing a major transition but if you resonate with two or more of these five signs, then it might be time for a change. Transformative events are not always pleasant to experience but they’re typically just what you need at exactly the right time to propel you towards your destiny.
Destiny can be a pretty elusive thing…it’s very difficult to predict the future and even harder to embrace it when it almost certainly will take us out of our comfort zone and expose us to risk. That’s why the universe has a habit of putting every obstacle in our path when we attempt to move against the current of our fate -to force us to face what we don’t want to face.
Being uncomfortable is part of change and that’s what we don’t like about it but there is more good than bad with change. Change helps us grow; it moves us out of old stagnant situations and into new ones with fresh potential. And big transformative periods where you have to accept a lot of changing dynamics all at once are few and far between -but you’ll know when it’s time, because you’ll know when it’s time. Now that you know what to look for, you’ll be able to feel it coming on…
…because, as this happens, there’s a big build up in nervous anticipation that leads to a crescendo, like in a symphonic movement, or “when the bass drops”, or like when a rollercoaster cuts loose of its restraints and lets gravity take hold.
It feels this way because of the powerful current of destiny, pulling you along towards something -something new, certainly. Something better, hopefully. Maybe something incredible, if you lean in and put your energy into it. Identifying this opportunity is the first step, what comes next is up to you.
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Preparing for big changes in your life energetically can help you go through them with grace and self-confidence. Address negative thinking, self-limiting beliefs, and old traumas through shamanic energy healing so that you can be your best self as you face your next adventure. Learn more and book a session with me at The Sacred Serpent.
Nathan Binford
