Watching, reading, listening, scrolling….where did the time go, where did my objectives go, where did my motivation go?? Sucked into the vortex of the little LED screen, or big one, whichever one I choose for the moment. It seems I know I have a lot of writing to do, thoughts to get out of my brain. Instead I grab the phone and scroll Twitter or Instagram. How those little apps control our lives. It’s gross and yet I’m addicted to procrastination and distraction, like all Americans.
There is so much going on in our world that it’s difficult to ignore and easy to get sucked into, but I can choose whether to consume or not. I choose to focus on consuming positive but I admittedly look at the negative, too. It’s like a “guilty pleasure” but I feel (and sometimes fear) the full consequence on the human psyche. We are all paying dearly in our collective consciousness for this constant over-stimulation of contractive, reductive, inflaming content. My home country is inflamed with turmoil as we fight for footing in the cocoon of change. The planet is feeling it in all the myriad ways. As we expand our ability to create light and open ourselves to new awareness, we also increase our ability to succumb to and spread darkness. Our systems are breaking down and we can choose to cling to sameness and die, or open ourselves to new realities and live. Things break down so we can rebuild. There is no way to rebuild the same or we’ll get the same outcomes. Change is inevitable and absolutely necessary.
We’ve reached the limits of this last phase (industrial revolution, big tech boom, fossil fuels, etc.), the Piscean phase of secrets, detachment and hidden agendas (low road of Pisces, although we had incredible downloads and advancements in the last 25,000 years to be sure - not all of it was low road). Humanity is in a transition from what we used to be to what we are to become. It is the Age of Aquarius (future thinking, innovation, rebellion, new systems, truth & transparency, community) and it’s very real. If it feels like time is speeding up, it is. If it feels like we are in a transformative and tumultuous time, it’s because we are. Trust those feelings, they are communicating to you that you also have to transform.
The caterpillar (humanity) has crystalized into a cocoon state but it still exists only as a caterpillar in transition. It’s going to take some time to complete the metamorphosis into a butterfly (also humanity). So many things can still interrupt the process or go wrong along the way. There is no guarantee of metamorphosis without proper planning, care, time to coagulate and time to transform. At this stage the caterpillar is at war with itself. It likes being a caterpillar but feels the impending changes happening inside and although it may want to, it cannot stop them. “Perhaps if I just rest awhile,” the caterpillar thinks, “then I’ll be able to figure out next steps on how to counteract this change.” But in the resting, the inevitability of this change awaits. Caterpillars are supposed to transform into butterflies. That is their purpose. Sure, some caterpillars will only ever be bird food, but ultimately if the caterpillar does not change, it will die. So transmute into a butterfly it eventually does.
There is a famous quote (I believe anonymous) that says: “Just when the caterpillar thought the world was over, he turned into a butterfly.”
It kind of feels like this is what’s happening to humanity right now. The caterpillar knows the changes are too big to fight but only part of him is convinced. Another part of him is extremely resistant to living life as anything other than a caterpillar. The caterpillar is fighting itself to both stay the same and to change completely. There is no middle ground. The transformation will take place, but it’s an ugly business for the caterpillar, at least on a cellular level. The cells of the caterpillar are in division – the ones who want to stay caterpillar cells and the news ones already creating the change, the imaginal cells. These imaginal cells are pre-programed for butterfly and cannot be caterpillar. They are single-celled at first, separate completely from the caterpillar cells, and they replicate and unify, eventually operating as one to metamorphose from caterpillar to butterfly. But the caterpillar cells attack the imaginal cells at first, believing them to be a threat. As the cells fight it out, eventually the imaginal cells reign because they continue to replicate themselves and unite the cause of butterfly, while the old caterpillar cells only have what’s left of themselves and cannot create anything new (like a new caterpillar). They hang on tight, tooth and nail, and do not give in, unifying in a “fight for survival” but again, not able to keep pace with the imaginal cells that are increasingly replicating butterfly cells. Eventually most of the remaining caterpillar cells will decide to give in to the inevitable and become butterfly cells. They’d prefer to exist as a butterfly than not at all. And so over time, the caterpillar cells lose strength, die, dissolve and become food for the imaginal cells. The soup of the dying caterpillar cells feed the imaginal cells that are then able to speed up the transmutation process. Butterfly time.
We can lay this analogy onto all of humanity, every nation, all political systems and people in every stage of life. The “old paradigm” is clinging so desperately to “going back to the way things used to be” that it’s willing to fight and attack its own brothers and sisters who are coded to a new way of life. We are in that ugly cellular change where some would rather die than change and others would rather change than die (or die rather than not change).
Transformations are upon us whether you think you’re ready for them or not. The same can be said for the darkness of humanity. We are facing additional upheavals as we determine the direction of our collective fate. The cells are battling it out but I often say, it’s always darkest before the dawn. I truly believe that. We cannot have one without the other, but we can determine which one we choose to align with and create more of in the world. I choose Light. I choose acceptance and kindness and equanimity and Love. Humanity’s values, motivations and behaviors, truth, information, how we communicate and how we interact - are all in flux right now. How we handle ourselves and the changes we face – all of it is up for examination. So get to examining what is truly important to your heart and soul. Not what you’re supposed to do or supposed to want (financial wealth, stuff, perfect partner, white picket fence, status). What makes your soul soar? What would you do if there was no such thing as money and the daily grind? What would make you jump up out of bed in the morning excited to start your day? How would you interact with your fellow humans if you weren’t programmed to compete with them?
It is the self-discovery, self-knowing, self-care and inner work that can evolve society forward. The unknown can be scary, for sure, but the only way to go from unknown to known, is to engage with new ideas and release outdated paradigms. Learn, ask questions, dive deeper, face your own darkness and find your own light. We can’t push each other, we can only do the deep work on ourselves, but we can support and assist others in their journey by getting out of their way (to explore their own darkness and light) and being there for them when they need us. By doing our best to be a neutral observer rather than judging and categorizing everything as good or bad. Through that, we add to the collective changes that can produce positive outcomes in our world. That doesn’t mean we can’t affect change by collaborating, it simply means the deepest work, the real work, starts within. What are your targets for joy, happiness, fulfillment? What are your triggers that lead you to feel contracted, that show your darkness? Can you face all parts of you and accept them? Transmutation occurs after acceptance, never before. You can’t change what you don’t acknowledge and if change frightens you, you have to figure out how to embrace that which you fear most.
What do you truly desire with every fiber of your being? What do you want and what will you fight for no matter the cost? Find that target, aim and let your arrows fly.
The work of the world can be done in the heart. Start with you. Know Yourself first, then share your light with others. Go ahead, turn into a Butterfly!
About Holli Weatherington
Holli is a writer, astrologer and former journalist from Memphis, TN, now living in Colorado with her husband and two cats. She is actively engaged in deep Spiritual growth, service to the Human Connection, and devotion to Natural Magick, Astrology and Mysticism. You can follow her online and hire her for astrology readings.
Find her content on: womanseesworld.com, womansees.substack.com, IG: @womansees, @holliseesyou
To inquire about astrological readings: womansees@gmail.com