By Samantha Orthlieb | Source
I hope you have been having a restful and peaceful January? I have been dipping in and out of writing and being on social media this month, focusing on self-care. As mentioned in my latest Ascension update- this is a month for clearing clutter, detox, reset, grounding and nurturing. Self-care January is needed as we incubate for very bold, forward movement by the end of March/April!
Self-care and not pushing ourselves allows us to return to ourselves and ground so that we are well prepared for 2026.
The fiery energy for this year is building slowly, and inner processing continues from 2025 until Feb 16 (Year of the Fire Horse starts on Feb 17). Deep reflection, digestion, grieving the past, combing through your belief system. It may feel like you are wrestling with a type of frustration, anxiety, depression or malaise, possibly peppered with lethargy and feeling unmotivated.
This can also be a time for spiritual / personal development, individuation, finding hidden opportunities, and long-term planning. All that is not in alignment with the next stage of our soul’s journey and purpose is also falling away and the new is trickling in.
Even if we cannot see it yet our Divine Blueprint is unfolding, the energetic template is forming into 3D reality, and we are attracting what is needed. Wholeness, empowerment, courage, neuroplasticity/mental flexibility, universal attunement are integrating with our soul’s destiny.
One by one, certain planets are aligning with the new fiery energy, with the next being Jan 26th, Neptune moving in Aries, signaling courageous, conscious engagement. Neptune in Aries (2026–2039) merges spiritual idealism with pioneering action, urging humanity to become the Spiritual Warrior Archetype, to embody courage, compassion, and bold, intuitive action. This planet transit transforms passive dreaming into active manifestation, pushing for personal growth through courageous, self-directed spiritual self-mastery practice, breaking old limitations, and initiating new, conscious ways of being.
The Aries’ boldness can help us take small, practical steps toward dreams/goals to avoid getting lost in dreamy, Neptunian “fog”. This helps us keep moving forward and plant seeds for a co-creative and abundant future.
The chakras of the body being shifted and cleared most at this time are the 2nd, sovereignty increasing(reproductive/
So you may be experiencing various shadow Ascension symptoms including fatigue, emotional ups/downs, checking out /disassociating, headaches, easily distracted, unfocused, unable to finish tasks, couch potato syndrome, feelings of uncertainty, refining boundaries, anxiety, indecision, sleep disturbance, frustration, despair, general inflammation, skin issues, gritty eyes, addiction issues, lower immunity, and more (see my Jan Update).
If you are feeling like you are swimming against the current and are frustrated with nothing happening or working out, try surrendering and being in the flow. This allows one to align with Divine Will and ease into 2026 with less effort.
Trust and have faith. Find joy where you can. Chop wood, carry water, rinse, repeat…things will change soon enough!
Neptune in Aries signals the collapse of the myth of the warrior-hero. Political discourse may be increasingly aggressive, but hardly anyone truly believes in it anymore or resonates with the rhetoric of war. Macron may repeat the word “war” six times in every speech — it still lands with a dull thud.
Saturn, especially in conjunction with Neptune, will deliver a sharp reality check. The old myth is breaking down; action itself becomes hollow, grand speeches and heroic posturing fall flat. What is required now is a collective redefinition of our relationship to action — to restore meaning to it, humbly, without drums or fanfare.
Spiritual warriors, rise gently.
Great article, I haven’t been reading them, just comments and Kejraj’s daily supports…exhausted.
It hasn’t been smooth sailing for me, for a quite a long stretch, ha-🦈🌵🏊♀️🌵🦈
🤭 Cactus Shark just never seems to stop being funny and true, Raksha 😂😭
Her chakra list is long, and easy to find some that match life tribulations 🤭
So yeah, I found some matches.
She says “go with the flow” I’m worn out enough, that that’s the only choice left to me 🤭 oh well🥳
Rise gently, check ✔️
Let’s see if H.S. Minx let’s this through 🤔💎♥️
I am in a similar place, Lil. My cactus-owl is restless. “Going with the flaw (oops, I meant flow)” is easy to say when one is serene. I am settling for trusting that the process will lead me somewhere.
My “guided” trip to a more serene state of mind hasn’t been gentle, but has been effective, Raksha…
I do have a lot more peace towards life.
😂if you’re as difficult to manage as any one of us, trust that your handlers will gang up with Spirit to figure out the way, to achieve this serenity 😂🤣😂
♥️💎
I have a hard time understanding what you mean there. Neptune mystifies, confuses, provides faint insights into the big picture, gently dissolves things at best – but signal collapsing?
I think you’re only seeing one way the waters can go. A meaningful percentage of people is likely to fall for the war rhetoric _precisely_ because of Neptune moving into Aries, particularly those who did not learn better through their own past experiences.
I don’t see much ‘speech’ present in Aries either – heroic or not. But I’ll tell you this: former Brazilian president Bolsonaro was born March21st (00Aries), and these transits are incredibly visible in his current political life… literally facing charges for plotting a military coup, the merit of which divides opinions in the country. He’s even known by his loyalists as ‘the myth’. It can’t get any more Saturn-Neptune over Aries than that.
Thanks for your input. I was already aware of the paradox. Saturn conjunct Neptune is precisely the signature of disenchantment. Yet Neptune on its own can amplify both fantasy and disillusionment, often by first passing through a phase of heightened illusion — hence the rhetoric.
The discourse itself isn’t Aries in nature, or anything of the sort; it’s simply politicians articulating out loud what the zeitgeist is already expressing. There isn’t much inherent “speech” in this configuration anyway.
By the way, Zelensky has Pluto coming into conjunction with his Sun. And Neptune, at times, does not dissolve things gently — it remains a transpersonal planet. dillude or enhance the war fantasm, collectively. But we we have two ye
Lil’s HS blocked me — not the algorithm, and certainly not my clumsiness. My point was that Saturn–Neptune marks the first phase, and this phase is pure disenchantment. Historically, religions and spiritual movements have both been born and died during such periods. And this theme collides directly with the warrior myth.
Check the last time Neptune was in Aries: it coincided with a disenchantment of traditional conquering values, and with a somewhat blurry renewal toward a new collective project (the American Civil War, the popular revolution in China).
Good thing our comments are more accute than the message itself, maybe we should submit to KJ ?