Pull up a chair, grab your favorite cup of coffee, and let’s have a conversation because I’ve been hearing the same question over and over again lately. It doesn’t matter if someone books a reading about love, money, career, or family. Somewhere during our conversation they stop, look at me, and ask, “Aeson, why does it feel like my whole life is going backward?” The funny thing is they all think they’re the only person feeling that way. Trust me—they’re not. If you’ve been questioning your career, your relationships, your purpose, or even the person you’ve become, you’re not imagining it. You’re also not losing your mind. You’re living through one of the biggest astrological shifts we’ve seen in years.
Before we blame Mercury retrograde, let’s clear something up. Poor Mercury gets blamed for everything these days. Your phone freezes? Mercury. You lose your keys? Mercury. Your coffee gets cold? Somehow that’s Mercury too. Social media has turned one little retrograde into the villain of every inconvenience. The truth is, what’s happening right now is much bigger than Mercury. Saturn is retrograde. Neptune is retrograde. The lunar nodes have shifted. Several of the slower-moving planets are changing signs and beginning entirely new conversations with one another. Astrologers often refer to this larger convergence as the Barbault Basket, a period where multiple long-term planetary cycles overlap, creating one larger story instead of a series of separate events.
When clients ask me what that means, I don’t start talking about planetary geometry. I ask them to picture the laundry basket sitting in their bedroom. All week long they toss things into it without much thought. Shirts, towels, socks, maybe that favorite hoodie they’ve been living in. Eventually, the basket gets so full that they dump everything onto the bed and begin sorting it. That’s exactly what this astrology feels like. The universe has dumped your basket. Your career is sitting there. Your relationship is sitting there. Your finances, your confidence, your dreams, your fears, your spiritual path, and even the promises you’ve made to yourself are all lying in one big pile. No wonder so many people feel overwhelmed. Instead of dealing with one lesson at a time, it feels like every area of life wants your attention all at once.
At the center of all of this is Aries, the first sign of the zodiac. Aries asks one simple question: “Who are you?” Not what you do for a living. Not who you’re dating. Not what everyone else expects from you. Who are you today? That’s why so many people feel restless. They’re not necessarily having a crisis. They’re outgrowing an old version of themselves. The career you chose fifteen years ago may not fit the person you’ve become. The relationship that once brought you joy may need to grow along with you. That’s uncomfortable, but growth usually is.
Then Saturn retrograde joins the conversation. I like to think of Saturn as that honest friend who cares enough to ask the uncomfortable questions. “Are you actually happy?” Not comfortable—happy. There’s a big difference. Comfort can keep us stuck for years. I’ve met people who stayed in jobs they hated because they felt safe. I’ve met people who stayed in relationships long after they stopped feeling loved because starting over felt too scary. Saturn isn’t trying to punish anyone. It’s simply shining a flashlight on the foundation of your life and asking whether it’s strong enough to support where you’re trying to go next.
Just when you’ve started answering Saturn’s questions, Neptune quietly leans across the table with a fresh cup of coffee and says, “Can we be honest for a minute?” Neptune rules dreams, intuition, and spirituality, but it also rules illusion. It asks whether the stories you’ve been telling yourself are still true. Maybe you’ve convinced yourself that things will magically get better someday. Maybe you’ve been putting your dreams on hold because the timing never feels perfect. Neptune retrograde begins clearing away the fog so you can finally see your life as it really is instead of how you’ve been hoping it would become.
Now, I need to climb up on my soapbox for just a minute because this has been driving me crazy. If you’ve spent any time on social media lately, you’ve probably run into what I call the astrology shock jocks. Every video is screaming that this retrograde is going to destroy your life, ruin your relationship, or bring complete chaos. Apparently, according to TikTok, we should all be hiding under the bed until the planets calm down. Give me a break. Fear gets clicks, and that’s exactly why so much astrology online is built around panic instead of perspective.
Here’s what decades of reading charts has taught me: astrology has never been about taking your power away. The same Saturn retrograde that encourages one person to leave a toxic job gives someone else the discipline to finally build the business they’ve always dreamed about. The same Neptune retrograde that exposes deception in one relationship helps another person reconnect with their intuition and deepen their spiritual life. Astrology describes the weather, but it doesn’t drive the car. Your birth chart matters. Your choices matter. Most importantly, you matter.
As I look at this Barbault Basket, I don’t see disaster. I see opportunity. I see people waking up and asking better questions. Who have I become? What no longer fits? What dreams have I ignored? Where have I confused comfort with happiness? Those aren’t easy questions, but they’re the ones that change lives. Maybe that’s why your friendships are shifting. Maybe that’s why your career suddenly feels different. Maybe that’s why you’re questioning beliefs you’ve carried for years. That doesn’t mean you’re falling apart. It probably means you’re growing.
So the next time you catch yourself asking, “Why is everything retrograding in my life?” remember this: your life isn’t moving backward. It’s slowing down long enough for you to sort through your basket. Some things you’ll carry into the next chapter because they still belong there. Other things you’ll finally realize you’ve outgrown. That’s the gift hidden inside this extraordinary moment in the sky. Not fear. Not punishment. Not doom. Clarity.
And if you’re sitting there looking at your own basket thinking, “I don’t even know where to start,” that’s okay. Sometimes we’re simply too close to our own lives to see clearly. That’s where I come in. Give me a call, and together we’ll spread your basket out on the table, sort through what belongs, and discover what Saturn, Neptune, and the rest of the sky are trying to teach you. Sometimes one good conversation is all it takes to turn confusion into clarity, and I’d be honored to help you take that next step.
