Welcome to Ghost of a Podcast. I'm your host, Jessica Lanyadoo. I'm an astrologer, psychic medium, and animal communicator, and I'm going to give you your weekly horoscope and no-bullshit mystical advice for living your very best life.

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I had the total pleasure of sitting down with Rachel Brathen, who you may know as Yoga Girl, to talk to her sweet dog, Ringo. Enjoy the reading.

Rachel:            So yeah. My name is Rachel, and the question I have is around my dog. His name is Ringo. He's an Italian Greyhound. I mean, anyone who's an animal parent knows the feeling of really having a baby that isn't a human baby. He's my baby, my first baby. And normally, he travels with me everywhere. He's been all over the world with me because he's a little dog. And we just spent a couple of weeks—or a couple months, actually—abroad. And as we were going home, out of the blue, the airline denied him. So, after a lot of drama, we had to leave him behind on another continent.

Jessica:            Heartbreaking.

Rachel:            Yeah. And I know it feels like a privileged problem because there are worse things in the world, and he's "just a dog." But he's also a dog that's my baby. And he's really, really anxious. I am like his support human. And the first day that we left—I left him with my brother—he ran away and was gone for four hours, and it was a whole fairly traumatic ordeal for everyone involved. And I would love to find a way to communicate with him or to calm him somehow.

Jessica:            Okay. So a couple quick questions. He's home now; he's at your brother's place now, eh?

Rachel:            Yes.

Jessica:            Okay. And is he brown?

Rachel:            Yes.

Jessica:            Okay. So he's a brown greyhound, and he's little.

Rachel:            He's little. I mean, for a greyhound, he's a little bit bigger than normal, but he's a small dog.

Jessica:            Okay. Okay. And say his name again.

Rachel:            Ringo.

Jessica:            Okay. So let me just kind of get into his—what do you actually call him?

Rachel:            Ringo or Ringese.

Jessica:            Okay. He is pretty panicked still. It looks like he's still pretty panicked. Is that what your brother has told you?

Rachel:            No. My brother lies through his teeth. I can tell. Every day I ask for proof of life, and I get some sort of faraway picture, and he says, "Everything's fine." But I don't know if it's fine.

Jessica:            That's your brother's coping mechanism. We won't psychically peep on your brother, but that's just his way. Okay. So Ringo's pretty freaked out. I'm going to ease in with communicating with him because he's a little suspicious of me. He's like, "I don't know. I don't know what this is." He understands that you didn't want to let him go. He understands that you're grieving, that you feel awful. He knew what was happening. Oh. Gosh. Wow. You guys are very, very intimate. You're really—I mean, you say that he's your baby, but he's more like your soulmate, like you're best friends. He feels that you have a very—he's a boy?

Rachel:            Mm-hmm.

Jessica:            He's a very, very tender, sweet boy. Very tender and sweet. He feels that the two of you really rely on each other for everything. So he doesn't feel harmed by you. Let's start with that. He doesn't want to stay there. He doesn't want to be away from you. You knew that, right? So I guess before I kind of go deep, my question is, is there anything that we can reassure—like are you going to get him back, or is that not—

Rachel:            Yeah.

Jessica:            You are?

Rachel:            No, no. For sure. Yeah. So I'm going in December. The plan is to move to Sweden.

Jessica:            Okay. So you're going to go back there. He's not going to come with you where you are now. Do you know the date in December?

Rachel:            December 15th.

Jessica:            And are there any weather-based markers? Right now, it's sunny and warm, eh?

Rachel:            Warmish. I mean, it's fall.

Jessica:            Okay.

Rachel:            It's getting colder. For him, it's probably cold. He's freezing all the time.

Jessica:            Okay. By the time December comes, it's like deep winter, right? By the time you're there?

Rachel:            Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

Jessica:            I'm just asking you these details because I'm going to show him the passage of time instead of giving him a calendar date through the Gregorian calendar or whatever the fuck it is, because of course he doesn't know what the fuck December 17th is or whatever date you're moving back. So hold on for just a moment.

Okay. So he does understand—he doesn't believe it's true, because I'm a stranger, and I'm showing him that. So what you can do as frequently as you feel called—I mean, I wouldn't do it multiple times a day, but you could do it once a day at max. Just really visualize him, and you know how to connect with him, eh? You've been connecting with this dog for years, so you know how to connect with him.

Just visualize when you come into your brother's house and you hug him and you take him away, and visualize it based on what that week in December is likely to look and feel like weather-wise, because that'll effectively communicate how long it is because my sense is that you keep on telling him that you'll be there soon, and so he's like, "It's soon. What's happening? It's soon. This is a very long soon." So I think being able to show him it's going to be a couple months—is there anyone else who could take him?

Rachel:      Take him here?

Jessica:      No. I mean other than your brother.

Rachel:            Yeah. We have some options. I felt like he would be—well, I thought he would be safest there because he knows his house, and he has another dog that he's very close with.

Jessica:            I'm having a hard time because he's showing me that your brother is—he's a little flippant. You are constantly checking in with him and you're constantly communicating with him and making sure that he's well adjusted—not that he's okay, but he's well—and your brother just doesn't do that with dogs. I don't know if he does it with people, but he definitely doesn't seem to do that with dogs. And so I feel like if you had a more nurturing, snuggly human that was an option, it's possible that that might be a better match. He just is showing me how he's pretty anxious. I'm sorry.

Rachel:            Yeah.

Jessica:            Yeah. He's pretty anxious. Yeah.

Rachel:            I could cry hearing this, but I also—I know that.

Jessica:            So let me just pull back. Say his name one more time.

Rachel:            Ringo.

Jessica:            Thank you. I get [indiscernible 00:07:19] names, which is why I'm making you say it. So there's a couple things. With our human children and our animal besties and our friends and our parents and everything else, everyone has shit happen in life, and there's only so much we can do about it. Part of being there for someone is—it's kind of accepting that there's going to be hardship and thinking less about, "How can I protect them from feeling bad?" and more, "What can I constructively do so that when I connect with them, I can hold space for them?"'

                        I'm saying this to you because you've done this with your dog many times over the course of your relationship. You've been there for each other, according to him, anyways. And in the way that he's showing me you know how to do, basically, you need to show him that you're coming back and that you know that he's safe, because I think what you're showing him is how concerned you are. And so it's like the two of you are revving each other up a little bit, which I think is one of your dynamics, like it's part of your relationship. Does that make sense to you?

Rachel:            Yeah.

Jessica:            Okay. Yeah. For better or worse, right? It is like you guys are besties, which means sometimes you're too similar. And so what he needs from you now is firm, consistent reassurance, which is, for you, really hard because you feel like empathetic emotional sharing is—it's like your love language. It's how you show and prove that you're there. Does that make sense as well?

Rachel:            Yeah.

Jessica:            Okay. So I'm not saying get rid of that love language, but I am saying that in this situation, because you're not physically there, he is picking up on your anxiety, and you're picking up on his anxiety, which makes you both more anxious and it makes the whole situation feel a lot less stable. Do you mind if we look through your options for who he could stay with?

Rachel:            Yeah. Let's do it.

Jessica:            Are they all women?

Rachel:            Yeah.

Jessica:            Okay. Good, because he would prefer that. So who's the first person you were thinking of?

Rachel:            Her name is Angela.

Jessica:            And can Angela take him?

Rachel:            Yeah. She even offered. The reason I didn't go to her as a first option is because she also has another dog, but that dog is at doggie daycare all day and loves it. It's that kind of happy dog that loves a ton of energy of other dogs, and Ringo is not like that.

Jessica:            No, he's not. He's not.

Rachel:            But then, when he ran away, she called and she said, "Why didn't you leave him here?" and I said, "Well, he wouldn't love doggie daycare." And she said, "Well, we would never put him there. He would be with us all day." And now I feel like—

Jessica:            She works from home?

Rachel:            Yeah. Yeah.

Jessica:            That feels like a better option. Is there a kid in that household?

Rachel:            Yeah. Two.

Jessica:            Okay. I feel like he really loves one of those kids, or maybe one of them really loves snuggling or dogs and snuggling. This would be a much more nurturing, protective environment for him. And she's down. She's completely down to take care of him in the way that you need.

I don't think you made a mistake by choosing your brother. If I was in your position, I probably would have done the same thing. It's kind of a big ask to have someone take care of your dog last minute for months on end. You made the right choice to choose your brother. I feel like he has a lot of space, too. So it feels like your dog could theoretically run around and be really happy, but it's way too much space for him. Without you there, he just feels like this is—he's not thrilled. Who are the other options?

Rachel:            My friend Mikayla was another option.

Jessica:            She's a great option. Angela's better. The way that she will love on him is more like how you do.

Rachel:            Yeah, and I think they would both love on him really deeply. Yeah. I mean, Mikayla lives in an apartment and already has a dog, and I felt like maybe it would be a little overwhelming because it's a long time. It's not just a weekend or a week away. It's a very long time.

Jessica:            It's a very long time. I think Angela is your best option. She doesn't seem like she will be in any way put out. And your friendship with her—it looks like she wants to be able to do this for you. So I don't know if you did something really meaningful for her and she's wanted to be able to kind of respond in kind. This is her chance to be able to be like, "Just let me care for you this way." It looks like your brother's not going to be offended. And if it doesn't work out for—

Rachel:            You think he won't be offended? I feel like he's really going to be offended.

Jessica:            Okay. Let's dig into your brother for a moment more. Say his name.

Rachel:            Ludwig.

Jessica:            You think he's going to be offended?

Rachel:            No. Okay. Let me rephrase. I think he's going to be sad.

Jessica:            It's interesting. I could be totally wrong, but it looks like he'll be more annoyed than sad because he feels like you should just trust him and you should be fine with it and everything's fine. Your brother's a lovely person, and he wants to—I don't think he's loving the job. I don't think it's super easy for him. And I don't think he in any way resents it or wants your dog to leave. The thing is your sweet puppy wants to be snuggled, and I just don't see your brother snuggling your puppy. And it really just comes down to that. There's other things, but that's the central thing. Is he super snuggly?

Rachel:            Ringo? Yeah. He wants to be under the covers on your lap or next to you all the time.

Jessica:            That's cute.

Rachel:            And if I leave the room, he leaves the room. If I go to the bathroom, he comes to the bathroom.

Jessica:            That's very sweet. I love that. It's like a cat. I just don't see your brother going for that in the same way as your Angela. She's going to be like, "Oh my God. That's so cute. Come on." Your brother is just like, "Yeah, I can work around that. That's fine. It's not a problem." Your sweet puppy—and I'm sorry, but he really looks like a puppy or cat. He's got a very funny, funny personality which is hard to see a little bit right now because he is pretty distraught—I mean, not distraught, but he's upset. Yeah. If he could just be snuggling for several days in a row, it would sooth him.

Rachel:            Do you think he would run away again? Because that's the thing that makes it hard for me to—

                        [crosstalk]

Jessica:            He doesn't think he ran away. He was panicked, so he was running, but he wasn't running away. Did he get found, or did he come back?

Rachel:            He came back.

Jessica:            Yeah. That makes sense to me because he's like, "I didn't run away. I just left," because he wasn't supposed to be there. He doesn't like feeling so insecure. He feels very insecure in this situation. He understood what was happening. He understood he was supposed to stay with your brother. He understood why: because something happened with these people at the airport. He actually really understands all of this, which is great because I think that's part of what's so hard with our animal friends. You don't want them to suffer and not know why. That sounds terrible. But he did understand. The trouble is he doesn't like it. I mean, neither do you. Neither of you like this at all. Say your nickname for him again.

Rachel:            Ringese.

Jessica:            The only thing he's showing me that would be soothing other than having you come back is snuggling. He really likes to snuggle. His nervous system is zippy. I don't know if that's a breed thing or if it's his personality, but he feels—I mean, I don't want you to feel bad about this, but he feels set adrift. He feels pretty lost because you've anchored in each other so long and so totally. Have you ever been separated?

Rachel:            No.

Jessica:            Oh. I'm so sorry. This is terrible. Your brother's going to be annoyed if you move him. He'll be annoyed—yeah, insulted more than offended. You know what I mean? It's a little less emotional. Whether or not you make that call is completely at your discretion. I mean, you could do a snuggle test and just ask if Angela could take him for a weekend, and if he ends up doing a hard-snuggle weekend, then leave him there. Be like, "Okay. So he's happier there." And if he doesn't adjust, then avoid the family drama and keep him with your brother. You could try it that way.

                        From what he's showing me, he will pass the snuggle test. I don't see him running from Angela, because it's a very enveloping environment, and that's really what he craves when he's stressed out is being enveloped. Does that make sense?

Rachel:            Yeah. Yeah. It does.

Jessica:            I'm sorry I don't have an easier answer.

Rachel:            No. I didn't think it was—I mean, I am thinking now, do I get on a plane again tomorrow and I go and cheat the system somehow, do something semi-illegal to get him back here? I kind of—yeah.]

Jessica:            Why did they not let him out?

Rachel:            Because of new COVID regulations. We had a layover that was three hours and 25 minutes in Amsterdam, and the max time for a layover allowed with COVID is three hours if you have a pet on the plane.

Jessica:            Oh my God.

Rachel:            Yeah. And then we changed the flight so my husband would fly the day before to split it up, and then still, he wasn't allowed. It was like a whole—I mean, this was two weeks of just this big ordeal with the airline.

Jessica:            I'm so sorry. Okay. So hold on for just a moment. Let me check on this. Okay? Looks fine to me. I mean, if you want to—and I don't know, and I'm going to knock on wood because I'm like that. But I'm not seeing any kind of indication that there's going to be something wrong if he comes with you. I mean, you need to trust your intuition. If your intuition is like, "Let this be; it happened for a reason," then I don't want to interrupt that. But it really looks okay. Hey, listen. Does he have this treat that he eats that's chunky?

Rachel:            Like a hard chunky?

Jessica:            I can't tell if it's hard. When I look at it, it looks maybe a little squishy, but I kind of think it's hard. It's hard for me to tell because he's just showing it to me. Do you know what I'm talking about?

Rachel:            I don't—there's a lot of animal bones and stuff around my brother's farm, so sometimes he finds that and takes home—

Jessica:            No. This is something you used to give him. I mean recently.

Rachel:            Oh. No, I used to give him little—they're kind of cookies, but—

Jessica:            Yeah. They look like blonde cookies, right?

Rachel:            Yeah.

Jessica:            Okay. He's not getting them right now, and he's showing me that he would like them. So whether you go get him or not—he's been showing them to me for a minute, and I've just been like—we're talking about something a little more serious, but he really wants those back. So I would buy them from a local store and ship them to your brother's house or something so it's easy for your brother or whoever ends up taking care of him.

He really likes those cookies. It's also a thing you did for him. It is explicit. You would be like, "Oh, this is a gift I'm giving you," and he received it as a gift, a delicious gift. And so he's really—he's not getting—there's nothing wrong with your brother or how he's caring for your dog. It's just there are no gifts. There are no deep snuggles. It's the things he lives for. It's like an artist who cannot paint, if that makes sense.

Rachel:            It does make sense. I even bought two new blankets because in his house, he doesn't have snuggly, cozy blankets and pillows. And I was like, "He needs to be under a blanket at all times. You need to"—I text him, "Is he cold? Is he under a blanket?"

Jessica:            Your brother doesn't think about dogs as people. He thinks about dogs as animals in a very different way than you do. He's not going to do any kind of non-medical intervention-style temperature check in the way that you are—

Rachel:            Right.

Jessica:            —from what I'm seeing, anyways.

Rachel:            I mean, he has a dog that is like his soul contract dog, but he's a big dog. He's a dog dog, like a dog that wants to be outside and get dirty. And Ringo is like a cat.

Jessica:            Yeah. Yeah.

Rachel:            He's not like that. Yeah.

Jessica:            Well, it makes sense that your brother's soulmate is a dog who doesn't need a lot of maintenance and a lot of froofing. Sure. That makes sense for your brother. But your dog is like a person who wants to make eye contact and talk about feelings. He wants—

Rachel:            (laughs)

Jessica:            (laughs) But it's true.

Rachel:            We have a voice for him. I mean, we do. He talks about his feelings all the time.

Jessica:            He talks about his feelings all the time. You mean you and your husband have a voice for him?

Rachel:            Yeah. He has a slight Italian accent, and he's just very particular and very emotional about a lot of things all the time.

Jessica:            That's exactly how I see him. I mean, I don't necessarily see an Italian accent, but I will say that he's emotional and tender, and he's just—if he doesn't have "us" time, he feels like something's missing. And that's just not who your brother is. Angela will give him that more similarly to how you do, and I think he likes taking care of kids. I don't know that he likes being around kids all the time. I think he can get a little skittish depending on the kids and the situation. But I think he likes the idea that he can take care of kids. So it doesn't concern me that she has a couple of them in the house because I don't—does he get along with all kids?

Rachel:            I mean, her kids are older, so I think they're more calm and grounding. He gets nervous around a bunch of kids and—yeah.

Jessica:            I'm seeing that. I'm seeing that, because I've been showing him her space and what it would feel like, and he's like, "Her kids are okay. That's okay." He understands from our conversation that you are taking active steps to figure out how to get him more comfortable and that you're still taking care of him. So that's good. He knew that you were still wanting to take care of him, but he didn't know that you were taking care of him. Does that make sense? It's just this has never happened before.

Rachel:            I'm thinking now I should just make a real effort to have someone bring him and try another airline and do it—like just do it.

Jessica:            You can. You totally can, and you don't have to, because I don't know if I did a good job of saying this before, but if this is his life experience, if this is what's happening for the two of you right now where it's fucking COVID and you're traveling internationally and it's complicated, then it is what it is. And you can do things to take care of him from afar. They'll be annoying for everyone involved, maybe—mainly you and your brother—but they're not bad. I mean, he is being well fed and well cared for, and he is safe and he knows that he belongs, and he knows that you love him.

He's just—I don't know how to effectively describe—his heart and his mind, they're so—I don't know when you have a fake voice for him if it's kind of like an Italian poet, like an emotional Italian poet, but he has that vibe. You know what I mean? He's just so emotional, and he does kind of wax poetic on things. So he can really go there with being bereft or—you know? He can really go there. He just hasn't had to with you before. So this is a new experience that he does not care for, of course. But he knows that you haven't abandoned him, and he's shown me that since the beginning of this conversation, since before I started telling him things. So he's—

Rachel:      He knows we're coming back?

Jessica:            Yeah. Yeah. Well, he knows that you're coming for him one way or another. He's not exactly sure on how, and I think it's probably because you've communicated a little bit frenetically to him because you're just like, "I don't fucking know what to do. I don't know when it's going to happen. I don't know what it's going to look like," because you don't exactly. And you didn't plan for this. Everything you've done together as a team you have planned for, so this is just like a reversal of things.

                        He's showing me that he's really healthy. He feels he's really healthy. He feels that his body is strong. Is he old? Because he's telling me he isn't old. I don't know why he would go out of his way to tell me he isn't old. Do you tell him he's old, or is he old?

Rachel:            He's eight. And for a dog that's going to live till he's at least 75, I feel like he's a baby. But my husband continuously reminds me that he is getting older and won't live forever. He has a few grays coming in.

Jessica:            Okay. So yeah. That must be why he's saying this, because he agrees with you. He'll live forever. He's fine. So this three months of concern, it's not like he's going to age out in these three months or something. That's what he's showing me. I imagine he's going to be a little calmer after this conversation because he seems calmer now. He seems a little bit more like, "Oh. Okay. You're actually—you're figuring this out." And he's kind of reiterating, as I'm showing him he might end up at Angela's for a while, that he's not unhappy at your brother's. It's just not a home for him, and he's so used to living in your lap. So it's such a dramatic change for him.

                        If you're really concerned about his anxiety, yes, go to Angela. But he's showing me he's a little bit more calm and understanding that there's a bunch of plans that you're working on, because he's used to seeing you work on plans and he knows what you do. You have an idea and you worry about it—this is what he's showing me. You have an idea and you worry about it, and you seem like you're never going to figure anything out. And then you, in one instant, figure everything out and then in the next instant do it.

                        So he's like, "Okay. So, if you're on the case, then it'll get fixed." He just wasn't sure if you were. I mean, he knew you wanted to be, but he didn't know if you were. Does he wear boots?

Rachel:            Yes. (laughs)

Jessica:            Sorry. (laughs) Why does he wear . . . (laughs)

Rachel:            It's cracking me up.

Jessica:            Why does he wear them?

Rachel:            His feet gets really cold. I mean, he has almost no fur and not a lot of body fat.

Jessica:            I see.

Rachel:            He grew up in the Caribbean. So, when the ground is cold outside, I give him little boots because he literally will try to lift all four paws off the ground at the same time.

Jessica:            That's so cute and terrible at once. Okay. So is your brother putting him in the boots?

Rachel:            I would assume not—

Jessica:            I would assume not, too.

Rachel:            —because everyone thinks that they're stupid.

Jessica:            Oh, they look ridiculous. I mean, he is showing me that they look ridiculous. Are they red?

Rachel:            Yes. Red and black. Red and black.

Jessica:            Okay, because I thought dogs were colorblind, but he's showing me that they're red, which—

Rachel:            Okay.

Jessica:            —he agrees is ridiculous. He has pride about them, and he's also mortified by them. It's both. I don't think your brother would put them on gently, and your dog—he really wants them put on gently. It's very important to him. You have a routine or a ritual around putting those shoes on, eh?

Rachel:            Yeah. I mean, he—yeah.

Jessica:            Your brother wouldn't do that. So I think he's a little nervous of these booties, but his feet are cold.

Rachel:            Okay. Yeah.

Jessica:            I mean, if you're not coming back till December and if he does stay there till December, he's going to have to put the fucking booties on. That's just a thing that's going to have to happen because his personality can't take the cold. Oh my God. You also put him in a scarf?

Rachel:            Yeah, or in a knitted—it's like a polo knitted sweater, like a turtleneck. That's the word, a turtleneck.

Jessica:            Okay. So he was just like, "Oh. I can tell you about what I like about what I wear and what I don't like." He got very excited. He loves that sweater. You have other things that he doesn't like that you put him in.

Rachel:            Like what?

Jessica:            There's a jacket that looks like it's not as moveable and breathable. I don't know if it's a proper jacket. Do you have something more stiff that you put on him?

Rachel:            Yeah. A white jacket.

Jessica:            He doesn't like it. I'm assuming you put—

Rachel:            It's very ugly. It's literally just very ugly. I don't know if—

Jessica:            He doesn't like it.

Rachel:            He doesn't like it? Okay. Nobody likes the jacket.

Jessica:            Nobody likes the jacket. I'm assuming you put it on him because it's very warm.

Rachel:            Yeah.

Jessica:            He would like a different jacket. The sweater that he just showed me, it looks like it's striped. Is that right?

Rachel:            It's ribbed.

Jessica:            Okay. Yeah. So he thinks it looks smart.

Rachel:            Okay.

Jessica:            Yeah. He thinks he looks very good in it, and it looks better with the shoes. The shoes look—they make more sense with that sweater. The jacket, he would like it for you to throw it away and get him a better jacket because he doesn't like—I don't think he likes getting into these clothes, but he likes being warm. So he wants you to know that. Now, he keeps on showing me his teeth. Did he have a dental issue?

Rachel:            Yeah, or I went to the vet right before we left to check on his teeth, and he needs to get them cleaned. But I'm really worried about putting him under anesthesia, so we just agreed we would do it when we came back here because we know the vet here, and he's done it once before. But now—I didn't do it in Sweden. So I don't know if he has any pain or anything, but—

Jessica:            He obviously does not want to be put under to get his teeth cleaned. He's with you on that. I do think that there's something going on in one of his back teeth on the bottom. It doesn't look serious, but it looks like something. I could just be seeing something a little bit situational, or he might have something a little inflamed right now.

Rachel:            But that's what they said, that his front teeth were fine, but the bottom back—it doesn't have to happen this week, she said, but within a few months, yeah, it needs to happen.

Jessica:            Okay. Well, if you're seeing it from a psychic and you're hearing it from a dentist, I would definitely treat that as something. I bet your brother would give him—in the U.S.—I don't know what they have in Sweden, but they have things—I think they're called Greenies. They're dental chews for dogs. I would encourage you to look into what they have in your area and have him do something like that, something at home to improve his dental health, because stress is always a little bit rough. Dogs have such a high tolerance for pain, even your dog who does not have a high tolerance for emotional pain. But for physical pain, they're just different than us. He's just been showing it to me kind of vaguely. I would definitely get something going in that regard.

Rachel:            Those cookies I used to give him were little dental cookies.

Jessica:            Oh. And he misses them. Okay. I'm not telling him they're dental cookies, because he just thinks they're love cookies. He loves these cookies. So this other dog that he's living with is so gross with water.

Rachel:            (laughs)

Jessica:            He's just showing me how it's like—now he's like, "Oh, wait a minute. You'll take all my preferences?" So now he likes me because I'm notating his preferences. But yeah. This dog is like—the way he's showing it to me is like, "Oh, it's disgusting. He just laps up the water, and he gets stuff in it." Do they share a water bowl?

Rachel:            Yes. The way the other dog drinks water is—it's very messy. He's a slobbery drinker. Yeah.

Jessica:            No, no, no, no, no. So okay. If he stays with your brother even another day, ask your brother to give him a separate water and for that water to be in a place that he spends a little bit more time. You know what I mean? Because he is offended by the water. He actually likes the dog, but he's offended by the water situation.

Rachel:            Okay.

Jessica:            He's probably a little bit prissy. You know? I mean, I like it.

Rachel:            I love that he's sharing this with you.

Jessica:            Yeah. I mean, these things are really—I have not spoken to many dogs who haven't eventually talked to me about their food or water or both because, of course, they're really important things that humans impose on them. Your brother does this thing where he pats his head because I'm sure he does it to his own dog, so he's doing it to both the dogs. But your dog does not like that. You don't pat his head, eh?

Rachel:            No.

Jessica:            For good reasons. Some of those reasons is the bones in his head rattle. He's just not a hardy dog in that way. But he also just does not like his head patted. He's not sure what it means. So he's breaking down his preferences now, which I really respect and enjoy. He misses taking care of you. He feels that he watches you and makes sure that you are taking care of yourself. And when you don't take care of yourself, he has all these things that he does to remind you—these little things.

This is not how he's wording it, but this is how I'm going to word it: he reminds you to associate, to get back into your body. So you get in your head, you get in your head, you get in your head, and he gets worried. And so then he nudges you in some way. He gets your attention, and it brings you back into your body. When you take care of him, you're always in your body. And then you get lost in your thoughts, and then you're not always taking care of yourself when you're lost in your thoughts.

So he feels deep concern that the people in your family that they're with—they don't know how to do this for you the way he does. You're his favorite human. He's part of your family, but you're his favorite human. This is established fact, eh?

Rachel:      Yeah.

Jessica:            Yeah. Okay. I gotta tell you, the more we chat, the more I get the sense that he's kind of like a gossipy queen.

Rachel:            Yeah. I can imagine this. Yes.

Jessica:            Yeah. He's kind of like a—I mean, there's no other words for it. He's a gossipy queen, and he would love to just tell me all the dirt about all the people, which I very, very much am charmed by. But I want to make this as helpful for you as possible and not just as funny for me. So forgive me. Okay. Oh God. Okay. So he wants you to just take care of yourself. That's what he wants me to communicate with you because he's worried that you're not, which is so sweet. It kind of hurts my feelings it's so sweet. Is there anything else that you want to ask or that you want to know about?

Rachel:            I want him to stay safe. That is the one most important thing, that he stays safe.

Jessica:            That he doesn't run away?

Rachel:            That he doesn't run away. There's a road close to the farm—that he doesn't go to the road and that he stays close to my brother or whoever's with him.

Jessica:            He's not promising that for sure. Everybody's telling him that. He knows everyone's telling him that, but he's not promising that for two reasons. One, he's a dog. That's for sure one of the reasons. He's just like, "Humans think they know things, but they don't know shit." But the other thing is—and I'll say that he feels that you know this about him already—if he takes a run for four hours, it's because he needs a run for four hours. He's like, "You know that." He's just like, "How could you think I would run away? I was just taking a run," which is kind of—I don't know what you do with that information, but basically you cannot tell him shit because if something happens and he feels really anxious, he's going to react. And that's how he reacts in this situation.

                        If you were there, it would be radically different because he's never felt the need to run away from you. And again, he wasn't running away from home. He was just running. He thinks he's never going to get lost, never going to get hit by a car. He's not worried about himself at all. But again, he's a dog, so I'm not saying that's like the words of God or something. It's just that's his attitude. Your brother just—the dogs don't have—they're not being heavily supervised on the land, right? So that's a part of why you're concerned.

Rachel:            Yeah. Right.

Jessica:            He's used to being supervised a lot more.

Rachel:            Yeah. Before I had a human baby, I was so scared. I had almost an obsession with him dying, with something happening to him. I didn't neuter him for six years, even though I wanted to for his sake, because I was so scared something was going to happen during that operation. I had a lot of what felt to me like irrational fears. I needed him close all the time.

Jessica:            Yeah. He likes that. He likes it a lot. The way that you obsessively love him, to him, it's his love language. It works. It's great. It's not a problem. He has a really strong heart. I mean, again, he's like an anxious, flittery—I'm assuming it's his breed. But even through the course of our talking, I will say his heartrate's come down. He feels to me like he has a strong cardiovascular system.

                        (background noise)

Jessica:            What was that?

Rachel:            That was—the blind in my room I'm sitting just fell down.

Jessica:            Oh my. I was like—it was very cinematic and terrifying.

Rachel:            It was like, boom. Yeah.

Jessica:            Heavily boom. That's intense.

Rachel:            Curtain call.

Jessica:            Hold on. Let me double-check because I take all signs very seriously as well. So hold on for a moment. Interesting. Interesting. Interesting. Have the doctors ever expressed concern about whether or not his heart is strong enough for him to go under?

Rachel:            Yes. He has a heart murmur—

Jessica:            Okay.

Rachel:            —supposedly that only some vets can hear.

Jessica:            So, actually, when I just threw cards on it, my first instinct was right, not my second. There is a little bit of an -ish with his heart. Yeah. I think I just got the sense because of how much more solid he feels now—I was like, "Oh. It was just his anxiety." But I think it's an erratic murmur. That’s probably part of why only some vets see evidence of it. I can understand why you're concerned. I mean, you're going to have to do something with these teeth, though. That's for damn sure. And if you wait until there's a dental issue, it's going to be a longer procedure, so it's going to be worse for him.

Rachel:            Yeah, because that last vet said, "Oh, I can't hear anything. There's no heart murmur." And then I thought, well, maybe it's gone. And I felt like he is a little bit, yeah, more fit these days. He's been hiking a lot and—

Jessica:            Mm-hmm. He's a really healthy—I mean, he is insisting to me that he's healthy. He might not know, but he really feels that he is healthy. But I do think there's something with that murmur. I wonder if it comes—I don't know if heart murmurs come and go. I don't know anything about it. But if there's a surgery or procedure, you're going to want to be there, basically.

Rachel:            Mm-hmm.

Jessica:            And he just wants you to—well, that's a stupid thing to tell you. He wants you to trust him to not go near the road, but he's not promising anything. So it is a stupid thing to tell you because, I mean, that's really useless. He understands what the rule is.

Rachel:            But doesn't really care about it.

Jessica:            Nah. He's a dog. You know? He's just like, "If there's a reason to go into the road, I'm going to have to do that. So that's what my job is."

Rachel:            Can I ask one more thing?

Jessica:            Of course.

Rachel:            I always wanted to know how he feels about being a big brother to a human baby.

Jessica:            Okay. He cares for her. They're developing more of a relationship now than they had before, eh?

Rachel:            Yeah. This time in Sweden, actually, they really, really—I think she's at an age now where she really cares for him in a more mature way.

Jessica:            She's figured out how to touch him properly. And he has been showing me your husband's shoes and feet for like the last half of our conversation. Does he have stinky feet?

Rachel:            He has ginormous feet.

Jessica:            Okay.

Rachel:            I don't know about stinky, but ginormous.

Jessica:            Does he play with your husband's shoes or something?

Rachel:            No, but he will pet him with his feet when we're in bed. He does that.

Jessica:            I see. There it is. There it is, because he's been showing me his feet a lot. And I can't tell if it's a good or a bad thing. He's just showing me his feet, which makes sense if he's getting pet by massive human feet. Sorry, but it just got really strong when I was asking about your daughter.

Listen. When the two of you were single girls living in the world, did he like it better? Yeah. Of course. You knew that. That's obvious. There's a way that you liked it better because it was just this moment in time, and it was such an intimate, beautiful, special thing. Does that mean he likes this less? No. It's just a really different life. He still feels really centered in your home life and in your relationship. There was a moment where that wasn't the case, but I'm assuming it was a couple years ago when she was first born. But even then, he knew that you loved him.

So how does he feel? He does not feel like her sibling. I'll tell you that. But he also doesn't feel that you're his mom. He feels a sense of responsibility for the family, especially you and your child, less so the feet. And I don't know why he just totally identifies your husband with feet, or at least in this conversation. Oh, no, he—okay. He's showing me other times that they have their own relationship. It's just a very different relationship than he has with you and your daughter, even.

Your daughter—he's seeing how she is like you, and he's obsessed with you. He loves you. So he's getting into it, but he feels more parental toward her than on an equal playing field. He has a very large amount of importance. I don't associate astrology with animals ever at all. I really don't do that. This is the first and only time I've ever said anything like this, but I don't know, maybe he's a Leo. Maybe. He's definitely a queen, so maybe he's a Leo. He's got this real "I know my importance and my value, and it's not that of a child. It is that of a queen." He's not self-important exactly; it's more that he's just—he knows he's the center of your world, and he knows he belongs there. So what else would you call that—is kind of his attitude.

Rachel:            Yeah. That makes a lot of sense. He has a very regal air to him, even the way he sits. People are always stopping to look at him, like, "Wow." It's not arrogant. It's just queen-esque, I guess.

Jessica:            It's queen-esque, yeah. And he's not like a king. He's like a queen for sure. He really loves your life with him, with all that you bring, whether it's travel or a child or—he says you do really long days of work sometimes. Do you work in front of a computer a lot?

Rachel:            Yeah.

Jessica:            Okay.

Rachel:            Mostly.

Jessica:            Because he's showing me you in front of a computer, and he feels that it's his job to work with you because he keeps you well. So he feels that you work together. He has a great life. I mean, this moment aside, he's a very happy dog. And he's not spoiled, according to him. He's showing me that he's not spoiled; it's that you take care of each other. And he wants you to take care of yourself like you're a queen and like you're really important, and he wants you to do the same thing for him.

And then he does the same thing for you and for himself, which is I guess part of why he's like, "Yeah, I went for a four-hour run. What are you going to do?" because he's just kind of like, "It's what I had to do to take care of myself." And he does—interesting. He feels that you actually encourage him to do what he needs to do to take care of himself, like you go out of your way to tell him that that's what you're supposed to do. So he listens, and sometimes this is what it—

Rachel:            That means a four-hour run down a highway. Yeah.

Jessica:            I'm so sorry. That would drive me bonkers. I'm so sorry. But he—hold on. Let me see if there's anything else he needs passed on. If you could get the water fixed and get him those cookies, that would make a difference today. Whether or not you decide to fly out there or have him stay at Angela's or whatever it is, I think he's more assured now that this isn't like an ending; this is just a moment. He does not love the cold. Is it dark there yet?

Rachel:            Yeah. It's getting there.

Jessica:            It's getting there. He's not enjoying it. So when you get back and you move there, I'm assuming you have those full-spectrum lights, those Vitamin D lights. Do you have those?

Rachel:            No.

Jessica:            They simulate natural sunlight. Get those.

Rachel:            Okay. Okay.

Jessica:            And put them all over your house when you move back there because I think he'll really appreciate it.

Rachel:            Okay.

Jessica:            The darkness—he's just a little bit like, "Not a fan." He really likes the landscape and the land, just not the darkness. So he's not miserable there, but you're going to have to, I mean, just trust that he responds to light just like you do.

Rachel:            Yeah.

Jessica:            Have you been having headaches?

Rachel:            No. Some anxiety. A little brain fog, just like a heavy feeling but not pain.

Jessica:            Bear with me for one moment. Do you wear glasses?

Rachel:            No.

Jessica:            Have you ever had your eyes checked?

Rachel:            No. Not since I was a teenager, no.

Jessica:            Do you squint at the computer or your phone?

Rachel:            I hope not. I don't know.

Jessica:            Ask your husband to notice. Just tell him that I mentioned it, and ask him to notice because I'm having a really hard time telling if—because he just showed it to me, okay? So I don't know if what's been happening is you're actually feeling his brain-foggy feelings because he's a little distraught, or if what he's showing me is that you need glasses. And it is a weird thing that I can't tell. But the two of you are so symbiotic that it is a little hard for me to separate who I'm seeing. I would encourage you to get your eyes checked, though.

Rachel:            Okay.

Jessica:            I know that's a weird, random thing to come out of an animal communication reading, but that happened. But I do think that you picking up on his anxiety doesn't help you to be a solid resource for him. So it's okay to not be a psychic sponge for him but instead to be a bit more paternal—or maternal or whatever—paternal, sexually paternal, in this situation. That's not how the two of you usually roll, but at this time, because you have all the control and he has no information other than this interaction or whatever you tell him later, that'll help. It'll help. So is there anything else that would be helpful for me to speak to? Do you have any other questions?

Rachel:            This was so perfect. I mean, it really, really, really was. Thank you. Thank you. It was like a glimpse into who I already know he is.

Jessica:            Right.

Rachel:            I mean, this was perfect. Thank you.

Jessica:            Oh, it's so my pleasure. Thank you. And I do hope you send me a photo because I have a real strong sense of what he looks like, but I also would love to see a photo of him, if you have it, in that sweater and the shoes because what he's showing me is ridiculous, and I'm wondering if I'm actually seeing it correctly or if I'm just—I'm just really curious. But I'm so glad we got to do this, and yeah. Thanks so much. And good luck with whatever happens.

Rachel:            Thank you. I'll keep you posted.

Jessica:            Please do.

Rachel:            And I'll send you a picture. Thank you.

Jessica:            Thank you. Okay.

Our lives in many ways revolve around relationships with others, and even the best relationships can hit a few bumps in the road. Feeling unheard, returning to the same arguments, or just not knowing how to move forward—we've all been there with a loved one. And that's why I'm excited to talk to you about Talkspace. It's a great resource to get through those tough spots in relationships, a place where you can put into words what you're going through and where a licensed therapist can give you honest and valuable insight. No relationship is perfect, but with the right tools and insight, your relationships can get stronger every day. Astrology is great, but it's no replacement for therapy. And that's why, if you're looking for a therapist, I hope you'll consider joining Talkspace today and start the journey to happier, healthier relationships. Just visit talkspace.com and get $100 off your first month when you use promo code "Lanyadoo" at signup. That's $100 off at talkspace.com, promo code "Lanyadoo."

My darlings, we're going to get astrological, as we do. As we do. But before I unpack some stuff, I want to take a moment to give you an uncharacteristic peek behind the curtains of my process. So indulge me for a few minutes here. As a mundane astrologer—and I practice many forms of astrology; one is mundane astrology, which is the astrology of events. As a mundane astrologer living through really exceptional times, I see things that are coming, and I interpret them. I have a pretty high accuracy rate, but as an astrologer and a psychic, I am not a journalist or a scientist or a political scientist or a politician or anything like that.

It's important for me to say that, even though it's so obvious and such common sense, because we are living through a time when many people are positioning themselves as experts even when they're not. We are living through such uncertainty, it is only natural that we are seeking answers and relief wherever we turn. We're also in an unprecedented time in human development where we have social media and the internet connecting us and giving everyone a megaphone. So any person can talk about our opinions, as we should, but it can get complicated and sticky pretty quickly because, while we are all entitled to our opinions, that doesn't mean that we know enough about a thing to give a comprehensive take. In particular, spiritual people of all persuasions, from conventional religious figures to the very woo and out there, are positioning themselves as medical advisors, political advisors, and all sorts of other things. And it's sticky and tricky.

While I'm not going to get into conspirituality right here in this moment, it's something I've talked about on Ghost of a Podcast before. And if you haven't heard me talk about this on Sounds like a Cult podcast, you can listen to that. It's a great show anyways. And in the episode where I talk about the cult of astrology is Season 1, Episode 11, if you want to check that out. But what I really want to talk about is this. When I saw an airborne pandemic years before it happened, when I saw Trump was going to win the presidency and other terrible or scary things coming, I have a personal struggle around how much to share.

What I do as an astrologer and a psychic is interpretive. And regardless of how high my accuracy rate proves to be, it's all theory until there's proof. And there's never any proof in the stage of prediction. I don't want to create stress or panic as an astrologer. I don't want to name problems and call out potential terrible things that are going to come to pass, because I don't see that as very constructive. And the truth is it is really problematic to treat astrology or psychic insight as fact, because it simply isn't fact. So we may use astrology and understand that it works, but it is not factual. It is interpretive and predictive.

It is important for me to acknowledge this as an astrologer with a platform. And again, as I'm sharing a little bit about my personal process, when I see things that alarm me that are coming—people when I talk to them one-on-one are always saying, "Tell me everything. I want to know everything scary." But it's really not helpful. It's super not helpful. And what I really strive to do is to create constructive content and put constructive content in the world, which takes internal editing, obviously. Now, many of you have listened to my 2022 year-ahead horoscope, where I talked about my take on what is happening now and what is yet to come. And, of course, I curate my perceptions and my predictions so that they are constructive and also concise. Sometimes I worry that I don't share enough of the negative stuff that I see coming, and sometimes I worry that I share too much of the negative stuff that I see coming.

I am just but a person living in exceptional times, trying to do the right thing, and it is tricky. It is tricky. So, all of that said, I talked about the Pluto Return of the United States, which will be in its exactitude for the first time this week on the 22nd of February—yes, 2/22 of 2022, for those who are into numbers. And if you haven't already heard my take on the Pluto Return in the year-ahead horoscope, I do invite you to listen to that. But as we are actually in the week of the first exact hit and the world is potentially on the brink of war, with the United States very much having its thumb in the middle of the pie, as there are so many things happening here in the U.S. and globally, I want to be honest with you that I'm scared.

I am scared for each and every one of us. And while I have seen that many folks on the left and people in the middle—and what I mean by in the middle, people who are not especially politically minded—are burnt out, very burnt out. Everyone's fucking sick of news and the pandemic and all kinds of other things. It's been a long few years. But folks on the right, and in particular on the far right, are highly motivated and activated and aggressively moving forward with their plans. Some of those are playing out with boots-on-the-ground-style action, and some of those are playing out legislatively. But they're majoritively racist, trans- and homophobic, restrictive to people with uteruses, and Christian religiocentric.

It's bad. It's very bad, and it's spreading, as toxicity does. Plutonian toxicity never stays contained to one part of our lives or one part of the world. It spreads, and great evidence of that is—look to what's happening just to the north of the United States in Canada. We can see the influence of conservative American culture and conservative American money in Canada and the effect that it's having in that nation. It's really disturbing. With all of the burnout and the stress and the outrage, it is tempting to lose focus on what really matters, on what's truly important. We are going down a very dark path as a nation. As the U.S. falls, the world is likely to tumble down with us because the U.S. is a superpower. I'm not saying what happens in the U.S. will ruin the world, but it will impact the world for sure—maybe better for the world, maybe worse for the world, but certainly, it won't be neutral.

Things are happening very quickly, and this is not the time to dissociate or to drop out. This isn't the time to trust that other people will get involved and fix our problems for us. I cannot stress enough how important it is to take your love and light, your thoughts and prayers, and pair it with actions. Investigate your transphobia, your ableism, your anti-Semitism, your racism. Really look at your classism. Yes, do the stuff. Do the spiritual work, whatever that looks like for you. But, my friends, do not stop there. The self-investigation and the spiritual work are really important, and they're impactful, but that's not enough.

We must also participate in the world. Show up. Find something other than outrage, anger, and pettiness to motivate you. And I'm going to say it again because when Pluto is involved, it is so easy to fixate on our outrage, anger, and pettiness and to let that be our primary motivation. And it's not enough. It's not healthy for you spiritually, mentally, on any level, but it's also not enough. It's not enough to hate Nazis, although hating Nazis—hey, now, that's a good move. I'm down for that. But we must also love the people that Nazis seek to oppress, repress, and harm. And that's a lot of fucking people.

It's not enough to be outraged at how people on the far right are trying to strip rights from others with uteruses, people with disabilities, etc. We must actively fight for education. We must actively fight for access to healthcare. We must actively fight for body autonomy and freedom and self-determination of people—people we like, people we know, and people we don't like and don't know, because we know this: injustice anywhere is injustice everywhere. Get outraged. Get pissed off. But don't stop there, and don't dissociate from those feelings. This is where it's very hard for people because some people don't have a high tolerance for being able to experience outrage and anger and fear, and other people have too high a tolerance.

Either way, we can lose ourself in big emotions, and that's a big lesson with Pluto. The emotions that Pluto triggers within us are oceanic. They're deep in the center of the ocean, and they function like undertow. As soon as we start to fight them, they win. They kind of overwhelm us. So the key is don't fight your emotions. Be present for them, and find something to do. This is where I want to remind you that action is often—not always— the antidote to anxiety. So find a politician or an activist or a cause that you believe in and back them. Volunteer at a polling place. I know it's boring—so boring. But there are so many boring administrative small things that go into the success of any and every movement. Be willing to do the boring work, the behind-the-scenes work. You don't have to be the star of activism or of a movement.

The list of problems that we have in this world are so big, and the interconnectedness of all of these problems to the Pluto Return, to these exceptional times—I mean, it's really hard to separate the climate crisis and climate injustice from racism or ableism or capitalism and classism. Things are really connected with each other. And the lesson that Pluto wants to teach us is to get into the nuance, to experience your emotions but responding to the ones that are constructive, so letting go of what doesn't serve you, not attaching to what doesn't serve you, so that you can actually mobilize—whatever that looks like in this moment—and create the revolutionary transformation that we need.

There's this great quote from Angela Davis, and it's that radical simply means grasping things at the root. I love that, and it is so Plutonian. This is a time for grasping things at their root. And it's not nothing. Now, you notice that I'm not talking about Ukraine and Russia, and I'm not getting into the details of American politics or what's happening politically abroad, because I actually want to encourage you to read the news, first of all, and not get your news from me, of course, or from any astrologer or spiritual person—I mean, we're fun as an adjunct, as extra information. But journalists—you know I got love for journalists.

But I also want to say that I don't want to spread fear, but I do want to be honest with you that I'm for sure scared, and I see a lot that is deeply concerning when I look at the astrology and how it's playing out in real time. And I want to invite you with my whole heart to care, and I want to inspire you and support you and encourage you in whatever way I can to find a way of turning your care into action—no matter how small, turning your care into action. If you don't care, especially if you are white and from a Christian background and straight, then the injury that you are doing to others is great. It is huge. But the injury that you're doing to your own soul, quite frankly, is unspeakable.

These are exceptional times, and it is exceptional that you are alive for them, and that means you have a role to play. And it doesn't have to look any one way. None of us are going to be the savior of all the problems, or any of the problems. It's not about being a damn savior. It's about being responsible as a person alive at this time. That's what it's about.

Now, I have one more thing to say, and it's about COVID. In particular, it's about the latest strain that is currently being called BA.2. The downside of Jupiter in Pisces and Neptune in Pisces, these two planets—I will remind you if you haven't yet heard the year-ahead horoscope or it's been a minute, the Jupiter/Neptune Pisces that we are going to be experiencing in April, the last time this conjunction happened was in 1856. Yes, that was right before the Civil War. Yes, it was. But war is not what I'm talking about here in this moment. Again, I am actively trying to avoid conversations of war while also acknowledging that I am very frightened and very concerned.

Okay. Fine. Okay. But I want to talk about the Jupiter/Neptune conjunction in Pisces and just in general having Jupiter in Pisces and Neptune in Pisces. So a lot of astrologers on le internet have been saying that Jupiter in Pisces will be lucky and beautiful and lovely. I want that to be true. That would be wonderful. That is my preference. However, the downside of these transits is that it can lead us to a form of idealism that gets us into serious trouble. An example of that would be removing mask mandates as a new, more contagious and deadly strain of a pandemic is spreading. That would be one way. For people to just be like, "I want my personal freedoms. I want to be comfortable. I'm going to be idealistic and hopeful and ignore the realities around me," is the unfortunate classic downside of these transits.

Jupiter in Pisces, especially with Jupiter and Neptune in Pisces, can have you looking at a field of roses and each rose just filled with sharp little thorns and saying to yourself, "I'm going to look at the bright side. This is a gift from the universe. I'm going to step into this field of roses, and the thorns aren't even there. Or if they're there, they're not even going to hurt me. There's nothing to worry about." And then you just march on into the field of roses, and you get all cut up. If we are unwilling to see or cope with unpleasant realities, we end up incurring pain that is unnecessary. And a little bit of common sense and a little bit of care can absolve us from that pain.

So I want to name that in this period, now in February of 2022 moving forward through the year but especially through the spring, be willing to see and cope with unpleasant realities. Be willing to make personal compromises or sacrifices for the betterment of all. That is what this energy can allow us to do or support us in doing, but it's a lot of effort, my friends. It's a lot of effort, and it just takes making the effort.

As I talk about making the effort, I want to say wear a damn mask. Wear a mask to protect yourself, to protect the people you like, the people you hate, the people that you will never have contact with because they live across the globe from you. Wear masks to protect children. My goodness. Come on. Let's just protect children. It seems so common sensy. Just wear a damn mask, my loves, my friends.

As sick as we all are of this godforsaken pandemic, it's still very much happening. And we're getting such mixed news, mixed information about the pandemic and how much we should worry about it at this point, classic of that Saturn/Uranus square that we've been talking about for the last year and a half—well, year and two months. And that's just par for the course. It is confusing. It's on each of us as individuals to handle it in a way that is ethical and sustainable. So do your damn best. That's my very brief preamble—that's sarcasm. I know that was long. Thanks for sticking with me.

Now let's get into your horoscope, my dears. It starts off with the Pluto Return of the United States. It is exact on the 22nd. I've said most of what I wanted to say about it. One last thing I can say or reiterate is that the Pluto Return of a nation—any Pluto transit, certainly one as big and collective as this one—is going to kick up big emotions. Maybe you won't feel those emotions so much. Maybe it's not going to impact you personally too much. It's sure as hell likely to be impacting a lot of people around you.

The way that we engage with Plutonian energies has to do with our flight-or-fight mechanisms, our survival mechanisms. And most of us act out when our flight-or-fight gets triggered. So, to the best of your ability, if you're at all of an empath or an energetically sensitive person, do your energy boundary work. That is something that I've talked about on the podcast a bunch and something that I talk about on Patreon a lot if you want more 411 on that kind of stuff. But practice energy boundaries.

Now, on a more interactive or psychological level, if you don't want to have conflict with people, that may not be avoidable. Some conflict is very healthy and important and worth engaging in, and some conflict is some bullshit. It is a distraction. Pick your battles with integrity. Pick your battles wisely. Don't run away from what needs to be confronted. And also don't waste your fucking energy confronting things that actually don't matter and treating people who you disagree with like they're your enemy when they are not your enemy. And you know what? Sometimes they are your enemy; a lot of times, they're not.

Finally, I will say don't be a damn troll. Don't obsess on people and things that you have no control over unless there's something constructive you're going to do about it. When I say constructive, I do not mean punishing people. Punishing people—I don't know; it's probably not your job. It's important whenever Pluto comes up, especially Pluto in Capricorn, that we do not decide that we ourselves are empowered to be the judge and jury. It doesn't matter what side of an issue you're in. This is not what we want to be doing under a Pluto transit like this.

We can expect big things in this period, and we're already seeing them. So who are you going to be in that? How are you going to be in that? That's the only thing you have control over truly. And I want to encourage you to bring your energy and attention back to that question: "Who am I going to be in these exceptional times? What can I do in these exceptional times?" And again, ask yourself these questions without the need to make yourself the star of this story.

On the 23rd, we have two exact transits for me to tell you about. The first one is a Mars sextile to Neptune, and the second is a Mercury sextile to Chiron. Mars is at 22 degrees of Capricorn, and Neptune is at 22 degrees of Pisces. The Mars sextile to Neptune is an excellent transit. I love this transit. It is really useful in mobilizing us around our empathy. This is a great time for spiritual work or creative work. In particular, if you are a singer or an actor or a model or somebody who paints or draws or anything with visual or audio arts, this is a really great transit for seeking your muse and finding her or making things happen or connecting to your creative endeavors in a way that fortifies you, strengthens you, showing up in ways that are embodied.

This works for spirituality as well. This is a really great transit for doing any kind of work that is creative and uplifting for the soul. Who doesn't want that? On a more pragmatic level, this can be a great time for engaging with conflicts. And that is in part because this transit makes it so that your ego drives are not as demanding. It's not like, "I need you to get what I'm saying so that you can tell me I'm right." This transit empowers us to be able to be present for other people's perspectives and to have empathy, compassion for being able to just be around other people's needs and perspectives.

So this transit can be really instructive and supportive for mobilizing spiritually, psychologically, and creatively. Where is the downside there, I ask you? I ask you. If you're sexually active, solo, one-on-one or in groups—however you like to do stuff—this can be a really great transit for having an inspired or spiritual sense of connection sexually. So that's kind of fun, too. There's a lot of stress, a lot of strain in the world. Get out there and get some, or go home and get some—whatever your situation is—if you can. It can be a really lovely experience.

Now, the Mercury sextile to Chiron—we have Mercury at ten degrees Aquarius and Chiron at ten of Aries—is an excellent transit for making connections, for understanding things on a foundational or root level. This transit can be very supportive for coming to understanding or having a shift in perspective that might be kind of painful or difficult, like realizing something that is rough within you or within your past, but being able to be present for it, again, and also being able to make connections around it, so not losing yourself in the pain of your realization but instead being able to be like, "Oh shit. This happened, this is how it hit me, and that's why I do these things. Now that I understand it, I can work with it." That kind of thing.

This transit is really lovely. If you're in therapy, if you have a journaling practice or engaged in self-help, this is a great transit for that. Transits to Chiron, kind of like transits to Pluto—even when they're "easy" transits, they tend to be a little sticky. We feel them. You know what I mean? They're not completely easy. So I want to just acknowledge that, and in light of that, say not all of your unpleasant feelings and thoughts are bad, and not all of your easy and pleasurable thoughts are good. We don't want to recoil from difficulty just because it's difficult. Practice being present with your stressful thoughts or feelings so that you can have more options in how you choose to engage with and respond to them. The energies of these two transits are very supportive of that.

On the 24th, we have two more exact transits. The first one is a Venus sextile to Neptune. Again, it's at 22 degrees. We've got Venus at 22 of Cap and Neptune at 22 of Pisces. And this transit is truly fucking lovely. It is lovely. It is one where we feel romantic and idealistic and compromising. We are more willing and able to not just see things from other people's perspective but be diplomatic, be gracious with others. This is a time where we may feel more romantic or more idealistic. This is a time where we can get along well with people, generally speaking.

It is wise to have boundaries. Whenever Neptune and Venus touch each other in any way, we always want to make sure that we're not just thinking about what do other people think, what do other people want, what will please others. We want to remember to ask ourselves, "What do I think? What do I want? What will please me?" and make choices and pursue actions that reflect your awareness and care for both yourself and others.

This is a lovely transit. Everything I said about that Mars/Neptune sextile, yeah, giddy-up on that. The Venus sextile to Neptune is great for romance, connection, all that kind of good stuff spiritually and creatively. If you are an artist, again, this transit is lovely. It's truly lovely. So make sure you spend time with your medium, whatever that might be.

Now, unfortunately, all these beautiful sextiles are being shook up by the Mercury square to Uranus. This transit is happening at 11 degrees. Mercury is at 11 degrees of Aquarius, and Uranus is at 11 of Taurus. This transit is upsetting. Some people really dislike Uranus transits, especially by square or opposition. Me personally, I'm a huge fan. I love a Uranus transit because it creates upsets that can shake away the cobwebs and allow us to have more freedom and autonomy, which—hey, big fan of that over here.

The downside of this transit is that it can create upsets in your relationships because Mercury is associated with the platonic side of relationships. So that implicates your colleagues, your neighbors, your friends, your siblings, and even the people you're dating if you talk to them at all. It's our interactions on social media and online in general. What Uranus does is it shakes things up. And what we'll often experience during this transit is that something comes out of left field, and that thing may be gossip, and that gossip may be misinformation, disinformation, or truth. It's really hard to know under the influence of Uranus.

Uranus brings things out of left field, and it's not the thing you were expecting to encounter. It can be very upsetting. The things that happen during this transit—so, on this date and certainly throughout the week, we cannot expect them to last. They may. They may last, but they really may not. And that might be good news or bad news, depending on what the hell is happening in your life and how this hits your birth chart.

So this transit is one of upsets. It is one where we get surprises. And these upsets threaten the status quo in some meaningful way. Now, hopefully you can imagine how these energies will create a ripple effect throughout the world where we have so many people who are feeling completely oppressed by having to make personal compromises around the pandemic. This is a time where I expect things to get really hot because this transit tends to make us feel like, "I shouldn't have to compromise. I want what I want. My suffering, my discomfort, is more important than your suffering and your discomfort." That's the downside of this. It can get into toxic individualism, as Uranus sometimes does.

When this transit happens, we can expect upsets to our plans. So, whatever your plans are, expect them to go sideways. If you're a person who works with appointments or you work with people, expect it to be a really frustrating week, and in particular, expect this date to be really frustrating because you will make mistakes; they will make mistakes. That's just how that goes. People do not generally listen well when there is a Uranus/Mercury square. So make an effort. Do your best. And if other people are distracted or just all over the damn map, be like, "Oh yeah. I knew that was going to happen." Don't take it personally. It's the transit. Do what you gotta do.

This transit has a speedy vibe. Uranus moves really fast and into the future, and Mercury loves to move fast as well. And so you may feel overwhelmed by the tempo and pace of activities this day. You may all of a sudden have lots of people communicating in an insistent way and then changing their minds or disappearing—or you may be that person. So what we want to do to the best of our ability is, again, expect it so that we don't take it personally when it happens and we work with it. That's the best possible way of engaging with that.

Again, the thing I love about this transit is it can shift our perspectives. It can open us up to perceiving and approaching things in new ways. This can be a time where your opinion does change because of an experience that you have. Isn't that cool? I don't know. It's really cool to be willing and able to change because you've learned something. And this is the essential component to being a person who is willing and able to evolve. It's to change when you have a cause for change. Very exciting. Very exciting.

I would encourage you in general during this transit, so on this date and around this date, to avoid making major plans and purchases if you can. This is not Mercury Retrograde at all, but it's another transit where the frame of mind that you're in is not as detail oriented, and also, it's a bit unusual because of Uranus, and of course Mercury is in Aquarius. So you may find yourself making agreements or saying things or saying things in a particular way that doesn't actually reflect your values, that is maybe sloppy or reactive. When I say reactive, I mean defensive. And that can get you in trouble because once you put it out there, there it is. It's right out there.

So think before you speak, pause before you leap, that kind of good stuff. This is an important time for being open-minded to the best of your ability and for being flexible. And if you can do those things, then you'll be making the most of this transit. If you have the opportunity to do something spontaneous and fun or unexpected, that's a great use of this energy, and I encourage you to do it. And that includes, actually, meditation and yoga and other things that are consciousness-expanding but do involve quieting the mind because the mind is likely to be clattering with noise. And even if your mind isn't super noisy, the minds of many around you will be, and that can be really stressful and jarring. So expect the energy so that you can work with the energy. Don't stress about it before it happens. Just know it might happen, and if it's going to happen, you are prepared. You got a plan. You're not going to take shit personally.

Okay. That, my friends, is your horoscope. As always, I'm going to run through the transits one more time in case you're taking notes. But I do encourage you to check out and subscribe to my astrology pro tool called Astrology For Days. It's at astrlogyfordays.com, where you can track transits from wherever you are in the world and take notes of your predictions and perceptions and experiences. Honestly, there is no better way to learn astrology than through practice. So that's what the tool is for, and we have added a new subscription so you can get the calendar for a full year ahead as well, which is really good for nerds like me who really like to plan.

Anyways, so my quick rundown is as follows. On the 22nd of February, we have the first exact hit of the Pluto Return of these here United States. On the 23rd, Mars forms an exact sextile to Neptune, and Mercury forms an exact sextile to Chiron. On the 24th, Venus forms an exact sextile to Neptune, and we have a Mercury square to Uranus that is again exact. Okay. That's it. Those are the transits of the week.

Thank you so much for joining me here on Ghost this week and every week. If you haven't already subscribed to the show, please do hit that Subscribe button wherever you listen to your podcasts. I invite you to send me questions. If you would like me to—I don't know—call you up and give you a reading or read your chart on the show, you can submit your question over at ghostofapodcast.com. And while you're over there, you can click through to join me over on Patreon, where we get real spiritual. We get astrological, and it's really lovely. Truly fucking lovely.

Okay. There's a lot going on. Take care of yourself, take care of others, and understand that taking care of others is taking care of yourself, and taking care of yourself is an essential part of showing up for others. And on that, I'll talk to you next week, my loves.