🥄The Stir 🫡 State of the Sky Q4

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YOUR WEEKLY DOSE OF PRACTICAL ASTROLOGY FOR REAL LIFE
BREW #80

Broooooooh! What in the eff was that?!

Everyone still sane & solid after that eclipse portal? 'Cos damn.

No matter what these past 2-3 weeks brought you, I think I speak for us both when I say, energetically, I'm feeling a little:

So, help us re-orient to the energy of the moment and get our bearings (because the shitshow has not stopped), I'd like to officially welcome you to our Q4 State of the Sky. 🫡

State of the Sky is a special edition of The Stir I publish each quarter to give us a snapshot of the sky so we have a more holistic understanding of what's going on, how it affects us, and more importantly, what to do about it.

We start big and zoom in slowly. The further, slower moving planets (Pluto, Neptune, Uranus) reflect bigger themes + collective arcs --- so we'll start there to ground ourselves.

Pluto Retrograde (Rx) in Aquarius

The Devil has been building his strategy and preparing...have you?? As our slowest moving planet (taking 249 years to complete one turn around the sun), Pluto represents collective transformation, generational cycles, and the rise + fall of empires. In retrograde, we either drown in our own fears + shadows...or we can turn that into battle tactics for the road ahead.

I wrote about Pluto rx here so you can read about how to find your own strategies.

Neptune in Aries: From dreamy devotion → to fiery conviction

After 13 years, Neptune shifted from Pisces to Aries. This isn't new new, as this happened back in March but stillllllll, we're definitely still adjusting and seeing how this energy is playing out for us. This brings us a MASSIVE shift in how we relate to faith, spirituality, dreams, and collective ideals (what Neptune itself represents).

Where Neptune in Pisces was about surrender, healing, and gentle spirituality, Neptune in Aries is…not that. It’s bold. It’s a little disruptive. It’s about believing something so deeply that you’re willing to fight for it.

(Think less trying to look good in a church pew on Sundays and more flipping tables like Jesus actually did in the face of exploitative religious power and spiritual bureaucracy).

Expect more spiritual activism (feed the children of Gaza! they are God's children too!! Pray for the flotillas! Harass the phone lines and offices of your congresspeople!), as well as more personal embodiment of values. This new spiritual era does not give a shit about optics and it sure as hell doesn't accept your empty words. It's time for ACTION.

We're ditching the "alignment" speak and grabbing the matches to torch what no longer resonates. Hopefully your spirituality has taught you how to be fireproof because you're either walking into these flames on purpose or you're going to get burned.

Neptune in Aries: From dreamy devotion → to fiery conviction

After 13 years, Neptune shifted from Pisces to Aries. This isn't new new, as this happened back in March but stillllllll, we're definitely still adjusting and seeing how this energy is playing out for us. This brings us a MASSIVE shift in how we relate to faith, spirituality, dreams, and collective ideals (what Neptune itself represents).

Where Neptune in Pisces was about surrender, healing, and gentle spirituality, Neptune in Aries is…not that. It’s bold. It’s a little disruptive. It’s about believing something so deeply that you’re willing to fight for it.

(Think less trying to look good in a church pew on Sundays and more flipping tables like Jesus actually did in the face of exploitative religious power and spiritual bureaucracy).

Expect more spiritual activism (feed the children of Gaza! they are God's children too!! Pray for the flotillas! Harass the phone lines and offices of your congresspeople!), as well as more personal embodiment of values. This new spiritual era does not give a shit about optics and it sure as hell doesn't accept your empty words. It's time for ACTION.

We're ditching the "alignment" speak and grabbing the matches to torch what no longer resonates. Hopefully your spirituality has taught you how to be fireproof because you're either walking into these flames on purpose or you're going to get burned.

Uranus in Gemini: Revolution of the Mind

Uranus in Gemini kicks off a 7-year shake-up in how we think, speak, and connect. Communication, tech, media, and memes are about to get weird. Expect disruption, innovation, misinformation — and a wild acceleration of how fast ideas spread. Buckle up.

Gemini is quick-witted, curious, charming — and FAST. (Think Kendrick Lamar spitting verses at lightning speed — that’s Gemini intellect embodied.) Pair that with Uranus, planet of disruption and revolution, and we’re in for seismic shifts in how we exchange information, use technology, and shape culture.

Misinformation won’t look like old-school Uncle Sam posters. It’s already showing up as meme wars, rage bait, and algorithmic manipulation. Uranus in Gemini highlights the battle for attention and data — the currencies of the digital age. And let’s be clear: the last frontier of capitalism is the colonization of our minds. If they can hijack how we think, relate, and dream? That’s the real collapse. Not fire-and-brimstone apocalypse, but the quiet commodification of our outlook, our optimism, even our spirituality.

Deepfakes. AI scams. Headlines that move so fast you can’t even catch your breath. That’s Uranus in Gemini energy. The nervous system whiplash is real and none of us are wired to process a firehose of global news and crisis every single day.

So what do we do?

  • Discernment becomes a survival skill. Not all information is useful or actionable.
  • Your Gemini house is your anchor. That’s where you’ll find shelter when you’re lost in the wonderland of “what’s real?” and “what matters?”
  • Remember: innovation isn’t just theirs. If “they” (state power, billionaire media, manipulative tech) get clever, we can get cleverer.

Uranus in Gemini is the revolution of the mind. Guard your attention like your life depends on it — because in many ways, it does.

Saturn Rx in Pisces: The Last Lesson

Saturn in Pisces is having a moment — one final retrograde through these waters before it launches into Aries, where it will stay until 2027. Translation: this is our last chance to clean up loose ends before a whole new Saturn era begins.

Pisces asks us to face where we’ve been blurry, avoidant, or over-idealistic. Saturn asks us to get real. Together, this retrograde is a reckoning around accountability in spirituality, belief systems, and our collective connection. Which beliefs are rooted in truth — and which are just old stories we’ve been propping up because they’re comfortable?

This isn’t punishment; it’s preparation. Saturn is reminding us that discipline in Pisces looks like boundaries with our energy, clarity in our faith, and responsibility for the ways we connect. Whatever house you have Pisces in will show where this final sweep is happening for you.

The retrograde lasts until November — then Saturn moves into Aries with bold leadership, raw discipline, and the drive to do the damn thing. But if we don’t do the Pisces work now, Aries can sweep us into someone else’s vision instead of grounding us in our own.

The clarity you build in Pisces becomes the confidence you’ll need in Aries.
Serve the work now, and the work will serve you later.

Jupiter in Cancer: Expanding the Container

Jupiter magnifies whatever it touches, and in Cancer it’s amplifying the feminine, intuitive, mothering current of this sign. Cancer is ruled by the Moon — cyclical, tender, and deeply responsive — which means we’ll see both the light and the shadow of this amplification.

The light looks like women reclaiming their rhythms, decentering men, rooting into their own intuitive power, and remembering the wisdom of infradian cycles. The shadow looks like the backlash: violent misogyny, internalized shame, and the “traditional values” propaganda machine woven through sponsored media.

To navigate this energy, we look to Cancer’s constellation, the crab: a sensitive, creative being that always evaluates its container — not just for fit, but for strength and safety.

This is your invitation to evaluate your own containers:

  • Spaces: Do the places you inhabit offer sanctuary or second-guessing?
  • People: Are the relationships within those walls nourishing your safety — or threatening it?

Cancer reminds us that sacred space is non-negotiable. Jupiter in Cancer is a call to expand your container — but only if it supports your tenderness, your safety, and your growth.

Mars in Scorpio: Play the Long Game

I don’t normally highlight the fast movers (Mercury, Venus, Mars) in State of the Sky — their transits only last weeks at a time. But Mars in Scorpio deserves a spotlight.

Why?

  1. It’s Scorpio — intense, uncompromising, impossible to ignore.
  2. It’s entering an already volatile cocktail of transits.

Mars is the planet of action. At its best, it drives courage and decisive movement. At its worst, it devolves into aggression and bloodlust. In Scorpio, the stakes rise: this is the territory of score-keeping, shadow strategy, and vigilante justice. Scorpio doesn’t forget transgressions. It files them away. It watches. It waits.

That’s the energy Mars is stirring up now — and the danger is in rushing to act. Mars in Scorpio is begging you not to. Don’t strike yet. Keep your cards close to your chest.

The action here is observation.

  • Who’s posturing?
  • Who’s scheming?
  • What moves are being made — and what’s being left unsaid?

This transit is about collecting intel, not charging forward. Sit with the gut checks that arise over the next month, and take notes. Your moment to act is coming — but it won’t be now. In Scorpio, patience is the strategy.

From Ash's Corner

LMAOOOOOOOO, I just read the last State of Sky I sent out back in May 2025 and wow, The Universe absolutely redirected me.

For reference, I had mentioned in May that I had just passed my state teaching exam and I was applying for classroom jobs and that if I wasn't meant to be in the classroom, The Universe would redirect me.

WELP. YA GIRL GOT REDIRECTED.

I had really thought that my business was meant to be a part-time ministry of helping people via digital products. A tucked-away outlet for my own spiritual experiences and creativity.

I thought my business was supposed to be a part-time ministry — a side thing with digital products tucked into the dusty corners of my life. But over the summer, I got brutally honest with myself: I love going deep with people. I had been settling by keeping my business small.

What if I stopped squeezing myself into corners and just allowed myself to want what I actually want? To ask for it? To build it?

I didn't arrive to 👆 that by myself, though.

Allow me to be real and admit that I was rejected from 4 teaching positions, the institution I've been training with refused to issue me my actual certification because apparently I took the wrong test (it's a whole saga).

Then Aaron had to leave for out-of-state training, which has left me solo parenting for months. Suddenly, the thought of teaching while also managing drop-offs and kid chaos? Literally impossible.

Universe really did have my back on that one and while I 100% threw a fit about it at the beginning of summer before I had the whole picture, I'm celebrating with gratitude now because:

a.) playdates are filling up on the regular
b.) my signature 1:1 coaching experience is actually changing lives
c.) I'm genuinely stoked to keep learning + bringing more to my clients + readers

All that to say, things can be really intense...and good. Change is uncomfortable...but, I'm reminded, it's also an inevitable step in the process of transformation.

You're not always meant to see where the path will lead. The challenge is in showing up for it regardless and taking one faithful step a time, trusting that the road (or God, or the Universe) will rise up to meet you with each one.

PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER 🪐

If you feel disoriented, lit up, uncertain, or all of the above — welcome. You’re not behind. You’re on time.

Let’s talk about how to actually live through this…

One way to do that is by looking at what house each of these planets is activating for you.

For example, if Aries is in your 5th house of expression, creativity, and passion projects then Neptune in Aries right now might be inviting you let your art being your altar. Get lost in the meditative process of creativity, whether it's projects around your house, a quick poem, or getting your pastels out again.

QUICK TIP: It might help to write this down on paper as referencing your chart might get confusing. Write down your rising sign as this is your first house, then let the other signs follow.

Ask the following questions for each of the planets and what house that lights up for you will ALSO help to connect dots:

  • Pluto topples power structures and brings rebirth. Where will you see this work slowly unfold for you? What house is Aquarius to you?
  • Neptune is a spiritual symbol of connectedness and depth. What area of life are you ready to start taking spiritual action within? What house is Aries in for you?
  • Uranus disrupts our status quo -- where can we brace ourselves for this unexpected shake up? Where is Gemini for you?
  • Saturn brings order and necessary discipline -- with it wrapping up in Pisces, what house are you finishing business in?
  • Jupiter is a magnifier. What house is Cancer to you and what's getting magnified? Where are your safe zones? Have you allowed yourself respite there? Why not?

If this season has you feeling everything all at once — fear, excitement, confusion, tenderness — you’re not alone. But you also don’t have to process it all in your head. If you want help putting this together and get some actionable insight about how exactly to find + take your next steps, this is exactly what my Practical Woo Playdates are for. Click the button to learn more or get on my calendar!

Thanks for reading!

In cosmic camaraderie,

One Last Sip 

for October 1st-15th, 2025 

CURRENT ASTRO SEASON 🪐 

UPCOMING BIG SKY EVENTS 🌛

Welcome to LIBRA SZN, BB!!!! It's about harmony, aesthetic, and balancing social finesse with the collective action demanded of our time. Who says we can't serve looks AND justice at the same time? As an air sign, Libra is about ideas and this season we're all about inviting in ideas that bring harmony and tip the scales back into a semblance of balance that works for US, people like YOU AND ME! Libra is as collective sign so we gotta work together in this, ok?

Cue Neil Young "Harvest Moon" because October 7th, we'll witness the Aries Full Moon rise into the sky. Bonus points is that this is the first lunation we're having outside of the eclipses AND it's a supermoon! We're reflecting on intentions we set back in May and releasing or rededicating ourselves to what Aries asks of us (look at what house you have Aries in for more clarity).

WHAT I’M WORKING ON 🤓

AFFIRMATION OF THE WEEK 📚

Thank you to all my early backers that were patient with me while I figured out how exactly I want to deliver this workshop! Deets are now locked in for Wednesday, November 5th at 12pm because we're running it LIVE, BABY!

To conduct an orchestra, you must turn your back on the audience. 

P.O. Box 532, Cedar Springs, MI 49319
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Hey, I'm Ash Burnside

I help smart, sensitive, spiritually-curious humans navigate the sacred aftermath of success, change, and burnout—so they can reconnect with who they are, reclaim their rhythm, and move forward with clarity. My work blends astrology, real talk, and modern self-growth tools to meet you where you're at and help you come home to yourself + find your next step (no matter what else is going on).