and astrology in Supernatural TV
Watching last week’s episode “Byzantium” of the TV show “Supernatural,” an image caught my eye. A black ooze arrives in heaven, seeping through heaven’s doors and hallways, to retrieve the recently deceased part-angel, Jack. The goo threatens to steal him away from the heavens, where Jack is just starting to get reacquainted with his mother who died in child birth. The sludge is “The Shadow,” the ruler of the Empty, a space of endless nothing where all angels go when they die.
Meanwhile the show’s main characters, Sam, Dean and Castiel, are in the process of trying to resurrect Jack, who is like a son to them, so he can return to Earth. Castiel (an angel who has stepped out of heaven’s assigned role to help Sam and Dean save the Earth from monsters) offers a deal to the Shadow—Castiel promises to go to The Empty in exchange for Jack’s freedom.
The goo is thrilled to accept his offer, not taking Castiel right that second, but instead threatening to wait until just the moment when Castiel allows himself to feel happy, letting the sun shine on his face. “I want you to suffer,” it says through an angel whom it has possessed.
In my opinion, the black ooze is Neptunian (or Piscean) energy at its worst. Pisces is typically associated with transcendence. Nothingness—in spiritual contexts outside of Supernatural—might be considered something to strive for. It’s the space we reach in meditation, even if momentarily, where we feel utterly unattached. In nothing, there is everything.
Yet nothingness isn’t always a space we go to voluntarily or safely. Nothingness is one of the worst punishments in prison—solitary confinement. It’s the blackouts as a result of excessive drug/alcohol intake. It’s the fatigue or illness that captures hold of us and keeps us on the couch so that all we can do is binge watch TV.
For better or worse, I’ve been there.
I love it when pop media portrays deep truth underneath all the cheese, and one of the prime examples is Supernatural (still producing on the CW network after 14 years with all past episodes available on Netflix). My guess is that out of nearly 300 episodes in existence, I’ve watched roughly 80 percent of them. I only fast-forward through the “monster-of-the week” shows so I can concentrate on the ones that follow the main story thread. Essentially Sam and Dean have a destiny to merge with Lucifer and Archangel Michael respectively in the midst of their quest to save the Earth, with lots of side stories and divergences in the meantime.
Does binging on Supernatural seem out of character for someone who promotes “inner balance” and all that jazz? Possibly. I certainly wouldn’t recommend indulging on monster shows to any of my InnerSynastry clients. But I admit they provided support for me in 2012, at a time when I was recovering from what holistic practitioners call “adrenal fatigue,” while also trying to complete a Horticulture Certificate. Academic studies forced me into memorization mode, not my favorite place to be. I was not able to express my creativity on a daily basis, which is what gives me energy. Added to that, in the classroom I was continually around groups, which can affect me energetically. So Supernatural became my escape at the end of the day, and it actually provided quite a bit of food for thought and images to contemplate.
The black ooze forced me onto the couch to teach me some deeper truths about the world. There’s probably other ways I could have gotten that information, but giving into the slime was the easiest route at the time. Sometimes Neptune/Pisces (the energy associated with our connection to divinity) can be just as hard on us as Pluto/Scorpio (the underworld), even if it has valuable lessons for us.
Here lies why I appreciate astrology. All signs and planets have their challenges and their upsides. They’re all equally “good” and “bad,” depending on how we choose to express them. I like to equate them not only to images in pop media but also to religious concepts so we can grasp a fuller, more tangible understanding of them. I use these images shared in our collective merely as a tool rather than dogma.
So that leads us to the part of the article where I’m going to compare astrological energies to images in the Bible, so if this feels uncomfortable to you, perhaps instead read this article about my openness to all belief systems. I have a great appreciation for how personal convictions help us get to a certain place at a given time, and make no claims that the way I perceive the world is correct. In fact, my beliefs are fairly fluid and constantly changing. I simply articulate them as a way to spark people’s imagination and communicate vast concepts in a small amount of space, all with the goal of assisting them in getting unstuck from perpetual hardship. If my theories are not helpful, bypass them.
Astrologers each have their own way of relating Biblical concepts to astrology—and I appreciate all of their interpretations—so the following analogy is just one version that might work well for those on the Complete Unified Self Path (CUSP).
I see the Holy Trinity as:
The Father = Fire signs: Leo (Sun), Sagittarius (Jupiter), and Aries (Mars).
The Son/Body = Earth signs: Virgo (Mercury/Chiron), Capricorn (Saturn) and Taurus (Venus).
The Holy Ghost = Air signs: Aquarius (Uranus), Libra (Venus) and Gemini (Mercury).
Water signs are the “places” in the Bible, such as heaven (Pisces/Neptune), hell (Scorpio/Pluto) and Jesus’ cradle in Bethlehem (Cancer/Moon). Water is what connects all of us together.
All four elements carry equal weight. That way, adequate attention is given to the body/Earth—and in healing it—since power is not solely designated to realms above and below us.
The ultimate goal of CUSP is to express all four elements healthfully and equally, so that the connection between body and divinity is fluid and strong. This connection is achieved through Air, which is primarily Uranian energy, but also Mercury and Venus to a lesser degree.
We often think that the body is to be blamed for all our imperfections, while divinity is perfect. But astrology shows us that all parts of us could use some cleaning up.
I again reference Supernatural, which depicts plenty of examples of how divinity has some room for improvement. For the show’s entire run, God has almost always been absent. He has left the heavens, and the angels eventually follow suit. (If that depiction of God seems harsh, skip to this article, which mentions how independence can actually be a form of love).
God's absence could be compared to the suppression of Sun/Leo—when we’re not able to express our creativity, maybe because we were rejected in the past. Or perhaps Jupiter/Sagittarius has been trampled on as discussed here.
So what happens when Uranus, Mercury or Venus try to deliver divine information to the body/Earth? It comes out as heartless or self-absorbed. That’s why Aquarians (associated with Uranus) who seek the betterment of society, can be aloof and overly independent at times. They’ve lost their connection to heart, i.e. the Sun. (I talk about how my cats and I are attempting to reform that energy in this article. Uranian energy well blended with the Sun is actually quite beautiful).
The angels in Supernatural display the overly independent Aquarian tendency well. Except for Castiel, who has a lot of human qualities after all his time on Earth, the angels often appear quite cruel and heartless. They’re simply after the end-game, even though that goal has become confused in God’s absence.
Some examples of Uranus appearing quite cruel—lightning strikes, earthquakes and other life-threatening or otherwise discombobulating disruptions. On another level, Uranus is quick inspiration. That’s why, when we get an idea, we have to ask—is this for the current time? Are there enough resources to implement it? Is it truly for the betterment of others? Or is it merely to work out some karmic debt? Is there another way the problem can be solved that would be easier and less disruptive?
Sometimes Earth gets fed up with all the Uranian activity. As soon as Earth has settled into a groove, it has to deal with yet more change. Constant technology upgrades, for example. Earth might think: Do we really need so much of our collective energy focused on developing gadgets right now? Somehow technology has not always created independence as promised, but instead tethered us to machines. Self-reflection in innovations is continually needed—are the computer upgrades truly motivated for the greater good (i.e. the unconditional love potentially exhibited in the fire signs) or simply for profit and power? Is that profit for the betterment of many, or is it in the hands of a few? (Ironically, Aquarians, the sign most associated with Uranus, are often the ones to demand this equality).
Often times the root of an unhealthy Uranus can be traced to an excessive Mars, which inflates self-importance and makes Uranus act impulsively. Or is the issue actually with Earth, which can be stagnant, inflexible and perfectionist, stalling needed changes? Perhaps the best remedy is to blend Uranus and Saturn (an Earth energy), for a perfect harmony of new and old.
In my most connected moments, deep in the forest among the old growth trees, I’ve received insights that Uranus does have the capability of moving as sweetly as gentle wind rustling tree branches. If we are open to the change, and if Uranus softens its approach perhaps with a Mars that is well-blended with Venus or Libra, then we can remain centered and satisfied in the midst of restructure.
Nonetheless if Uranus is getting its information from murky waters, then it doesn’t matter how refined its delivery is. The black ooze image prompts us to see all sides of “heaven,” or Pisces/Neptune. The shadow is not just below, but also above.
My interpretation of the zodiac allows for the consideration that “heaven” and “hell” are really not that different. They are both Water, after all. In Supernatural, the demons and witches (i.e. Scorpio) are often complex characters. They help Sam and Dean just as much if not more as the angels do in their quest for good. And when they work on their faults, like one character who was the “King of Hell” at one point, they become quite likable. In the end, it’s really hard to say who are the good guys and who are the bad guys—even Sam and Dean get confused about which side they are on sometimes.
Funny enough, it was Neptune/Pisces (manifested as a television show) that connected me to Pluto/Scorpio (the supernatural and occult) when I otherwise would have been in a very mental place (Air and Earth) during school. If I hadn’t binged on Supernatural—if water hadn’t engulfed me—then perhaps I wouldn’t have arrived at the insights prompted by the images on the screen.
While I hated to succumb to the black ooze—as I’d much rather be prancing through the beautiful mountains rather than on the couch—it served a purpose, especially if this imagery is helpful to you.
That said, now that we’re halfway through the 15-year Neptune in Pisces transit, the hope is that those of us who deal with the challenging side of Pisces have refined it such that we can experience it in a way that is more aligned with other parts of us. Since I have an abundance of Virgo energy, I like to be productive, so prefer when the spiritual side of me has tangible results in the material. Writing articles, for one. Offering InnerSynastry sessions, for another. Artistically arranging plants in the landscape.
If we are too much in the ethereal, and not in the body, then what’s the point? Perhaps we’re not supposed to live a moral life solely so we can reach some destination on another plane, but instead so we can live a better life on THIS plane.
It was very important for me to hear the advice from holistic practitioners who told me time and again to REST, REST, REST and let my body heal. In fact, I wouldn’t have learned about astrology if it weren’t for this period because when I was done binging on Supernatural, I read tons of books about the planets and watched many many videos that astrologers created.
But in the end, it’s important for my particular disposition, and probably most anyone on CUSP, to be active, transmitting our creativity to the world. Sometimes we have to retreat from Earth to repair our Water, Air and Fire, but eventually we return. If we’re not in our bodies, then we’re not integrated. I’m not on this plane to sleep long hours or escape via TV or substances. I’m here to create and engage, enjoy nature and relationships, and develop skills in partnership with the divine.
Always looking for meaning behind Supernatural dialogue, I contemplated the Shadow’s threat that it would take Castiel just when he stopped for a moment to let the sun shine on his face. Laying out in the sun, especially on beach vacations, used to be one of my most fulfilling ways to experience Neptune/Pisces, even if I didn’t name it that at the time. Those moments, away from collective reality, were very important as it allowed me to connect to what’s truly inside of me rather than just let others around me determine reality.
Yet those of us on CUSP would feel incomplete if we did not share some of that sunshine—and the insights gained while in its presence—with others. Fantasy and imagination, where our mind roams while seeking connection in “the Empty,” serve its purpose in manifesting a world we truly desire. But if we’re always longing instead of appreciating, giving, and creating, well then we might be suffering as the Shadow promised.
While perhaps most in our society could use more days on the beach, the transitional time we are in right now demands that those of us who have dedicated many years to healing now be active and spread our energy and knowledge to the world. If that’s something you struggle with, we can explore why in InnerSynastry sessions.
Every part of us has room for growth, and astrology offers advice how to do so. Sometimes the sticky sides of us—the black ooze—illuminate and create occasions for growth. In InnerSynastry sessions, we examine and then balance out excesses that create disruptions and discomfort, as well as explore and discuss opportunities for growth as revealed in the stickiness.
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A divergent: If you're interested in learning more about the King of Hell named Crowley in Supernatural, this writer agrees with me about his likability.