Illusions Crumble—Who Are You Becoming? Navigating Illusions, Identity, and Destiny Through the Divine Feminine of Inanna, Persephone, and Ceres
Summary: In this episode, we stand at the precipice of great cosmic shifts—Neptune at 0° Aries, Venus and Mercury retrograde in the final degrees of Pisces, and Pluto in Aquarius forming an alchemical bridge of transformation. What happens when the illusions we’ve clung to dissolve? How do we navigate the ego’s unraveling and step into the unknown with trust? This podcast will explore the deep spiritual, mythological, and astrological significance of these transits, weaving them into a narrative of personal and collective metamorphosis.
Introduction: The Unraveling Veil
Beloved souls, welcome to Becoming Lotus, where astrology, mysticism, and cosmic wisdom come together to illuminate our path. I’m your host, Genevieve Cheung. Today, we will take a deep dive into an important cosmic initiation, heralding the dissolution of the old and the emergence of something entirely new. The veil is thinning as Neptune enters Aries on 30th March. As we step forward, we are invited to surrender to the mystery, trust the unfolding, and embrace the alchemy of our souls.
Just imagine, there is a silent war within each of us, a battle between the constructed self and the eternal self. The ego, like a master illusionist, spins stories of who we are—our name, our successes, our failures—while the soul simply is, untouched by comparison or striving. But what happens when Neptune, the cosmic dissolver, reaches the critical threshold of Aries, the sign of birth? What happens when Mercury and Venus, retrograding in Pisces, beckon us to look into the mirror of our dreams and illusions? When Pluto, lord of transformation, extends a hand, offering rebirth?
This is not merely an astrological moment. It is a sacred initiation.
Neptune in Pisces at the Anaretic Degree: The Disillusionment Before Awakening
Neptune at 29° Pisces is the final breath before a new cycle. The anaretic degree—sometimes called the degree of fate—carries the weight of accumulated experience, the last lesson before transition. Neptune rules the intangible, the dreamscape, the unseen currents of our existence. In Pisces, its own domain, it has spent years lulling us into illusions, revealing dreams, dissolving boundaries between the self and the divine.
Now, as Neptune stands at the edge of Aries, reality itself begins to blur or to clarify, depending on how it may influence your natal chart. Many may feel a deep sense of loss, of disorientation—who am I, if not this? Relationships, identities, beliefs we held sacred may now feel like sand slipping through our fingers. But what if this is not a loss, but a return? A return to something more essential, more true.
This is the moment where Saturn, also in Pisces, steps in as the cosmic sculptor, crystallizing that which is real and sweeping away that which no longer serves. If we resist, we suffer. But if we surrender, we allow ourselves to be reshaped by something greater.
Stepping into the Unknown: Neptune’s Arrival in Aries
When Neptune crosses into Aries, a great alchemical shift begins. Aries, the first sign, is the pioneer, the initiator. Neptune, the dissolver of ego, will now express itself through a fire that cannot be contained. This is the moment where we awaken not just as dreamers, but as warriors of consciousness. The fog is lifting, and we are left with the raw, unfiltered truth of who we are.
What will we do with this new vision? Will we cling to the remnants of the past, or will we forge a new path?
These transits are not merely external—this is an initiation of the soul. We are being asked to let go of outdated versions of ourselves, to trust the process of transformation, to see through illusion and into the heart of truth. And perhaps most importantly, we are being invited to embrace uncertainty, not as something to fear, but as the birthplace of all creation.
This moment is sacred. You are standing at the threshold. Will you step through?
The Dance of Neptune and Saturn: A Struggle Between Boundlessness and Structure
For the past 13 years, Neptune has drifted through Pisces, its own boundless and ethereal domain. Here, Neptune has dissolved barriers, thinned veils, and expanded our awareness of dreams, spirituality, and illusion. However, with Saturn’s arrival in Pisces three years ago, Neptune has been met with resistance—nudged toward forming boundaries where it once only saw infinite space. This cosmic pairing creates an intricate dance, where Neptune seeks transcendence while Saturn demands form, accountability, and realism.
The karmic significance of this struggle intensifies as the North Node, the point of destiny, now moves into Pisces, while the South Node settles into Virgo. Since July 2023, the Aries-Libra nodal axis has urged us to reclaim individual willpower while finding balance in relationships. But now, with the North Node aligning with Neptune, the call shifts toward surrender, divine trust, and spiritual evolution. The South Node in Virgo reminds us of the need to release hyper-control, perfectionism, and the illusion that logic alone can provide answers.
As Saturn follows Neptune into Aries in just two months, the polarity between boundlessness and structure will continue to play out on a grand scale. Aries, a sign of initiation and self-assertion, will challenge both planets to redefine their roles. Will Neptune’s dream survive the fire of Aries’ self-discovery? Will Saturn create new structures for our spiritual truths, or will it resist the call of the unknown? The answer lies in our willingness to embrace both surrender and discipline, faith and action, dissolution and rebirth.
This cosmic dance is not merely external—it mirrors the inner alchemy of our souls. Where in our lives have we clung to illusions, refusing to see reality? Where have we built walls too rigid to let the divine flow in? The power struggle between Saturn and Neptune is not about choosing one over the other, but about integrating the wisdom of both.
Mercury and Venus Retrograde in Pisces: The Heart’s Reflection
Mercury and Venus retrograde at the final degrees of Pisces act as the messengers of the unseen, calling us inward. Mercury, ruler of thought, reflection, and communication, urges us to review the stories we tell ourselves. Venus, the planet of love, beauty, and worth, asks us to reconsider what we value—what is truly meaningful versus what was merely an illusion.
Together, they whisper: Look again. What have you overlooked in your search for love? For meaning? For truth?
Yet, this moment of reflection is further amplified by the presence of Pluto in Aquarius, which casts its transformative gaze upon Mercury and Venus. Pluto, the planet of death and rebirth, compels us to confront the shadows within our relationships, our values, and our perception of reality. Under Pluto’s influence, Mercury and Venus are no longer simply revisiting old memories or loves—they are undergoing a profound metamorphosis.
Mercury, in its retrograde state, is stripped of superficiality. Under Neptune’s boundless waters, it dissolves rigid thought patterns, yet with Pluto’s intervention, it cannot simply drift into illusion. This is a moment of piercing insight, where outdated mental constructs must be abandoned. The stories we have told ourselves about who we are and what we desire can no longer be sustained if they are built on falsehoods. Pluto demands raw truth, while Neptune washes away the last remnants of illusion. We are left with a profound choice: to embrace a reborn perspective or to cling to illusions that no longer serve us.
Venus, goddess of love and attraction, finds herself in an equally intense process. Neptune may have once encouraged idealization, fantasies of romantic perfection, or even martyrdom in love. But Pluto’s sextile forces Venus to confront what is real. Are our relationships built on truth, or are they projections of unmet desires? Are we chasing validation through love, or are we truly connected to the essence of divine love within? This transit strips love of its illusions, revealing where our attachments stem from fear rather than genuine connection.
The North Node at 26° Pisces joins this cosmic dance, pointing toward a collective destiny of transcendence. The past is dissolving, but are we willing to trust where we are being led? With Pluto involved, this is not a soft surrender—it is a necessary and powerful transformation. A rebirth without illusion. A new vision of love, value, and self-worth forged from the ashes of what no longer aligns with our highest truth.
The old patterns are breaking. Will we embrace the unknown, or will we resist, only to be pulled deeper into Pluto’s abyss? The choice is ours, but the heavens whisper: It is time to let go.
Pluto in Aquarius: The Alchemy of Transformation
Pluto at 3° Aquarius forms a sextile to Neptune and the retrograde Venus and Mercury, whispering the secrets of metamorphosis. Pluto, lord of the underworld, understands destruction, but also rebirth. He does not destroy for cruelty’s sake—he strips away the false, forcing us to face what is indestructible within us.
This aspect brings a potent opportunity: What if the chaos we are experiencing is an invitation to step into our highest power? What if Pluto, in this new Aquarian age, is not a force of death, but of sovereignty?
Inanna, the Sumerian goddess of love
There is a myth that speaks to this moment. When Inanna, the Sumerian goddess of love and war, descended into the underworld, she was stripped of her garments, her jewelry, her titles. At each gate, another piece of her identity was removed. She entered the void—naked, humbled, undone. And yet, she emerged reborn, more powerful than before.
We are all Inanna now. And Pluto, standing at the gate, is asking: Are you ready to leave behind the old self? Are you ready to step into your divine inheritance?
The myth of Persephone
But there is another story that echoes this theme—the myth of Persephone, the daughter of Ceres, who was abducted by Pluto and taken to the underworld. Persephone, once an innocent maiden of spring, became the Queen of the Dead, ruling beside Pluto in the depths of Hades. Her journey is one of forced transformation, but also of reclaiming power in the shadows.
Persephone’s myth teaches us that descent into darkness is not an end, but a passage. The soul, when faced with the underworld of its own fears and suppressed truths, has the chance to return not as a victim, but as a sovereign being. In her duality—goddess of both the living and the dead—she embodies the essence of Pluto’s lesson: to integrate both light and shadow, to claim authority over our own transformation.
With Pluto in Aquarius for the next 20 years, we are being asked to navigate this descent consciously. Aquarius, the sign of radical change and awakening, seeks to break the chains of outdated paradigms. The structures that once defined us—whether personal, societal, or spiritual—are being dismantled, offering us the opportunity to redefine what true power means. Like Persephone, we must learn to stand in our own sovereignty, unafraid of the cycles of death and rebirth that shape our evolution.
This is not just an external transformation; it is an initiation of the soul. Who will you become when you rise from the underworld?
Closing Thoughts: Embracing the Unknown, Spring with Ceres
These transits are not merely external—this is an initiation of the soul. We are being asked to let go of outdated versions of ourselves, to trust the process of transformation, to see through illusion and into the heart of truth. And perhaps most importantly, we are being invited to embrace uncertainty, not as something to fear, but as the birthplace of all creation.
As we move forward into Aries season, the promise of rebirth and renewal emerges. Just as Persephone rises from the underworld, embraced by the warmth of her mother Ceres, so too do we return from our own inner descent with newfound wisdom and strength. Ceres, the goddess of fertility and abundance, reminds us that no matter how long the winter of the soul may seem, spring always comes. Life renews itself, love prevails, and the seeds we have planted in the depths will soon blossom in the light.
If the past months have felt heavy, if illusions have crumbled, know that this has all been part of a sacred clearing. You are not losing yourself; you are shedding what was never truly yours. The love, the wisdom, and the truth that remain are indestructible. Like the first sprout breaking through the thawed earth, you are meant to rise, to bloom, and to step into the light of your becoming.
Trust in the unfolding. Trust that love always triumphs. The cycles of life, just like the heavens above, always move us toward greater growth, healing, and awakening. You are standing at the threshold of something beautiful. Will you step through?
The universe has already said yes to you. Now, it is your turn to say yes to yourself.
Becoming Lotus by Genevieve Cheung 張英姿 