Future Innovations: Personal Narrative In A New Reality
Astrologers Liz Vazquez and Vivi Henriette TALKTALKTALK the astrology of change
You don’t need to be an astrologer to know we’re living in tumultuous times. Is this the future? The last gasps of humanity? New technologies and old rifts are transforming the world at an accelerated pace. It’s a lot for even the most resilient of us.
How do we find our story when the world itself is being rewritten?
This question is at the heart of the following interview with astrologer Liz Vazquez — and the inspiration for our latest astrology and creative writing workshop, Future Innovations: Personal Narrative In A New Reality.
If you’re in Los Angeles, join this Saturday, August 2nd, us at the Philosophical Research Society for a journey into personal and planetary history through storytelling and writing prompts.
Not in LA? Enjoy the conversation!
Vivi Henriette: In astrology we look to the great outer planets, Pluto, Uranus and Neptune, to track world events. For the first time in recent history, all three of these are changing — have changed — signs at the same time.
In other words, the sky is testifying to something most of us know: that the world is transforming at an unprecedented pace.
How do you interpret this outer planet change up? What impact do you see this having on us as individuals?
Liz Vazquez: I think it really is a cosmic leveling up that’s being demanded of us; collectively and individually because they’re one in the same. And I don’t mean in an accelerationist sense of evolution and capitalistic progress just for the sake of it, but leveling up in the sense of “do you really want to keep doing the same bullshit you’ve been doing? well you can’t now even if you think you do, so better start doing something different, kiddo.” The very nature of change elicits chaos and discomfort. It connotes endings and beginnings, death and (re)birth. Yes, this is always happening in the world and in our personal worlds (there’s always crisis) but what makes this time, the 2020s and 2025 in particular, so important is that this is the beginning of the future of humanity. And how cyberpunk dystopic or solarpunk intergalactic this future ends up looking is fully dependent on how we think, communicate, and connect (Uranus in Gemini), how we act (Neptune & Saturn in Aries), and how we change our trajectories (Pluto in Aquarius)as we are further confronted with the realities of our presents and consequences of our pasts.
Vh: As the world around us shifts, it seems inevitable that our individual stories will also be called into question. You’ve written specifically about the relationship between Neptune and the film industry — and have predicted the rise of small scale film productions. Can you speak to this?
LV: Well firstly we have to start with the correlation between Neptune and cinema. Neptune is the dream realm, the imaginary, the unconscious, the incorporeal & the liminal--it is the big screen in the darkened room where we project all our hopes, fears, desires, and meaning onto. The last time Neptune was in Aries was around 1861 to 1875 when photography was popularized, the first color photograph was taken (Thomas Sutton, 1861), and a variety of inventors were developing and experimenting with devices to capture and display moving images.
Aries is numero uno in the zodiac, and as a cardinal fire sign, you can be sure it’s going to ignite something. With all the changes and new technologies/advances, as well as regressions, we’ve seen in visual storytelling and its distribution, now that Neptune is back in Aries I think what we can be sure of is a breaking away from convention and a spark for newer and more bold storytelling.
Aside from there being a general cultural exhaustion of remakes and regurgitated franchises, we also have to contend with the fact that in this age of constant distraction, doomscrolling, and information overwhelm under soul crushing capitalism, our attention spans are shorter. And while the world is on fire, we have less time to wait around and get our projects greenlit or funded. So, on the one hand, I’m sure we’ll be seeing more movies integrating new technology, whether it’s introducing an interactive element or having completely AI generated productions. On the other hand, we’ve already been seeing a resurgence of independent and guerilla filmmaking. The film industry has always been highly competitive and I don’t see that changing, but I think we’re going to be seeing a swell of “firsts” in all manner of things related to filmmaking and storytelling.
Vh: How do you see the storyteller’s role in this new reality?
LV: Like Dante, we all need a poet to guide us through hell.
Vh: Over the next year and a half, Saturn and Neptune will move back into Pisces before settling into Aries; similarly Uranus will dip back into Taurus. All the while, the nodes of the dragon will remain sprawled across the Pisces/Virgo axis.
In previous conversations, we’ve discussed this nodal axis — and the eclipses arising from them - as a sort of backdrop to the outer planet story, a place for introspection and cleansing, even if the process itself is chaotic.
How do you see this nodal story in relation to the larger sky picture?
LV: The South Node in Virgo and North Node in Pisces definitely add a layer of obfuscation or confusion to the picture. It’s like we’re weaving together this image of the future, but we’re in the dark and we just have to feel it out. . . like there’s this lingering fatedness looming over everything. Additionally, this Saturn and Neptune in Pisces period has felt like the scene in Ghostbusters when all the ghosts are set loose in the city and mayhem ensues. It’s not just that the veil is thin, it’s that there is no veil, and maybe there never was? With Saturn and Neptune dipping back into Pisces while the North Node is there, it feels like we’re having to go back to our haunted homes to not only confront the ghosts, but help them crossover so we can really start anew.
Vh: What wisdom do you have for people looking to work with the Virgo/Pisces territory of their lives?
LV: Incorporate some kind of daily ritual that connects to wherever Virgo and Pisces are in your chart. It can be something as simple as saying “thank you” every morning to your home or practicing a humming meditation before lunch. Whatever feels grounding and whatever pulls you out from the constant noise. Find a minute of peace every day and remember you are dust.
IN LA? LET’S WRITE TOGETHER
Join Liz and I this Saturday at the Philosophical Research Society for the latest edition of our astrology and writing workshop series, Future Innovations: Personal Narrative In A New Reality.
Together we’ll explore the terrain of this new era and ways to alchemize these changes within us. Through writing prompts and storytelling we’ll harness the collective power of vision to set intentions for the future we seek.
ABOUT LIZ
Liz Vazquez is an LA born & raised artist, writer, and filmmaker who has been studying Hellenistic astrology since 2016 and consulting clients since 2020. From 2021 to 2022, they wrote bimonthly horoscopes for The Philosophical Research Society as part of their PRS artist residency.
ABOUT VIVI
Vivi Henriette is an LA-based astrologer and tarot reader whose collaborative approach to divination weaves in storytelling and mythology to create a container for her clients to explore their personal narrative. She’s the host of the Los Angeles Astro Salon and the podcast TALKTALKTALK and the founder of LA Astro Fest.
FOLLOW ART of the ZODIAC & Vivi Henriette on INSTAGRAM + YOUTUBE+SPOTIFY for the latest TALKTALKTALK