A retreat in Turkey guides visitors in sema, the spiritual practice of whirling for transcendence

Turkey's Scorpio Sun has always carried a deep undercurrent of mysticism alongside its modern, reformist identity. The Republic was born in 1923 with a fierce drive toward transformation, and yet the Sufi traditions that predate the nation by centuries never truly disappeared. They simply went inward—much like Scorpio itself tends to do. Seeing sema, the sacred whirling practice of the Mevlevi order, move into the spotlight through this kind of retreat speaks directly to that natal tension between the secular and the transcendent that sits at Turkey's very core.

Right now, Neptune transiting through Pisces forms a gentle trine to Turkey's Scorpio Sun (and honestly, this is one of those quiet but meaningful alignments). Neptune softens boundaries, invites the mystical, and opens doors to experiences beyond the rational mind. Sema is almost a perfect physical expression of Neptunian energy—the spinning, the dissolution of ego, the reaching toward something ineffable. When a nation with such an intensely felt Scorpio identity gets this kind of Neptune contact, you often see a revival of interest in depth, soul-searching, and spiritual heritage. It feels less like escapism and more like a genuine homecoming.