Astrology has a proven core of planets, signs and houses. After that are objects and concepts in various stages of being proven. In the week to come, the proven and unproven will begin a series of interactions that will define the timeframe from today to the next equinox. Events that correlate with those interactions will be instructive as regards to the concept of power.
Over the last several thousand years (at least), a single thread has connected a lot of deep thinkers. Tellingly, most of those intellectuals have been men. At least one fiber in that long thread has been an aspiration to understand the defining impulse at the root of what it is to be human.
Among just a few examples, Plato clearly implied that human beings are fundamentally political beings. Freud postulated that the single impulse underlying all human behavior (and to which all other human impulses are subordinated) is Eros — basically, sex. Perhaps most influential in our time, Nietzsche singled out what he called a “will to power” (which is at least convincing when you consider that power will make you politically dominant and also provide access to lots of sex).
Then again, it would be fair to assert that politics, sex and power are not fundamentally human at all — that love in fact conquers all. Nonetheless, for centuries, those who have hitched their wagon to raw power in and of itself have held a very deep, broad and consistent sway.
If there is anything to astrology, we are implicitly living in a time that will go a long way towards proving whether or not we are (in essence) power tools.
The long, deep background for this era is implicitly being played out by objects at the edges of the solar system (Uranus, Neptune, Pluto and Eris now foremost among them). Yet because those distant planets are all of relatively recent discovery, it would also be fair to say that the nature of that defining long game is actually a dynamic process in progress with an uncertain outcome.
It would also be reasonable to assert that astrology’s proven core constituents (the Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn — in context with the signs and houses) are themselves subject to a range of fluctuations (or cycles), and maybe even evolution.
Then, finally, there is the ultimate arbiter of all existential reality (in which astrology plays a currently underrated part): you. You and all of our kind are undeniably at a crucial point in the process of proving what we most fundamentally are.
Beginning with the Aquarius New Moon today (or tomorrow, depending on your time zone), and ending with the vernal equinox in March, could very plausibly be a vital timeframe in this crucial point of humanity’s existence.
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Breaking that timeframe down further, it would be essential to note that the ingress of Mars into Aries (where Uranus and Eris wait), a few hours after the Aquarius New Moon, will express as a lot of energy in the world.
Mercury’s long-deferred conjunction with Pluto in Capricorn this weekend could also be interpreted as energy of a different sort — having to do with the inner life that individuates each living being in the world.
All of which leads back to power. Without energy, there is no power. If that energy is directed (something you can actually do, as least in regards to your inner life), then the fundamental nature of power itself is transformed from master to servant.
Finally, should love prove itself capable of directing that energy, then all of intellect’s formidably formative influence up to this point would be integrated, while still being honored into an existence that you can master. If you were to do just that, it would contribute to make you and all of humanity so much more than a long line of really smart guys ever thought to give us (and you) credit for.
To think you are somehow unimportant, somehow powerless — even meaningless — is to all but prove yourself that way. Yet, you have a choice. You can think, and prove, yourself otherwise. According to what’s going on above, the next six weeks or so will provide you with a very appropriate timeframe to get started proving yourself the equal (if not superior) of what all that those smart guys ever amounted to.
Offered In Service
As I mentioned in a comment in the four winds earlier, we’re learning the Beijing Opera form, which is a very stylized, traditional theatre form. The characters are all role-types, archetypes, if you will. Clowns, young girls, mature females, same for males. There is very little ‘individuality’ as it were. The form is very strict; every movement having tai-chi like precision & grace. Yet there lies within form the capacity for an actor to control their energy, which shows as an outer softness and inner intensity. So, in essence, the form allows for one’s true individual presence to come through.That’s based on my belief that one’s true presence is seen in the aura, or felt. It’s something below the surface that we can’t quite put a finger on. To me, that’s presence.
Which brings me to a bit of correlation with the astrology, and how I plan on using my power as an individual to help solve the riddle of presence, and figure out how to put it to good use. The following is a blurb in the audition notice for my thesis performance in April. And if anyone out there wants to come audition, or has a sincere interest in being a part of this show, that is on the table. Just saying, here goes:
What is presence? I, along with you, my cast, will devise a collage play that attempts to answer that question. It’ll touch on the age-old existential questions. Who am I? Do I have a purpose?
Answers might be found within, and throughout the process. Can we cultivate presence? If so, what does that look, and feel like for you? How can we use presence more effectively in our personal lives, and as a collective, to further our growth & development as humans?
Come audition, I’d love to see you be present!
By the way, Len, I used your idea about the Year of the Hen. I felt this was appropriate since we are now aware of all the feminine warrior (my word; meaning spiritual warrior) energy in and around us. I got a Chinese New Year card for Jiali, our guest artist from China. In it we (cohort) wrote that we declared 2017 the year of the hen for her because of her strong feminine spirit. So, thank you for that idea.
Michael: Thank you for sharing both your experience with and insights gained from your recent work. While my artistic erudition is much inferior to yours, I can say my own limited experience in performances arts does support your perception of how auras manifest as presence. Finally, i’m very gratified that you found my “Year of the Fire Hen” proposal appealing and useful. Please do continue to share the highlights of your adventuresome path.
Please extend my best wishes to Jiali. May this be a great year for her.
Len,
That was so beautifully written, very inspiring, and exactly what I needed to hear. I could feel the “heart essence” of your words. Well done. Thank you, Deb
Michael,
Surprisingly, I was myself just contemplating how to define presence. I know it when I see it, or more accurately, feel it. The simplest description I have come up with is a quality of integration – an integrity that infuses the person with a sense of groundedness and flow coming from love. Thank you for the opportunity to put it into words. Good luck with your performance! Regards, Deb
DebsK: Thank you for being so kind. My endeavor is ever to improve my service to heart essence.
Thanks Deb, that sounds like a perfectly sound definition of presence to me!
Len, if I understand you correctly, the great thinkers (mostly men) have been compelled to nail down the one most driving impulse of all humanity in general. Isn’t that just like a thinker? Lovers, on the other hand, don’t feel the need to categorize human beings into what drives them so much. They are, it seems, more interested in the whole of any being, perhaps seeking to know what values an individual holds dear.
You have walked the tightrope between the thinker’s mind and the lover’s heart and, through the study of astrology (and Life itself), have perceived the essence of life, at least within this period of time, as a process rather than a static state. You seem to suggest we human beings are free to choose how to respond to the flow of energy within the process. Thank you for leading the way.
Thank you too for pointing out that the wisdom of the past could be integrated, through love, into energy that motivates or powers us to conquer all; all obstacles that hinder our drive to totally integrate what has for so long been a polarized experience of life. Overcoming fear would be a priority and I can see Mars’ return to his sign of Aries as stimulating courage. Mercury’s new cycle with Pluto could jump-start our thinking about society’s role in integrating those polarities. You know, Len, you are one smart guy yourself.
be
Barbara: Thank you so very much. The return of your comments has filled a hole for me. Yes, you do understand correctly the idea conveyed. Finally, your own additional interpretations of Mars’ return to Aries and Mercury’s long-deferred conjunction with Pluto. It would seem that current events of this weekend are reinforcing your always-perceptive insight.
Len,
What Be said. (Thank you, Be).
Just last week thinking/feeling about this in Philosophy class/writing. You are one heck of a tutor.
Thank you.
aWord: Thank you. Just doing my best.
I needed to hear that, dearest Len. Thank you
Tug: That my offering contributes to meet your needs is the best news I could possibly receive.
Hello Len. Thank You. I thoroughly enjoyed your wondrous ideas. I am ignorant in the subject of the deep objects and appreciate you giving me a chance to learn.
Is the principle of Wisdom what you had in Mind?
Intellect as a slave to instinct is what we have had. Our intelligence has served our fears. Wisdom, however, is Heart + Smarts. It is oriented in Understanding, which is Love centered.
I’d like to point out that the cultures that have survived the longest, are those where women were the shamans and ones consulted on matters. Aboriginal Australians for example, whose culture goes back at least 40,000 years. And while a stallion may be in charge of the herd, that herd follows the oldest mare.
Maybe there is another level of consciousness and Mind more Powerful than that of Intellect, called “Intuition”?
Sue: My thanks to you in turn. Yes, you have expressed my intent in some ways better than me. When it comes to solar system objects outside the orbit of Saturn, there are two basics to always keep in mind. First, human beings have been conscious of these objects for only so long, so they are like new acquaintances – we are still getting to know them and they are still proving themselves to us. Next, they move around the zodiac more slowly, thus corresponding to phenomena of long duration. Put those two together and your perceptive correlation with Wisdom (and the rest) makes a lot of sense. And yes, an excellent point regarding the cultures which have survived the longest.
Len: Thank you for your response. Maybe, as you have shared, these longer (or larger) cycles have to do with a different kind of development? As in, what does it take to bring a Soul to maturity?
I guess I’m thinking like a mom, in that a spiritual child would undergo the same growth processes as any physical child. There would be Personality development and after that had been developed and coordinated, integration of another level of awareness could begin.
Could this be at the root of our identity issues? Shifting from identifying ourselves as “human” to “Soul”? Like growing up from being a little “i” to a big “I”? Instead of a disconnected stick and a dot, we become integrated?
(And “Hello!” neighbor!!! )