The Spirit of Play

One of the great things about Halloween as it is now celebrated is that it is frivolous. It’s important to remember that frivolity is sometimes a good thing. It’s a good thing to get back to the original spirit of play as you may have experienced it in childhood, before life had objectives.

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It’s not complicated. The original spirit of play is to have fun for fun’s sake. You do not need to learn anything while playing, instructive though it may be. It is also not essential for play to be competitive or to get anything done. Instead, play should be a safe alternative to learning and working all the dang time.

The spirit of play specific to Halloween allows you to safely explore what would otherwise be risky, or even scary. It’s a chance to loosen up emotionally, intellectually, even physically if you manage to get out and look at the decorations and enjoy the costumes.

The costumes and customs germane to Halloween celebrations are a chance to be imaginative and creative with no pressure to produce anything and no need to satisfy somebody else. It’s an opportunity to be curious and experiment with some of your own boundaries with no requirement that you be disciplined or show a result.

If ever there were a Halloween to indulge the spirit of play, astrology indicates that this might well be it. A lot of it has to do with where Mercury has been, where it is now and what it’s heading for.

For starters, Mercury has been in Libra since Aug. 27. That’s more than two months, a long time for a planet that very often moves through a sign in less than three weeks. What kept Mercury in Libra so long was one of its famous (some would say infamous), periodic and predictable retrogrades. Indeed, it was less than one week ago, on Oct. 24, that Mercury finally emerged from the narrow confines in which it had pedantically paced back and forth three times for over seven weeks.

Since Mercury is so versatile, a long, slow and repetitive oscillation in a narrow slice of the zodiac can correspond with you and your life getting a little stale. That’s especially true of your mind — another thing Mercury will often correlate with. What better way, then, to refresh stale thinking than to play a little?

Right now, Mercury is nearly back up to full speed. It’s clipping along through what remains of its Libra tenure at the rate of more than a degree and a half every day. By early Monday, Mercury will be in Scorpio where it will accelerate even more, dashing through one momentous aspect after another. It’s enough to make you feel like Lewis Carroll’s white rabbit, always worked up about being late. What better remedy to being frazzled than to take advantage of Halloween being on a Saturday this year? Why not consider taking your eye off the clock, allowing time to fly if only for a day, or at least an evening?

Of course, you should also remember that play and fun at their best are safe. When you were a child, your elders took on at least some of the responsibility of providing safe times and places for you to play. Now that you are an adult, the obligation of assuring that the spirit of play remains without trouble or hazard falls to you.

A big part of playing safely is preventative in nature. If some of your Halloween play ends up being sexual, use protection. If you need to drive an automobile, don’t drink alcohol or indulge in any other substance that interferes with your judgment, alertness or reflexes. After all, kids don’t need to be wasted to have fun. Also, be careful with fire in all its many forms.

Finally, be mindful of others, especially in how you play with them. You are not the only one who needs to have some fun. Make a point of honoring the spirit of play by at least being safe and fun to be with.

If you can, give yourself a break for Halloween this year. Step out of the rat race. Slow down. Be frivolous. Without getting careless, find a way to do something something that helps you remember what it is like to be carefree again. Of all the various spirits you may encounter, let the spirit of play be the one you choose to spend the most time with.

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About Len Wallick

Besides endeavoring to be of service to all of you here at Planet Waves, Len strives to live in Seattle while working as a professional astrologer. To contact him for an astrology reading you can send an e-mail to: lenwallick@gmail.com. His telephone number is 206-356-5467. In addition to his profession, Len contributes to the Seattle community without monetary compensation by serving as a Reiki practitioner and teacher through classes and outreach offered by the Seattle Reiki Mastery Series modality.

10 thoughts on “The Spirit of Play

  1. Bette

    Ah, play! As adults, with all our Duties & Responsibilities, we so often forget that a balanced life DOES need play.

    Whenever I teach an adult art class, I find the biggest hurdles for participants are the serious messages they carry from childhood about “getting it right”, “making it look like something” etc., the inner critic voices from parents, teachers, or peers. It takes a couple of sessions just to get them to where they can approach their materials in at least some spirit of play. Then, many truly begin to have fun, though some, sadly, remain quite stuck & inhibited.

    Even after decades of doing art at some sort of professional level, I still joust with my own inner critic at times, who must be reminded that (s)he has no place in my present, trying to spoil my fun. I know that critic is parental in origin, & gradually coming to an understanding of why my parents were so skittish about “art”, & thence being able to have some retrospective compassion for their attitudes, helps a lot, though the effort is ongoing.

    Where I live, Hallowe’en usually coincides with the leading edge of winter, which makes outdoor activities less than ideal. I’m thinking of taking a break & attending a dance Friday at the local seniors’ centre (costumes optional) to enjoy some music, food, & visiting. Saturday night, probably popcorn & a movie at home, with apples handy for any trick- or- treaters. My Scorpio Moon & Venus would probably like a bit more excitement, maybe some romance, but hey, we work with what we have, right??

    Thank-you, Len, for the reminder to lighten up on the way into the dark season of long nights.

    1. Amanda Painter

      Bette — sounds like you have a great plan! I always *love* dressing up for Halloween — but I seem to have this habitual difficulty in giving a costume a thought more than a day or two before the holiday. Which usually results in a few rounds of “What random stuff lying around my house could make a costume?” plus a last-minute trip to a craft or toy store for that one last thing.

      Each year I tell myself I’ll plan my Halloween play-clothes further in advance. Alas, here I am again…

      🙂

      Thanks, Len for the reminder of why it’s such a great idea to let Halloween be pure fun. I think we’ve struck a fascinating balance between the play of masking and its “serious” side between our two posts.

      1. Len Wallick Post author

        Amanda: Yes, thank you. Just as you have observed, we teamed up to cover the bases once again. i deeply appreciate working with you and learning from you. i sincerely hope to have the honor of pulling off many more such “double plays” in the future.

    2. Len Wallick Post author

      Bette: Please accept my thanks in turn for brining up the subject of the inner critic, which is part of the broader deeper background of astrology right now as symbolized by the calculated point Isis-Transpluto hanging out on Virgo’s front porch (along with Regulus) to discourage trick-or-treaters from being creative and having a good time. As you have noted, compassion is the key. Compassion for others and for self reinforce each other in a cyclical manner, encouraging us to set ourselves and others free of expectations, met and otherwise. Your comment is truly frosting on the Halloween cookie. May your plans for celebrations have sweet results.

  2. Barbara Koehler

    What will you do for fun on Halloween Len? Call it irony, but asteroid Lilith, considered a witch by many, will be breathing down Saturn’s neck on Halloween. Around sunset on November 4th, when trickster Mercury in Scorpio makes a semi-sextile with proper Saturn-conjunct- improper Lilith, it could be a turning point on adult fun. 4+ Sagittarius being the degree where Saturn stationed retrograde last March, implies Saturn, now free from his obligations of a Scorpio nature, might just shed some of his restrictive rules for some old fashioned adult recreation on All Hallows Eve.

    I’ve read that “Halloween is Beltane’s dark twin” so maybe with Mercury’s connection to Saturn via his new position in Scorpio, the sign which so recently held Saturn for so long, is like a siren-song to the grim reaper. Best to avoid sipping the cider that Wiccan priestess offers you Len, you know Lilith doesn’t play fair.
    http://deoxy.org/time/sabbats/11-06.htm
    be
    PS – Trans. Jupiter is now conjunct the degree(s) where Uranus and Pluto met in 65-66, so don’t forget to wear some flowers in your hair!

    1. Len Wallick Post author

      Barbara: Speaking of frosting on the Halloween cookie, you have provided the added bonus of yummy sprinkles. My own plans for Saturday night are to remain at home in the shared house in which i rent my humble room so as to meet and greet any trick-or-treaters who venture to the door. Flowers in the hair is a good idea, i just might do that to make my mug look a bit less frightening (should have worn them for my photo now that i think of it). Thank you for the reminder about transiting Jupiter, it comes an a good time to take heart in the passage this time of year represents. Thank you also for reminding us that among the many aspects Mercury will speed through in Scorpio, the semi-sextile with Saturn will come sooner rather than later. Finally, thank you so very much for the word on transiting asteroid 1181 Lilith and what looks to be amazing timing for its placement during this season when discretion is indeed the better part of valor.

  3. Bette

    I like that, Barbara – “Halloween is Beltane’s dark twin.”
    As for “flowers in your hair”, I guess we boomer flower children have never forgotten, though our flowers (at least in my climate) may have to be metaphorical right now.

    May I toss a question out for feedback? I’ve not yet found a truly informative source re my 7th house ruler, Saturn, being natally in my first house, retrograde. Other than a vague mention somewhere of “being your own worst enemy” (aren’t we all??!), I haven’t found much info. Any thoughts/sources would be much appreciated. It does seem that Saturn rising tends to take things Very Seriously, which can rain on fun parades.

    1. Len Wallick Post author

      Bette: Thank you for your question. Saturn in the first natal house, supports a self-examined life and the development of a person who knows who she is. Possessed of that knowledge (which is not such a common attribute) you are better able to make good choices, even when it would be easier to make not-so-good choices. As with all things pertaining to Saturn, the rewards of awareness are greater than the difficulty. Additionally, Saturn in retrograde tends to be more thoughtful and less stern. If ever anybody has proven themselves to allow thoughtfulness to take priority over being stern, i would submit that you are probably among the best examples. Your wisdom is always tempered with kindness, and i deeply appreciate that in you. Please let me know if my answer to your questions is somehow unsatisfactory.

  4. Pisces Sun

    Okay, confession, Barbara writing “flowers in your hair” instantly put this song in my head by the Cowsills: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fT9OE4pcYRs
    It has sentimental meaning to me, which is likely one reason why I couldn’t shake it throughout the remainder of the time reading the comments, not a Halloween song but hey it is definitely a light-hearted song and aligned with the tone of your writing Len!
    Be: What tongue-in-cheek metaphors you used today, I loved every minute of reading what you wrote especially your statement about Lilith breathing down Saturn’s neck- how sensually scandalous of her to drive Saturn crazy!
    I fully intend to play starting tomorrow night and through Saturday and the next night having the opportunity to be at Disney World, what better spot to play than the Magic Kingdom itself?
    Another nice respite from the rush of the work week is that many of us in the U.S. will receive an extra (albeit manufactured) hour gained by returning to Standard Savings Time at 0200 Saturday night (still Halloween night for some). Another reason not to be fixated on the clock’s turning other than to turn back it’s hands of time!
    Happy Halloween PW writers, contributors, readers!

  5. Bette

    Len, thank-you. Your remarks on Saturn in the 1st very much validate my discoveries as I’ve gradually come to terms with it, after many years of glaring at it while I slowly matured. Its role as ruler of my 7th has clarified somewhat during today’s exchanges, & I can see how some of my past relationships with younger & often irresponsible men actually contributed to my “growing up” – often with some resentment at the time, but SOMEONE had to be an adult. I hadn’t looked at that part of my history in that light before. Interesting & useful food for further thought, & I appreciate your contribution.

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