The ordinary lightness of Dignity.

Tuesday, April 11, 2006
Personal disposability has become a primary fear. We desire full individuality and yet cannot allow ourselves to be as Nature intended us to be; we become convinced we are not and never will be good enough as is. The siren call of constant re-invention has permeated our culture. If we take this “call” too seriously, we are in danger of losing our identity. Being marginalized by society is not a good feeling. But try losing your sense of self.

The stars did NOT align that Christmas.

I know what it’s like to drop off the radar socially. At first I thought I’d be terribly lonely, but there are actually quite a few of us here in purgatory-with-a-small-p. Ugly, unemployable, aging, fat, ill, care-taking another, crazy…we’re all here. It’s not such a bad place. The Venusians of this world are, of course, quite horrified to be any kind of outcast, bereft of other people’s admiration. The Martians writhe impotently against “the System.” The solar people are deeply ashamed but act “as if” nothing could thwart their dignity. Mercurial folk understand the issues involved, look behind the messages for other messages, and find the situation keeps them in touch with The People (a.k.a. “weirdo’s”). Jupiterian’s see the big picture and just know they are there to inspire others who are also downtrodden. It also is an opportunity for them to be a big fish in a little pond. Saturnians never expected much from anyone else. And lunar types feel society’s rejection of them keenly, taking it out on anyone who will listen to their blog-gy rants.
Oh. Ha ha.
These planetary descriptions come into play when someone has a personal planet in detriment or fall. Read about Essential Dignities and Debilities in Donna OConnor’s article at www.astrology.earthlyreturns.com

Forewarned is forearmed.

Some walk alone, without knowing that someone is watching their progress.

Monday
In the last week we had two events related to Gnosticism: co-author Michael Baigent loses his court case of plagiarism against Dan Brown, and the National Geographic Society releases a documentary about the lost gospel of Judas. Baigent wrote the excellent “From the Omens of Babylon: Astrology and Ancient Mesopotamia.” Dan Brown’s book apparently has a Gnostic angle; I really can’t say how it plays out since I found it impossible to read more than a page or two.
About the Judas gospel—in my opinion this is not an axe cleaving through Christianity. The important aspect of the last days of Jesus is that he had foreknowledge of his betrayal. The betrayal did not come suddenly out of the blue for Him and that makes all the difference in the interpretation of those events. Martin Luther says it best in “The Bondage of the Will:” If God for-knew that Judas would be a traitor, Judas became a traitor of necessity and it was not in the power of Judas or any creature to act differently, or to change his will from that which God had foreseen. It is true that Judas acted willingly and not under compulsion but his willingness was the work of God, brought into being by his omnipresence like everything else. If you don’t allow that the thing God foreknows is necessarily brought to pass you take away faith and fear of God, you undermine all Divine promises and threatenings and so you deny deity itself.”

What do we do with our birth chart?

What destiny lies behind this astrological chart?

Friday, April 07, 2006
Today’s Question: So…what do we do with it?
“Theosophy gone stupid.” This is one person’s opinion on the state of modern astrology. Esoteric teachings have reached new levels of incomprehensibility. This isn’t how it was meant to be, surely. We got the planets moving along the same band of stars, the time to observe the consequences and the ability to make notes about it all. Then came the analysis of the data (the Greek’s specialty), various techniques to hand, and…application. Ahhh. Application: the stickiest aspect of practicing astrology. This is where the Vedic astrologers claim to have an edge over Western Tropicals. Over the centuries the Indians have developed a system of prayer, good deeds, and gem therapy with which to tackle an astrological problem. Vedic practice was generated from Hindu religious thought, giving it a wee bit more spiritual weight.
 The idea of Unity of Being, and the recognition of the illusion of separateness from all other life is so important for inner/outer happiness, that I think it needs to be emphasized whether practicing Eastern or Western astrology. We have an ethical responsibility to lead in some positive way (even if we don’t know precisely where we are going). But how do we do this in Western context? Various Western schools have sprung up to fill the apparent void. But this is a paradox, because really there was no void of physical/philosophical applications for Tropical astrology. Two astrological Dark Ages robbed us of their development, yes. But now the original material is being rediscovered, and in my opinion these medieval and ancient ideas translate well into our Age. The clarity of Greek thought cannot be overstated. For an example of its uplifting philosophy, read Rob Hand’s article “Fate and Astrology” (Mountain Astrologer, Feb/March 2006). 
One thing I’ve discovered— the application of ancient Western philosophy can be liberating.
But it takes a strong will to face up to its straight-edge ideas.

Back to us and our current so-called needs. The Earth was birthed into a certain set of circumstances which allowed for us to come into being. Now that we are at this point in our history, is it really wise to talk about “evolving” souls without taking into account environmental consequences? Doesn’t all this dedicated self-involvement lead to a disconnect with the natural world? Green astrology aims to promote tree-hugging and pony clubs. Those SUV’s with their tusk-like bull-bars are today’s highway elephants, but they ain’t part of my herd.

With trumpets blaring, we proudly open this space for grazing.

Wednesday, April 5, 2006  For those who like their astrology a bit on the green side, there are articles ready for digestion. Green astrology (from our very own Planet) holds the view that stars must be seen in their naked beauty, that is, outside; preferably gazed upon in the countryside or out in the desert. Here, the variance in magnitude and colour can be appreciated. Only then can the astrologer translate the Light from above, to the calculations of the chart. A fine sentiment, what?                                                              

Today’s Question: Why do we have a birth chart?    

We need a short-cut to self-knowledge. Some people believe that astrology is “received from God” to help us with the Big Questions of life and move our souls toward purity. Thomas Moore (author of The Planets Within) sees the horoscope as a symbolic representation of our fantasies and life patterns. Therapists might find the horoscope useful for exploring someone’s psyche. That sounds alright if you are a psychologist, but in the wrong hands this kind of idea could take some strange turns. Imagine looking at a friend’s chart and seeing the “signature” of a tyrant. Would you completely reassess their character, or would you decide to dig deeper into the story of their lives? People are complicated. We are unknowingly born into several Fates—the character of our Mother and Father, their economic circumstances, their genes, their culture, the political circumstances of our Country, the time of year, the weather where we live, the geography around us…you can see that reading Destiny from one birth chart is a matter of straining the liquids of life to be left with the elixir of essence. What does this knowledge of essence matter? It is too fragile to be of much value in a material world. Or is that just cynicism speaking up from its lonely jail cell? Lots of things are called “essences” and bottled up to be sold. But our own secret stash is the stuff of gold fusion. If you practice Alchemy you know that a process can go through many stages. So too does a life. A birth chart reflects the personal Light, Space, and Time of our allotment. We can study it or not, that is our choice.