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SWIMMING
IN THE OCEAN OF CHANGE
This article was inspired by
a talk I gave a couple of months ago about an astrological event, which
I believe has real importance for all of us. I gave my talk in the pre-Iraq
war days in the midst of massive anti-war demonstrations, fear of terrorist
attacks, and more.
The astrological event I am referring to is the movement of the planet
Uranus from one sign to another. Uranus takes about seven years to pass
through each astrological sign. On March 10th, 2003, it left the sign
of Aquarius and entered the sign of Pisces, where it will stay for most
of the next seven years. In the archetypal language of astrology, the
planet Uranus represents “pure idea”. Uranus equals change;
a change in ideas, & a change in thought processes. It floods human
awareness at lightning speed, awakening us to new perceptions, both collectively
and individually. As Uranus enters the symbolic realm of Pisces, a watery
womb full of grace and terror, we will collectively experience sudden
changes and the awakening powers of the individual.
What does that mean and why is it important for us to talk about? To answer
these questions I will start with a short introduction to astrology and
then go on to talk about the astrological implications of recent political
events.
For as long as human beings have roamed the planet they have wondered
about the nature of their relationship to the cosmos.[1][1] For them the
night skies were alive and awe inspiring; they revered them, were enchanted
by them, and projected the mysterious and unknown elements of nature onto
the skies above their heads. Systematically observing the skies, and measuring
and evaluating the movement of the stars, these ancient astronomers were
also the astrologers of their times. They found regular patterns in the
heavens, and attributed meaning to these and the corresponding patterns
in human life on earth.
The ancients believed that the stars and planets were associated with,
or were themselves, the gods; for example, for the Babylonians the planet
Venus was the goddess Ishtar, and for the Egyptians the constellation
Orion was associated with the Egyptian god Osiris.
The earliest astronomical writings known in Mesopotamia are from the old
Babylonian period around 2300 BCE, where the earliest division of the
skies were made, but not until 700 BCE do we begin to see the use of the
zodiac belt[2][2] (the 12 constellations that occupy the ecliptic, i.e.
the apparent path of the sun, moon, and planets.)
Astrologers were the priests and priestesses of the ancients. Theirs was
the first attempt to give voice to the religious instinct in human beings,
”taking biological urges to transmute them into images and symbols
which become significant in a religious way”.[3][3]
Astrologers then and now believe that each human being is influenced by
the state of our solar system from the moment of birth as the initial
influence, and so on throughout life. By studying astrology, one can actively
participate in understanding the dynamics of the cosmic moment in which
one lives; one can then apply this understanding to the particular circumstances
of one’s own life, making the most of the moment.
Over the centuries our understanding of astrology has evolved from the
literal to the symbolic. We no longer think in terms of gods but of ideas.
Instead of projecting our human needs and desires onto mythological deities
in the stars and planets we turn inward for a deeper understanding of
ourselves.
Astrology gives us tools for the imagination that we can use to connect
the visible with the invisible. It sees life as a detective novel, where
each part is mysteriously connected to all others, and allows us clues
and insights into our place in this cosmic story. It inspires us to sense
our relationship with the whole, to the ancient wisdom, to the imaginable
future – and to the incredible canopy of stars above our heads in
the night skies.
We as men and women are the heroes at the center of creation. The planets
represent dynamic energy, not in the outside world, but within each and
every one of us. We look to the power of the subconscious, not only for
our hidden urges and complexes but also for the inherent talents, which
are their higher expression.
Modern Western astrologers stand in this long line of those who have studied
the skies for insights into our journeys. They use the tropical zodiac
beginning at the first point of Aries - the point in the sky occupied
by the Sun at the northern spring equinox, usually on the 21st of March.
Astrologers work with the position of the Sun, the Moon and the other
planets in our solar system, charting their relationship to the Earth,
and to each other. They then apply the symbolic language of astrology
to these charts in order to interpret and bring meaning to the various
periods in the life of individuals, communities and/or the earth community.
So what do I mean when I say that on March 10th, 2003, Uranus left the
sign of Aquarius and entered the sign of Pisces?
Before delving into the symbolism and meaning of this event it is worth
saying that Uranus is one three outer planets, none of which was discovered
until fairly recently: Uranus in 1784, Neptune in 1846 and Pluto in 1930.
Some astrologers believe that planets are discovered with our “co-creative”
participation; they appear when we are ready to incorporate their significance
into our lives and be fully conscious of their meaning.
Uranus was discovered on March 13, 1781 by Fredrick Herscheland. It was
first called Herschel and later renamed Uranus after Cronos, the mythical
father of Saturn. The reasoning behind this was quite simple. It had always
been believed that Saturn was the outermost planet in the sky, was the
old father, the ruler of boundaries. Now, with the discovery of an even
more distant planet, it was logical to have Saturn’s own father
take over that role.
Uranus, the son of Chaos and husband of Gaia, the Earth, was the divine
idea upon which all forms are patterned. Later Uranus came to be associated
with Prometheus, the trickster who stole fire from the gods for humanity.
He was “caught by fire” in humanity’s evolutionary drive
for the creation of a better life.
There are always curious synchronicities between the time when a planet
is discovered and the emergence in society of values and experiences,
which that planet symbolizes. Uranus was discovered between the American
Revolution in 1776 and the French Revolution in 1789, an era erupting
with ideas of freedom, individuation, political participation and human
rights. It was also the dawn of the technological age. It was technology
via the telescope, “born of empirical science and wedded with instrumental
reason,” that brought Uranus out of his Olympian seclusion.[4][4]
If we imagine Uranus is as a god our psyche has ingested, we bear the
responsibility he represents: ” to become distinct and unique individuals,
creatively differentiated from our fellows, capable of thinking clearly
for ourselves, questioning authority and tradition, capable of an objective
perspective towards our emotional and instinctual self, demanding freedom
and justice for all.”[5][5]
Uranus has an unpredictable nature He is called the awakener. Revolutions
and revelations are what he is all about. Astrologers assign to him the
rule of Aquarius, the most humanitarian sign of the zodiac. Aquarius is
one of the signs belonging to the element of air, an odd fact when you
consider that its motif is a water bearer. In the constellation, a woman
is depicted carrying a water vessel open on both sides, representing our
capacity to channel the universal consciousness, which flows from heaven
to earth.
In the last seven years while Uranus was in Aquarius we saw the Internet
and many other technological advances spring up to link humanity together.
This time Uranus enters a very different realm with very different qualities
and challenges; he is leaving air to immerse himself in the watery world
of Pisces. He – and we – will be transformed by his new milieu,
but we cannot say how. Unpredictability is one of his main characteristics.
The planet Neptune was discovered on September 23, 1846. Its appearance
coincided with the birth of Romanticism, which valued imagination, feelings,
intuition and inspiration. A few inventions and important publications
from this period worth mentioning are: Marx’s “Communist Manifesto,
”a global utopian and idealistic vision of society; Kierkegaard’s
“Concluding Unscientific Postscript” which moved away from
detached, intellectual abstractions to ‘leap of faith’ where
“truth lies through the unknown, through the paradoxical, through
a self transcending purely subjective inner way of knowing;”[6][6]
and finally, Franz Anton Mesmer and his exploration with hypnosis as treatment
for hysteria. Here we see the discovery of this gateway into the unconscious
and all its ramifications for psychology, psychiatry and medicine in the
decades that followed.[7][7]
Pisces is the 12th and last sign of the zodiac, ruled by the planet Neptune.
The myth goes that Poseidon was a Greek fertility god who, when given
a sea goddess for a consort, took her powers as his own to become ruler
of the seas. In his Roman incarnation he became Neptune, god of the ocean
depths, a realm where everything is ambiguous, groundless and without
form.
The water realm is one of the most ancient images of the feminine womb
out of which life emerged. The mythology of our birth into the world out
of the womb of the mother is the story of Pisces and its ruler Neptune.
In the Babylonian genesis, Tiamat (teom, or “void” in Hebrew)
had a mortal struggle against her children, the boldest of whom, was Marduk
the fire god. Marduk challenged his mother to combat, and cast his net
to entrap her. When Tiamat opened her mouth to eat him, he split her heart
in two with an arrow, thus creating heaven and earth from her dismembered
body.
Here we see the inherent duality of the womb – partly the paradise
of union with the mother (bliss, oneness, nourishment) and partly the
terror of death, the ultimate disillusionment.[8][8]
Uranus is entering the symbolic womb of Pisces, in which we remember the
sacred union of intimacy and immensity, and yet understand the need to
separate and have our own identity. This astrological event is fusing
the two energies together where a divine, revolutionary idea to benefit
humanity (Uranus), can also find itself in the muck of emotional chaos,
where past and future meet with the tension of death and new birth (Pisces).
Astrology serves as a tool to understand that this seemingly chaotic time
can be understood as an ordered process of change that has inherent meaning
and purpose. Our challenge is to both unify with the Mother, and to fiercely
pursue our own individuation. For me unifying with the mother in our time
involves practicing reverence for the earth and a deep understanding of
the interconnection of all life on the living planet. Individuation suggests
a need for our individual participation in awakening to this consciousness
and responsibly practicing it through our actions.
Uranus is a political planet; it was discovered between two revolutions,
when for the first time, the masses took a stance that said, “We
are for the many, not for the few.” What happens when this political
planet comes into the womb of Pisces, this place of ambiguity, the fertile
void? This astrological time suggests this is a time for re-membering,
re-flecting, re-thinking, re-organizing, re-imagining and re-visioning.
We can learn about weapons of mass deception and re-educate ourselves
about how we’ve been deceived into believing that there is only
one way to get out of this mess, this time of terror.
And, recognizing the need to be present to both the energies of Uranus
and Pisces, we are also called to make room for the energy to engage with
the world, with movements, with communities - to be engaged in bringing
change. We who are alive in this time of Uranus entering Pisces must be
present, be conscious and in co-creative participation, embracing the
complexity and challenge of this ambiguous time. The nature of not knowing
can lead to fear and pain but it is also the fertile ground of becoming
and newness.
Neptune, the planet that signifies disillusionment and dissolving, rules
Pisces; we have to think about it as the caterpillar that chooses dissolution
for the sake of becoming a butterfly.[9][9] Pisces resides over the last
month of winter just before Spring. We are preparing for the time when,
in seven years, Uranus enters Aries, the first sign of the zodiac, the
time of Spring and new birth when the butterfly emerges.
____________________________________________________________
[1][1] Campion, Eddy “The new astrology” (London, Bloomsbury,
1999), page9
[2][2] Campion, Eddy “The new astrology” (London, Bloomsbury,
1999), page 10
[3][3] Campbell “Mythos”(on video, Joseph Campbell Foundation,
2000)
[4][4] Goddard,” Uranus, Neptune, Pluto (our Contemporary Evolutionary
Challenge)”(France, C.U.R.A., 2003) page5
[5][5] Goddard,” Uranus, Neptune, Pluto (our evolutionary Challenge)”(France,
C.U.R.A.2003) page 6
[6][6] Goddard, “Uranus, Neptune, Pluto (our evolutionary Challenge)”(France,
C.U.R.A.2003) page 11
[7][7] Greene “the Astrological Neptune”(York Beach, ME Samuel
Weiser, 1996) page 109
[8][8] Greene “the Astrological Neptune” (York Beach, ME,
Samuel Weiser, 1996) page 7.
[9][9] Sahtouris”what is Enlightenment? (Lenox, MA, Moksha Press,
spring 2003) page22
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