Some reflections on astrology and meaning making.

I am always a little wary when I post any post on astrology as I know it can seem with astrology (as some people see it) that I may be laying responsibility on the planets and stars.  As I see it there is a different aspect to all of this, and when it comes to the moon and full moons it is a well documented fact that our bodies cellular substances respond differently at the time of full moons.  Certain hospitals will not schedule operations at this time as it is known people can bleed more.

Being sensitive I feel my body as a collection of cells very often and I feel the sediments inside it shifting in response to connections I make, being in nature, talking on a mobile phone, and in response to foods as well.  I have also recently studied a bit of epigenetic research and the truth is that it is now proved the intergenerational stress and trauma is carried celluarly, it is also carried in the anxiety responses our ancestors may have had to stress and what is observed or passed down or learned as a result.  As a long time (no longer as active) member of adult child of alcholic groups I see this in the people who have suffered as a result of multigenerational issues of addiction and trauma and use of substances is often made to ameloriate other feelings which then leads to certain behaviours and issues such as abandonment which then adds a new stressor and affects subsequent generations.

Anyway I have digressed a bit here, but when it comes to astrology I do feel it is a tool which can give us insight into psychological forces around us that rise up in humans and affect us on both personal and collective levels.  I have studied transits in the lives of over four generations of my mother’s family and seen how patterns and interconnections play out and how events that occur and are critical around signs and degrees (each sign of the zodiac has 30 degrees each) are triggered again in present time evoking events or traumas from the past which are imprints but may have fallen below consciousness.

I feel that at this particular time in our history (which was given the name Kali Yuga by certain Indian Mystics) we are deep in the thick of the dark age which dawned from medieval times when man began to pit himself against nature and femininity and attempted to gain supremacy over it.  I loved the movie The Shape of Water which I saw yesterday for this reason for in it, in an allegorical way the director Guillarmo Del Toro portrayed with his sea creature’s capture by forces of the patriarchy and then his release by the young mute feminine the essence of the times we are living in.  The feminine’s voice has been stolen from us but we feel deeply with our beings and hearts. We witness the abuse of nature and we cry inside.  If we are strong we will fight against this abuse but be almost overpowered in our attempts by forces of power, control and patriarchy which wish to kill us off and capture and wound what is most vulnerable sensitive and alive in us.  If we feel anxiety in response to this, I do believe it.s not a case of a ‘mental illness’, feeling our great anxiety it is to my mind, and to the minds of writers such as Marianne Williamson a natural response of our deep feminine to what is going on in the world and the world is ruled by humans who act in alignment with certain archetypal or psychological biases and prelidictions.

Where this ties into the current astrology as concerns the sign Leo and the upcoming eclispe it that those of us who through pain are awakening to consicousness and to the very real pains of our age is that we are being asked to find our Lion’s and sense of power in self love which can then become love for those who suffer and for those parts of nature we, as custodians of this magnificent planet, should be trying our darndest to protect.  Sadly many of us now lack power.  One percent of the population now controls over 99 percent of the world’s wealth and not a lot of these people show any interest in relinquishing that control any time soon to help nature.

Nature may speak more strongly though, and in the movie The Shape of Water which I saw yesterday the sea creature in the end was victorious.  The forces of control and darkness which tried to over run him and bend him to their purposes were in the end killed and in the final scenes of the movie (sorry this contains spoilers ****) the protagonist realised he was battling a God like force of nature far more powerful than he and the will of his patriarchial cronies.

I believe that as a deeply intelligent an observant child of the 60s (Del Toro the director was born in 1964 and his movie is set in the year of my birth 1962) is trying to portray with this movie our deeper collective plight.   He shows that in the end forces of  nature (which I call God),  will triumph over the dying heroic patriarchial ego that has ruled over the Kali Yuga in the end.

This is shown when you know the planetary forces and archetypes well, Pluto is the planet we have just recently tried to ‘erase’ it is the bringer of death and forces of change and transformation at critical times that cannot be defeated by human will or ego and yet what have certain forces been trying to do, deny this very planet existance?

The Purlitzer prize winning author Ernest Becker wrote a very powerful book many years ago called The Denial of Death.  In it he argued that we in modern times are in flight from the reality of death and try in any way to turn a deaf dumb and blind eye to it.  And yet without death there would be no transformation or change or forces and cycles of creation and destruction.  Where astrology can fit in here is to show us how we are not always ultimately in control of certain forces in and around us but we can learn to respect them and bend to their will when necessary.

I don’t think I have done a very good case of arguing for astrology in this post as its a bit of an off the cuff response to some recent comments.  However I have watched astrological archetypes play out in my own life and in my own family over far too many years now to doubt their reality and power.  In my own family I saw where the feminine went underground and when self will of the family ego ran aground in my older sister’s life.

The knowledge has not ever really helped me change or control anything but it has made me more aware.  Some would in this case argue that ignorance is bliss and would rather just think things are all random which on one level is true, but at times with our reactions and choices we set in motion certain events and being aware of this does on some level at least arm us with greater humility and consciousness.   Some may believe we are infinite but perhaps as long as we live we are just mortal and subject to natural laws.

This post may or may not be true it may or may not have validity.  In the end each of us make our own sense and meaning of life.  For me, I look for patterns and find wisdom and insight in astrological archetypes as well as by observing patterns in events.  It’s just the way my mind engages, just one approach to this mysterious life I am living.  Take what you like and leave the rest, agree or not agree it makes no difference, for we all have our unique perspective.