Friday, February 25, 2011

Pluto ~ The Purification

As the outermost known planet, Pluto symbolizes the end of the process Uranus began: that of breaking down the reality structure of normal consciousness. If Uranus breaches the normal reality structure and Neptune exposes us to the ultimately real, then Pluto symbolizes the radical transformation of consciousness and being that must result. Pluto is the archetype of death and resurrection: it breaks down the old and outworn entities into their component parts, and then reassembles them into new being.

It does this at every level of life. As with Uranus and Neptune, PLuto may be experienced by people of any level of consciousness, but, also like these other planets, Pluto is hard to handle if one is bound up in the universe of Saturn. Pluto operates with extreme power, and, being a force beyond the ego, when it manifests it usually causes one to feel out of control. While Uranus interrupts normal reality and Neptune confuses ordinary reality by exposing one to to other realities, Pluto can symbolize a complete breakdown in ordinary reality. Such a breakdown forces one not only to deal with an alternate reality, but even to build a new day to day reality out of it.

The literature of astrology tends to dwell on the seamy side of Pluto, and its association with unchecked power, decay, corruption, and death. Yet Pluto stands for something much higher. It is the purifying fire that an entity must go through in order to pass from one level of being to another. Ultimately, Pluto purifies and makes more nearly perfect; but to do this it must first completely destroy anything gross or imperfect that holds an entity back. When we confront Plutonian energies, we often see aspects of ourselves with which we cannot deal, because we have buried them in the process of creating our reality systems. So when a crisis comes in which nothing that is true can remain hidden, we have to confront our personal garbage and finally do something about it. Only then can we move on. What appears to us as the negative energy of the symbol Pluto is nothing more than a mirror image of our own negativity staring back at us.

from Horoscope Symbols by Robert Hand

Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Neptune ~ The Ultimately Real

Neptune can be understood in part by defining what it is not. Even more than Uranus, it is an energy that negates everything that Saturn stands for. If Saturn is reality, Neptune is unreality. If Saturn is an aspect the ego, Neptune is denial of the ego. If Saturn is our notion of time and space, Neptune is outside time and space, in either a non-dimensioned or an infinitely dimensioned universe. Neptune symbolizes the truth and divinity perceived by mystics. At the highest level, Neptune is Nirvana, where all individuality is merged into an infinite oneness of being and consciousness.

To b able to handle Neptune and Saturn at once is difficult. One must be able to play he game of reality completely and with total conviction, exact as if it were real in the ultimate sense, while at the same time knowing in one's heart that is not. one must be able to live in the universe of Saturn, being responsible and aware of its laws, while at the same time not require it for support. The addiction to structure that we referred to under Saturn is not permissible with Neptune. This is what is called detachment: playing the game for real yet knowing that it is not.

One cannot even be attached to oneself, because the ego, the form one's being that one calls oneself, is also not ultimate real. This is why Neptune is an ego-denying energy. In the presence of Neptune, the illusion of the ego becomes clear. The illusion is not so much the awareness of having an ego, as it is of being an ego. On a low level, Neptune represents experiences that becloud the ego, which, in order to function, needs a sense of a secure ultimate reality. Thus Neptune symbolizes illusion, mystery, confusion, and crises in which one's ego is severely defeated.

Neptune is the next stage beyond Uranus in the encounter with the transcendent aspects of existence. If Saturn represents normal reality and the consciousness that deals with that reality, and Uranus represents those energies that break through normal reality so its structures cannot become too deadening, then Neptune represents the total negation of all the principles of normal reality. Neptune is often described as illusion, while Saturn is said to represent truth. The relations is actually the reverse: Saturn is the illusion that there is a reality that is truth; Neptune is the truth that there isn't. In some respects, Neptune is more truly chaotic than Uranus, in that Neptune can be the formless void before any structure is imposed upon it. Yet on closer examination we could say that Neptune symbolizes the universe in which all truth is simultaneously true, even the contradictions!

In its manifestations in ordinary life, Neptune can represent either illusion or mystical illumination, depending on one's level of spiritual evolution. For this reason, Neptune can represent the highest and lowest aspects of human experience, the most beautiful and painful of human emotions. The task of mastering Neptune's energies is one of the most difficult, and very few do it completely. I suspect this is so because to master the energy that Neptune represent requires being able to accept all its truth at once. To do this means that one cannot perform the acts of exclusion and selection that are require in order to create - that is, to incarnate into - a physical universe under Saturn. If one really masters Neptune, one probably does not incarnate into this world. The mere fact of such incarnation suggest that Neptune has not been mastered and probably will not be in this lifetime, except for the occasional Bodhisattva who incarnates totally realized for the sake of guiding others to the truth. We should not be sorry about this; we should simply go about doing what is to be done and learning what is to be learned.

It is important to learn that all the energy that comes with being alive has its origin in the universe of Neptune, and that if we cut ourselves off from Neptunian energy with walls of Saturn, wee ultimately cut ourselves off from life. Uranus makes the break in what armors us against the ultimately real, while Neptune gives a glimpse of the ultimately real itself.

from Horoscope Symbols ~ Robert Hand

Monday, February 21, 2011

The Devil XV

The Devil is an interesting card with several meanings. It mainly represents bondage, and self-imposed limitations. If you spell Devil backward is lived. This is a contrast of values, for while the Devil prohibits and limits, the purpose of living is expansion and freedom.

The Devil is a creation of our imagination. The reality however is that what we believe in our minds may soon come to pass. Especially if we believe strongly enough. We create situations where w are chained to our fears. Greed,, hostility, revenge, and envy, are the types of emotions that will sustain our fears. With the introduction of negative thoughts we are setting the path for terrible nightmares. We are prejudging outcomes and manipulating the pure intentions of otherwise good intentions.. The Devil does not care about good intentions. His focus is fixed on the material, the mundane and lower levels of life. He is always subject to the imposition of temptations. Like the Devil, when our actions are designed by greed the outcome will certainly work against the propagation of higher values.

There is an important reason we have encountered the Devil, just as things were moving with such progress. After we have internalized the spiritual values of the Hierophant, mastered the courage of the Strength, and realized the victories of the Chariot, we encounter the Devil. The lessons in life are never ending. They will continue to appear as long as we are alive. With every victory, or with every defeat, there is a new lesson to be learned. Perhaps it is an old lesson restated in a different way with a new application.

At first glance, this cared present a frightening image, very much the way the death card does. Keep in mind, that each of the 22 steps offers growth and development for us along our journey. Each offers a helping hand to make sure the way is constantly lit, and that we do not lose our way. The devil has the horns of the goat. A stubborn, but sure footed animal of great perseverance. The goat will succeed under the most adverse conditions, long after everyone else has given up. He refuses to be stopped by any physical limitations. His eyes reflect the intensity and seriousness that is often needed to overcome adversity. The pentagram, affixed to his head, tells us that he can either use his powers of the benefit of humanity or he can become a part of Satan-like activities. He has eh wings of the bat, and will no doubt seek the cover of night to perform his deeds. The night hours will limit the vision of those who would confront him about his negative deeds. The Devil is a living contradiction. The right hand is raised as if to stop something from moving forward. It motions a halt, while the right hand of the other tarot cards signals the beginning of something. Attached to the necks of the man and woman is a chain. Their hands are free. If they should choose to leave, they may. As the moment they appear to be just realizing the negative power of the Devil and will momentarily begin a motion to be set free. In the Tower they will actually assert their will for this freedom. Perhaps they have misused their intentions and have become captive of their own greed, malice, or bad intentions. Whatever the reason, they have created bondage as a result of their own negative actions. Both are nude, a carry-over from the Lovers card, where they began to explore the aspects of loving relationships. Perhaps something has gone wrong. There is a lesson on or both must learn before the relationship will succeed. The colors in this card are not bright and happy. In fact they do not contain the inspiration of the many of the other cards. It is for this reason that you must study this card t see the hidden meanings.

Persons born December 21 - January 21 are born under the sign of Capricorn. It is through our associations with them that we will learn the values of patience, hard work, and stability.

Somewhere along the path, something or someone has entered our space and presented a temptation. The Devil has presented the possibility that we may accept this temptation and forget all the knowledge learned in the previous lessons. His lesson is direct and powerful. Either you do or you don't. The choice is up to you. Will you go for the Devil or will you go for LIFE? Will you allow yourself to be depressed and sad, or will you surround your life with sunshine and light? I t is necessary to confront and place negative issues on the table in front of you if you are going to overcome them. If you choose not to confront them, they will overtake your better judgment and hold you captive - a slave to our own fears - limiting you, and the people around you.

The Devil is a card of administration and organization. It will show us the way to restructure our inner fears.

from TAROT ~ 22 Steps to a Higher Path, by D. Balotti Lawrence

Sunday, February 6, 2011

Maturity = Life Path + Expression

Your Maturity number indicates an underlying wish or desire that gradually surfaces around age thirty to thirty-five. This underlying goal begins to emerge as you gain a better understanding of yourself. With self-knowledge comes a greater awareness of who you are, what your true goals in life are, and what direction you want to set for your life. This, in a nutshell, is the gift of maturity: You no longer waste time and energy on things that are not within your own special identity.

No matter what your age is at present, your life is being channeled in a specific direction, toward a very specific goal. That goal can be seen as a reward or the fulfillment of a promise that is implicit in your current efforts, often without your knowing it consciously. While the characteristics of this number are usually visible during childhood, we tend to lose sight of these aspects until later in life. But our lives are always being affected by this influence, nonetheless.

Your Maturity number begins to have a more profound impact on your life after the age of 35. The influence of the number increases steadily as you grow older.

Hans Decoz
http://www.decoz.com/Calculations3.htm

** The Life Path and Expression #s, astrologically both indicators of THE SUN, the the origin and destination of consciousness respectively, what I AM and what I BECOME, the latter (Expression) co-ruled by the astrological Ascendant (ascending) or RISING SUN. Together they reach Maturity, that evolutionary factor which I speculate and believe to be ruled by the astrological NORTH NODE.

J D Z