The Rhythm of Life

There is a widespread belief about the astrological world being linked solely with prediction. Throughout the latest centuries, the philosophical depth of this discipline has been put aside, or at least partly demeaned. In a world which finds itself more and more identified with materialism and individualism, there seems to be a great need for event-related predictions. Though this still remains a valuable idea within the vastness of the astrological philosophy, we should never forget how this archaic form of knowledge is rooted in the study of resonances, rather than mere manifestations. In other words, we should be seeing the world we live in as a place which simply represents the fruit of much more mysterious trends; the connections which exist among different layers of existence act on a level of “meaning”, rather than “form”. As specified in “Fate and the Journey of Life”, those trends are intrinsic to Nature itself, whereas the events which we witness with our eyes are manifestations of a deeper scheme. The framework appears to have been set up by laws which we do not fully understand today, and it is shown as a long-term unfoldment of cyclical forces. This “scheme” might be referred to as an “Implicate Order of things”, a term coined by the American physicist David Bohm, who talked about “resonances” from a scientific point of view. It may be worth pondering upon the fact that some people manage to transcend the limits of common understanding and get a glimpse of this underlying state of things. In my opinion, it is not quite right to perceive some form of superiority in the act of “connecting” with what’s beyond, because it is simple work of the human being – divinely gifted as he is – to bridge the gap between the seen and unseen. Psychic work makes use of those unexplored and obscure faculties of the extraordinarily complex human mind. There is obviously a series of bio-chemical processes at work within the human body, but such does not fully explain human experiences such as “genius”, “love”, “passion” and so on. There are visible and quantifiable changes in biorhythms when such emotional forces set in, however, deterministic observation does not fully explain the individuality of life. Not even by resorting to the idea of “chaos” governing our lives, can the uniqueness of individual life be justified entirely. By uniqueness I refer both to gifts of life, such as talent, as opposed to the fatefulness many lives are obliged to go through. Also, the individuality of life poignantly emerges in family relationships, with the quite common dichotomy between parental interests and the predisposition of children. If there is randomness all over, why are children not always “molded” according to their parents’ wishes? Why do unfulfilled lives emerge, when high levels of psychological conditioning get established within familial structures? Psychological knowledge has gone far into these issues, and it is dutiful to cite the work of Liz Greene, who has merged astrological knowledge with psychological research in a most illuminating manner.

When looking at the inner landscape of an unfulfilled life, we identify an unfollowed innate imprint, which we might wish to call “predisposition”. If there is a blueprint to life, how can there be total randomness in the unfoldment of life? The astrologer knows there is no randomness in the realm of existence. Interestingly enough, Bohm, whose open-mindedness took him close to the mystical and philosophical worlds, gained a clear perception of this indirectly perceivable order of things. So did Einstein, but also the greatest religious mystics of all Ages, so did philosophers, and obviously astrologers as well. Astrological research shows that visionary people are commonly born under prominent aspects which involve the outer planets (Uranus, Neptune and Pluto); generally, such alignments would also involve either the Luminaries (Sun and Moon) or personal planets (Mercury, Venus, Mars). With the inner cycles representing the cosmic manifestation of more accessible forces, their interaction with outer planets often provides the human being with the capacity to tap into the unseen. Whenever this does not happen, we can often retrace a historical, familial or societal choice which generally has the power to condition the expression and acknowledgement of an individual’s innate combination of personal and transpersonal archetypes. The spiritually or philosophically inclined individual may in fact struggle enormously to socially emerge in a fashion which is fully conversant with his own predisposition. If, for instance, one is born under a tight Sun-Uranus configuration, whose reactionary power is enhanced by other factors within the natal chart, there may be a strong, undeniable tendency towards revolutionism and eccentricity; on the contrary, a Sun-Saturn individual obviously tends to find purpose in the rule of law. The intrinsic, profound and incommensurable difference between Sun-Uranus and Sun-Saturn individuals becomes greatly evident in the outer world, yet it may be unconsciously harboring within the individual’s psyche for many years or even the entire life, if not enough awareness is developed. The development of the necessary level of consciousness which is required to overcome the obstacles which hinder the free expression of certain natal configurations is often triggered by important transits, directions and progressions. For instance, the astrologically-conversant reader is well aware of phenomena such as the Saturn returns, or the astrological midlife crisis (with Uranus in opposition to its natal placement and Neptune and Pluto squaring theirs), knowing the importance of such phases of life. These turning points of the individual and collective development – such as in the case of nations and organizations – are indicative of profound inner changes, and not necessarily of outer, quantifiable and visible events. In other words, the Saturn return is an inner experience of responsibility, whereas the midlife crisis takes the individual into a phase of general reconsideration over the entire purpose of life within society. These watershed phases of life are not necessarily linked with ominous events – a consideration which used to be made quite frequently in the past – but simply of inner steps which life DEMANDS should be taken. There is in fact an inescapable trend which leads one towards inner change when specific ages are reached, but the events, decisions and circumstances which accompany them are not necessarily written somewhere. After all, we cannot even say that some kind of “destiny” is laid out already, because what is perceivable, at the current stage of human conscious development, is nothing else than an “Existential Trend”. A trend defines change over time; therefore, what the astrological researcher, or leisurely interested reader should consider is the existence of a “pace of life”. At times when important configurations descriptive of innate potentials are activated, visible shifts occur within, and possibly without, the individual or the organization affected. It is worth remembering how the USA’s two past Uranus returns have occurred during crucial phases for the nation. The first one occurred in 1860/61, coinciding with the onset of the Civil War and the fight against slavery, whereas the second one occurred in 1944, during the deepest phase of WWII, at the time when the USA was also developing immensely powerful warfare technologies. The next return will occur in 2027/28 and it will undoubtedly coincide with an important phase of social and ideological renovation for the country. Again, the actual events surrounding that astrological occurrence will not be evident to us right now, but it may become possible to intuitively guess what is to come when those times approach. In fact, any physical manifestation is dependent on many factors, which constitute what we would otherwise call the ”prevailing circumstances”. The Uranus return of an internationally influential nation such as the US is an astrological occurrence of no little importance. However, the outer manifestation of the predictable wave of ideological change cannot be foreseen or pre-calculated. This is of the utmost relevance to us, who are living in times when some have harshly criticized astrology because it did not “provide“ a prediction of the pandemic. First of all, most of the people who have put forward such idea are those who know least about this ancient form of knowledge, and usually refer to the most visible, purely commercialized, and highly simplified world of Sun Sign astrology. Also, for those who read from the most eminent astrologers of our times, would have found out about the importance of year 2020 already a long time ago. The “pandemic” would not emerge as such, obviously, but the profound shift of priorities and the globalized return to necessity and self-protection was easily, and perhaps worryingly detectable. Any planet’s position or any astrological configuration are not indicative of EVENTS, but they are accurately descriptive of SOCIAL AND INDIVIDUAL TRENDS. The shift will occur at an ideological level, but whether this will manifest as a war, scientific discovery or border redefinition is not a matter of interest. The reader who is keen on developing a more refined level of astrological understanding should seek to include these considerations in his day-to-day life, learning to better appreciate the existence of an underlying order of things. As Dane Rudhyar used to say, the living entity establishes a “relationship” with the Universe he lives in, and such “relationship-as-a-whole” is to be considered as all-inclusive and governed by multi-layered resonances.

The outer world reflects the inner one.

Life is governed by mysterious laws which we do not fully understand; yet they can be, at least partly, decoded by investigating the various ways in which life patterns are echoed all around our planet and the universe.

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