Earlier this evening, when it was just past dusk and one could start to see the stars above as the western sky was a deepening blue. "Look," my partner said. "Look at THAT." He was looking, and pointing, out the window.
"What?" I said, getting up from where I had been lying on the bed, after a long, hard day. "Are those planets?" he said as I followed his gaze, and moved to stand where he was. "I don't know," I said, and went and got my iPhone with its trusty Star Walk app, which shows one the night sky - no matter whether it's day or night, or no matter if you're inside (as I was), you can see where the stars - and planets - are.
"Those look like planets." They were all lined up in what looked like a straight line - and two of them were very bright. I found them on my screen: Jupiter, Venus, the moon, Uranus, Mercury, and finally, where it had recently sunk below the horizon, the sun. It was most impressive, and full of portent.
What does one DO when the planets are aligned like that? Being someone interested in magic (the pagan kind, the shamanic kind, the spiritual kind - think Tarot, not top hats and rabbits), I watch for omens and moments.
I know lots of people who think that astrology is bunk; how can the stars and planets influence our world, they say. But I always say, how can you think they don't? I mean, take the sun - the sun, which is the most powerful thing in humanity's field of awareness, the thing that gives all life its life. It's THE big thing we have. Of course it affects us - it sustains us. But no one every mentions that.
As for the whole idea of the 12 signs, there's a lot to it. I'm not an astrologer, nor do I actually know that much about it, in fact - like, when someone says what sign they are, I don't know enough to say "Oh that is *so* you" and be right. But I've been listening to Caroline Casey, the Visionary Activist, on KPFA for over a decade, and she gives you an education. You can write her off as an "astrologer," but that would really be to miss the mark. She DOES talk about the sky story - the qualities that the planets represent - but she's not your average corner store psychic. She studied with Joseph Campbell. She blends magic, myth and astrology to basically explain the nature of the universe, and how things REALLY work.
She's *very* good at it - and explains astrology as essentially a story-telling framework. Stories are what give us and keep our collective wisdom; we are all, always - whether we are aware of it or not - on a personal and collective mythic journey. "Believe nothing but entertain possibilities," she says. She talks of "sane reverent beings" as something to cultivate and "frozen-hearted dingbats / dementors of doom" as something to compost. She tells us that the only perfect teacher with completely reliable understanding is nature. She's very wise. "Magic," she says, "is simply a willingness to cooperate with everything."
And so I understand astrology in that way - it's a framework as, say, Tarot is, as the I Ching is, as so many of those so-called predictive systems are. It's a way to externalize what's inside; it's a way to use images, language, boundaries to find out what is going on (inside you). In other words, the planets represent qualities: Venus is love, and Mars is aggression and passion, and Jupiter is big purpose and big story. They all embody various aspects of any (and every) human being. So we can use this system to discuss who we are and where we are and where we are going. We can talk about men being from Mars and women from Venus, because we can all learn the qualities they represent, and in this way we can communicate with each other and ourselves.
That's what I think of when the planets align - not, what does it mean is going to happen? Doomsday is a myth; one of Casey's guests recently wrote a book called "Apocalypse Not," and I like that phrase. I feel like I don't need to read the book - you can kind of just start easily thinking about all the ways in which is the apocalypse (and the whole 2012 thing; don't get me started) is a big distraction, like a kid throwing a temper tantrum. We all have to just calm down and grow up.
So, what does it mean to see Jupiter (big story; kind of a "be careful what you wish for" type thing) and Venus (not just love but also money, pleasure, attachment to others, harmony, peace) and, finally, Mercury (the trickster redeemer, the communicator, the intellect) all lined up together - and close. I looked ahead to see what's happening in the next few days and there's some sort of unprecedented grouping in which they will be very close - not just *look* close from the earth's POV, but actually *be* close in terms of, you know, miles, or kilometers. Whatever the hell you measure outer space in - miles seems awfully inadequate to the task.
The idea is, I can ask myself what that means, to me; I can ruminate and let my higher self work on it - I can sleep on it, dream about it, and write about it. I can see if it prompts behaviors in me - will I find a way to be kinder, or more compassionate? Will I gain some insight about some recent struggles at work - will I learn something? Will I have a breakthrough? Will I be illuminated? People who understand the stars can look up and see those qualities and recognize what that means for them, and be suddenly enlightened. It can happen. It could happen.
And - here's the thing about the sky story - if lots of people are doing that at once, it could be something that means something, that makes something happen. If something REALLY big happened in the sky, it would - and does - unify folks, unify us in our common experiences. I mean, look at 9/11 - it was a big deal and it was unifying. Not in the best way but there you are - if you don't allow for the mythic drama of your life, you will live melrodrama, and circle around uselessly.
So, it makes me think, well, if this is happening - if the giant planets out there are doing something that we may or may not be aware of, it's possible there's stuff happening on other levels we don't really understand. There's a lot more to existence than we know of consciously, right? Who am I say to say that people all born when something is happening seasonally, astrologically, similiarly in the moment, won't share characteristics? I don't *believe* astrology, but I'm willing to entertain possibilities, and I'm willing to entertain the possibility that the planets in alignment is a good time to work some deep reverent sane magic. I'm willing to entertain the possibility that the universe is conspiring with me, helping me; like an audience at a home game, the universe *wants* me to succeed. Why not think the planets are here to help me grow, change, become more human, become more myself, and become more free from myself? They either ARE appearing to do that, or they are really doing that.
As someone once said - maybe Socrates? I heard it last from the Eric Stoltz character on Caprica, the Battlestar Galactica spin off (really good show, in fact): the difference that makes no difference is no difference.
It's tomorrow night the line-up really gets smokin' hot, I understand from reading a few google headlines. I've got a day to prepare something - and I've got a lot to ask for. I could use some heavy magic in my life right now - it's a good life, but it's full of surprising challenges, and I'm totally willing to enter in to some solutions at the moment.
What will you do? Time for heavy magic of your own? Or maybe just contemplate what it means to combine your big story, your love and pleasure and your intellect and worldly success. What would your life look like if you could do that? That's pretty much the first step to making it happen. In fact, that is THE fundamental element of natural magic - the fundamental technique from which all others spring and which all the rituals and spells and direction of energy exercises are designed to help you do: visualize. See what you want. See it, feel it, taste it, hear it, call it forth, declare your intentions...in short, make it happen by actively imagining it - that means, you think about it while you also direct your energies, internal and external, towards manifesting it. I haven't read it, but I think that's The Secret.
I'm not trying to convince anyone of anything, really. As the folks at Cafe Gratitude mentioned in the workshops I've had with them (when we all start to look very skeptical), there's nothing to believe here. It's like a coat that you can try on and see it it fits. If you like the look of it, if you feel better wearing it, maybe you want to keep it around. That's all it's about.
Anyway, it seems to work fairly well for me. May your endeavors be blessed. May all courage be on you! Huzzah, hurray, so say we all!
"What?" I said, getting up from where I had been lying on the bed, after a long, hard day. "Are those planets?" he said as I followed his gaze, and moved to stand where he was. "I don't know," I said, and went and got my iPhone with its trusty Star Walk app, which shows one the night sky - no matter whether it's day or night, or no matter if you're inside (as I was), you can see where the stars - and planets - are.
"Those look like planets." They were all lined up in what looked like a straight line - and two of them were very bright. I found them on my screen: Jupiter, Venus, the moon, Uranus, Mercury, and finally, where it had recently sunk below the horizon, the sun. It was most impressive, and full of portent.
What does one DO when the planets are aligned like that? Being someone interested in magic (the pagan kind, the shamanic kind, the spiritual kind - think Tarot, not top hats and rabbits), I watch for omens and moments.
I know lots of people who think that astrology is bunk; how can the stars and planets influence our world, they say. But I always say, how can you think they don't? I mean, take the sun - the sun, which is the most powerful thing in humanity's field of awareness, the thing that gives all life its life. It's THE big thing we have. Of course it affects us - it sustains us. But no one every mentions that.
As for the whole idea of the 12 signs, there's a lot to it. I'm not an astrologer, nor do I actually know that much about it, in fact - like, when someone says what sign they are, I don't know enough to say "Oh that is *so* you" and be right. But I've been listening to Caroline Casey, the Visionary Activist, on KPFA for over a decade, and she gives you an education. You can write her off as an "astrologer," but that would really be to miss the mark. She DOES talk about the sky story - the qualities that the planets represent - but she's not your average corner store psychic. She studied with Joseph Campbell. She blends magic, myth and astrology to basically explain the nature of the universe, and how things REALLY work.
She's *very* good at it - and explains astrology as essentially a story-telling framework. Stories are what give us and keep our collective wisdom; we are all, always - whether we are aware of it or not - on a personal and collective mythic journey. "Believe nothing but entertain possibilities," she says. She talks of "sane reverent beings" as something to cultivate and "frozen-hearted dingbats / dementors of doom" as something to compost. She tells us that the only perfect teacher with completely reliable understanding is nature. She's very wise. "Magic," she says, "is simply a willingness to cooperate with everything."
And so I understand astrology in that way - it's a framework as, say, Tarot is, as the I Ching is, as so many of those so-called predictive systems are. It's a way to externalize what's inside; it's a way to use images, language, boundaries to find out what is going on (inside you). In other words, the planets represent qualities: Venus is love, and Mars is aggression and passion, and Jupiter is big purpose and big story. They all embody various aspects of any (and every) human being. So we can use this system to discuss who we are and where we are and where we are going. We can talk about men being from Mars and women from Venus, because we can all learn the qualities they represent, and in this way we can communicate with each other and ourselves.
That's what I think of when the planets align - not, what does it mean is going to happen? Doomsday is a myth; one of Casey's guests recently wrote a book called "Apocalypse Not," and I like that phrase. I feel like I don't need to read the book - you can kind of just start easily thinking about all the ways in which is the apocalypse (and the whole 2012 thing; don't get me started) is a big distraction, like a kid throwing a temper tantrum. We all have to just calm down and grow up.
So, what does it mean to see Jupiter (big story; kind of a "be careful what you wish for" type thing) and Venus (not just love but also money, pleasure, attachment to others, harmony, peace) and, finally, Mercury (the trickster redeemer, the communicator, the intellect) all lined up together - and close. I looked ahead to see what's happening in the next few days and there's some sort of unprecedented grouping in which they will be very close - not just *look* close from the earth's POV, but actually *be* close in terms of, you know, miles, or kilometers. Whatever the hell you measure outer space in - miles seems awfully inadequate to the task.
The idea is, I can ask myself what that means, to me; I can ruminate and let my higher self work on it - I can sleep on it, dream about it, and write about it. I can see if it prompts behaviors in me - will I find a way to be kinder, or more compassionate? Will I gain some insight about some recent struggles at work - will I learn something? Will I have a breakthrough? Will I be illuminated? People who understand the stars can look up and see those qualities and recognize what that means for them, and be suddenly enlightened. It can happen. It could happen.
And - here's the thing about the sky story - if lots of people are doing that at once, it could be something that means something, that makes something happen. If something REALLY big happened in the sky, it would - and does - unify folks, unify us in our common experiences. I mean, look at 9/11 - it was a big deal and it was unifying. Not in the best way but there you are - if you don't allow for the mythic drama of your life, you will live melrodrama, and circle around uselessly.
So, it makes me think, well, if this is happening - if the giant planets out there are doing something that we may or may not be aware of, it's possible there's stuff happening on other levels we don't really understand. There's a lot more to existence than we know of consciously, right? Who am I say to say that people all born when something is happening seasonally, astrologically, similiarly in the moment, won't share characteristics? I don't *believe* astrology, but I'm willing to entertain possibilities, and I'm willing to entertain the possibility that the planets in alignment is a good time to work some deep reverent sane magic. I'm willing to entertain the possibility that the universe is conspiring with me, helping me; like an audience at a home game, the universe *wants* me to succeed. Why not think the planets are here to help me grow, change, become more human, become more myself, and become more free from myself? They either ARE appearing to do that, or they are really doing that.
As someone once said - maybe Socrates? I heard it last from the Eric Stoltz character on Caprica, the Battlestar Galactica spin off (really good show, in fact): the difference that makes no difference is no difference.
It's tomorrow night the line-up really gets smokin' hot, I understand from reading a few google headlines. I've got a day to prepare something - and I've got a lot to ask for. I could use some heavy magic in my life right now - it's a good life, but it's full of surprising challenges, and I'm totally willing to enter in to some solutions at the moment.
What will you do? Time for heavy magic of your own? Or maybe just contemplate what it means to combine your big story, your love and pleasure and your intellect and worldly success. What would your life look like if you could do that? That's pretty much the first step to making it happen. In fact, that is THE fundamental element of natural magic - the fundamental technique from which all others spring and which all the rituals and spells and direction of energy exercises are designed to help you do: visualize. See what you want. See it, feel it, taste it, hear it, call it forth, declare your intentions...in short, make it happen by actively imagining it - that means, you think about it while you also direct your energies, internal and external, towards manifesting it. I haven't read it, but I think that's The Secret.
I'm not trying to convince anyone of anything, really. As the folks at Cafe Gratitude mentioned in the workshops I've had with them (when we all start to look very skeptical), there's nothing to believe here. It's like a coat that you can try on and see it it fits. If you like the look of it, if you feel better wearing it, maybe you want to keep it around. That's all it's about.
Anyway, it seems to work fairly well for me. May your endeavors be blessed. May all courage be on you! Huzzah, hurray, so say we all!
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