“A star rises from the night …. it is a flame from the world of the Gods and love runs before it.”
How will this current period of history be remembered? How will it be judged by ‘the scales of justice’ of the Universe? History has long been remembered within myth and fable – although the very meaning of the words myth and fable suggests lies and untruths. Nevertheless, myths have stood the test of time, perhaps because they allow us to participate with and co-evolve with nature through the eyes of a dance with the natural and the supernatural worlds. But can myths truly be understood from a modern concept? And do they have relevance in our modern world?
Myths convey the practical knowledge of traditional cultures. Myths bring forth the ideas and the emotions of the Earth – they are repositories of a practical wisdom that says there is a principle order that in turn creates order. Plants that we overlook today as weeds can produce medicines for healing. Trees help to cleanse the air we breathe – forests are the lungs of our worlds. Because Earth is our home, our planet, I would suggest that, as it seems we are being led into a new type of civilisation which is more digital and based on so much that is unreal, it is even more important to understand how we are connected with the roots of nature and the Earth. If change goes too far and we forget our connections does this imperil the whole epistemology of our world – that knowledge that underpins our very existence?
I ask this question at this Full Moon in Libra as a hugely assertive, maybe even warmongering, Sun opposes a Moon that seeks balance, harmony, beauty and peace. The Sun – the leaders – are face on to the people who carry the scales of justice, just at the point that civilisation is shown to be pulling us towards potentially huge changes to human behaviour; changes that are likely to have a huge blowback in terms of social engineering and the future path of civilisation.
The time we are in now is as pivotal as the mid 1800’s, when the Industrial Revolution was bringing a very different way of life into being. Astrologers can see there are several similar planetary and cyclical links to compare with our own current point of change. At the mid 1800’s we were also coming out of what was known as the ‘Little Ice Age’, which followed on from the Medieval Warming period. Now, following this little ice age, we are within another cycle of global warming, which in turn will likely be followed by a cooling period. And that’s just it – the material, natural world of our Earth follows natural cycles, and we must learn how to deal with them.
The mid 1800’s was also the point of the War in Crimea – and now this area of the world is the seat of further disturbance. It was also the start of a new socio-economic cycle just as we are now. In the 1800’s this would take place in the element of Earth, signifying all things that are tangible. It was the beginning of the time of mass production, resulting in the growth of commercial areas which in turn brought about a change in social behaviour as workers started to flock to the new towns and cities, rather than continue their lives where they were born. Transport networks were needed in the form of railways and roads and types of constructions began to change with the invention of steel at that time as well. Without steel many types of new constructions we see now would not have been possible. Now we have entered an Air cycle, bringing an age relying on technology, new types of travel and communication and a likely concentration on the mind and the brain. Similarly, both periods of history (now and the mid 1800’s) show huge planetary indications of upheaval, disruption and cultural and social change.
The biggy this week, on April 12th, just before the Full Moon, was the joining up of Jupiter and Neptune in Pisces, the sign they both rule. Yet again the mid 1800’s was also the point of the last Jupiter/Neptune conjunction in Pisces – a time of huge creativity but perhaps also a time of sacrifice and a dissolving of life as it had been known as so many people migrated to the towns and cities.
This week’s meeting of Jupiter and Neptune in the sign of Pisces perhaps reminds us that, despite how we are being led, we still need to protect our connection to source, to soul wisdom and to a link between the natural and supernatural worlds, because if a myth is remembered then broken civilisations can reform. This meeting in the emotional water sign of Pisces has hopefully given our parched souls a drink.
Rupert Sheldrake did a brilliant job highlighting his belief that memory is inherent in all organisms - within the collective memory of their species, within their genes and within their nervous systems.[2] Astrology would also suggest that the collective memory is resonant in the cosmos as a whole, which is why we can look to planetary cycles to show us that, whilst history may not repeat in quite the same way, it nevertheless has an essence of repetition and rhyme.
As we enter this Air cycle and we see those who seek to understand how our brains and minds work, with the most psychopathic at an extreme end of the scale seeking to hack or control them, myths and morphic resonance demonstrate that our soul wisdom is woven within every cell of our bodies. We are not just our ‘head’ brain. The world lives with the presence of the past and with the presence of the future embedded within us and within the Universe as a whole. So, whilst we must go forward embracing the new, it is important to remember that we must protect and preserve what makes human beings human – the presence of our Soul wisdom. Just like the stick of rock that has ‘Blackpool’ written through it wherever you cut it, our Souls are what makes us whole and makes us the repository of the knowledge of all Time. Our Souls and our very being are a cellular imprint within us and they are not available for takeover. So when you see the stars in the night sky, remember they are flames from the Gods with love running before them.
[1] Wisdom of the Mythtellers, Sean Kane, Broadview Press, 1998.
[2] The Presence of the Past, Rupert Sheldrake, Icon Books Ltd., 2011 .