• Welcome And Dedication

All About Saturn

The Random Jottings of a Stargazer

Stargazer’s Astro Files

Section XII

Section 9

Everything That's Worth Knowing About Saturn’s True Meaning

A Collection Of Articles

Saturn - The Planet

The planet Saturn is a symbolism for the Divine aspect that takes care of the spiritualisation of humankind’s soul, individually and collectively. It is the part of our own being that once took us into the experiences on the physical plane of life. In the fullness of time it takes every soul back into the conscious awareness of its true nature as a spiritual being that is an integral part of God and – because of this – with all life. Saturn’s experiences guide every soul up the spiritual mountain of life into the oneness with its Highest or God Self.

Saturn’s position by sign and house reveals the areas of life in which the soul during its present lifetime encounters its main obstacles, the main life lessons it has come absorb and the Karmic debts it has to repay. To me, the understanding of the purpose and meaning of these things is of the greatest importance. The first step towards resolving the difficulties and obstacles we encounter is the recognition that they are not in anyone’s life as hindrances and nuisances. In truth, they are educational aids a kind and loving Universe places into everybody’s own hands, to ensure the spiritual growth that is every soul’s birthright. They are meant to help us make the progress that potentially can be achieved during each one of our earthly sojourns.

The Universe is constantly trying and testing us to see how far we have got thus far with the development of our character and Saturn’s lessons are the most valuable of all. First and foremost its influence is in our lives to teach us the spiritually most highly prized qualities of self-control and self-mastery. Without them no progress on our evolutionary pathway back home into our true nature is possible. Reaching the perfection that is in our Creator is our ultimate goal. In this sense perfection means wholeness, that is the full integration of all the qualities and aspects that are in God, our true Father/Mother, which each one of us carries within – at least in seed form.

Saturn is the planet of Karma and represents the celestial schoolmaster who, stern and undeviating, practises perfect justice. Through the chastening processes of tests and trials, sorrows, delays, disappointments, limitations and privations, the human soul learns that its earthly existence is not meant to be one of pleasure seeking alone. Although this aspect is not meant to be excluded, the real purpose of each lifetime on the Earth is of integrating, each through their own experiences, the qualities of patience, humility, wisdom and compassion for our own as well as for other people’s suffering.

Under Saturn’s rulership old, worn out, useless and crystallised attitudes and behaviour patterns are destroyed in order to make room for better, more useful and adaptable ones. Patiently, persistently and with self-discipline we are meant to overcome the negative aspects of our nature of scepticism, fear, suppression, materialism and self-preservation. They are waiting to be replaced by bringing forth from within the higher and highest aspects of God’s nature and our own, like trust and confidence, dependability, reverence, wisdom and compassion.

Much can be learnt under Saturn’s guidance if we show our willingness to pay attention to the Cosmic schoolmaster. In retrospection, meditation, concentration and by looking inwards towards our Highest Self and waiting for its guidance in all things, instead of running to other people, we learn to be patient and grow in wisdom and understanding. Saturn’s gifts are invaluable in the process of enduring our Karma and redeeming ourselves. Without them it is impossible to pass our tests and finally reach the point of wholeness that every soul is seeking on the Earth plane.

Saturn delays our desires but never denies them. For those who willingly submit themselves to the hard work this teacher requires, in the fullness of time Saturn’s role changes from that of the teacher into the one of the rewarder. And when his gifts finally arrive they truly are worth having.

From ‘Astrology On The Heaing Journey’

Saturn’s Influence

Saturn represents a symbolism for the aspect of the Divine that spiritualises all areas of our lives that are touched by them. Self-mastery and self-discipline, as well as increased awareness of the spiritual aspects of life are the greatest gift the Saturnian experiences can bestow upon the human soul. Understanding can only come to us through suffering, so whenever we are going through particularly trying times, it’s best to take heart and refuse to think that we have been singled out in some way.

Buckle down to your lessons and as you slowly emerge from the darkness of your spiritual ignorance, you can already start to share your learning with those around you. This is how Saturn, the stern schoolmaster of the zodiac, turns into the rewarder and starts to bring you his gifts. Your inner light has been switched on and the knowledge that whatever may befall you, with the help of God and the Angels you are sure to get through any of life’s dark patches, will be yours to keep in all eternity. From where you are now, you may still find it difficult to believe that such gifts will really come out of your trials. Yet, I do not think it will take all that long until you will begin to look back thankfully for every step along the way.

I believe that our character influences – nay, determines – our destiny. We shall deal with this theme in more detail in future volumes of these jottings. May it suffice to say here that this can only be brought about through taking charge of ourselves and our character. Self-control and learning to master the drives and urges of our lower animal nature are sure to get us where we really want to be and where, by rights, we belong. That is why ever more tools for finding self-knowledge and self-awareness are on offer to us from the Universe; astrology is one of them. And daily the Universe offers us all fresh opportunities to eradicate the unpleasant character traits and behaviour patterns we have brought with us from previous lifetimes. 

Wonderful though it is, astrology can certainly not do the work that this requires on anyone’s behalf. But, it can go a long way towards increased self-knowledge, including the recognition of what needs to be changed and what soul lessons our present lifetime wishes to teach us. It can also give us pointers to where our strengths and weaknesses lie. Furthermore, it gives indications where to start digging for the treasures of the now almost forgotten gifts and talents we developed during past lifetimes.

They now rest in our subconscious soul memories and are therefore hidden from our everyday understanding. Knowing where to start our explorations can make all the difference, because that enables us to make an effort to help such abilities to rise to the surface and to start using them again, the way they were used in other lifetimes. We all have gifts of this nature within. To help us fulfil our highest potential they are waiting to be re-possessed by us and further developed.

As we know by now, all the suffering that is in our world – including our own – has purpose and meaning. It is by no means something that an unkind, unjust and unloving God, destiny or fate has thrown upon us.  Astrology can help us to come to terms with this notion by showing us that certain things are truly ‘written in the stars’ for us, as reflected in our birthchart. The way our main life lessons show up here, to me is proof enough that our suffering indeed is predestined and that we chose it before we came into this lifetime, to assist our soul growth and personal evolution. This understanding and the intention of attending to our soul needs, so that if we get it right this time, this could be the last lifetime in physicality we shall require, straight away brings a certain amount of peace and healing.

Recommended Reading:
•    ‘All About Saturn’
•    ‘You Are Special’

From ‘Eating Disorders’ (1)

Saturn As The Teacher And Rewarder

From the very beginning, our Creator has known the unruly nature of Its children of the Earth much better than any of us could possibly do. That is why, in Its great love and wisdom, It decreed long before life on the Earth plane began that on every soul’s way back home into its true nature Saturn, the planet of Karma, should stand guard. This planet has always played a vital part in the spiritual development of our race, but for a very long time we had to remain unaware of the planet’s true role in our lives. Throughout the whole of our evolution thus far, every soul has always been subject to Saturn’s cast-iron rule. During past ages this planet had acquired the unsavoury reputation for being the great malefactor of humankind. But, at the dawning of the Age of Aquarius, at long last it is revealing its hidden face as one of the most significant benefactors of humankind.

Aquarius is co-ruled by Saturn and Uranus, and it is significant that Saturn, the planet of Karma, is named first. The attributes of both rulers of this sign are of greater importance to us now than they have ever been before, in particular those of Saturn. They are the gateway through which each one of us must pass before we can ever hope to be released into the spiritual self-determination and independence that are the promise of the Aquarian Age.

To see how we are performing, the Angels and the Lords of Karma are at all times watching us and our world closely. That is why the Bible tells us: ‘God has given his Angels charge over thee, lest thou fall or dash thy foot against a stone.’ They never leave us; unseen and for a very long time without as much as a word of acknowledgement of thanks by us they stand by us in total and unconditional love, expecting nothing in return. Through thick and through thin they are there, ever ready to help. When one of us falls by the wayside, as we all frequently do, they provide our soul with renewed strength, courage and hope to start all over again, with the new premise and equipped with the understanding they have brought us.

To eventually gain full access to its Divine attributes and powers and being allowed their unrestricted use is every soul’s birthright. First we need to become aware of them on the Earth plane. Then we need to take possession of them and learn how to use them, until we can prove to the silent watching ones that we are capable of doing so, no longer for selfish purposes and self-glorification, but for the highest good of the whole of our world. To this end every soul, without exception, must walk through the Saturnian gate alone. It consists of ever more severe tests and trials to assess the degree of spiritual maturity we have reached at any given time.

Saturn is a symbolism for the stern teacher aspect of God; its final aim is to lead each one of us back into the awareness of our true nature as a soul and spirit on its way home into the conscious oneness with our Highest Self or God Self. Saturn is old Father Time who teaches us through time itself, in the course of a great many lifetimes. From the beginning it has been trying to teach every human soul the qualities of self-mastery and self-discipline; they are the only passport that can release it into the freedom all human souls have been seeking since the moment of their creation.

To find it, every soul must undergo its own tests and trials on the Earth plane. Such experiences are necessary to put us back in touch with our spirit and soul and to teach us how to focus once more on our true reality and our true nature. In short, they spiritualise us and help us to grow into better people. The Universe is constantly pushing each one of us to our limits to find out how far we have got with the development of our character and what degree of spiritual maturity we have reached. Humankind’s final evolutionary goal is to accomplish the perfection that is in our Creator. In this sense perfection means wholeness and full integration of all the qualities and aspects of our true parents, Father/Mother God, which each one of us contains in seed form.

For human souls Saturn symbolises the stern and undeviating celestial schoolmaster, whose justice is perfect. Carefully paying attention to this planet’s lessons has never been as important and as worthwhile as it is now. Wherever its energies are involved everything has to be right and must be done for real. As established in other parts of the jottings, life on Earth is a school and our present existence is part of the great University of all life, on all its levels. Although things can sometimes be fudged on the earthly plane, spiritually this is impossible and no soul will ever be allowed to get away with faking anything.

Part of Saturn’s poor reputation is that a lot of fear is connected with all contacts with this planet. But, during this phase of our evolution we can no longer afford to shy away from them; we are here to overcome each one of them, but how? First, we need a better understanding of them. So, why are we afraid? Well, the same as everything else, our fears once served a useful purpose. Everything that is in this life is a gift from God; our fears are no exception. They too were given to us for good purpose and wise reasons, namely to protect us.

During the first stage of our evolution we were pure spirit; we came from love and were nothing but just that. Evil and fear were unknown to us then. Fear was added to the world of our feelings to act as a deterrent and also as our teacher. For example, nature protects us this way from doing crazy things, like jumping from high buildings without a parachute. That’s why we feel fear in such situations. All our fears initially protected us from venturing into areas of life we were unready for. Having reached spiritual maturity, we are increasingly guided by our inner teacher, the time has come for shedding all our fears, as they are now posing a serious threat to our continued spiritual unfoldment.

I do not know how it is for you, but I find it difficult to discern whether the fear of God or of death or of life itself is the strongest one in me. All of them have their roots in the fear of the unknown. This in turn grows from the fear of God, which seems to have been drummed for thousands of years into humankind’s individual and collective consciousness by the institutions that were allowed to be in charge of its spiritual wellbeing. I am glad to say that I can feel how my fears are slowly dissolving with the increased understanding of life’s processes, the nature of God and my own I am finding. At the same time my inner unwillingness to be on the Earth plane decreases, the older I get and the closer I get to my release from it.

Recommended Reading:
• Susan Jeffers ‘Feel the fear and do it anyway!’

From ‘Eating Disorders’ (2)

Saturn’s Coldness

There is always a certain coldness to all Saturn’s contacts and everything crystallises under its touch. This is a most helpful ability when it comes to recognising what is of value in our lives and what needs to be discarded, whilst taking care not to throw away that part of the old that has stood the test of time. This influence is particularly felt at the times of the Saturn returns. You can read more about them in the Astro Landmarks section. Saturnian experiences are designed to take human souls back into the awareness that the concerns, beliefs and values of the spirit are more precious than those of the flesh. One recognises them for what they truly are: fleeting and temporary.

Furthermore, Saturn brings a talent for long term planning and distant goals, as well as the readiness to patiently and steadily work one’s way towards them, without allowing oneself to be sidetracked by less important issues. During a lifetime in Capricorn this may still express itself as an interest in local and national politics. But when the soul reaches Aquarius its awareness expands into the group consciousness of our race, our whole world and ultimately beyond into cosmic awareness.
 
Saturn’s position by sign and house shows the areas of life in which we encounter our main obstacles and where we have to make extra great efforts in our attempts at learning the intended lessons, which for a long time will remain hidden from our conscious view. Yet, it is important to find out what they are, as life cannot educate us in any other way. Besides, how else can we take advantage of the special opportunities the Universe is offering us to repay some of the accrued most difficult Karmic debts from previous lifetimes?

Saturn, by position and aspects, gives us clues as to where we suffer from a deep inner soul wound, which is constantly calling to us, its earthly self, to look for healing. Understanding why our difficulties are necessary is the first and most important step towards finding their resolution. Everything that is in our lives has purpose and meaning; nothing is sent to us just to be a hindrance or a nuisance. Each experience that comes our way is meant to be turned into a teacher and a tool that has been placed into our hands by a kind and loving Universe, so that we may fulfil our highest potential and achieve maximum spiritual growth.

To this end, Saturn’s qualities of self-control and self-mastery are everybody’s most urgent requirement. Without it none of us will be allowed to move forward into the Aquarian freedom. In all daily encounters we must prove through our actions and reactions – and the intentions behind them – that we are in control of ourselves and the ship of our lives. Through the chastening processes of testing, sorrows, delays, disappointments, limitations and privations, the human soul learns that mere pleasure seeking is not the reason why it finds itself on the Earth plane.

Although having fun and enjoying ourselves is by no means excluded, the real purpose of each lifetime on the Earth is to learn so much through our own experiences that in the end we have acquired the gifts of patience, humility, wisdom and compassion for our own as well as for other people’s suffering. Old, worn out, useless and crystallised attitudes and behaviour patterns have no room in our consciousness; they need to be destroyed in order to make room for better, more useful and adaptable ones. Believe it or not, but with Saturn’s help it is actually possible to change our negative character traces of scepticism, fear, suppression, materialism and self-preservation into those of confidence, dependability, reverence for all life, as well as wisdom and compassion.

Such things are possible for those who accept Saturn’s guidance and willingly pay attention to the demands of the Cosmic schoolmaster. In retrospection, meditation, concentration and by looking within for guidance in all things towards our Highest Self, the human soul learns to be patient and grows in wisdom. Saturn’s gifts are invaluable in the process of living through and redeeming our Karma; without them it is impossible to pass any of our tests and finally reach the wholeness which every soul in this earthly existence has forever been seeking.

As mentioned earlier, Saturn’s presence is somewhat cold, to put it mildly, and the planet’s energies have a shrinking and crystallising effect on everything they come in contact with. To say that Saturn denies the fulfilment of human desires would mean to misunderstand the wise purpose behind the delays and frustrations that get in the way of achieving them in Saturn’s presence. It is true that the heavenly teacher delays our desires but they are not denied altogether.

Through a shortage or maybe even complete absence of something – if only for a time – Saturn teaches the human soul to appreciate the true value of things, people and their qualities. The influence of Saturn can bring either the best or the worst out in us, but the true aim behind this is to help us bring forth the best from within. Whether we succeed in this depends entirely on the choices we make when our tests and trials arrive.

For all wise ones who willingly submit themselves to the hard work the Cosmic teacher requires from every soul, the planet’s role eventually changes from that of the teacher into the rewarder. It has been said that when Saturn’s gifts finally arrive, they are truly worth having. This is no empty promise, because they come in the form of increased patience, understanding and wisdom that make life on the Earth plane much easier to cope with.

Life is always offering us a choice where Saturn is involved. It is up to us whether we wish to continue to believe that we are suffering blindly at the hands of an unkind and sometimes cruel fate. The alternative is waking up to the fact that all Saturnian experiences need to be accepted as teachers of a very special kind, because invariably they wish to present us with some very real – though at the time still hidden – gifts. When approached and used in the right frame of mind, they support our spiritual growth like nothing else can, because they lead us into ever greater awareness, understanding and wisdom.

At the same time the Universe is presenting us with opportunities for balancing our spiritual accounts by repaying our Karmic debts and making good where once we caused damage; more about this in a moment. When we later share our learning with others and act as one of life’s givers, we are piling credits into this ledger.

All these things are the reasons for our existence on the Earth plane. And we do well to remind ourselves daily that if we wish to get something we never had but truly wish for, first of all we have to be willing to work very hard and to venture into the unknown. We need to leave our comfort zone, overcome our fears and do something that may not have been tried by anyone before.

Whatever happens, bear in mind that each time the Universe takes something from us, it’s not as some kind of punishment but to create opportunities for opening our hearts and souls to fresh learning and for receiving something that is necessary for our spiritual progress and growth, at that particular moment. Rest assured that into whatever experience the will of God may wish to take us, the Grace of God is constantly with us, to guide and protect us.

From ‘Eating Disorders’ (3)

Saturn – Gatekeeper Of The New Age

The Old Testament’s promised our race through the prophet Isaiah 41:13: ‘I am the Lord, your God, the strengthener of your right hand. I have said to you: ‘Fear not; I am your helper.’ Never was this help more urgently required by each one of us, than at the time of the entry into the Aquarian Age – now! You can see this for yourself when you look around you and witness how everybody is struggling with their life lessons and the redemption of their Karma. Before any true progress can be made by anyone, first we have to encounter and come to terms with Saturn as the guardian and keeper of the entry into this age. Never forget that he is merely a symbol of the aspect of God – and therefore also our own nature – that demands the strictest discipline from all Its children of the Earth. To enable humankind to see that any Divine pledges that were made throughout the ages were empty ones, we first needed to find a better understanding of the meaning of God – that is all.

To sum it all up, every human soul in its own way must find ways of dealing with the teachings of Saturn, the planet of Karma who is a symbolism for the stern and undeviating celestial schoolmaster. Saturn is the great accountant of life whose ledgers are perfect and justice is wielded accordingly, under the supervision of the Lords of Karma. On the etheric level of life the Universe keeps what is known as the Akashic Records. Here every thought, word and deed is noted of all souls on their evolutionary pathway up to any given moment; each one leaves its imprint behind and is recorded, as if in indelible ink.

These files can be likened to a vast library and a bookkeeping system that, like any other, consists of a credit and a debit ledger. Yet, unlike on the Earth plane, none of the entries in the Universe’s system can ever be wiped out. It is just that the ones on the debit side can and must eventually be redeemed and balanced by our good deeds on the credit side. This continues until perfect balance has been achieved and the soul has in this way, through its efforts, released itself from the wheel of Earth life and Karma.

These are the records that are shown to us on ‘judgement day’, i.e. when we stand before ourselves. Stripped of everything that ever mattered to us on the Earth plane and guided by the wise ones in charge of us, we ourselves assess our performance so far. Together we decide the experiences that are required to ensure further soul growth and to do justice to the Karmic laws.

From ‘The Astro Files – Special Events’

The Winter Solstice, Christmas And The New Year (1)

Saturn As Father Christmas

Spiritually, knowledge is light and ignorance is darkness. Our world spent so much time in the darkness of being deprived of spiritual wisdom and truth directly from the source of our being that with the passing of time we became ever more the prisoner of false beliefs, superstitions and prejudices. But now we have reached the Age of Aquarius, the light of the Great Mother’s wisdom and truth is once more flowing with increasing force from the highest levels of life onto the Earth plane into the consciousness of us and our world. Through this the doors of the jail of humankind’s inner darkness are beginning to swing open and that is especially true at Christmas.

Each one of us is potentially a receiver/transmitter station through which the spiritual knowledge and understanding of the Divine are waiting to be poured into us and our world. The influence of this can be felt particularly strongly when the Sun moves through Sagittarius, the fire sign in which humankind’s superconscious faculties are developed and eventually are going to find their finest expressions. In the fullness of time the Sagittarian energies will eventually provide all human souls with a direct line to their Creator. They are a bridge from our earthly human minds into the mind of the Highest. Making contact with the source of our being is easier at the time of year when these energies are at work than at any other moment, because they are then clearer and suffer less from interference. Establishing the connection is by no means intended for a privileged few only. Everybody is invited to take part and if they so wish, nobody is excluded or left out.

 A few days before Christmas the Sun moves from fiery Sagittarius, ruled by jolly and jovial Jupiter, into earthy Capricorn with its planetary ruler, the stern and undeviating Saturn, who with Uranus is also the co-ruler of Aquarius. Now, if I told you that in truth Saturn is the Father Christmas of the Zodiac, would you believe me? In spite of the impressions that are created by Jupiter, the ruler of Sagittarius and Saturn, the ruler of Capricorn, the role of Father Christmas does not belong to Jupiter. Its benevolent energies of jollity, bonhomie and goodwill to all merely provide the background to the build-up that leads us into the festive season. As soon as the Sun moves into Capricorn a profound and marked change of energies can be felt.

During the Sun’s transit through Sagittarius, we and our world are presented with fresh opportunities for finding a better understanding of some of the things, especially spiritual ones, that could have been puzzling us in the past. But when the Sun moves away from the warm, fiery and enthusiastic Sagittarian energies into the cold and distant, stern and dour earthy Capricorn ones on the day of the Winter Solstice, things come down to the Earth, sober up and life once again returns to normal.

When the energies change, see whether you can sense how under the influence of Capricorn’s life feels as if everything were coming down to Earth with a bit of a bump. Everyday duties take over and a rude awakening awaits many because of their excessive spending under Jupiter’s generous and expansive influence. If you are sensitive to this  kind of thing, you may notice a feeling of being deflated and possibly slightly depressed as if something good had been taken away, which as a matter of fact, it has.

It is not without reason that Christmas falls into the time of the Sun’s transit through Capricorn, whose planetary ruler is Saturn, the undeviating schoolmaster of the zodiac whose main job is to initiate God’s children of the Earth into the fine art of self-discipline and self-mastery. The prayers, hopes and aspirations which under the influence of the spiritual fire of Sagittarius rise into the conscious awareness of humankind’s individual and collective soul may have become blown up out of all proportion, under the influence of Saturn’s energies can be grounded. This is necessary if they are to  find practical expressions and manifest themselves in a manner that sustains us through the darkest part of the winter and the densest one of the Earth signs.

In the days of yore, the jollity and merry-making of Christmas were known as Saturnalia. To this day, deep spiritual symbolisms are hidden behind many of the old customs, for example that only children who have been good and who worked hard receive presents from Santa Claus. To deserve Saturn’s gifts, God’s children of the Earth have to toil unceasingly, but when they eventually arrive, they most certainly are worth striving for. They consist of the wisdom and understanding that can only grow in human hearts and souls through learning something from every one of our earthly experiences. The knowledge that is found in this way is our spiritual property and that is the only thing any one of us will ever be allowed to keep and take into eternity. And that most certainly is a present worth striving for.

Saturn stands for the Divine aspect of the stern taskmaster, tough and demanding, which every child of Earth needs. For the wise ones amongst us who willingly attend to their lessons, in the end the loving and caring rewarder part of the Saturnian energies emerge and start to pour their blessings over us and our lives. Alas, human souls thus far have reacted with fear to all contacts with Saturn, but the time has come for shedding all our fears. The only way of doing so is through learning to trust that the basic goodness of life at any given time fulfils all our needs and that the great wisdom and love of our Creator will always provide us with the experiences that are just right for us.

Our Angels, Masters, guides and helpers in the world of light are waiting to be called upon to help us dissolve the spiritual prison that consists of our deepest, darkest and innermost fears which, individually and collectively, are entirely our own doing. The doors of this jail are gradually creaking open for us and our world. It is true that initially contacts with Saturn stir up fear, but this too happened for good and wise reasons. During past lifetimes, these apprehensions protected us against experiences for which we were as yet unready. Now that we are ready and they are waiting to be dissolved, the energies of Capricorn and its ruler, Saturn, can be tapped into to give us the required determination and strength.

The day of the Sun’s entry into Cancer and Capricorn marks the solstices. In Cancer we celebrate the summer solstice and in its polar opposite, Capricorn, the winter solstice. Both events are special times when – for a brief moment – the Sun in the sky above us appears to stand still, although in reality it never does, as throughout the whole of Creation, all is movement and constant changes, and nothing ever stands still. At the time of the solstices especially powerful outpourings of blessing and healing energies flow from the highest levels of life into us and our world and everything that shares it with us. In the build-up to the solstices these energies grow more potent from day to day and they remain as strong for some time afterwards.

For those who are walking the healer’s pathway, great cosmic events of this nature create many wonderful opportunities. One of them is consciously tuning the receiver/transmitter station of our whole being into the frequencies of the Christ Star, the Highest Star and the brightest light in the whole of Creation, so we can be used as channels of light and make our contribution towards the healing of our world and dispersing some more of the darkness that still surrounds us all.

Recommended Reading:
• ‘Saturn as the Teacher and Rewarder’

The Winter Solstice, Christmas And The New Year (2)

The Christmas Story Through The Ages And Now

The Vedic tradition teaches that there is only one truth, referred to as Purush, and but one path to it. Truth here refers to the Supreme Spirit, the Godhead, who throughout the ages has been known by many names, for example Jesus, Christ, Christos, Messiah, Purusha Prajapati in the Vedas and Kalimatullah in the Koran. Each of these figures had to meet the test of the highest and noblest attributes of God, like supreme love, sacrifice, demonstrable power unselfishly applied, purity and so forth. Walking in the footsteps of those mentioned above and bringing forth, the same as they did, our own Christ qualities from deep within our own being and constantly giving of our highest and best, is the only way that can take us back into the oneness with the Great White Spirit, Father/Mother of all life – or whatever other name anyone may wish to call our Creator.

The Christmas story is but one of the many tools that have been used over the ages for the re-telling of the age-old myth of the birth of Christ and the light it brings to us and our world from the highest levels of life. In Cosmic terms the Universal Christ, who spoke to us through the Jesus legend, is this light. Time and again, the myths surrounding the Great Light, Sun of all Suns and light of all lights, giver and sustainer of all lifeforms, have been told throughout the ages. For example, the Bhagavad-Gita tells about the birth of the child Krishna – even the name is not far removed from the word Christ – in the heart of the followers of the Lord Krishna.

In the Western part of our world, long before the appearance of Christianity, the ancient religions – called pagan by the early Christians – honoured the return of the Sun’s light to the Earth, at the time of the winter solstice. The word pagan has its origin in the late Latin ‘paganus. In classical Latin it meant ‘rustic villager and also a non-combatant civilian, non-combatant’. Apparently, the word has also been used as an adjective since the early 15th century. It stood for ‘of the country or a village,’ from pagus ‘country people or province, rural district.’

Pagan in the religious sense is believed by some to derive from conservative rural adherence to the old Gods after the Christianisation of Roman towns and cities. But the word as such predates that period in Church history, and it is more likely derived from the use of ‘paganus’ in Roman military jargon for ‘a civilian or an incompetent soldier. From 1908 modern pantheists and nature-worshippers have been called – or maybe they called themselves – pagans.

Be that as it may, all the legends that ever surrounded the winter solstice have tried to convey the message to humankind that the Sun we see in the sky above us is in truth but a symbolism. It represents the spiritual Sun, the Great White Light of the spirit of the Universal Christ, the only born Son/Daughter of the Great Father/Mother of all life. On the inner level of life each one of us carries a speak of this light. Since the moment of our creation it has been waiting to come alive when the right moment has come. To facilitate the quickening of the Divine spark in human souls, individually and collectively, an especially powerful outpouring of light flows directly from the heart of the Christ Spirit into all life on our planet, around the time of the summer and winter solstices.

The Jesus legend and Christianity have been the Great Mother’s instrument for re-telling the ancient allegory of the birth of the child and the coming of the light that has been promised since time immemorial. The evolutionary progress of us and our world has always been closely guarded, guided and monitored by the Angels, Masters and guides on the inner level of life, who are in charge of it. The closer the Aquarian Age drew and with it the rebirth of our race, the stronger the influence of the changes that are taking place on the inner level have been felt in the outer world. Because of these developments, at a certain evolutionary point it became inevitable that Christmas had to replace the pagan traditions, which were gradually taken over and integrated into the Christian festivities.

As the dates of the solstices are based on astronomical and astrological data and astrology was rejected by the church – officially it still is to this day – a new festival had to be created to replace that of the pagan winter solstice. So that the new celebrations did not look too reminiscent of old ones, the church founders had to find an appropriate day. They eventually decided that the coming of the Light of our world – which they believe was a Master soul by the name of Jesus – should be celebrated on the 25th December.

This not only satisfied the demands of the outer world, the world of appearances, it was also of significance on the inner level of life. The twenty-five is under the influence of the seventh ray, because 2 + 5 = 7. 2 – the Moon, the planetary ruler of Cancer, the sign of the Great Mother of all life, the nurturing and caring principle of life. 5 – Mercury, the fleet-footed and winged messenger who brings the fire of the Gods, the creative ideas of the Highest down to the Earth, for better communications that enable a renewed understanding through the Air sign Gemini. In the teaching and healing sign Virgo, Earth, Mercury conveys healing that comes from an improved grasp of the true purpose and meaning of our earthly existence.

Mercury is a symbolism for the receiver/transmitter station that is our earthly mind with its logical and rational abilities. The seven is ruled by Neptune, the highest love vibration of the Universe that knows nothing of the dense vibrations of the Earth environment, where it is very unhappy. Not to make the taking over of the old celebrations by Christianity too obvious, the slightly fluctuating date of the winter solstices were changed to the constant date of 25th December, several days after the actual event.

The legend of the Christ child came into being during the Age of Pisces, the Water sign of Karma and the soul, co-ruled by Jupiter and Neptune. Jupiter is also the ruler of Sagittarius and the prayers, hopes and aspirations which under the influence of the spiritual fire of this sign rise into the conscious awareness of the individual and collective soul of humankind have to be grounded and find their practical expression in the darkest part of the winter and the densest ones of the Earth signs, when on the day of the solstice the Sun moves into Capricorn, where Earth is experienced at its densest and heaviest.  

As the centuries marched on, through the joint efforts of the more highly evolved souls who from time to time honoured us by spending another lifetime on the Earth, a golden bridge of light was slowly created. This kind of crossing is necessary for bringing illumination from the highest levels of life to the soul of our world and also to every individual soul within . At all times and especially around Christmas, unseen by earthly eyes, Angels walk over this bridge into all human hearts and souls. Their influence is especially strong whenever someone has a special need and calls for them. Their task is to bring blessings and healing, love, light and comfort to all. This is how, during the two thousand years that have passed since the appearance of the story of the birth of the child in the manger, the bridge has grown increasingly strong and the Christ blessings are reaching us ever more powerfully.

So, let us lift our hearts and souls up to the Sun, knowing that the blessing and healing power of the Great Light is radiating through it into us and our world. Even if the Sun cannot be seen in the sky above us on Christmas Day, it is always there for us, giving of its love and warmth. How wonderful to know that our beloved companion, the Sun, is a physical manifestation of the glory and the power of the Eternal Sun, the Great Light not only of our Universe but also of uncountable numbers of others that to this day are still way beyond the capabilities of our present understanding of the Cosmos.

The same especially powerful outpourings of the Christ energies are flowing into our whole world on other occasions, for example around the time of the Wesak Moon and the Christ Moon, as well as the Summer and Winter Solstices, and the Vernal and Autumnal Equinoxes. No matter whether we live in the Northern or Southern Hemisphere, they simultaneously reach and influence all life on our planet equally strongly. The reversal of the seasons in the hemispheres does not make any difference.

The Winter Solstice, Christmas And The New Year (3)

Christmas Message For The Aquarian Age

There is much talk about the Age of Aquarius and the spiritual freedom it is going to bring to us and our world. However, as co-ruler of Aquarius Saturn, the planet of Karma, guards the gateway to the Aquarian Age. Saturn is a symbolism for the Lords of Karma, who at any given time present us with the Karma we have created for ourselves up to the present. In any given lifetime, but particularly now, time and time again Saturn tests us, often to the limits of our endurance, to see how much progress we are making with mastering our earthly nature and whether we can be trusted to handle the lack of restrictions the new age is bringing us, even now.

Our newly won autonomy mostly consists of no longer having to blindly believe anything, because basically every human soul is eventually entitled to find out the true esoteric meanings that are hidden behind the surface words of all the myths and legends our world has ever known. It is every human spirit and soul’s birthright and highest potential to be taught by and helped to find the truth of everything and that not through any kind of outside forces or institutions and their representatives, but with the help of their own inner guidance that has its origin in the wisdom and truth of the Great Mother. She is the living God within and the love that dwells in all hearts, if at first only in seed form.

And that is the reason why the human heart alone can verify what is true, as it knows the truth and resonates to its sound, and never errs when it comes to telling a truth from a lie. To enable us to recognise the truth when it comes before us, it is necessary to pay attention to that which constantly emerges through the world of our feelings from the very depths of our innermost being into our conscious awareness. Wise ones therefore pay attention whenever they are reading or hearing anything. If something makes sense and they get a deep inner feeling that says: ‘Yes, this is true!’ only then do they accept it and allow it to enter into and take root in their consciousness. This is how they receive their confirmation that the old stories all along have been nothing but tales that served as educational tools.

To their astonishment the wise ones find out that these stories are true after all – just in a different way than formerly believed. For example, the Great White Spirit, Father/Mother of all life, really loves us and our world so much that S/He gave us the gift of His/Her Son/Daughter in the form of the love that brought all of us into being and the light that has always sustained and nurtured us. From the very beginning of life on the Earth the Great Light has done this for all lifeforms. At the moment of our creation a spark of this light and Its love has been planted deep in every heart and soul. Jesus as the only begotten Son of the Christian teachings is an allegory of the perfect manifestation of the Universal Christ that is every human soul’s final goal and destination and there is no discrimination against anyone’s race, colour or creed.

This means a soul who is fully and consciously aware of its human and Divine characteristics and has successfully integrated them, so they work together in peace and harmony, the way they do in God. The manifestation of this is the highest potential of all human souls that can manifest itself any time and anywhere. It has never been tied to time, race, location or any particular part of the history of our world. The Jesus legend provided us with an explanation of God’s great love for humankind in the Piscean Age. Now that the Age of Aquarius is with us, we and our world are capable of comprehending the much more glorious esoteric meaning of this myth and the truth that is hidden behind its surface words.

I cannot see any problems arising from this concept even for the most devout Christians. When one embraces the fact that the story of the life of Jesus is a legend and starts to look at the true significance of this myth, it is easy to see that the teachings of the scriptures in truth are much richer than they could ever have been before, as in this way nothing is taken away from them, but only a great deal added. I recommend the reading of ‘The Jesus Mysteries’.

The Winter Solstice, Christmas And The New Year (4)

Christmas In An Over-Materialistic World

Love is the law of life. It is God’s true nature and our own, and because of this out of all characteristics we most urgently need to develop and express to the highest point of our consciousness is love. Unfortunately, at its lowest level earthly love frequently manifests itself as possessiveness and jealousy that causes a great deal of suffering and pain to all involved. Yet, even such experiences are valuable because they teach us how not to love, and that is the beginning of learning how to love wisely. This shows itself as a willingness to make compromises and handling our relationships with tact and discretion, discrimination and tolerance, not only in our closest circles of family and friends, but also towards other people and eventually our whole race. This reveals to the wise ones in charge of us that we are unfolding in the right way and successfully moving forwards on our evolutionary pathway of mastering the drives and urges of our lower animal nature.

Love has many different ways of showing its presence. Sometimes it is in the form of love for another human being or for life itself in all its beauty. Our own Christ qualities develop when, instead of ostentatiously doing good, we are just a good person, who loves helping others and insists on doing the right and honest things, and doesn’t shy away from them when this turns out to be the more difficult way.  Love can be expressed in thousands of little ways like through loving and welcoming each new day and whatever weather it may bring, or the love we feel for the plants, flowers and little creatures in our garden or when we are out and about in other parts of nature, and each time we show our appreciation for everything that life brings us. Love can also reveal itself in being interested in all the minor things of daily life, as well as the sincere and true love that manifests itself as simple human goodwill, friendliness and kindness to everyone.

All of these things bring us into harmony with the law of life and help us to slowly but surely enter ever more deeply into the radiation of the Great White Light, the spiritual Sun above and beyond the Sun in the sky above us, the Universal Christ. Whenever we love, our soul is quickened by Its radiation and our own inner Christ-consciousness is stimulated through the power of the blessing that then flows into our heart directly from the Christ. As our whole being gradually fills with ever more light and we become at one with the Christ, we evolve into a Christed one in our own right. And that is the message of the Christmas Story for our time.

Regardless of the high degree of materialism that on the outer level has by now attached itself to the Christmas celebrations, it is coming about in quite a natural way that the spirit of this festival is getting an ever more powerful hold on God’s children of the Earth. Wise ones are aware that love has many levels and degrees of expressing itself, which can range from the lowest and crudest type of animal love to the highest and most heavenly kind. And that’s why the Christmas spirit shows itself in so many different ways. All of them are right and none of them are wrong, so the wise ones refrain from condemning any one of them and saying Christmas has become far too commercialised in our world. They have no need to look at it in this manner because they sense and feel that on the innermost level of life the desire to celebrate the true Christ-mass is increasing, although on the Earth plane this is manifesting itself in some strange ways and places.

 

The Winter Solstice, Christmas And The New Year (5)

Christmas Prayer

O Universal Christ, You are the true Christ.
We and our world have been waiting for You,
The Star of all stars, Light of all lights
And the spiritual Sun behind the Sun in the sky above us.
You are the only born Son/Daughter
Of the Great White Spirit, Mother/Father Creator of all life,
Whose children every human being is.
Your infinite love and wisdom always have been
And forever will be with us and our world.

For the blessing and healing of all life,
May Your loving and peaceful energies
Flow ever more freely and strongly
Into every human heart and soul,
And from there into the heart and soul of our world,
All worlds and every being within them.
May each one of us be sanctified with the gift of
Understanding the true meaning of Your role in our lives.

Through this may we and our world
Be renewed and grow ever stronger in hope, faith and trust
That Your eternal promise of the coming of
Another golden and peaceful age of Aquarius
Is at last finding fulfilment on the Earth.
May the Great Mother’s wisdom and love rise
Through Your intervention from the deepest
Innermost core of everybody’s being,
To guide and protect us and show us the way home
Into the oneness with You and all life.

We welcome You,
The living and loving Spirit onto the Earth.

Amen

The Winter Solstice, Christmas And The New Year (6)

The Winter Solstice's Twelve Holy Nights

Meditation And Candle Burning Plan

In the year 2020 the Winter Solstice takes place on the 21st December at 10.03 am Greenwich Meantime. This is the moment when our Sun moves from fiery and easy-going Sagittarius into stern and serious Capricorn, the densest of the Earth signs. The time around this event has always been thought of as a very sacred period, because since time immemorial humankind recognised that the Sun’s warmth and light are the givers and maintainers of all life on the earthly plane. That’s why the return of its increasing strength has always been of the greatest significance.

Nothing in the whole of Creation has ever happened in our world, or anywhere else in the whole of Creation, without the will and wishes of God and the Angels or has ever been beyond their reach. When, inspired by them, Christianity appeared on the scene, the new religion ‘adopted’ this event and it’s good to know that this was only meant to be for a certain developmental period of humankind. In earthly terms, six thousand years of patriarchy with its unnatural all-male religions seems a long time, especially when on considers that – apparently – these belief systems gave the males of our species the ‘God-given’ right of treating the females around them in any way that pleased them. Ah, but wait! So that everybody receives a well balanced earthly education, in some of our lifetimes we take part as men and in others as women. The perfect justice of God’s Universal law of cause and effect or Karma has always seen to it that, if in some of our earthly sojourns we appeared as men and we treated the women around us badly, that’s what happened to us each time we came round as men.

Anyway, in God’s time of Eternity six thousand years of patriarchy are nothing but the blinking of an eyelid. At some stage of it there came a time when the teachings of the pagan religions were temporarily adjusted for the, in those days new religion of Christianity. Its teachings had the legendary Jesus as its figurehead and with this the need arose to make him appear as if he had really taken part in earthly life. Now that the age of truth is with us, ever more are finding out that the God-man is a symbolism for every human being’s higher God or Christ nature and that the tale of his life describes the initiation that every one of us has to go through in the earthly school of life.

The evolutionary plan for humankind and every human being within it decrees that, in the course of many earthly lifetimes, towards the end of that part of our development, each one of us has brought forth their own God or Christ nature, from deep within their own being. That’s how all of us slowly but surely evolve into healers and lightbringers, saviours and redeemers of ourselves, humankind and our whole world.

The twelve is of particular significance for the age of truth, because it represents the Divine Trinity:

1 = the Sun, the first masculine impulse of the creative process, God, the Great Father of all life.
2 = the Moon, its feminine counterpart, the Goddess and Great Mother of all life.
3 = their only born Son/Daughter, the Universal Christ’s light
from which everything in the whole of Creation was created by God and Goddess peacefully and harmoniously working together and responding to each other.

1 + 2 = 3 = Jupiter, the planetary ruler of Sagittarius,
the sign dedicated to the development of humankind’s superconscious faculties.

12 signs and houses of the zodiac.
12 months of the year.
12 x 2 = 24 hours of our clock
The Jesus tale states that he had 12 disciples
and so forth.

The 21st December 2020 is the day of winter solstice, when each year the Sun’s light returns to our world’s Northern hemisphere. And the twelve nights from and after this event have always been thought of as exceptionally hallowed. This year’s solstice promises to be an extra special one because it’s taking place on the 21.12.2020 = 2+1=3, 1+2=3, 3 x 2 = 6 + 2 + 2 = 28. The energies of this day will be excellent for a new beginning. Besides, this year it falls on a Monday and that is the day of each week that’s ruled by the Moon. The Moon is planetary ruler of Cancer, the sign dedicated to the Universe’s caring and nurturing principle of the Great Mother.

Furthermore, a great conjunction of the giant planets Jupiter and Saturn will be taking place on the solstice day in the first degree of Aquarius, the sign of our time and of truth. Apparently, it’s the best conjunction of these two planets our world has seen in eight hundred years and on the 21.12.2020 they can be observed in our sky spectacularly close together. Saturn and Uranus are the planetary co-rulers of Aquarius. Saturn is the stern and undeviating teacher is a symbolism for these characteristics of our Divine parents, who demand that every one of their children of the Earth, in the fullness of time, practises self-discipline and self-mastery. Without these qualities we shall never be released into exploring the greater freedom of the higher and eventually highest levels of life. Saturn demands that we apply ourselves to any task that comes before us. When we have done this for long enough, Saturn’s role changes from that of teacher into the rewarder. And when its rewards finally arrive, they can be considerable and well worth striving for.

Jupiter is the vast, jovial and benevolent planetary ruler of Sagittarius, the sign dedicated to the development of humankind’s superconscious faculties. It is also the sign of the storyteller, the show-person and the con-person, who does not allow the truth to interfere with telling a good tale. Saturn in one of its own signs is the hallmark of honesty and truth. In the great conjunction Saturn’s restrictive energies are going to benefit those of Jupiter. The energies of planets in their own sign are more likely to express themselves positively than when they appear in other signs. That’s why the time for finding out the truth and nothing but the truth about the background of the pandemic may at last be right.

The three nights, starting with the one of the winter solstice, are the holiest time of the whole year. It’s also a wonderful for receiving the Angelic hierarchy’s gifts and that’s because the winter solstice is the day when the Sun enters the cardinal Earth sign Capricorn. It is the densest of the Earth signs in which humankind’s highest hopes, dreams and ambitions can find fulfilment, provided we have worked hard enough in previous lifetimes and this one to deserve them.

During the first twelve days of the Sun’s transit through Capricorn, which takes thirty days, an extra strong outpouring of the Christ energies and the Great Mother’s love and wisdom are flowing into our world and everything that takes part in it. For Her beloved human children of the Earth it’s a particularly good time for communicating with the Angels and Masters of the Christ Circle, the throne of God, and the countless groups of spirit guides and helpers that serve them, as well as us. Therefore:

1)    The three is under the rulership of Jupiter,
the vast benevolent and expansive ruler of Sagittarius,
the bringer of goodwill, hope and faith for all humankind.
That’s why the first three nights are particularly beneficial.
So every night light a candle and tune
the receiver/transmitter station of your earthly mind
into the frequencies of the Highest levels of life.
Ask your spirit guides and helpers to show you intuitively
what you can do to contribute to the greatest healing miracle
that for quite a while has been in the process of
coming about on the earthly plane.

Hold in your mind the image of Mother Earth.
At the same time, reflect on the fact that on
The inner level of life all is one and that there is
no separation between any manifestation of life
in the whole of Creation that ever
was brought about by our true parents,
the Great Father/Mother of all Life.
Promise yourself that you will do
everything that’s within your means
for the blessing and healing of Mother Earth
and everything she holds in her loving embrace.

2) The following four nights take us forward to night seven.
The four is ruled by Uranus, planetary co-ruler with Saturn of the
fixed Air sign Aquarius, in which humankind’s highest
hopes, dreams and aspiration will eventually come
to fruition and become a reality on the earthly plane.

The Divine evolutionary plan for us and our world decrees that
This will come about in the Aquarian age, the age of truth.
Great Mother’s wisdom and love will then flow
ever more strongly, direct from the highest levels of life
Into all receiver/transmitter stations that are ready
To receive and understand Her gifts.
It’s a good time for quiet contemplations,
reflections and meditations on the purpose
and meaning of our existence.

Every evening, as you light your candle, start with sending
kind, loving and forgiving thoughts to ever human being,
in this world and the spirit realm, and in particular
to our world’s troublemakers and scaremongers.
Direct the Christ stream’s light to them,
to help their Divine spark to become strong enough
to start influencing their earthly personality
in spiritual ways.

3) The remaining five nights are about
grounding the energies received
from the Angelic realm.
The time has come for planning
activities for the new beginning ahead.
When you light your candle, review your life
and consider which areas would benefit from changes.
Invest in yourself by doing all you can to make contribute
to the greatest healing miracle of all times
that for some time by now has been taking place
on the earthly plane of life.
Ask God and the Angels to show you
intuitively how to go about it.

The last of the twelve days is the 2nd January and in the coming year 2021 it falls on a Saturday, the day ruled by Saturn. This reminds us of the importance of self-mastery and self-control that are required from every one of us towards the end of our earthly education. If we want Saturn’s role to change from teacher to rewarder, not only for ourselves but our whole world, these qualities are going to be more urgently required more than ever before in the year that starts tomorrow. To help us along, the day’s date shows that the Great Mother’s love and wisdom have been accompanying us every year and also Her many spirit helpers, our friends. They have always been willing to intuitively show the way to anyone who asks for their help.

What a long way we have come since the Great Mother’s wisdom and love decided the human masculine forces to rule the roost, on their own. It did not take long until the male desire for dominion over the female and its lust for empire building through warmongering, trouble and strife established themselves. This drive kept on growing and, with the passing of time, brought forth ever more sophisticated means of satisfying the masculine urges with the help of robbing and plundering people’s resources and destroying each other.

Well, here we are at last, approx. six thousand years later. Great Mother’s love and wisdom are once more fully with us. The time has come for redeeming the karmic debts that were accumulated in the course of many lifetimes of taking part in the patriarchy’s religions, sometimes on its giving end and on other occasions the receiving one. And because the truth is returning to our world with ever increasing strength, there is a big difference between the twelve days and nights of previous Winter Solstices and Christmases.

In spite of the fact that your calendar is trying to convince you that every new year starts on 1st January, in truth it begins each time the Sun moves in Aries, the first sign of the zodiac. The Sun in the sky above our world is one of the many physical manifestations of the Christ Light. When this light pours itself with full strength into our world through the masculine outgoing cardinal signs of Aries and Libra, it creates new growth in two different ways. In Aries the Christ light is the uprushing fountain of life that brings it for the plant life of our natural world. In Libra something similar happens on the inner spiritual plane. Aries is a Fire sign and Libra an Air sign. Cancer and Capricorn are Water and Earth signs respectively. They are feminine passive and receptive cardinal signs. The Sun’s entry into each one of them marks a settling down and maturing, ripening of the seeds of the natural world and of those that have grown in humankind’s inner nature.

And this year, anyone who wishes can take part in something that has really been happening ever since humankind’s first appearance on the earthly plane. There is no longer any need to make do with inventions of religious propaganda machineries that, inspired by God and the Angels for the wise higher purpose of teaching humankind the value of truth, once hijacked the meaning of the winter solstice and presented it as rather a strange tale, of which the religious authorities to this day insist that it is literally too. Not to make this taking-over too obvious, the Christmas date was moved forward and fixed to the 25th December each year. Naturally, this made no difference to the Cosmic dance that the planets of our solar system are constantly performing. The summer and winter Solstice days will always fluctuate slightly every year between the 21st and 22nd.

Updated 21st December 2020

The Winter Solstice, Christmas And The New Year (7)

How Did The Months Get Their Names?

As the above image of an Aztec calendar stone suggests, calendars have been with humankind for a very long time. But did you know that celebrating the new year on the 1st January is a relatively new phenomenon? The earliest recording of new year celebration is believed to be from Mesopotamia, ca. 2000 BC, but in those days the new year still occurred around the time of the vernal equinox, in mid-March. A variety of other dates that are tied to the seasons and the astrological calendar were also used by various other ancient cultures. For the Egyptians, Phoenicians and Persians the new year began with the autumn equinox, and for the Greeks on the day of the winter solstice.

January originally owed its name to the Janus, the God of gates, doors and beginnings, who had two faces, one looking forwards and the other one back. The first month of our year to this day takes its name from this deity. This confirms that our New Year’s celebrations are founded on pagan traditions, as all other festivities of the Christian calendar undoubtedly always have been. The custom among the 7th century pagans of Flanders and the Netherlands was to exchange gifts on New Year’s day. This was a pagan custom deplored by Saint Eligius, who died about 660. He warned the Flemings and Dutchmen: ‘Do not make vetulas, little figures of the Old Woman, little deer or iotticos or set tables for the house-elf at night or exchange New Year gifts or supply superfluous drinks, another Yule custom.’ The quote is from ‘the Vita of Eligius’ that was written by his companion, Ouen.
In 1582, on the instructions of a Pope by the name of Gregory the Roman calendar was adjusted and as a result most Western nations began to celebrate the start of each new year on the first day of January. This new calendar became known as the ‘Gregorian calendar.’ Most countries in Western Europe officially adopted the 1st January as New Year’s Day somewhat before they accepted the Gregorian calendar. England and the American colonies continued to celebrate the new year on the date of the spring equinox in March. It was not until 1752 that they too finally adopted the Gregorian calendar.
 
Have you ever wondered how the months of the year got their names and would you be surprised to find out that January has not always been the first month of the year? The ancient Romans used a different and more natural, i.e. cosmically aligned calendar system. Their year began in March and ended in February. Even though our modern system is quite different from that of the ancient Romans, they gave us something very important and that is a name for each month of the year. This is how they went about it:
 
March: In ancient Rome all warfaring ceased during the time of the celebration between the old and new year. When the Sun enters into Aries on the day of the spring equinox, astrologically this is the point of all beginnings that signals the rebirth of all life. In keeping with this, March was the first month of each new year in ancient Rome. Some believe that it was named March after Mars, the planetary ruler of Aries and the Roman God of war. This to me makes a great deal of sense.
 
April: Three theories exist regarding the origin of April’s name. The first one is that it derived from the Latin word for ‘second’, April being the second month of the ancient calendar. The second one is that the name comes from ‘aperire,’ the Latin word for ‘to open,’ because during this spring month the buds of the plants, flowers and trees are opening. Still others think April could have been named after the goddess Aphrodite.
 
May: May takes its name from Maia, the Earth Goddess who embodied the concept of growth.
 
June: This month was a popular one for weddings. The Romans named it after Juno, the queen of the Gods who is also the patroness of marriage and weddings.
 
July: In 44 BC July was named after Julius Caesar. Before that time it had been called ‘Quintilis,’ Latin for ‘fifth.’
 
August: Originally this month had been called ‘Sextillia,’ Latin for ‘sixth.’ During the biggest part of this month the Sun moves through Leo, whose planetary ruler is the Sun. Considering himself to be an offspring of the Sun, Augustus Caesar in 8 BC decided this month should be called August, after him.
 
Although these days we think of September, October, November and December as months 9, 10, 11 and 12, in the ancient Roman calendar they were 7, 8, 9 and 10. And that is how they got their names.
 
September: September comes from septem, Latin for ‘seven.’
 
October: October comes from octo, Latin for ‘eight.’
 
November: November comes from novem, Latin for ‘nine.’
 
December: December come from decem, Latin for ‘ten.’
 
February: Around 690 B.C., Numa Pompilius 753–673 BC and reigned 715–673 BC. He was the legendary second king of Rome who succeeded Romulus. This ruler turned a period of celebration at the end of the year into one that lasted a whole month and named it after the festival Februa. This is how February got its name.
 
January: Later, Pompilius added another month to the beginning of the year and called it January after Janus, the God of beginnings and endings, mentioned earlier.

From 'The Astro Files – Numerology'

The Saturn Mystery

Saturn is merely a symbol of the bridge every soul must cross in its search for perfect re-alignment with infinity and its eternal or God Self. The co-rulership of Aquarius by Saturn and Uranus is the signpost that is showing us all of us the way into the New Age. The need for applying strictest self-discipline to every part of our being is shown by the order in which the planets appear here – Saturn first and then Uranus, the liberator. Uranus is waiting to release each one of us into the freedom of the Aquarian Age by first helping us to burst and shake off the Karmic chains and shackles, as well as all false beliefs and prejudices. Even if they have been dear to us over many lifetimes, they must now go.

One of the many treasured false beliefs that have been held in our world for far too long is that Saturn is the planet of darkness, when nothing could be further from the truth. The names Saturn – Satan – Lucifer, the light bearer and shining one,  point us to the fact that Saturn’s role all along really has been that of a bringer of light, and that the planet by no means has deserved its old-fashioned reputation as the dark and sombre malefic of the zodiac. Now that ever more of us are approaching spiritual maturity, Saturn, the stern and demanding schoolmaster, is revealing itself increasingly as the great benefactor of humankind, whose task is to lead each one of us back into the light of recognising our true nature and home.

And that is how Saturn indeed becomes the bringer of light. Spiritually, this means enlightenment that comes to us in the form of wisdom and understanding gained as we battle our way through the tests and trials of earthly life. This is particularly strongly felt in Capricorn, whose sole planetary ruler is Saturn. There is a great deal of duality about the characteristics of this planet, the same as everything else in the whole of Creation, including us. Because of this Capricorn can bring out either the best or the worst in human souls.

Yet, most important for the progress of human souls on the evolutionary pathway of life is that it is the sign in which the highest human endeavours, hopes and dreams can find their fulfilment. We are all gifted in some special way and our particular aptitude may have taken many lifetimes to develop and polish to ever greater heights of perfection. One of our lifetimes in Capricorn may then offer us opportunities for sharing our talent and bringing it to the attention of the public. The most elevated aim of this sign is the high priest, who serves humankind as the power behind the throne. And the more spiritually orientated we become and unselfishly strive for the highest good of our whole world, the closer we get to this goal. And so, it is not hard to see how Saturn the teacher eventually turns into the rewarder.

Every spirit’s earthly education consists of getting to know, each through their own experiences, with the darkest, most dangerous and evil aspects of our nature. In the course of many lifetimes, one small step after another, we move up the evolutionary spiral. This continues until eventually we are once more getting in touch with the characteristics of our higher nature. Saturn is the planet of Karma and plays the role of Old Father Time in our lives. It is a metaphor for the wisdom and justice of the Highest, the all seeing and hearing one who cannot be cheated, for the simple reason that it is part of us. That is how it comes about that in the fullness of time each one of us is presented with the Karmic bill for every one of the misdeeds of our earlier earthly sojourns, no matter how far back in the past they may have taken place.  

All these things shed light onto the mystery of why Saturn, when it is visible in the sky above us, is visually the most beautiful planet in our solar system of all. The willingness with which the human soul submits itself to Saturn’s tests and trials reveals the degree of spiritual maturity it has reached, at any given phase in its evolution, and shows its readiness or otherwise of being released into the freedom of the Aquarian Age.

But let’s return for a moment to the year 2008 and the Sun sign Leo. In that year the Universe made this sign’s positive and direct approach to life available to everybody. An abundance of optimism and enthusiasm for bringing something new and beautiful into being was there for all to participate in. For many it could become a year for loving from the heart and giving freely whatever flows from the heart of the Universe into ours, for all to enjoy. Like the Sun in the sky above us giving its warmth and love freely and joyously to all life, we as earthlings and young Gods in the making were encouraged to share God’s rich abundance of creative ideas with all life. The reward of souls who at any given time are making an effort at tapping securely into what is, after all, the creative power of God, is increased joy, love and great strength of purpose and willpower.

Mind you, the Universe is not doing these things for nothing. It does indeed expect something from us in return. We are on the Earth so that one day we should discover  that the energies available to us are meant to be used as tools that enable us to do our share of bringing our new and peaceful world into being in the most effective manner. Being created in the image of God, all His/Her characteristics and powers are also in us, and we too contain our Creator’s power that can either bless and heal or wantonly destroy. The Universe loves us. We are Its children and because of this it assists us at all times with bringing into being whatever our human hearts truly desire. This is how in the course of many lifetimes we are getting to know the powers within and how to use them wisely.

Everything in the whole of Creation is at our disposal and will in the fullness of time – when we are good and ready for it – be within our reach. And if we wish more than anything for our world to become a peaceful one, the Universal forces will show us how to go about it and each one of us has to do their share of bringing it into being. All things have their origin in us and if we want peace, we have to begin with ourselves, sweep in front of our own door and conduct our lives in more peaceful ways through tirelessly working on more kind and loving relationships, with ourselves, those around us and also our environment.

One of the main reasons for spending time in earthly life is to teach us how to differentiate and discriminate, for example between good and evil, darkness and light. And whether something we do is good or evil depends on our intentions behind the actions. The outcome of any one of them reveals whether an activity was good or bad. In some way, we are all pupils and teachers to each other. Life itself and the experiences we are constantly gathering are our teachers

The Universe experiences itself through us. It prays and thinks through us. And at least potentially each one of us is a channel of the Divine who can simultaneously act as a receiver/transmitter and relay station of Its wisdom. The super-abundance of creative ideas from the spiritual Sun during the year 2008 were available to all of us and it was up to each individual to decide how they should be used. For the many new beginnings that were coming towards us we did require all of the strength of the Sun’s creative energies. At the beginning of the year they were flowing comparatively slowly, but their speed and strength increased as we moved through the year.

From ‘Myths And Legends For The Aquarian Age’

The Devil – Satan – Saturn (1)

The concept of the devil appears to be an ancient one. According to the Bible it appears that his primary role is to use whatever guiles he may to cause humans to sin, so that ultimately they are sent to hell. The word Satan could have its origin in the Standard Hebrew word Satan’el; in English it means accuser. This term has come down to us from the Abrahamic faiths; it was traditionally applied to an Angel in the Judeo-Christian belief and a jinn in the Islamic tradition. The Hebrew word ha-Satan means ‘the accuser’ and the word Satan ‘to overcome’. Hence Satan was the one who challenged the religious faith of humans in the books of Job and Zechariah. The Abrahamic religious belief systems, other than Judaism, see Satan as a demon, a rebellious fallen Angel, devil, minor god and idol; it can also be an allegory for knowledge for the enlightenment of humankind.

The imagery of a devil as a being with horns, hooves and a tail, goes back at least as far as the ancient Greeks and their god Pan; nobody really knows but this myth could be much older still. The Greeks pictured Pan as a goat and worshipped him as the abundant and pro-creative God of wild and untamed nature, sexuality and life-giving fertility. Pan personified natural energy in its chaotic and disordered state. Included in this were our primitive, instinctive urges, in particular the sexual ones. In the days of the early Christians, such things were declared to be pagan worship. Even in those days, enlightened souls would have recognised that to suppress them altogether would be against nature and therefore impossible. However, whatever did not suit us about the old beliefs, we cleverly built into our new systems according to our changed perception of our world.

Whether this was for better or worse, is of no interest to us any longer. It was merely one of many evolutionary stages our race had to pass through. As we are here now, it is highly likely that at least during some lifetimes we reincarnated into and followed each one of the old and the new belief systems. Now, isn’t it a wonderfully sobering thought that it may have been us who, as early Christians, declared Saturn to be Satan. Pan we banished into hell and from then onwards the Devil was depicted with horns, hooves and a tail. We decreed that because all natural impulses and instincts are evil and of the devil, they had to be suppressed.

The only thing that seems to have survived that onslaught seems to be the symbol of Capricorn, the planet’s own sign; it has remained the goat. The three Earth signs are Taurus, Virgo and Capricorn. In Taurus the soul is reminiscent of the freshly ploughed Earth at that time of the year, like Mother Earth herself it is ready to take kindly to the seeds that are planted into its consciousness. In Virgo the soul brings forth the harvest of that which has been sown in Taurus and nurtured and cared for since then. In each Earth sign the soul has to work hard for what it wants to get out of life. Yet, Capricorn is Earth at its coldest and densest; here the soul is required to work harder than ever. This is in preparation for the seeds that are to be sown next spring when yet another rebirth on the great wheel of life takes place and a new season of growing begins.   

The Devil – Satan – Saturn (2)

The Lightbringer

As we moved through the ages, our understanding of the devil in us and our world has grown. Now, it can clearly be recognised that in truth he is – dare I say it? – the great benefactor of humankind and the Angel of light, though for a very long time this had to remain a disguise. Interestingly, the devil has also been known as Lucifer, the bringer of light. Light in spiritual terms means knowledge and wisdom and that is precisely what Saturn, the devil, Lucifer has brought and still is constantly bringing to each and every one of us by pushing us, at times, to the brinks of our endurance. By constantly testing and trying us and our constant struggle against the obstacles and frustrations that inevitably come into the way of every soul’s desires, the Universe under the name of Saturn helps us to build up our stamina and bring forth the best we are capable of.

Let us never forget that the law of the Universe is love. This too is an aspect of the Divine and created for the sake of love. All long it has been showing us the way back into our true nature, which is love. At the end of the healing journey of a thousand miles – for some of us many thousands of lifetimes – from the darkness of not knowing who and what we are, each one of us will eventually have grown into an enlightened being. Greeted and celebrated by God and the Angels, humankind is triumphantly returning into the dazzling light of the full awareness of our true nature and reunion with our Creator.

Everything that has happened on the Earth plane thus far has been a necessary part of our evolutionary pathway. It is true, we and our world have learnt and grown a great deal, but I believe firmly that many greater things are in store for humankind. Isn’t it good to know that it is in everybody’s own hands to ensure that it is nothing but good? Gone for good will soon be the days of allowing anyone to take away our God-given right of making up our own minds as to what we can and wish to believe.

Before our Creator we all stand alone, but not as if in front of some kind of throne, the way God was presented to us in previous ages. The meaning of this saying is that everybody’s understanding of the concepts of God and the Universe is at least slightly different from that of anyone else’s. The perception of what God means to us personally is something very intimate. It is different for each one of us, because it depends on our inner connection with our Creator and the relationship we have thus far been able to establish with Him/Her. In the fullness of time all human souls are required to develop into seekers of God’s Divine wisdom and truth. We are here to search for a deeper understanding of the spiritual background of life, so that through it the meaning and purpose of our present existence and that of all life can reveal itself to us, in particular through its most profound processes of birth and death.

Our perception of God has changed profoundly since all the books of the Bible were written, especially the earlier ones of the Old Testament, whose origins are lost in the mists of time. Church doctrines of the past did their best to instil the fear of God into the consciousness of our race. Although the remnants of this troublesome inheritance are exceedingly hard to eradicate, we all get there in the end.  To quite some extent this fear is still with us today, whether we are consciously aware of this or not. I must be one of the best examples of this. In spite of not having been brought up on a steady diet of Christian teachings, believe you me I have felt this fear very strongly ever since my first tentative steps on the spiritual path. It comforts me to know that as everything happens for good and wise purpose, this cannot have been an exception.

Nature abhors a vacuum and this principle also applies to the consciousness of our race on all its levels. Any empty spaces that are left behind anywhere are instantly filled with whatever is allowed to enter. A vital part of every soul’s spiritual pathway is taking charge of all parts of its being. Because every word, thought and action is our own responsibility, we ourselves must ensure that we give access to our consciousness to the right things only, i.e. those we want to be there. It is not necessary to suppress our natural urges and instincts, we just have to take charge of them and master them by learning how to use them constructively. We are responsible for every part of our being and are not to abuse any one of them, especially not our physical bodies and our energies. They are our responsibility and should be recognised for what they truly are, namely gifts from the Universe. We have been placed in this life in order to learn how handle them wisely and without fear.

From 'The Very Best Of White Eagle'

White Eagle on Saturn And Patience

The following is the essence of a teaching from the White Eagle group of spirit guides on patience: ‘Saturn is the planetary ruler of Capricorn* and the tenth house, and also the traditional co-ruler of Aquarius. This planet is sometimes presented as old Father Time and when looked at from the right perspective, time is one of humankind’s best teachers. In earthly life it will always be your master and it can be an unpleasant one. But this only applies for as long as you perceive life with the limited vision of your small earthly self.

‘The likelihood is that you are taking part in Saturn’s wisdom at this very moment. The influence of its energies causes delays and frustrations that may test you to the utmost, as Saturn is very strict with his students in the school of earthly life. Under his supervision hurried lessons, hasty sums and superficial essays are not allowed. Saturn insists that the right time is given for every lesson. That’s why time is one of the most irksome forms of discipline that has to be endured for as long as you dwell on the Earth plane.

‘But on the upside, the Saturnian energies provide you with the determination to work your way one small step after another towards a distant goal. They equip you with the desire to try and try again. Through this your endeavours get better and more perfect all the time and when they are ready to be presented and shared with your world, they are likely to be crowned with success. Saturn’s rewards * can be great, when they come. And they surely will – for those who patiently plod on. So muster yourself with patience and remind yourself that you are taking part in one of the most essential lessons for every soul on their pathway of spiritual development.

‘That’s how Saturn in the end brings true, i.e. spiritual wealth to every human soul. Think of this beneficence and refuse to see anything malefic. Instead remind yourself frequently that all of you have a great deal to thank Saturn for and that at any given time. True, the influence of this planet’s energies makes people come across as somewhat cold and too earth-bound. This serves the wise higher purpose of holding things up and delaying the actions of those who in previous lifetimes hot-headedly rushed into things prematurely without due foresight and caution. This behaviour pattern is typical for the Fire signs, Aries of the head, Leo of the heart and Sagittarius of the spirit.

‘People who have been affected by this in one or several of their past lifetimes, hand in hand with the wise ones in charge of you in our world, choose a pathway in which Saturn is prominent, for example with the Sun or Moon in conjunction, opposition or square to Saturn. This forces people to move through life with great caution. Whenever they are tempted to rush into things, Saturn says: ‘No! You are here to learn how to proceed slowly and patiently, if need be trying time and again before you can succeed! If you persevere, you will.’

‘Anyone who sees this as unpleasant and resents it needs to be reminded that it is unwise to ignore the lessons of a venerable, gracious and wise teacher. And as co-ruler of Aquarius the Saturnian energies will be providing your world and ours the necessary strength and stamina, determination and perseverance for bringing Mother Earth’s new golden age into being. Saturn’s main task during your earthly sojourns consists of teaching the self-mastery that is needed to control the urges and desires of humankind’s lower animal nature.

‘After the Aquarian Age, from approx. 1900 AD – 4,100 AD, we shall be moving into the Age of Capricorn, which will last until about 6,300 AD. Capricorn is Saturn’s own sign where it’s energies are particularly strong and in the right hands can express themselves in the most positive and constructive ways. This will be helpful for the unfoldment of the new golden age in all its splendour. How great Thou art, o Great White Spirit, and how wise! We thank Thee and bless Thee.’

From 'Understanding Your Birthchart Better' (1)

Sun And Saturn In Hard Or Growth Aspect

 

If the Sun and Saturn in your birthchart form one of the hard aspects, like a conjunction, square, semi-square or an opposition, you have my sympathy. Unless they are dealt with constructively, these aspects certainly are some of the most difficult ones that can be found anywhere. Yet, when encountered with a new understanding of what is at stake, a spirit of exploration and a willingness to learn, they can be turned into something beneficial, rewarding and positive. My observations and notes on this theme may also be of interest to you if your Sun is in Capricorn or the tenth house, the natural home of Capricorn. This has a similar effect to a Sun/Saturn conjunction. The same is true for those born on the 18th of any month. 1 = the Sun, 8 = Saturn.

This chapter of the Astro Files is dedicated to all who are suffering from one of these aspects. No matter what traditional astrology used to say about their severity, it is true that they can and frequently do bring considerable amounts of struggling into the lives of those affected by them. Fortunately, it is by now coming ever clearer that in truth all struggles only come into our lives, so that we may evolve and grow. They are meant to help us become more spiritually aware and better people who are capable of making some genuine evolutionary progress in their present lifetime.

The Universe is constantly testing us to assess the degree of our spiritual maturity. This is especially true for the trials that arise in the areas of our lives influenced by the hard Sun/Saturn aspects. However, if we willingly accept Saturn as our teacher und buckle down to doing the required work on our character, enormous soul growth will be ours through a renewed understanding of our own nature and the purpose and meaning of our present existence and all life. Alas, for as long as the soul still believes that it is struggling against unseen and unknown factors in its character make-up and life lessons, suffering seems to be unavoidable.

Take it from me, the whole thing can be turned round and transformed into a success story. How to go about it, that is the six million dollar question. To my mind, it requires three things from us: first, at least a degree of awareness of what is actually involved and where our problems lie. Second, an awareness that the trials and tribulations we had to encounter up to the time of finding this out, did indeed have purpose and meaning; and third, if we wish to find out, one needs to take a closer look at what this aspect is trying to teach and tell us. That is the only way the difficult times in our life can be transmuted into beneficial lessons. This, beyond the shadow of a doubt, is what there were truly meant to be in the first place. Paying attention to what a certain aspect is trying to tell us is always worth our while. If we wish to take advantage of the growth that is possible in the area of our life that is hampered by one of the Sun/Saturn aspects, it has to be dealt with constructively.

To do so, we need to be willing to work with ourselves and learn how to stop indulging in behaviour that acts against our own best interest instead of for it. Rather than getting lost in the role of the sad victim of life, we are here to conquer our difficulties and learn from them. Aspects of this nature force us to struggle and stretch, until there grows within us the realisation that we have much to be grateful for that so much learning and growth are possible, during one single lifetime. When used in the right frame of mind, all difficult aspects in our birthchart can and indeed are intended to be used to steer us into some quite dynamic soul growth. For anyone who is willing to work with them much can be achieved. And the Sun/Saturn aspect is such a painful and difficult one that, to my mind, it deserves some special attention.

Dealing With Life Head-On

It is likely that our troubles started quite early in life. As far as we can think back,  it may have been necessary to pit ourselves against it and tackle it head-on. And as our life progresses, we find that certain things may come free to us, but that anything we really want and value, has to be worked for. No matter how carefree and extroverted we try to appear to be on the surface, there is a lot of caution, as well as controlled and disciplined energy within us. Somehow we have an extremely careful deliberation and concern for self-protection. We feel we must guard ourselves against life, at all times, so that it does not suddenly deal us a blow that will flatten us altogether. We usually are more aware of our responsibilities than other people, often more so than is healthy for our self-expression. Until we achieve a degree of understanding of what why this is so, we are likely to be far too restricted in our general approach to life. If this tendency is not counteracted, it can severely restrict the pace of our evolution.

We may have been through a childhood where we were never really allowed to be a child in the true sense. Because of this, we may still feel so insecure that we did not learn to trust that we, too, can have and are entitled to our share in life’s bounty. Had we known about this earlier, we might have been able to relax from our constant efforts. Yet, this was not to be for us. As a result, we could have acquired so much self-determination that in the end we felt we had to make something out of our life. We seem to have no choice but to find our identity by the efforts of our own brain and hands, because that which we accept from others is usually disappointing.

Although people with one of these aspects can become highly successful, real success is not likely to be theirs before their first Saturn return, at 28/29 years of age. Those who are willing to consciously apply themselves to working on the development of their psyche and character could be doing extremely well, by the time of their second Saturn return. On its completion at age 58/59, they could be going like a rocket! However, those who refuse Saturn’s work, true success could be eluding us altogether. The worst part is that, until one becomes aware of what is operating in one’s life, one could easily be tempted to give up half-way. What a shame that would be.

Being merely human, there may come a time when we have had enough trials and frustrations and could be sorely tempted to surrender. That is precisely the point when it is essential to carry on, as the success we are dreaming of is likely to wait for us just round the next corner. This is the main reason why I believe that finding out what is operating within is vital. Yet, without first finding out what our obstacles are, there’s no way of overcoming and rising above them. This is a matter of urgency for you, as the Sun/Saturn aspect presents you with considerable hurdles. Whilst tackling  one of them, keep reminding yourself that wherever Saturn is involved in our life, great rewards are possible. If we do the work, its promise is always that all the things that have been bothering us, sometimes for a very long time, can indeed be surmounted.

Saturn’s Dual Nature

Like all Saturn aspects and contacts, this one can have a dual expression. The outcome depends on the unconscious choices we make. That is why in time we may either turn into someone who is over-ambitious or a person who believes to have no ambition, at all. The latter is the typical expression of those who try to avoid the pain of finally admitting to themselves that their ambitions have failed because they just cannot realised. Either we surmount great environmental obstacles to achieve our goals, or we may quietly succumb to them and even amplify them, to justify our failure. Whichever expression we choose, we may be handed certain advantages, but will always have to work for what we truly value.

Underneath it all and unbeknown to us, until we reach the point of realisation of what is at stake, in truth the Universe is offering us an opportunity to become the master of our own destiny. Although the goals we achieve are rarely sufficient to satisfy our inner needs, for the soul on its evolutionary pathway, the most important part is the strength and self-confidence which we acquire during our efforts of dealing with our difficulties. If we do so in the right way, the emergence of an integrated and well-defined conscious identity will be the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, Saturn’s gift. If we fail to seize such opportunities, our failure may be much deeper than a purely material one and could prove extremely uncomfortable to live with.

Various  Experiences

The early environmental conditions of people with one of the Sun/Saturn aspects are likely to have been difficult, and their relationship with their father in all probability was more of a handicap than a help to them, to put it mildly. Disappointments are likely to have come to them through him in some way or other. There could have been outright coldness and even rejection and/or the emphasis could have been too much on duty, form and material values. Sometimes the father can be loving and kind, but a weak and disappointing figure in a child’s life, as is incapable of fulfilling the strong and protective role, necessary for a young one’s psychological balance. He could have been a material failure or a burden because of ill health. Although many different expressions are possible, the result is always the same. The male half of the psyche, the ego or conscious identity, has to be created fresh by those affected, as they were not meant to inherit or acquire this part from their fathers. This, by the way, applies to male and female alike.

The failure in our relationship with our father has important implications in the area of our own personal relationships later in life. It is of particular significance for a woman. Her relationship with men and with the masculine half of her own psyche is affected by her disappointment and failure in the relationship with her father. Some women develop outright hostility towards men, openly and consciously expressed. It worse still for those who carry their aversion to men inwardly and unconsciously, as that makes it difficult to access and release. Such women can only express their instinctual feeling side and are forced to act out their masculine decisiveness and will through a partner who, whether he is willing or not, she tries to manoeuvre into the role of the father she never had in the true sense. This does not succeed either because she is destined for something else. Hidden in all Saturn contacts invariably are higher esoteric gifts waiting to be unearthed by us. In this case it is the woman’s re-connection with her own inner man, her very own spirit Highest or God Self, who is part of her true Father, the Great Father of all life, on its highest levels.

The psychological patterns involved can be very subtle. Within the woman influenced by one of these aspects there is a point of friction that causes her a great deal of pain. This may become so intolerable that eventually she comes to the conclusion that she wants to examine the origin of her suffering. The power is given into her own hand that by finding a better understanding of herself and her predestined pathway of life, she can in the end set herself free. In the final analysis this kind of pain serves the higher purpose of eventually turning us inwards to the world of the unconscious and higher inner values. When handled with insight and loving care for ourselves, this can develop into an opportunity for exploring the realm of conscious initiative and creative endeavour. Finally, with the help of this process it is possible to develop the kind of wholeness that under normal circumstances is rarely found in a woman’s psyche.

The Pot Of God At The End Of The Rainbow

Consciously or unconsciously, a man with this aspect constantly feels the need to prove himself to himself and his father. He may feel his father’s failure to be a true father to him, as an indication of his own inadequacy. This is one of the spurs of ambition, so characteristic for people with this aspect. It is the real struggle within which is often externalised and the man must prove himself successful in a fashion which can become somewhat compulsive. What he frequently fails to realise is that it is not material values at all which he seeks. What he is trying to find is his own sense of self-importance, of self-worth and an acceptance of his own masculinity. This is not meant sexually, but in general terms. When he finally finds what he is looking for, he will have learnt to rely on his own inner centre.

The usual symbols of importance and identity which the majority of men accept with a clear conscience do not suffice for him. He must develop his own definition of worth. He must experience his own capacity to control, direct and master his own life instead of trying to do this with everybody around him. Both extremes of inherited money and position, on one hand, or poverty and lack of opportunity, on the other, can be expressed by this aspect. The result is the same, as in both cases the values and the identity must be earned by the individual himself, if they are to be of value and real meaning to him.

It is as if when we feel that we might be too happy or relax too much, vague feelings of guilt creep upon us, and so we tend to deny and ignore our deepest and innermost needs and wishes – we hide them before ourselves, so as not to feel guilty. To overcome this, it helps to become aware that guilt is always a sign that we do not love and appreciate ourselves sufficiently. With some people, these feelings of guilt can be so strong that they are in danger of bringing ruin upon themselves, through poor judgement, illness or an act of martyrdom of some kind, just when their dream threatens to become fulfilled. For some of us, our self-imposed psychological suffering can be traced back to a childhood that was permeated with a strict religious training, and the stern religious symbols, rather than learning about a loving and forgiving God.

The psychological meaning in both cases is the same. Either the material environment or the father is the villain of the piece. Whether it is a man’s conception of Deity of his father, his capacity for success or of his role as a man, he will get no outside help on this path towards the discovery of his own identity in the outside world. This is the Universe’s way of teaching him the truth of the saying that the answers to all our questions lie within. By cultivating patience combined with a structured and well-moderated effort of developing each their own unique creativity, and through this their self-expression, a great deal can be achieved by both genders.

This Astro File is loosely based on Liz Green’s excellent book ‘Saturn – A New Look at an Old Devil’.

From 'Understanding Your Birthchart Better' (2)

Moon And Saturn In Hard Or Growth Aspect

 

If the Moon and Saturn in your birthchart form one of the hard aspects, like a conjunction, square, semi-square or an opposition, you have my sympathy. Unless they are dealt with constructively, these aspects certainly are some of the most difficult ones that can be found anywhere. Yet, when encountered with a new understanding of what is at stake, a spirit of exploration and a willingness to learn, they can be turned into something beneficial, rewarding and positive. My observations and notes on this theme may also be of interest to you if your Moon is in Capricorn or the tenth house, the natural home of Capricorn. This has a similar effect to a Sun/Saturn conjunction. The same is true for those born on the 28th day of any month. 2 = Moon and 8 = Saturn.

This chapter of the Astro Files is dedicated to all who are suffering from one of these aspects. No matter what traditional astrology used to say about their severity, it is true that they can and frequently do bring considerable amounts of struggling into the lives of those affected by them. Fortunately, it is by now coming ever clearer that in truth all struggles only come into our lives, so that we may evolve and grow. They are meant to help us become more spiritually aware and better people who are capable of making some genuine evolutionary progress in their present lifetime.

The Universe is constantly testing us to assess the degree of our spiritual maturity. This is especially true for the trials that arise in the areas of our lives influenced by the hard Moon/Saturn aspects. However, if we willingly accept Saturn as our teacher und buckle down to doing the required work on our character, enormous soul growth will be ours through a renewed understanding of our own nature and the purpose and meaning of our present existence and all life. Alas, for as long as the soul still believes that it is struggling against unseen and unknown factors in its character make-up and life lessons, suffering seems to be unavoidable. Take it from me, the whole thing can be turned round and transformed into a success story. To understand this, we need to reach out a bit further.

In days gone by, the hard aspects had an exceedingly poor reputation because the time had not yet come for recognising their true value. The best that was known about them then was that they were an indication that the person, in whose chart they were found, was a thrifty and cautious soul. Fortunately, modern astrologers look at all difficult aspects with different eyes. We appreciate that in the part of our chart such aspects affect, a considerable inner struggle initially always takes place. However, through these conflicts dynamic spiritual growth can be achieved during this lifetime, if we are willing to pay attention to what the difficulties in our life are trying to teach us. The first step towards resolving any conflict is a growing inner awareness and understanding that everything that is in our life has purpose and meaning. The next and equally important step is trying to find out what our difficulties are trying to teach us.

As no growth is ever achieved without pain, it is hardly surprising that initially difficult aspects cause us pain. Yet, for those who eventually reach the point in their life when they are willing to face up to this in a constructive manner and in the right spirit, they can and will lead not only to healing, but also to enormous spiritual growth. The hard aspects between the Moon and Saturn are particularly difficult to cope with, especially for women. Because of this, I feel that they deserve some extra special attention. No matter what happens, it is always worth our while to listen to what Saturn, the planet of Karma, known as the stern schoolmaster of the Zodiac, is trying to teach us.

So, here we go. When this aspect is found in our chart, as it is in mine and yours, the likelihood is that our parents were a disappointment to us. Even if that is no longer the case today, they certainly would have been earlier on in our life. On the surface of things it may well seem as if the events came about through the force of circumstances and through no fault of theirs. However, when one is trying to heal the wound these experiences left us with, I am finding it helpful to make it clear to myself that all our relationships, especially the most difficult ones, are of a karmic nature. The way I see it, our toughest experiences are urgent lessons all the people involved in them have come to learn, during this lifetime.

There is no need to get carried away with the idea that the difficulties our parents experienced with each other were caused by us and are our fault. What it does mean is that our parents themselves have caused their situation, through the relationships they have had with each other, during other lifetimes. It is they who have come into this one in order to try and work things out between them. In spite of the fact that we, as the child, are involved with their Karma, we are on its periphery and not in its centre. Our Karma is possibly but not necessarily, of a similar nature, i.e. we have lessons to learn that are similar to theirs. We could have gone through similar difficulties in other lifetimes, not with them but with other partners. We may have experienced their problems and could have inflicted what they have done to us, during this lifetime, to others – though not to them – but to little ones who came through us and had been entrusted into our care. As true learning can only ever come from first hand experiences, we needed to find ourselves at the receiving end of such treatment, during this lifetime. That is why we, ourselves, and the wise ones in charge of us in the world of spirit, decided we should be coming as a child into the care of parents who could provide us with this lesson.

Childhood Memories

Some people have pleasant memories of their childhood, to which they can retreat when the going gets rough, but for us this is impossible. And for as long as we do not yet understand why this is so, we shall always be on the look-out for someone to lean on and to provide us with an emotional nest, alas without success. As our life progresses, we may gradually notice that this is impossible. Our early experiences have left us with feelings of being cut off from our emotional and spiritual roots, of emotional isolation and deprivation. It is likely that this will eventually motivate us into looking within for what might be amiss, and no longer hoping that others will release us from our isolation. We are here to develop and bring forth our own inner strength and to provide for ourselves the nest that others can never provide for anyone. Until we realise what it is we are looking for, we could always be trying to find the missing part of ourselves in others. And the reason why we never find what we are seeking is that, if we ever found such a nest, we would bury ourselves in it, instead of growing the missing part ourselves.

This lifetime is also offering us the opportunity to develop our own conscious decision-making faculties. For us, the easy subconscious way is blocked and we have to learn how to make our decisions consciously. The way of sub- and unconscious decision-making has been the way of the past and of previous lifetimes, when undoubtedly all of us are sure to have made many mistakes. That is why we have been given the gift of another lifetime, so that we should develop into a fully conscious, decision-making and thinking being. Because we have come into this lifetime to learn how to make conscious decisions, our psyche will not allow us to fall back on our feeling nature to guide us with regards to how we should behave.  That is why, at least initially, even when we try to rely on our instincts, they do not seem to be all that reliable. But, if we are willing to tackle the work that life in store for us in our present lifetime, enormous growth can be achieved.

A man with this aspect is likely to constantly encounter difficulties with the women in his life. The same is true for his feminine unconscious. For all men, one of the most important things in life is the coming to terms with their feeling nature, but for anyone with this aspect it is an issue of even greater urgency. Those affected generally suffer disappointments through the women in their life, but they cannot project their own feeling nature onto them. They may have done so during other lifetimes, but this avenue is blocked for them, during this one. They can no longer live this part of themselves out vicariously, as most men do, but have to learn through their own life experiences to free themselves from the grip and control of their past. If such men have the courage to confront themselves and make an effort at getting in touch with and understanding their feeling nature, they can become whole and healed, and completely re-birth themselves.

Men usually only express their feminine side subconsciously, and through the women in their life, and women their masculine side in the same way, through the men in their life. This is changing now for both genders, as we are all moving into androgyny. For those wishing to become whole and fully integrated beings, the Moon/Saturn aspect and the lessons it contains are of the greatest importance and value. Because it is such a painful aspect, both women and men all too often shy away from and try to side-step the challenge it present and bury themselves in work and practical affairs. But no matter how hard one tries, it is as if nothing can ever fully take our mind away from the loneliness and vulnerability that are constantly nagging at us, from within.

For both women and men with this aspect, the gift that is waiting at the end of their particular rainbow is the one of emotional independence. Alas, it is in the nature of this life lesson that it usually follows on the heels of failures and disappointments. Spiritually, there is nothing wrong and everything right with that. It appears to be in our human nature that only through our failures do we ever begin to question ourselves and our life, its true purpose and meaning. And through this, we develop our own inner strength and wisdom.

What is waiting for us, hopefully long before we have reached the end of this lifetime, is the gift of true emotional independence – a rare quality in both sexes. The security of family ties is an illusory one, in any case. It is a dangerous and false belief that our blood ties give us the right to command emotional support from others. Parents die sooner or later, partners can and do leave, and children grow up. If we have developed no emotional independence, what happens to us then? We try to bind people and external things to ourselves, because our emotional needfulness is so great, we are constantly courting pain and disappointment. Only through trying unsuccessfully, can we build up our own inner strength and tap into the resources of our creative and intuitive side. And when we do, we shall find to our amazement that there is no longer any need to demand affection from others. It is likely to be offered to us freely because by that time, we shall have something special to offer, in all our relationships: a whole person.

Health Problems

This aspect in a woman’s chart was traditionally interpreted as an indicator of ill health. Up to a point, this is true. In some cases, there can be a tendency towards chronic illness of some kind or another, but this is likely happen to anyone who has not yet learnt to express their emotions freely through the ordinary channels. Holding our feelings back over prolonged periods of time, with or without this aspect, can do nothing but manifest itself in later life as illnesses of our physical body. Such things, more often than not, are manifestation of the frustrated feelings of a person who, maybe because of background, an over-strong and misunderstood sense of duty or a fear of rejection or humiliation, fails to express themselves in an open and spontaneous way. Our soul communicates with us and lets us know about suppressed emotional disappointments through our physical bodies where they surface as pain.  Not expressing our feelings freely, as and when the need arises, is the cause of such problems. As they are not our body’s fault, with a degree of awareness of what is at stake, they can and are meant to be overcome.

A woman with this aspect may feel cut off from her feelings. There could have been feelings of rejection, isolation and inadequacy between her and her mother. And because of their difficult relationship, she herself in adulthood may find it difficult to accept herself as a woman. For any woman suffering from this, it is essential to create her own psychic space, where she can nurture and learn to love and appreciate herself. Before she can move on in life she needs to discover and develop her own femininity, removed from its associations with the image and role of her mother. She could have quite a mothering complex, which simply means someone of either gender who loves caring for and mothering other people, not merely children. Even if they don’t have any loved ones of their own, they enjoy being there for and meeting those around them with kindness and understanding.

Every woman’s image of the mother is a formidable energy that has to be dealt with constructively. Two extremes are possible. On the one hand, there is the overly instinctual mother, who has no function other than bearing children, cooking, washing and scrubbing endlessly. On the other, there is the overly aggressive woman, who resents the biological functions of her body. Each of these expressions is the opposite sides of the same coin of the mother complex.

For both genders, the opportunity of gaining emotional freedom is Saturn’s promise and eventual gift. Although this means different things to women and men, both are being offered the same opportunity. To this day, women who are truly independent and integrated are not found all that often. Too many still try to over-compensate with what is but a show of apparent freedom. The time has come for women to consciously and fully come to terms with their own femininity and the archetypal mother, who is the symbol of the feminine aspect of both genders. For a woman the experience of understanding this mystery is possible. Achieving it is spiritually a far more precious offering than thrift and caution could ever be, no matter how desirable qualities they undoubtedly are on the material level.

If at the beginning of this lifetime we carried within us a blockage that stopped us from taking up full contact with our inner teacher = intuition, indicated by this Moon /Saturn contact, there is no need for it to remain so for good. But, as all contacts with Saturn and especially the hard aspects are accompanied by much fear, we shall have to work our way through many layers of it. From the beginning of my personal healing journey of a thousand miles many years ago, I have felt as if I was shedding layers of feelings, similar to the peeling of an onion. Bear in mind that I was a late starter. It stands to reason that the sooner one starts working one’s way back into direct contact with feeling world, the fewer layers are waiting to be attended to and resolved.

I seem to have had to work my way through so many of them that they cannot possibly have been from one single lifetime. What rises to the surface from time to time feels like the residue and emotional and spiritual rubbish left behind by a great many lifetimes. To this day, so many more layers of suppressed fears, anger, resentment, disappointment and sadness seem to be waiting to be dealt with and released that I cannot help asking myself how and why I could have suppressed all that. Yet, I did and the only reason for it is my earlier lack of understanding.

The Pot Of Gold At The End Of The Rainbow

As Saturn is always trying to teach us self-mastery, one of the most important parts of the pot of gold that is waiting for you and me at the end of or own personal rainbow are well controlled but not suppressed emotions. At the beginning of our present lifetime we did not have them and our highest potential by the end of it is that we shall have learnt where and when it is safe for us to release whatever feelings may wish to surface at any given moment.  Even more important is that we are going to be one again with our inner teacher and guide, our Highest Self, and the wisdom of the Goddess, the feminine aspect of our Creator, as well as the love and joy of God, its masculine aspect. As both are part of each and every one of us, this is by no means presumptuous.  The only way they can once again clearly rise from the very bottom of our consciousness and being is by clearing away any debris that still remains.

This becoming one again is what the Bible describes in the Jesus legend as the Master saying: ‘The Father and I, we are one’. If this had not been written during the depths of the patriarchy, it would have been: ‘The great Mother/Father and I, we are one.’ However, the time for that had not yet come. The way I see it, he came to herald the return to our world and us the wisdom, love and compassion of the Feminine, the Goddess. He came at the beginning of the Piscean Age and was the messenger of the New Age of Aquarius, which is now fully with us. He came to teach us by his example and to show us the way we and our world are going, now. From where we stand now in our evolutionary cycle, it is not hard to see that when he said: ‘I am the resurrection, I am the life,’ he meant: ‘I am the resurrection of the Feminine, the Goddess, of that which is true and good in you and your world, and that is the life. The Eternal life is in me and you. We are all going the same way. Follow me and bring forth from within you the Highest good and the best you are capable of – that is God.’

As our life progresses, we may become aware that there is within us a wound that refuses to heal. There will eventually come a time in our life, when we have tried just about everything to come to terms with the inner pain our wound is causing us. There is no need for despair and excellent reason for taking heart, as help is always at hand for those who are seeking it. Not only can we find healing this way, but we shall at the same time develop into a more fully integrated human being. It is highly likely that we shall reach a moment in our life, when we draw the conclusion that the traditional family structures and the rules of behaviour that served us in the past as our whole reason for being are no longer satisfactory. That’s the time for burning all our bridges and looking towards a new beginning.

The tougher the obstacles and trials on my healing journey become, the more frequently I need to remind myself that I have chosen this life and all its lessons, so that I could consciously and fully develop all parts of my being. My wish has been granted and looking back from where I am now, I can see that throughout my present lifetime I have been working on this, one way or another, consciously and unconsciously. Reflecting on the most painful parts, it seems incredible that I could have chosen all that in the world of spirit, before being granted the gift of another lifetime, so that I should grow some more on my pathway to perfection. Yet, what is this elusive state we are all supposed to be seeking? It is wholeness through integrating all aspects of our human and Divine nature. That’s all. And what does being healed mean? The more we work on integrating all parts of ourselves, the more whole, i.e. healed and therefore, holy we shall be. Holiness signifies being at one with our higher and highest aspects and qualities, our Highest or God Self, in whom we are all one.

Many by now have reached their final lifetime on the Earth plane. It is therefore of the greatest importance to make every effort at not leaving any unresolved relationships and their issues behind, as that could further delay our departure from our present level of experiences. Deep and true inner soul healing, in my view, can only take place in us through a better understanding of the shadowy and ambiguous role children and parents have been playing in each other’s lives, throughout the long course of our evolution. To be released into the greater spiritual freedom of the Aquarian Age, we first have to dissolve the burden of the karmic chains and shackles we created between us in the course of a great many lifetimes and which have kept us tied together like cast iron bands. Love, respect and forgiveness for ourselves and each other is the only power in the whole of Creation that can dissolve them. This is helped by the understanding that no earthly parent could ever give their child the gift of life. It was merely given through them by our true parents, the Great Father/Mother of all life. A constantly deepening awareness of this fact helps us to reconnect with them and brings the healing all of us are seeking in its wake.

Having spent all of my present lifetime thus far with coming to terms with Saturn, I am willing to share with you what it has taught me, so that you can benefit from my growing pains, if you choose to. Last but not least, a word of thanks and appreciation to Liz Green for her book ‘Saturn – a New Look at an Old Devil’. It helped me more than anything else in coming to terms with what is operating inside me. However, people can only point us in the right direction. We can glean from their suggestions, but no-one can do the work for us and no matter what happens in our lives, we ourselves are the bottom line. No-one can wave a magic wand or take our work from us. Not for nothing is Saturn called the planet of Karma and redemption, in whose rule-book faking is not allowed. Most important of all it is to remind ourselves frequently that no-one can redeem us, except we ourselves. Each must walk their own way and learn their own lessons from their own experiences, especially when Saturn is the teacher.

Great Spirit, Father/Mother of all life,
Please help me to forgive the mother of this lifetime for any unlovingness
She has shown towards me, knowingly or unknowingly, especially ...
[Now pour all your pain into God; It does understand]
Help me to forgive her for the times she failed to provide me with
The deep and fully satisfying Mother’s nurturing
That only You, my Divine Mother, can give to any of Your children.
Help me to forgive myself for expecting
Such love from someone who is merely human,
Like myself and who is, therefore, but one of your children,
On her own pathway of evolution and therefore still imperfect.

Help me to forgive the father of this lifetime for any unlovingness
He has shown towards me, knowingly or unknowingly, especially ...
[Now pour all your pain into God; It does understand]
Help me to forgive him for the times he failed to provide me with
The deep and fully satisfying Father’s love,
Forgiveness and understanding that You alone, my Divine Father,
Can feel towards all my efforts.
Help me to forgive myself for expecting
Such love from one who is merely human,
Like myself and who is, therefore, but one of your children,
On his own pathway of evolution and still imperfect.

This Astro File is loosely based on Liz Green’s excellent book ‘Saturn – A New Look at an Old Devil’.

From 'Understanding Your Birthchart Better' (3)

 Venus And Saturn In Hard Or Growth Aspect

If Venus and Saturn in your birthchart form one of the hard aspects, like a conjunction, square, semi-square or an opposition, you have my sympathy. Unless they are dealt with constructively, these aspects certainly are some of the most difficult ones that can be found anywhere. Yet, when encountered with a new understanding of what is at stake, a spirit of exploration and a willingness to learn, they can be turned into something beneficial, rewarding and positive. My observations and notes on this theme may also be of interest to you if your Venus is in Capricorn or the tenth house, the natural home of Capricorn. This has a similar effect to a Venus/Saturn conjunction. The same is true for those born on the 26th of any month. 2 = Moon + 6 = Venus = 8 Saturn

This chapter of the Astro Files is dedicated to all who are suffering from one of these aspects. No matter what traditional astrology used to say about their severity, it is true that they can and frequently do bring considerable amounts of struggling into the lives of those affected by them. Fortunately, it is by now coming ever clearer that in truth all struggles only come into our lives, so that we may evolve and grow. They are meant to help us become more spiritually aware and better people who are capable of making some genuine evolutionary progress in their present lifetime.

The Universe is constantly testing us to assess the degree of our spiritual maturity. This is especially true for the trials that arise in the areas of our lives influenced by the hard Sun/Saturn aspects. However, if we willingly accept Saturn as our teacher und buckle down to doing the required work on our character, enormous soul growth will be ours through a renewed understanding of our own nature and the purpose and meaning of our present existence and all life. Alas, for as long as the soul still believes that it is struggling against unseen and unknown factors in its character make-up and life lessons, suffering seems to be unavoidable. Take it from me, the whole thing can be turned round and transformed into a success story. To understand this, we need to reach out a bit further.

In days gone by, the hard aspects had an exceedingly poor reputation because the time had not yet come for recognising their true value. The best that was known about them then was that they were an indication that the person, in whose chart they were found, was a thrifty and cautious soul. Fortunately, modern astrologers look at all difficult aspects with different eyes. We appreciate that in the part of our chart such aspects affect, a considerable inner struggle initially always takes place. However, through these conflicts dynamic spiritual growth can be achieved during this lifetime, if we are willing to pay attention to what the difficulties in our life are trying to teach us. The first step towards resolving any conflict is a growing inner awareness and understanding that everything that is in our life has purpose and meaning. The next and equally important step is trying to find out what our difficulties are trying to teach us.

The contacts between Venus and Saturn can be so painful and difficult to handle – especially for those who are not usually given to introversion and self-examination – that they are in need of some help. This is why these notes came into being. I find it helpful to know that in truth aspects of this nature are meant to be teach us something and help us grow into spiritually more aware and better people. In the area of our life that is affected by them we have to struggle and stretch. Thus, when considered from a spiritual perspective it comes clear that as soon as they are handled in the right manner, they can lead to some dynamic growth. Wise ones know that for them it is possible to go far during their presents lifetime. That’s why they willingly subject themselves to the work these aspects demand from them.

 The Venus/Saturn contact brings many painful personal relationships into the lives of both genders. Because of this its traditional interpretations have been ones of failure and sorrow in love and/or marriage that leaves those experiencing them with residues of bitterness, disillusionment, fear and a great sensitivity to rejection. This however, is only accurate on the surface of things. As always, there is more to this than meets the eye. For many whose life is affected by one of the hard Venus/Saturn aspects, when they have survived their first romantic failures, all further encounters are likely to be coloured by a certain aloofness and a lack of trust that is caused by the subconscious fear of failing again. As a rule, there is at least one painful failure in matters of the heart. With understanding and compassion for ourselves, this can later be used as a key for unlocking the patterns of behaviour, so typical of this aspect. A further, even more important, key to understanding it is to be found in our childhood, in our relationship with our parents, especially the one of the opposite sex.

These aspects have special significance for our capacity of being happy in the conventional sense, i.e. to be at peace, in harmony with ourselves and the environment. They strike at our happiness and that’s why they are so painful. We frequently feel a nagging discontent from within, a general feeling that we shall never be able to be happy or to get any true pleasure from life. In a woman, the Venus/Saturn contacts strike at her basic attitude towards her femininity and her feelings of her own worth as a woman. As they touch the very heart of woman and causes her to fear her own femininity, if left not understood and therefore unattended, they are bound to test and try her to her limits in the course of a whole lifetime. Until she comes to terms with and sets about consciously resolving the issues involved she is likely to continue to feel unattractive and inferior to the women around her.

Her inner confidence ob being as loving, lovable and attractive as any woman is sapped away. Yes indeed, she has all those all those qualities but unfortunately cannot recognise them within herself. It always takes one, to know one; for good or ill, we can only see in others what is also within us. It is because of the already mentioned mirror effect that the woman with this aspect can see all these qualities in others, but not in herself. If only she already knew that what she admires in them is also within her; and that all she needs to do is to bring it into the open, i.e. to the surface of her consciousness. Alas though, for as long as she is totally unaware, she will be suffering intensely, and that is the purpose of the exercise. She is going to learn an important lesson through her suffering, if she will but listen. Her pain is likely to cause her a long and hard struggle, until she recognises what she is being asked to do. Wherever Saturn is involved, other people’s experiences will not do; we have to gather our own. In spite of the fact that the world around her may well be able to see her as a real woman, for a long time she herself will be unable to do the same.

How Does The Growth Venus/Saturn Aspect Affect Men?

It may cause in him a severe discolouring of his basic attitude towards women. It may be argued – by the more esoterically inclined – that personal relationships are of minor importance, but this simply is not true. Our relationships are of great importance; only through them can we grow and learn. Because of the above mentioned mirror effect, our personal relationships are vital on the path to self-knowledge and self-development. It is all too easy to allow one’s constant sense of loneliness and rejection to ruin one’s life; but help can be found, if we are willing to search for it. A great deal can be achieved once we begin to understand what it is that we are looking for.

The influence of this aspect is felt most sharply and painfully in what ought to be our most intimate relationships. It is in the private recesses of our bedroom that it can take its most painful toll. We may feel as if we suffered from sexual inhibitions. However, it should help to put things into perspective when we find out that, what is commonly known as frigidity is nothing but a manifestation of the varying degrees of sexual defensiveness, caused by fear. It is plain to see that the ‘sorrow in love’ this brings, cannot be overcome unless we can learn to be utterly honest with ourselves. It is essential to look into these issues with love and compassion for ourselves and our own suffering. Naturally, there will be obstacles, for it seems that, regardless how much we want to express ourselves emotionally and sexually, we harbour an equally intense unconscious fear, seemingly demanding defence at all costs.

In fine balance to the great unhappiness and isolation all this causes is the relief that is felt when one finally finds out that one’s suffering did not happen perchance and that it did not come into one’s life without good reason. A certain amount of peace comes straight away when one accepts that everything that is in our life has purpose and meaning and that any kind of suffering is no exception to this rule, because it is trying to teach us something. The most vital step on any journey of discovery and healing is always the recognition that there is a way out; that indeed there is meant to be one; and that we too carry within the greatest potential for conducting deep, meaningful and permanent relationships. The resolution of the problems we experienced in the past and the pot of gold that truly is waiting for us at the end of the rainbow, as always, is an inner one.

Wise ones who willingly work on themselves and get in touch with this part of themselves, the mysteries of union is likely to be  placed before them; it comes within their grasp. Anyone who does this work is capable of drawing into their lives the ideal relationship, which they have always dreamt of but had given up hope that it was ever possible between human beings. Such a love is based on complete understanding, wisdom and on free choice, rather than mutual need. This more than makes up for the fact that during the first part of their lives they missed much because they were somehow forced by circumstances beyond their control to spend it without a real companion and without true companionship, without having the slightest idea that all along within them they also held the key to a relationship that will be very real and may last, quite literally, forever.

The Emotional Pain Of Rejection

We are sure to have endured more than a fair share of emotional pain and rejection in our early years. This could have been of an obvious kind, such as the home where nobody touches or extends any overt display of affection or warmth to another. But, some of the manifestations can be more subtle variations on the same theme. There could have been plenty of material display and many gifts could have been given, great efforts could have been made to provide physical comfort, but no real recognition of us as an individual in our own right or love in a straightforward manner will have come our way. We may have had parents who loved us because we were their child, but they did not actually like us in a way which appreciated our unique individuality.

This is particular common among people who have children merely because it’s the accepted thing to do, but who unconsciously resent the responsibility. Whichever way it expressed itself, there will have been a lack of real love in the home. There could also have been unconscious rivalry or hostility against us from one or both parents. People from such backgrounds, as soon as they are old enough to stand on their own feet, usually are better off away from home, regardless of how much guilt and havoc this may create. The longer we stay in the parental nest, the greater our sense of inadequacy will be in later life and the more difficult the disentanglement from this emotional jungle is going to be.

Because there was so little genuine love and affection in our childhood, our capacity for expressing, for giving and receiving real affection has been cramped and twisted. Later in life, when we enter into male/female relationships, we have grown so accustomed to our defences that we find it impossible to untwist ourselves, in spite of feeling a deep and almost compulsive need to love and to be loved. But, because of our outer coolness and aloofness it becomes nearly impossible to express ourselves. We often have the feeling of being unloved and find it difficult to express love ourselves. We only seem to be able to do so in that slightly demanding, sometimes possessive, discontented, yet painfully sensitive and vulnerable manner.

This would not be surprising in three of four year old children, but it certainly is in adults. And yet, the only reason for behaving this way is because the world of our affections has been frozen. It has remained in a childlike and awkward state, whereas the rest of our character, including our defence mechanisms, has grown up around it. As a result, we may develop highly sophisticated ways in our search for happiness and love which does not bring pain. But, we never seem to succeed because our emotional nature in this area of our life is still that of a child.

Most of us are familiar with the behaviour of the child who, because it fears being unwanted and rejected, it can only express its need for affection through destructive actions. In its despair, it may resort to attempts at inflicting pain, or sulking and weeping. When we transfer this rather extreme picture to an adult body and mind, when we include the skill of displaying the surface coolness we developed over the years, then we hold the key to unlocking the peculiar and often misunderstood, by ourselves and those around us, emotional nature. It goes without saying that not all people with this aspect behave exactly like this. But, if we are absolutely honest with ourselves, we will be able to see that there is a touch of this quality within us, although it could be beautifully masked or outweighed by more self-expressive factors.

It is particularly rare to find men who express their vulnerability in this area of their life, as it is far less acceptable for a man to admit that he is afraid of being unloved. As a result, he is more likely to display the typically Saturnian exterior, which is a coldness that can extend to heartlessness. callousness towards the emotional pain of others, and a suspicious and jealous nature that expects to be betrayed eventually, in spite of constant reassurances. Yet, he may display a deep and unshakeable loyalty to a partner who may be abusive, dependent or in other ways the least deserving of objects. It is important to remember that these are people whose emotional growth in the realm of relationships has been stunted in childhood.

Bearing all this in mind, it is comparatively easy to see past the reputation this aspect has for saying that those afflicted by it are incapable of love. Furthermore, there is the need to understand that, what we usually call love, is nothing but the expression of need and sentiment. This must be observed and experienced in childhood to be convincing and since we are not familiar with the world of sentiment, we often feel awkward when confronted with it. For us, the idea of love is linked with sacrifice. Thus, we either avoid love entirely or make a sacrifice of ourselves or of our partner because we believe that’s what’s required from us.

By the way, I am not ashamed to admit to total ignorance of the correct motivations for wanting and having children when I had mine. I take comfort from the thought that, at childbearing age, hardly anyone will have the necessary awareness to appreciate that the child is being created through us, for we cannot create ourselves. How many know, at that age or any other, that our child is a unique spark of the Divine to be treasured and loved for its own individuality and not as an extension of ourselves? After all, we are here to learn and so I am grateful for the opportunity to find out so much in one single lifetime.

Happiest In The Competitive World Of Business

Until she becomes aware, the woman with this aspect is likely to be happiest in the competitive world of business, because here she really can excel. She may be driven to achievement because she genuinely loves work, responsibility and creative self-expression. Also, she feels that she cannot function properly in any feminine capacity, so that the masculine world becomes her only escape route. However, she is not a truly liberated woman, meaning one who has found her own centre and operates from there. Her real motivation is that she is frightened of her own womanhood, making her feel that she will always be a failure at it.

Within herself, she carries deep feelings of inferiority and unattractiveness, regardless of how physically appealing and attractive she may be. It is common to find such women in the world of the performing arts, as models, or as the modern equivalent of the courtesan, with perhaps less glamour than they enjoyed. For them, it is most important to be loved, admired, and thought of as beautiful. One can hardly call that liberation, for in truth it is an enslavement to fear. It is not for nothing that this aspect has the reputation of making a woman unpopular with her own sex. Because she despises and fears this sex within herself, she attracts the same from other women.

The prostitute is one extreme expression of this aspect. Because of the loneliness of this way of life, perhaps that is the most difficult one for a woman. The celibate spinster is at the opposite end of the spectrum, but they are not as opposite as they both would like to think. Each, in her own way, has found a way to avoid the pain of a deep emotional involvement without having to admit to herself that this is the true cause of her behaviour pattern. These two extremes bear a resemblance to the more typical woman with this aspect who chooses the role of the modern housewife. She has sold her soul and her dreams in exchange for the security and safety of a house, a car, and the guarantee of maintenance payments should her marriage fail. She may choose a partner not because she loves him, but because he is safe and cannot hurt her, as he cannot reach her more vulnerable feelings.

Surely, nothing can be more painful than one of these meaningless, loveless and joyless unions which, in truth, are not unions at all. At best, it will amount to a sharing of a roof, totally lacking that contact between two hearts, souls and spirits, which is the real purpose of marriage. When this has dragged on for too many years, it can be so utterly soul-destroying and lonely that it may finally release a well of courage we never thought we had inside, together with the wish to set ourselves free from our self-inflicted prison. If we do not want to destroy ourselves and we want to find the pot of gold at the end of this particular rainbow, which lies inside, it will become necessary to go in search of what is rightfully ours.

However, when we have learnt to love and appreciate ourselves for what we truly are, we shall also realise that we have deserved and earned a truly loving union with another, all the more so because we deprived ourselves for such a long time through our own ignorance. If we do not seize this opportunity, there will always be another lifetime. But beware, because if left unattended during this one, the task could be even more difficult to resolve. We shall have piled yet another layer of consciousness into our subconscious and the digging for gold will be tougher still. So, why not get to work? After all, the time is now.

Loving Saturn’s Way

A warning note doesn’t come amiss here, because it requires more from us than the mere satisfying of a personal need. As this is a love that cannot entertain any illusions, it is not surprising that so many people with this aspect are reluctant to pay what it demands from us. However, one does so to one’s detriment, as the rare and precious opportunity of developing the deepest side of our emotional nature, and to learn about the most meaningful aspects of relationships could have been ours, if only we had accepted what is being offered to us. There is no need for punishment to be meted out by the angry gods for those who choose to look the other way when Saturn demands his dues. Enduring the endless frustration and isolation of a meaningless life, means to pay more than enough.

In some cases, there can be over-compensation, which is highly frustrating because it is just as isolating. It is all too common for people with this aspect to follow relationship patterns in which the partner is a burden and emotionally, mentally, spiritually or physically ‘inferior’ in some way. Women may put up with husbands and lovers whom they despise or who, in some way, are a constant source of unhappiness to them. Yet, they find it nearly impossible to let go and will offer any one of a hundred excuses for maintaining an unsatisfactory and unrewarding relationship with such men. One needs to be careful to avoid martyrdom of the self-imposed kind, as it is an all too common manifestation of this aspect. It is plain to see that it takes some real courage to tackle all this, so that something constructive can be made out of it, in the end. However, life can be so unpleasant for people with this aspect that, finally, they may well gain access to their inherent source of courage, and that is most helpful.

As in all contacts with Saturn, the most important point is the realisation that, when there is ‘sorrow in love’, it is not the blind hand of a cruel fate dishing this out to us. Instead, it is vital to accept the responsibility of having created this ourselves during other lifetimes, in spite of the fact that we not consciously aware of how. Undoubtedly, the Venus/Saturn contact can be a most distressing aspect, especially to those who are sensitive and romantic by nature. However, if we are willing to take an honest look at the subconscious motives within ourselves which created the patterns of our disappointments, we can learn a tremendous amount, not only about ourselves, but also about the nature of relationships. With time, this knowledge will develop into wisdom and understanding. It can be used to establish a fully conscious and free relationship with another with the barest minimum of unconscious projection and a maximum of honesty. Only when we have truly learnt to love in freedom, from the heart and not from the solar plexus, meaning emotional and needful love, can we appreciate the gift that has been offered to us.

A man with this aspect in his chart may not have quite as difficult a time as his female counterpart, but he will usually display a deep general mistrust of women. He may choose what he considers to be a ‘safe’ partner. He often makes a great deal of what he calls duty which, in reality, is more like a type of martyrdom. In some men, there is a great deal of resentment or hostility towards women, which is caused by fear. A man who is affected by this, generally dislikes any woman, if she as much as displays any degree of intelligence or individuality. Because he feels his security threatened by women like her, he prefers to keep his women under control. He may display the typical ‘male chauvinist pig’ behaviour, so despised by the Women’s Liberation Movement. Ironically, this movement, in its more extreme expression, is populated by women with the same aspect that causes the offensive male behaviour. Could it be that, with infinite gentleness and patience, the Universe informs us, yet again, that like attracts like?

Why Do Some Men Dislike Women?

It may be useful to point out here that the dislike of women in any man is an indication that he dislikes his own intuitive female side, his inner woman. His main lesson in this lifetime is to learn to appreciate and love this part of himself, because for as long as he insists on operating purely on his logical faculties, his feeling and intuitive side will be blocked. As a result, he will find it impossible to understand women and their motivations. Yet, as his life progresses, opportunities are always being offered to him for learning to appreciate and love women and their ways, just the way they are. And with ever increasing awareness of what is at stake for him, he will find this quite achievable.

Since these feelings come from the subconscious, if he did not find out what is at the root of his problems, he could be going through a whole lifetime disliking and despising women, secretly or openly, without ever discovering why. What a shame and a waste of a lifetime that would be when so much could be achieved, if only he knew. For as long as one refuses to recognise that one has a problem, one cannot learn from one’s experiences. That is why our man – driven by his unconscious behaviour patterns – will continue to push all female company from him, until finally he finds himself completely isolated and lonely. He will not have much chance of gaining anything from all this, as he is meant to, unless he finally becomes so desperate that he reaches out for help. It does come to anyone who asks for it, but without asking help cannot reach us. That is the very reason why I have decided to include this in your chart. I am doing it in spite of the fact that I normally no longer deal with the aspects, in order to avoid my charts from getting to be too long.

These days, many women will no longer allow themselves to be controlled by anyone, thanks be to God. When she has learnt to appreciate herself, she will leave him and he is completely on his own. One extreme manifestation of this aspect is the man who prides himself in his loneliness, even within a marriage with a woman whom he secretly hates. Only a woman who has not yet learnt to love herself and her own femininity will endure this kind of treatment. If she does, almost certainly, this is caused by the fact that she has the same kind of energy operating inside her. She does not like herself and that is the reason why she endures his treatment. Through the pain and suffering this causes both of them, something eventually has to give in their relationship.

The ideal solution would be if both found out – at the same time – what is operating within them. If they could then make the decision to each change themselves, so that their relationship will work, they would indeed have a chance to succeed. If this does not happen or if only one of partner becomes aware of what is amiss, their marriage is doomed. It will then be only a question of time when their ways will separate, for separate they must, if they want to put an end to the pain. The one who breaks free has to do so in spite of their deepest, innermost fears which Saturn always stirs up in us. Those who wish to grow and evolve, have to overcome these fears and look for a partner with whom it is possible to develop a conscious and loving relationship from which both will and can benefit, as is their birthright.

In spite of our modern declarations to the contrary, meaningful relationships – whether one calls them marriage or not – are of major importance in the life and growth of everybody’s psyche. This is not only because of the actual experience, but also because of the inner reality which marriage symbolises. When we look at mythology and folklore, for example the marriage of Sun and Moon, at every new moon, one begins to glimpse the importance to our human psyche of marriage, as a symbol of union and integration.

Mother Church As A Substitute For Relationships

It is not surprising then that even those who eschew relationships for religious reasons have to find a suitable psychological substitute. As a result, the nun becomes the bride of Christ, while the priest offers his services to Mother Church. It is in our relationships that we are most vulnerable, and that is why they are such invaluable tools for personal growth, evolution and self-understanding. The building of a relationship, based on true love and free choice, is the most valid and difficult path any one of us can choose to walk. It is far more demanding than the most abstruse esoteric disciplines could ever be. You can bet your bottom dollar on it that, where Saturn is involved, this is always the case.

The reason why I have done so much work on one single aspect is that my own life has been deeply affected by some of its most painful manifestations. I take comfort from the fact that the experts tell me that there is no other way. If we wish to reap its benefits and emerge victoriously at the other end of this long and dark tunnel, we have to walk through it. After all, we have been given the gift of a whole lifetime to do it in and it does help to know that eventually we shall get there, if we are willing to learn. We will then have learnt to love wisely, to love and respect ourselves, so that out of this the same for others and all of Creation can grow; that is a truly Saturnian gift. Saturn’s rewards are always great when they come, but our patience, endurance and perseverance are sure to be tried and tested, often to what seems like past breaking point. Saturn, old father time himself, teaches sterling qualities, but they have to be worked for.

It used to puzzle me that I almost always used to find this aspect in all its variations in practically every chart I ever worked with, until the reason for this finally dawned on me. It happens because we are magnetic beings, which means that at all times we attract people with similar energies into our orbit. As I have this operating inside me, each person I encountered along the way – like me – was trying to come to terms with this aspect. That, however, was not the only reason why I investigated it in such detail. More important to me still was that by doing the work this requires during this lifetime, my energies will change for good. This will set me free to meet those who also have learnt this lesson already. I hasten to add that this does not mean that I do not love those afflicted in the same way as myself. Of course, I do, but I cannot wait that different experiences can come into my life, that is all. And when you have digested the above, you will understand why and may well feel the same.

Having spent all of my present lifetime thus far with coming to terms with Saturn, I am willing to share with you what it has taught me, so that you can benefit from my growing pains, if you choose to. Last but not least, a word of thanks and appreciation to Liz Green for her book ‘Saturn – a New Look at an Old Devil’. It helped me more than anything else in coming to terms with what is operating inside me. However, people can only point us in the right direction. We can glean from their suggestions, but no-one can do the work for us and no matter what happens in our lives, we ourselves are the bottom line. No-one can wave a magic wand or take our work from us. Not for nothing is Saturn called the planet of Karma and redemption, in whose rule-book faking is not allowed. Most important of all it is to remind ourselves frequently that no-one can redeem us, except we ourselves. Each must walk their own way and learn their own lessons from their own experiences, especially when Saturn is the teacher.

This Astro File is loosely based on Liz Green’s excellent book ‘Saturn – A New Look at an Old Devil’.

From 'Understanding Your Birthchart Better' (4)

Mars And Saturn In Hard Or Growth Aspect

 

If Mars and Saturn in your birthchart form one of the hard aspects, like a conjunction, square, semi-square or an opposition, you have my sympathy. Unless they are dealt with constructively, these aspects certainly are some of the most difficult ones that can be found anywhere. Yet, when encountered with a new understanding of what is at stake, a spirit of exploration and a willingness to learn, they can be turned into something beneficial, rewarding and positive. My observations and notes on this theme may also be of interest to you if your Mars is in Capricorn or the tenth house, the natural home of Capricorn. This has a similar effect to a Sun/Saturn conjunction.

This chapter of the Astro Files is dedicated to all who are suffering from one of these aspects. No matter what traditional astrology used to say about their severity, it is true that they can and frequently do bring considerable amounts of struggling into the lives of those affected by them. Fortunately, it is by now coming ever clearer that in truth all struggles only come into our lives, so that we may evolve and grow. They are meant to help us become more spiritually aware and better people who are capable of making some genuine evolutionary progress in their present lifetime.

The Universe is constantly testing us to assess the degree of our spiritual maturity. This is especially true for the trials that arise in the areas of our lives influenced by the hard Moon/Saturn aspects. However, if we willingly accept Saturn as our teacher und buckle down to doing the required work on our character, enormous soul growth will be ours through a renewed understanding of our own nature and the purpose and meaning of our present existence and all life. Alas, for as long as the soul still believes that it is struggling against unseen and unknown factors in its character make-up and life lessons, suffering seems to be unavoidable. Take it from me, the whole thing can be turned round and transformed into a success story. To understand this, we need to reach out a bit further.

In days gone by, the hard aspects had an exceedingly poor reputation for the simple reason that the time had not yet come for recognising their true value. The best that was known about them then was that they were an indication that the person, in whose chart they were found, was a thrifty and cautious soul. Fortunately, modern astrologers look at all difficult aspects with different eyes. We appreciate that in the part of our chart such aspects affect, a considerable inner struggle initially always takes place. However, through these conflicts dynamic spiritual growth can be achieved during this lifetime, if we are willing to pay attention to what the difficulties in our life are trying to teach us. The first step towards resolving any conflict is a growing inner awareness and understanding that everything that is in our life has purpose and meaning. The next and equally important step is trying to find out what our difficulties are trying to teach us.

No matter what traditional astrology used to say about these aspects, it is true that they can and frequently do bring considerable amounts of struggling into our lives. Fortunately, we are living in times when it is coming ever clearer that in truth all struggles only come into our lives, so that we may evolve and become more spiritually inclined and better people who are capable of making some genuine progress on the evolutionary spiral of life in our present lifetime. The Universe is constantly testing us to assess the degree of our spiritual maturity, especially with the trials that arise in the areas of our lives affected by the hard Mars/Saturn aspects. For those who willingly accept Saturn as their teacher und buckle down to doing the required work on their character, enormous soul growth will eventually be achieved through a new understanding of themselves and the purpose and meaning of their present existence and all life.

As the contacts between Mars and Saturn are usually extremely painful and difficult ones – especially for those who are not usually given to introversion and self-examination – those affected by them to my mind are indeed in need of some assistance. That is why these notes came into being. The first and most important step towards recovery and healing from the inner wounds we received through the effects of the lessons provided by these aspects, is facing up to the fact that everybody has a strong potential for being both their own best friend and their worst enemy. It’s just that when one of these aspects is found in our chart we have an especially great need for learning to stop acting against our own best interest and learning to be our best friend, at all times.  Whether we are as yet consciously aware of this or not, we do not have much of an appetite for power. These aspects could be indications that during previous lifetimes we abused the power we were given over others. That’s why during our present return to the Earth plane we may initially be denied all access to power. This is because the intention behind this soul lesson is that we should learn to gain access to our own inner power and take possession of it.

The Hidden Parts Of Our Consciousness

When one of these aspects is found in our chart, hidden in the deepest parts of our consciousness on the subconscious level, waiting to be dealt with and released, there is quite a bit of ruthlessness and cruelty. As it operates from the subconscious, this may not show at all on the surface of our character, but it is there. It may reveal itself in our present lifetime as cruelty we had to and maybe still are experiencing at the hand of others. The result of this could be that we are inordinately passive and not at all willing to defend ourselves, as and when the need for doing so arises, possible for the simple reason that we are afraid. There could have been physical maltreatment in our childhood, which in later life may have led to sexual inhibitions and difficulties. There is only one way forward and out of this and that means lovingly resolving our difficulties and overcoming them through a) a better understanding of this lesson, b) forgiveness for those who trespassed against us and c) the same for ourselves for creating the necessity for this lesson.

The concept of our will could have an exaggerated importance in our life and we could often feel as if we had no will of our own or – at least – when we try to express it, doing so may frequently feel ineffective. This is because throughout this lifetime, as likely as not, our will has often been overlooked and thwarted. The task before us is to develop inner confidence in our own will and our own decisions. I find it helpful to have become aware that the most painful things we experience in our present lifetime are the ones we did to others in a previous one. If we can learn to fully accept this, it will be the beginning of finally finding forgiveness and maybe even love for those who hurt and wounded us. Knowing that this is possible is a vital part of the healing journey of this lifetime. Through finding forgiveness towards those who hurt and upset us, we not only set them free but – more important – we release ourselves and are then ready to love again. Nobody would pretend that this is easy, but it can be done, and if we are willing to act accordingly our reward will come as sure as night follows day.

One of these aspects is also in my own chart and because it is such a painful and difficult one, this investigation first came into being. Now, I am ready to share the result with you, in the hope that you too may find it helpful. The likelihood is that in past lives you and I failed to give adequate expression to our physical resources. We may have been over-concerned with proving our physical strength, as a means of gaining status. To make our point, we could have resorted to acts of cruelty, possibly against those weaker than us. We could have been very hard working and over-concerned with gaining respect for our efforts. We had high standards of self-discipline and may have attempted to force them upon those around us, and could have acted as slave drivers in the home or at work, possibly both.

On our return to the world of spirit, we learnt that as far as our physical drives are concerned, it is important to develop a balanced sense of responsibility. To practice this during this lifetime, it is going to be helpful to allow ourselves to be guided by a sincere wish to play our part, rather than the urge to gain social status or respect. During this lifetime, we may find that our physical drive is somehow impaired. This could either be because of a physical disability or through some form of weakness. We could also be somewhat accident-prone, and may always have a sneaking feeling that all our efforts never get us anywhere. Even to achieve average results, we seem to have to make a far greater effort than anyone else. We have difficulties asserting ourselves and constantly feel frustrated, because we lack the confidence to assert ourselves, the way others can. We are so afraid of being ridiculed and that our weaknesses could all too easily be spotted, that we constantly avoid confrontations. We may suffer from impotence or frigidity or maybe just a general sense of sexual inadequacy, and we are extremely inhibited when it comes to expressing our innermost passionate feelings.

Because of all this, some of us develop into workaholics, who are unable to switch off the adrenalin flow, even when we have reached our point of exhaustion. This makes us highly susceptible to physical or nervous breakdowns and other forms of illness. We could be tempted to become promiscuous, in the hope that this may prove that we are capable of sexual conquest, after all. We may suffer cruelty at the hands of others who try to get the better of us, when we have no chance of retaliation. Usually, this expresses itself through our father or other male partners. Our upbringing is likely to have been excessively disciplined, with too much stress on the importance of hard work, responsibility and physical endurance. We could have been forced to suppress forms of self-expression, like anger, temper and tears, because they were considered by those around us as wasteful. And there could have been a general disapproval of sexual expression in our home background.

The male figures in our life, especially our father or our male partner, if we are a woman, could be workaholics and/or prone to excessive self-discipline and self-repression. As a result, we could be suffering from physical stress symptoms, particularly inflammations, such as eczema and ulcers. These are caused by frustrated energy that is constantly being channelled inwards, because it can never release itself outwards in a natural way. Periodic bitter outbursts will, at least once in a while, help to release the tension, which is building up within all the time.

During this lifetime it may be necessary for us to face up to the following challenges:

•    Considering the extent to which we could be repeating past lifetime negative behaviour patterns.

•    Taking personal responsibility for difficulties we experience, as a result of physical disability or accidents; a sense of frustration; feelings of personal inadequacy; fear of appearing to be ineffective; inhibited self-expression and sexual hang-ups; the tendency to become a workaholic; anxiety and stress-related ailments; cruelty at the hands of others, as well as an excessively disciplined upbringing.

•    Asking ourselves whether we are fulfilling our obligations to express our physical resources. Learn to giving for giving’s sake and not because of a sense of obligation towards the world around us that is dictated by a desire to gain social respect and standing.

•    Cultivating patience and make a moderate but structured effort of building up our physical strength and endurance, as well as learning to assert ourselves in diplomatic and loving ways. In time and with perseverance, Saturn will change its role from teacher into rewarder and assist us with achieving the goals we have always been dreaming of.

This chapter of the Astro Files is loosely based on the book ‘Astrology of Karma’ by Pauline Stone.

From 'Understanding Your Birthchart Better' (5)

Uranus And Saturn In Hard Or Growth Aspect

If Saturn and Uranus in your birthchart form one of the hard aspects, like a conjunction, square, semi-square or an opposition, you have my sympathy. Unless they are dealt with constructively, these aspects certainly are some of the most difficult ones that can be found anywhere. Yet, when encountered with a new understanding of what is at stake, a spirit of exploration and a willingness to learn, they can be turned into something beneficial, rewarding and positive.

Modern astrology recognises aspects of this nature as means to provide opportunities for a great deal of soul growth and expansion of consciousness. They are an indication that, at least once in a while, you may find yourself in trouble with people in authority and those who want to keep the status quo, for no better reason than that they consider this to be safe. There is also quite a conflict raging within you between the old and the new, that which has been and that which is waiting to come into manifestation. Although you resent people who try to tell you what to do, you would do well to pay attention to the lesson this aspect is trying to teach you, namely that true freedom, personal as well as spiritual, can only be achieved through taking personal respon¬sibility for oneself, one’s every word, thought and action.

When this aspect is found in our chart, the likelihood is that during past lives, we channelled insufficient efforts into the community we lived in. We may have shown disrespect or prejudice towards those around us. And if we took an active part in the life of the community we lived in, our sole motivation could have been the gaining of status, rather than a true desire to serve the good of the whole.

In the world of spirit, between lives, we were taught about the importance of taking personal responsibility towards the whole and that every soul needs to do its share of bringing about a social environment in which everybody is allowed to be themselves, to do their own thing, give of the best of their abilities to do their share of creating a more peaceful world by living in harmony with and co-operating with those around them. We learnt that any social work we do needs to be motivated by sincere convictions for the good of the whole, rather than a desire for increasing our social status and the aggrandisement of our ego.

As a result of the way we conducted ourselves in past lifetimes and the Karma we thus created, in this lifetime we may:

•    Constantly feel like outsiders amongst our peers, because they are unwilling to accept us the way we are and what we have to offer.

•    Our ideas, no matter how original and inspired they may be, may frequenly be rejected.

•    Have to work extra hard to make friends and, in spite of all our efforts, we always have very few contacts.

•    Suffer from compulsions and anxieties, due to an excessive concern about what others may think of us.

•    Be diffident and self-conscious in groups, because we are afraid of doing the wrong things, being singled out or ridiculed. As a result, we may prefer to avoid group activities, causing us depressions because this vital aspect of our human nature is blocked.

•    We may prefer friendships with older people, as their maturity makes us feel less self-conscious.

•    If we persevere with social involvements, we could be so anxious about our social standing that this in time may lead to stress-related ailments. There is also a possibility that we could over-commit ourselves to social obligations. They too in due course could result in suffering through nervous exhaustion and strain.

Our challenge for this lifetime consists of:

•    Considering to what extent we could be repeating past lifetime negative behaviour patterns.

•    Taking personal responsibility for any difficulties we may experience in group activities and also for the lack of true friends.

•    Asking ourselves whether we are fulfilling our obligation in playing our part in the community we live in.

•    Question whether any sense of obligation, if we have any, stems from true inner convictions and the desire to give of ourselves and our gifts, or whether we are motivated by our needfulness for social respect and status.

•    Being regularly committed to a group or club in our local community is helpful in guiding us into fulfilling our role as one of its rightful members.

This chapter of the Astro Files is loosely based on the book ‘Astrology of Karma’ by Pauline Stone.

From 'Astrology As A Lifehelp In Relationship Healing' (1)

Saturn And The Lords Of Karma

The poet W.H. Auden, when asked why he was migrating from the United Kingdom to the United States, said: ‘I love my family, but I don’t want to live with them!’ Now, there is honesty for you and if we were all equally truthful with ourselves, many would express the same feelings. Let us not jump to conclusions though and assume that these people are hypocrites. Maybe they are the wise ones, especially if they are consciously and patiently putting up with the lessons their difficult relationships are teaching them. With sufficient awareness, ever more of us will be able to grasp the opportunities that are now on offer to help us resolve all of the Karmic ties that still exist within our families.

Auden’s comment puts the finger straight onto humankind’s Achilles heel and sorest spot. He undoubtedly knew that Karma in families is the worst or best stage – depending from which angle one views the situation – on which the great drama of life is constantly and relentlessly unfolding  in all its glory and squalor, as the case may be. With its personality clashes, differences of opinion, power struggles and abuse of power present day family life holds its own when compared with the great Greek tragedies of the past. The main trouble with all of us is that – for a very long time blissfully unaware of this is what are doing – we are busily and happily creating Karma, good, bad and indifferent, some of the very best and some of the worst. Unfortunately, this is what far too many in our world are doing to this day.

Thus is comes about that, when we as children have to endure any kind of abuse. It does not come into our lives to make it difficult or unendurable for us, but is the outworking of the law of Karma. Things of this nature are not some kind of punishment either. Nothing could be further from the truth. Any type of traumatic incident is meant to jerk the human soul into waking up from its spiritual slumber, so that it may accept the responsibility for itself and its actions at last.

When handled in the right way, such events invariably represent opportunities for resolving our most difficult karmic relationships and their unresolved issues, which we have brought with us into this lifetime from previous ones. Distressing experiences always represent attempts at balancing our spiritual bankbook. The Universal Forces of justice hope that in this way one more file can be closed and the sufferer set free to be rewarded and promoted to life lessons of a more elevated nature.

Eventually every one of us who to this day is suffering on the Earth plane grows into spiritual adulthood and recognises the true purpose and meaning of humankind’s earthly existence. When we become aware of the Universal law of cause and effect that it is at work throughout the whole of Creation, including human life, our soul’s need for seeking healing stirs within. The Angels, who attend to all our needs, then guide us towards people who can help us to get started on our personal healing journey. Our inner doors begin to open as soon as we seriously get to work on resolving any outstanding issues and making peace with ourselves, with God and all life. This sets us free to express our true loving nature more fully. As a result, forgiveness begins to flow quite naturally from our heart and soul into the perpetrator’s consciousness.

Just as important is the next step of finding forgiveness for ourselves for having created the need for the painful circumstances of our lives in the first place. These two types of pardon earn us the nod of approval from the Masters and Angels in charge of us and our world, known as the Lords of Karma. They alone have the power of wiping even the most traumatic incidents from the spiritual ledgers that are kept on the highest levels of life in the form of the Akashic Records. As soon as the Lords have removed the events from the ledger they no longer exist anywhere and the parties involved are released from the otherwise endless repetition of the same experiences. At last their spirits and souls are given the long yearned for freedom to move on to exploring the higher levels of consciousness.

Although none of them will ever be seen by earthly eyes, as far as humankind’s existence and spiritual development is concerned, possibly the most important group that is incessantly working in the spiritual background of life are the Lords of Karma. They are the eagle-eyed and incorruptible keepers of every human soul’s bankbook. This in turn is an essential  part of the great spiritual ledger of all life. The Lords do not dwell on some far distant planet millions of light years away, but are part of us and therefore have no difficulties watching over us earthlings. With great love and care they monitor us and are aware of every one of our thoughts, words and actions on the Earth plane. Stern and undeviating Saturn is the astrological symbol of this aspect of the Great Mother’s wisdom. It ensures that everything in our world balances in the end, the same as it has to in the rest of God’s creation. And that is why spiritually no-one will ever get away with anything.

The restrictions imposed upon us by the wise ones in charge of us are necessary because of the precocious and inquisitive, initially rebellious and irresponsible, utterly selfish, cruel and thoughtless nature of the human spirit, when it first enters life on the Earth plane. How else could any one of us have come to grips with the dualities and polarities in the behaviour patterns and attitudes of our earthly and higher nature? This is how, over vast time spans stretching over thousands of Earth years, every human spirit slowly evolves from one extreme to the other, from the lowest earthly self to the highest Christed being.

As each aspect of our evolutionary cycle is as indispensable and valuable as any other, it is compulsory and cannot be by-passed by anyone. Therefore, there is no need to look down our noses on those who are still struggling with the lower end of the their earthly education. We are not better than they are, merely a bit older and more experienced, that’s all. There is no need to condone their deeds, but we need to remind ourselves frequently that they are our younger siblings in the vast family of humankind. As such they have deserved to be treated with compassion and love. They need our tolerance and understanding to ease them into their own awakening, just as much as we once did when we were at their present development stage.

The Divine demands from all its children of the Earth that, as we grow into spiritual maturity and adulthood, we make a serious effort to master the art of self-discipline and self-restraint. For all souls each earthly lifetime is a precious gift that brings further opportunities to develop their sense of responsibility for themselves, their world and towards all lifeforms that dwell on the same plane of life. Time and again, each one of us is placed in this life so that eventually we should be able to bring forth, each from within the very core of their own being, the most cherished Christ qualities. Among them are wisdom and love, truth and honesty, absolute loyalty and integrity, tolerance and compassion.

When this long hidden aspect of our nature finally wakes up, it finds its deepest satisfaction and greatest fulfilment in serving the highest good and the greatest joy of all. Going in search of big bucks and self-glorification no longer fulfils us and makes us happy. This explains why Saturn, the stern disciplinarian, as the co-ruler of Aquarius in conjunction with Uranus, the liberator, guards the gates of the Aquarian Age. He – or rather the Lords of Karma – take care that no soul that thus far does not measure up is allowed to enter into the greater freedom of the new age.

There are many groups who, like the Lords, are patiently and quietly toiling behind the scenes of Earth life. Together they are constantly pushing forwards and upwards the unfoldment of this age and with it the development not merely of our race but of our whole world. The animal kingdom as much as the rest of Mother Nature, her trees, plants and flowers, her Sun, wind, clouds and rain receive their attention. The consciousness of our race for some time now has been focussing ever more on the interrelatedness of all life. A special relationship has always existed  between humankind and its friends and helpers in the world of light, in spite of the fact that for such a long time they had to remain invisible to earthly eyes.

From the awareness of humankind’s kinship and siblinghood with all life grows the understanding that it is impossible to utter even one unkind word against another without hurting ourselves. Therefore, whenever someone acts cruelly against another in thought, word or deed, all they can hope to achieve in the end is drawing the same kind of experience towards themselves. This is never meant to be some kind of vengeance or retribution, but is merely a result of the outworking of the Universal laws. Love is the law of life and all of life is one vast spiritual family in which each atom is inseparable from every other one. And this loving union  forever has been and in all Eternity will be safely held in the wisdom, love and power of the Divine spirit of our true parents, the Great White Spirit, Father/Mother of all life. All glory, all honour and all praise be to Thee.

From 'Astrology As A Lifehelp In Relationship Healing' (2)

Healing Prayer For Relationships

O Great Spirit, Mother/Father Creator,
Grant me the gift of Your Divine wisdom and forgiveness,
So that I may pardon each and every one
Who ever hurt or wounded me, including myself.
Help me to forgive every cruelty and unkindness
That was ever done to me by anyone, in word, thought and deed.
With hindsight, I can see that all who treated me this way
Supplied me with a special service and were my best teachers,
Because they all helped me to become the one I am now,
And for that, Great Spirit, I truly am thankful.

Thank you for showing us that each one of us is Your child
Whom You have granted the gift of another lifetime on the Earth,
So that we should learn and grow some more,
Each through their own experiences.
Thank you for the Angels, Masters and guides who are
Protecting us and lighting the way back home into the oneness with You.
I rejoice to know that we are all children in the great school of life,
Which You so lovingly have created for us.

I pray for Your forgiveness for the mistakes I have made,
Throughout this whole lifetime and all previous ones.
Help me to draw the learning from them,
So that I may bring forth all that is good and noble within me,
Finding wholeness and healing through becoming
Ever more like You and being closer to You.

As the road of this earthly life is long and difficult
And strewn with many kinds of temptations
Which my earthly self finds hard to resist,
Assist me with being strong in my determination to overcome them.
Help me to accept and love myself the way I am,
Safe in the knowledge that Your great wisdom and love
Created me – and everybody else – in Your Divine image,
And that you love us all totally and unconditionally.

To break the vicious circle of acting against my own best interests
And of being my own worst enemy,
When it comes to solving any problem, help me
To listen to Your help and guidance that comes
From deep within my own heart, where You dwell.
Help me to stop finding fault with myself and those around me,
But to love and accept myself and them they way we are.
Whenever I encounter difficulties, especially in relationships,
Grant me the gift of the ability to first look to myself to resolve them.

Now that I understand that the purpose of life on Earth
Is growth and evolution that leads each and every one of us
To ever higher levels of consciousness,
And knowing that all my experiences only ever happened
Because they meant to teach me something,
I let go of all resentment and grudges I ever
Bore against anyone, including myself.

Help me, Great Spirit, to love wisely, the way You do,
Myself and everything that comes my way,
Knowing that it is part of Your Creation,
That it has been prepared by Your great wisdom and love.
Help us all to dissolve the chains and shackles of Karma that
Have bound us to each other, for so many lifetimes,
So that we may set ourselves and each other free
From the bondages that were created
By the darkness of the ignorance of our true nature of past Ages.

Help us to free our world from all hatred, resentment, envy and greed,
And to fill us and it with Your Divine Wisdom, Power and Love.
My soul yearns to make peace with You and all life,
Because I now so much better understand
You and the processes of the life
You created for us.

* * *

Help me to forgive the mother of this lifetime for any unlovingness
She has shown towards me, knowingly or unknowingly, especially . . .
[Now pour your pain into God, who understands the way of all things]
Help me to forgive her for the times she failed to provide me with
The deep and fully satisfying Mother’s nurturing
That only You, my Divine Mother, can give to any of Your children.
Help me to forgive myself for expecting
Such love from someone who is merely human,
Like myself and who is, therefore, but one of your children,
On her own pathway of evolution and therefore still imperfect.

Help me to forgive the father of this lifetime for any unlovingness
He has shown towards me, knowingly or unknowingly, especially . . .
[Now pour your pain into God, who does understand]
Help me to forgive him for the times he failed to provide me with
The deep and fully satisfying Father’s love,
Forgiveness and understanding that You alone, my Divine Father,
Can feel towards all my efforts.
Help me to forgive myself for expecting
Such love from one who is merely human,
Like myself and who is, therefore, but one of your children,
On his own pathway of evolution and still imperfect.

Help me to forgive my partner for any unlovingness
S/he showed towards me, during the times You have given us together,
Knowingly or unknowingly. Especially . . .
[Now pour your pain into God, who does understand]
Help me to forgive her/him and also myself for
Any hurt and pain we ever caused each other,
For misunderstandings and abuse of any kind,
For not entering into the deep and fully satisfying
Relationship that is only possible between You and me.
Help me to recognise that it is folly to expect such
Perfect love and understanding from a mere human being who,
Like me, is Your child, on her/his own pathway of evolution
And therefore still imperfect.

Continue with this prayer until each and every one,
Who has ever hurt or wounded you, has been forgiven.
Finish off with:

Help me to forgive myself for all false expectations I ever hoped
Could be fulfilled in any of my human relationships,
When this can only be found in You, my Divine Mother/Father.
You are the Divine lover, who is alive in each one of us,
And You alone have the power to know and fulfil all my needs.
All those around me and with me are but outer manifestations of You.
And each one who has ever shared my life with me,
Is Your child and constantly searching the perfect loving relationship
That we can only have with You.

Help me to forgive my children for being [or having been]
Unable to fulfil the unrealistic hopes and dreams I once nurtured,
And that made me long and yearn for them,
Ever since I myself was a child who had to endure the suffering
At the hands of parents and other adults,
Who as yet failed to understand their own true nature and Yours,
And the reason why they were here.
Having no idea about the purpose and meaning of this life,
How could they understand me?

Thank You for allowing me access to the knowledge that
The children who came through me are not my children but Yours
And that they are in this life to fulfil their own Dreams
And reach their own Highest potential, not mine.
Like me, they are hoping to re-learn to walk
Hand in hand with You and the Angels, the way we all once did.

Help me, Great Spirit, to forgive myself and all those
Who ever hurt and wounded me for the suffering we,
In the ignorance of our true nature,
Inflicted upon each other, in the course of many lifetimes.
Help us all to set each other free.

Hand in hand with You and the Angels,
I release all those who have ever shared my life
From the Karmic chains and shackles of all lifetimes,
I forgive each and every one and set them free, now.
May the bonds that exist between us be transmuted into those of
True siblinghood, friendship and love,
For You, each other and the world You so lovingly
Brought into being for us, and re-create anew each day to our joy.

With my whole being, with all my heart and soul,
Mind, body and spirit I thank You for the gift of this life.
May the blessing and healing Power of Your Spirit
Now freely flow through me and all those mentioned in my prayer.
I love You with all my heart and soul and my whole being,
And I trust the blessing and healing power of
Your Divine Fatherly/Motherly wisdom and love
To bless and heal the wounds of all lifetimes in me and all life.

Amen

From 'Astrology As A Lifehelp In Relationship Healing' (3)

Psychic Protection

Because of our inner connectedness we all react to each other from the subconscious level. That’s why psychic protection is of the greatest importance as much in family relationships as it is in all other encounters. It is especially true when it comes to dealing with the people with whom we have difficult Karmic lessons to undergo and issues to resolve. This makes both sides specially vulnerable and leaves them wide open to psychic invasions by the negative vibrations they are constantly receiving from each other. Also, the more our spiritual awareness increases, the higher our sensitivity to the detrimental psychic influences that emanate from others becomes.

Therefore, whenever we have to go through hurtful or negative experiences or sense that we are otherwise in danger of absorbing the negativity of those around us, we are in need of protecting our psychic space. If someone around us gives out negative vibrations, intentionally or otherwise, whether they originate from this level of life or any other, the best advice I have ever come across was from White Eagle.
 
He recommends that in such situations we quickly fold our aura around us, similar to an Angel closing its wings. For me it works best when I say in my mind: ‘Like an Angel folding its wings and like a flower closing its petals when the Sun goes down, I now close my aura around me; I am safe.’ I find it helpful to accompany these words by making some corresponding movements with my hands and taking several deep breaths, breathing in the Great White Light of God and breathing out love.

To my mind, everybody by rights should always have the benefit of this kind of protection. I suggest practising it especially first thing in the morning and last thing at night, as well as any time in between, as and when you feel the need for it.

From the White Eagle Lodge Calendar March 2008: ‘To protect your aura, immediately you feel a hurtful or negative condition, or think you may be picking something up, quickly fold your aura round you, like an Angel folds its wings. Do this mentally. You will help this process by taking several deep breaths. Draw in the Great White Light. Nothing can then touch you; you have got everything within. It is like a flower closing up, as the Sun goes down.’

From 'Astrology As A Lifehelp In Relationship Healing' (4)

The Dynamics Of Human Relationships And The Law Of Attraction

Do you sincerely wish for our world to become a more peaceful place? If so, the one thing you cannot do is to sit on your behind and wait for a large hand to reach down from the Heavens and wave a magic wand. Each one of us has to do their share of bringing this kind of a world into being. To enable us to do this, first of all we require a change of heart and consciousness and that can only come about through looking at our world from the perspective of its spirit background and with the perception of that realm.

Every human being’s eventually reaches this point of their development. It then begins to dawn on us that the world of our dreams can and will not happen on its own and that it can only do so when all of us are doing our best to conduct  our lives in ever more peaceful ways. This particularly applies to every one of our human relationships. As their dynamics are of an extremely complex nature, they benefit from a closer examination.

To enable us to make the progress on our evolutionary pathway that is every human being’s birthright, we first need to recognise and accept that everybody has everything within, that nobody is all good or all bad and that all of us are a diverse mixture of many different things. Some people in our lives consistently cause us problems of one kind or another and no matter how hard we try, they will not go away. Wise ones take a good and honest look at themselves to see what it is, on the outer as well as on the inner subconscious level, that is trying to bring to their attention that something is in need of change, so that things on the outer plane can improve.

We are magnetic beings and the law of attraction is at work in all life, including each one of us. This law sees to it that humans can only draw into their orbit that which they themselves are. Wherever we may find ourselves at any given time, that is always the right place. We are there to integrate certain lessons and the world around us can be used to help us find out what they may be. The environment is designed to act like a mirror of our unconscious inner self. At any given time it is doing its best to help us become more whole by reflecting our inner world back to us.

That is why we can only see in others what we ourselves are. Alas, rather than living our less pleasant traits out, in a psychological process known as projection we prefer to assign them to others, rather than owning up to them ourselves. The world around us is always a reflection of the good as well as the distasteful behaviour patterns of others, which in truth are also our own. Nobody has any problems when it comes to integrating and owning the good qualities that are on display in this way. But having to deal with the less desirable and endearing ones is another matter entirely. Irrespective of how objectionable any of them are, in the process of becoming more whole it is essential that we own up to them. Even if our psyche tries to hide them from our conscious awareness,  they are there nonetheless. This is proved by the fact that we can recognise them in others whilst failing to see in them in us.

If our energies and characteristics were not so similar to the ones of those who irritate and annoy us – including our nearest and dearest – we would never have drawn a relationship with them into our lives, because we would not have needed it. But, the way things have been thus far in our evolutionary plan of life, we most certainly do. For as long as we suffer intensely from the nastier character traces we observe in others, we are receiving signals from the Universe that the same is tucked away inside us, in our own subconscious, waiting to be released.

Human behaviour is not compulsive and each soul can and indeed must in due course learn to choose how to behave in any given situation. This is where our much cherished freedom of choice comes into the picture, and that is the only true freedom the human soul has, while it is held captive by its physical body. The way someone behaves and the choices they make reveal better than anything else the evolutionary level that person’s soul has reached thus far. This gives a clear picture to our guides and masters on the higher levels of life of how much we have up to now learnt to control and master the lower aspects of our nature. Most of all this reveals itself in all our relationships with our environment, especially our human contacts and within that framework in particular with our nearest and dearest. That is why each one of these connections is of the greatest importance to every soul.

There is nothing to be afraid of here. We have not been given free will for nothing; we must exercise it and choose in any situation how we wish to behave. Nobody has to act upon any bad or downright evil impulses; there is always a choice. It is up to us to resist the pull of our lower nature and rise above its instincts and urges. The characteristics we observe as unpleasant in those around us will only continue to annoy and irritate us for as long as the same ones are lurking in our own subconscious. I can think of no better way than asking God and the Angels to help me lift them into my conscious awareness, so I can accept and acknowledge them. This I follow by a response of a firm: ‘No!’ and ask that they should be released and their energies transmuted into wholesome and good ones. That in a nutshell is evolution. It is a process that demands constant changes from us and our world; that is why nothing ever remains the same.

It is possible to influence others and those on the healer’s pathway ensure to do this in positive ways only. Anyone who to this day believes they can change someone else is chasing an illusion, because that is impossible. In all human relationships projection is always at work. It is a normal part of human behaviour. Everybody does it, so let this not worry you. Next time you find yourself in troublesome relationships and situations, stop feeling bad about them or yourself. Bearing in mind that the only person in the whole wide world that can be changed by us is ourselves, do something constructive and positive and get to work, not on the people who are irritating you, but on yourself.

Whenever we have problems with others and want their behaviour towards us to change, we must first sweep in front of our own door. To find a resolution we have to look within and with utmost honesty examine our own mannerisms and deep seated inner attitudes. They are the culprits and the cause of all our difficulties. First we have to assess our problem, then our search for a solution can begin. This is a journey like any other that starts with the question: ‘Where am I now, where do I want to go and how can I get there?’

A satisfying outcome and a resolution of the conflicts that are so frequently experienced in human relationship that upset our equilibrium can in my view only be achieved through a change of heart. What we require most of all is a better understanding of the background of the offender and the difficulties they may be struggling with, which are making them behave the way they do. The very efforts we are making towards this end starts to change our own vibration towards the offender into a more loving one.

Because of the special dynamics between people it frequently happens in such cases that those around us respond to the different vibrations we are then radiating in their direction. The effect of this can sometimes border on the miraculous. With some people this process takes longer than with others, but spiritually every small effort anyone makes towards improving their human relationships into more loving ones are recognised and rewarded by God and the Angels.

If we but ask, the Universe is all too happy to show each one of us how to go about changing our own attitudes, so that those around us can respond to them. Why not try it for yourself? Given time, you will be able to watch how the miracle of growing more loving that is taking place within you is affecting the world around you and how the people in it reflect your own lovingness back to you.

From 'Astrology As A Lifehelp In Relationship Healing' (5)

Reassessing All Relationships

Many by now have reached the evolutionary point for reassessing all their relationships and for leading those that are worthy of staying in our lives in better and more holistic ways than has ever been possible before. Just look around you and see how fraught human relationships all too frequently seem to be these days, on an individual level as well as world wide. Life is difficult because many of our old institutions are breaking up and disintegrating.

It seems that one of them is marriage. To my mind, this is largely due to and connected with everyone’s need for integrating and coming to terms with the fact that we all contain everything, the Highest and the lowest qualities, as well as feminine and masculine energy. This awareness that on the inner level of life each one of us already is whole and consists of both woman and man, does away with the need for seeking others to make us whole. Women are ever more integrating and becoming one with their inner man; and the same is happening for men and their inner woman.

We are all in this life to find healing for our crippled and wounded inner child, so that it may rise from its wheelchair, metaphorically speaking. We are that child and to find healing and peace for our adult self, we first have to attend to our child part, so that it can learn to smile and laugh and trust again. Before we can walk and run into the wide open and waiting arms of our Divine parents, Father/Mother, without any fears and inhibitions, our child first has to practise crawling and toddling. To achieve this, our most urgent requirement is a complete change of inner attitudes towards ourselves.

During the journey back home into our true nature, the small wounded child within must have its say, at least from time to time. Whenever its wishes surface, they are doing so for good reason. They are asking to be looked at and healed, through our own love and compassion for the suffering we experienced when we were small, helpless and at the mercy of those around us. For me, the best way of finding healing has been through a better general understanding of myself, my life and life in general. That is what to me the healing journey of this whole lifetime has been all along and still is.

That is why when my inner child’s feelings rise to the surface during meditations, I no longer suppress them but allow them to rise to the surface of my consciousness. For as long as it is necessary, I do a bit of wallowing in self-pity, if you want to call it that, though that is not what it truly is. To me, it as a necessary part of the healing process that helps our tears to come. And tears are the Universe’s, by that I mean God and the Angels’, way of comforting us and bringing us healing.

 I believe that suppressing such feelings is wrong. They too are very real and the only reason why they are surfacing now is that they were not properly expressed at the time, never mind anyone being around to comfort us. This healing process can be exceedingly painful, but my own life has taught me that it works and how. If that’s what it does for, it is sure to do the same for you. So, why not have a go yourself? As long one does not carry this attitude of wallowing in self-pity forward into one’s daily life, the way it is now, there is nothing wrong with a spoonful of this kind of bitter medicine. Taken with discrimination and in small doses, at the right moment and in the right place, whilst communicating with the Universe, it can be highly beneficial.

That helps us to face all our other human relationships with more strength. Why is it that they are so fraught and difficult? To me, one of the main reasons is that for as long as we insist on looking for fulfilment in another human being, no relationships is likely to work out satisfactorily in the long run. To overcome any of our problems, as always, we first have to look towards ourselves and wake up to the reality of who we are and why we are here. This also applies to our relationship problems. There is no point in searching in those around us for what they have not got, because they are not meant to have it. As likely as not, they themselves are still hoping to find it – probably in us.

Knowing that inner manifestation always comes before outer, wise ones however look for whatever they want from life within and develop it there. They are aware that the kind of security we all are seeking is the one that only our Highest Self can give us and that it can only be found within. It cannot be provided by other people, because it is not meant to; they too are here for the same reason. As one starts looking in the right place, relationships begin to run more smoothly. One no longer enters into them with false and expectations that cannot be fulfilled, because they are not meant to.

Why are women and men naturally dependent upon each other? On the physical level, for as long as physical bodies are required for incoming souls to enter into and take part in earthly life, this will continue. On the inner level, however, this has never been true. We shall return to this theme in another chapter. Now that we have entered a new age, big evolutionary changes are taking place and they are stressful and take a great deal of adjusting to. The way I see it, we do need human beings around us and with us on our pathway. Indeed we do, because it is through our human relationships that we grow and develop. This situation will ease as ever more of us return into the conscious awareness of their own true nature again. We then realise that each one of us is whole within themselves and that in truth we do not need other people to make us whole. And that stops us from looking for fulfilment in others and for being made whole by someone else’s presence.

In previous lifetimes, women and men lived their earthly existence vicariously, through each other. All she knew then was that she was woman, no more and no less – and did the same. The men in a woman’s life acted out her masculine part for her and reflected her own masculine energies back to her. By now, many are becoming increasingly aware that wholeness could never be found in others, but only within, because it represents every soul’s own inner connection with its Highest or God Self. Other people were never meant to replace the missing part of ourselves, which we have been seeking ever since we left behind the conscious awareness of our oneness with God and all life. This happened for wise evolutionary purposes and is the reason why no matter how close our relationship with anyone ever was or will be, the other one can never become fully one with us – no more than anyone else can, on the inner level of life. The only way of being one with any other being is on that level, where we and all life always have remained one, in any case.

From 'Astrology As A Lifehelp In Relationship Healing' (6)

The Divine Soul Mate

Samuel J. Ellis wrote: ‘When people take more and more advantage of you, they begin to dislike you more and   more. It is not because of anything you do or say. Instead it is because of what they are saying and doing to you. So, in your next situation do not let others take unfair advantage of you. Say something to them early on. Everyone seems to act this way, though some more than others.’ He too discovered that if we do not respect ourselves, others cannot do so either. It is for good and wise purpose that a special dynamics is at work in all human relationships. It ensures that through the mirror effect we constantly reflect back to each other what is within ourselves.

As we know by now, we all have everything within woman and man, Sun and Moon, yin and yang, human and Divine. To become whole, each has to integrate and reconcile the opposite energies and forces within themselves and teach them how to work together peacefully and harmoniously. When this has been achieved, we shall be whole and androgynous, like God and the Angels, and we shall not want for anything any more. The desire to rule and dominate others will finally go from us and we shall free us and our world from all possessive and needful emotional love. Our human love consciousness needs to raise itself ever more towards our Highest Self and connect with it in a deep, loving and satisfying inner union that cannot be compared to any other. Our hunger for love will at last be satisfied once and for all and the inner thirst will be quenched and gone for good. We shall be whole and healed and, therefore, holy.

As pointed out in ‘Soul Mates’, the ideal love relationship everybody is looking for and the soul mate we all yearn to have cannot to be found in other human beings, only within ourselves. It is the connection with our very own inner lover. Everything can be found in that magical world. It is through the process of integrating and becoming one again with this almost lost part of our being that the deep inner wound, which we all carry within, finds healing and we become whole and holy.

This wound was caused by detaching ourselves from our God Self, our true and eternal lover, once upon a time in the long course of our evolution. The further we descended into experiencing life in physicality, the deeper the rift became. It does not make one bit of difference what name one chooses for the seemingly lost part of ourselves. ‘Call me by any name and I shall be there’ is the Divine promise that has always been with us. God is in us and we are in God. We truly are one, at all times have been and forever will be. Our earthly mind created the illusion of separateness, but as we attune our whole being once more to the mind of the Highest, we come home into the awareness of our oneness with all life.

For each one of the Universe thus provides natural help with the dissolution of our ego structures and boundaries. At our entry into the Aquarian Age this is becoming increasingly powerful. Co-ruled by Saturn and Uranus, the Uranian energies assist us with breaking up that which is old and outworn within us. Neptune, co-ruler of Pisces with Jupiter, is the planet most useful for getting rid of the ego structures. On 3rd February 2012 the planet Neptune moved into Pisces, its own sign, where its influence is going to be felt ever more powerfully.

As pioneers of the Aquarian Age, aspiring lightbringers and healers. we are here to discover new ways of being and feeling, and having found them we are expected to help others do the same for themselves. Much work is waiting to be done, as to this day many remain unfamiliar with these concepts. Although they sense that something of importance is happening in our world, they are too frightened to dig deeper to find out what. As a result, they are trying to run away from the very thing all human souls most desperately want and need: the full reunion with our God and Highest Self.

This is the highest, noblest and most urgent task all of us have to tackle at present. It’s the most important thing that has thus far ever occurred in anyone’s life, as well as humankind’s individual and collective evolutionary pathway on the whole. Yet, those who insist on running have no chance of discovering the true cause of their inner unrest and what is at stake for all of us. The only way the full realignment with our Divine soul mate can be achieved by any human soul is by stopping and  willingly going within to listen attentively to the murmurings of our heart, where the Highest or God Self in all of us dwells.

From 'Astrology As A Lifehelp In Relationship Healing' (7)

Forgiveness Grows From Understanding

If you find forgiving difficult, bear in mind that it does not mean giving in, but letting go. Whether or not you think someone deserves your forgiveness, you most certainly are worthy of forgiving them, because that is the only way of dissolving the karmic chains and shackles we created for ourselves and each other, in the course of many lifetimes, and of setting each other free. Holding on to anger is a way of trying to compensate for the powerlessness we feel when someone hurts us.

It is important to find a way of letting go of anger, by talking with the person who hurt us, without attacking or blaming them, but by describing the effect their behaviour had on us and the world of our feelings. Listening to another’s point of view helps us to see things from a different perspective. It makes us more tolerant and shows us the way to true and lasting forgiveness that comes from our heart, instead of our head.

If, for any reason, it is impossible to communicate with the people who have hurt us, writing down what happened the way we experienced it can be a good release. Talking the matter over with a friend or a counsellor is another way of letting go. In my view, forgiving does not necessarily mean forgetting. It is not easy to forget hurts, but even partial forgiveness is beneficial because re-living past painful incidents in our minds time and again is bad for our health, as this increases our susceptibility to illness. Forgiving is good for all parts of our being, mind, body, spirit and soul. If it is more than we can manage on our own, God and the Angels are waiting to be called upon for their assistance. After all, to err is human and to forgive is Divine. And forgiveness brings inner peace. Meditation, quiet reflections and prayers are the best ways of finding both.

It’s never too late to send forgiveness to anyone, especially not those who returned to the world of light ahead of us. They are neither dead nor asleep but probably more alive than we are, because they are once more fully aware of their true nature and have been shown by the ministering Angels the karmic debts they left behind. Our loving and forgiving thoughts reach them through the ethers without hindrance. If you have unresolved issues with someone or maybe several people on the other side of the veil of consciousness and long to make peace with them, go right ahead. God and the Angels are delighted whenever one of us requests their help. Ask them to show you how to resolve the issues and through this dissolve the karmic chains that still exist between you.

Forgiveness is the most important ingredient in our quest for more harmonious relationships. It grows from and is a natural consequence of a growing understanding of the true purpose of our present existence and human relationships in particular. Though this can be an extremely arduous task, being merciful is essential for becoming whole – meaning healed – through the integration of all the qualities that are our Divine inheritance.

This is our opportunity for learning how to take possession of each one of them and the most important one of them is learning how to love God’s way and acquiring the ability of a love that understands all, forgives all and heals all. This kind of love isn’t blind, but because it understands it forgives. Loving this way opens our heart’s and soul’s willingness for doing so. Understanding opens our inner vision to the necessity for forgiving and we perceive with great clarity that without it, we shall remain stuck in the past and cannot move on.

The trouble with life is, as the Danish philosopher Soren Kierkegaard put it: ‘Life must be understood backwards, but has to be lived forwards.’ How very true! The best thing about this life is that we are all allowed to make mistakes – nay, maybe we are even encouraged to make them. As long as we learn from them, we will always be allowed to move on lessons of a different nature.

When the gentle wisdom of the Great Mother guides our thoughts and attitude towards life, kindness and tenderness, compassion and protectiveness towards every lifeform flow quite naturally from our heart towards every one of our siblings in the great family of life, we are well on our way of mastering the art of loving God’s way. And as this kind of love goes forth ever more powerfully from our heart, it also flows through our veins, not only the physical ones but also those of our higher spiritual bodies.

This development continues until in the end our whole earthly being pulsates with the Divine Fire and that provides us with good health and the joy of being alive, as well as sufficient confidence to tackle whatever may still be waiting for us on our evolutionary journey through life.

From 'Astrology As A Lifehelp In Relationship Healing' (8)

The Art Of Forgiveness

Are you feeling resentment, pain, anguish or maybe even fury? It doesn’t matter whether your emotions are directed at the general idiocy of worldwide governments, a close friend or family member. It makes no difference whether you are raging at a complete stranger on the road, in a moment that’s quickly gone or whether you are dealing with years of abuse or emotional torment. Forgiveness is a spiritual act that requires us to view things from a different angle and with an increased understanding of our own needs as well as another person’s.

It doesn’t seem to be so when we are thinking of the wrong another has done to us, or the hurt they have so carelessly lavished out, but forgiveness can free us from even the seemingly most unforgivable acts. Many of us hold onto our anger in the hope that this emotion will somehow anchor in some Universal Justice, as though gritting our teeth and furrowing our brow could somehow balance the teetering scales of justice in our world.

Sadly, the hurtful act or words of another that we keep running through our minds work like an emotional cement that keeps us stuck and unable to move on into a peace mode. Our inability to forgive often doesn’t even affect the ‘other’ as much as it does us. There is a Tibetan Buddhist story about two monks who encounter each other many years after being released from prison where they had been horribly tortured. ‘Have you forgiven them?’ asks the first. ‘I will never forgive them! Never!’ replies the second. ‘Well, I guess in that case they still have you in prison, don’t they?’ the first monk says.

•    Many mistakenly believe that forgiveness somehow absolves others from their wrong-doings. That in forgiving, we helplessly accept, give up, surrender to defeat – that we are helpless. The exact opposite is true. When we face a terrible wrong and look within to see how we can prevent the same incident from happening again, then we are truly on the correct spiritual path.

Dr. Fred Luskin is the Director of the Stanford University Forgiveness Projects. He has led the largest research project to date to study the effects of forgiveness on hurt individuals. He has dealt with people suffering from a huge range of things needing to be forgiven – from a romantic break up to the murder of a child. He believes that there are specific steps one can take to reduce the stress that comes with holding onto hurt and make the progress of forgiveness as easy as possible. I tend to agree. Forgiveness usually takes a little time, but it needn’t consume your life for years. You can start with the following steps to move your heart into the right place, and begin to forgive:

•    We are often afraid to truly articulate just how much we have been wronged, but this is necessary. In cases that are more obvious, such as losing a family member in a war-torn country to the hands of an unfeeling mercenary, it is easier to explain how angry and sad we are, but in other cases, such as with long-term familial abuse, we may have even come to think the behaviours we were subjected to were ‘normal,’ and only later do we realize how much pain and hurt we stuffed down over the years in order to function within our family unit. When that pain is realized, it is helpful to articulate it to a counsellor or a few close friends. Keeping those emotions locked inside does not permit the process of forgiveness to begin.

•    Forgiveness is a personal journey. You do it for yourself and not for the person you think needs to be forgiven, or anyone else. Once you make a commitment to do whatever it takes to let go of the pain and feel better – and do it for you, then forgiveness starts to become an easier endeavour. When you feel better about yourself, after all, you will find it more difficult to hold grudges against others. When needed practice self-care and self-love. If you are still involved with the person or people who you are trying to forgive, you can simply explain to them that you need time to care for yourself. If this is not appropriate due to the ongoing behaviour of another, then simply practice uncompromising self-love and distance yourself from the other person until your feelings of anger and hatred dissipate. Reconciliation may be possible in the future.

‘Your forgiveness should be such that the person who is forgiven does not even know that you are forgiving them. They should not even feel guilty about their mistake. This is the right type of forgiveness. If you make someone feel guilty about their mistake, then you have not forgiven them.’ Patanjali Yoga Sutras ‘The Art of Living’

•    While reconciliation sometimes is possible, on other occasions it is not. If someone is emotionally unstable and is likely continue to act in hurtful or harmful ways again should be approach them, there is no need for being physically or emotionally near them to forgive them. What you are after is internal peace. Forgiveness can be defined as the peace and understanding that comes from dropping the blame for whoever has hurt you, changing your never-ending story of grievance, and realising that they were possibly playing a role in the grand play of life – known as maya to some – to help you learn more about yourself.

This does not mean that murdering your child is right or that stealing, cheating, emotional abuse, or other ‘wrongs’ are ‘right.’ It simply means that you choose to see that person’s pain as the impetus for their own actions and not as a personal affront to you.

Maya Angelou once said: ‘You can’t forgive without loving. And I don’t mean sentimentality. I don’t mean mush. I mean having enough courage to stand up and say: ‘I forgive, I’m done with it.’’ If someone has been narcissistic, selfish, hateful or jealous, you can forgive them for your own peace of mind, and allow them to learn from the Universal lessons, which are surely coming their way, to help them forgive those who hurt them also. While you don’t have to reconcile with others who are not ready to do this spiritual work for themselves, you do have to reconcile your own emotions.

•    Your hurt is coming from what you feel now, not what happened ten minutes, an hour, days or even ten years ago. The old adage about time healing all wounds is true. But this is because we tend to get caught in karmic cycles that cause us to mentally recycle pain instead of letting it go. In the book ‘Karma and Reincarnation Transcending Your Past, Transforming Your Future’ Elizabeth Clare Prophet and Patricia R. Spadaro explain that while ‘Karma means accountability and payback, reincarnation is simply another word for fresh opportunities [which the Universe offers us].’

•    Karmic retribution is not a punishment, but the benevolent and infinitely wise Universe’s way of allowing us free will. What it does mean is that what we send out into the world must return to us. Therefore, what we do unto others will in due course be done unto us, somehow, at some time, in some way – maybe in a far distant lifetime. But return it will, of that we can be sure. The Sioux holy man, Black Elk, explained how everything in nature comes full circle, and Voltaire mused: ‘It is not more surprising to be born twice, than once.’ Everything in nature is endlessly recycled and then resurrected. Understanding the cycles of karma and reincarnation helps us to get a better grasp on family, community and even wider society patterns in need of changing.

When we stay stuck in thoughts of the pain another has caused us, we are missing one of the main opportunities of our present incarnation. After talking about a hurt with another person, expressing it fully and looking at the patterns that created this situation, the time has come for releasing it and letting it go. The true gift of being ‘hurt’ be another is the recognition that on the inner level of life we are all one and when one of us gets hurt, everybody else suffers with us. Therefore, in truth when we hurt another, we are doing the same to ourselves.

Carl Jung once said: ‘I had the feeling that I was a historical fragment, an excerpt for which the preceding and succeeding text was missing . . . I could well imagine that I might have lived in former centuries and there encountered questions I was not yet able to answer, that I had to be born again because I had not fulfilled the task that was given to me.’

•    Stop your fight or flight response. When we start to ruminate about what another has done to us, our hypothalamus gets into gear and engages both our sympathetic nervous system as well as the adrenal-cortical system. When the effect of these systems sets in, our fight or flight response begins and in no time flat we are in moderate to full-blown fear mode. This is because we are afraid the same thing will happen to us again. We are feeling the incident as if it were happening right now, no matter how long ago it occurred. Our heart rates and blood pressure rise. We might even sweat a little. Our body gets flooded with thirty different stress hormones and all of it together makes forgiving very difficult.

Through practising a simple, calming mantra meditation, a few yoga asanas, yoga nidra, nadi shodhana or going for a short walk outdoors, we can reverse the fight-or-flight response. This enables us to deal with the fear behind our pain from a more level emotional state.

•    Give up your expectations of others. Dr. Luskin calls this ‘recognizing the unenforceable rules.’ In other words, you can’t expect to get from others, what they have no ability or desire to give you. While we can practice love without expectation, we also should be aware that others aren’t always capable of loving back. If your inner child is still bemoaning the inability of an emotionally shutdown father to be affectionate and caring, or you expect a selfish boss to behave differently, then you are setting yourself up for more pain and this often. Realise that what you seek from others – kindness, love, affection, support – will come from those willing and able to give it, and the more you offer it to yourself, the more likely individuals of the same calibre will come into your orbit. Just let the others be, who are not ready to act as evolved. Let go of all resentment by acknowledging that’s just where they are in their present evolutionary cycle of karma and reincarnation.

•   Know that a life well lived is the most constructive and positive way of resolving the outstanding issues between any of your relationships. Staying hurt and angry does nothing for you. It only feeds the ego of the person who hurt you and gives them power over you. You are still in ‘prison’, as one of the monks put it. Empower yourself by focussing on the good things in your life. Robert Emmons and Michael McCullough are two of the leading American investigators of gratitude. They describe this quality as personality strength and the ability to be keenly aware of the good things that happen to you and never take for granted. Grateful individuals express their thanks and appreciation in a heartfelt ways, not merely to be polite. Wise ones who possess a high level of gratitude, often feel an emotional sense of wonder, thankfulness and appreciation for life itself. Start a gratitude journal or instead of getting stuck in your hurt feelings, every day take a few moments to quietly contemplate and reflect on the many blessings the Universe is bestowing upon you. Counting them is good for your health because it helps to dissipate sadness, anger and frustration.

•    Change your ‘story’. Instead of telling a story to yourself and others about how you were done wrong, decide to re-write the script. You can, instead of being a victim, decide to use the experience as a way of healing  others, one of the most profound spiritual practices ever taught. Imagine the ripples that the pebbles of your forgiveness could send out into the world. I give the example of a man named Robert Rule to explain how profound changing your story can be:

‘Gary Leon Ridgway is better known as the infamous Green River Killer. In 2003, he confessed to the murders of 48 women. In 2011, Ridgway was convicted of the murder of Rebecca Marrero, bringing the victim count up to 49. By his own confession, he may have murdered as many as 60 women. Ridgway especially despised prostitutes and targeted them for his killings. At Ridgway’s 2003 sentencing, the families of the victims had the opportunity to speak out and address Ridgway directly.

Understandably, many were angry and lashing out at Ridgway for the sorrow and pain he had put them through. As Ridgway stonily listened to the family members express their grief and anger, one person came up and said something unexpected. When the time for speaking came for Robert Rule, the father of teenage victim Linda Jane Rule, Ridgway finally showed a glimpse of remorse. Rule’s words to Ridgway were: ‘There are people here who hate you, but I’m not one of them. You’ve made it difficult to live up to what I believe, which is what God tells me to do and that’s to forgive. You are forgiven, sir.’ His words brought Ridgway to tears.’

From ‘Wisdom Pills – Something For Your Soul’
Edited by Aquarius

xxx

Saturn’s Mythological Background (1)

From ‘The Sun In Capricorn’

The mythological background of the planetary ruler of each sign can reveal a great deal about the evolutionary pathway of the human soul in general terms, as well as some of the character traces that are typical for the souls that are born into them.

Saturn is the planetary ruler of Capricorn. In sheer mass and size this planet is the second largest one in our solar system and in the order of distance from the Sun it comes in sixth place. Saturn’s dimensions are almost equal to those of Jupiter although in mass it is about three times smaller and it has the lowest mean density of any object in our solar system. Both Saturn and Jupiter resemble stellar bodies, because their bulk chemical composition is dominated by the light gas hydrogen. In Roman mythology Saturn represented the God of agriculture and harvest, of sowing and of reaping. Pictures of him usually showed him as bearded and carrying a sickle or an ear of corn. Saturn is known as the planet of Karma. This is a powerful symbolism that reminds us that the law of Karma ensures that as we sow, so we shall reap. Saturn’s Greek counterpart was the agricultural deity Cronus or old Father Time himself, a name by which Saturn is also known.

One of the main Roman festivals was known as the Saturnalia. Lasting seven days, it was a celebration of the Golden Age which, according to legend, Saturn had once ruled. We shall return to this theme in the Sun in Aquarius. A special feature of the Saturnalia feast was that temporary freedom was given to all slaves. It was a time when they were served by their masters and given first place at the family table. The Christmas and New Year celebrations of the Western world still echo the influence of this ancient festival. Originally, it lasted only one day and took place on 17th December; at a later stage this was extended to seven days. It was the merriest festival of the year. All work and business were suspended; slaves were given the short-term freedom of saying and doing what they liked; certain moral restrictions were eased; and presents freely exchanged. Saturday took its name from Saturn, the Romans called it dies Saturni. It is the only day of the week to fully retain its Roman name in the English language.

According the legend, Saturn was the husband of Ops, Goddess of plenty and the father of Jupiter, the ruler of the Gods; Juno, goddess of marriage; Neptune, God of the oceans; Pluto, God of the dead; Ceres, Goddess of the grain; and Veritas, the Goddess of truth and the mother of virtue. She was believed to hide in the bottom of a holy well, because she was very elusive. That’s where she still is most of the time, these days! Her hiding place is of special interest. Pictures usually show her as a young virgin dressed in white. The name Veritas was given to the Roman virtue of truthfulness; it was considered to be one of the highest virtues a good Roman could possess. Nothing has changed there; the same principle undoubtedly still applies to us and our time. Can you recognise the symbolisms in the Gods and Goddesses of times gone by and how they can still speak to us and our world?

From ‘The Sun In Capricorn’

Saturn’s Mythological Background (2)

From ‘The Sun In Aquarius’

Aquarius is co-ruled by the planets Saturn and Uranus. In Roman mythology, Saturn was the ancient God of agriculture; his Greek counterpart was the God Cronus. Zeus was the son of Cronus, who eventually usurped and dethroned his father. In Roman mythology Zeus was represented by Jupiter. Cronus is said to have fled to Italy, where he ruled during a Golden Age of perfect peace and happiness.

The vision of the Golden Age may be a dream, but it is one that makes life worth while even if it can never be realised; indeed, it makes life worthwhile just because it can never be realised,’ Fyodor Dostoyevsky, 1821 – 1881, said in one of his short stories. I cannot share that opinion because I do believe with all my heart and soul that the appearance of a new Golden Age is very much a reality and already in the process of happening. Obviously, we have by now drawn a good deal closer to this age than Dostoyevsky was in his time.

We shall return to Saturn in a moment, but first let us take a closer look at his co-ruler, Uranus, the seventh most distant planet from the Sun. Its low density and large size place it among the four giant planets that have no solid surfaces; each one is composed primarily of hydrogen, helium, water, and other volatile compounds. According an ancient Greek legend, when Gaia, the Goddess of the Earth, emerged from the primeval Chaos, she first gave birth to Uranus, i.e. the Heavens, and then to the Mountains and the Sea. As well as being her son, Uranus also became Gaia’s husband. Astrologically, Uranus to this day represents the will of God.

Back to Saturn, the much maligned planet who, in the olden days for a very long time had to endure an exceedingly bad press. Yet, if with the help of the link provided at the end of this chapter, you read ‘Saturn as the Teacher and Rewarder’ you will discover that his reputation as the great astrological villain is by no means justified. When you have studied it, like me, you will no longer allow anyone to say negative things about Saturn in your presence. Saturn stands as the guardian and keeper of the gateway into the Aquarian Age. He is a symbolism for the bridge of learning to control all parts of our being which every soul must cross of its own accord. Earthly and heavenly parts alike have to be mastered by us. And our energies have to be cleansed and purified of all earthly desires before any one of us can return into the perfect alignment with our eternal or God Self; to find it one day is every soul’s birthright.

The co-rulership of Aquarius by Saturn and Uranus explains the way forward into the New Age quite clearly, and the order in which the planets are appearing is of particular significance. Saturn, the strict disciplinarian comes first; Uranus, the destroyer of false beliefs is the liberator who follows behind; more about him in a  moment. All those who are willing to undergo the cleansing process and show their readiness by behaving in an unselfish and disciplined manner, and that at all times, Uranus releases into the freedom of the Aquarian Age. He is waiting to help us burst all Karmic chains and shackles of past ages and by bringing us God’s Divine truth that flows directly from His/Her loving heart into the individual and collective consciousness of our world, he assists us in shaking off all false beliefs and prejudices.

From
‘The Sun In Aquarius’

From 'Healers And Healing' (1)

Saturn – The Wisdom Of The Great Mother

Saturn is the sole ruler of Capricorn, the tenth sign of the zodiac, and the co-ruler, with Uranus, of Aquarius, the eleventh sign. Symbolised by Saturn and personified by the Lords of Karma, at our entry into the Aquarian Age, the age of enlightenment and spiritual freedom, stands our Karma and is waiting to shake hands with us. In Capricorn Saturn acts as the stern and undeviating schoolmaster. To my mind, it would be more appropriate to speak of the schoolmistress, as the planet in truth stands as a symbolism for the equivalent part of the Great Mother’s wisdom.

The presence of Saturn as the sole ruler of Capricorn, a feminine Earth sign, and also of the tenth house, among other things traditionally known as the house of the mother, clearly reveals that Saturn represents a feminine energy, and therefore is – not as commonly believed – a ‘he’ but a ‘she’. The planet’s energies represent what is known as ‘tough love’ in earthly life. This is the kind of love that allows the loved one(s) to grow and learn through their own experiences, without interference by the wise and loving parent, who merely stands by to support and rescue whenever one of the children comes to grief.   

The Great Mother’s way of teaching us, Her beloved children of the Earth, the gift of self-mastery has always been through allowing us to each learn from our own experiences until we eventually have become mature enough to be capable of taking charge of every part of our being and willing to practise self-discipline,. And when after the lessons of Saturn in Capricorn and the tenth house, we arrive in the next sign and house, Aquarius and the eleventh house, Saturn has by no means left us, but stands guard at the gateway to ensure that none of us can come anywhere near the Aquarian liberty until complete self-mastery has been achieved.

High on the list of things to be shed from our consciousness are the false beliefs, prejudices and superstitions that still abound in our world. Each one of them iss waiting to be replaced by our own truth, i.e. that which the living God within tells us is true, good and right for us, now – even though it may not be for anyone else. As pioneers of a new age we have to be prepared that our truth may not yet match anyone else’s beliefs. Those we come into contact with may not yet understand what we have to give.

Whenever that is the case, it is best to quietly speak our truth and then leave them to wrestle with their conscience and being told by their own inner guidance whether what they are hearing or reading is right for them. If it is not, when their time of awakening has come, they too will understand what we have to give. They will then be able to add their insights and observations to ours. As a result, the speed of humankind’s evolutionary progress will accelerate every more rapidly.

Two of the main causes of depression, at present rampant in our world, are the negative thinking patterns we have brought with us from previous lifetimes, and the holding on to beliefs that have long outlived their usefulness and are therefore waiting to be shed. On top of that, before any one of us will be allowed entry into the new age, we have to prove that the untamed and wild drives and urges of our lower animal nature are under out control and have been mastered by us. Their energies have to be turned by us into a positive and constructive force that supports and sustains us, instead of endangering us.

I would like to illustrate this by a real life story about a young Christian, let’s call him Bill, who was despairing to the point of becoming suicidal because, as he put it: ‘I keep falling in sexual sin.’ This is what my Highest Self told him through me: ‘It sounds to me that you are a particularly highly sexed person. Nothing wrong with that – many of us are. Has it ever occurred to you that your strong sexual drive could be a special gift the Universal Life Force has bestowed upon you and that it is by no means some kind of a curse to make your life difficult? Could your strong sex drive have been given to you so that you may learn to express, explore and also enjoy the creative/sexual/spiritual energies of the Universe in positive ways?

‘In my view, you would be well advised to make a special effort at channelling them into creative outlets that lie within your own field of endeavours and experiences. This will create opportunities for you to use these energies for good purposes which, in the fullness of time, may lead you to creating some truly inspired works of art. Who knows?

‘You are responsible for yourself and the life that has been given to you. You are the captain of the ship of your life and in charge of it. You need to transmute the creative/sexual/spiritual energies at your disposal into something positive and constructive in your life, instead of allowing your present lifetime to be destroyed by them. Because the Universe loves you, the same as it loves all of us, that is not what it has in mind for you, of that I am sure.  

‘As a Christian you may be afraid of astrology. However, if you belong to the more enlightened ones who appreciate that, because no force exists outside it, everything that is in our world is there by the will of God, to be used by any one of us either for good and positive purposes or bad and negative ones. If you would like to find a better understanding of the pathway through your present lifetime, in my view you could do nothing better than studying my interpretations of the Sun signs.’

* * *

A Message From

‘The Universal Christ Now Speaks To Us And Our World‘

‘The more you evolve spiritually, the better you will grasp that, in the final analysis, every pain and sorrow that comes to you is at the same time an essential part of your joy, because in times of suffering you grow closer to Me and My world, your true home. Those who already have grown sufficiently in wisdom and understanding no longer begrudge their tears, but welcome them as My harbingers of healing and peace. If you suffer from a spiritual guilt complex, let go of it. You are not some kind of worm or miserable sinner, as some to this day would like to make you believe. You are nothing of the kind. You are My beloved children, young Gods in the making. As all manner of evolutionary lessons had to be imbibed by each one of you, individually and collectively, your pathway up to now has been an extremely tough and stormy one.

Unbeknown to you, I have never left you. I have always guided and protected you from within the very core of your own being. My Angels and your Masters on the higher and highest levels of life are watching every step you make. Whenever one of you reaches out to them, they are only too happy to help – for those are My instructions. I have never left you and your world without a witness of My eternal truths. Through a general lack of understanding much of it has been misinterpreted and abused for personal gains. The further you to forward into the enlightenment of the Aquarian Age, there will no longer be any need for tolerating this, because increasing numbers of you are ready to receive My wisdom directly from me.’

From 'Healers And Healing' (2)

The Latter Days Of The Law Or The Second Coming

During the early stages of our earthly education, up to a point all human souls are allowed to do as they please. But still, whatever anyone does at any given moment can only take place within the boundaries and limitations of the God’s law, the Universal law of cause and effect. Nothing in the whole of Creation is out of its and therefore God’s reach. The history and present state of our world shows clearly what this kind of behaviour has produced. But now at last the time has come for waking up to our true nature and taking charge of the greed and avarice of our lower earthly nature and making big changes through acting in keeping with God’s laws and expressing the qualities of our Christ nature. In truth, this is what Christianity calls the second coming, namely the first appearance of the Christ Spirit in our world. The first one was merely a legend.

At last we and our world have reached the evolutionary level that Buddhism describes as ‘The latter days of the law’ and Christianity ‘The second coming’. The idea behind both concepts is the awakening of the Divine spark of God’s light in all human hearts. The latter days and the second coming have arrived for those who have  consciously become aware of their true nature and the presence of the Universal laws that rule all life throughout the whole of Creation. Every human soul’s final destination, no matter how low or humble our position in life at present may still be, is the reunion with our Creator, the Great Father/Mother of all life who is the Source of our being. The only reason why the tale of the Master Jesus’ life once appeared in our world was to prepare our race for the fact that every one of us is destined to eventually evolve into a Christed  one, a spiritual Master like the legendary Jesus, who in truth never  walked the Earth.

Some seem to believe that with the coming of the latter days the law of Karma will cease to exist, but that could not be further from the truth. The Universal laws never change. To my mind, the latter days of the law would be more appropriately described as ‘the latter days of the human ignorance of the law and the end of their misbehaviour.’ No-one can revoke Cosmic Laws. But even if it were possible, what wiser, kinder and more loving laws could there be other than the ones we have now? For example, the law of Karma sees to it that, when certain conditions have been fulfilled, i.e. we have redeemed ourselves, our slate is wiped clean and we are allowed a fresh beginning. Equipped with our increased understanding and the wisdom we have gathered along the way we are then ready to be released into the exploration of the higher and, in the fullness of time, the highest levels of life.

Surely nobody in their right senses could wish to change the law that ensures that everything returns to its source and that therefore nothing in the whole of Creation can ever get truly lost. It is this law that constantly draws and guides every one of God’s children of the Earth back towards their true home and the awareness of our real nature. In the process of learning to distinguish between good and evil it is this law and the guidance of our Highest Self who in the long course of our evolution helps every soul to find its own way out of the holes we once dug for ourselves. To avoid digging more of them from this moment onwards, all we have to do is familiarise ourselves with how the law of Karma expresses itself throughout the whole of Creation, including our own life and that of our whole world.

The last day of the law will have arrived as soon as the last one of us has learnt to send nothing but good in thought, word and deed into our world. This will not literally be the last day of the law but of the times when the law could do nothing but return our own evildoings from previous lifetimes and present them to us in this one, whilst offering us opportunities for doing better. When we give of the best and holiest that is in us, the only things that can return to us is more of the same. And this it will do in such rich measure that we shall have enough to share with all who are in need of it. That is how the last day of the law is going to bring an end to all suffering and pain on the Earth plane. And that can only come about through everybody’s own efforts at acting on the spiritual knowledge that is increasingly flowing into our world, not merely reading and then forgetting about it.

The more each one of us makes a conscious effort to give of their best and create nothing but good Karma for us and our world, the more the Cosmic laws will reward us by returning the same to us, until finally nothing but good can come back to us and our whole world. And that, my beloved friends, will be the natural end of the expressions of the law the way we once knew it. No longer will there be any need for our individual souls and the soul of our world to grow through pain and suffering, the way it did in the past. Everyone’s soul energies and those of our world will expand through joy and love instead.

Saturn is the planet of Karma and the stern schoolmaster of the zodiac. Saturn is a symbolism of the aspect of the Divine who, when the end of their earthly education comes into sight, demands strict self-discipline and self-mastery from all Its human children of the Earth. Saturn together with Uranus is the co-ruler of Aquarius, the sign of the Age that is now with us. To assist us with learning how to tap into and develop our inner strengths and capabilities, Saturn’s lessons present us with many tests and trials, delays and frustrations. We need to deal with them in the appropriate manner and patiently endure what the law of Karma is returning to us from previous lifetimes into the present one. When we attend to our lessons by drawing the learning from each one of our experiences, which they are meant to bring us, Saturn’s role with the passing of time changes from the Universal teacher into that of the rewarder. Saturn’s lessons too are part of the Great Mother’s wisdom.

Love is the law of life and the Mother is the feminine love and wisdom aspect of the Divine Trinity. We come from love and to it we eventually return. The sacred spark in us is the beginning of everyone’s own Christ nature, the Christ Spirit whose love fills the whole of Creation with Its presence. We are Its child and our true nature is like Him/Her nothing but love. When we are loving this way and we are listening to the small still voice in our heart that tells us what is right and wrong at any given time, no-one needs to preach to us about the ten commandments of the Abrahamic religions.

The love in our heart alone and its expressions in the world around us can release us from the chains and shackles of earthly life and the duty of further earthly lifetimes. At last we are free to consciously take part in and explore the higher and eventually highest realms of existence that are waiting for us when our earthly curriculum has been dealt with to the entire satisfaction of the wise ones in charge of us.

Love and thought are the two most powerful forces in the whole of Creation. It stands to reason that kind and loving thoughts double the power of one of these powers on its own. Just think, they once brought each one of us into being and therefore have always remained part of us. And when the Christ love awakens and comes alive in us, love no longer remains a mere lip service. It is a deep inner urge, a need and conviction to give of our talents to the whole of life from the love and compassion that fills our whole being. We have no appetite for seeking fame or fortune but are content and happy to humbly serve as a channel through which the blessing and healing power of the Christ Light can flow. That which then pours forth from us is pure Christ love. It recognises the dignity of everything that exists anywhere in the whole of Creation, the heavenly as much as the human world with all its kingdoms on the physical and spiritual plane of life.

I believe that all suffering in our world to this day is caused by the dark clouds of ignorance that for so long have been surrounding it, and that through dissolving these clouds the suffering will eventually end. On our pathway from aspiring healer and lightbringer into becoming an enlightened or Christed being in our own right we gradually enter into the Christ or cosmic consciousness of hearing, tasting, smelling and touching God in everything. Bringing forth our own Christ nature from deep within the core of our being is the medium that takes us along this road of reunion with God. In that sense alone can Christ ever be humankind’s saviour and redeemer. This is how the legend of the Master Jesus, in yet another variation on the theme of the Universal Christ of all ages presenting Him/Herself in many different guises as the archetypal God-person, is bringing us and our world the long promised salvation and redemption, after all.

Astrological  Landmarks On Our Journey Through Life

Age 29 1/2 – The First Saturn Return

Every 29 1/2 years the planet Saturn in our birthchart returns to the same position it occupied at the moment we drew our first breath. The time around this event is known as the Saturn Return. The first one is one of the most important events and landmarks in the spiritual development of every human soul. At the age of approx. 29 1/2 we have completed it.

Each Saturn Return marks the end of a phase in our soul’s inner maturing process. By the time we have reached the first one, usually the set of our inner and outer defences which our personality has built for itself stretches over all areas of our mundane life. Saturn Returns can either be times of high achievement or of frustration and disappointments. This varies from one individual to another, depending on the amount of work one has done on personal development and growth.

To my mind, awareness is the key to a positive outcome of these events. Those who do not yet understand what the Universe requires from them at these special times are missing valuable opportunities for preparing themselves. And when, as a result, their Saturn Return takes them by surprise, they can be in for rather an uncomfortable and unpleasant time. However, if you are one of those fortunate ones who know what is at stake, you can roll up your sleeves and get to work.

Saturn returns are times for taking stock of our lives and for getting ready to clear away that which no longer supports our soul growth. What have we done with our lives thus far? Are we satisfied with the progress we have made? If not, clearly the time has come for making some profound changes in our attitude to life and our lifestyle. Clearing out and making the changes that have become necessary in one’s life is always a daunting prospect, as I know that only too well from my own experiences. If that is the case for you at present, may the following bring you a measure of comfort and encouragement:

Risks
The human soul does not like changes
And is afraid of parting with people and places
That have long outlived their usefulness in its life.
Changes are risky and scary,
But very necessary on our pathway
Back into the light of our true being.
From time to time, we need to
Review and transform our approach to and perception of life;
Let go of deeply ingrained negative thinking and behaviour patterns,
Old prejudices and false beliefs
About ourselves, each other and our world.

Although at times we all act like small frightened children,
Let’s take a few chances!
So what, if to laugh is to risk appearing foolish;
To weep is to risk seeming to be sentimental;
To reach out for another is to risk involvement;
To expose one’s feelings is to risk revealing one’s True Self;
To hope is to risk despair;
To try is to risk failure;
To live is to risk dying?

Risks have to be taken,
And the greatest hazard in life is to risk nothing.
The one who risks nothing,
Does nothing, has nothing and is nothing.
Souls who hope that in this way they can avoid
The suffering and sorrows of this world are mistaken;
They too are a necessary part of human growth.
The only thing one can hope to achieve that way is
To avoid precious opportunities for
Learning, changing, growing, loving and living.

Souls who remain enslaved and enchained
By their own false beliefs, rigid prejudices and opinions,
Forfeit the only freedom we truly have, namely
The spiritual freedom to follow our heart;
To think and believe what our inner Self tells us is true;
To have the courage to act upon the knowledge
That we have come from love and that love alone can show us the way
Home into what we always have been: spirit and soul.

Only those who are willing to take the risk
Of loving the way God loves us,
Unconditionally and wisely,
Can truly be free.

Anon.
Edited by Aquarius

 

The Edge
‘Come to the edge,’ He said.
They said: ‘We are afraid.’
‘Come to the edge,’ He said.
They came …
He pushed them …
And they flew!

Anon.

Saturn Returns – Times For Decision Making

Whether we are aware of what is happening to us or not, each time one of the Saturn Returns comes round in our life, we are likely to make either conscious or unconscious decisions about the things in life that really matter to us. As often as not, we take on more responsibility, one way or another, so that another part of our being can find fulfilment that so far we left unattended and neglected.

If things have not worked out in our life, as we once hoped and dreamed, and that has left us sufficiently dissatisfied, we may well feel the need for a total change of direction. For example, we may be able to see that it is not satisfying to continue to live selfishly for ourselves and to pursue nothing but our personal aims. There may come to us the realisation that it is necessary to make some kind of a  contribution to life that makes a difference to others; that one has to put something into life, so that later one can get something out of it.

In view of this it is not surprising that at the times of their Saturn Returns some of us turn towards the caring professions and alternative practises. I know quite a few who responded in this way and never looked back from their change of direction and who, in the course of but a few years, were going from strength to strength in their new career. In any case, when there are too many obstacles in our way, on any pathway we may care to choose, it is because the Universe, in its infinite wisdom and love, is trying to signal to us that we are barking up the wrong tree and would be well advised to proceed in a different direction; wise ones heed such warnings.

Invariably, Saturn Returns are opportunities for looking at the whole defence network we have built for ourselves. We have the clarity of vision to be able to perceive what is real and what is illusory in the structures we have built for ourselves, thus far. If we have aimed towards qualities of character and spirit rather than external forms, we have built well and this period can mark a peak of achievement and the reaffirmation of our inner sense of purpose.

However, for those who have depended on and identified too much with their external attributes and circumstances, there is a possibility that everything maybe be knocked away from underneath them. It is then the momentum of our own unconscious currents that forces us to start all over again, with a different premise and outlook on life. This is because at these special times that which is transient or borrowed has to be dissolved, until eventually only that which has become a permanent attribute of our character remains.

This is the reason why many cannot help undergoing some more or less severe crises during their Saturn Returns. They are then the only way to bring about the changes in marriage, business, ideals and/or life-style that have become necessary. Saturn returns always are opportunities for viewing one’s old ego structures, in a new and frequently not all that flattering light. They are excellent times for successfully making some real and lasting changes, and for clearing out all those things within us and our world that have become surplus to requirement.

Everything that has become crystallised and outdated can now be discarded. This makes room for new attitudes to be born within and for new things and people to come into our life, who – if we choose wisely – will be able to support our highest good better than those who shared our life before. Being aware that this is so, gives us the tool into our own hands for consciously choosing and making the changes that will stand us in good stead for the evolutionary progress of our soul and spirit, which is potentially ours, during this lifetime and beyond.

The major life events, among them the Saturn Returns and the Uranus Opposition, also known as the midlife crisis, can be exceedingly trying times for anyone. Issues that have been put on the back boiler by us for some time are likely to push themselves into the foreground of our consciousness, demanding to be considered and resolved, at last. To enable us and our lives to move forward some difficult decisions may have to be made. The only way of rendering things less stressful for ourselves, as I know from first hand experience, is by regularly taking stock as we move through our lives. It is unwise to allow unresolved issues to fester away, until one of these special events is upon us and forces them to come to a head.

Traditionally, all contacts with Saturn have had a poor reputation, but living in enlightened times, as indeed we are, it has gradually emerged that this is undeserved. In truth they are aimed to help us bring forth the best from within. And the gifts and qualities that are meant to be developed under its influence can be considerable for anyone who is willing to pay attention to what the Universe demands from each one of us with regard to our personal evolution. For example, during the times when we are more strongly under the influence of Saturn’s energies than usual we may feel the need to take on more responsibilities.

This includes taking charge of our inner and outer being, our character as well as our physical body, and become altogether more self-disciplined and focused in the achievement of our goals and targets in life. At these special times we can develop the ability to envisage them and slowly work our way towards them with great determination and stamina. As Saturn is highly critical and under its scrutiny things have to be just right, an inner urge may overcome us to assess ourselves and our lives so far. Yet, there is also the danger of sometimes doing so excessively. As ever, a golden middle way needs to be striven for by not leaving love out of the equation, for ourselves and also for others.

In my view, to be forewarned is to be forearmed. Finding out as much as possible about these events and their special requirements can be most helpful. To be prepared makes all the difference in the world, as equipped with one’s knowledge it is much easier to move into and through these life events without major disturbances. By taking a careful look at unresolved issues and making the decisions they demand from us, ahead of the events can ensure a much smoother passage through them. Most helpful of all is being in touch with the world of our feelings and listening to our inner guidance that our Highest Self gives through the this part of our being. This is the only authority in the whole of Creation who truly knows what is good and right for us at any given moment.

For those who are willing to prepare themselves, the thirties can turn into a spiritually very expansive and enjoyable decade. The three is ruled by Jupiter, the jolly and expansive planet. Sagittarius is its sign and the ninth house its natural domain. Both sign and house are dedicated to the development of humankind’s superconscious faculties. During the thirties the 3 = Jupiter unites itself with the 0 = the circle of Eternity. This bodes well for wise ones who have done the work the Universe demands from us, are likely to find rich rewards.

Recommended Reading: 
• By Dr. Ingrid Bacci
• ‘The Art of Effortless Living’
• ‘Effortless Pain Relief’

For further information on these books, as well as free articles about Dr. Bacci’s work, please go to www.ingridbacci.com.

Age 58/59 – Second Saturn Return

The second Saturn Return is complete at around age 58/59. At the end of each period of 29 1/2 years, Saturn returns to the same position it occupied in our birthchart, at the moment of our birth. Each Saturn return marks the end of a phase in our inner maturing process. By the time the first one is complete, usually the set of inner and outer defences a personality has built for itself stretches over all areas of its mundane life. Saturn returns can either be times of high achievement or of frustration and disappointments. This varies from one individual to another, depending on the amount of work one has done on personal development and growth.

As ever, awareness is the key to a positive outcome of these events. Those who do not yet understand what is currently moving through their lives in my view are missing valuable opportunities for preparing themselves. And when, as a result, their Saturn Return takes them by surprise, they can be in for rather an uncomfortable and unpleasant time. However, if you are one of those fortunate ones who know what is at stake, you can roll up your sleeves and get to work.

For everybody Saturn returns are times for taking stock of our lives and for getting ready to clear away that which no longer supports our soul growth. What have we done with our lives thus far? Are we satisfied with the progress we have made? If not, clearly the time has come for making some profound changes in our attitude to life and our lifestyle. Clearing out and making the changes that have become necessary in one’s life is always a daunting prospect, as I know that only too well from my own experiences. May the following two items bring a measure of comfort and encouragement to all who are presently facing such situations.

Risks
The human soul does not like changes
And is afraid of parting with people and places
That have long outlived their usefulness in its life.
Changes are risky and scary,
But very necessary on our pathway
Back into the light of our true being.
From time to time, we need to
Review and transform our approach to and perception of life;
Let go of deeply ingrained negative thinking and behaviour patterns,
Old prejudices and false beliefs
About ourselves, each other and our world.

Although at times we all act like small frightened children,
Let’s take a few chances!
So what, if to laugh is to risk appearing foolish;
To weep is to risk seeming to be sentimental;
To reach out for another is to risk involvement;
To expose one’s feelings is to risk revealing one’s True Self;
To hope is to risk despair;
To try is to risk failure;
To live is to risk dying?

Risks have to be taken,
And the greatest hazard in life is to risk nothing.
The one who risks nothing,
Does nothing, has nothing and is nothing.
Souls who hope that in this way they can avoid
The suffering and sorrows of this world are mistaken;
They too are a necessary part of human growth.
The only thing one can hope to achieve that way is
To avoid precious opportunities for
Learning, changing, growing, loving and living.

Souls who remain enslaved and enchained
By their own false beliefs, rigid prejudices and opinions,
Forfeit the only freedom we truly have, namely
The spiritual freedom to follow our heart;
To think and believe what our inner Self tells us is true;
To have the courage to act upon the knowledge
That we have come from love and that love alone can show us the way
Home into what we always have been: spirit and soul.

Only those who are willing to take the risk
Of loving the way God loves us,
Unconditionally and wisely,
Can truly be free.

Anon.
Edited by Aquarius

The Edge
‘Come to the edge,’ He said.
They said: ‘We are afraid.’
‘Come to the edge,’ He said.
They came …
He pushed them …
And they flew!

Anon.

In the approach to the Saturn returns one begins to view one’s defence network as a whole. It’s a time when we can perceive what is real and what is illusory in the structures we have built up to now. If we have built well, that is if we have aimed for qualities of character and spiritual values and not merely external forms and outward appearances, the Saturn returns can mark peaks of achievement and the reaffirmation of our inner sense of purpose. If we have built badly, namely if we depended on and identified with our external attributes and circumstances only, then everything could be knocked out from underneath us. Either we do this under our own steam or – if we resist Saturn’s energies and requirements – circumstances that are only apparently beyond our control may this for us.

The momentum of our own unconscious currents may then force us to start again, but hopefully this time having found a different foundation and perspective on life altogether. Saturn returns are times when that which is transient or borrowed is dissolved, and only what has become a permanent attribute of our character will be allowed to remain. When you think back you may remember how the first Saturn return affected your life, which could help you to understand the purpose and meaning of what you are going through now. You will find that coming up to the second Saturn return, circumstances often repeat themselves, sometimes in quite an uncanny and unnerving manner. You may find yourself in situations similar to those you encountered during the first return. Frequently, you will have a strong feeling of déjà-vu.

This is happening for a very good reason. The progressions of the Moon, which run in two and a half year cycles, move through all the signs of the zodiac; this reflects how the Universe provides each soul with ever new learning experiences. One full sequence of these progressions lasts approx. the same span of time that it takes Saturn to do the same. One full Moon cycle takes thirty years and Saturn takes 29 1/2 years to do the same. Because our progressed Moon at the time of our second Saturn Return therefore moves through the same sign as it did around the first one, very similar experiences are drawn into our lives. This way the Universe is testing us how much we have learnt in the meantime and whether spiritually we have we made any progress at all. Only if our behaviour and our reactions to people and situations show that we have learnt from the mistakes we made earlier in life, shall we truly be ready to move on to different and more mature experiences.

Making Changes

Most of us undergo some form of crisis during their Saturn returns; it is time when many are making some very sudden and drastic changes in marriage, business, ideals and/or life-style. This is because life is now offering us the chance to view our old ego structures in a new light and this, needless to say, often is not all that flattering. However, wise ones cease the opportunity and take the time to successfully bring about some true and lasting changes that will greatly benefit us, in the long term. All Saturn returns are therefore excellent times for clearing out that which is crystallised and outdated within to make room for new things to be born. The second return in particular should be the start of our Age of Wisdom. Twice round we now have had the opportunity to clear out and to start again. We have reached the point where the outer structure will not be needed any more, as our inner strength should now have grown sufficiently to support us. If we have gained any wisdom at all, we should be ready and willing to share it with those around us who are still struggling with the things we too once had to confront.

There generally is some sort of a midlife-crisis at around age forty-two, another important landmarks in our lives. It does not have this title for nothing, as it can be a very trying time indeed. For those of us who did not deal constructively with the crisis at that particular time, it is likely it will rear its head again around the time of the second Saturn return. The Universe is now presenting us with another chance for disassembling ourselves and putting the pieces back together again, hopefully nearer to our heart’s desire. There will be parts of our nature which we have not integrated as yet into our conscious awareness.  We might have been ignoring or not looking at them and they now demand to be acknowledged and integrated.

By facing the conflicts and crises of this time of life, we increase the likelihood of a fulfilling latter part of our lives. If we try to avoid the kind of self-examination which it demands from us, it invariably spells trouble for later on. The problems do not simply go away. Facing them and dealing with them now in a constructive way can make all the difference between a happy and integrated old age or an unhappy one that is filled with regrets over missed opportunities. It is generally considered to be easier to go through the midlife crisis at forty-two than it is at around fifty-nine. But those who missed that opportunity might as well get on with it, now.

A wide range of psychological issues occur during this phase in our lives. The stark realisation that we are not getting any younger sets us thinking about what we have and have not achieved so far. People passing away around us remind us of our own mortality. Where did we come from, where are we going to? Questions like these are bound to arise. In our late teens and early twenties we probably had visions of what we would like to be as a mature adult. Now we have a chance to compare this vision with what we have actually achieved. Maybe our dreams were too high flown anyway and we do need to scale them down. Or maybe we have been flying very high and the inner satisfaction and fulfilment we hoped to achieve is still escaping us.

Is There Something Missing In Our Life?

Feelings that something is missing in life may rise into our conscious awareness and begin to realised that for us the  time has come for re-assessing our lives and making some changes. If we were successful so far, then our success frees us to take up other interests or endeavours which we have had to put aside in order to arrive where we are now. We can throw ourselves into new projects and outlets which will fulfil parts of us that our present achievements, no matter how great, do not satisfy. There is some part of ourselves, which is dissatisfied and this part now urgently wants some attention from us.

Some throw themselves into a new love relationship or into any sort of frantic activity with which they hope to fill the emptiness within. Maybe if we keep as busy as possible, we will not feel the pain and the emptiness within? And so it goes on. Really it is meant to be a time for spiritual discovery, a side of ourselves which most people, in our material age, either neglect by accident or choose to ignore. It is true that having affairs or cramming our lives full with all sorts of social activities might delay the mid-life blues, but almost certainly it will hit us much harder when it eventually catches up with us. As with any crisis, it would be a better and more constructive use of this time of life, to embrace it and to go down into it. Face the pain and the darkness with courage and with faith. Let go and see where the crisis will lead you. At the end of this particular tunnel there is indeed all the light, beauty and love which was not to be found anywhere but inside ourselves, if only we open our eyes and our mind to perceive it.

As with any crisis, first we need to grieve for the old self who is dying, for the identities and roles we have played so far. They must be shed now to allow the new and better self to be born. The next step is to look at the parts of ourselves which we have not been in touch with as yet, those aspects of our nature which were hidden or we denied ourselves so far. We may have to look at emotions and qualities we do not like very much, like jealousy, greed and envy. We need to face up to the side which is fearful and dependent or the one which is ambitious and competitive. Owning these parts means expanding our existing self-definition to include more of what is actually there, reaching into our own wholeness. Instead of believing in an edited version of ourselves, cut to fit into conventional and acceptable norms, we need to face the full version of who we really are; that includes the good as well as the bad. This does not mean unleashing the darker part of our psyche onto the world at large. It means reconnecting to more of what is within us to become a more whole and integrated person in the process.

Looking into ourselves in this way also puts us in touch with many positive aspects of our nature which have yet to be developed and integrated into our conscious personality. If previously we lived in a very one-sided way, the ignored and neglected parts of ourselves now have a chance to be discovered and nurtured. This will stand us in good stead for the rest of our lives. For instance, if during the first part of our life, we lived in a very down to earth manner and on the material plane only, the crisis could open the way to a more spiritually or esoterically oriented life. On the other hand, if we spent our life so far in search of Nirvana or spiritual enlightenment, we may well find that our interest in earning money and making something of ourselves in the material world comes to life.

Looking At The Less Favoured Parts Of Ourselves

The aspects of our nature that have thus far remained unfavoured, some of them we may not even have discovered as yet, may force their way to the fore. They are no longer ready to be overlooked because for our evolutionary pathway the are very important issues indeed, waiting to move into the main focus of our new hopes and aspirations. The process of expanding our personality to become more whole and to include our previously undeveloped talents and qualities can now begin in earnest. This task is not over when the Saturn return is complete which it will be eventually, slow though it is. Becoming more whole a person, true to us and our own potential, is the work ahead for the entire duration of the second half of our life.

There will be personality changes which generally involve what is known psychologically as cross-sex issues. This means that men start exploring qualities traditionally associated with feminine urges. Women usually turn to issues conventionally classed as masculine drives. Men who devoted the first half of their life to achieving in the outer world may begin to question the amount of time and energy they are investing in that direction. Focusing on external deeds and worldly accomplishments usually means that the inner world of feeling and the need for real intimacy, closeness and fulfilment in relationships, have been relegated to second place.

Taking a greater interest in his marriage and spending more time with his children, is one way a man can develop his capacity for relationships and intimacy. However, the obvious way of turning towards wife and family is not always his first choice when it comes to developing his feeling side. Sometimes it takes the stimulus of a mistress who awakens the feeling side within him. His wife might decide to run off in the opposite direction, for the same reason no doubt, and have an affair herself. In this way too he will be forced into re-examining and questioning his own ability to form and maintain good and meaningful relationships. A man’s attention could also turn to the creative and imaginative part of his psyche. He may realise that the work which takes up so much of his precious time, is not fully satisfying his need for creativity and self- expression. One solution to this problem is to look for a different type of work altogether which can be extremely difficult in the present working environment. Another way is to try and adjust his schedule to allow for more creative activities as well.

A woman may experience this time of life in a diametrically opposed way. If her attention, up to then, was primarily focused on relationships and the needs of her partner and children, she will be stirred by new urges. She may feel the need to fulfil herself in her own right, not merely look after the well-being of those close to her. She may wish to assert her power in the world and to achieve recognition in some concrete way. What about her own development and growth? Her child bearing days are over. Her children have grown up and do not need her so much any more. Almost certainly the day has already come when they have flown the coop! Where does it leave her? At this point she will be sufficiently motivated to take some important steps to alter the rest of her life in a more fulfilling way. What about going to college and developing her mind?

Such steps will neither be easy nor done without strain. But, rather than running away from herself, if she now faces herself and others and makes the necessary changes, she has a much greater chance of finding happiness and fulfilment in later life. In doing so, she could also become a pathfinder for others. Once the crisis stage is over, she will be able to help others through this what can be rather a harrowing time for some people, especially those who do not know how to work with it constructively. If she had much success in her earlier life, she may want to focus her attention away from career and achievement and make more time in her life for intimacy and relationships as well as spiritual development.

The Need For Pause And Reflection

Whatever our present circumstances, the crisis signals the need for pausing and reflecting on how we have thus far organised our lives. If we have veered too much in one direction, at the expense of other avenues of expression and fulfilment, now is the time to make the necessary changes to restore balance. From my own experience, I know what happens to a husband and wife who neglect to create a secret garden of their own, in which they sow, tend and nurture the seeds of their combined spirit and soul, during the early part of their marriage. Those who fail to dig the soil, whilst planting and fertilising the seeds of their togetherness will inevitably reach the point when their children have grown up and retirement loom.

They will find, to their dismay, that not only do they not have any flowers to share, but they will not even have a garden to grow some in, at this late stage. I feel that the best for those, who failed to recognise the spiritual opportunities marriage was offering them, is to go their separate ways, as soon as their karmic responsibilities towards their children and each other have been fulfilled. At the latest, at the second Saturn Return, will come their opportunity to set each other free, so that can each pursue the expression of their own unique creativity. By then, this part will be screaming for attention and it will not allow you to ignore it any longer.

Which way the second Saturn Return expresses itself in our life, obviously depends on how much rubbish we have gathered, over the years that is now waiting to be cleared away. It is a time when things clarify and crystallise in our minds, when we begin to realise with great clarity what is truly important in our life, and what is no more than ballast. If we can shed all that which is unsuitable to be carried around with us, for what is left of this lifetime, we stand a better chance of a happy and fulfilled old age. If we resist, we could be spending our time wallowing in remorse and regret over missed opportunities, instead, as so many old people do. The opportunities are here, but they must be worked with. This is our chance to clear out; the idea is only that which supports our Highest good and our greatest joy should be allowed to remain; the rest can go. If one’s husband or wife does not fall into the first category, then we do indeed have a choice. And it is important to remind oneself that that not choosing is also a choice.

By the time the second Saturn Return comes round, most people have developed sufficient inner strength to be able to handle the casting off of that which has become unsuitable. That is the only way of preparing better and more fulfilling ways to spend the forthcoming autumn and winter of their life. It is a time for learning to tap into our own inner wisdom and to make it work for us. We may come to the realisation of some quite marvellous things. Usually, we can make time available to attend to our own inner needs. That is why it is such an excellent time for making a conscious effort to work on improving our character. For example, it could dawn on us that, what potentially is a strength, meant to work for us, when not handled correctly, can turn into a weakness, which the world is only too happy to exploit, if we allow it to.

Time For Learning To Say: ‘No!’

The second Saturn Return is a wonderful time for learning to discriminate when to say the most difficult word in any language, which is ‘No’, in the right place and at the right moment. If we handle this right, we can take charge of ourselves, our character and our destiny. It is in our hands to turn a weakness into a consciously and truly well-handled strength, which supports us and makes our life more enjoyable, as it is meant to. Only apparently are we the victims of circumstances, as we ourselves create them. By taking charge, we can turn ourselves round from victims of life into victors! And I can say, from my own experience of life, it is well worth the battle.

All major life events, like the Saturn Returns or the Uranus Opposition, can be very tough and trying times for anyone, as it is likely that difficult decisions are waiting to be made by us. The only way of rendering them less stressful,  as I can tell you from first hand experience, is by taking stock earlier in life and not allowing things to fester away until one of the special events is upon us and then forces our unresolved issues to come to a head. To be forewarned is to be forearmed. That’s why it is important to find out as much as possible about these events and their special requirements. Equipped with this knowledge it is so much easier to prepare oneself. By taking a careful look at unresolved issues and making the decisions they demand from us, ahead of the events can make all the difference and ensure a much easier passage through them. Most helpful of all is being in touch with the world of our feelings and listening to the guidance of our Highest Self that is received in this way. This is the only authority in the whole of Creation that truly knows what is good for us at any time.

Traditionally, all contacts with Saturn have had a poor reputation, but living in enlightened times, as indeed we are, it has gradually emerged that this is undeserved. In truth they are aimed to help us bring forth the best from within. And the gifts and qualities that are meant to be developed under its influence can be considerable for anyone who is willing to pay attention to what the Universe demands from each one of us with regard to our personal evolution. For example, during the times when we are more strongly under the influence of Saturn’s energies than usual we may feel the need to take on more responsibilities.

This usually includes taking charge of our inner and outer being, our character as well as our physical body, and becoming altogether more self-disciplined and focused in the achievement of our goals and targets in life. At these special times we can develop the ability to envisage them and slowly work our way towards them with great determination and stamina. As Saturn is highly critical and things have to be just right, an inner urge may overcome us to assess ourselves and our lives so far, and there is a danger of sometimes doing so excessively. As ever, a golden middle way needs to be striven for by not leaving love out of the equation, for ourselves and also for others.

The following is the essence of a teaching from the White Eagle group of spirit guides in ‘White Eagle on Intuition – Patience’: Whilst living ‘In the earthly body, time is a master, and it can be an unpleasant one – but only as far as you are concerned from the limited vision of your small earthly. Time is a great teacher, and maybe you are learning wisdom from Father Time even now. Saturn, some¬times portrayed as Father Time, is strict with his pu¬pils and permits no hustle; he does not allow hurried lessons, hasty sums and superficial essays. He insists upon a due space of time being given to every lesson; and time is one of the most irksome forms of discipline the spirit living inside the physical body has to endure.

‘Nevertheless, Saturn brings true wealth to every soul. Remember the beneficence of Saturn, and do not dwell upon the malefic influence, because you have much to thank Saturn for at present. True, the Saturnine influence makes you feel a little cold, but cold and chill is holding up and purposely delaying the hot-headed people who would rush forward! Saturn says: ‘Wait, you are learning lessons.’ Those who would hurry through this unpleasantness which it may bring must remember that they are attempting to put aside a venerable, gracious and wise teacher. Have patience, for patience is one of the most important lessons that has to be learnt by every soul on the path of spiritual development.’

The Midlife Crisis

Age 38-45 – Uranus Opposition

If you belong to the age group 38-45, the likelihood is that you are currently occupied with working your way through the midlife crisis. Maybe you are in the process of completing it. If you are one of those fortunate for whom this is the case, you might like to read on and take a moment to reflect back on how the crisis has been affecting you and your life.

The major life events, among them the Saturn Returns and the Uranus Opposition, also known as the midlife crisis, can be exceedingly trying times for anyone. Issues that have been put on the back boiler by us for some time are likely to push themselves into the foreground of our consciousness, demanding to be considered and resolved, at last. To enable us and our lives to move forward some difficult decisions may have to be made. The only way of rendering things less stressful for ourselves, as I know from first hand experience, is by regularly taking stock as we move through our lives. It is unwise to allow unresolved issues to fester away, until one of these special events is upon us and forces them to come to a head.

Uranus is one of the outer or generation planets; they carry this name because they move exceedingly slow and their energies influence whole generations in a similar manner. When Uranus in the Heavens has moved to the halfway position between the place it occupied in our birthchart and where it is now, we speak of the Uranus opposition. The completion of this transit stretches over several years, and marks an important part of every soul’s maturing process in its personal evolution for its present lifetime. Most people experience the influence of their opposition most strongly from between the ages of 38-45, but in some cases this may be extended for several years in both directions. Every soul in its late thirties and early forties eventually reaches this significant turning point. At this special time the Universe presents it with many opportunities for releasing the past and making progress with taking possession of its true and authentic spirit self.

The Uranus opposition may cause a great deal of disruption in our lives, especially for those who thus far have insufficiently attended to their inner development and the needs of their spirit. The after-effects of the Uranus opposition can in that case affect their lives profoundly for some years to come. It is not for nothing that this time of life carries the name of midlife crisis. Under its influence people may suddenly feel inclined to make some truly drastic and dramatic lifestyle changes.

I believe that the events of our lives are predestined, at least in broad outlines. If that wasn’t the case there would be utter chaos on the Earth plane. Yet, somehow it all functions. It is true that we do have some choice about what happens in our lives, but this only goes as far as being allowed the freedom to choose our reactions. For the wise ones who willingly make the necessary changes as and when they are required, all will be well. But for those who find it too hard to let go of the old, the Universe makes the decision for us and presents us with circumstances that only seemingly are beyond our control.

Uranus is considered to represent the will of God, and if we put up too much resistance and try to cling onto that which we have already tried and tested, conditions may arise that force us into making the long overdue changes, after all. If we tarry too long, the Universe can and does change our lives for us. As some other difficult planetary transits – more about them in a moment – also coincide with the Uranus opposition, it is not surprising that for most of us, it can indeed be a tough and demanding time.

The Upside Of The Uranus Opposition

The positive aspect of the Uranus opposition is that it presents us with opportunities for taking ourselves and our lives apart and, at the end when life has returned to some kind of normality again, we find to our amazement that the new state is nearer to our heart’s desire. It is a time of life when some aspects of our nature are likely to still be hidden from the view of our conscious awareness. We may have been ignoring them or pushing them away, but they are unwilling to wait forever and so they come knocking at the inner door of our consciousness to be looked at and integrated. Wise ones who willingly face the conflicts and crises that inevitably arise for everybody from time to time, increase the likelihood of a fulfilled second half of their life.

Looking within and examining ourselves and our motivations very carefully is what this transit demands from us. Avoiding this is unwise because it is an open invitation for psychic and spiritual difficulties later on. It is in the nature of problems that they do not go away on their own. No matter how hard we may try to hide from them, they are sure to resurface and demand attention during one of the other Uranus or Saturn transits. I can tell you from first hand experience that it is considerably easier to deal with the midlife crisis at forty-two than with a delayed and therefore even more powerful reaction at fifty-nine, the time of our second Saturn return. As every soul must experience both, we may as well get on with it now. 

A wide range of psychological issues rear their heads at this time. The stark realisation that we are not getting any younger sets us thinking about what we have and have not achieved, so far. In our late teens and early twenties we may have had visions of what we would like to be as fully mature adults. This is our chance to compare our earlier vision with what we actually have done with our lives. Should our dreams have seen us flying too high, clearly they were in need of scaling down. If, however, we have been achievers but the inner satisfaction we hoped to find keeps on eluding us and something seems to be missing in our lives, this is a signal from the inner self that for us the time has come for reassessing our lives and making some profound changes. If we were successful, then our success frees us to take up other interests or endeavours which we have had to put aside to get to where we are now. We can throw ourselves into new projects and outlets which will fulfil parts of us that our present achievements, no matter how great, never satisfied.

No matter what happens, every soul has some part that up to the present has remained dissatisfied and is therefore now urgently demanding attention. There is a deep feeling of emptiness within; because of this some people hurl themselves into new love relationships, others pursue all manner of other frantic activities. In the hope of getting rid of their unpleasant feelings, they seem to be looking over their shoulders as if to say: ‘Maybe if I run fast enough and if I keep as busy as possible, I will not feel the pain and the inner emptiness will go away.’ Look around you and you will see exactly what I mean.

Time For  Spiritual Discoveries

In reality, the Uranus opposition is meant to be a time of spiritual discoveries and for developing those aspects of their nature which far too many in our material age choose to ignore. Having affairs or cramming our lives full with all manner of social activities can only delay the mid-life blues. Almost certainly it will hit us even harder when it eventually does catch up with us. As is the case with any crisis, it is better and more constructive by far to use it, to embrace it, go with the flow and see where it wishes to take us. Let go of the old, face the pain and the darkness with courage and with faith. At the end of this tunnel, there is indeed light, but it can only be found by those who are willing to open their inner eyes to perceive it.

Hermann Hesse: ‘Suffering only hurts because you fear it and it does so because you complain about it. It can only pursue you when you try to flee from it. Refuse to flee, do not complain and do not fear. Love instead. You know all this yourself, you know quite well, deep within you, that there is a single magic, a single power, a single salvation and a single happiness and that is loving. Well then, love your suffering. Do not resist it, do not flee from it. Taste how sweet it is in its essence. Give yourself to it. Do not meet it with aversion, because that is the only thing that hurts, nothing else does.’

The Angel In Disguise
There is nothing I can give you that you have not,
But there is much, so very much that –
While I cannot give it – you can take.
No Heaven can come to us,
Unless our heart finds rest in today: take heaven.
No peace lies in the future
That is not hidden in this moment: take peace.

The gloom of the world is but a shadow.
Behind it – yet within everybody’s reach – there is joy.
There is a radiance and glory in the darkness,
Could we but see; and to see, we have only to look.
I beseech you to look.

Life is so generous a giver, but we –
Judging its gifts by their covering –
Too often cast them away as ugly or heavy or hard.
Remove the covering and you will find beneath it
The living splendour, woven with the love,
Wisdom and power of the Divine.

Welcome it, grasp it,
And you touch the Angel’s hand
That brings it to you.
Everything we call a toil, a sorrow or a duty,
Believe me, the Angel’s hand is there.

That gift is there and the wonder of an
Over-shadowing presence
That protects us, is joyous too.
Be not content with these joys,
For they conceal even greater gifts.

And so, at this time, I greet you –
Not quite as the world sends greetings,
But with profound esteem and with a prayer
That for you, now and forever,
The day may break and the shadows flee away.

Fifteenth Century Prayer

Grieving For That Which Is Ready To Die

As with any loss, the first step is the grieving process. This is necessary for the old parts that are ready to die and go from you, for the identities and roles we have played up to now. They have to be shed, so the new self can be born. Searching for the aspects of ourselves which during our present lifetime have remained hidden from our view or we have denied the, is the next step. Emotions and qualities have to be faced which we are not over-fond of, for example jealousy, greed, envy and maybe our fearful and dependent side, or the one that is over-ambitious and competitive.

Owning up to and becoming consciously aware of these parts expands our self-definition. By facing the full version of who we really are, complete with all its good and bad parts does away with the need to believe in an edited version of ourselves that has been shaped by us to fit into conventional and acceptable norms. This has nothing to do with unleashing the darker parts of our psyche onto the world at large. The process merely reconnects us with more of what has always been inside us, and we become a more whole and integrated being.

Looking into ourselves with utter honesty helps us also to get in touch with the positive aspects of our nature that are still waiting to be developed and integrated into our conscious personality. If we previously lived in a one-sided way, the Uranus opposition gives our ignored or neglected parts a chance to be discovered and nurtured; they will then stand us in good stead for the rest of our present lifetime and all those beyond.

Sufi Wisdom tells us: ‘When the heart weeps for what it has lost,
the spirit laughs for what it has found.’ So it needs to be with us as the pace of the process of expanding our personalities and becoming more whole through nurturing previously undeveloped talents and qualities accelerates. For those who during the first part of their lives conducted it in a down to Earth and materialistic manner, the midlife crisis may open the inner doors to a more spiritually and fulfilled life. And for those who spent their life thus far in search of Nirvana or spiritual enlightenment may find that they become interesting in earning money and making something of themselves in the material world.

The aspects of our nature that thus far remained unfavoured or undiscovered, are now pushing ever more into the foreground of our consciousness. The issues involved are likely to become the focus of our new hopes and aspirations. As slow as the Uranus opposition is, eventually it will be complete. However, the task of becoming more whole will always continue. Learning to be true to our Highest Self and the potential it is trying to help us fulfil is the work ahead for the entire duration of the second half of this lifetime.

Personality Changes

Personality changes take place in middle age for both genders. This development generally involves what is known in psychology as cross-sex issues. Many men start exploring qualities within themselves that are traditionally associated with the feminine, while women may turn to issues that are conventionally classed as masculine. Those among us, women and men alike, who had much success early on may wish to focus their attention away from career and achievement, to make more time in their lives available for their relationships, and – above all – their spiritual development. Focusing on external deeds and worldly accomplishments usually means that the inner world of feelings and the very normal human need for real intimacy, closeness and fulfilment in relationships have to be neglected.

Those who have devoted the first half of their lives to achieving in the outer world may begin to question the amount of time and energy they want to invest there in future. Taking a greater interest in his marriage and spending more time with his children, is one way a man can develop his capacity for relationships and intimacy. However, the obvious way of turning towards his wife and his family is not always his first choice when it comes to developing his feeling side. Through their endeavours to run a home and rear children, the romantic aspect of their marriage could have did a long time ago. Unless they can rekindle the flame that once kept their inner fires burning for each other, he may need a mistress to help him rediscover and develop his feeling side. His wife too may run off and have an affair and so, both of them would be forced into re-examining and questioning their ability to form and maintain relationships.

A man’s attention may also turn to the creative and imaginative part of his psyche. With ever increasing clarity he may realise that his daily work takes up too much of his precious time, and that none of it fully satisfies his need for creativity and self-expression. He might like to look for a different type of work altogether, but if in our present working environment this proves impossible, how about adjusting his schedule to allow for more creative activities?

A woman may experience her midlife crisis in a diametrically opposed way. Should her attention so far have been primarily focused on her relationships and the needs and wishes of her partner and children, urges of a very different kind are likely to stir within. She may wish to fulfil herself and express her creativity in her own right, in a way that is not related merely to the well-being of those close to her. Her child bearing days are drawing to a close. Her children are growing older and will not need her so much any more. The day will come when they will have flown the coop. Maybe the time has come for asserting her power in the world and achieving recognition in some concrete way. She has helped her children to grow, but what about her, her own development and growth?

This becomes the motivation for her search for something that will help her to spend the rest of this lifetime in more fulfilling ways. She reflects: ‘What about going to college and developing my mind? What about entering the job market and seeing if there’s anything for me?’ None of the steps that have to be undertaken to bring about the necessary changes are likely to be easy and done without strain. Instead of running away from ourselves, if we courageously face ourselves and our lives, we have a much greater chance of finding happiness and fulfilment in later life.

Acting As Pathfinders For Others

Besides, there is every likelihood that we shall later be able to act as a pathfinder for others. Once the midlife crisis is over, we shall be able to help them steer their way through what could otherwise turn into a somewhat harrowing time for them.  This is especially true for those who lack the awareness of what is operating in their lives and therefore have no idea of how to work their way through it in a constructive manner.

No matter how all this may influence you and your life, for every human soul the Uranus opposition signals the need to pause and consider how we have organised our lives, up to that point. If we have veered too much in one direction at the expense of other avenues of expression, the Universe now offers opportunities for making the changes that help to restore the balance of our lives. As established, the major life events like the Saturn Returns or the Uranus Opposition can be very tough and trying times for anyone. The only way of rendering them less stressful is by regularly taking stock earlier in life and not allowing things to fester away until one of the above mentioned events is upon us and then forces all our unresolved issues out into the open.

To be forewarned is to be forearmed. Equipped with a measure of understanding of these events and their special requirements one copes much better with the onslaught of the messages that are likely to rise from the world of our feelings. But most helpful of all is making a conscious effort to constantly remain in touch with, listen to and follow our inner guidance, our Highest Self, as It communicates with us through the world of our feelings. It knows the way of all things; it has the answers to all our questions and it is the only authority in the whole of Creation that is utterly trustworthy and truly knows what is right or wrong for us, at any moment. 

Astrological Influences During The Midlife Crisis

The earthly self’s entrance into adulthood around age thirty is marked by the first Saturn Return and now it is mature enough and ready to work its way through its midlife transition. It consists of four phases that take it through from approx. age thirty-six to forty-five: the Uranus Opposition, the Neptune square Neptune, the Pluto square and the Saturn Opposition; each phase affects our lives in a different manner. The Uranus Opposition is marked by surprise, sudden shocks, changes, upsetting issues situations, eccentricity and the unusual. In the areas of our life where the planets by sign and house position are placed in our birthchart undergo pronounced changes and reveal to us where we need to express more of our individuality and spiritual independence.
 
The Neptune square Neptune transit heralds a time of confusion and the obscuring of reality. We may end up feeling as though our existence and accomplishments up to now are worth nothing. We are faced with questioning ourselves about the purpose and meaning of our lives. Those who willingly work through the issues that arise have an excellent change of emerging from their midlife crisis with a renewed spiritual understanding of life, their own and in general. Alas, not all are wise enough to do so. Many choose the escape route of indulging themselves in obsessions and addictions, for example sex, drugs, alcohol or lying to themselves and pretending that everything is okay with them and their lives when that is very far from the truth.

The Pluto Square Pluto transit heralds a time of transformations. There needs to be destruction of the old that has outlived its usefulness in our lives. This needs to be followed up by taking charge of the situation to create something new and authentic from the debris. Should we have previously just been playing around in some part of our lives without making a serious effort of achieving something, the whole situation may fall to pieces before our eyes and the need for rebuilding is likely to arise.
 
When these three phases finally lie behind us, the Saturn Opposition has to be tackled around age forty-four to forty-five. In all encounters with Saturn frustrations, limitations, restrictions, hold-ups and constant feelings of not getting anywhere fast have to be reckoned with. Saturn requires from us that we set up structures and discipline our earthly self by facing up to our everyday realities and dealing with any resistance we encounter in an appropriate manner. Challenging, difficult and painful situations may have to be faced. We may also suffer from depression, repressed anger, physical illnesses, especially of the bones and teeth, due to the heavy responsibilities we are likely to carry at this time in our lives, in the shape of family relationships, work situations or attempts at pursuing an authentic life style. Mental illness is possible if a stable base cannot be formed in life. All these things, however, can be beneficially influenced by becoming aware of what is at stake and working conscientiously on whatever changes become necessary.

It needs bearing in mind that traditionally, all contacts with Saturn have had a poor reputation, but living in enlightened times, as indeed we are, it has gradually emerged that this is undeserved. In truth they are aimed to help us bring forth the best from within. And the gifts and qualities that are meant to be developed under its influence can be considerable for anyone who is willing to pay attention to what the Universe demands from each one of us with regard to our personal evolution. For example, during the times when we are more strongly under the influence of Saturn’s energies than usual we may feel the need to take on more responsibilities.

This includes taking charge of our inner and outer being, our character as well as our physical body, and becoming altogether more self-disciplined and focused in the achievement of our goals and targets in life. At these special times we can develop the ability to envisage them and slowly work our way towards them with great determination and stamina. As Saturn is highly critical and things have to be just right, an inner urge may overcome us to assess ourselves and our lives so far, and there is a danger of sometimes doing so excessively. As ever, a golden middle way needs to be striven for by not leaving love out of the equation, for ourselves and also for others.

No matter how all this may affect us and our life, the midlife crisis demands a major re-evaluation of its value and meaningfulness. Have we achieved our goals and dreams of the past? Are they still relevant? Are our current circumstances serving us well? The whole process is one of rebirthing that is meant to transform our lives; the way we deal with it decides how we are going to spend the rest of our present lifetime. Many people make such profound changes at this time that, when the dust has settled again, they hardly recognise the person they once were.

This part of our lives can at times be excruciating but also exhilarating, as the redefining of who we truly are can and is meant to bring us into a profound communion with our Highest Self. Just like any birth, this phase can be marked by periods of tremendous pressure, turmoil, and intensity that are interspersed with calm and relaxed moments. These are the labour pains and the contractions that are necessary to reach the excitement of something new and promising being born, our true self.

The following is the essence of a teaching from the White Eagle group of spirit guides in ‘White Eagle on Intuition – Patience’: Whilst living ‘In the earthly body, time is a master, and it can be an unpleasant one – but only as far as you are concerned from the limited vision of your small earthly. Time is a great teacher, and maybe you are learning wisdom from Father Time even now. Saturn, some¬times portrayed as Father Time, is strict with his pu¬pils and permits no hustle; he does not allow hurried lessons, hasty sums and superficial essays. He insists upon a due space of time being given to every lesson; and time is one of the most irksome forms of discipline the spirit living inside the physical body has to endure.

‘Nevertheless, Saturn brings true wealth to every soul. Remember the beneficence of Saturn, and do not dwell upon the malefic influence, because you have much to thank Saturn for at present. True, the Saturnine influence makes you feel a little cold, but cold and chill is holding up and purposely delaying the hot-headed people who would rush forward! Saturn says: ‘Wait, you are learning lessons.’ Those who would hurry through this unpleasantness which it may bring must remember that they are attempting to put aside a venerable, gracious and wise teacher. Have patience, for patience is one of the most important lessons that has to be learnt by every soul on the path of spiritual development.’

 

 

‘The Purpose Of My Life’s Work – Reaping The Bountiful Harvest’

Every one of the small six-pointed stars in my e-mails and postings in Rays of Wisdom are bringing you a personal greeting and blessing from the Christ Star, the Light of all lights and the Sun of all Suns. My stars are miniature replicas of the great one. They are alive and radiate the Christ Star’s blessing and healing power first into you, dear Reader, and those around you. From there it flows into the worldwide web and then into the heart and soul of humankind and everything that shares Mother Earth with us. No matter how brief your call may be, each time you come you will be getting the benefit of these powerful energies.

Like the flow of the river of life itself, humankind’s store of spiritual knowledge and wisdom is never at a standstill, static or stagnant. The same applies to Rays of Wisdom, which is evolving and growing as fresh insights are entering my understanding of the spiritual background of life. Whole new jotting parts as well as updates of existing material are constantly arriving. To learn about them, all you have to do is click the image below:

If you would like to be notified by e-mail,
please get in touch via the

Contact Page.

© Stargazer 2024
Further details in the Information section.