Confessions of a Wayward Prophet

Today I want to talk about the topic of personal power, and how we express it. When I say personal power, I am talking about the physical expression of how we relate to others. Body language, the sensations we feel in our bodies when someone hurts us or praises us. A little background about the zodiac is needed here. Aries, and the 1st house, is the expression of the primordial spirit energy without limitations. It is direct, forceful. Taurus and the 2nd house is the embodied spirit, our physical body, and the resources we have at our disposal - money, possessions, food, etc. The houses from the 7th onwards relate to how we express ourselves in the world. For example, the 7th house is purely about how we relate to other people. What we seek in relating to others, what we look for in potential marriage partners, or in business partners. For example, a personal with the Moon in the 7th house might look for a nurturing, caring partner, while a person with Pluto in the 7th house might look for someone powerful that stirs up their deepest desires and helps them get in touch with their own personal power. The 8th house, on the other hand, is about the physical expression of this relating to someone as an embodied spirit, subject to limitations. What empowers or disempowers us? How do we feel when we relate to a particular person? To a group? To an authority figure or other individual that may perhaps make us feel a little uncomfortable? The outer planets do not move much in a progressed chart over the course of an average human lifetime. Pluto makes a complete revolution of the zodiac once every 248 years. In comparison at 72 years of age Pluto will have progressed in the chart to the point it was at the age of 6 for the individual. To work with this planet in a chart then, we must find the highest expression of the existing aspects, degree/sign, and house position that Pluto is located. To be an empowered individual means to recognise our reality as infinite spirit connected to Source, and to overcome the limitations of the fears that bring us to a feeling of disempowerment. In order to overcome these fears, we must recognize them, for often our deepest fears are hidden from us until careful self observation uncovers them. In connection with this, it is worthwhile to note the connections that Pluto ruled Scorpio has. Scorpio is probing, intense, always wanting to dive beneath the surface and probe lifes hidden mysteries. It is sometimes called the detective of the zodiac. The occult is ruled by the 8th house and Scorpio for this reason: because the word occult means "hidden". In mobilizing our energies to focus on a topic and uncover its secrets, we are utilizing the power of Pluto. Pluto and the 8th house also rule sex and intimacy. The reason for this becomes apparent when examining the way sex and intimacy relate to the personal energy. Indeed, the gradual buildup of closeness between two people does not occur in the outward things such as conversations. It arises out of body language, how the person's physical touch makes us feel, and the way the outer conversation affects us inwardly, at the level of the subconscious. In persuasion and seduction, much attention is paid to this unconscious dance of power between people. Even the most unscrupulous techniques of "players", such as "negging", are based on a deep understanding of power - our desire to feel empowered, and often a desire to seek the approval of others so that we feel empowered. It is worthwhile to study such mind games in order to better understand ourselves and what motivates us. The energy of Pluto is primal and cuts to the core of our being. It is the key to understanding how to mobilize the inner forces within our being for the purposes of self growth. Because it also relates to the subconscious, hidden forces within our being, if we have not taken the time to look deeply at ourselves, it can also be a destructive force. Here are some particularly good examples of Pluto placements and their interpretations: http://sakurainlove.wordpress.com/2014/05/10/natal-pluto-in-the-12th-house/ http://www.myastrologybook.com/Pluto-in-the-seventh-house-7th-house.htm Take note of the way each house relates to its own power. People with Pluto in the transpersonal houses are more likely to feel disempowered or, conversely, to mobilise their power towards external situations. No placement is particularly worse than another, but it is useful to study the dynamics of how the placement expresses itself in our own personal chart. Pluto placements in synastry can also be particularly interesting, as these express how we mobilise our personal power in relation to another person. For example, Pluto on another persons ascendant may seek to dominate the other person, whereas Pluto on or near the 7th house cusp relates to the other person with either their full personal power or, conversely, the relationship brings up all their inner demons. How this manifests depends on other aspects within the synastry. Pluto and personal power is a fascinating topic, and whole books have been written on the subject of the hidden power within our being that is locked in the subconscious. People placed in life and death situations (death is another 8th house topic) have sometimes developed superhuman strength or will to survive, lifting cars or braving extreme weather which would ordinarily have caused their demise. Such situations teach us of the incredible power we have which comes from within when we need it most. Subjects such as those ruled by Pluto are often those which we do not like to look directly at, those we feel intensely about in a positive or negative way - either way inspiring intense emotions. Sex, death, power struggles, violence, control, intimacy, the hidden realms. Yet these topics deserve our study as they lock away huge reserves of energy which we can use for the betterment of ourselves and others.

A friend of mine posed this question recently on a social media network: "If we keep coming back and revolving back to the answer of love, how do we continue that vibration when it has not been taught? Do we teach ourselves the answer? What if it isn't coming soon enough?" This is a hauntingly beautiful question. "What if it isn't coming soon enough" cuts to the core of the issue - many of us feel that something is needed to cut through the veils of maya which separate us from other human beings. To live authentically. And that it's important to rend these veils of illusion that keep us from truly hearing one another before we destroy one another through misunderstanding. And the other part of the question, implying "this has not been taught", is just as indicative of collective feeling as that of the urgency of the issue. While meditating on the question, I recognized that although "love" (for the other) is often touted as the whole answer, it is only part of the answer. Poets such as William Blake, the great Elizabethean prophet, wrote of the "Marriage of Heaven and Hell". Early indigenous peoples spoke of the marriage of earth and sky. This union of opposites is in process even today. This does not connote "love and hate", but "love of others and love of self", united as one, in a way that speaks and says "All is God, all is consciousness, all is love and presence". We speak of hate, or fear, yet as Ibn Arabi pointed out in his "Fusus al-Hikam", even fear or hate is in itself a reflection of love in the sense of polarity. His exegesis of the life of Moses is exemplary in this respect: "[Moses was] frightened on the outside, but at the level of meaning [he fled] through love (hubb) of salvation. For movement is always out of love, even though the observer is veiled by other causes... This is because the origin (or root) of the movement of the cosmos is from non-existence ('adam), in which it is at rest (sākin), to existence (wujūd). Therefore, it is said that [the whole matter of] the Divine order is movement out of repose. The movement which is the existence of the cosmos is the movement of love." How can we relate this to our daily lives? Here I fall back to Kashmiri Shaivism in giving an answer. The tantrics arising from this great tradition of Kashmiri Shaivism considered the question of desire very carefully. They came to the conclusion that suppressing desire was at times in opposition to liberation. Love and desire are only different in their aspects through the directions of approach. In love, we worship the other, we listen and look, act in service to the other; in desire, we take action to become one with the other, to possess it, to consume it, to integrate it into our own being. Both seek the same underlying unity or wholeness that is present in their complementary natures. Therefore Kashmiri Shaivism, in comparison to Vedanta and other philosophies, rather than trying to cut the desire off at the root of the mind, seeks to become conscious of it, to unite with the feeling of bliss experienced which is the experience of the Self, and attain liberation through the experience of being connected with the world. In this tradition, rather than being a hindrance, desire is a hint of a calling from a part of our connection with the unity that has been disowned, and must be treated in just as sacred a manner as any other love-union we might allow. In the journey back towards wholeness, we should take notice of the feelings and thoughts that our relationships with others bring up within our consciousness, for they may be the key to our own liberation. (To be continued...)

This is a guide to working with the Black Moon Lilith - one of the less understood points in the astrological chart, but one containing great power.

We start from the point of Unity -- as all religions proclaim "no God but God", so one of the names of this figure is "The Living One". Consciousness, the mind of God, is said to be omnipresent. "In him we live, move and have our being", says Saint Paul. The texts of the various traditions declare we have been given a spark or a breath of life from the Creator that constitutes our own personal essence - the soul. Hermetic philosophy teaches us that fire, and specifically LIGHT, is a vehicle through which this consciousness manifests itself. From essential unity - the circle - we proceed first to the union of two in one - the vesica pisces. This is symbolized by many things: an eye, a fish, a mouth, an anus, or a yoni or birth canal. This is the Shakti principle. It is said in the Egyptian mysteries, the blindfolded candidate was asked to kiss the buttocks of a goat. As he pressed his mouth toward the repellant orifice, he found instead he was kissing the lips of a priestess. This apocryphal story and old initiation ritual was meant to demonstrate to the candidate this Shakti principle in action Light, electromagnetism -- a dual force. A battery must have two terminals in order to function. We see using two eyes. Alternating current has a positive and a negative pole. Through the apparent dualities, movement is able to manifest. In seeing, an external light travels down the optic nerves to the brain, producing images with us and uniting the outer world with the inner world. As the great Tantric Lakshmanjoo pointed out, every sensory experience at its core is "sexual" in the highest sense of that term, since it implies a union of the Self with the world, of a most intimate kind. In seeing, hearing, or smelling, we unite with the image of the Other. In touch, nerve impulses convey information to our bodies also. Touch is literally electric in nature - the warmth in another's touch is infra-red energy manifesting in heat. In the Shaivite view of the world, this Shakti, symbolized by the sound "ha" - the divine breath - is not only the doorway into the world and into duality/division, but the way back to the unity of Shiva. "The way in is the way out". The yoni, a symbol for this duality because of its shape, is seen as the way via which we are birthed into the world. In the same way, in the act of sexual union, sperm and egg fuse and lose their individuality to become a new, whole being. In these two processes of conception and birth is an image of the way in and the way out. Now what does this all mean for the process healing? Quite a lot, as it turns out. Let's return for a moment to the initial idea - that everything is consciousness, and that light is a vehicle by which this consciousness manifests itself in duality - for example, the wave-particle duality in quantum physics. Our body exists only as the result of a massive collaboration and concord between billions of atoms and cells, every one of which is in constant communication with the others, directly or indirectly. When this communication breaks down, whether via the introduction of environmental toxins, or through an emotional malaise or conflict, the body first strives to restore balance, forcing the impurity out to return to balance. If it is unable to do this, disease results. Healing modalities such as Reiki attempt to remedy these imbalances through the transmission of this universal energy known as light. The laying on of hands is found in several religions as a method of healing. In these healing modalities, the healer attempts to become a channel for the Universal Energy to work through him or herself, to act as a mediator in restoring balance within the body. The One Light Energy, or Shakti, moves through all things, to the extent that resistance is able to be overcome. And just as in conflicts between people, sometimes a counsellor or mediator is required to bring to light the problem and bring the two parties to an agreement, so to the universal energy or shakti can serve as a mediator to enable information to flow between disconnected parts of our being. The principle of light as a vehicle for consciousness or information transfer cannot be overstated. In astrology, for example, we speak of the effect of the light of the stars and planets upon human behaviour, but if we look closely at this, it becomes apparent that in being exposed to this influx, we are not "merely seeing" or sensing, but uniting ourselves, via sight and breath, with the living and conscious energy of the universe. We should not doubt that even when we are silent, there is a constant conversation going on between ourselves and the outside world. And sometimes, this conversation occurring at the deeper levels of our being, can precipitate events by stimulating parts of our being that we are often unaware of, causing our actions to be directed into these channels. Not just the stars but the people we interact with can do this. Seen in this way, our lives take on an expanded meaning as a dance of consciousness with itself, for its own benefit. Thelema, for instance, has Nuit speak to us in saying "For I am divided for love's sake, for the chance of union". We should study this dance of light, of Shiva and Shakti, Self and Other, to gain awareness of the hidden forces that can allow us to regain wholeness.

A healer is someone who can look deeply into another person's pain (or their own) and help them to find ways to bring it to light, transform it, and help them move towards a more whole and integrated state of being. This pain might manifest as physical disease, emotional pain, or a mental conflict. The function of being able to uncover those hidden dynamics is astrologically ruled by Pluto, while the ability to relate deeply to the other person is ruled by Venus. As we go through our daily life we very often forget that without great mindfulness, our actions are often dictated largely by subconscious impulses -- reactive behaviour rather than acting from our highest nature. Some of these behaviours stem from upbringing, while others may be the result of karma built up between us and the ones we interact with. A good healer must have the courage to look beneath the surface of the individual in order to find what ails them. True healing acts not just on the body but on the soul, for all is consciousness. What does it mean to be pure? The word comes from the Latin purus, which means unmixed or plain, "simple". To be pure indicates then a person of singular intent - a lack of inner conflicts. To be pure is to be certain of the truth of the Self. Shiva Sutras I.17: "The knowledge of the Self is conviction." If doubt exists, it is because we are not attuned to the full knowledge of the Self. This doubt, or freezing of the personal energy, is what leads eventually to dis-ease. To move past these innate doubts to the point of inner clarity returns us to that state of balance where the condition of health may manifest. Today, the world needs healers and counsellors, in order to facilitate this process when we are afraid to do this on our own. Aside from ordinary cases of personal conflict, there are people who have been subjected to horrific abuse, sexual or violent, at a young age, not to mention the existence of mind control programs that do this deliberately to enable the control of those with special abilities. Very often people subjected to these indignities cannot look directly at the source of their own pain without additional assistance to confront what was done to them. And not merely in the personal sphere do we find these problems. "A house divided against itself can not stand" may apply just as easily to a religious movement, a business, or a government. Without unity of purpose and concord between members of an organization, it dissolves into fighting and becomes ineffectual in its efforts to be a force for change. Nowhere is this more obvious than in the current divisive hatred being deliberately induced in our own society between classes, religions and nations. To go beyond these apparent conflicts and find the underlying unity they arise from, to restore balance, that is the beginning of healing. (To be continued...)

In all major religions there are prophecies of an "end times", a judgement day, or a period of purification; a period during which all will be tried and confronted by their darkest secrets, most intransigent sins, and hidden karma. A time when "what was hidden shall be revealed". People often have an uneasy relationship with this aspect of religious thought ranging from rejection of it, to fanatical zeal and literalism. Very few stop to consider just what such a period of purification might represent practically to the average Christian, Muslim, Jew, or any spiritually aware individual. What does it mean to act from your highest being in relating to another person in daily life? How can we turn our daily job in the world into a spiritual practice in mindfulness, and not submit to simply splitting our awareness into "mundane" and "spiritual"? Dare we take the magician's "oath of the abyss" - the promise to interpret every event as a divine mirror or the dealings of the Creator with ones own soul - seriously? And can this be done without becoming overly serious and sombre -- for as it is said in the Qabalistic tradition, laughter connects us with the divine. Of course the answer to these questions is yes. We can dare to look at the events of our outer life and see how they reflect our own inner tensions and conflicts... and how healing these conflicts within ourselves is the process of evolution in action. There are many ways to this goal. One that this blog will focus on is the use of astro-psychology to understand our relationships with other people, and why we attract into our lives people who give us the opportunity to confront these inner conflicts head on, to present us with opportunities for healing and evolution, or their opposite if we don't understand the pattern. If we are, as many claim, living in the time of the Great Purification, then naturally one would expect to find people being presented with the opportunity to clear old karma and bad habits. And this is indeed what we find. The current economic and social climate is presenting many people with an opportunity to confront their deepest fears about such things as power, sex, death, authority figures, materialism, and every other topic imaginable. How seriously we take the opportunity for global healing is up to all of us. So with that, let us begin on a journey into examining this most interesting of topics: purification and healing.