Known as "Mercury Retrograde" — From our perspective here on Earth, the
orbit of Mercury around the Sun appears to reverse direction approximately
three to four times a year, for approximately three weeks at a time. Here is a video
showing the geometric reason for the illusion of Mercury's backward motion (around the Sun). It took astronomers a long time to understand this phenomenon — which actually
affects all the planets in our solar system (but not the Sun or Moon), with Mercury simply being the most talked about:

 

Dates of Apparent Mercury Retrograde Motion 2022-2024:
January 14 to February 3, 2022 [starting in Aquarius and backing into Capricorn]
May 10 to June 3, 2022 [starting in Gemini, backing into Taurus]
September 9 to October 2, 2022 [starting in Libra, backing into Virgo]
December 29 to January 18, 2023 [in Capricorn]
April 21 to May 14, 2023 [in Taurus]
August 23 to September 14, 2023 [in Virgo]
December 13 to January 1, 2024 [in Sagittarius - Capricorn]
April 1 to April 24, 2024 [in Aries - Taurus]
August 4 to August 27, 2024 [in Leo - Virgo]
November 25 to December 15, 2024 [in Sagittarius]

 _________________________________________________________________________________________________

"Mercury Retrograde" tends to have a very bad rep, as these times are notorious for wreaking havoc with our best laid schedules and plans; contracts and travel; communications and deliveries — for a more complete list of challenges, see the list below to the left.

However, these cycles are most frustrating if you merely try to insist on straight-ahead "Forward Motion" no matter what.  Then you will likely feel that you are banging your nose into a wall at every turn and getting nowhere fast.

If we can learn to shift gears into a more "Zen" state of mind — letting go and working with What Is, rather than fighting it, these three-to-four-week periods can be like a pleasant "staycation" and even become productive (if you must) in their own way.  But you might also benefit from learning to simply BE.  Try to welcome these cycles as an opportunity for, or an invitation to, a different mode of being.  Then we can learn to enjoy the potential benefits listed below to the right.

These periods are always a good time to slow down and reflect, and be less focused on doing, doing, doing — going, going, going — producing, producing, producing.  We all need time to mend our sails and nets, and to just STOP AND THINK.  To go inward, and reconnect with not only our closest intimates but with ourselves, should not be such a luxury or rarity that we need a special reason to do it, such as having the flu.

Said to be good periods for all kinds of things that begin with "RE" — think Review, Reflect, Repair, Rethink, and you'll have the right idea — these periods can become welcome changes of pace if we can learn to Let Go a bit.  Try not to just keep plowing ahead, as this usually backfires.

Consider these cycles as invitations to pause and examine your past.  What does this introspection tell you about your present trajectory into the future?  As you reflect on your habits, routines, relationships, practices, what might you Reconsider and Refine? Such Re-evaluation can be much more valuable than stubbornly resisting the resistance you are likely to encounter.

I'd like to thank one of our regular Aleph Talks participants, a long-time fellow Unitarian congregant by the name of K. Steven Kunstler, for pointing out that it might be appropriate to view these three-week intervals as a sort of "sabbath"  in our otherwise full-steam-ahead schedules — exactly!   That is a very wise insight.  These periods are  great times to "Let Go and Let G_d," or "Let the Universe Take a Turn."  We can take a little time off from all the heavy lifting that we feel compelled to keep up with, lest the whole show come tumbling down.  It's a time to remember that there are also other, larger forces at work — and to explore what the Great Mystery may have in mind, beyond our limited conscious understanding and doing.

Mercury, Gemini, and the Third House

If you are in Sales, Commerce is considered to be a Mercury-ruled area, and so cold calls are difficult at this time.  It's a hard time to begin anything new.  However, it is a great time for culling your old files; and reconnecting with old clients and customers is to be encouraged.  You may benefit from renewing old partnerships and strategic alliances, even if you have been out of touch for a while.  You may even develop new insights that lead to finding new ways of looking at old dynamics and relationships.

If you are offered a new job, the conventional wisdom is to wait until after these periods end to formally accept or begin the job.  If you feel you absolutely cannot put it off, be prepared to learn that the job may not be what you think it is at the outset, or for it to change drastically once you do begin.  Do as much research as you possibly can, and try not to burn any bridges behind you.

However, if you are offered an old job back, or a new job with an old boss, or are invited to resume an old partnership, those all get green lights.

If you feel that you absolutely cannot wait to move house — to sign a lease or a deed of sale (buying or selling) — the same rule of thumb applies:  Buyer / Seller Beware — all may not be what it seems, and you may well end up regretting your decision as what is currently hidden becomes clear in the future.

I have a friend who moved during the May-June Mercury Retrograde ("M Rx") — an astrologer himself, no less — and he found that as he unpacked boxes in his new place that had been stored for several years, everything had to be Re-washed and Re-packed to deal with the musty odor that he didn't want to bring into his new home with him — making his move a seemingly endless Rerun of going back to the old place to Re-Wash, Re-Rinse, Repeat ...  Now, this would have still been the case even if he had waited for three more weeks — the smell would not have gone away by itself — but he was able to laugh good-naturedly as he lived out the Universe's sense of humor, which can be incredibly literal.  So far it still seems like it was a good move — but only time will tell for sure.  Legal complications are still unfolding in his situation, as we head into the September retrograde period — sometimes a subsequent retrograde period helps to straighten out a previous one.

Similarly, sometimes lost objects or papers or money are actually found, returned, or Re-Funded during a retrograde period.

What if you are born with M Rx in your natal chart?  I have heard of it going both ways —  favorably and unfavorably.  My second astrology teacher was born when M was Rx in her chart, and she said these three-week periods were her best times of year, as everything goes more smoothly for her.  She feels "out of sync" most of the rest of the time.  She is very fond of history, and for many years did most of her astrology work by hand, not liking or trusting computers.  She was very used to double- and triple-checking everything she did to make sure it was accurate — a good habit any time, but especially during these periods and with this natal pattern.

If you absolutely must travel during these cycles, make extra copies of your documents and directions and maps, have a way to retrieve them, bring extra batteries and snacks, and leave extra time for mishaps and have backup plans to your backup plans.

It is said to be easier to travel for leisure than for business in these cycles, and returning to old, familiar destinations is easier than new places you have never been to before, in keeping with the lists below.

As with anything, be your own source, and see what is true for you — experiment with these ideas and see for yourself — do these periods of the year make any difference at all?  Are they just more difficult?  Or is there any silver lining?  Do certain things become easier if you can shift your focus?

In 2022, both Christmas and Hannukah came before the December retrograde period — not usually the case — a chance see how that reflected in holiday travel and gifts to be returned. In 2023, the Retrograde will be over before the holidays — it may still be nice to see how rewarding a more introverted holiday season can be as we begin to hopefully emerge from the forced retreat of the Pandemic in the past few years.  Try it, you just may like it anyway.

Challenging During M Rx —
Any "Forward Motion" With

Machinery
Appliances
Technology
Computers
Communications
Telephones, Fax, Email, etc.
Contracts
Agreements
Leases, Sales, Deeds, etc.
Mail, Deliveries
Negotiations
Discussions, Meetings
Zoom, Internet
Commerce
Travel (Train, Plane, Car, Bus, Boat)
Means of Travel  (Roads, Tracks, Rivers)
Transportation
Deliveries
Orders
Receipts
Keys
Health Setbacks
Old Health Issues Resurfacing

Leading to:
Chaos
Confusion
Conflict
Delays
Snafus
Wrong Directions
Misunderstandings
Miscommunications
Missed Connections
Forgotten Appointments
Losing Things, Papers, and Money

 

But Easier During M Rx —
Looking Backward / Inward / Redoing

Introspection
Retrospection
Journaling, Memoir
Scrap-Booking, Memorabilia
Archiving
Nostalgia
Gratitude
Reviewing, Remembering, Recalling
BUT Preparation, Planning OK
Research
History
Archeology
Teaching, Learning, Studying
Meditation
Repairs, Mending
Cleaning, Maintenance
Editing, Revising, Refining
Rethinking, Reconsidering
Re-evaluating
Redoing
Reworking
Rewriting
Rewind
Reconnect
Replenish
Recreating
Redesigning
Recanting
Rebuilding, Renovations
Reorganizing
Cleaning, Sorting
Finding Lost Objects, Papers, Money, etc.
Refunds
Healing, Therapy
Practice (Spiritual, Creative, etc.)
Changing, Forming New Habits

 

As labyrinth facilitators are fond of pointing out, when a young man asked Carl Jung what the fastest route to his destiny was, Jung replied:  "A detour."

It has been proposed that Mercury's orbit — above, left — describes the shape of a seven-circuit "classical labyrinth" — middle above, right — and that this may be its ancient origin.   What do you think?

The image above the labyrinth to the right is a Toltec hair style that represents their cultural version of Mercury's caduceus, suggesting the archetypal nature of the association of these universal concepts.

The better known Hindu version, showing the seven chakras, and the two intertwined serpents representing Kundalini, is below the labyrinth, to the right.

The Kabbalistic caduceus at the bottom left shows the Tree of Life in simple form, with the three Hebrew "mother letters" (Shin, Aleph, Mem) to the right.

 

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________

Marjorie Partch is a counseling, teaching, and writing Jungian astrologer and Tarot interpreter with more than 35 years' experience. In addition to her training in transformational astrology, she has studied Integrative Therapy with an emphasis on the work of C.G. Jung, and is a longtime student of yoga, meditation, and Kabbalah, as well as a practicing artist and poet. Marjorie was a contributor to Your Birthday Sign Through Time, Simon & Schuster, 2002. Transplanted from her native New York City in early 2001 (by way of Vermont), she is now happily available in Fairfield County. Ordained in 2006, Marjorie received her labyrinth facilitator training from Lauren Atress in the same year, and shares her Blue Lotus canvas labyrinth as a tool for spiritual transformation and Sacred Activism.  Marjorie also offers Reiki sessions in conjunction with or apart from spiritual counseling, with or without the tools of astrology or Tarot; in person or by Zoom or by phone:
(203) 286-7525 / https://AlephTalks.com/Astrology.

The post The Uses of Adversity: Mercury Retrograde, Part I appeared first on Aleph Talks.

Popularly known as "Mercury Retrograde" — the illusion of Mercury's apparent backward motion (around the Sun) is explained again in this second video posted above.  It demonstrates the geometric reason for this apparent reversal of direction.  From our perspective here on Earth, as we circle the Sun in our wider orbit, Mercury appears to reverse direction in its much smaller orbit approximately three to four times a year, for approximately three weeks at a time. It took astronomers a long time to understand this phenomenon — which actually affects every planet (the Greek word for "Wanderer") in our solar system (but not the Sun or Moon), with Mercury simply being the most talked about.

Dates of Apparent Mercury Retrograde Motion 2022-2024:
January 14 to February 3, 2022 [starting in Aquarius and backing into Capricorn]
May 10 to June 3, 2022 [starting in Gemini, backing into Taurus]
September 9 to October 2, 2022 [starting in Libra, backing into Virgo]
December 29 to January 18, 2023 [in Capricorn]
April 21 to May 14, 2023 [in Taurus]
August 23 to September 14, 2023 [in Virgo]
December 13 to January 1, 2024 [in Sagittarius - Capricorn]
April 1 to April 24, 2024 [in Aries - Taurus]
August 4 to August 27, 2024 [in Leo - Virgo]
November 25 to December 15, 2024 [in Sagittarius]
________________________________________________________________________________________________

To Jump Ahead to a Discussion of the Labyrinthine Path of
Mercury's Apparent Retrograde Orbit, Click This Image:

To review a bit of what we covered in Part I —
"Mercury Retrograde" tends to get a very bad rep, as these times are notoriously challenging to our day-to-day routines, schedules, and the best laid plans of mice and men.  Contracts and travel; communications and deliveries, these tend to go awry from our everyday perspective. For a more complete list of the challenges ascribed to these cycles, see the list in the left-hand column in Part I.

However, also bear in mind that not least of all, these periods are important opportunities to Re-Direct ourselves. The apparent obstacles we encounter now often turn out to be life-saving — in Retro-Spect.

As a practicing Jungian (Archetypal) Astrologer, I have considered this very definite phenomenon to be "Synchronistic" (see) for more than 30 years ... Recently, however, in light of my unfolding dialectic with my mathematician / physicist partner in this thing, Bart Stuck, over the past three years I have begun to question my whole previous understanding of "Synchronicity" itself.  We feature a whole section of our ongoing Zoom course devoted to Jung's 26-year dialogue with the physicist Wolfgang Pauli, in which they examined Synchronicity in great depth together.  I am currently exploring new potential "causal" explanations for both Synchronicity and Mercury Retrograde — and a more complex concept of causality for that matter altogether.  I will share more about this in the upcoming section on the Double Slit Experiment in Part III.

As pointed out in Part I, these mysterious periods, known as "Mercury Retrograde," are most frustrating if you merely try to persist in straight-ahead "Forward Motion" no matter what.  Then you will likely feel that you are banging your head against a wall at every turn as you spin your wheels or tread water — or mud — and get nowhere fast, mix and match your metaphors freely.

However, if we can learn to shift gears into a more "Zen" state of mind — often a good idea in life anyway — letting go and working with What Is, rather than fighting the resistance, these three-to-four-week intervals can become more like a pleasant "staycation" and even become productive (if you must) in their own way.  But you might also benefit from learning to simply BE.  Try to welcome these cycles as an opportunity for, or an invitation to, a different mode of being: more inward- and backward-looking.  Then we can learn to enjoy the potential benefits and silver linings listed in the right-hand column in Part I.

These periods are usually an especially good time to slow down, to go within, and reflect, and to be less focused on doing, doing, doing — going, going, going — producing, producing, producing.  We all need time to mend our sails and nets, and to just STOP AND THINK.  To go inward, and Re-connect with not only our closest intimates but with ourselves, and perchance the Divine, should not be such a luxury or rarity that we need a special reason to do it, such as being sick or going on a formal retreat.

Said to be good for all kinds of things that begin with "RE" — think Review, Reflect, Repair, Regroup, Rethink, and you'll have the right idea — these periods can become welcome changes of pace if we can learn to Let Go a bit.  Try not to just keep forging ahead, as this usually backfires (a Mercury Retrograde concept for sure).  And, the world usually can manage without us, as it does when there is a blizzard or we come down with the flu.  Also remember, everyone else is probably having similar challenges too.

Consider these cycles as invitations to pause and examine your past and inner motivations.  What does this introspection tell you about your present trajectory into the future?  As you reflect on your Habits, Routines, Disciplines, Practices  [all Virgo / 6th House things, by the way], what might you Reconsider and Refine? Such Re-evaluation can be much more valuable than stubbornly resisting the resistance you are likely to encounter.  This is said to be an excellent time to break a bad Habit or begin a new Practice or Discipline (the root of the word Disciple).

As one of our regular Aleph Talks class participants (a long-time fellow Unitarian by the name of K. Steven Kunstler) pointed out, it might be appropriate to view these 3 1/2-week cycles as a sort of "Sabbath"  in our otherwise full-steam-ahead schedules — Exactly!  These periods are great times to go inward, "Let Go and Let G_d," or "Let the Universe Take a Turn."  We can all do well to take a little time off from all the heavy lifting that we feel compelled to keep up with in life.  This is a time to remember that there are also other, larger forces at work — and to explore what the Great Mystery may have in mind, beyond our limited conscious understanding and doing.  We may have to plant the seeds and plow the fields and (or nowadays, send out the resumes and proposals), but we do not make the sun shine or the rains come.  We certainly do not make the seeds grow, any more than we can make our contacts call us back.  This can be an excellent time to Re-introduce some senses of humility and wonder into your daily life.

As we discussed last time, if you are in Sales, Technology, Communications, or Commerce, these  are  considered to be Mercury / Gemini-ruled areas, and so cold calls are difficult at this time.  It's a hard time to begin anything new.  However, it is a great time for culling your old files; and Re-connecting with old clients and customers is to be encouraged.  You may benefit from Re-newing old partnerships and strategic alliances, even if you have been out of touch for a while.  You may even develop new insights that lead to finding new ways of looking at old issues, dynamics, and relationships.

If you are offered a new job, especially if it is in a Gemini-related field (such as Communications or Technology), or a Virgo-related field (such as Proofreading or Nursing), the conventional wisdom is to wait until after these periods end to formally accept or begin the job.  If you feel you absolutely cannot put it off, be prepared to learn that the job may not be what you think it is at the outset, or for it to change drastically once you do begin.  Do as much research as you possibly can, and try not to burn any bridges behind you.

However, if you are offered an old job back, or a new job with an old boss, or are invited to resume an old partnership or consultancy, those all get green lights at these times.

 

Here we can begin to delve a bit deeper into how the symbolic language of astrology works.

Why are "Jobs" relevant at this time?  Jobs are not particularly related to either Mercury or Gemini, unless they are in related fields, such as Sales, Tech, or Communications.

Here is a separate list of Keywords for Mercury, Gemini, and the Third House — all three are said to "correspond" to one another.  You will see that "Jobs" are not an item on any of those lists, so what's up?

In the symbolic language of traditional astrology, in addition to Gemini and the Third House, Mercury is also said to "rule," or correspond to —

Virgo and the Sixth House — and Jobs; and Health and Healing

And so this is where "Jobs" come in, Jobs in general.  I personally love that astrology distinguishes between one's "Day Job" (or "Service") and one's "Career" (or "True Calling") — the latter is represented by Saturn, Capricorn and the Tenth House (the cusp of which is the Midheaven, a very important point in the chart).  This significant role that one plays in life — and usually what one is publicly known for —  may not necessarily bring in any income whatsoever, directly, but it is where one really invests the most energy and contributes the most.

A wonderful example of this duality is the life of Sir Isaac Newton, a 17th Century English physicist, mathematician, astronomer, natural philosopher, and alchemist, regarded by many as the greatest figure in the history of science. His treatise Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica, published in 1687 and extending the trajectory of the earlier work of Johannes Kepler, described universal gravitation and the three laws of motion, helping to lay the groundwork for classical mechanics and modern astronomy.

In addition to our current Theory of Gravity, Newton discovered many of the scientific insights that he contributed to the world while he was either "on hiatus" (due to the Plague in London and Cambridge [where he had become a professor]; or, later in his life, due to his own personal Health Issues).  In additional Sixth House symbolism, he was able to pursue many productive years of research while working (virtually part-time) at a rather modest post as the manager of the Royal Mint — which provided him a certain amount of social status and financial security — while also allowing him plenty of free time to pursue his true avocation: Inventing Modern Astronomy.  Newton's work brought us — along with other discoveries and inventions that he accomplished in Optics — for example, the modern reflective Telescope — many insights into the Laws of Motion that govern the orbits of all the planets around the Sun and the spectrum shift that demonstrates the expansion of the Universe, as seen in distant stars.

So we see here that the principles that correspond with Virgo and the Sixth House introduce a whole new set of gifts, concerns, and issues for Mercury's symbolism and its apparent Retrograde Cycles.  And, again, along with Routines, Habits, Disciplines, and Practices (Creative, Spritual, Professional, etc.), Virgo and the Sixth House also represent Health and Healing  for that matter.

So you can begin to see that there are even more layers to be considered in exploring these dynamic astrological patterns and how they describe in symbolic and literals terms how these factors play out in real life.

For example, how does the Sign of the Zodiac in which Mercury is turning Retrograde or Direct relate to your life, through your individual chart?

At this juncture, astrological principles start to become quite "dense" and complex, because there is, as you can begin to see, much more involved than just your Sun Sign, or even the current Sun Sign in the sky.  If your Sun is in one of the Signs "ruled by" Mercury — that is, Gemini or Virgo — you may find yourself more affected than other people, for better and / or for worse.  Traditionally, the signs that are connected by either "Element" or "Cardinality" (that is, either 120 or 90 degrees away) are also especially involved.  If it is occuring in your Sun Sign or one closely related, it may be easier for you to learn to work with these cycles in a proactive way — or, they may just drive you even more nuts!  This is where Consciousness comes into play, and that is not "written" in your chart.  Humanistic astrologers (like me) believe that we can, as we (hopefully) mature in life, learn to work more consciously with whatever curve balls we are served.  Humanistic (or "Transformational" or "Evolutionary")  astrologers believe that we can to some extent outgrow our innate "default modes" as we become more liberated and empowered — through simple life experience, and through learning to use certain tools such as learning astrology, meditation, spirituality, etc. etc. etc. — to learn to make lemonade when life hands us lemons, as they say.  This is always a good ability to add to our life skill set, regardless of what we believe about the timing.

As we said, you can learn to avoid making cold calls during these periods if you are in Sales.  You can concentrate instead on culling your files and refreshing your old contacts, and see how that works for you.  I always encourage my clients and students to conduct their own experiments.

But if you are curious, you can explore how this kind of insight can become exponentially more informative if you also know which particular House in your own chart the current Retrograde is happening in.  The Houses are said to represent the AREA OF LIFE in which the planetary energies play out, and they are measured from your exact Ascendant, which is determined by the exact minute of your first breath.  So the Planet represents the themes expressed in raw energy in question itself.  We consider this fundamental energy to come in 10 varying flavors; plus the North and South Nodes of the Moon [more later] make for 12 distinct energies.  This basic planetary energy is then "colored" by the Sign of the zodiac that it is in, in much the same way that a gel colors a theater light.  And then, thirdly, the House that the Planet is occupying or transiting is the stage upon which the light is projected — that is, the Area of Life "affected" by the Planet in the Sign in the House.  And so all of these 36 factors are different for different individual horoscopes or birth charts, and change over time, making for a veritable kaleidoscope of possibilities, rather than just 12 general "types" for us all to fit into — which astrologers "believe in" even less than the average newspaper sun sign column reader.

Aries — Head
Taurus — Throat
Gemini — Chest & Lungs
Cancer — Stomach
Leo — Heart
Virgo — Intestines

Libra — Kidneys
Scorpio — Reproductive Organs
Sagittarius — Thighs
Capricorn — Knees
Aquarius — Ankles
Pisces — Feet

Mercury, Virgo, the Sixth House — and Healing

The model of the seven chakras (left) originates in the Hindu spiritual tradition, which considers these energy centers to be the basis of our human existence. It can be said that the Holy Spirit, a.k.a. Chi energy in Asia, or more generally "Life Force Energy," travels from the "Crown" chakra (at the tops of our heads) down through the body to the base of our spines (the Root chakra) and back up in a circle, up toward the Crown chakra again.  This forms what is known as a torus vortex in Quantum Physics — which looks a lot like an apple if you think about it.

The ancient Hebrew Kabbalistic energy diagram above and right is known as "The Tree of Life," no less. Esoterically, its depiction and spiritual teachings also reference serpent energy — basically akin to "Kundalini."  It is clearly a very similar, parallel, but ultimately also unique, paradigm of the human energy body that has been handed down verbally and then in written form for many generations. The multi-faceted schematic is used by initiates in traditional spiritual teachings, profound meditation practices, and energy healing — and over the millennia different versions have become available to Christian and other practitioners, including medieval alchemists; and modern-day occultists such as the Free Masons:

The energy center at the top of the Tree (representing on one level the top of the head) is also referred to as the "Crown" in Kabbalah; "Kether" in Hebrew. To the right, we see another confluence in symbolism and meaning, with the Sanskrit symbol for the Heart chakra and the "Magen David."  A torus vortex consists of a central axis with a vortex at both ends and a surrounding coherent field. Energy flows in one vortex, through the central axis, out the other vortex, and then wraps around itself to return to the first incoming vortex. The simplest description of its overall form is that of a donut, though it takes many different shapes, depending upon the medium in which it occurs.

Upon mapping the intersecting circles that make up the outer rings of the torus vortex of the human body (above, left), the Flower of Life pattern (left) emerges.  This symbol is significant, again, in both the Hebrew and Hindu systems.   It is said that the more expanded one’s  aura, through a healthy and balanced chakra system, the greater one's auric influence is upon uplifting others and increasing the electromagnetic field of not only one's own  heart, but everyone else's as well. 

In the Jewish tradition,  the Kabbalistic Tree of Life (shown here overlapping the Flower of Life design from which it comes) represents the 10 "Sephiroth" (spheres) or aspects of God as described in the Kabbalistic Book of Splendor.   It is said to function as a hologram, representing the macrocosm of the Universe on the highest level, and the human form as the microcosmic expression of the same Divine principles.  It is striking that the ancient Egyptian Caduceus; Hindu traditions in Yoga, meditation, and many other metaphysical traditions; as well as the Western system inherited from Rome, Greece, and the Middle East (including Hebrew Kabbalah), all refer to the same energy body, whether it is conceived of and articulated as the Caduceus; or the Rod of Asculapius; or the Biblical Tree of Life — they all make reference to the energy channel along the spine known as the Sushumna in Sanskrit, which includes the seven chakras (or the related central "Sephiroth" on the Hebrew Tree of Life) in their traditional symbols for health and healing.  The fundamental human chakra system, as it is commonly accepted, consists of seven energy centers rising from the base of the spine to the crown of the head.

The God of Travel and Commerce presides over 1913 Beaux Arts archetectural masterpiece Grand Central Station in Midtown Manhattan ~ note the caduceus with two intertwined serpents in his left hand (above, left); while the signs of the zodiac arc across the enormous vaulted ceiling of the main concourse within (right).

Speaking of energy symbolism hidden in plain sight ~ probably of Masonic origin, this relief sculpture of a winged pine cone atop a caduceus adorns another Beaux Arts landmark, the 1910 Whitehall Building at the southern tip of Manhattan.

The (c. 1224 B.C.E.) Egyptian caduceus with
two cobras facing a pine cone is known as the
Staff of Osiris. Are these hints of a now-
forgotten single world religion, with modern
traces surviving only in the East, and our
Western Esoteric Traditions?

The Hindu energy centers' English names, locations, and corresponding psychological representations, from the bottom up on Mercury's Staff, symbolize the energy channel along the spine, or in Sanskrit, the Sushumna. They are shown below, right with the two serpentine Kundalini channels (known as "Ida" [the Yin channel] and "Pingala" [Yang]) spiraling around the central channel. All of this is collectively aka the Tree of Life in the roughly equivalent Hebrew system referenced in our Western Bible story of the Garden of Eden. This allegorical tale describes Eve (the Feminine) initiating Adam into "the Fall" from amniotic Oneness and into the Journey of Individuation — with a higher level of Unity to be re-discovered in the process of healing the (all-important) Illusion of Separation / Duality / Exile from The One. The spiritual teaching is that this higher level of Re-Unification is impossible without the loss / injury of the original separation (i.e., Original Sin), and so that is an important developmental stage of spiritual growth — recognized in the fact that on the eve of the Hebrew Sabbath, TWO candles are lit, and not just one:

1.  Root or Base chakra — Safety, grounding;
2.  Sacral chakra — Sexual and creative energy;
3.  Solar Plexus chakra — Self-empowerment;
4.  Heart chakra — Giving and receiving love;
5.  Throat chakra — Communicating one’s truth and honesty;
6.  Third Eye chakra — Connection to the spirit realm and intuition with Higher Self;
7.  Crown chakra — Connection to Universal God consciousness.

 

Physiological correspondences include:

1.  Root — Testes, kidneys, spine;
2.  Sacral – Bladder, prostate, ovaries, kidneys, gall bladder, bowel, spleen;
3.  Solar Plexus — Intestines, pancreas, liver, bladder, stomach, upper spine;
4.  Heart — Heart, lungs;
5.  Throat — Bronchial tubes, vocal cords, all areas of the mouth, including tongue and esophagus;
6.  Third Eye — Eyes, pituitary gland, pineal gland (resembling a pine cone), brain;
7.  Crown — Spinal cord and brain stem.

Introduction to Labyrinths

While perhaps an acquired taste that's not for everyone, learning to work in positive ways with the challenges associated with the apparently "retrograde" periods of Mercury's annual orbit can be likened to learning to appreciate the circular pathway to the Center of ...

... The Labyrinth As a Metaphorical Mandala for Walking Meditation

Many people find spiritual healing and insight in the circuitous, "serpentine" paths of the labyrinth — said to originate in the tracing of Mercury's apparent annual orbit  (above, right). Shown here to the left is the 1100 C.E. 42-foot Chartres Labyrinth, made of blue and white marble (laboriously transported from Wales — long before railroads or trucks).  These indoor medieval labyrinths were thought to have been navigated on pilgrims' knees during the Crusades, as a symbolic substitute for the then-perilous physical "Journey to Jerusalem." However, pre-Christian examples are found literally all over the planet, and were used for many other purposes, including initiations associated with the Solstices and Equinoxes, and the in-between points 45 days apart such as May Day, below, right. The so-called "Minor Sabbaths" of the pagan calendar year include, in Celtic terms, Imbolc (or Candlemas) - February 2; Beltaine, May 1; Lammas or Lughnasa, August 2; and Samhain (Halloween, All Saints' Day, All Souls' Day, October 31, November 1).

As labyrinth facilitators are fond of pointing out, when a young man asked Carl Jung what the fastest route to his destiny was, Jung replied:  "A detour."  Unitarian theologian Ralph Waldo Emerson is credited with another labyrinth insight: "The Journey Is the Destination." And more specifically, as Jill Kimberly Hartwell Geoffrion says in Praying The Labyrinth: "Labyrinths are symbols, spiritual tools, mathematical images, harmonic patterns, pathways of discovery, playgrounds of prayer.” 

The U-turn segments resemble (and perhaps represent) both  the folds of a brain and the side and frontal views of a uterus — below — and the word itself is thought to derive from the LABRYS shapes where the U-turns meet up back-to-back.  The word labyr-inth is generally translated as "The Place of the Labrys."

For many who work in any kind of healing field, and for many who have ever experienced profound healing in their own lives, walking the labyrinth is an appropriate metaphor for this kind of non-linear process, with its inevitable ups-and-downs and backs-and-forths; setbacks, detours, U-turns, delays, times of hope, faith, surrender, despair, and surprising breakthroughs.  Many experience  the labyrinth's energy field itself as a kind of spiritual technology that seems to affect our brains (which it's thought by some to resemble), especially where the U-turns occur and seem to facilitate some kind of hemispheric shift.  Walking, being wheeled through, and even tracing finger labyrinths have all been shown to be physiologically beneficial for patients with Parkinson's.

Incidentally, the design at the center of the Chartres Labyrinth references the simple fact of geometry that a circle can be surrounded by exactly six circles of the same size. Hence this concept is considered to be fundamental to Sacred Geometry — referring esoterically to the seven days of the week and the seven classical planets (named accordingly).

We will now wrap up Part II of this meandering essay on Mercury Retrograde — do tune back in for Part III and a possible explanation of the phenomenon from the perspective of where Modern Physics just may intersect with Ancient Metaphysics and Archetypal Astrology.  We will just take this quick look at another astrologer's quick thumbnail sketches for the December 2022 M Rx in Capricorn, and how all the signs are "affected" (reverting to causal language) in turn — most likely more accurate for your Rising Sign than your Sun Sign, if you know it, because it is more personal being based on your exact minute of birth, rather than your month of birth.

https://www.spiritdaughter.com/blogs/align-with-magic/tips-for-the-final-mercury-retrograde-of-2022-in-capricorn

As we prepare to say Goodbye for now, I will leave you with an analogy to contemplate, of the value and importance of many non-direct processes in life, such as many learning, and healing experiences — both said to be "ruled by" the planet Mercury.

Like a backstitch in embroidery — shown in the video below — often we have the need and / or opportunity to deepen a life lesson by seemingly repeating it, or back-tracking over the same territory in our lives until we really "get it" — only to discover that we have actually come out ahead of where we were, or thought we were.  

This "backstitch" concept can be a helpful way to look at otherwise frustrating delays and detours when they occur in life. These apparent setbacks often actually bring us to a better place, further ahead, with a deeper understanding, than we would have gotten to in a more direct, straightforward learning and / or healing process — a richer experience than simply popping a pill and suppressing the experience! Rather than groaning and rolling our eyes when a Life Lesson seems to rear its ugly head, for its umteenth review, if we really pay attention we may be able to discern that there is really a spiral at work rather than a vicious circle; and we can welcome the opportunity to truly integrate the Lesson more consciously. This idea is conveyed beautifully in a mantra commonly associated with Kundalini Yoga, and used in the Sikh tradition, in which we contemplate our gratitude toward Life Itself as the Ultimate Divine Teacher, the Guru Within — with gratitude that we experience ANYTHING at all — that we have the gift of Consciousness at all — that we experience experience at all — good or bad — is a miracle — a Miracle beyond the miracle of mere existence in the first place.

Ong Namo Guru Dev Namo:

I bow to the subtle divine wisdom,
I bow to the divine teacher within.

 

 

 

__________________________________________________________________________________________________

Marjorie Partch is a counseling, teaching, and writing Jungian (Archetypal) Astrologer and Tarot interpreter with more than 35 years' experience. In addition to her training in Transformational Astrology, she has studied Integrative Therapy with an emphasis on the work of C.G. Jung, and is a longtime student of yoga, meditation, and Kabbalah, as well as a practicing artist and poet. Marjorie was a contributor to Your Birthday Sign Through Time, Simon & Schuster, 2002. Transplanted from her native New York City in early 2001 (by way of Vermont), she is now happily available in Fairfield County. Ordained in 2006, Marjorie received her labyrinth facilitator training from Lauren Atress in the same year, and shares her Blue Lotus canvas labyrinth as a tool for spiritual transformation and Sacred Activism.  Marjorie also offers Reiki sessions in conjunction with or apart from spiritual counseling, with or without the tools of astrology or Tarot; in person or by Zoom or by phone: (203) 286-7525 / https://AlephTalks.com/Astrology.

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JUNE 22 ~ JULY 20, 2009
You don’t want to blink with this NEW MOON’s high-tension power tool in your hands, especially with a
culmination deadline like July 7’s fast-forward Full Moon Eclipse. June 22 brings the Solstice’s annual
oomph to seeds planted in family/home-oriented Cancer, in exact Opposition to powerful Pluto in career-minded Capricorn, forming a T-Square with free-thinking Uranus in dreamy Pisces. Creative blending of all these seemingly conflicting impulses will produce the best results …

7junmoon09

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A Critical Essay on the Classic 1917 Tome by D’Arcy Wentworth Thompson

— On Growth and Form —

Originally Anthologized in the 2002 Volume of the College Text
Nonfiction Classics for Students,
Published by the Gale Group.

Marjorie Partch is a Jungian astrologer, writer, and graphic designer. In this essay, she considers Thompson’s interdisciplinary approach to the theory of evolution in contrast to Darwin’s.

When the Scottish classicist, mathematician and naturalist D’Arcy Wentworth Thompson [1860 – 1948] wrote On Growth and Form in 1917, Darwin’s theory of evolution was not only relatively new, it was at the height of intellectual fashion, certainly within the scientific community if not with the religious community. Thompson’s highly original thesis on morphology — the branch of biology that examines the forms and structures of living organisms — dared to question the principle of an ever-upward, magically directed, ascending spiral toward perfection that Darwin had put forth as the notion of Natural Selection in his seminal work, The Origin of Species, in 1859. Where Darwin draws frequent analogies from Nature to a cow-breeder culling his herd, Thompson sees the physicist’s underlying harmony of cause and effect; he sees energy interacting with matter in mathematical terms.

If Thompson’s work was regarded as controversial in its own time — because it first of all questioned, and then largely ignored, this prevailing assumption of an inevitable progression toward a supposed ideal — today his work seems nothing less than heretical. Or refreshing, depending on one’s point of view.

Nowadays, Thompson’s audacity is all the more striking, particularly as his challenge to Darwin comes from the scientific, and not the Creationist, quarter. Thompson, while not denying the Divine Mystery as the absolute final cause, also does not deny the phenomenon of Natural Selection. He simply points out that this process of elimination of the unfit, of unsuccessful forms, need not imply teleology — that is, a purposeful development or design toward a final end. To dispute this ingrained notion of a purposeful progression to evolution, was then and remains now quite a radical break with the prevailing thinking about Nature.

But, we may ask, aren’t all the changes over time in organic forms, after all, improvements in structure better suited to meeting challenging changes in the environment? The answer is, actually, No, not necessarily. In fact, while most adjustments in form were at one point in time advantageous to the organism, many of these features have become obsolete. These “leftovers” are simply lingering on past their functional purpose, and have not been “cleaned up” after their usefulness has expired. There are also many failures in mutation, many “wrong turns” down blind alleys. It is Thompson’s contention that this philosophical interpretation of progress becomes a dogma. This then blinds the naturalist to the more immediate causes for “fortuitous variations” in form: the interplay of physical forces with geometric structures.

Thompson maintains that we do not need to look quite so far afield from the core duality of force and form to learn more about changes in form, whether in terms of the growth of an individual organism or part of an organism, or whether we are looking at evolutionary variations within a species over time. Feeding the doctrine of teleology — the assumption of steady upward movement toward Nature’s presumed magnum opus of the frontally lobed, opposably thumbed, bipedally superior Homo sapiens — starves the scientist of the empirical observation of the direct mechanical causes of adaptation and changes in form. The fundamental mechanics of growth and change in form tend to be overlooked. They can be explored, quantified and described in mathematical detail, furthering our understanding of morphology.

Thompson Opens his Introduction with these words:
“Of the chemistry of his day and generation, Kant declared that it was a science, but not Science, for that the criterion of true science lay in its relation to mathematics … A hundred years after Kant, Du Bois Raymond declared that the chemistry of the future must deal with molecular mechanics by the methods and in the strict language of mathematics, as the astronomy of Newton and Laplace dealt with the stars in their courses …”

[On the mathematical definition of form]:
“We are brought by means of it in touch with Galileo’s aphorism (as old as Plato, as old as Pythagoras, as old perhaps as the wisdom of the Egyptians), that the book of nature is written in characters of Geometry.”

Thompson sees the application of physics and mathematics to the field of zoology as no less an occasion for awe in the face of natural phenomena than the prevailing teleological assumptions. He feels his approach enhances an even deeper appreciation of the intricacies of the ultimate mysteries of life. Thompson expresses his love of Nature and wonder at its mysteries in such poetic terms that this has been called as much a work of literature as a work of science. It could also be called an extended meditation on the mathematical patterns inherent in nature everywhere, from the inorganic crystalline structures of snowflakes to the spirals in a nautilus shell to the curves of a living and growing ram’s horn.

While some may recoil from the “mechanization” of the living body of Nature, who can resist the engineer’s delight in the design of a bird’s wing? But Thompson can hardly be accused of reductionism when he muses on “the shape of a snail-shell, the twist of a horn, the outline of a leaf, the texture of a bone, the fabric of a skeleton, the stream-lines of fish or bird, the fairy lace-work of an insect’s wing.” These are no less beautiful under closer examination, and he intends no slight when points out that “no organic forms exist save such as are in conformity with physical and mathematical laws”— and demonstrates that all these wonders can be described mathematically. For Thompson, “Numerical precision is the very soul of science.”

He elaborates:
“To seek, not for ends but for antecedents is the way of the physicist, who finds ‘causes’ in what he has learned to recognize as fundamental properties, or unchanging laws, of matter and energy. In Aristotle’s parable, the house is there that men may live in it; but it is also there because the builders have laid one stone upon another. It is as a mechanism, or a mechanical construction, that the physicist looks upon the world; and Democritus, first of physicists and one of the greatest of the Greeks, chose to refer all natural phenomena to mechanism and set the final cause aside.”

Throughout On Growth and Form, D’Arcy Thompson’s unique perspective as a triple scholar is called into play. His fully professional background within each discipline does more than just add to the others —there is a blending between them. They have been “chemically combined,” to create a new alloy. His grounding in Classics and Mathematics assures that he has read (even translated) not only Plato and Aristotle, but Archimedes, Euclid, Pythagoras, et al. He brings the full depth of his decidedly Greek sensibility and insight to bear on his astute observations of Nature. Thompson was not only a modern Renaissance Man, he was an embodiment of one of his favorite principles — Synergy: “The interaction of two or more agents or forces so that their combined effect is greater than the sum of their individual effects.” This is exactly the cumulative effect of his arguments. They combine to form a perspective as multifaceted as one of Thompson’s beloved dodecahedrons (a 12-sided geometric figure).

Each chapter takes a small question of form, and examines it from one angle and then another, and then another, in much the same way that Bach introduces a simple melodic phrase, which is then amplified and extended and interpolated by various instruments. Various points invite reciprocal counterpoints. A certain tension escalates in the call and response. And then there is an explosion, as the individual elements come together and develop their own dance, and a full fugue emerges.

We need not anthropomorphize a celestial engineer working out the immediate advantages of hollow-boned birds’ wings with a slide rule and protractor. The laws of Nature, Divinely inspired, do that … naturally. The solid-boned birds, whose more rigid, heavier wings weighed them down or which snapped in the wind, were eliminated from the gene pool, allowing the hollow-boned specimens to thrive and multiply. Thin, cylindrical tubes, by the very nature of their shape, tend not to buckle — under their own weight or under external loads or pressures, such as wind. Thompson celebrates the success of this model in a detailed mathematical contemplation of the interplay of forces and stresses in the air pressure working “against” the wing, and the structural resistances and advantages in the actual construction of the wing. He illustrates his points with ancient and recently discovered ratios and formulas in such a way as to suggest that the aerodynamic circumstances themselves, interacting with the developing organism, gave rise to the wing’s design. Similarly, the strength of a tree is directly related to the wind-pressure it must withstand.

Thompson gives a hilarious and informative example of this subtle principle in his exposition on honeycombs. There was much impassioned discussion at his time of writing concerning the marvel of the bees’ ingenious economy in employing their famous hexagonal shape. There was some debate as to whether it was the bees’ own intelligence which devised this architectural plan, or whether it was Divine instruction guiding their instincts. But everyone agreed, including the mathematicians, that the hexagonal shape afforded the absolute most efficient use of space within the hive, and the most economical use of wax in the construction of the cells. There was much specious comparison of “ideal angles” (110deg and 72deg), with impossible “measurements” of the bees’ roughly hewn angles, but they did come close enough to warrant general amazement.

However, Thompson observes that along the outside edges of the hives, the cells are round, and not hexagonal at all. In other words, when the cells of the hive are not adjacent to other cells, they do not assume the shape of a hexagon. He further observes that as the bees are working, they are not creating flat edges to the sides, but rather, simple rounded out hollows or cylinders. The tubular cell walls only become flat, by default, as neighboring bees scrape down adjacent walls to a final degree of thinness, each working to maximize the interior area of his cell, pushing up against the adjacent cells of his neighbors.

Thompson drives his point home with the observation that when soap bubbles, for that matter, are amassed together, their spherical shape tends to distort and collapse into flat edges where the bubbles’ walls meet. He concludes his discussion of this subject with the simple fact of geometry that a circle can be surrounded by exactly six circles of similar size; and hence any natural circular or spherical cluster flattens into a hexagonal honeycomb shape, be it soap bubbles or living cells … or honeycombs — provided the material with which they are constructed is pliable enough. It is a necessity of physical law; geometric, mathematical law, that they assume this shape. In short, honeycomb cells are hexagons because they have to be. Actually, flat circles become hexagons, but spheres become dodecahedrons. We can observe the same “packing” phenomenon in crates of oranges or the compressed, faceted flesh of pomegranate seeds. This has far more to do with intrinsic physical dynamics such as surface tension, and matter interacting with forces (such as mutual pressure and weight), than with the mysterious motives and causes, immediate or final, behind insect behavior. This is but one example of why it is important for naturalists to take physics and mathematics into account. This is a very clear and simple illustration of what Thompson means when he asserts that the form of an object is a “diagram of forces.” The object or organism’s shape is like a footprint in the sand, tracing where and how various forces have acted, or are acting, upon matter. The organism’s own process of growth is one such force. That genetics enters the dialogue between force and matter, such that fetal development anticipates environmental stresses, does not detract from Thompson’s argument that force determines form. That is simply Nature’s pre-emptive prerogative at work to accelerate the process of adaptation.

This view also need take nothing whatsoever from our wonder at the mystery of Creation, or the notion of a design or purpose to it. It may not bring us any closer to knowing what that purpose might be, but it certainly doesn’t preclude the question. If anything, we are privileged to glimpse the implicate order at an even deeper level of the overall design. This view only enhances our appreciation of Nature’s creativity:

“The harmony of the world is made manifest in Form and Number, and the heart and soul of all the poetry of Natural Philosophy are embodied in the concept of mathematical beauty.”

Thompson is fond of quoting Kant, who says:
“It is Nature herself, and not the mathematician, who brings mathematics into Natural Philosophy.”

Matter as Diagram of Forces is the introduction of a theme that Thompson builds into a brilliant fugue in his chapter on ratio in logarithmic spirals. What more Greek a concept is there than Ratio? And this theme interweaves, warp to woof, with his earlier theme of geometric Necessitas.

Thompson seems to delight in presenting
ratios throughout the text. He begins with the simple. The ratio between the thickness of a stalk of grass to the stress of its own weight is a square; but aha, its length to its weight? Cube. This he readily correlates to bone mass and body weight in animals. Gradually he builds to one of the most elegant, and prevalent, ratios known to exist throughout Nature. Sometimes called, after Euclid, the Divine or Golden Section, it is also known as the Fibonacci series. Expressed as a ratio,
it is roughly 3:5. Expressed mathematically it is a recursive sequence: 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21; each value is the sum of the previous two. Expressed geometrically it is the spiral that makes a nautilus shell a nautilus shell. Each chamber within the nautilus shell equals its two predecessors in size. We see exactly this type of growth throughout not only seashells, but animal horns, and with an added corkscrew twist, in the interval between leaves on a stem; even in galaxies and storms. By mathematical necessity, this spiral occurs wherever growth occurs in this 3:5 ratio. And this growth ratio occurs throughout Nature.

It is perhaps here that we can best see the signature of Nature Herself, signed with a flourish.

— C.G. Jung

Notes

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2017/jul/21/growth-form-darcy-wentworth-thompson-review

Marjorie Partch is a counseling, teaching, and writing Jungian astrologer and Tarot interpreter with more than 35 years’ experience. In addition to her training in transformational astrology, she has studied Integrative Therapy with an emphasis on the work of C.G. Jung, and is a longtime student of yoga, meditation, and Kabbalah, as well as a practicing artist and poet. Marjorie was a contributor to Your Birthday Sign Through Time, Simon & Schuster, 2002. Transplanted from her native New York City in early 2001 (by way of Vermont), she is now happily available in Fairfield County. Ordained in 2006, Marjorie received her labyrinth facilitator training from Lauren Atress in the same year, and shares her Blue Lotus canvas labyrinth as a tool for spiritual transformation and Sacred Activism.  Marjorie also offers Reiki sessions in conjunction with or apart from spiritual counseling, with or without the tools of astrology or Tarot; in person or by Zoom or by phone: (203) 286-7525 / https://AlephTalks.com/Astrology.

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When You Come to a Fork in the Road, Take It.

–  Yogi Berra Rinpoche

Rather than merely predicting your future, following some kind of pre-programmed “default mode,” the true power of a consultation with a qualified Archetypal or Jungian Astrologer lies in its ability to reveal perhaps hidden opportunities within your given inclinations as outlined in your astrological horoscope or “birth chart.”  This snapshot of our planetary solar system against the backdrop of the constellations, or “fixed stars,” at your exact moment of birth is said to show your likely life patterns and personality dynamics. However, this kind of insight-based approach actually expands the scope of your Free Will, within your given probabilities, empowering you to become a more conscious co-creator of your own future.

A horoscope does not show our future written in stone, and no responsible astrologer would ever claim that it does.  What a horoscope does show:  the tendencies and potentials of our inherent personality patterns, for better and / or for worse – as they are also likely to unfold in time, as represented by the cyclical movements of the planets. But these inclinations and likelihoods are not absolutely guaranteed. But neither can they be completely eliminated.

The personality, like the body, is a vehicle for the soul, and is not meant or able to be completely bypassed or transcended – we are not here on Earth by accident or mistake. However, we do not have to slavishly follow our “path of least resistance” either. Finding the “middle path” can become a co-creative and ever-evolving dance.

In other words: While we cannot control the prevailing winds – no matter how enlightened we may become –  we can learn to set our sails, and we can learn to tack – potentially radically changing where we end up in life – especially inwardly – even given the “outline” set forth in our horoscopes.  We can also learn to work in sync with the Divine Timing of our karmic lessons, perhaps even turning challenges into opportunities – for spiritual growth at the very least – rather than being completely broadsided by inner and outer “weather conditions” that are somewhat predictable and transmutable. (The root of Divination = Divine.)

An insightful astrologer can help catalyze your individual process of unfoldment, regardless of whether you are facing easy or difficult cycles. Pointing out any upcoming pitfalls you will likely be facing, along with  optimal opportunities for growth (and consciousness) during both challenging cycles and “fortunate” or expansive cycles – which might otherwise be wasted – supports your spiritual development over time, and helps you achieve your highest potential – which is also shown in the birth chart.

Human life being what it is, we can often see (particularly with 20/20 hindsight) that we tend to grow the most during or following our most intensely challenging experiences and relationships. This is why seasoned transformational astrologers encourage living life to its fullest, with all its ups and downs, as a full-contact sport, rather than from the sidelines as a spectator or bystander – much less a passive victim –

~ ℵ ~

Archetypal or Jungian Astrologers believe that astrology works on C.G. Jung’s principle of Synchronicity, rather than linear cause and effect. This means that celestial events are happening at the same time as human experiences on Earth, in parallel, like gears moving within gears. The microcosm is thought to be unfolding within the macrocosm, on respectively higher and lower levels, rather than planetary movements directly causing Earthly events in the same way that gravity, say, causes an apple to fall to the ground:

Swiss Psychologist C.G. Jung
1875-1962

As Above, So Below
There are correspondences between the multiple levels of the holographic Universe we live in, which Archetypal Astrology describes in symbolic language as the archetypal themes at work over a lifetime, as well as the more immediate forces in evidence over shorter periods of time. But a symbolic language is not a simplistic equation of this-equals-that. By definition, a symbol has many possible meanings – and astrological symbols have many possible interpretations and expressions in real-life terms.  This is where some degree of Free Will is thought to lie, in our ability shift the specific expression of the energies involved, particularly from a less conscious level of expression to a more conscious level – by working at it. The principle way of “working at it” is through taking up serious spiritual studies and practices – and learning to make more conscious decisions in situations where we actually may have more choice than we may realize on our own.

~ ℵ ~

Each Planet Heads a Distinct Column of Possibilities
Mars, for example, whether in a individual or national or a corporation’s horoscope, or a transit or progression chart, does not necessarily have to signify war, violence, anger, aggression, or competition – although it may. Mars can also represent action, drive, ambition, hard work, effort, will power. To some extent, to quite a large degree actually – with inner work and discipline – we can choose the level of expression of the Martial energy, within its given range of possibilities. What we cannot choose is to turn Mars energy into Venus energy, or Saturn energy. We can’t change columns. In and of itself, Mars is never going to translate into Venusian love, beauty, charm, or harmony; or Saturnian discipline, focus, or commitment. One of the highest expressions of Saturnian energy is wisdom – but that is usually achieved through hard-earned experience (another Saturn concept), and not conferred automatically. In combination with these other archetypal energies, wow, though, the sheer force of Mars can move mountains and build magnificent cathedrals – when it is consciously directed and shaped. Mars positively tempered by Saturn connotes skill and sharpening.  Or, in a less “evolved” stage, this combination can be like having one foot on the gas and the other on the brakes, in a frustrating “stop-go” pattern. When the two energies are working together intelligently, on the other hand, it is said to result in gradual, guided, and controlled progress.

Click here to see some sample Keywords associated with Mars, Venus, and Saturn from my instructional workbook (to be shared in upcoming classes), to see what it means to have “columns of possibilities” for these thematically arranged real-life planetary expressions.  You can also begin to see the commonalities among Planets, Signs, and Houses – and how they correspond to one another.  With the North and South Nodes of the Moon, we work with 12 Planetary energies associated with (or “ruling”) 12 Signs, and 12 Houses – so they are not 36 random factors, but three sets of 12 inter-related factors to learn and commit to memory to start building your fluency in this eloquent symbolic language.

A Helpful Hint for Prospective Students of Astrology:

This set of three 12-sided dice helps you learn and memorize the glyphs for the planets and signs, while also learning how to consult an oracle:

“Astrodice”

~ ℵ ~

An Example of a Transformational Approach to a Challenging Life Pattern

If a highly “Martial” individual is complaining of generally feeling irritable, say, or if someone wants to reduce the angry side of a Mars transit or progression they are having, I recommend physical exercise and maybe even a martial art – so to speak – something physically strenuous and rigorous, not too gentle or “yin,” or intellectual or subtle.

That is, I suggest redirecting the challenging energy into productive, or at least harmless channels, rather than expressing it destructively, or suppressing it, only for it to turn inward (possibly as illness or mishaps), or perhaps to explode more violently later on. Or, if repressed for a significant period of time, blocked anger often manifests psychologically as deep-seated depression, with a whole new set of baggage to contend with.

Anyone dealing with strong Mars or Aries energy in their birth or transit chart usually needs some amount of regular physical activity to stay in balance. Sports can be a healthy competitive outlet, or simply a daily walk or run can help even out one’s energy. The more these folks are able to work with this fiery energy consciously, the more positive its real-life expressions are bound to be.

Particularly for women, learning to consciously direct one’s “yang” Mars energy toward a physical task like a gardening or renovation project – rather than judging or rejecting it, and trying to resist, control, or repress it – or attempting to soften or “spiritualize” this naturally masculine energy – will bring out the best that Mars has to offer.

These kinds of choices, once made more consciously and less judgmentally than we usually have available to us or experience them as being, can transform “problem” areas of life into joyful, where we truly can cultivate greater Free Will – within limits – and we can drastically transform the course of our whole lives and relationships for the better.

It can be profoundly liberating for an unbiased stranger to point out that you are designed to be rather highly strung, driven, feisty, and energetic, and to invite you to accept and work with this dimension of your personality. Especially when this IS the case, and you may have received a lot of harsh conditioning against this fundamental quality over which you did not have any apparent control – but were constantly berated with disapproving messages that you should fix or change these inherent traits: “Why don’t you just mellow out and be more easy-going, cooperative, and nice?” – that is, more Venusian or Libran. (Perhaps like your brother or sister.)

It can really take the pressure off when an astrologer validates that this is simply not an available option for a strong Mars / Aries type. However, guess what? Ironically, the more you accept who you are and learn to work with your intrinsic energies in more constructive ways, the more the rough edges actually do tend to smooth out. While you may never become a cuddly pussy cat, conscious Mars types can learn to retract their claws – at least on occasion. You can then access the best expressions of Mars’ strengths, such as drive and leadership ability, rather than being at the mercy of its unconscious negative (“Shadow”) qualities. But you still won’t get Venus.

Being given this kind of “permission” to be who you really are, to consider new ways of framing your experience and new ways of expressing your fundamental character, can be profoundly healing and liberating.

This is where one’s consciousness can actually grow through the use of astrological insights – paradoxically through the use of Free Will – with self-responsibility being the other side of the coin.

“Free Will is doing freely and gladly that which one must do.”
                                                                                          – C.G. Jung

Individuation is not about becoming someone new or other than who we are – it’s about becoming who we truly are, in the healthiest and most authentic sense, and embracing that unique essence as our Destiny.

Marjorie Partch is a counseling, teaching, and writing Archetypal Astrologer and Tarot interpreter with more than 35 years’ experience. In addition to her training in transformational astrology, she has studied Integrative Therapy with an emphasis on the work of C.G. Jung, and is a longtime student of yoga, meditation, and Kabbalah, as well as a practicing artist and poet. Marjorie was a contributor to Your Birthday Sign Through Time, Simon & Schuster, 2002. Transplanted from her native New York City in 2001, she is now happily available in Fairfield County. Marjorie also offers Reiki sessions in conjunction with or apart from spiritual counseling, with or without the tools of Astrology or Tarot; in person or by Zoom or by phone:
(203) 286-7525 / https://AlephTalks.com/Astrology.

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