You see, man is in
need of a symbolic life - badly in need. We only live banal, ordinary,
rational, or irrational things . . . but we have no symbolic life. Where do we
live symbolically? Nowhere except where we participate in the ritual of life. .
. We have no symbolic life, and we are all badly in need of the symbolic life.
Only the symbolic life can express the need of the soul - the daily need of the
soul, mind you! And because people have no such thing, they can never step out
of this mill - this awful, banal, grinding life in which they are "nothing
but." . . . C.G. Jung, The
Symbolic Life
I believe it’s
time to take the idea of the symbolic life seriously. That means it’s time we see our lives as
meaningful. This is the first of a
series of essays that will look at the old archetypal stories and see how they
might be renewed within each of us.
It’s time to
tell a new story about life, love, community, power, responsibility and
re-birth.
Today’s New
Moon in Aquarius is a new beginning for the collective Mind. Each year this New Moon gives us an opportunity
to transform the collective Mind, but this year something bigger is happening. This year’s Aquarius New Moon is gestating in
the womb of a cosmic grand cross; the 5th cosmic challenge between Pluto
in Capricorn and Uranus in Aries, invoking the continuing story of the
revolution and evolution that started in the 60s. The challenge becomes an energy generator
with the addition of Jupiter in Cancer and Mars in Libra this Spring.
The Cosmic
Story is telling us to work with these energies now, because our challenge is
to become conscious forces of evolution.
It’s time for us to bring our gifts into collective awareness. We are
challenged to change a whole world view that was once necessary and good, but
which has become lop-sided and detrimental to the health of the entire bio-field
of Earth.
We are facing Death: the death
of our environment as we know it, the death of patriarchy, and the death of the
belief that we are separate from each other.
If the knowledge of Death doesn’t get us out doing something, I don’t
know what will. Are we really willing to
let ourselves to lead to the slaughterhouses without protest? Without doing something about it with
originality, honor and courage?
Aquarius
symbolizes humanity’s ability to consciously connect with the archetypal
patterns, the cosmic laws of the universe. These laws are instinctual, built into the
fabric of our world and cosmos. Archetypes are energy fields which structure
plants and animals and human beings, rocks and trees, wind and rain, light and
dark. And as far as we know, human
beings are the only ones here on Earth who can become conscious of these
archetypal patterns. And as Carl Jung
demonstrated, once we become aware of these archetypal instincts, we can change
how we relate to them.
Archetypes
can only be known through an image, a symbol which contains many layers of
meaning. As we work with the archetypal
symbols of the collective unconscious, we rediscover the original intent of the
archetypes. And when we are aware of the
archetype’s primal power, we can consciously let it shape us.
Yes, we have
to be balanced to do this—we need a sharp mind that can discern what is
delusion (God told me to sacrifice my son,
and then try to literally do it) and wisdom (I sense that I need to let my son live his own life now and stop trying
to make him into someone I want him to be).
But if we hold true to our values and our truth, the archetypes can
gently shape us with a true story. Right
now, we have all been shaped by the patriarchal stereotypes of what life is all
about.
The freed-up
archetypes can tell us a new story, which can inspire our imagination and in
turn, give us the courage to take action.
For example, the archetype of the
leader has become the stereotype of the politician. When archetypes lose their feeling aspect
(when people no longer believe it) they become dry stereotypes. Once we stop ceding the archetypal power of
leadership to this stereotype, the archetypal energy of leadership becomes
accessible to us. I’ve often talked
about how the archetype of the Bard, whose word is law and inspiration, has become
the stereotype of the entertainer, who takes our minds off reality. The good news is that the archetypes of leader
and bard are still accessible to us.
So the New
Moon in Aquarius is an ideal time to nurture an archetypal seed lying within
you. Where do your talents lie? How do you use them now? How would you like to use them? To change your life, you need to change the
story.
The ancient
myths show us collective archetypal patterns that shaped cultures and people’s
perceptions of life. Which pattern calls
to you?
I just wrote a blog after I read an
article by Craig Chalquist, Ph.D. "Earthrise: A Mythic Image for Our Times." on the
image of Earthrise, that first
mystical picture of our Earth floating in the heavens. This image, while unique to modern times,
derives some of its power from the archetype of the Anima Mundi, the World Soul.
You can just see that beautiful soul shining out into space, can’t
you?
Archetypes
get renewed in our consciousness when there is a need for new perspectives and
new actions and new growth.
With Pluto
in Capricorn breaking down belief in our collective social structures—patriarchy,
finance, government, religion, capitalism—we have an opportunity to create
something different because the archetypal patterns are also being renewed. Of course, the old ways aren’t dying easily,
but that’s Saturn—archetype of patriarchy—for you! In Greek mythology, Saturn ate his own
children, swallowing them until Rhea, the Earth Mother, gave him a rock to swallow
instead of her youngest child, Zeus.
Zeus grew up and went on to lead the revolution against Saturn.
At this New
Moon, Pluto is joined by Venus, stationing and about to go direct. Venus has just come through her conjunction
with the Sun, reborn as the Morning Star.
The energy of a planet in retrograde motion feels like it’s going into
the inner/under world. So at this New
Moon, Venus has just emerged from the Underworld, bringing new heart knowledge
to this collective breakdown. Joining
Pluto, we might imagine that Venus takes on the role of Persephone, wife of
Pluto as well as the Spring Maiden. Venus
and Pluto are around 13* Capricorn, in the second 10* of Capricorn, ready for
rebirth—ready to start rebuilding a new cultural foundation. A strong foundation that gives equal weight
to the feminine aspects of life, something sorely lacking in patriarchy at the
moment!
When we add
Venus to Pluto’s energy of rebirth, we could say that Lady Wisdom is guiding us
with the truth and the beauty of the Morning Star. The Cosmic Story is telling us that it’s time
for us ‘to be as wise as a serpent and as gentle as a dove’.
Another new
archetypal pattern concerns Uranus in Aries.
Aries is the sign of self-discovery, a brilliant flash of fire that
illumines new ground for action. Why have we incarnated? Uranus
brings sudden changes, opening us to the archetypal fields (Uranus rules
Aquarius). This energy once again offers
us a choice: who do we want to be, what do we want to discover, what is our
purpose in life? The breakdown of the
system (Pluto) calls for individuals (Aries) to become their archetypal Selves,
living their soul’s purpose (Uranus).
That’s our personal challenge.
What will
really get this challenge moving is the addition of Jupiter in Cancer and Mars
in Libra. These four planets are in the
four cardinal signs, energy generating signs, action oriented and energizing. The addition of these two planets moves the square’s
challenge forward.
Jupiter is
the Roman aspect of Zeus, leader of the rebellion against Saturn. Jupiter awakens our curiosity, expands our
vision, and opens us to spirit. In the
sign of Cancer, it broadens our appreciation of the archetype of the Mother and
her nurturing qualities. Jupiter pushes
us to explore our inner depths (Cancer) and discover who we really are and what
we really want—instead of what patriarchy has shaped us to be and want. And as a mother, I can tell you that nobody
is as fierce as a mother defending her children. We need to become fierce in defense of
ourselves, our people and our planet.
The last to
connect with the upcoming grand cross is Mars retrograde in Libra. At this New Moon, Mars is still moving
forward in Libra, away from the other four planets, but it is going to turn
retrograde on March 1st and will be very tightly bound to the grand
cross in April. Mars is the archetypal
energy of desire and assertion, the energy that moves us and shakes us and
tells us that we’re alive. With Mars in
Libra, we are learning that we feel more alive when we partner up with others,
when we take their needs and desires into consideration and learn to be fair
and balanced. A true balance of
masculine and feminine consciousness opens us to Wisdom.
There are
many archetypal patterns being renewed now—perhaps all of them with the
changing of the ages. We are at the
beginning of that change, and so we are responsible for how those new
archetypal stories begin. Will we rise
up and meet the challenge in new and creative ways? Unnecessary war is patriarchal. A grown up doesn’t have to literally fight to
win a battle. With intelligence,
creativity, courage, intuition and wisdom, we will change our world.
