Tag Archives: Esoteric Astrology

Aquarius Rising: The Aquarius Soul

Aquarius. © Johfra, JohfraPosters.com

Aquarius. © Johfra, JohfraPosters.com

The sign of Aquarius is associated with science, technology, innovations, gadgets, individuality, uniqueness, the New Age, humanitarian ideals, and group consciousness.

Because Aquarius is the sign of the water carrier, many people mistakenly believe it is a water sign, yet if this were the case, we would see much more emotion from our often cool, aloof, and detached Aquarian friends. While water signs are about mastering emotions, air signs are about mastering the mind, and as the fixed air sign, Aquarius is all about the mind. Aquarius’s concern about humanitarian ideals and their apparent coolness on a personal level can seem like a contradiction until we understand the nature of air and fixed energy.

How can one be concerned for the whole of humanity and be apparently uncaring or “unfeeling” on a personal level? We might question their integrity and wonder whether they actually care or not. This is because Aquarius’s humanitarian concerns come from the head rather than the heart. It is an intellectual ideal born from intelligence and cold reason, rather than heartfelt compassion. “We are civilized people so we should be concerned for one another’s welfare.” This is one of the keys to understanding both the fear-based reactions and love-based expressions of Aquarius.

To really understand both the fear-based reactions and love-based expressions of this enigmatic sign, we need to briefly review the nature of fixed energy. In astrology, we speak of energy as having three “modalities” or modes of expression, sometimes called “qualities” because they describe the quality of the energy being expressed. These three modalities are cardinal, fixed, and mutable.

To understand how they work in harmony, think of a tree. The first green shoot that fights its way purposefully through the rocks and the earth towards the light of day is driven by cardinal energy, the energy of creation, evolution, and new beginnings. Cardinal energy is a driving force that pushes life onwards and upwards.

Now think of the trunk of the tree. That is fixed energy, the energy of a placeholder, containing and holding the energy within a fixed form or structure. Wherever there is structure – the structure of the trunk, the branches, the leaves, the cells within the leaves and even the DNA structure within those cells – we have fixed energy at work. It is fixed energy that will stabilize the tree within a structure for the duration of its life so it can fulfill its purpose.

Now think of the end of the life cycle when the tree dies. The leaves die and drop off, the trunk eventually breaks down, and the matter decomposes and transform into compost. This breaking down and changing and dissolving of form is mutable energy. The energy can then be reused (in the form of cardinal energy) once again at the beginning of a new life cycle. In the modalities we see the three essential energies that comprise the cycle of life: cardinal (creation), fixed (stability), and mutable (destruction).

Now think of the octaves of the musical scale, and you’ll understand the biggest challenge for all fixed signs, especially Aquarius. Fixed energy wants to “fixate” on something. So the only question becomes whether you lock and hold on the lowest octaves of the scale or on the highest ones. In terms of your spiritual journey, this refers to your level of consciousness.

As the fixed air sign, Aquarius is all about mastering the mind and the intellect. This is what makes Aquarius one of the most challenging signs for those on the spiritual quest, because changing course (by changing your mind) once you have locked in on your target like a heat-seeking missile is one of the most difficult things for you to do. This is why our Aquarian friends (and indeed all fixed signs) have a reputation for stubbornness.

On the spiritual journey, the activity of the intellect is actually considered an obstacle. We need to be able to go beyond intellect in order to realize spiritual truth, and this is where Aquarius often gets caught. Contrary to our contemporary Western view (where intellect is held in the highest esteem), in terms of spiritual development, attachment to intellectual ideas without the experience of direct perception is considered a form of ignorance.

[quote cite=”~ Lankavatara sutra translated by Walpola Sri Rahula”]Ignorant people get stuck in words like an elephant on the mud.[/quote]
The term “ignorance” in this context is not meant to be offensive, but refers to people who are not yet spiritually awake. We are all “ignorant” as long as our perception of spiritual truth is obscured, and it is the intellect that can be one of our biggest obstacles. In Esoteric Astrology, the Tibetan explains that we are evolving from instinct, through intellect, to intuition. In other words, intellect is a developmental stage that we are passing through. So when our Aquarian friends get stuck there, their spiritual development has reached a hiatus! The above quote is speaking of the problem of being stuck at the intellectual level.

Spiritual teachers and yogis speak of three levels of consciousness: gross, subtle, and extremely subtle. Gross consciousness is tangible and most related to our senses; we can see a rock, we can pick it up and feel it. We can hear running water. Subtle consciousness is the realm of thoughts. We are aware of thinking, but we cannot see our thoughts or touch them. This is where we experience the intellect. Extremely subtle consciousness lies in the stillness and silence beyond thoughts, and this is where we experience intuition. It is the consciousness of the Universe, and once we are able to abide at this level for prolonged periods of time, as great masters and yogis do, it is said that we have access to the wisdom of the Universe.

The musical scale of our spiritual journey is the ability to reach the high note of extremely subtle consciousness and remain there. While it is difficult for our Aquarian friends to navigate their way up the scale, and they face the danger of becoming stuck at the level of intellect, once they do reach the level of extremely subtle consciousness, their fixed nature gives them the advantage of being able to hold their attention there for long periods of time. Fixed signs can be great meditators if they have chosen well and fixed on the right level of consciousness! This is where we see the highest octave of Aquarius. Esoterically, Aquarius is the sign of group consciousness. This is not the tribal consciousness that is often associated with Cancer, but refers to the highest unity consciousness that is accessible only at the level of extremely subtle consciousness.

As we follow the soul’s journey through the twelve signs of the Zodiac, after the soul in the cardinal earth sign of Capricorn has learned how to methodically take the steps up the mountain (in other words to navigate the musical scale of consciousness and reach the high note of unity consciousness), Aquarius is able to hold the tone and allow the spiritual waters of love and life to flow for the benefit of humanity. At this extremely subtle level of consciousness, it is not holding in the sense of grasping, but rather it is a soft focus on subtle energies that accepts the flow of the dual waters of Aquarius, love and life. This is why, although Aquarius is the sign of the water carrier and has the symbolism of being a “vessel” to bring forth spiritual energy, we can also see that the water is always flowing. This is a vessel through which spiritual energy flows and is not contained.

[quote cite=”~ Alan Wilson Watts”]You cannot understand life and its mysteries as long as you try to grasp it. Indeed, you cannot grasp it, just as you cannot walk off with a river in a bucket. If you try to capture running water in a bucket, it is clear that you do not understand it and that you will always be disappointed, for in the bucket the water does not run.  To “have” running water you must let go of it and let it run.[/quote]
At this level, the energy of Aquarius joins with his polar opposite, heart-centered Leo, and the united sign of Aquarius-Leo flows the energy of love and life through a pure and open heart. Once we balance the Aquarius-Leo polarity, we are centered in our hearts, yet connected to the collective consciousness of humanity at one and the same time. There is great warmth and love here and not the cool, uncaring, aloofness that is often associated with the intellectual Aquarian. This is also why, esoterically, at its highest spiritual expression, Aquarius is the sign of the collective consciousness of humanity and the flowering of human consciousness. Once we have completed our soul’s passage through Aquarius, then we are ready for the sacred heart opening that happens on the last stage of our journey in Pisces!

If you have Aquarius Rising, you can consider yourself to be an Aquarian Soul, and your highest purpose is to flow the “dual waters of love and life for the benefit of thirsty humanity” (the Tibetan, Esoteric Astrology). The only question is whether you will fix your attention on a lower consciousness by getting caught in your own mental activity, or whether you will be able to go beyond your own thoughts and focus your attention on the peace and stillness that lies within. Then you will reach your highest soul purpose and access the flowering collective consciousness of humanity, and love and life will pour through you for the benefit of all.


Ruth

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Ruth Hadikin, Soul Astrologer

Ruth Hadikin – Soul Astrologer

To get your personal Soul Sign/Life Purpose Report (FREE with a consultation), contact Ruth via her website. You can also request a FREE mp3 download, “The Energetics of Soul Astrology.”

Capricorn Rising: The Capricorn Soul

Maori earth goddess Papatuanuku as Capricorn. © Karen MacKenzie, 2013. Details below.

Maori goddess Papatuanuku as Capricorn. © Karen MacKenzie, 2013. Details below.

As we continue our journey exploring the fear-based reactions and love-based expressions of the twelve zodiac signs, we arrive at the deeply mysterious sign of Capricorn.

Capricorn is associated with achievement, practical application, method, ambition, material resources, finances, government, initiation, and discipleship. Esoterically it is said that the spiritual “goal” is identified in Sagittarius, and then in Capricorn we choose to walk the path. The highest soul purpose of Capricorn is “to create heaven on Earth,” and it is no accident that we celebrate Christmas and the birth of the Christ during Capricorn season.

The words “discipline” and “disciple” both have their origin in the Latin verb discere, which simply means “to learn.” So if Sagittarius has identified the spiritual goal, Capricorn’s job is learning how to get there. The whole idea of discipleship implies that there is a practical methodology to achieve a tangible result. Through our soul’s experience in Capricorn, we learn to build a very real “stairway to heaven.” So what would this “heaven” look like? Rather than thinking of it as a physical location, it can be thought of as the blissful state of nirvana or samhadi that comes after many years of applied discipline in a yogic or monastic tradition.

Capricorn is the sign of mindfulness, method, and skill cultivated through patient application and practice. The power that was gained in Sagittarius must now be applied in practice. The essence of Capricorn lies in the most appropriate use of resources, in particular spiritual resources, to achieve success. This is the key to understanding both the fear based reactions and love-based responses of Capricorn. Esoterically, Capricorn is said to be the most mysterious sign of all, and we will only fully come to understand the true meaning of Capricorn when humanity has made a great leap in consciousness.
[quote cite=”~ The Tibetan”]The basis of the astrological sciences is the emanation, transmission, and reception of energies and their transmutation into forces by the receiving entity. … It is all a question of developed reception and sensitivity.[/quote]
Of all twelve signs, Capricorn is most associated with both the best and the worst of human character. To understand this, we need higher consciousness and an understanding of energy. Capricorn is said to rule governments, politics and banking. The current sorry state of the world’s banks, greed, avarice, corrupt politicians greedy for power, global inequalities in wealth, health and resources, has been attributed to the “negative” or fear-based expressions of Capricorn. Yet esoterically this is the sign of the initiate and the disciple! How can this be?

The soul in Capricorn is learning “right use of resources,” including our inner resources: our physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual energy. We cannot learn the power of our own energies and become skilled in their use from books. We can do so only through experience, practical application, and diligent practice – all Capricorn qualities. Through this, we develop the consciousness that results from deep self-observation where we become skilled at watching our own energies play out. Eventually, we then begin to see energetic patterns, connections, and deepen our understanding of the nature of energy and the laws of cause and effect.

In spiritual traditions where deep self-observation is part of the practice, students are encouraged to examine their own motivation. This means deeply observing the energies in you that motivate your thoughts, words, and actions, so that you come to know and understand your own driving forces. In this way, practitioners eventually begin to see important connections between seemingly different energies.

For example it is said that anger and love are the same energy and that anger is a lower fear-based expression of love. Likewise, greed and avarice are lower fear-based expressions of compassion. With consciousness, greed transmutes into compassion. If this is so, then it makes perfect sense that the most avaricious of signs has the potential to also be the most compassionate. We can only come to know this for ourselves through diligent application, experience, and awareness.[quote cite=”~ Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche”]Our anger obscures our capacity to love, our sadness obscures our joy, our prejudice obscures our equanimity, and our greed obscures our compassion.[/quote]
The current state of affairs in the world is a catalyst for human compassion to flower on a scale the likes of which have never before been known, and this is the lesson and the gift of Capricorn. In order to fully understand this, we need experience of how these energy dynamics work in our own energy field, which is why Capricorn is also the sign for skillful method, initiation, and discipleship.

The word “initiate” means to begin something or to be introduced to something. Without an introduction from skilled and experienced teachers, we are unlikely to see these energy dynamics for ourselves. Even Christ and the Buddha had teachers in their youth to point out the path. Next comes the discipleship, or discipline of applied practice. This means keeping our attention on the path. If we follow the energy of our greed, it takes us outside of ourselves, pursuing the object(s) of our desire and trying to fill a bottomless pit inside. It is this fear-based expression of Capricorn that leads to Capricorn’s worst reputation.

If we really observe ourselves deeply when we are experiencing greed, we can see that underneath it there is anxiety, fear, and maybe even terror. When we experience fear and terror, we naturally want to get as much as we can to take care of ourselves and our families. When our Capricorn friends succumb to fear, they may mistakenly chase after more worldly wealth and power, naturally trying to acquire and ring-fence resources for their own use, which gives them a false sense of security and short-lived peace of mind. Once they become well-versed and skilled in the art of energy dynamics, we will see that our Capricorn friends are transformed into the most generous and compassionate people on the planet! The Capricorn soul realizes that greed and compassion are but two expressions of the same energy and has the skill to transmute greed, avarice, and the base emotions of desire into compassion, love, and the highest qualities of humanity.

If you have Capricorn Rising, you can consider yourself to be a Capricorn soul. Your true skill and power lie in your innate focus, intelligence, and diligent method, which give you the ability to trace the energy of your emotions and desires back to their source. Rather than following the outward acquisitive direction of greed, by turning your attention inwards, observing your energy and tracing it back to its inner root, you will see it transform into compassion – first for yourself and then for others. From this connection to your innate compassion comes a deep and lasting sense of achievement, fulfilment, and spiritual nourishment. You then have an endless resource from which to practically and realistically build heaven on earth.


Ruth

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Ruth Hadikin, Soul Astrologer

Ruth Hadikin – Soul Astrologer

To get your personal Soul Sign/Life Purpose Report (FREE with a consultation), contact Ruth via her website. You can also request a FREE mp3 download, “The Energetics of Soul Astrology.”

KarenMacK smKaren MacKenzie is working on a series of astrology inspired paintings using goddesses from different cultures. For more information about the symbolism in this print and to view other works in her ongoing series, check out her website, Karen MacKenzie Art.

Scorpio Rising: The Scorpio Soul

The Irish Goddess Morrigan as Scorpio. © Karen MacKenzie, 2013. Details below.

The Irish Goddess Morrigan as Scorpio. © Karen MacKenzie, 2013. Details below.

As we contiue our journey exploring the love-base expressions and fear-based reactions of each zodiac sign, we arrive at the beautiful and enigmatic sign of Scorpio.

The intense sign of Scorpio is most commonly associated with sex, death and regeneration. It is also associated with other people’s money and resources, and even cruelty, so why beautiful? Because when we understand the underlying soul dynamics in Scorpio, we see that there is a beautiful, natural, and inevitable process of integration, healing, and transformation happening.

To connect the dots and see what these seemingly diverse associations have in common, we have to understand a little about the stages of development of our soul through the signs and what particularly is happening at this stage of our soul’s journey. In Esoteric Astrology, it is said that the soul “does battle” in two signs, Leo and Scorpio. In Leo, the battle is for our individuality; in Scorpio, the battle is for our soul. Esoterically, what happens in Scorpio is a process of personality-soul fusion. This explains the depth and intensity of Scorpio, for it is in this sign that we need to face the depths of our own soul and succumb to the surrender of the ego that happens as a result.

The Woods are lovely, dark and deep.
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.
~ Robert Frost

The individuality that we fought so hard to gain in Leo appears in Scorpio to be dissolving in the light of the soul and, at the ego-personality level of instinct, when we feel threatened it is natural to fight. To onlookers this can also appear cruel. When our Scorpio friends feel fear, it is felt at a depth and intensity that few of us can even imagine – as though their very survival is at stake, which, from the ego’s perspective, it is!

When we instinctively fight for survival, things can become really viscious. If you have ever tried to take a terrified cat to the vet, you’ll know what I mean. The claws come out, there’s hissing and spitting, and it will grasp and claw at anything to try and get away. This is an instinctive fear-based reaction, and in the case of the cat, we can clearly see that it isn’t personal. The cat doesn’t even know who you are; it will just scratch anybody or anything that is getting in the way! This is a clue to the solution and the power of healing and transformation in Scorpio.

To get beyond our fear-based reactions, we need to look at the roots of fear itself, and this is why Scorpio will often merrily go where angels fear to tread – to go as deep as possible and uncover the root of an issue. The root cause of our fear is actually our inability to tell illusion from reality. The ego, our personality as we know and think about ourselves, is actually a complex illusion created by our mind. In our earlier post on Leo, we outlined the process whereby at a certain point in early childhood development we form a mental concept of ourselves that we call “I.” This is the idea that there is a “person” in here that we call “me.”

When our Scorpio friends, or indeed any of us, are attacking, grasping, and clawing, we are suffering from a false sense of separation where we feel we have to defend our illusory sense of self by attacking an illusory “other.” Going deeper, beneath this illusion of “me” to discover the underlying reality of our existence and hence the Universe, is the soul purpose of Scorpio. This is how we discover the point of light in the darkness and that ultimately everything is light. The higher purpose of Scorpio is to transform darkness into light. But first, our attachment to the idea of “me” must finally be overcome.

[quote cite=”~ Kalu Rinpoche”]You live in illusion and the appearance of things. There is a reality, but you do not know this. When you understand this, you will see that you are nothing, and being nothing you are everything. That is all.[/quote]

When our frightened Scorpio is fighting for survival, other people’s money and resources seem to be of great importance. It can feel as though we have to fight or compete with others to get our share. One of the ego challenges of Scorpio can also be a tendency to become overly dependent on other people’s resources to meet their needs. This is part of the illusion: that what we need is outside of us and under the control of others. When our Scorpio friend discovers the true nature underlying the illusion, there is a softening and a realization that there is nothing and nobody to fight. We are only ever fighting reflections of ourselves.

[quote cite=”~ Nisargadatta”]Contemplate life as infinite, undivided, ever present, ever active, until you realize yourself as one with it. It is not even very difficult, for you will be returning only to your own natural condition.[/quote]

In Leo we experienced the process of self-realization. In Scorpio that self-realization turns to self-reliance. Everything we need is already within us. We have heard that phrase so often it can seem like a cliché, yet it really does point to a deep spiritual truth. Once our Scorpio friend discovers the reality that everything they have is already within them, they will have discovered the very thing that they can always rely on: their own Divine presence.

There are many names for this unchanging presence that we can always rely on: awareness, God, Great Spirit, Quantum Intelligence, the Divine, consciousness, the Self or even simply life itself. Whatever we call it, if we go deep enough in our journey, we find that it is always there. It can always be relied upon, and it is who we are. This is why Scorpio is also associated with birth, death, and regeneration; it is in Scorpio that we have the potential to discover within ourselves this everlasting presence that permeates and supercedes all forms and all lifetimes.

If you have Scorpio Rising, you can consider yourself to be a Scorpio soul, and your soul’s purpose is to transform darkness into light. You do this by confronting the apparent darkness within yourself. When you have the courage to face your fear directly, the illusion dissolves and what remains is your light. You recognize “the point of light” in the darkness as your own awareness, and you realize once and for all that your true nature really is one of light. You realize oneness with all that is and clearly see that there is no enemy outside of yourself. There is no one to fight. All fear naturally subsides (for there is nothing left to fear) and you are transformed. Then, as a result of your own personal journey of healing and transformation, you naturally become an inspirational source of healing and transformation for others.


Ruth

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Ruth Hadikin, Soul Astrologer

Ruth Hadikin – Soul Astrologer

To get your personal Soul Sign/Life Purpose Report (FREE with a consultation), contact Ruth via her website. You can also request a FREE mp3 download, “The Energetics of Soul Astrology.”

Karen MacKenzie is working on a series of astrology inspired paintings using goddesses from different cultures. For more information about the symbolism in this print and to view other works in her ongoing series, check out her website, Karen MacKenzie Art.

Libra Rising: The Libra Soul

White Buffalo Calf Woman, original artwork by Seattle artist Karen MacKenzie. See end of article for more info.

White Buffalo Calf Woman, original artwork by Seattle artist Karen MacKenzie. See end of article for more info.

As we continue our journey through the twelve signs of the zodiac, exploring the fear-based reactions and highest love-based expressions of each sign, we arrive at the beautiful sign of Libra. Symbolized by the scales, Libra is associated with balance, harmony, justice, ethics and the law.

Esoterically, Libra is associated with the Law of Harmonics, and the whole of nature is governed by harmonics. Perfect balance. Ecosystems depend upon it.

Taking the twelve zodiac signs as symbols of developmental stages on our soul’s journey, after the soul has found love in Virgo, Libra now realizes the power of choosing the highest expression for that divine love. If you have Libra Rising, you can consider yourself to be a Libra Soul, and your purpose is to bring greater degrees of harmony and balance into the world through right relationship. The Libra Soul resonates with harmonics, and Libra’s innate sense of harmony comes from deep inner knowing of this universal law. This is an important key to understanding both the lower fear-based expression of Libra and the highest love-based expression, so we will take a moment to explore harmonics and how it relates to the sign of Libra.
[quote cite=”~ Pythagoras, Astrologer and Mathematician, 570-495 BCE”]There is geometry in the humming of the strings, there is music in the spacing of the spheres.[/quote]
The universe is made of consciousness, which expresses itself through various frequencies. We can think of a human being as an instrument of perception created for detecting some of those frequencies within a specific range. We do this through our five senses. We feel vibration at a physical level and then once this vibration speeds up, we experience it as a sound. When it becomes even faster again, we experience it as light. In this way, consciousness experiences itself through a human being, and in turn we are aware of the conscious universe through our five senses.

By fine-tuning our instrument and increasing our sensitivity (our ability to perceive through our senses), we become aware of subtler and subtler levels of awareness. We are on a journey of experiencing conscious awareness through our senses and then recognizing that conscious awareness as ourselves. We call this our spiritual journey.

[quote cite=”~ Kate Chopin”]I wonder if anyone else has an ear so tuned and sharpened as I have,
to detect the music, not of the spheres, but of earth,
subtleties of major and minor chord
that the wind strikes upon the tree branches.
Have you ever heard the earth breathe?[/quote]

Experienced meditators tell us that once we are able to sense subtle frequencies beyond thought and mental activity, we enter a different state of consciousness where there is a natural state of peace and joy, and even more subtle vibrations can be detected. The pathway to this innate natural peace and joy requires navigating the energetic scale from the lower frequencies such as strong painful emotions to the higher frequencies of love and light. We do this in much the same way as climbing the musical scale from the lower octaves to the higher octaves. Before we can navigate any scale, we first need to understand the relationship between the different levels, and this is where harmony enters the picture.

Harmony exists where there is “right relationship.” For example, in music there can be consonant (congruent) sounds and dissonant (incongruent) sounds. Contrary to popular belief, harmony doesn’t happen only when there are consonant sounds, but where there is a balance between consonant and dissonant sounds. So when our Libra friends focus only on having pleasant (congruent) experiences to the exclusion of what might be causing discomfort (incongruence), they actually move farther away from the very harmony that they so deeply desire. Harmonizing means bringing both the consonant and dissonant notes in our lives into right relationship with one another. This is an ever-unfolding process whereby we open ourselves to greater degrees of harmony and congruence.

[quote cite=”~ Mahatma Gandhi”]Happiness is when what you think, what you say,
and what you do are in harmony.[/quote]

We can now see why the themes of harmony, peace, higher thought, natural law, and right relationship are important for the soul’s journey through Libra. In order for humanity to make music together rather than just noise, there needs to be right relationship between our consonant and dissonant notes! The true inner peace that Libra seeks is the result of harmonizing all our experiences, both pleasant and unpleasant, into one cohesive whole so we experience right relationship with ourselves, others, and the whole of nature.

The purest essence of Libra is higher love, peace, beauty, and harmony. Anyone with personal planets in Libra innately resonates at this frequency and therefore not only has an innate ability to detect subtle nuances of disharmony and incongruence, but also has a deep inner knowing of what needs to happen to restore harmony, balance, and congruence. However this spiritual essence is filtered through the lens of a fear-based human mind, which colors its expression. When our Libra friends experience fear, they may try manipulating the people and environment around them in a misguided attempt to “keep the peace” by avoiding incongruent experiences. The motivation beneath this behavior is their desire for peace, but this will only happen when they embrace that which is incongruent, thereby bringing it into harmony, balance, and congruence.

This is why a major theme for Libra is balancing relationships, especially the relationship between self and other. One of the skillful ways in which Libra “hides” to avoid dealing with uncomfortable issues is by keeping their attention on others and on meeting other people’s needs. While this seems to work for a short time, it isn’t really a firm foundation for a healthy relationship, because in itself it is incongruent and ultimately leads to resentment. For there to be balance in any relationship, our Libra friends have to bite the bullet and look at the causes of discomfort and incongruence. This involves going within, looking closely at themselves and the role they are playing in other people’s lives. Then our Libra friends will have a precious opportunity to fine-tune their skills of harmonizing through right relationship. Right relationship means being at peace within ourselves first, and then we will always be in right relationship with others.
[quote cite=”~ Marcus Aurelius”]He who lives in harmony with himself lives in harmony with the universe.[/quote]Libra is a cardinal sign after all, and cardinal signs are pioneering signs of leadership. If you have Libra Rising, your soul’s purpose is pioneering in the field of right relationship, bringing innovative solutions that contribute to world peace and harmony. When you become fearful, you have a tendency to avoid discomfort and seek only pleasant experiences, but this cannot bring the true harmony you so deeply desire. By having the courage to look directly at the causes of discomfort and then takinng inspired action to harmonize them, you can access the power of higher love and express your soul’s purpose in the real world through effective relating skills.


Ruth

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Ruth Hadikin, Soul Astrologer

Ruth Hadikin – Soul Astrologer

To get your personal Soul Sign/Life Purpose Report (FREE with a consultation), contact Ruth via her website. You can also request a FREE mp3 download, “The Energetics of Soul Astrology.”

Karen MacKenzie is working on a series of astrology inspired paintings using goddesses from different cultures. For more information about the symbolism in this print and to view other works in her ongoing series, check out her website, Karen MacKenzie Art.

Virgo Rising: The Virgo Soul

Zemnya, original artwork by Seattle artist Karen MacKenzie. See end of article for more info.

Zemnya, original artwork by Seattle artist Karen MacKenzie. See end of article for more info.

The sign of Virgo is associated with health, healing, wholeness, the harvest, purity, the divine feminine, the Mother, Mother Earth and service, one’s vocation or spiritual calling. The simplest way to summarize the purpose of a Virgo Soul is “to be an expression of Divine Love through one’s vocation or dharma.”

In other words if you have Virgo Rising, you can consider yourself to be a Virgo Soul, and you Soul’s purpose is to bring greater degrees of love into the world through your sacred work.

In modern times, the meaning of work becomes distorted when we think we have to accept jobs that are soul-destroying because we need the wages. In contrast, our true vocation is actually our spiritual calling. It is our divine work and our very reason for being. It is the purest expression of our life and soul, and finding our vocation, discovering the place of wholeness where we can fully be and express ourselves through our life’s work, is the highest purpose of Virgo. Before we can do this we have to purify the fear-based expressions of Virgo and access the highest love-based expression of this beautiful sign.

Ruled by Mercury, the Virgo mind is perceptive, discerning, detailed, incisive, and analytical. These attributes combined with an inherent desire for perfection can lead to many of the challenges that our Virgo friend experiences at the fear-based personality level. If left unchecked, your mind can go into overdrive, run you around in circles like a dog chasing its tail, and leave you feeling jaded, anxious, disheartened, and somewhat overly critical as you become cynical about the “imperfect” world around you. Yet ironically, in Esoteric Astrology, Mercury is also associated with the development of higher mind. The action of Mercury may seem to be Virgo’s downfall, yet it actually indicates the pathway to the higher purpose of Virgo. The real purification that Virgo needs is purification of the mind, and the true perfection that you seek is perfection of your soul.

The word “pure” comes from the Latin purus, which derived from the Greek pyr, meaning “fire.” The words pure and pyre (as in a funeral pyre) originate from the same root. Originally, the word “purification” meant cleansing by fire, and this is a clue to the deeper esoteric mysteries of Virgo and her highest soul purpose. The cleansing that happens when the soul is in Virgo is a spiritual cleansing, and the fire of which we speak is the cool spiritual flame of awareness that burns off all ignorance and reveals the light of awareness.
[quote cite=”~ Osho”]Once your awareness becomes a flame, it burns up the whole slavery that the mind has created.[/quote]
Once the flame of awareness has arisen in Leo, it is Virgo’s job to bring that pure awareness into the real world in practical ways. At the personality level, Virgo has a brilliant, sharp, analytical mind. Let’s pause for a moment and (in true Virgo style!) examine the word “analyze.” In the 1600s, the analyse meant “to dissect.” So when we are analysing something, we are “cutting it up.” Figuratively speaking, and sometimes even literally, we are taking it apart so we can examine all its component parts more closely. While the sign of Virgo is often associated with brilliant research and detailed analysis, the true gift of Virgo (and her association with healing) lies in the way she puts things back together again!

To an analytical mind, the characteristics of Virgo themselves may appear as separate things. Yet when we reverse the analytical process, they lead us back home through a process of purification or spiritual cleansing. We return to the Mother and reap the harvest by becoming healed, healthy and whole, from where we can be of true service in the world. This process of putting things back together again is called “synthesis.”

For synthesis to happen, there must be separate parts that require synthesising, so we can see that by nature, during the process of synthesizing there is still a sense of separation. Once the separate parts become whole again, the highest octave of Virgo has transcended separation and returned to wholeness. The very word “heal” comes from the Old English haelan, which literally means “to make whole.” That which makes things whole is pure awareness itself. At the highest level, your Virgo Soul already knows that all things, all phenomena in material existence, arise from pure awareness (or consciousness) and resolve back into pure awareness itself.
[quote cite=”~ Dr. Amit Goswami, The Self-Aware Universe“]Consciousness is the ground of all existence.[/quote] Your Virgo Soul knows that it is pure awareness itself that resolves all. So we can see that it is not analysis itself that heals (because by nature analysis dissects and separates), but rather it is the quality of the awareness that we bring to something that heals, because it brings us back to an awareness of wholeness, and in this wholeness, we find love. Cold analysis, without the presence of love, only increases separation and dis-ease. One of the deepest sacred mysteries of Virgo understands that it is actually our loving awareness that heals. We heal by bringing our loving, aware, conscious presence to something. By doing so, we return to the wholeness from which all arises and therin we find the purest divine love. Flowing this pure divine love into the world by bringing pure awareness (presence or consciousness) into our everyday work is the highest soul purpose of Virgo.
[quote cite=”~ Anya Sophia Mann”]We bring the Being to the doing.[/quote] Some spiritual traditions refer to a “Mother and Son” awareness. The “Son awareness” would be our everyday fear-based mind made up of thoughts, stories, fantasies, ideals, concepts, strategies, plans, emotions, and so forth. The “Mother awareness” would the ocean of pure loving awareness from which, and within which, everything else that we know (including ourselves) arises. In meditation, as we observe the activity of the everyday mind rising and falling, we may come to realize that we are none of those things, and that who we really are is the ever-present pure awareness that observes all. At this point it is said that the son has returned to the mother’s lap. This succinctly points to the process experienced by the soul in Virgo. In Esoteric Astrology, this process of “all things returning to the mother awareness” is reflected in the soul keynote for Virgo:
[quote cite=”~ The Tibetan, Esoteric Astrology”]I am the Mother and the child.
I, God, I, matter am.[/quote] So now we can begin to see that when we talk about our vocation or spiritual calling, we are not talking about searching high and low until we find some special kind of perfect sacred work, but rather it is about making the ordinary things that we do sacred by bringing the purest quality of our loving awareness to them in deep recognition that all things really are sacred. We purify the things we do, with our conscious awareness. This is the true meaning of Virgo. This reminds me of the Zen proverb:

Before enlightenment, chop wood, carry water.
After enlightenment, chop wood, carry water!

If you have Virgo Rising, your soul’s purpose is to bring divine love into the world. When you become fearful, it is too easy for you to become lost in mental activity and exhaust yourself by trying to find perfection in the outer world. The key is to recognize, through your brilliant clear direct perception, that the source of your exquisite discernment and analysis is awareness itself, and within that awareness is love. When you realize that you are that awareness, you also know without doubt that you are love. You realize that you are the embodiment of loving awareness. At that point, all work becomes your vocation, as the quality of your loving awareness brings perfection to everything you do by making it sacred. This is the soul’s journey through Virgo.


Ruth

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Ruth Hadikin, Soul Astrologer

Ruth Hadikin – Soul Astrologer

To get your personal Soul Sign/Life Purpose Report (FREE with a consultation), contact Ruth via her website. You can also request a FREE mp3 download, “The Energetics of Soul Astrology.”

Karen MacKenzie is working on a series of astrology inspired paintings using goddesses from different cultures. For more information about the symbolism in this print and to view other works in her ongoing series, check out her website, Karen MacKenzie Art.

Leo Rising: The Leo Soul

Sekhmet, original artwork by Seattle artist Karen MacKenzie. See end of article for more info.

Sekhmet, original artwork by Seattle artist Karen MacKenzie. See end of article for more info.

The regal sign of Leo is associated with kings, royalty, nobility, drama, theater, actors, children, creativity, and play. Leo is the sign of self-realization – the path that takes us from self-consciousness through self-awareness to ultimate self-realization. Along the way we may develop a misguided sense of self-importance, but this is understandable when we consider our experience as we pass through the Leo stage of our soul’s journey.

As mentioned earlier in this series, your soul’s journey is indicated by your Rising Sign (Ascendant). If you have Leo rising, you can consider yourself to be a Leo soul, and you are part of the group of Leo souls who are here to usher in an era of heart-centered leadership through creative expression of divine will.

Before you can reach this highest potential, you need to overcome the fear-based expressions of Leo so you may live your life through the highest love-based expression of Leo. This means fully understanding the ego personality so you can rise above it. There is a false self and a real self, and it is Leo’s job to figure out which is which. The Leo stage of our soul’s journey is a highly significant developmental milestone in the evolution of human consciousness. Leo is indeed very important, but not in the self-important way that the ego would like to think!

Whether we have personal planets in Leo or not, this article is relevant to us all, because we are all at varying stages of the individuation process symbolized by Leo. Leo can be thought of as the sign for our times, and it is indeed interesting that the current president of the United States, Barack Obama, has Sun in Leo. (Read more about the significance of Leo in the evolution of consciousness in this previous post.)

In Esoteric Astrology, by Alice Bailey, the Tibetan Master explains that we “do battle” in two signs, Leo and Scorpio. In Leo we are fighting for our individuality while, at a later stage, the battle in Scorpio is for our soul. The journey of Leo is one of individuation, and recognizing the importance of the individual is a vital step in the process. It is Leo’s job to stand up and say, “What about ME?” A newborn infant is a bundle of pure awareness. They are aware that they are hungry, they cry, they get fed. They are aware that they are uncomfortable, they cry, someone (hopefully) comes to make them feel comfortable again. There is no idea of “me.” This is an important point to recognize, if we are to fully understand individuation.

You might be able to remember back in your own life to a time when you were so young, there was just experience without labels. If you have been fortunate enough to spend some time with young infants, you’ll notice this exploring stage. When they pick up a flower, a building block, an insect – anything – the process is the same. They touch. Feel. Look. Probably put it to their mouth. If left undisturbed, they will spend a long time getting to know the object. They are immersed in pure experience without mental concepts. A new baby can’t think, “This is a flower.” Labels are given later by those around him who will tell him, “That is a flower.” But it is important to recognize that even before he had the capacity to think “this is a flower,” he was still experiencing, and his experience was individuated. It was his experience, nobody else’s.

It is a normal part of our intellectual development that we will quickly learn language and labels. It is an essential stage, because it is how we relate to the society into which we have been born. We initially connect with others and begin to relate in non-verbal ways with our parents, but very quickly as our social circle grows, we begin developing social skills, one of the most important of which is language.

This process hints at both the fear-based ego-personality expressions of Leo and the highest love-based soul expression. The biggest ego-challenge for Leo is not to get caught in labels. When the society tells a Leo that he is a banker, nurse, actor, fire officer, police officer, dropout, genius, addict, executive, scientist, slob, etc., he is likely to play the role full out. With great integrity, responsibility, and deep sincerity Leo will play the part that society has conferred upon him, whether he be a prince or a pauper. The danger is when he comes to believe this is who he really is. Deep down he knows he really is a “somebody,” but the mistake is in thinking that the “somebody” is his role in society. This is why sometimes Leo can appear stuffy or pompous. There can be a sense of being unnatural, as Leo wholeheartedly throws his life and soul into the role he has been given.

[headline h=”4″]Self-Conscious[/headline]

At this point our Leo friend is self-conscious. At some point our infant began to develop the idea of “me.” There is a point in child development where an infant will just look into a mirror and giggle. There is no “self” recognition. Then one day it arises. Suddenly, the infant looks in the mirror and realizes they are looking at their individual self, which they will soon come to call “me.” This is the arising of self-consciousness. From this point, as the child grows, he will be comparing self with other to find his place in the world. To see where he fits into the society in which he was born.

Until recent times, people never went beyond this stage. In communist countries, we can see there is very little emphasis on an individual self, as one is expected to be a “good citizen” and do one’s duty to contribute to the society. This was also the case in the West before 1945. Since then, in the West at least, we have seen the emergence of the individual. People no longer want to be seen as cogs in a machine. We can also see this in the current wave of revolutions in the Middle East as people are standing up and saying, “What about ME?” Individuals are demanding to be acknowledged, and this is a vital stage in the evolution of consciousness, because it is individuals who awaken, not societies. Society itself is merely a label that we have given to a group of individuals.

[headline h=”4″]Self-awareness[/headline]

For Leo, the way home to his authentic self is the pathway to his soul. Leo’s spiritual path is to keep asking, “Who am I?” and not to stop until he has the answer. Through this process, he cultivates deeper awareness of himself as an individual, self-awareness. Authentic self is the one who was there before all the labels, the one who was experiencing as a baby, before the development of conceptual thinking and language. You don’t have to do anything to be a somebody. You always were, even before the label “I,” even before you “thought” you were you. You were. You existed. Existence itself was experiencing life, as you. This is what Christ meant when he said, “Be as children.”

[headline h=”4″]Self-realization[/headline]

On our spiritual path, there comes a time to drop all labels and recognize reality for what it is. In meditation, we might return to the state of pure experiencing, where we can spend time with a flower simply experiencing its essence without the thought, “This is a flower.” If you have Leo Rising, you are here to awaken, to remember the state of pure being that is beyond all labels and concepts. Once you have returned to this childlike state, you will recognize yourself as awareness itself, and awareness will be aware of itself. This is the ultimate self-realization. You recognize your self as the essence of all existence. Then you will live life through your heart-center and be a pure expression of divine will in the world. You will know your will and God’s will to be one and the same.


Ruth

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Ruth Hadikin, Soul Astrologer

Ruth Hadikin – Soul Astrologer

To get your personal Soul Sign/Life Purpose Report (FREE with a consultation), contact Ruth via her website. You can also request a FREE mp3 download, “The Energetics of Soul Astrology.”

Karen MacKenzie is working on a series of astrology inspired paintings using goddesses from different cultures. For more information about the symbolism in this print and to view other works in her ongoing series, check out her website, Karen MacKenzie Art.

Cancer Rising: The Cancer Soul

Cancer/Xochiquetzal, original artwork by Seattle artist Karen MacKenzie. See end of article for more info.

Cancer/Xochiquetzal, original artwork by Seattle artist Karen MacKenzie. See end of article for more info.

The sign of Cancer is associated with home, food, nourishment, family, nurturing, childbirth, motherhood, empathy, compassion, and emotional intelligence. Symbolised by the Crab it is also associated with the ocean, and like a crab it is associated with being near the ocean, yet living on the land.

Esoterically there are deep mysteries associated with the “quiet” sign of Cancer. Cancer is the smallest of the constellations, but that shouldn’t lead us to underestimate her power. Cancer is the cardinal water sign, and all cardinal signs are here to take the lead in some way: to pioneer, introduce enlightened ideas and new ways of being into a specific area. In the case of Cancer, that area is emotions. All water signs are about mastery of emotions, so as the cardinal water sign, Cancer is here to take the lead in terms of our personal emotional development and to lead us into a new era in the evolution of human consciousness through emotional intelligence.

Cancer: The Light Within The Form
~ The Tibetan, Esoteric Astrology

As we have seen in the previous articles in this series, our Rising sign (Ascendant) indicates awakening: how we awaken into our spiritual reality, how we awaken or are born into the world, and indeed how we awaken each day into the world. With Cancer Rising, you are really here to learn how to nourish yourself and others with your soul-light. The whole journey of the soul through the twelve zodiac signs is a story of light, building up the volume of light in our light-body, or soul, while simultaneously increasing the amount of light that can be held and processed in our physical bodies. When the soul is in Cancer there is the potential for you to become aware of your soul-light.

I build a lighted house and therein dwell.
~ The Tibetan, Esoteric Astrology

Our Rising sign indicates how we awaken into our world, into new situations, and stages of consciousness. According to the Tibetan in The Labours of Hercules: An Astrological Interpretation,” Cancer is the last of the four signs of preparation (read more about the stages of the soul’s journey in a previous post) and, as a cardinal sign, leads us into the next phase of our soul’s development. If you have Cancer Rising, you are about to leave the womb in a spiritual sense, and be born into the next phase of your soul’s development. It marks a rite of passage, where we are maturing into our Soul’s awakening.

Not only does our Rising Sign indicate awakening, but also the sign of Cancer is about birth and awakening. In Cancer, we experience the first glimmer of our soul’s presence. We begin to realize that we have a soul and are so much more than just a physical body. We awaken to a greater aspect of our being. If you have Cancer Rising, you are here to find your soul-light and, like a lighthouse keeper, keep your light lit, no matter what is going on in the world around you, even if it sometimes feels like trying to keep a candle alight in a howling gale!

The zodiac uses animal symbols to convey an impression of energetic qualities. The energy of Cancer is crab-like in many ways – for example, walking sideways! Cancerians tend to approach new situations side-on, as they feel their way forward. Rising Cancer tends to approach new people, places, and situations with caution, possibly a little trepidation, and maybe come at it sideways until they can establish a feeling of safety.

Have you ever watched crabs near the ocean? They have the ability to quickly bury themselves in the sand and hunker down to wait until the most dangerous tides have passed. We can use this symbology to understand the soul’s journey in Cancer. It is about where you place your attention. Because Cancer has the ability to attune to mass consciousness, it is too easy for Cancer to be swept away on the current tide of mass consciousness, fear, and emotional overreacting. This is where the Cancer soul needs to learn how to hunker down and ride out the tide. You do this by keeping your attention on your own light, not the tsunami of mass human emotion that is (apparently) heading your way. When you do this, you learn how to keep your soul-flame alight, and by so doing. you realize that the real key to changing the world lies in changing yourself.

Every jewel is intimately connected with all other jewels in the universe, and a change in one jewel means a change, however slight, in every other jewel.
~ Stephen Mitchell

As the sign of mass consciousness, Cancer has built-in radar, which you can send out to sense the mood and feelings of the collective. Your innate sense of connectedness with all of humanity is the source from which your deep empathy and ultimately compassion arises. This ability to feel what others are feeling is the key to understanding both the highest spiritual purpose of Cancer and the ego-based challenges at personality level.

Part of the journey for a Cancerian soul is to cultivate intuition. It isn’t easy, when you can tap into mass consciousness, to hear your own voice over and above the many. It also explains why the sign of Cancer is associated with fear and caution. If you have Cancer Rising, it is likely that you experience fear on waking each morning! This is because when you first awaken and your mind is quiet, this is the time that you are most tuned-in to the consciousness of the masses, and it is a simple fact that there is a lot of fear rippling through humanity at the moment. You are aware of it. You feel it. All cardinal signs are courageous signs of leadership. This may not be how you initially think of the sign of Cancer, but imagine the courage that is needed to stay focused on compassion in the face of a tide of human suffering and fear. On a very practical level, for someone with Cancer Rising, your first act of courage is to get out of bed in the morning in the face of all fear and to stay focused on your light throughout your day.

As the sign of emotional intelligence, part of your work in this lifetime is learning how to navigate through emotional frequencies so you don’t keep your attention on the wavelength of fear, but are able to transcend it and hold a higher emotional tone within your own being. You understand the truth of our connectedness by experiencing for yourself that the changes you make within your own being have a definite ripple-effect in the consciousness of humanity, and that you have the power to reduce fear in the world by first and foremost working on it within yourself. This process of emotional evolution through the water signs begins in Cancer (cardinal water), is consolidated in Scorpio (fixed water) and culminates in Pisces (mutable water).

Love and compassion are necessities, not luxuries.  Without them humanity cannot survive.
~ HH XIV Dalai Lama

Through your own experience you begin to learn that compassion is not just an idea or a philosophy, but a real tangible energy that you can consciously flow through your own heart-center and, by doing so, you change the “flavour” in the ocean of human consciousness. The Dalai Lama has Cancer Rising and has spent a lifetime teaching, demonstrating, and transmitting compassion and unconditional love across all cultures and boundaries. This is the true nourishment that Cancer brings to the world: spiritual nourishment. When you transcend fear, you will come to know that the divine nectar of compassion, which flows through your heart, is what will truly nurture and nourish humanity on our journey of evolving consciousness.

If you have Cancer Rising, you are here to bring compassion and unconditional love into the world in ways that you possibly cannot imagine. You do this by overcoming fear and attachment, cultivating emotional intelligence, and fine-tuning your own intuition. Your spiritual home is the light that you always carry within, the whole world is your family, and you selflessly nourish others primarily through the emanation of your inner light.


Ruth

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Ruth Hadikin, Soul Astrologer

Ruth Hadikin – Soul Astrologer

To get your personal Soul Sign/Life Purpose Report (FREE with a consultation), contact Ruth via her website. You can also request a FREE mp3 download, “The Energetics of Soul Astrology.”

Karen MacKenzie is working on a series of astrology inspired paintings using goddesses from different cultures. For more information about the symbolism in this print and to view other works in her ongoing series, check out her website, Karen MacKenzie Art.

Gemini Rising: The Gemini Soul

Gemini (Iris & Arke Goddesses of the Rainbow), original artwork by Seattle artist Karen MacKenzie. See end of article for more info.

Gemini (Iris & Arke Goddesses of the Rainbow), by Karen MacKenzie. See end of article for more info.

The sign of Gemini is associated with all aspects of communication: speaking, talking, writing, also thinking, and all at lightening-speed. Fast-talking, fast-moving, fast-thinking, ever-moving, restless fidgety Gemini!

Conventionally, Gemini is associated with gossip and fickleness, yet there is so much more depth to this highly significant sign than first meets the eye. According to Esoteric Astrology by Alice Bailey, Gemini is the only sign that is connected to the remaining eleven signs of the zodiac. Well wouldn’t that make sense from the sign of connection?

If we think connection, communion and weaving, we are starting to touch upon the deeper spiritual significance of Gemini. Gemini takes the threads of life, the threads of the Universe, and weaves them all together into one cohesive whole. No small task.

I cannot too strongly reiterate the constant necessity for you to think in terms of energies and forces, of lines of force, and energy relationships … The whole story of astrology is, in reality, one of magnetic and magical interplay for the production or externalization of the inner reality…”
~ The Tibetan, Esoteric Astrology

Yet we can go even deeper. In his book The Self-Aware Universe, quantum physicist Dr. Amit Goswami explains how consciousness is the basic building block of the Universe (and all universes). Everything is made of consciousness. The very threads of life that Gemini weaves are threads of consciousness. Now we’re talking! (Or not, as the case may be!) Gemini knows that words are powerful, but that thoughts are even more powerful, and consciousness beyond thought is even more powerful again.

The deeper purpose underlying Gemini’s sometimes incessant chatter is an innate need, not only for connection but for deeper communion. Gemini is the sign of holy communion in the most sacred sense of communing with all that is healthy, healed and whole (holy). Gemini can be thought of as the connective tissue of the Universe, permeating, weaving through, and touching, everything and every no-thing! It is in Gemini that consciousness becomes aware of itself by reflecting itself back to itself through the illusion of another. This is one of the deepest esoteric mysteries of Gemini. As the mutable air sign, Gemini is a sign of mind and changeable mind at that!

If we observe closely (and intelligent Gemini is excellent at noticing things!) we can see how it is the everyday working of the mind that divides and separates. From the all-inclusive experience of this eternal present moment, the mind steps in and begins categorising: That is a tree. There goes a plane. Here is my computer. There is a cat. This is my house. If you really watch your own mind, you will see it does this constantly. From the eternal universal dance of interconnected energy, the mental mind isolates and labels things, and this becomes a habit until all we see are things, and we lose sight of the continuity of the Universe.

The Gemini mind divides and separates, creating polarity and duality. Me and you. Male and female. This and that. Yet we are only ever a moment away from stepping outside of this mental dialogue and becoming aware once more of the universal consciousness that is all that is. This awareness would also be a function of Gemini, through which he has an innate understanding of relationship. Because Gemini is connected to everything, he can see how everything fits together. Gemini can see the big picture and the finer details at one and the same time.

Here then is the key to understanding both the highest spiritual purpose of Gemini, and his lower fear-based expressions. One of the (many) dualities that Gemini needs to resolve is the separation of the head-mind and the heart-mind. Remember, in reality there is no separation. As we mentioned earlier, the separation is an illusion created by the mental aspect of mind. If we really understand Dr. Goswami’s hypothesis of everything being consciousness, then we could in fact say that, in a sense, everything is “mind.” Patanjali, the founder of modern yoga, referred to this higher mind as “Universal Mind.” Perhaps it is also analagous to what Carl Jung called the collective consciousness. This all-inclusive Universal Mind encapsulates the wholeness of our being. In Universal Mind there is no separation.

If you have Gemini Rising, you can consider yourself to be a Gemini soul, and you are here to learn right human relations yourself so you can teach it. To do this, you have to “marry” your head-mind and your heart-mind and deeply understand relationship as the interplay of light. Because Gemini is so curious, you are interested in everything, so your biggest challenge is to stay focused on your soul path and not become distracted by mundane affairs.

The highest octave of Gemini accesses the intelligence of the heart through higher love. You learn this from experience when you spend more time in your heart and realize that when you are heart-centered, there really is no separation. It is the illusion of separation itself that creates fear. The danger for Gemini is that you may weave your own web of thoughts and then get caught in it yourself. The Gemini mind separates, labels, and categorizes. This is a brilliant device that you have created that allows you to process vast amounts of information.

You are an ace at mental processing, but mental processing is only a tool. It is a device that we use, not the essence of our being. If you become identified with your mental processes, you begin to feel lifeless. When you spend too much time thinking, not only do you become identified with your thoughts, but also you begin to notice something is “missing” in your life. You become disconnected from your heart, spirit and soul, and the playful light of Gemini begins to dim.

When Gemini gets “lost” inside his own head, the illusion of separation becomes magnified. You can become fearful and may spend too much time talking about and processing mental information in a scattered and unfocused way. This can lead to mental overwhelm, burnout, anxiety, and even fatigue. The solution is to go deeper in meditation, learning to focus your attention in the heart, resting peacefully in your heart center. From this place of peace within, you realize that there is no separation, that we are all one and, indeed, all mental concepts arise from the one source.

Energy follows attention, and through the practice of meditation (in other words learning to focus your attention), you begin to access Universal Mind and set yourself free from the “prison” of lower mind and mental processing. Universal Mind includes your heart and soul. Mental processing excludes everything else. Once you perfect the art of keeping your attention in Universal Mind, you resolve the final duality of Gemini: that of personality and soul.

[callout]I recognise my other self and in the waning of that self, I grow and glow. ~ The Tibetan, Esoteric Astrology[/callout]

If you have Gemini Rising, you are here to recognize and teach the interelatedness of all things through loving awareness. To do this, you must first release the fear-based expression of Gemini that comes as a result of being over-identified with your thoughts. You are not what you think. It is vital that you meditate or take up some similar practice for focusing your attention, so you can go beyond mental processing and realize for yourself the reality of Universal Mind. From this higher perspective, you will experience your soul as the truth of your being and experience the highest wisdom that comes through deep connection and communion with higher love and all that is.

Next month, we’ll explore Cancer Rising and the Cancer Soul. If you can’t wait to hear about the purpose of your Soul Sign, you can read a summary of all 12 signs on Ruth’s website, RuthHadikin.com.

Ruth

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Ruth Hadikin, Soul Astrologer

Ruth Hadikin – Soul Astrologer

To get your personal Soul Sign/Life Purpose Report (FREE with a consultation), contact Ruth via her website, Soul Astrology with Ruth.

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Karen MacKenzie is working on a series of astrology inspired paintings using goddesses from different cultures. For more information about the symbolism in this print and to view other works in her ongoing series, check out her website, Karen MacKenzie Art (her prints are very affordable).

Taurus Rising: The Taurus Soul

Taurus, a Tribute to Japan. by Karen MacKenzie.

Taurus, a Tribute to Japan. by Karen MacKenzie. See link below for more of Karen’s zodiac prints.

Each one of us is on our own unique individual journey from fear to love. How we experience that journey in this lifetime is largely indicated by our Rising sign (Ascendant). As we continue exploring the 12 zodiac signs from the perspective of the Rising sign, we will begin to understand that how we react when we are in fear is not the highest and best expression of our soul, and that to reach the highest potential of our soul sign we need to learn to respond from love in all of life’s challenges.

This series exploring the fear-based reactions and love-based expressions of each sign continues this month with Taurus. As we saw last month, our Rising sign is the indicator of our soul’s journey and purpose, because it indicates the prevailing energy at the time of our birth. It is how we entered the world and it is how we move forward into all new situations throughout our lives. According to Errol Weiner in his book Transpersonal Astrology, we can have the same soul sign for up to eight incarnations.*

It seems, then, that since we are already a Taurus soul, our soul carries the energetic signature of Taurus. When the time of our birth is approaching, and Taurus rises on the horizon (the rising sign is the sign that is rising on the horizon at the exact time of our birth), a “window of opportunity” opens, and because it already matches our soul vibration, we are able to “beam in” on that frequency to begin a new incarnation. I like to think that our Rising sign indicates the “beam of light” that we rode in on!

As such, our Rising sign is also indicating the pure vibrant spiritual energy that we brought with us to be expressed in this lifetime, and which serves the dual purpose of fulfilling our own personal spiritual development while at the same time making our own unique contribution to the spiritual upliftment of humanity and our beautiful Earth home. We are born at the precise place and time when a particular sign is rising on the horizon, because we already resonate with that frequency. It is our wavelength.

This is why birth is a very exciting time! It is literally the dawn of your life, and the birthing of new life on Earth is always filled with potential and possibility. All newborns carry their own unique and divine energy signature, so there will never be another you throughout all of eternity. With Taurus rising, you are part of a group of souls who share the same soul purpose, and you will express that purpose uniquely depending upon other factors in your chart, including your Sun and Moon signs.

According to Esoteric Astrology, if you have Taurus rising, you are here to realize the freedom that comes with releasing personal desire and attachment. This sacred sign is associated with the opening of the third eye and the highest spiritual illumination and realization, right up to full enlightenment. The Buddha was born, became enlightened, and passed into parinirvana during the time of Taurus. The association with Taurus and enlightenment cannot be ignored, and the power of this sign to bring spiritual illumination cannot be underestimated. But what do we mean by releasing desire and attachment? It sounds a bit impoverished and miserable, especially when you think that most Taureans love to indulge their sense-pleasures. More cake anyone?

To understand the spiritual path of Taurus, true freedom, and the liberation that the release of attachment brings, we can look to the teachings of Buddha himself. Why not? He was a Taurus after all! Dynamic Buddhist Nun Ven. Robina Courtin uses the analogy of chocolate cake to provide a clear, humorous, and eloquent explanation of what Buddha meant by attachment. It is not the pleasure of chocolate cake that causes us suffering, but our attachment to it.

When we are attached, we experience an exaggerated idea about the object of attachment – for example, chocolate cake – yet we believe this to be true. Then if we don’t get it we feel upset, and if we get too much we feel sick! Without this false exaggerated idea called attachment, we would enjoy the pleasure without the pain. Without attachment, we wouldn’t be upset if there was no chocolate cake, and we wouldn’t overindulge. The cake would have no power over us, and we would simply take it or leave it. In this example, we’re using cake to keep it simple, but you can substitute any of the things we humans get attached to: our homes, our friends, lovers, spouses, jobs, money, pets, etc.

The spiritual path of Taurus uses sensuality without attachment to explore spiritual heights and understand our true nature. Using our sense-perception for deep self-exploration, we become capable of examining the true nature of reality through direct perception. With this capacity we can see that the whole of humanity is one body, and the nature of that body is light. This is why the sign of Taurus is associated with illumination.

I see and when the Eye is opened, all is light.   ~ The Tibetan, Esoteric Astrology

Fear arises when we become caught in the illusion of ourselves as a separate entity, rather than anchored in the truth of our being as a unique individual within this body of humanity. We all experience this, and it is part of our human journey from being an innocent newborn, to pass through the experience of fear and separation, to once again return to a deeper spiritual connection. With fear comes attachment, as we try to hold onto the things we fear to lose. So for example, Taurus rising brings the capacity and predisposition to experience the physical world mainly though the senses. Sense perception is an innate ability. Sensuality is a way of experiencing life. When that sensuality is tainted by attachment, fear and possessiveness arises.

In our spiritual development we pass through stages (described by Patanjali as “bodies”). As we collectively pass through the mental/intellectual stage,** fear arises as a side effect of our capacity to create mental concepts. One such mental concept is the idea that “I” am separate. This concept then branches off into ideas of ownership: that this separate “I” possesses things. I, me, mine. When Taurus experiences fear, she becomes more avaricious and possessive, as though having more things would make the fear go away. When she releases fear and lives from love, she is able to enjoy all her senses without the pain of attachment.

If you have Taurus rising, you are here to release attachment and develop your senses for their highest purpose: to lead you to freedom, liberation, illumination and eventually enlightenment. Then your full spiritual potential will blossom and you will truly live from love.


Ruth

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Footnotes:

* Transpersonal Astrology, by Errol Weiner, is available on Amazon and can be ordered through all major bookstores. Errol can be contacted for Soul Astrology readings at rainbowzodiac@gmail.com.

** Patanjali associated manomay kosh (mental body) with the element of water, and we can see that throughout the Piscean Age (astrologically Pisces is the mutable water sign), which spanned from around the time of Christ to our modern era, the body of humanity has largely been cultivating, developing, and refining the intellect. Interestingly, Patanjali’s next stage is vigyanamay kosh (intuitive body), which he associates with the element of air. We are currently in a transitional period between the Age of Pisces and the Age of Aquarius. Since astrologically Aquarius is the fixed air sign, we can expect the next 2000 years to be a time in which the body of humanity will cultivate, develop, and refine the intuitive faculty.

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Ruth Hadikin, Soul Astrologer

Ruth Hadikin – Soul Astrologer

To get your personal Soul Sign/Life Purpose Report (FREE with a consultation), contact Ruth via her website. You can also request a FREE mp3 download, “The Energetics of Soul Astrology.”

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About the artist: Karen MacKenzie is working on a series of astrology inspired paintings using goddesses from different cultures. For more information about the symbolism in this print and to view other works in her ongoing series, check out her website, Karen MacKenzie Art (her prints are very affordable).

Jupiter, Neptune, Pluto andThe Inner Journey of Pisces, Part II

© James A. Weythman, 2013

© James A. Weythman, 2013

This is the inner mathematics, that the part of the whole is not smaller than the whole. That will be difficult to understand. The part of the whole is equal to the whole, because the whole cannot be divided into parts. Division is not possible. That’s why we call the real authentic being in you ‘individual.’ Individual means indivisible — that which cannot be divided. ~OSHO

When personality and soul fusion is complete, we are aware of ourselves as an individual and the ocean at one and the same time. It is then that Pluto, the great revealer, can step in at soul level bringing the conditions for the final transformation at soul level in Pisces. Esoterically it is said that the “final death” happens in Pisces. What could this mean, the final death? Possibly the end of Samsara. Samsara is the cycle of death and rebirth and many spiritual traditions, including Buddhism, teach that it is possible to become enlightened and finally be free of this cycle of continuous death and rebirth.

Here, at the final stage, Pisces stands for the death of the personality and the release of the soul from captivity and its return into the task of the world Savior. The great achievement is finished and the final death is undergone. ~ The Tibetan Master DK, Esoteric Astrology

We first experience Pluto’s influence in Scorpio at personality level. Pluto is a deep and mysterious planet, which was only discovered on February 18th, 1930, and incorporated into astrology after that date. In Esoteric Astrology, the Tibetan Master explains that until mankind has the consciousness to respond to the subtle influences of planets, they remain undiscovered, and such was the case with Pluto. Pluto was discovered and is now included in modern astrology, precisely because humanity now has the consciousness to perceive and respond appropriately to his subtle spiritual influence.

Towards the end of the evolutionary process the disciple begins to respond consciously to the fourth indirect influence – that of Pluto, producing the death of the hindering factors and of all that prevents synthesis.” ~ The Tibetan Master DK, Esoteric Astrology.

Mythologically, Pluto is interesting. His journey begins in duality in Greek mythology as Hades, Lord of the Underworld, and Plouton, the giver of wealth, before myth finally unites him as Pluto. He is said to hold custodianship over all that lies beneath the surface of the Earth, which includes graves and all of the Earth’s riches: the fertility of the soil and the wealth of her gems. The story of Pluto hints that there is something at our core, a jewel, an inner light, which is carried over beyond death. In Esoteric Astrology, the Tibetan Master states that “Pluto or death never destroys the consciousness aspect.”

While Neptune sensitizes us to receive ever-increasing vibrations of spirit in physical form, Pluto reduces our attachment to physical form and brings us to the light. In this way we begin to more closely identify with our inner light, or soul – that which continues beyond death. While Pluto brings the cycle of life to an end, Neptune ensures we carry with us as much illumination as possible.

The concept of returning to the light as an individual, enlightened being seems fundamental to the whole purpose of physical incarnation. Buddhist scripture speaks of attaining the rainbow body or “body of light,” wherein we return to the ocean of consciousness from whence we came, but with our individuality intact. We return to the light, yet are not lost in that light.

I leave the Father’s home and turning back, I save. ~ The Tibetan Master DK, Esoteric Astrology

The combined effects of Jupiter, Neptune and Pluto in Pisces support us in embodying and identifying with the divine light at the core of our being. As a result of our adventure into physical incarnation which began in Aries, we return to the “Father’s house” fully laden with the riches of experience, within an individual soul.

If you have Sun, Moon and especially Rising Sign in Pisces, you are here to walk your individual path while holding the awareness that, at one and the same time, you are the ocean. This awareness will strengthen the power of your heart and allow the world savior (the essence of universal love) to flow freely into the world through you.

Ruth

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Ruth Hadikin, Soul Astrologer

Ruth Hadikin – Soul Astrologer

To get your personal Soul Sign/Life Purpose Report (FREE with a consultation), contact Ruth via her website. You can also request a FREE mp3 download, “The Energetics of Soul Astrology.”