Astrology -- The Cosmic Science -- a stable point in a changeable world
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There are things you can't measure by quantifiable, scientific, black-and-white standards. Astrology, like a number of metaphysical subjects, is one of those. As a serious topic of study -- or even something to bring up in a friendly conversation, it falls in and out of favor.
There was a time when asking a new acquaitance his or her Sun Sign was a charming, cut-to-the-chase way of asking for important personal information. With one word you could introduce yourself -- and with another you could get something to hang your hat on about the motives and basic character of the other person.
Lots of people looking for love or just new friends knew a thumbnail sketch (or just a few outstanding qualities) of all the signs.
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It was the 60's, and flower children and hippies were wearing long skirts, frilly shirts, braiding daisies into their hair, going barefoot and talking a lot about love and the Age of Aquarius.
It was a strange and surreal time ... with a war taking shape and happening in a place called Viet Nam, a generation gap taking shape and happening at home ... and young people seeing the world and its values in a lot different light than their parents did.
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In the words of Peter, Paul and Mary, a troubadour trio that sang the poetry of that era ... wasn't that a time? A time to try the souls of men, Wasn't that a terrible time?
In the sky, Uranus and Pluto met in a conjunction that for several years shook the foundations of our beliefs, our social order, and in many ways ... the world.
And then, they separated and moved on ... like a lot of people in a lot of relationships that came together in a dream-like haze of uninhibited sexuality, affection, idealism, expedience, or common concepts ... or just because it "seemed like a good idea at the time" ... and then, unable to sustain the dream ... because life changed, happened, came together in different patterns and made different demands ... moved on.
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"What's your sign?" as a pick-up line became cliche, contemptible, ridiculous. Ok, maybe it always was ... because as any even semi-serious student of astrology already knows, the Sun Sign qualities of a person's character are just the surface ... and in anything like a friendship, a relationship, or a marriage ... you have to deal with the whole person. Warts and all, as they say.
The Sun Sign talks about foundations and ambitions, the Moon Sign emotions, the Mercury Sign interests and viewpoints, the Venus Sign relationship values, the Mars Sign capacity for action and self-assertion. They all come as an inseparable set of qualities in the intricate structure of every human being.
You don't get to pick and choose "the good parts" ... and in something as complex as another person, it's a cinch some of his or her qualities are going to clash with some of yours qualities ... and thus the battle lines are drawn.
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So, for reasons perhaps as superficial and silly as the very reasons why it became a standard part of pop culture for a while, Astrology faded from favor as the dress-for-success 80's arrived ... with its own set of soon to be out-dated ideas and principles ... as the children of the flower children came of age and took their place, made their marks, and asserted their power on the business and cultural scene.
But as with anything that has basic value and useful truth at its core, the wisdom of Astrology stuck in the consciousness of enough people who found it worthwhile that soon more information ... better information ... found its way into the mainstream bookstores and the social consciousness.
On one level, that means you weren't considered a raving lunatic ... or inconveniently crazy ... by as many people because you "believed in astrology."
And gradually ... in the process of synthesis Jung himself described in his wonderful works of psychology ... an accommodation was reached between "believers" and non-believers, until today, it's just as likely you'll find someone who knows what it means when you say you're a Taurus and don't like surprises as someone who snorts at you for "spouting that nonsense."
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That this represents more tolerance of diversity between "believers" and their fellows overall has to be seen as a "win" for seekers of truth, wherever they find it.
And for those of us who understand devoutly the richness of what we've found ... and what we're talking about, it is undeniably a very good thing.
It certainly pleases me, even if I'm still a member of a minority looking for meaning wherever we find it ... in the complexity of a most multi-faceted world.
If you've always known there was more to Astrology than Sun Sign material and the three line daily horoscope in the newspaper, climb aboard and follow this blog. You'll find a world of wisdom detailing how you were designed to work with life ... and why you are the way you are -- all in quick-to-read, easy-to-digest-and-remember, written-in-plain-English essays that offer plenty of food for thought.
Little by little, I'm doing a set of articles that talks about all the elements in your horoscope and what they have to say about you. If you "know something" about Astrology -- or know something about your chart placements, that will help you get more from this material.
If you don't ... well, this is one place you can learn. We all have to start somewhere ... because we aren't born knowing this stuff. Meanwhile, if you've never seen your horoscope ... and don't have a clue how to work with it, maybe it's time to find out. There are lots of "chart services" on the internet -- some of whom produce decent, readable charts "for free" and some are so awful and confusing that even I can't read them easily -- and I've worked with charts for decades.
One extremely user-friendly chart site is here: AstroLabe. I recommend them if you want a simple, easy-to-read chart. I think they even give a reasonable little interpretive reading of your horoscope as part of the package. You'll need to know your birth information -- day, month, year, time and geographical place. Without all that your chart will have limited accuracy.
Or, if you want to get serious and really talk about this, upvote this post and start a conversation in the comments section sometime in the next six days from the time of publication. We'll go from there depending on what you want to know.
Questions about any of this? -- Upvote this post and talk to me in comments. It's a terrific way to build value for yourself and the community ... and it will give me ideas of what to write about in future posts. Believe me there is lots to say about the way The Sun, The Moon -- and all the other elements in a horoscope, all the other components of Astrology -- work together to interpret you and your story -- and what it all means to the person you've become.
Although sometimes the background pictures in our visual essays support the topic and text, they don't always. Sometimes the connection is clear. Sometimes it's symbolic and subtle. Sometimes, there's no connection at all.
The scenes depict landscapes and natural features, buildings and wildlife. They were chosen because they show something lovely or interesting ... or simply because the photo appealed to me.
Our spectacular and remarkable planet is changing at astonishing speed. Rarely are these changes for the better. Few people seem to know ... or care ... or have the will and power to do anything about this. It may not be long before the world humans have known and lived in for centuries is forever lost. We certainly won't be able to make repairs as fast as we destroyed it.
So a few years ago I began collecting pictures of the way things were ... and still are for now, a record of the beauty we have while it is still ours to love and honor.
The photos here are part of that collection, with sincere thanks to the artists who saw these moments ... and with their cameras ... preserved them. All of us at Enchanted Spirit are profoundly grateful to them for their generosity and skill ... and for the added grace, depth and dimension their art brings to ours.
Original images used under this Creative Commons license or this Creative Commons license and modified by added text.
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I knew an old crone (said with every drop of love in my heart) in Spokane, Wa. She and her husband ran a 'used record' store in a clunky cool neighborhood (that is since gentrified and nowhere near as cool).
She handicapped race horses by using astrology. It's little known, but every race track in the US has a library which includes the 'Stud Report' that documents every foal born in the US. Date, place, location and time.
Her handicapping was much better than average, on the level with the serious players that expected to make a little money every day.
Last time I saw that couple was at an Elvin Bishop show just before I moved to Arizona. They had to be in their 80s and were just completely rocking out.
A note on the 60s. We had 'em. We had society right were we wanted them and let them go back to their normal ways while we went off to make money. Whether that was astrology or deep state or random chance it was a huge loss for society in general.