One of the gifts of astrology is that when taken as a whole it can illuminate much of the internal dynamics, energetics, and mysteries of the human personality. The human personality is a remarkable and fascinating creation. How it emerged from the bones of this earth is a question that has never yet been understood in whole. The human personality is a merger of the cultures and myths that we create, and the biological tendencies which we inherit. When we reflect back over the arcing span of human existence and the development of the human personality, we see that the stars themselves played an important role in formulating our ideas about who we are. Through the stories we told about the stars, we saw deeper into ourselves, just as a child today looks up at the night sky and is first struck by the immensisty of this universe and the unfathomable fact of having a special place within it. In the understanding of nature, the stars are our literal ancestors. The marrow of our bones was forged within those great fiery furnaces. Our inheritance is their consciousness. The connection between human and stars is remarkable and timeless and is reborn each and every generation. The stories, cultures, and myths which were developed about those constellations reveals something about who we are.
There are, of course, many ways to view astrology. There are many ways to view the zodiac, the placement of planets, and so on. Many schemas have come and gone describing ways in which the various transmutations of elements, and evolution of archetypes, depicts, reflects, and even determines the personality of an individual. What I offer here is one take on the story reflected in the night sky which has been accentuated by our ancestor’s imaginations, and knowings.
There is a foundational concept about the relative nature of each sign, and the way each sign is determined by its numerical relations to the other signs. The house system is also an expression of these numerical relations. The 8th house, for example, is the house of transformation, mystery, and death, and the 8th zodiac sign is Scorpio, which is an archetype that relates to those same subjects. But, we can also take the 8th sign from any given sign and discover the zodiac sign that plays the role of Scorpionic initiator for the development of the sign in question. 8th from Taurus, for example, is Sagitarius, that fiery teacher of esoteric principles, timeless wisdom, and non-physical values. If artistic, environmentaly-oriented and foundatinally materialistic Taurus is willing to receive the connection with the spiritual life, than Taurus transforms from the clutches of child-like attachments into true, revolutionary artistry. 8th from any zodiac sign is the sign that forces a transformation for that sign. 8th from meticulous, analytical Virgo is direct, self-orginating, action-orietned Aries. Dreamy, dissolving, Pieces loses its unitarian consciousness when faced with Libra because Libra forces us to acknowledge the real and valid differences between individuals. 9th from any sign can show the dharma of that sign, 10th from any sign can show the karma of that sign, 4th from any sign can show the inner-consciousness of any sign and so on. The 12 core personality archetypes of the zodiac relate to one another in the same way that the 12 houses relate to one another, and any zodiac sign can be seen as the starting position. Meditation upon these relations can yeild a wealth of insight, and the understanding of how these numerical relations set the energetics for the houses, and the zodiac.
Another concept that has long been around is to view the zodiac as a kind of soul progression scheme, with one side of the zodiac being a “new,” soul, and the other side being an old soul. Some have viewed this progression as starting in Aries and concluding in Pieces, and others have viewed it as starting in Pieces and concluding in Aries. In my studies, I have found all such schemas which speak to such an evolution of the soul as being naive. I suggest considering the entire wheel of the zodiac to be something like the wheel of Samsara in Buddhist thought. It doesn’t matter where on the wheel you are, you are on the wheel. You might have come to live out a personality-type that posses more the archetypal attributes of childhood such as imagination, play, and creativity, or you might have come to live out a personality-type that posses more of the archetypal attributes of adulthood such as managing situations, solving problems, and taking responsibility for others. The personality is not the soul, and astrology tells us about the personality, not the soul. A great soul can take on a simple, child-like personality type just as readily as an unworthy soul can possess a king-like personality. This is the so-called play of Maya. The personality we inherit often doesn’t match the nature of our soul, and there are many kinks to work out before we can make good use of our personality. Any personality can be used effectively to provide tremendous benefit to this world, and any personality can be used to create tremendous terror and destruction within the world. It all boils down to consciousness. If you are conscious of your personality, you can use it for accomplishing whatever you want, but if your personality operates unconsciously, then it will play out whatever was programmed into it, for better or for worse.
With so much talk of personality and soul, it begs the question, what is the soul? What is the personality? Traditionally, soul is thought of as that persistent aspect of a person that traverses from one lifetime to the next, whereas personality is the mask taken on in each lifetime. But this old idea asks us to presume a whole lot about the nature of existence, and for the sincere spiritual practioner, such assumptions are road blocks on the course towards transforming energies, awakening consciousness, and igniting awareness. If a spiritual practioner is in essence a truth finder, how can you find truth if you already presume you know what is true? If you bring presumptions and beliefs into your spiritual practice then you cannot be a truth finder, you can only be a truth seeker, because the conclusions you have already accepted will create the maze for the mouse of your attention to run through, again and again, and you will find or feel nothing truly fresh, original or real. To be a truth finder, you must be willing, again and again, to enter the unknown, as the observer who is experiencing the fluctuations of energy, emotion and thought produced by your body. Personality is the character of your body, mind, and energetic system. Observe your personality, discover its patterns, and unlock its secrets and then put it to use towards what you believe is best. In terms of soul, allow such knowledge to be self-arising. Any talk of soul in this context is only the production of more illusion.
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