An astrological spirituality
means living with a keen awareness of the differences within time and space. In
our everyday mind, time and space are viewed as profane, homogenous, mundane,
of no special merit. Typically they have little or no qualitative difference.
Is it possible that the way we in the West consider space and time contributes
to a sense of malaise and boredom which seems a permanent feature of American
life? Each day is fairly much the same
as the next. The once set apart holy day of Sunday now affords me the same ease
as any other day of the week for shopping, purchasing alcohol, and even
working. Holidays (holy days) such as Memorial Day can be celebrated anywhere
from the 25th to the 31st of May. Martin Luther King Day, President’s Day, and
Labor Day float on the convenience of Mondays. Thanksgiving is the 4th
Thursday in November. These are not cosmically determined like the solstices,
equinoxes, and cross quarter days. These cultural observances do not connect us
to a living cosmos.
Astrological
time however is very different. We can’t just move time around capriciously,
changing holidays and birthdays willy-nilly to fit our daily schedules. Time is
so important that depending on when a person is born is a fundamental key to understanding
that life. Time is qualitative in that each moment is unique from any other,
more propitious for certain kinds of activities and less so for others. Time is
viewed liturgically, similar to the ritualized days and months of the church
year. In other words, time expresses meaning.
An
astrological spirituality confers an appreciation for the daily round. Time is
imagined as overlapping, interpenetrating shorter and lengthier cycles of
change. To recognize the repetitiveness of time is to accept endings, gain the
capacity to start over, to be born again, to face living with trust in the
eternal returning. I’m not speaking here of simply spinning your wheels or
going in circles, though that may be necessary at times, but rather the
possibility of ever widening spirals of experience weaving more inclusiveness
into life as we spin the fabric of our destinies.
What
about space? Modern life holds space and place with the near same indifference
as time. Now of course, we can speak of beautiful or decaying spaces in America
but overall, space is generally viewed as homogenous. If I am eating at
McDonalds in San Francisco or NYC my experience of eating there has little qualitative
difference. My experience of Walmart in Denver is fairly identical to the one
in Cleveland. It used to be that traveling held great surprises in place but
now we seek the shelter of Ramada Inns, Hyatts, and Hiltons guaranteeing that
our experience in new cities is familiar. For the majority of Americans, modern
America has no sacred space. Americans esteem no sacred rivers or trees, pilgrimage to
no sacred mountains, pray at no sacred wells.
The astrological life however
carries the fantasy that place matters, whether in relocational charts or in
natal charts. My birth place reflects
the nature of my inner being. Sacred space and sacred time add depth, difference,
and color, enriching what it means to be alive. The astrological view sees the
classical transcendence of divinity translated to the immanence of the Sacred in every place and in each moment.
We live a sacred life and the birth chart is a sacred image.
Visit me at AstroCare.net
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