Just when I thought I was done with this series I came up with another piece of the astrological choices we consciously or unconsciously make or that others make for us in our ignorance. It is not difficult to know or understand how we make choices unconsciously. Most of us have experienced moments of knee-jerk reactions stemming from some old memory or trauma. We cannot say that they were conscious actions on our part because they stemmed from old conditioning stored in largely forgotten memories. Just how could others make choices for us, of which we are ignorant?
Humanity as it exists this moment includes you and I along with every other person alive on this globe. That count includes the astronauts on the space station and every person airborne. The last time I looked it up that was 6.8 billion. The current collective of humanity is a current rendition of an evolving species. Some of what is in us as a species is hard-wired such as physical survival, perpetuation of the species (sex), and other self-preservation mechanisms. This is often referred to as our reptilian brain functions of which we are largely unaware because they are automatic. We eat and drink. We seek shelter. We want to feel safe. We wear garments to replace the fur we lost or never had (helps with the sensation of vulnerability). We like company. We collect "things". We are territorial. All these and more unconscious motivations are related to instinctual survival and are hard-wired into our physical and psychological make-up. Yes, these traits do get screwed up at moments or may motivate people to the exclusion of common sense, but they are natural to us all. We just do not think about them often.
Humanity is unconsciously conditioned by whatever our ancestors encountered or developed through its long evolution. What has been learned through the ages has become a part of our unconscious makeup. Most of this is inherent in our species but is not necessarily conscious knowledge in an individual human. By analogy, as astrologers we are completely conditioned by the body of information from all over the world that has been developed over the centuries. We take this whole body of information as it exists and study what we know to be old teachings. Initially this was orally transmitted and those records are non-existent. Some were eventually codified and preserved through written documents. Most was researched by untold thousands of practicing astrologers. In modern times, new theories and applications were developed and we absorb those as well, as much as our poor brains can encounter, retain and apply. We do that with both good stuff and bad stuff because we do not necessarily know that the information is one or the other. Unfortunately we do not always practice our powers of discernment.
Just as the mass of humanity has been influenced and educated by huge amounts of historical experience and theory, astrology has been influenced and educated by astrological history and theory. As students we earnestly commit it all to memory and then we forget that we ever knew it until we need it. Magically it appears in our consciousness when the need or application arises. Consciously we forget that we know that unconsciously whatever we encountered has been stored in our vast memory banks. When we need it, somehow we retrieve it instinctively or through triggers provided by that individual wheel.
I have written about this oddity in astrological lore briefly in other articles, but it just struck me this morning that such an ancient information source does affect our Astrological Choices in a very unsuspecting way. This is my personal take on what I think happened. My personal take is not scientific but it is the only one I have.
The ancients observed the skies around planet earth and made observations that were perhaps more calendar related initially. The cycles that affected the Earth profoundly affected their survival. They were in tune with nature and eventually realized that the sky patterns repeated themselves seasonally and could be used as markers. Seasonal observations refined themselves as shorter-term cycles were incorporated. The lunar cycle was easy to see, measure and codify so carvings of it showed up on some of our earliest relics. Observation of cyclic activity of all sorts developed along with application to human experience. Astrology became an oral tradition, recorded in a rudimentary fashion on physical objects, today's relics. Eventually it became a written body of information.
I have described the overall effect of the developing body of information that came to be known as astrology. However there is an interesting underlying effect that I have encountered only in a few references of my 35+ years of studying astrology. Ancient man studied the night sky for the most part. Why? The Sun was so bright during daylight hours that making observation of other objects or patterns difficult if not impossible. The night sky was what ancient man studied for the most part. The Sun for its part was very predictable. The Sun rose every morning and set every evening. It was not only visible but it was dominant during the day and eliminated visibility of most other cosmic objects except the fluctuating Moon. Occasionally rain, fog or blizzard obscured direct vision, but the effect of its light was observed throughout the day. A rainy day was still far brighter than any night.
Motion of the rising Sun set the calendar as it moved through the seasons, further north at the summer solstice, further south in the winter solstice, and directly on the center horizon point during the spring and autumn equinoxes. Measurement of the various stone circles such as Glastonbury shows that our ancestors could precisely measure such solar phenomenon. These were the seasonal markers previously mentioned: spring, summer, autumn, winter helped ancient man with his physical survival, migration patterns, planting, hunting, celebrations and rituals. Other than that the night sky was what could be observed for greater detail. Once the Sun descended below the horizon at dusk the universe suddenly became crystal clear (white on dark) until the dawn announced the arrival of the Sun the next day. Yes, hazily at dawn and dusk, we might be able to see Venus or Mercury as Morning or Evening Star for a few minutes and perhaps we might see Jupiter occasionally (which is quite bright at times). It would have looked like an interloper because it was not part of the usual pattern. If that is true, Jupiter might have been seen as a challenger to the supremacy of the Sun. The Sun would eventually win that imagined battle because Jupiter, if ever visible, would not stay visible near the Sun for long. This occasional possibility would have presented an interesting story in itself.
Logically, the huge body of astrological information developed over the eons of our existence was primarily based on observation of the night sky. Much of the recording of data was devoted to the lunar patterns, which is the largest and closest body to us. This is our Cosmic Mom, counterpart to Cosmic Dad, the Sun. Because of the peculiarities of size and distance, they appear to be a matched pair in size and in the ability to shed light on our world. Continually changing, the Moon returning now and again to her husband the Sun, these were the celestial pair whose repetition of a 29-day reunion was seen as the celestial marriage. The Moon's light diminished as she approached her husband the Sun and he was supreme in that moment of conception, overwhelming her with its light-giving rays. In about two days, the Moon again became visible as a crescent near the horizon as a steadily enlarging body. She was thought to be pregnant with life until she released that treasure at what we call Full Moon, that which had been conceived at the prior union (New Moon). Then Mom gradually diminished in size as she prepared for her next encounter with her husband, the Sun. The Sun was the planter of the seed and the Moon was the womb and carrier for that seed. Many old rituals were based around this celestial marriage.
Ancient astrologers were few and far between and attended to the needs of the state and its leader as society developed. As national treasures, astrologers were bound to their service and while not technically prisoners, they were not allowed to stray too far. So astrologers were quite isolated in their studies and practice. In addition, astrologers had better be right or their lives could be forfeit. The kings and regents had full power and control over everything, including life and death. While it might not be a good to kill your only astrologer, the ruler just might exercise that power. Now there is a hard line to walk on, do you think? Would you have wanted to be an astrologer during those exciting times? Just how good an astrologer are you?
Once travel became easier and astrologers were free to move about and meet each other, they eventually got together a couple of thousand years ago. At that time they collectively gave prime influence to the Sun. They took the entire body of what appears to have been lunar-based information that had been gathered over millenia and ascribed it to our current Sun-based system. I find that adaptation interesting. They took a lunar-based body of information and made it into a solar-based application. I certainly cannot argue with their expertise as they were much closer to the source than I can ever be. However, I do believe some discrepancies may have developed as the basis of the observations and resource were re-dedicated to a differently-based system.
As you study astrology, know that such choices were made for you by a group of then well-known and respected ancient astrologers a couple of thousand years ago. When you learn astrological systems, they may have been influenced by that particular set of educated decisions. Astrological research on these old systems and bodies of information has been and is being conducted by very smart professional astrologers and researchers.
Do not ever be afraid to question your astrological knowns. If they are valid they will hold up under scrutiny. If the information does not hold up to research and questioning, be prepared to let it go or supplant it with new, provable sources. I tend to put such questionable practices on a back burner until I can learn more about them. I'm not good at throwing stuff away just because it presents a puzzle. I will wait until I can prove or disprove it before I decide to throw away what has worked successfully for others. As an astrologer you are like a book that is continually being written. Your knowledge is subject to correction, edit, and new information. I find that very exciting.
Marilyn Muir, author, "Presidents of Hope and Change: Bringing Hope to our Future by Reaching into our Astrological Past."
How astrology predicts our nation's future by reaching into our past.
Jefferson, Lincoln, Kennedy, Obama... The Lineage of Hope
Using the influential and interwoven cycles of Jupiter, Saturn, Neptune, Uranus and Pluto to predict issues and trends up to 2012 and even beyond to 2025, Ms Muir leaves us with the clear message of hope as she depicts the future of President Obama at the helm of the USA ship of state.
Read the first 36 pages (PDF) including the charts of all four Presidents - you'll get hooked!
http://www.marilynmuir.com
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