Saturn in Sagittarius, Uranus in Aries, Pluto In Capricorn
Gulliver’s Travels by Jonathan Swift implicitly poses the question of whether physical power or moral righteousness should be the governing factor in social life. He sets out from his native land in order to find a place where he feels he belongs. Gulliver is sadly, a passive misanthrope, divorced from his feelings, who has no use for humankind. He lacks drive and purpose. The things in his english life have little meaning to him. Thus, he travels aimlessly far and wide and ends up as a miniature visitor to Brobdingnag where he encounters the perils of being small and thus bullied.
With the tiny Lilliputians he experiences entrapment and bondage while in Brobdingnag he is enslaved. With the Houyhnhnm’s he witnesses the subjugation of the Yahoo’s via chains and brute force. The Yahoo’s themselves are despised and considered brutish by the horses of Houyhnhnm.
He searches far and wide where he encounters others who’s claims to power are based on moral correctness- most notably an egg controversy. The controversy was over the proper way to crack eggs and was started by a passage in the Blefescu’s holy book. It is important to see that all conflicts among those mentioned in Gulliver and today’s cultures are justified by a difference of opinion among them.
Gulliver’s search is for a Utopia, a perfect society that he feels sure can cure his insufferable feelings of loneliness and isolation. He discovers other societies that are controlled by strict family planning or where they lack individuality and thus have no personhood. Other societies are torn by strife, jealousies, spy’s and backstabbers as well as encounters with a moral elite who seek to undermine the rational ruler for selfish ends.
THUS WE HAVE THE CATCH 22 OF THESE TIMES AHEAD OF US.
Like Gulliver, some of us may feel alienated by what we witness in the outer world. Often the sacrificial lamb is our feelings where we have been conditioned to believe that our inner feelings are to be discounted. We tend to be groomed to glorify things outside of us and thus follow family traditions, what the government decrees, science reports or the latest decree by the Church. We tend to rationalize , hush or gloss over what we know to be true in order to appease others. We are increasingly loyal to a way of life that ironically has no nourishment.
Eventually, Gulliver is banished as he is forced to leave the Houyhnhnm’s, a society of horses where he thought he might be able to have a home. The horses find him different and won’t accept him either. Thus, the disconnect from his own natural nature was complete. He eventually winds up back in England, the place of his birth, where he dies a lonely and embittered old man.
This is a classic novel that foretells the ongoing creation of social alienation, of those who feel outcast, lost, and bereft due to the feeling of not being able to feel a part of the society they were born into and at times repelled and saddened by humanity itself. It is a novel about human isolation due to separating systems of thought that have little or no relation to Natural Law.
It is about humanity’s investments in the illusionary and patriarchal structures of beliefs, customs, rules, taboos and laws that serve to feed greed and aggression. It is about the experience of human despair that grows ever deeper with seemingly endless blind hallways and alleys. It is about the haunting feeling of being on a road to nowhere, our internal mirror being composed of an opinionated and made up version of reality, filled with expectations, oughts and should be’s.
It is about being split between two worlds. We struggles with our need for belonging to an organic and coherent natural whole in touch with nature. We struggle as well with the social images we are called to fulfill in order to belong to the status quo. It is about the loss of our origin, an origin lost due to the growing predominance of personal self interest over the welfare of humanity as a whole. We seek a so-called “spiritual path” which is also doomed to come to naught for most spiritual paths are steeped in patriarchal dogma, the leaders disguised in sheep’s clothing.
In a larger sense, Gulliver has repeated failures because he keeps trying to integrate into cultures that are actually mirroring his fragmented self.
He seeks to connect to isolated islands of thought that have no real relationship to the language of the heart. This has a larger lesson for the USA as we struggle within the Middle East. Our heart can be moved by Gulliver for he never realizes that the reason he feels so isolated and lonely is that he is really yearning for connection to what is natural and true—a thing he has lost touch with due to a lack of awareness as to what his true nature really is.
This is the reason at the end he ends up more lonely than ever, bitter and never quite realizing what has doomed him was a futile search for meaning among cultures that held only empty beliefs and values and thus could never quench his thirst for home and acceptance. So, we might take a lesson from Gulliver and begin to slowly realize that ALL of our troubles can be traced back to our culture’s own gullibility.
Our problems began at our first breath, when all the forces of our group Saturnian version of reality began to assault and separate us from our natural senses. We were birthed into a cultural belief system that often lacks love and support for our natural selves and replaces inner fulfillment with outer achievement, leaving nothing to feed the heart. We have replaced our inner eternal nature with a distorted and authoritative system where might versus right are often interchangeable and the end justifies the means.
So, how do we get more in tune with the one and true system of reality, the heart that beats and the sun that shines despite what race or gender you may reflect, what economic level you may belong to or what mistakes you may have made? It begins by admitting inwardly that humans are no more special than anything else in the world. Each of us are unique, as each dog, cat, duck or plant is unique, despite our tireless attempts at wanting to group everything and thinking it is all the same.
There is great beauty in that idea, as well as relief for it takes the heavy responsibility of needing to be “special” right off the table. Give yourself permission to retreat from engaging with those who are insensitive or disrespectful. Realize that saying a strong inner NO to the injustice and cruelty you see around you can begin to move worlds. Call on cosmic help. Look for your own unique pathway for no one else can walk it anyway. It belongs to you. It is waiting for you. How you will know you have come across it is because you will FEEL it, not think it.
STRATEGIES FOR JOYFUL LIVING:
- Listen to yourself and how you relate to yourself—you attract others who mirror this back to you
- Conflict driven or Harmonious….?
- Realign, Repair, Restore, Reassess, Renewal-take responsible action in your life for the purpose of creating a new reality
- Resolve to dig deeper into life, beyond surface appearances in order to extract what is valuable and eliminate what is unnecessary.
- Strengthen the bonds in relationships that hold true meaning for you
- Withdraw from relationships that are emotionally draining and one-sided
- Practice a poised and wise approach to situations that may test your internal sense of security
- Transmute old emotional responses, ideas and patterns of behavior into NEW approaches
- Purify old mental work and health habits, share information
- Strengthen your allegiance to Nature and it’s enduring principles that mirror the Source
- In relationships, know who you are and seek to understand the others point of view
- Recognize when you are wasting life mucking around in futile relationships
- Build a keen appreciation of the value of other’s responses to life and appreciate the diversity
- Move into action this year to begin to build new work, friendships, foundation, etc.
- Cease demanding that others respond and react to situations as you do
- Go deeper into the darker places within you—absolute honesty is your ally this year
- Consolidate finances, pay off bills, streamline expenses for simplicity is key
- When feeling overwhelmed or confused, take a break into nature, travel, appreciate a sunrise, take solace in the unfailing support of natural law
- If you need more education, this is the year to begin
- Practice optimism and share encouragement, trust in life
- Strive to see the bigger picture beyond the smoke and mirrors
- Practice daily a conscious contact with the cosmos in whatever way you choose
- Changes in finance, international affairs, health and immigration systems are likely due to the need for new approaches so…
- Living in truth demands knowing who you really are
- Cultivate peace and strength within and a darn good sense of humor!
January – March 2016 Evolutionary Astrological Overview
“We are all brothers/sisters from another mother.”
ARIES —Put your questions to the test. Potent lessons are ahead for you in 2016! Things that may have seemed small or buried can now have an opportunity to grow and blossom. Keep in mind that if you stretch too far one way you may need to rebalance the opposites. The key message is to reach beyond what you have known up to this point. New forms need to be envisioned and made manifest over 2016. Seek to partner rather than compete. Strengthen your base and make sure you complete one step before you leap into another. Keep in mind that once things crack open, like a seed, they will tend to crack open all the way! Enjoy the ride.
TAURUS – Taking stock of who you think you are is different from who you know you are. Lessons from nature will be your greatest teacher over the coming year. A greater sense of freedom can be obtained. Your new focus of realization is to develop a greater awareness of strength within. Deepen your companionship with the wellspring that lives within you. Center yourself daily, taking the time to truly care for yourself and your body. With this simple routine there is hidden help and extra support. You are as surrounded by spirit as a bird is by air. As sure as birds fly, you will awaken to a deeper understanding of your own true nature.
GEMINI – Who you are and what you know needs to be brought together in symbiotic unity. There is a rare opportunity over this year to not only refine and restructure your social position but also to make personal breakthroughs that can help to light up your years ahead. It can set up a new cycle in that what you create can receive a wider reception. Word of mouth becomes more important. Support others as they support you. Demonstrate appreciation and good partnership. Remember the transformational ability of symbols. Via art and other creative activities utilize them to deepen and bring forth greater wisdom and poise. Use your hands to make manifest and be deaf to any distractions. Do not ignore the tasks set before you. They come from a deeper place than you are currently acknowledging.
CANCER – There are times when you just need to put things to rest. The mind can bedazzle and confuse, inciting conflict while at the same time build mountains out of molehills. Often a change of heart in any situation is the only thing needed. Seek solace in knowing you were born with a lot of heart. Seek to understand that all things created eventually decay. It is a wise person who peers into the space that promotes an awareness that what is called for is to end all attachments. This act alone brings gifts that can ease even the deepest sorrow or suffering. It is also wise to begin to ask yourself the question, “What next-what is my next step?” as you move forward into a new cycle of self-renewal, deeper than what you have known before. It will eventually present to you opportunities that allow you a greater participation in the act of life itself. All depends on your ability to discard what no longer really matters.
LEO – Elect to know the deeper meaning of home and hospitality over this year. The idea of being hospitable comes from the need to help someone other than yourself or family. It includes the idea of helping someone else through a door that they may not be able to navigate alone. Transmute the fruits of what you have gained thus far take the steps necessary to rebirth a new cycle. You have more creativity than many and that is precisely because you are there to shine and extend that which has been given to you. It is wiser not to seek the light but be the light. It is about extending your hand without worry of reciprocity. It is about giving yourself what you need first and uplifting others as you do so. This is living a beautiful life.
VIRGO – Life is really a daily experiment in the art of living it. Let go of all projections and expectations and see the year ahead with innocent eyes. Beneath all the best laid plans and worries and pressures is the guidance you are seeking. For the most part, you already know what you need to do, often sooner than most others. The problem lies in doubting what you know or stubbornly resisting the path laid before you. New roles can be played as you open up to things not previously considered. Ahead there is new possibility with the opportunity begin again at many levels. Seek to refine, improve, adjust and act on what your common sense is telling you. New energy will continually by yours to utilize. Embrace it!
LIBRA – Time to walk where there are no paths. This is the best news yet for 2016! Break all previous rules and for it is time to bring into focus a deeper level of what you see as your truth. Put more feeling and thought into what truly inspires you. Like a basket that tips and spills the harvest you have much to be thankful for. Garner what is useful, take note of what you have learned, resolve to live just a little better each day and seek to limit things and people that pull you down. Make use of new ideas. Take old memories and cherish only the ones that nourish your heart. Leave the rest behind. It is time to climb to a new point of view and with that will come to wider sphere of influence. New friends will be made, new ideas birthed. It is a year of turning points and thresholds that will bring you greater awareness!
SCORPIO – Some questions can never be answered. Let go of the fears of not getting what you want or losing what you have. Align your will more directly with your true inner gifts and move forward without distractions. Know that you have a wellspring of experience and an inner radar that springs from the DNA of all humanity and nature itself. Be like the owl that resides within the old oak tree. Rise above conflicts. Eschew struggles and see where you can smooth not only your own path but offer your innate wisdom as needed. Anxieties and worries are best left in the dark where they belong. Instead, feel the heat of true life that rises to meet you as you open to the energy of creating yourself anew…the only choice you have that allows you to become more than what you have known yourself to be.
SAGITTARIUS – Insights as to how best to live this life on earth is what you have always sought, despite what you thought. It is time to let go of any ways you have been trained to think, be or do in 2016. Instead, seek for new openings into a greater experience of living within the stream. One of the ways you can do this is to become more active within your community. To do this effectively effort will be needed to find out more about what is going on. Do not be surprised if you discover ways you can be of help and assistance. This year taking advantage of new opportunities can turn into a true learning experience. A true feeling of community can only come from a willingness to work together and seek to bring more improvement to those that need it. This year it is seek and you WILL find.
CAPRICORN – Seeking more of an inner life is the focus over 2016. It is not enough to set goals that have little to do with the uplifting of your spirit and the nourishing of your heart. Cupid has the capacity to knock on the door of your inner heart at almost any time over this coming year. Sometimes the only way we can learn true vulnerability is to fall in love without reservation. You can notice longings emerge unexpectedly over the year as you become more aware of a deeper need for connection. This can lead you to emotional rebirth with the gift to you of something precious. Over this year, make daily time to turn your gaze inward and open to new waves of feeling, ones that may rest a bit closer to the bone.
AQUARIUS — Eventually, the house of perception you reside in may grow too small and instead of supporting you it limits you. Break open the limits you may have placed on your life, let go of the habits that safely insulated you from living within the greater life stream. As you become aware of life more, as you awaken to more inner knowledge than it will be natural to share it with others. There has always been a need for others to learn from those who have had more experience, more time to assimilate and learn from what is often simple truths. This is a year where you can seek to reveal more to those who are willing to grow and learn. This is not the year t to be shy or withdrawn. Courage over 2016—that is what will support you the most.
PISCES – Your task is to live your life fully and as you do it, give others the gift of fully living theirs. There is no need to rescue, caretake, worry or fuss. Instead, focus on developing new roles, new aspects, new talents within yourself. Often the taking of new kinds of risks can open up a resource base that has been laying dormant within you. Most likely, you are already attuned to elements within your life you feel have deep meaning. Give your full attention to life at hand as you experience 2016. Be devoted to what you are doing. That is all life can ask and it is a simple request.