Armageddon, Current Energies & Opportunities

Given the recent news headlines, who could be faulted for wondering whether the world's going to hell in the proverbial hand-basket?

Earthquakes, volcanoes erupting, conservative groups 'outing' a conservative senator, an Iranian hard-line cleric blaming earthquakes on women who show a little skin, scandal oozing out of every crevice of the Vatican and The Church of Wall Street. And that's just a short list (and before the BP oil spill trumped the headlines!

I, like many of you, watch with horror and wonder at what seems like it could be coming straight out of the Armageddon Handbook, if there is such a thing (and I'm sure  the chronic, er, committed Armageddonists have some version!).

Then again, it could be the apocalypse, in its original definition: "...a disclosure of something hidden from the majority of mankind in an era dominated by falsehood and misconception, i.e. the veil to be lifted." (Wikipedia)

And there's the choice, or one of them, that we have before us. Do we interpret current events as harbingers of some final Great Doom, or as invitations or opportunities to lift the veil and notice what's been hidden based on falsehood and misconception?

Do we hunker down and shrink in fear and terror, or rise to the invitation to see what's being revealed and open to a whole new level of creativity -- creating structures and organizations that actually consider and work for all?

Do we take the red pill or the blue pill? Oh what fun, eh?

I don't mean for it to sound easy, because I know that it can seem anything but. There are moments (and sometimes days) when I'm as tempted as any to run for the hills, find the nearest cave, and hunker down, quivering in fear. Or, in a pinch, just head for the nearest piece of furniture to crawl under.

But I'd get bored with the whole cave-hermit thing pretty quickly, despite my occasional romantic notions to the contrary. And a good bit of what's happening (ala the afore-mentioned issues and scandals) point to abuses of power that tick me off (and that particular sort of anger is very clarifying and mobilizing!).

So the only real option is to look for the Big Reveal, with whatever courage I can muster in the moment, and then do what I can do and share what I can share, with whatever inspiration I can summon. (As I've shared in this blog before, TAT and EFT are among the toolbox of handy resources, as are sessions with your favorite inspired mentor-guide.)

A Key: Guidance from the Archetypes

Having some context is also helpful -- the big picture, so to speak -- and one way to look at the whole 'hell in a hand-basket' thing is through the lens of astrology archetypes. The context, and the archetypal themes, help us to find our place amidst the chaos and tap into resources we may have forgotten we have available to us.

Right now, one big astro-story is the opposition of Saturn and Uranus and the not-too-far-off T-square with Pluto. And that story says a lot about our current cultural -- and no doubt individual -- stories.

There are several wonderful articles that summarize the Saturn-Uranus opposition, which started in 2008 and wraps up in mid-July of this year (send an email and I'll be happy to share links to my favorites). The 4th of 5 exact oppositions, though, occurs on April 26th, so you may be one of many feeling the pinch of this dynamic.

Here's the gist.

Saturn is often associated with limitation, constriction, time, and structure. Saturn has traditionally been called the 'Lord of Karma', the task-master, and the old guard. The archetype is associated with old-school, stodgy,dogmatic, hierarchical institutions -- the Boy's Clubs currently under such scrutiny, for example. That would be Saturn to the extreme.

Where Saturn is associated with the old-guard and limitation (often through lots of rules and regulations), Uranus is associated with revolution, evolution, the decidedly 'new-guard', innovation, creativity, lightning-fast change, intuition, and, in a big way, freedom. Real freedom, not the 'freedom fries' sound-bite freedom.

So you can see where, with these two archetypes doing a mano-a-mano with each other -- imagine them facing off across the heavens, with Earth -- and you and me -- right smack in the middle. Sounds hideously unfair, doesn't it?

And then Pluto chimes in around issues of power -- its misuse and proper use (and reclaiming our power that we've given away) -- and we have power-abusive , power-sapping structures and institutions and beliefs that need to be transformed, inspired, and evolved. More on the topic of reclaiming power and voice in future posts.

Other archetypes -- like a chorus of sorts, guiding us forward -- weigh in on the 'medicines' of harmony, beauty, civility, relationship, heartfulness, and so on. Sounds familiar, doesn't it?

A Second Key: Empowering Choices

That's where choices are key, because the more insightful astrologers will also tell you that there are things -- good, worthwhile, wonderful, joy-bringing things -- that want to be born out of these tense energies. Think of it as creative tension, or the labor before birth.

Here, what's wanting to die is the rigidity, the old forms that have outlasted their use, the old beliefs that are binding us to mere fractions of our potential, individually and collectively. What wants to be born is the greater potential, form that's truer to the ideals (say, like actual democracy), and authenticity that brings our true individual and collective potential into form and expression.

So, the prime directive? To have a sense of the vision and a clue about purpose, an awareness of the energies and opportunities, and ways to touch into that each day along the way in a way that allows for inspired action.

More on the earthquakes and volcanoes in another entry, though I know my astrology-peeps would have something to say about that, too.

Blessings on the way,

Jamie

Comments

[Kim]

Bravo!

Hey and doesn't it feel sooo good to face the idea of armageddon and go .. rasberry to you big guy, I'm off to a lush picnic in the woods with all my wonderful friends who, btw, don't believe in you either!

If one more thing goes 'wrong' in my life just now I'll break down in hysterical laughter or join you under the furniture, but the really cool thing is this: none of that old stuff matters and I feel like the birth of something new and most wonderous is coming through.