Astrology and the Age of Reason

The birth mandala is a representation of the energetic potential of any given individual. By understanding it & studying it, we can get insight into our internal mechanisms of behaviour & into possible blockages to action & avenues of release. Not only that, but the possibilities of the outworking of any energetic patterns inherent in the mandala can be discerned, so much so that many astrologers are able to use the basic mandala as a predictive tool for their clients.

For centuries the study of this archetypal representation of the self & the soul force behind it, has focused on the specific patterns of relationship as demonstrated by the planetary energies of choice. We can look at the planetary points as areas of high focus either in the form of a blessing or in the form of a challenge, but we should not exclude the potential that is available to us in the rest of the mandala even though it may not be engaged with personal planets and asteroids, targeted by fixed stars or involved in aspect structures. As we move collectively into a potential energetic future (often referred to as the Aquarian Age), we should strive to open ourselves to a shift in how we view energy & our own unique inter-facing with that energy. Why should we be restricted to trines, squares, oppositions or any other so-called aspects? Just because we may appear to be a compilation of a certain zodiacal ‘family’, Fire, Earth Air or Water, why should we limit ourselves to this energy? Just because the obvious focus of a life may be on certain areas of enterprise, why should we feel that we cannot explore other areas of life as well? The concept of transits is familiar to anyone who works with astrological tools & it is time to expand that understanding to include the whole mandala of 360* of energetic potential.

With the advent of the Age of Reason, humans began to push the bar in terms of how they viewed existence. The scientific method did free us in many ways. Certainly, social hierarchy met its demise, though slowly & it can be argued that it is still in its death throes even now. Nevertheless, the scientific model did much to equalize the playing field. Opportunities for advancement were opened up & even the so-called lowest member of society was able to advance to a place in the sun. Magic was, in some cases, explained through careful experimentation & exploration using the newly understood formulae & newly derived ‘scientific methods’. However, the Age of Reason also brought in some negative repercussions. Reductionist thinking & rationalism really led to a shutting down of an important, dare I say, even essential aspect of human existence, the intuitive side of life. Rather than just explaining Magic, science actually contributed to the eradication of the possibility of Magic for the collective. Only that which could be measured was considered ‘real’.

If a possibility is excluded from the psyche, it cannot, in fact, manifest. Form follows thought. Interestingly, science has now brought the collective back to possibility with the new ideas that are coming from the clearly unscientific area of quantum physics! (Using their own definitions, of course.)

We live in a time of widening possibility; a time of a magical renewal of the fullest of human potential. We are beginning to see the universe as an organic whole that encompasses many different ways of being, a multi-leveled existence. If the universe itself is viewed as an organism, and integrally linked to all other lesser organisms, this single realization or thought can dramatically alter the way we, as sentient parts of that organic whole behave. This is certainly the force that is fueling the ecological movement, all humanitarian actions and socio-political movements that seek to create unity & coherent interaction between member states; even scientific breakthroughs that serve to improve the human condition for all members of the earth. We are beginning to think of ourselves & the universe in which we reside as one holistic reality which survives, thrives or expires in entirety.

Part of this growing awareness, this wider perception of reality, of life, of ourselves, relates directly to how we can use the tool of astrology. We want to begin to look at the mandala in a holistic way. Of course, when doing a chart interpretation, a good astrologer already does this to an extent. The sum is, often, greater than the parts that added up to it. A good astrologer has to make intuitive leaps & judgments. The great debate over astrology is as a result of the fact that “Magic” is involved in chart understanding & delineation; that same “Magic” that the Age of Reason so effectively shut down. It is only because we attempt to shove astrological detective work into the scientific model that the debate arises. This is not to say that astrologers should throw out their Mercury (reasoning) function & rely completely on a Uranian or Neptunian modality (intuition & inspiration) to do chart work. That would also be counterproductive to the spirit of holism. Now is the time to call a truce between the two opposing factions, the right side of the human brain and the left side of it. The intuitive process works best when well supported by a clear logical thinking process. An incisive mind can really soar to great heights when fueled by intuitive understanding. And really, the greatest of human achievements have always been made using both of these functions. (Einstein ‘dreamed’ his theory of relativity during an afternoon nap!)

So, for the modern astrologer, it is imperative to look at any energy system, as represented by the horoscope (birth mandala) in a whole way. This opens up multi-leveled doors of opportunity for the person in question. Once a possibility is explored, it has much more likelihood of taking form through the interaction of the ego with the energy available to it! Any horoscope encompasses all 360* of the Wheel of Life—the Zodiac and at any given moment in time, there is interaction of energy somewhere within this wheel, as representative of the psyche. Here is a very simple illustration. Maybe you were born when the Sun was in the Zodiac sign of Cancer, (its current location, by the way). That simply means that your birthday falls somewhere between June 21 and July 23. Cancer is linked to two other signs of the Zodiac by element and three other signs by modality. Suddenly, whole new possibilities are opened! A person with Sun in Cancer can also feel energetic activation through her connection to the 2 other energies linked to Cancer by element, Scorpio & Pisces, and the 3 other energies linked to Cancer by modality, Aries, Libra & Capricorn. Possibly, she may not have any actual planetary archetypes in any of these areas of the Zodiac but she will, nevertheless, still feel something since energy is like a wave, not something rigid and fixed. This example is merely one way that energy could be experienced. However, each and every one of the 360* of the horoscope is in relationship with the whole wheel of degrees, in every moment of consciousness. How could it be any other way? We are whole beings within ourselves and part of a whole system of being that holds us all. Everything connects with everything. The poet, John Donne, expressed this idea in the following words;
“No man is an island…”
How right he was and on a much more profound level than we may have understood when we first read those words!

How exciting this concept is! We are so much more than what we ever thought we were! We are not limited! We truly are infinite possibility! We may have shut the door on the magic of the metaphysical as The Age of Reason took hold, but, we have now found our way back to that door through the discoveries made about the nature of reality, existence and energy through the very tools of the Age of Reason that once shut that magical door.

To explore your own possibility and potential using the Astrological Method and especially with a focus on this new way to look at the birth mandala, contact me @ christinaraiw@gmail.com. Together we will step through those magical doors of perception and discover a whole new you!