The path of observation, spiritual discipline and the associated astrological keys.

Written on Thursday 15 April 2021

True observation, through meditation 

As we journey along the path of the transpersonal, beyond the known and the safe, we are given to perceive, in our meditations, the true meaning of observation.

What is this observation, or rather, in the first instance, what is it not? Beyond the concepts of positive thinking, it is easier, when we try to talk about spirituality and meditation, to express what they are not, how could we perceive something that we do not know? Being steeped in a predominantly materialistic or/and dogmatic world, it is more accessible for us to understand what spirituality and meditation are not. 

Thus, in our meditations, whether prepared or spontaneous, true observation is not exactly a concentration on what appears within us.

Concentration on what is within us will trigger a desire to obtain a result or vice versa, the desire to obtain a result will create concentration with the consequence of a sometimes subtle tension, which lies below a certain apparent tranquillity on the surface.

One of the techniques frequently used in meditation practices is the observation of a situation such as, for example, the fear of a particular circumstance that needs to be cleared and to see it as a feeling in the body.

Initially, this technique will help us to move away from a cerebral focus in order to connect, not with an intellectual understanding, but with a bodily feeling which has the advantage of being intimate and simple. However, if at this stage we continue to focus on improving or transcending our body feeling, our feeling will spiral into tension and cause more tension.

This bodily feeling is often expressed as a blockage in the chest or a knot of anxiety in the solar plexus area, etc.

The attitude which seems favourable in our meditation would be the acceptance and the reception of these knots and blockings, to let appear all that appears without judgement, without control, without analysis. This unusual attitude will allow our observation to be placed in a letting go without expectations. 

Even if sometimes it is difficult to reconnect with the opening towards this observation of acceptance and letting go, the experience of living even just once will allow us to recover this space of deep relaxation and it is this relaxation that brings about the healing of the fear in question.

We can adopt this true observation to all situations of our life and when the magic of the soul operates in our conscience by a revealing vision, nothing will be able to deviate us from our spiritual initiation.

Spiritual discipline :

What is spiritual discipline?

Is it a prayer performed 5 times a day?

Is it a multitude of ceremonies performed throughout the year?

Is it a doctrine outside of oneself that should be followed rigorously?

Is it a Sunday mass, a prayer before eating, before sleeping?

Is it a recitation of a mantra, of positive thinking?

Is it regular courses on vipassana meditation or other techniques?

No doubt these various practices will have a distinct meaning for each person and they will be inspired by them, or not? But let's not forget, when the spiritual experience causes a fusion in the body down to the cells, the ensuing awareness leaves us with the choice of adopting a clear spiritual discipline, as we know exactly what remains essential for us to do or not to do!

Spiritual discipline really begins at this stage of the path, for not to adopt this discipline would be to live a backward flight and this is exactly why discipline is necessary. It will only be beneficial, however, if it has a meaning that has been deeply experienced in the body's feeling.

Following this awareness, we can perceive what remains superficial in our spiritual path and what requires discipline, perseverance, determination and the courage to make the choice to go forward no matter what!

Some associated astrological keys:

To do this, we will particularly observe the positions in our natal chart, the transits and progressions of the influences of Uranus/Neptune/Pluto, the mean and corrected dark moon, the lunar nodes, the position of the sun and moon in the chart, the astrological houses 8 and 12 and Jupiter/Saturn.

These astrological keys refer to a general influence, they describe a possible trend to be considered. They hold inspirations towards the inner world and towards metaphysical questions without saying that other astrological factors do not have these qualities in the end.

What role could Uranus play in what we are interested in here?

Uranus is certainly the planet of awakening, and will therefore allow us to let go of the limits of the known by influencing the identification of blockages and fears which have been crystallized by the limits of Saturn. 

This facet of Uranus is initiated by an intense need to say "no" to being in the antithesis (truth and its opposite) to the risk of maintaining a speculative theory by simple need to remain in a contrary tendency.

It is thus necessary, in our meditations, to observe the meaning of our flashes of perception, are they inhabited by the energy of the living, that is, are they fixed in an egotistical need to be different or in a perception connected to the heart for the elevation of the collectivity? To do this, we can use the Neptunian influences in order to reconnect with the feeling of the heart and of union. 

In this sense, an accentuation of Uranus in our chart could help us to detach from egotistical limitations. Similarly with a transit of Uranus on a personal planet or on the ascendant, as well as a progression of the Sun, Moon and ascendant on Uranus. 

What role could Neptune play in what we are interests  here? 

Neptune will make us aware of the spiritual world. It has the ability to dissolve the excitement of the Uranian higher mind. Uranus can make us miss the target by a too strong desire to reach the Zenith. Neptune will dissolve the overflow of the mind and unlock the doors to the intuitive world, the intelligence of the heart, the perception of mystery and letting go. In order to do this, Neptune needs to be sufficiently anchored in a solid Saturnian centre of structure beforehand, otherwise it will lose itself in illusions of all kinds. 

Therefore, Neptune can help in the sense described above if there is too much Uranian or/and Saturnian emphasis in a chart. Neptune transits of the Sun, Moon, Ascendant, Mercury or/and the 3rd or 9th house can also help. Also study progressions as described here, but in reverse, i.e. Sun and Moon progressed in square, opposition, conjunction, and even quincunx to Neptune, etc. Similarly, if the personal planets and the progressed ascendant enter Pisces or the 12th house. 

What role could Pluto play in what interests us here? 

If we are Plutonian, we will have to face the hidden parts of our unconscious. Pluto is intrinsically linked to the power of the living, of metamorphosis, death and rebirth.

In the reflection of this article, Pluto allows us to go deep, away from superficial concerns, to meet our repressed psychic wounds. If we turn our backs on the Plutonic initiations, they will manifest themselves in an imposed, uncompromising way. Pluto is never half-hearted, and C.G. Jung's phrase in the introduction to this blog clearly expresses Pluto's radicality.

( If we do not face our shadow, it will come to us in the form of our destiny. )

The person born under the influence of Pluto will not be able to ignore its impact by stubbornly pursuing a life of glamour and glitter. In this incarnation, it is a question of penetrating the depths of our person in order to cross the parts of the shadow ready to be transformed. 

The dark aspects of Pluto would be obsession and the need for power. 

Obsession has complicated tendencies such as the endless need to transform oneself, to dwell on a problem in a seemingly endless spiral. However, through obsession, the person reveals a new space within him or herself that he or she has learned to observe. Now it is less an obsession than a determination to practice spiritual discipline without apology. In this atmosphere, it is also less a question of a compulsive search for power over others than of a power of regeneration that is psychological, spiritual and epigenetic.

The obsessive effect of Pluto will, however, need the detachment, self-mockery and humour of Uranus in order for the person to see the space that will allow them to be freed from the risk of imprisonment that obsession so often brings to the experience.

What role could the black moons play in what interests us here?

Following how the black moons are placed in the chart, conjoined to the ascendant, the sun or moon, the ruler of the ascendant or the midheaven or its ruler, they will have a so-called dominant impact. 

Dominant black moons in a chart will have a fundamental influence on the person on a metaphysical level. With the position of the black moons, we are dealing with one of our most essential founding myths in the sense that they rally the part of the being and not the part of the person. The absolute original purity of the unicorn lady (middle black moon) is perceived with the horn of knowledge placed on her head. In order to better integrate the subject that interests us here, let us quote Luc Bigé again.

The unicorn is an initiator at the highest level, because of the vision she offers, the unicorn is a therapist for herself and often for others. It is not a question here of catharsis by crying out one's emotions, but of plunging one's horn, (the depth of one's vision), into the lake of one's emotions and it is the vision itself that allows the purification of the latter.

It is, however, notable to place our understanding a little further. The unicorn's excessive desire to live in an absolute of purity has made it demanding, uncompromising and proud, convinced that its truth is the truth. It was his excessive desire that led him to his own downfall. To do this, all the parts of the unicorn that did not correspond to her need for absoluteness were propelled into Lilith (Corrected Black Moon.) In the latter, we locate the archaic parts, the fears and the suffering of rejection due to the unicorn fall.

Once again, we must accept to go through this Lilith with its fears and wounds of rejection, its sufferings of non-existence, loss and prohibition. This is so that we can return to a unicorn without pride and intransigence. When the experience of the Lilithian process is lived fully, honestly and consciously a vast lucidity propels the person towards peace of mind and spirit.

What role might the lunar nodes play in what we are concerned with here?

We can imagine that if Lilith's initiatory work seems insurmountable, the lunar nodes might represent "plan B." To be fair, the black moons, the moon and the lunar nodes shape in coherence with each other. The lunar nodes are related to the karmic part in that they represent the will of the soul in our incarnation, what has our soul chosen to teach us in this life? The lunar nodes are frequently referred to as the south node (the tail of the dragon) and the north node (the head of the dragon). The south node represents our achievements, what is integrated and reassuring and where we tend to cling to because of the known and mastered aspects, in this sense we link the south node to karma. The north node represents the qualities to be reached in order to be in coherence with the intentions of evolution that the soul has chosen for us, in this sense, we bring the north node closer to dharma. 

The teaching of the lunar nodes would be to use the knowledge of the SN but only that which is free of dependency, to serve the NN in its journey towards the qualities of the sign and astrological house in which the NN is. An example with a SN in Virgo and a NN in Pisces. The qualities of the SN in Virgo relate to the ability to perceive things as they are without being overwhelmed by emotions and illusions. This would allow us to learn, through our meditations proposed by the NN in Pisces, to acquire a clearer view of the evolution of dissolving the limits of our ego.

The return of the nodes to their original locations or reversal represents a period of deeper understandings of what needs to be done throughout the evolution of the coming cycle. 

A full cycle of the nodes is 18 years, when the NN and SN return to their original positions. A half cycle will be 9 years for the inversion of the nodes, i.e., when the SN is on the NN and the NN is on the SN.

South node = SN

North Node = NN

What role could the sun and the moon play in what we are interested in here?

As the two luminaries in astrology, the sun and the moon are an inseparable pair of the whole, the masculine and the feminine the yinyang and not the yin and the yang which would mean one isolated from the other. It is indeed a whole linked into one, with an inner and an outer part, a conscious and an unconscious part. The position in sign and house of the two luminaries is of major importance, especially if they are connected by aspects to dominant points in the chart, such as conjunct the ruler of the ascendant. If they are conjoined to a so-called transpersonal planet such as Uranus/Neptune/Pluto or to the black moon. As well as a location in the so-called karmic houses such as the h4, h8 and h12. In this case emotional and sensitivity, psychological and metamorphosis, metaphysical and intuitions, transcendence and tranquility issues will be deeply present at certain times in the person's life,

The key is to remain vigilant to the darker parts of everything, for behind these forces of transcendence lie traps such as surrender to emotional forces, the search for mystical power, the illusions of spiritual images and fantasies, the desire to reach the absolute, to believe that one holds the truth and/or the feeling of spiritual supremacy, etc. Also become careful not to be in a hurry to go through the process of involution initiation before the identity is sufficiently embodied in matter, in mother earth; at least move in such a way as to simultaneously initiate grounding and letting go.

m4 = astrological house 4, etc.

What role might Jupiter/Saturn play in what interests us here?

Saturn is not interested in these incessant metamorphoses that do not find a conclusion due to a lack of maturity. It pushes us to a precise perception of the method or/and therapy and what is essential to do, and this, no matter what techniques are used which might seem abstract to an overly rigid Saturnian. In fact, Saturn is not against an abstract method, but for an effective method!

Saturn urges us to acquire an inner alignment centre through discipline and determination in a personal development technique and/or through rigorous functioning that endures over time. 

However, with Saturn, we must be careful not to fall into rigidity and a tendency to self-control the circumstances of the results of our meditations. In meditation there is a danger that many layers of states of being will open up to relive many experiences. The danger with Saturn is the control over one's openings through fear and the need for security regarding the potential behind the veil of the known. 

Jupiter reveals those aspects of perseverance, trust and optimism towards life, those that further and ever consolidate the union with the greater whole to the core of the being. 

With Jupiter, one must remain vigilant against exaggeration in one direction or another, with the feeling of having to instill one's own truths in others. In this sense, Jupiter represents the missionary with the unfortunate tendency towards a form of spiritual supremacy. Jupiter can also seek abundance, especially when it is in aspects to Neptune and the Sun, which moves from a sense of desire to an emotional need for delusions of grandeur. But, if this form of abundance is observed and acknowledged, Jupiter propels us towards connecting to the abundance of our deeper being, whether through dance, song, music, relationships and a Saturnian help to keep the initiatory path we adhere to, etc. Thus, Jupiter offers us times of abundance and reward, joy and fulfillment until one day even without Jupiter transits or progression we experience whole periods of blessings because the self has heard our meditations and taken us by surprise to propel us into the grace of our inner sun.

SatyamAstro