Astrology
Dear Kendra~
Last night I was sitting at dinner between two astrologers who were talking voraciously about their techniques--the rightness of the Placidus or Koch house systems, their views on declinations, mid-points, and orbs, and the disparity between Vedic and Western astrology. I found myself in a strangely quiet mood. They seemed like two jewelers exclaiming the beauty of their gems, the profundity of their skills?and their suspicious interplay left me hungry. I listened to their astro-jargon, thinking all the while that they were like bees gathering no nectar. By the time we got to the dessert, I finally found space in the conversation?and was aggravated enough to offer a different opinion.
"What about going deeper into the richness of this mythological language? what about the art of translating astro-jargon into soulful English--! What about bringing it into useful, practical insights drawn from simple techniques?" I challenged them--asking them what they would say to seeing Neptune squaring Mars in a chart and explaining that to a client. I wondered if they knew the simple ?rule of three? where one looks to see if a psychological pattern is repeated three times in order to gage its importance. And finally I asked them if they knew that the Nodes have a way of pulling the whole chart together?they didn?t know that.
Perhaps I was not in a good mood for "parroting about" with the astro-jargon because I was thinking about your heartfelt letter. How could I reply to that? There wasn?t going to be any simple astrological insight that would make it better?only perhaps the knowing that I was hearing and feeling you..call it .love, friendship, caring...whatever.... and I was loving the reflection you gave about the Moon and Pluto, and how the resonance between what happened and the astrological symbolism made you feel that you were part of a larger whole--you have been through a sacred wounding known to many women. It was a wise letter.
So now, instead of talking Saturn Returns and astrological aspects, I?d rather share with you these feelings that came up as I was having my morning coffee?this is what I wrote in my journal:
?When someone deeply listens to you, the fist-muscle of the heart relaxes and opens, in sweet surprise. When someone deeply listens to you, you begin to breathe. The heart extends itself like a child?s up-reaching hand and is held. It?s as if a cup that was half-empty now fills with waters of unexpected grace, and the touch of their eyes on your Soul opens the floodgates to healing tears. When someone holds you in their heart, listening deeply with words both said and unsaid, the heart rejoices? and you come to know yourself for the first time as worthy, whole and holy. In this sacred moment of time, there is love.?
I hope I have listened to you this way. I hold you in my heart?.and this is what I send to you this morning, Kendra~
Isabelle
- Private Journal, August 26
Private Journal, August 26, 2010 It was only in 1920, on this day, that women got the right to vote in the United States! Ah~ how those women struggled ?to have a voice? and how we still struggle to find our true voice, our authentic Self and express...
- The Private Papers Of A Reluctant Astrologer
To Readers of North Node Astrology~ I've started a new astrological "book in a blog" set up as letters between an older astrologer, Isabelle, who is mentoring a younger women, Kendra. Isabelle has taken on Kendra as a student and she will be privately...
- The Reluctant Astrologer, Part 2
"Once upon a time there was a woman, who wasn?t as young as she used to be, who sat at her table to write. It was very early morning, and she had just awoken from a night full of terrible dreams. In every dream she was lost and no one could hear or...
- What Can You Expect From An Astrology Reading?
What Can You Expect from An Astrology Reading? ?You can make astrology prove anything,? she said to me with a malicious little grin. ?It?s like the Bible?just pick the right verse and chapter, and you can make a case for God?s approval or disapproval...
- Archetypal Astrology
Archetypal Astrology Archetypal astrology is another name for Jungian astrology, a ?creature? that Carl Jung never invented, but a name that astrologers like myself use to describe the way we work with the symbolic language of astrology. Archetypal...
Astrology
Letter #9: Astro-Jargon and the Language of the Heart
Last night I was sitting at dinner between two astrologers who were talking voraciously about their techniques--the rightness of the Placidus or Koch house systems, their views on declinations, mid-points, and orbs, and the disparity between Vedic and Western astrology. I found myself in a strangely quiet mood. They seemed like two jewelers exclaiming the beauty of their gems, the profundity of their skills?and their suspicious interplay left me hungry. I listened to their astro-jargon, thinking all the while that they were like bees gathering no nectar. By the time we got to the dessert, I finally found space in the conversation?and was aggravated enough to offer a different opinion.
"What about going deeper into the richness of this mythological language? what about the art of translating astro-jargon into soulful English--! What about bringing it into useful, practical insights drawn from simple techniques?" I challenged them--asking them what they would say to seeing Neptune squaring Mars in a chart and explaining that to a client. I wondered if they knew the simple ?rule of three? where one looks to see if a psychological pattern is repeated three times in order to gage its importance. And finally I asked them if they knew that the Nodes have a way of pulling the whole chart together?they didn?t know that.
Perhaps I was not in a good mood for "parroting about" with the astro-jargon because I was thinking about your heartfelt letter. How could I reply to that? There wasn?t going to be any simple astrological insight that would make it better?only perhaps the knowing that I was hearing and feeling you..call it .love, friendship, caring...whatever.... and I was loving the reflection you gave about the Moon and Pluto, and how the resonance between what happened and the astrological symbolism made you feel that you were part of a larger whole--you have been through a sacred wounding known to many women. It was a wise letter.
So now, instead of talking Saturn Returns and astrological aspects, I?d rather share with you these feelings that came up as I was having my morning coffee?this is what I wrote in my journal:
?When someone deeply listens to you, the fist-muscle of the heart relaxes and opens, in sweet surprise. When someone deeply listens to you, you begin to breathe. The heart extends itself like a child?s up-reaching hand and is held. It?s as if a cup that was half-empty now fills with waters of unexpected grace, and the touch of their eyes on your Soul opens the floodgates to healing tears. When someone holds you in their heart, listening deeply with words both said and unsaid, the heart rejoices? and you come to know yourself for the first time as worthy, whole and holy. In this sacred moment of time, there is love.?
I hope I have listened to you this way. I hold you in my heart?.and this is what I send to you this morning, Kendra~
Isabelle
- Private Journal, August 26
Private Journal, August 26, 2010 It was only in 1920, on this day, that women got the right to vote in the United States! Ah~ how those women struggled ?to have a voice? and how we still struggle to find our true voice, our authentic Self and express...
- The Private Papers Of A Reluctant Astrologer
To Readers of North Node Astrology~ I've started a new astrological "book in a blog" set up as letters between an older astrologer, Isabelle, who is mentoring a younger women, Kendra. Isabelle has taken on Kendra as a student and she will be privately...
- The Reluctant Astrologer, Part 2
"Once upon a time there was a woman, who wasn?t as young as she used to be, who sat at her table to write. It was very early morning, and she had just awoken from a night full of terrible dreams. In every dream she was lost and no one could hear or...
- What Can You Expect From An Astrology Reading?
What Can You Expect from An Astrology Reading? ?You can make astrology prove anything,? she said to me with a malicious little grin. ?It?s like the Bible?just pick the right verse and chapter, and you can make a case for God?s approval or disapproval...
- Archetypal Astrology
Archetypal Astrology Archetypal astrology is another name for Jungian astrology, a ?creature? that Carl Jung never invented, but a name that astrologers like myself use to describe the way we work with the symbolic language of astrology. Archetypal...