The Private Papers of a Reluctant Astrologer: Fourth Letter (not sent)/ Private Journal

The Private Papers of a Reluctant Astrologer: Fourth Letter (not sent)/ Private Journal: "Dear Kendra~ I'm writing this in my journal first because I'm trying to think how to talk to you about your chart before I write yo..."

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 teaching her through these letters. We'll also see Isabelle's private journal and personal struggles around her own issues of fate and destiny. Both women are experiencing their Saturn Returns, one at 29 years old, and one at 59 years old.


Their email/letter correspondence has deep meaning and synchronicity for both of them--and what is the prediction that seems to be coming true? Why does Isabelle call herself a "reluctant astrologer"? Oscar Wilde said: "The final mystery is oneself" but these women want to delve deeper into understanding their unconscious motivations and karma through astrology--as well as deciphering what is really happening in these years of
"2012" which have already begun.


If you sign in/subscribe as a reader you will be sent an automatic email as each new chapter is written. Hope to see some of you there! Leave your comments and questions as well.....the direct link is on the sidebar here, or you can cut and paste this: http://PrivatePapersof-a-ReluctantAstrologer.blogspot.com

Mark Twain's Astrological Chart: Haley's Comet

Haley's comet passed across the November skies in 1835, the same month Mark Twain was born--and it was his greatest wish--and proclaimed vow--that he would "go out" with the passing of that comet some 75 years later. And he did. Twain died on April 21, 1910 as Haley passed across the heavens once again. Twain had another wish too--that his autobiography would come out exactly 100 years after his death--as per his instructions--on this November 2010. And so Twain, like Carl Jung and the publication of Jung's Red Book, will be in the news again and we'll be able to read the inner thoughts of another man of integrity.

After watching Ken Burn's poignant documentary on the life of Mark Twain, I was astounded at the depth of Twain's character. Here was an author, satirist, humorist, and great humanitarian who suffered such tragedy in his life--a massive bankruptcy, public shame, and the early death of his daughter--and yet who vowed not only to pay back every penny of his his debt in bankruptcy by doing ten years of grueling hard work, but who also had the audacity to tell "the gods" that his greatest wish was to die with the passing of Haley's comet, and "the gods" obliged.

I don't intend to tell his story here, but just to point out some points of astrologiucal significance. Born with his Sun in Sagittarius, he had the natural story telling ability, ego strength and optimism that is characteristic of that sign. His Moon, in Aries, reflects his emotional courage, passionate and entrepenurial character. Yet that Moon was conjunct Pluto, God of the Underworld, and Twain suffered not only personal deaths and rebirths, but the early deaths of those closest to him. He expressed the suffering of slavery, of humanity's cruelty to each other, and he dared to rage against "God himself." And yet he did it as one of us--not with a finger of blame, but instead by "smiling through the sorrow" with his characteristic good will towards all.

How did he do it? With grit and force of character--astrologers see this in his chart with Scorpio rising as well as his South Node in Scorpio in the first house--and his great summons to his live into his North Node in Taurus in the Seventh house of marriage, and intimate one on one relationships---all of which grounded him in a reality that allowed him to endure and be creative. In the polarity between these Nodes we see the balance and challenge of the Scorpio and Taurus Nodes--the tension between the Scorpionic drama of life with its capacity to overwhelm and the Taurus rootedness in loyalty, steadfastness, and the good things of this earth.

Of course, he overdid it all--as a a Sag with an Aries Moon might do, but he lived to tell about it, and now with Ken Burn's documentary and his upcoming autobiography, we get to see the story of death and rebirth profoundly expressed in the life of a man with so much integrity that even "God himself" honored him with his last wish. (c) Elizabeth Spring http://www.elizabethspring.com/

"Purpose is the Place Where Your Deep Gladness Meets the World's Needs"

“Purpose is the place where your deep gladness meets the world’s needs.”
Frederick Buechner

Writing “North Node Astrology”, a book about how to find one’s life direction and soul purpose, sounds a little arrogant or naïve depending on whether or not you believe astrology has anything truly worthwhile to say at all. One’s life direction seems to evolve through some mysterious equation of fate, character and destiny. How far does our free will take us? How random is fate? Metaphysical questions abound, yet it is in the making of character through the depth of our insight that intrigues me. My hope is that this book gives you, dear reader, a rather “special and curious tool” to dig deeper into the whys and wherefores of character and destiny. And as for soul purpose, I share a common yet sacred bias here, in saying that it is ultimately bound up with our growing ability to love and be loved.

Similarly, as a counselor I’m inclined to say that one’s life direction and soul purpose is about the movement towards healing and wholeness—for who among us is not wounded and less than whole? Our life direction sometimes seems to evolve as much by default as it does by purpose, and yet we sense that it’s more than the “visible hat” we wear in the world. It is about our healing, wholeness and deep happiness, and this is different for each of us.

Can you remember when you first heard the words of the poet, William Wordsworth, when he said “our birth is but a sleep and a forgetting, the Soul that rises with us, our life’s Star, hath had elsewhere its setting, and cometh from afar: not in entire forgetfulness, and not in utter nakedness, but trailing clouds of glory…”? Maybe it’s true that life existed before this birth, perhaps not. However, embracing the theory of reincarnation is not necessary to get something out of this book—what I might see as the reincarnational story, you the reader, might understand as the effect of early childhood experiences and parental DNA. Either theory works.

As you might rightly assume, my point of view is that I like the theory of reincarnation, because although not provable, it’s a way to look at the world that holds the promise of fairness and justice. It’s a hopeful bias—because we all know that life is often not “fair” to a person in one life, but it may prove to be somehow mysteriously “fair” over many lifetimes. The law of cause and effect, of karma, operates silently with its twin sisters, fate and destiny, in ways we don’t fully understand from our perspective. Yet we may be able to discern an order and an invisible pattern when you look closely—such as when you look at the backside of a tapestry or when you see the “lay of the land” from the top of the mountain. The closer I look and the farther I look, the more interesting the patterns become.

What are these invisible patterns we might not see? A friend once said, “Be kinder than necessary because everyone we meet is fighting some kind of battle.” What is that invisible battle we don’t see in our friend? What are the invisible patterns in our life? What happens when we detect patterns using theories such as astrology and reincarnation? Perhaps they must simply be felt and experienced rather than proven, and then decided whether they are useful or not. It is in these realms I seek to probe.

So I accept reincarnation and astrology as a “kind theory” that challenges chaos and randomness. It gives me faith that there is “meaningfulness” to existence even if it can’t be proven or discerned in one life. Looking at things this way, life feels too cruel—yet we all go to the movies to watch a good story. We accept the drama and tragedy in a story.

In the Eastern tradition of Vedantic Hinduism we were once all part of the One story that created this great pattern. Their theory of reincarnation postulates that we live through lifetime after lifetime of lila and maya, of play and illusion, till we arrive back at the place where we started at the beginning. According to this philosophy there is an evolutionary story evolving—that there are synchronistic correlations and resonances between things, and that an evolutionary drama is being enacted. Like the legendary “magus” Hermes Trigmegestus once said: “As it is above, so it is below, as it is in the inner, so it is in the outer.” Man is the microcosm, the universe the macrocosm, and in some metaphysical sense they are One. I like to entertain these possibilities as being true.

So if you can suspend your skepticism about reincarnation and entertain the idea that astrological symbolism is a language best used to explore psychological and spiritual terrains—well then, I invite you to consider that there may be something in your birth chart that speaks of your specific life direction and soul purpose.

If you approach this book with an open and curious mind, you come to the question—why do I have this particular astrological chart? Why was I born at this particular time and place? Did I come here to learn or experience something unique to me? This kind of thinking challenges you to question everything you think you know about yourself and to look beneath the obvious.

And for those of you who have already seen the value of astrology in describing who you are and what you’re experiencing, then you’re ready to begin excavating the “soul’s code” embedded in the ancient astrological points of the North and South Node—known in India as Rahu and Ketu. These nodes aren’t planets, but astronomical points that have been overlooked in the recent past by astrologers preoccupied with prediction, rather than purpose. I believe they are true astrological gold. Astrological gold? Yes, like the alchemist’s philosopher’s stone, these esoteric points in the birth chart give us a base to turn the Saturnian “lead” of mundane reality into philosophic gold. An astrologer might say they offer a mercurial secret knowledge.

This process of looking to an oracle—or more accurately, looking for an oracular sign for direction, is like asking to make what is unconscious, conscious. It’s like unraveling a good mystery novel, and lends us a small but useful measure of control over our life. As Carl Jung once said, “When an inner situation is not made conscious, it happens outside as fate.” How exciting it is to ponder the idea that we might have some say in our fate! Is it an interesting theory, or a gift of grace from the gods? You decide.
© Elizabeth Spring

***

Pandora's Box

The mythical Pandora and the Biblical Eve both had a curiosity to know the truth, and were willing to go outside limits and look inside hidden and forbidden places to find deeper truths. Do you know what was in the bottom of Pandora's box? It was hope.

Their curiosity was a symbol of the human search for wisdom and consciousness. They chose to know what was real and true rather than to live a childlike fantasy. Because they sought to know what was beyond the obvious, they began the journey of consciousness, knowledge and wisdom.

I find the stories of Pandora and Eve to be poignant and courageous. The struggle to achieve consciousness is tied to duality--there is suffering in the journey as well as freedom from ignorance. I respect the fact that Pandora, like Eve, was told not to disobey orders from the gods--and that they chose consciousness over naivete. I like that "Hope" was there in the bottom of Pandora's box. ~

I'm working now to balance time between writing and do readings/counseling again, and I apologize for not being able to personally answer questions from readers. I hope that my book, "North Node Astrology: Rediscovering Your Life Direction and Soul Purpose" available only on www.amazon.com will answer some of those questions for readers interested in the Nodes and the life transitions that they are experiencing now. I believe their is much hope and wisdom in our personal and collective journeys. I am an eternal optimist, and for those of you who would like to have a phone session, the details are on the homepage of www.elizabethspring.com

And why the thoughts on Pandora? Simply because our journey is filled with all manner of dualities and it's the symbolism under the literal interpretation of our lives that is so important to look at--what's the lesson here? What's the truth? And...isn't it sometimes quite beautiful, just like Waterhouse's painting of Pandora? I think it is....

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 help her. After each dream she awoke, and thought it was over. But it wasn't: there was yet another bad dream, and then another.


She wasn’t totally unprepared for this to happen, for she was a wise woman and had seen signs of it coming. The flood last week, with the waters rising in the basement, had permeated her psyche like the mold that was beginning to grow, and the soggy destruction of her old books and keepsakes was not a good sign. She found she could no longer hold back the slow undertow of tears that she had forced back in her waking life. Kendra had indeed “entered a dark wood” and although the sun was out and all appeared well, she knew she had lost her way.


As Kendra sat at her table to write, she stared at the page and didn’t know where to begin. She, who taught and counseled others, now knew she was the one needing guidance. She knew what she knew, for she was wise in some ways, but she also knew that she couldn’t carry the burden of the rising waters alone.


As she began to write she thought about how she had spoken to others about the importance of containing water—the emotions—within the metaphorical banks of the river. But when the storm rains come to her house, and the Neptunian waters inundated everything Kendra and her husband had spoken sharp words to each other on how to solve this basement “dankness’—their words were filled with exasperation and frustration—and before they knew what had happened, they had wounded each other and felt more alone than before. It seemed as if the dankness of the water had invaded their psyches. And so separately they took turns slogging their tired hearts around the wet basement, trying to rescue what was salvageable.


But this wasn’t the whole story. The words were slow to come on this particular morning although she knew that feeling lost was often the beginning of any journey. New beginnings were often heralded by a Pluto-phoenix experience: destruction came before reconstruction, and Pluto signifies a metaphorical death and rebirth. She wanted that new beginning, and an ending of something, though she wasn’t clear about what that would look like. She did know however, that it was time to discern more clearly what it was in her life she needed to keep, and what she needed to release. She loved her husband, and despite their differences, she hoped with all her heart that the cracks in the relationship were simply the natural cracks of the tension of a long marriage.


But something else was gnawing at her as well. Something was summoning her to change. It was a yearning in her Soul and “a knowing" that she was being moved by the Universe outside of her own Will. Others had come to her with this same problem: some had spoken of feeling stuck, or of being torn between opposing desires, and some had the feeling that an unwelcome change was coming. They all needed reassurance that eventually all would be well. And Kendra believed this to be true: all things pass.


Kendra paused, sighed, and stared out the window at the naivete of the spring morning. She thought how each new day and each new birth feels fateful. It’s as if the lover or God or Muse is “doing unto me” something that will change my life forever. Will it be allowed space to enter? Will it find expression? Or will I resist?


She picked up her pen again and wrote: 'A wise woman takes care of herself, and yet seeks help from another. She asks for help but most of all, she asks her Self: What do I do now? And then she takes the time to listen. Kendra remembered being pregnant and how she had a way of waiting and attending to herself, going slowly and patiently. She endured being sick and feeling not quite right, because there was new life stirring within. There was fear and there was hope. As she grew larger each month, she learned to trust the process of change, and the sick feeling of being lost or being taken over by something else began to pass. In time the birth came, and all was well.'" Kendra hoped it would be the same now, but was not so naive that she didn't know the dangers. She put down her pen and walked outside. The air smelled fresh and good and clean. ~ Elizabeth Spring
www.elizabethspring.com

What Breaks the Heart? What Gladdens the Heart? What Happens When You Mix the Passion of the Poet, Rumi, wtih the Alchemy of Carl Jung?

The book: “North Node Astrology” starts out with the quote:

“Purpose is the place where your deep gladness meets the world’s needs.” Frederick Buechner spoke those words years ago, which I now juxtapose with a quote by author/mystic, Andrew Harvey: “Be thankful that you live in a time so terrible, it will lead you to your authentic Self.”



The holding of this kind of terrible opposition is the “tension of opposites” that Carl Jung spoke about when he spoke of God, or the “transcendent function.” He once said that God is beyond ideas of good and evil, and is more than the “coincidentia oppositorum”—he felt that it was in the holding of such oppositions as great despair and great hope that we create the spaciousness for the alchemy of our transformation. In the holding of the opposites, we make room for God or the transcendent function in the Soul, the psyche.



It is here in the holding of such opposites, such as where your heart breaks and where your heart finds joy—here is where “the numinous third” can arise – the midpoint between the two opposing positions. Jung tended to counsel “waiting” and a patient holding of the opposites in the crucible of our psyche. When we hold our love and pain together, what can arise is a gift of grace: the point which is the center of the mandala. This is what Jung saw as the third unseen possibility/option which is unfelt at first. Like a gift of grace, it arises of its own accord.



And yet does this create a“passivity” within us? I suspect it could, except in these days when our culture leans towards acting out. Perhaps the “third” that arises is a summons towards compassionate action. We hear that expressed in the Sufi poet, Rumi—as Andrew Harvey expresses it so well: “Rumi is a lion of passion trying to teach a humanity of depressed sheep how to roar…to roar with divine love.” Rumi would have us crawl out from under the dirty blanket of denial to ignite the passion—a passion that has the intensity to birth something truly new.


So isn’t Rumi really asking us to rise to another level of intensity—of radical commitment to ourselves and to our values? Reading his poetry he begs and cajoles us to act on our beliefs and loves—but eventually the only respite that came to him from his painful yearning for his beloved, was to become the Beloved. He held the tension of the opposites within himself, until like Jung believed, the opposites yielded a third: he eventually found within himself the union of opposites. ~ Elizabeth Spring http://www.elizabethspring.com/

Astrology Readings

A note to Readers and those who have asked about "readings"~I am still in retreat-writing mode and am not doing readings at the moment. However if you are interested in having me save your name and email address to contact you when I do start again, I can do that.

Also--if you are interested in this material, I suggest buying the book now and using it for yourself. It contains a lot of what I do in a reading and might be all you need! Because the book is not just about the Nodes, but is about the karmic placement of all the planets, it makes good reading and reference for "rediscovering your life direction and soul purpose" as well as insights on how to handle Pluto, Neptune and Saturn transits....meanwhile, consider walking through the "open doors" in your life--I hear spring is approaching!~Elizabeth

Workshop on Neptune--Boston Jung Institute, March 13th

"Neptune: Planetary Archetype of Mirage, Mysticism, and Madness"

When Jung wrote to Bill W. about “Spiritus Contra Spiritum” he was writing, in part, about the archetype of Neptune. Oceanic Neptune reflects the yearning for Spirit, inspires great art and the religious impulse, but is also filled with the flotsam and jetsam of illusion and discontent. Neptune touches all of our lives and can be uniquely understood by its placement in our astrological birth chart. In this workshop you’ll gain a deeper understanding of how this illusory planet operates in your life, as well as in the life and chart of Carl Jung. We’ll also explore what other planetary archetypes are obscuring or influencing the expression of Neptune in your particular chart. When registering, please include your birth day, place, year, and time if you have it (not essential.) Each participant will receive their birth chart and previous knowledge of astrology not required, although recommended books are: Steven Forrest’s book “The Inner Sky” and Elizabeth’s book: “North Node Astrology: Rediscovering Your Life Direction and Soul Purpose.” Both are available on http://www.amazon.com/

Elizabeth Spring, MA, is an astrologer, writer, and therapist in private practice in Wickford, Rhode Island. Her astrology could best be described as “archetypal astrology” in that she specializes in exploring the hidden dynamics and symbolic meanings of the planetary archetypes. She is the author of “North Node Astrology; Rediscovering Your Life Direction and Soul Purpose.” Her second book, not yet published, is “Astrological Neptune: A Jungian-Buddhist 'Re-memebering’ of Your Compassionate Self.”

Astrological Neptune: Planet of Illusion and Disillusion, Spirituality and Dissipation

It could be said that we are all “ordinary people” except where and when Neptune touches our lives. When we think of Neptune in myths, such as embodied in the mythological “Poseidon,” we remember the mixed power, force and beauty of water in all its inspiring yet destructive traits. What is more beautiful than the ocean? What is more destructive than a Tsunami? What is so gentle and refreshing and yet so insidiously destructive when it rises in your basement? Water: and so it is with Neptune.


Feel like you’re losing your mind? Forgetting things? Could it be early onset dementia? Or are you in that altered state of consciousness called “being in love?” Your right brain has all circuits firing at once, and your left brain has gone to sleep. You’re not losing your mind, you’re “just” being distracted and obsessed by Neptune.


So you may have a strong Neptune in your chart or you may be having a strong Neptune transit. Do you feel an urge to walk the shores of the ocean again and feel that sense of wonder and awe? Or have you been thinking about just how much you are looking forward to that glass of wine at the end of the day? These are not bad things, but they hint that you may be yearning to perceive the world through the miraculous lens of Neptune. At the base of this might be a tension between the ideal and the real, between glamour and gritty reality—states of being that are at odds with each other.


Wherever Neptune is in your astrology charts is where you have a blind spot—it’s the place where you cannot easily discern between reality and illusion. It’s those times when you are vulnerable and can be swept away by the illusion of love, or the disillusion of betrayal. Neptune has been called the planet of spirituality, the “No-Ego” planet, but it also holds within it the worlds of glamour and ego-inflation.


Each planetary archetype contains within it all the opposites associated with its mythology and metaphor, and with Neptune the range is very long indeed! Neptune spans the distance from spiritual yearning and devotion to God or “the beloved” to the co-dependant excesses of alcoholism and hypocrisy.


The antidote to the downside of Neptune is the upside of Saturn. Neptunian “inspiration” combined with Saturnian “perspiration” creates the balance. You have an idea? An inspiration? You saw the “look of love?” Now make it a reality. Find where Neptune and Saturn are in your astrological chart, role up your sleeves, and make the dream a reality. Even the look of love will not last without work; love is a verb that calls you to action. Dare to move beyond the glamour and illusion, and go for the high Neptune—for here within the emotional/spiritual waters of Neptune you will find the inspiration that brings deep peace.
http://www.elizabethspring.com/ Artwork: Elizabeth Spring

Have a story about Neptune? Consider leaving a comment here for others, or email me. Or if you’d like to look at it in your chart, I’ll be doing a day-long workshop on Neptune at the Boston Jung Institute on this March 13. Come join us! I’ll be creating a chart for each participant, and we’ll also look at the role of Neptune in Carl Jung’s astrological chart as well.

Neptune: Yearning, Lost, or Waking from the Dream of Separation?

When we awake from the dream of separateness and the addiction to the drama of the story-line of our lives, we awake to the idea that we’re all mystics living in a dream-world we create. Our perceived story—our ego, that small self with all its ambitions, aspirations, victories and defeats, is living a drama that sucks us in. It seduces us into believing that our daily rituals in the “marketplace of life” are all there is.


At the mountaintop level of observation, “liberation” is found by unsnarling this small ego from its sticky co-dependent relationship to others, self, and work. Beyond the Ten Commandments, “opinions” get confused with ego righteousness…so perhaps it is in the recognition of our addiction to drama that we become free—for isn’t it here that we accept our powerlessness, our limitations, and the messiness of the human condition?


We know that the Soul wants to grow and deepen, and accepts all situations as rich spiritual lessons, or gifts in disguise. Yet the ego doesn’t easily accept that we live in a meaningful universe where accidents and coincidences are actually synchronistic lessons---situations through which we are stimulated to greater awakening. When things become too painful the ego often dismisses difficulties as being random or evil events, ie = other people’s faults. It’s then that we risk missing the underlying message or meaning an event may have for us. It may be as deceptively simple as increasing our compassion.


Neptune is the planet of divine love and compassion, and also the planet of illusion and disillusion. We can get lost in it, just as we can drown in the ocean. Neptune is the trickster or magician as well, as it seems to require from us that we release and let go even those things, people and situations that we hold dear. Eventually we must release our own lives.


In releasing attachments to our personal stories and by reframing the story of our life from the point of view of the Self rather than the ego, we liberate ourselves from pettiness. It seems like a good idea. And as Andy Rooney might say: “I think I’ll give it a try.”


Elizabeth Spring http://www.elizabethspring.com/

Neptune: Mirage, Mysticism, and Madness

Neptune Workshop: Planetary Archetype of Mirage, Mysticism, and Madness.

Where? Boston Jung Institute

When? Saturday March 13 (full day)

Contact: www.cgjungboston.com

1-617-796-0108

When Jung wrote to Bill W. about “Spiritus Contra Spiritum” he was writing, in part, about the archetype of Neptune. Oceanic Neptune reflects the yearning for Spirit, inspires great art and the religious impulse, but is also filled with the flotsam and jetsam of illusion and discontent. Neptune touches all of our lives and can be uniquely understood by its placement in our astrological birth chart. In this workshop you’ll gain a deeper understanding of how this illusory planet operates in your life, as well as in the life and chart of Carl Jung. We’ll also explore what other planetary archetypes are obscuring or influencing the expression of Neptune in your particular chart.

When registering, please include your birth day, place, year, and time if you have it (not essential.) Each participant will receive their birth chart and previous knowledge of astrology not required.

Elizabeth Spring, MA, is an astrologer, writer, and therapist in private practice in Wickford, Rhode Island. Her astrology could best be described as “archetypal astrology” in that she specializes in exploring the hidden dynamics and symbolic meanings of the planetary archetypes. She is the author of “North Node Astrology; Rediscovering Your Life Direction and Soul Purpose.”
This is recommended reading for the class, and can be bought through www.amazon.com or directly through www.elizabethspring.com