Sub-personalities, the Self, and Transiting Planets

Dear Readers~

My sense is that most of you who come to this blog are looking to find out more about your North and South Nodes. Hopefully, you’ve been able to look below at the column on the right to find your North Node sign and house position. From your personal emails and comments it seems that you are getting what you need…and for those of you who want more, there is the new North Node Astrology book, and the possibility of a personal reading done by phone in the spring.


As many of you know, I don’t try to tackle your particular Nodal story in an email or comment, as it would be un-ethical to try to do that much without considerable time spent on your chart…and that is what I do in a reading. As helpful as the Nodes are in understanding the larger map of your psyche, they have to be taken in context with the whole natal chart. The Nodes are arguably the most important point in the astrological chart, yet I believe we make our way in life in good part by honoring the demands of our particular transits and progressions.


That said, I’m still open for any thoughts or questions that you have on the Nodes, or other astrological topics, and I welcome your suggestions. I’m not a believer in the “gloom and doom” theories of other astrologers in these times….despite the square between Saturn and Pluto in the heavens, I would ask you to look at what Jupiter and Neptune are doing in your transiting chart as well. In fact, every single planet has a divine purpose and our lives can so often be seen as the “best of times, and the worst of times.”


Which is to say, that no matter what planetary influence you’re operating under now, you have a choice on how to “play it out.” No aspect is either all good or bad; and I’d ask you to reconsider how you’re thinking about your Nodes and your transits now—can you re-imagine new possibilities and permutations? Can you envision the highest possible expression of these energies? What planet might you have overlooked?


Planets are like sub-personalities, and we all have times of dissociating with parts of ourselves. Carl Jung wrote about the core “Self” as the integrating center of our lives. I like to picture this as the center of a circular mandala, and this Self is like the committee chairperson, who gives equal time to all the planets/personalities/archetypes as they raise their hands to speak. The transits to these planets in the natal chart are the times when these “sub-selves” or planet/voices have raised their hand to speak. And when they do, it is the time to listen.


We can be thankful that no transit ever comes before its time! The Nodes point to the long range directional journey, but the transits point to the particular curve in the road at the moment. They are the specific challenges and opportunities that we are meant to engage with at the moment. So read your “maps” well, and don’t overlook the hidden blessings in the moment that are quietly asking to be attended to…..some of them have had there hands raised for a very long time.
http://www.elizabethspring.com/

Mountain Astrologer Book Review: "North Node Astrology"

"Mountain Astrologer" Magazine
Book Review, Feb/March, 2010
www.mountainastrologer.com
Mary Plumb

"Elizabeth Spring is a graceful writer. Her counseling voice is evident as she gently guides readers into a deeper inquiry into themselves. The book was completed from the vantage point of Spring's second Saturn Return. She writes: "My sense is that the call to reconnect with a guiding vision, or deep wellspring grows more subtly intense as we age." Her book is a sweet companion to that endeavor.


Her book: "North Node Astrology" may be of particular use for therapists who are curious about astrology, since Spring has a relaxed way of drawing readers into the magic of astrology. She writes: "Good astrology seeks to confirm, to comfort, and to subtly guide....in this book, you are the astrologer and the client. You are the mystery and the problem to be explored."


More in this month's issue, Mountain Astrologer. Thank you, Mary!
www.elizabethspring.com

The Reluctant Astrologer

The Reluctant Astrologer

"The prediction was coming true—of course, astrologers don’t like to call it a prediction, but it was a prediction nevertheless. And it was worse in this case because Kendra herself was the astrologer; the predictor. She certainly wasn’t a fortune teller, and she certainly believed that free will could overcome any karmic challenge that might arise, but it was shocking to see how her life seemed to be dissolving in front of her.

She had to admit that it was a liability of her profession to sometimes see too much. Signs and synchronicities had a way of seeping into her psyche like water slowly rising in the basement. She didn’t use the words like good or bad, but instead she believed in “fierce grace.” Anything could be turned around, and often what felt like a terrible fate could turn into grace. Sometimes the change occurred because of what we did, sometimes it was because of what we didn’t do; our patience. At this point, all she knew was that she desperately needed some of that “fierce grace.”

Kendra had been an astrological counselor for over twenty years, and it felt good to be on the helping side of things, to be on the “knowing” side, of this profession. How easy it had been to encourage her clients in “foul weather or fair” or suggest ideas as to how to handle the moment of crisis or opportunity. But no matter how many ways she looked at her chart now, she saw only the slipping away of certainty and the call of an unknown summons –a prediction that she could not evade or barely understand.

Kendra liked to muse on possibility and probability. But her rambling thoughts now were a liability rather than an asset. Her hands clenched and gripped the steering wheel in an effort to keep the car from careening out of control. The windshield wipers fought fast against the icy rain, as her eyes tried to adjust to the kaleidoscopic white swirls of snow coming at her. She kept her frozen foot on the accelerator at a steady 50 MPH. She was going to make it to the city before dark; she was going to make it to Boston before she lost her courage.

Courage. People would call Kendra when they needed to summon their courage. She loved that word, because in French it meant to “take heart” and she was good at helping others do this. She believed in the power of a generous heart and a beginners mind. But before this, she had always been on the giving end of the encouragement and the receiving end of the numbers—the birth dates, times, and credit card numbers. It had been an honor to be invited into the private lives of others, and to get paid for it.

Kendra needed to concentrate on the road, but the wipers were mesmerizing as they thrashed across the windshield. Kendra turned off the old “Enya” CD and turned on the car radio station. Country music, static, hard rock and roll, or the oldies station playing the Eagles version of “Desperado”. She switched it all off. Maybe she should think about this plan to defuse the energies of Saturn, Pluto and Uranus. It was an old story for sure, of death, reinvention and rebirth. But if astrology was about anything, it was about trusting what she had always called “Divine Right Timing.”

***

This is the beginning of a new book I'm working on right now--a novel about 2 women--one in her first Saturn Return at age 29, and one in her second Saturn Return at age 59. It's a novel about reinventing one's life, and is interwoven with astrological lore/wisdom.

I imagine that YOU might be a reader-- although I must admit I don't know how it would get published. If any of you readers have ideas about birthing a book like this, or if you'd like me to post the book while writing, I'd be willing...maybe I need to hear from YOU....are you there?

The Holy Spirit; Hagia Sophia~Sacred Wisdom

"This is a powerful time; scary, uncertain, sacred, and necessary. Stay centered in the present, knowing that what you're experiencing is a process of deep alchemy. It takes courage to be able to exist in a place of unknowing, for “even a coward can endure tragedy but only the brave can endure suspense.” Release old behaviors where you're stale or playing small; trust that which you love and which loves you."

This is a message I received today, and it's timing was perfect as I'm living with a situation that is "suspense-full" in that there is no clear answer. Not yet. When we live in a state of waiting, of having to be patient, or having to endure without knowing answers or even the best thing to do, we have to trust our inner knowing. Not easy. When one is seriously endangered, such as when one is in the hospital, what happens? We wait. We try to be patient. We are a patient. A very hard place to be in psychologically.

A client of mine requested a reading for today which I cannot do. I needed to carve out some space for now to care for some pressing needs in my family and hopefully to find the time to do some of the inner work of writing. I've not been too successful in that yet! Always priorities.....

However, to those people who follow astrology, and to this client of mine, I want to remind her to trust her "inner shaman", her intuitive wisdom, her inner Beloved...her inner astrologer. We have to follow our own way, our own Tao, and I do believe the deepest answers are found in our own hearts. When we cannot connect with others, we can instead create a private ritual of going inside ourselves and asking our questions and listening to the answers that will arise. We can pull a Rune or check our transits or open at random our favorite inspiring book and "listen" for the words we need to hear.

I truly believe that the Holy Spirit (Hagia Sophia; wisdom herself) will arise in some words or form of synchronicity. We will find some answer or wisdom or balm for our Souls if we can make ourselves receptive.

www.elizabethspring.com