Existence
Life is undoubtedly a setup. It’s obvious if one looks at it from an astrological perspective. One is born and destined to play out the patterns dictated by the natal chart, one can’t separate the self from the dynamic energies represented by the planets or the characteristics represented by the signs. They are one’s primary blueprint so to speak, with inbuilt challenges and blessings. One goes through different phases where certain natal planets are triggered and affected and one enters into relationship with other people who’s natal planets causes awareness of aspects of ourselves. It’s thrilling and exciting to dig into the symbolism and psychology of all of it, but it’s also a bit uncomfortable – because it reflect things so accurately and it maps things out so clearly – even the confusing and diffuse dimensions of experience. It appears to explain certain things but it really doesn’t, it merely reflects what is going on and nothing more. It can be used as a tool for increased awareness about things that aren’t spelled out in concrete terms in one’s life, or to put it more accurately, is not noticed even though it’s spelled out clearly enough. What I find is most valuable is to increase my understanding of myself and people, to be able to see what they’re striving for, what they value, what they need and how they communicate. But also what their weakness and defenses are, what wounds them or how they assert their will. It makes me feel safer, to know that everyone is patterned differently and it’s just the way things are. It makes me more ok with the badness and the goodness and all the in between – in myself and in the world. It helps me suspend judgement.
Astrology is so rich and complex and as already stated, a gold mine for anyone that’s interested in the exploration of existence. However, I don’t think astrology or existence should be taken too seriously. Planets are like deities and will behave in their particular fashion. They are like empty vessels with a certain purpose. They’re not self-creating, they are only expressing energy in the way they’re designed to. They’re all separate agents and belong to the thought system of separation, to the part of the mind that is anti-unity. Even Neptune, the planet of return to ”universal bliss” is not a symbol of true reality. All planetary forces and symbols are anti-life as they are separate components playing parts that are designed to not go beyond their specific function. For example, Mars’ function is to assert, to radiate potency, to promote direction and movement. There’s nothing that Mars can do that will make him different than he is. His function is to fight and face resistance and he will go no where beyond that state. To use another example, Jupiter’s function is to bring energy and life, to expand, to explore and stimulate excitement. Jupiter is on a continuous high of ”what’s next?” and won’t ever arrive beyond that state. In a sense, one could say that planetary energies are dead principles with no active creative factor other than their inbuilt complex patterning. It’s like this with everything in existence I imagine, everything seems to be creative, but really it’s just a complex programming that is categorized as ”creative”. Humans are designed to have an element of mystery and unpredictability as is demonstrated by Neptune and Uranus in our charts – however it’s the planets’ fixed function to generate the experience of inspiration or insight. There’s no genuine creativity at work stemming from the divine – it’s all just a part of the game.
I picture existence to be a bit like Plato’s cave metaphor. Shadows made by puppets should not be taken for reality. The puppets in my meaning would be the thought system that is the foundation for separation – the shadows would be the various forms in our world of separation. The thought system itself is not reality, it’s a defense against it. Images of reality are not reality but a replicas – imitations that have no real resemblance to life, yet is taken for life in the mind’s confusion. The fake reality is not evil per se – it’s nothing when the mind is returned to it’s natural state, it’s nothing in reality. But, when the mind is deeply invested in the shadows on the wall, caused by a thought system that is a defense against the truth, there will be pain and suffering – and there will be evil. In reality, freedom that has no opposite is all abiding. In this world of shadows, freedom is the distance in time and space from imprisonment, which is not real freedom. Existence is an attack and a denial of truth. Distance from threat means safety here. Distance from war means peace. Yet, threat and war is the constant actuality and it can’t be transcended. Or can it? I ask because some people actually try and some claim to have succeeded. Then there’s the pressing philosophical question of who is trying to transcend the world? Who or what is the self that sets out on such a mission? Is the self even real? One starts to go deeper and deeper down the rabbit hole...
People like to come up with all sorts of solutions to existential pain. By existential pain, I mean the overall setup of life as we perceive it through separation and contradiction. Some try to deny that there’s any problem with the way things are. They take an attitude of radical acceptance and seek to embrace the good with the bad, seeing the necessity in both polarities. This is a coping mechanism that establishes illusion as reality and upon facing the cognitive dissonance of it, the person tries to glamorize it to live somewhat happily in a world of pain. Some try to numb their senses, some try to actively escape or compartmentalize the good and the bad in order to not be overwhelmed by the gloom and doom of it all. Some try to project the picture of perfection into the future, keeping hope alive but never really arriving at a place of completeness. There are millions of ways to cope and keep defenses against reality intact under the guise of wanting freedom. In my experience, nothing that is attempted to undo something that one think is real ever works because the mind can’t destroy something it depends on for security. If one has a hard time deeming this world evil, it’s because one thinks that certain bits and pieces are bright and good. Not many are willing to paint their precious world black, but they fail to see that it is already black – unforgivingly pitch black.
Through complete realization of this, there’s real peace. I’m not sure a realization of truth can be pursued because it can appear in a instance and be gone the next. The process of becoming is futile, because there’s only darkness and light, no stages in progression from dark to light. There’s nothing that can be gained in darkness that will lead to the light. The progression that is perceived to be made over time is an illusion, a setup of events from start to finish that mean nothing in reality. Yet, I’m sure that most people experience instances of completeness. In fact, all instances are complete, but as time and space seems to enter, salvation is temporarily cancelled out and one is thrown back into existence. It’s rediscovered again, when suspension of judgement takes place spontaneously for some curious reason. We’ll all release and be released in time, when time is seen to not be needed anymore.







