Lynn Wilson Astrology

The beauty of mercury retrogrades is that we get back in touch with each other, and find things (and ideas) that have been lost or inaccessible. It’s always a very rich period if experienced with this intention. This past winter has been a dark one, and I’ve done a lot of thinking about the polarization process. It seemed to surface full force with the election. And it’s been difficult to frame the experience in a positive light. However, as often happens, a visual aid popped into my head. I “saw” a blue person and a red person on the globe that is our planet earth. They were facing each other and, like magnets, were repelled, one by the other. They each flew backwards at the speed of light until they collided, back to back, on the other side of the globe. At this point they became one purple person. The meaning was immediately clear to me, in terms of the color theory I use astrologically. Looking at each of the colors from a psychological/astrological perspective can help to shed light on our current political/social situation in reference to the labeling of red and blue states.

The color red is associated with the sign of Aries (March 20 – April 20) and with its planet Mars. In mythology Mars/Aries is the god of warfare. In my book, Developmental Astrology, I correlate the sign/planet with the birth process and with corresponding survival issues. Mars takes 2 1/2 years to travel around the sun, and at approximately 2 1/2 years of age we begin the Taurus level of development when we’re starting to define ourselves as a separate entity (as in the terrible 2’s). Until the age of 2 we are in the Mars/Aries stage of infancy. If an infant’s needs are met and they feel safe in the world they develop healthy stage appropriate behaviors and feelings. They’ll grow up to be decisive, pioneering, direct and physically healthy, comfortable with their sexuality. On a species level, sex is obviously linked with survival, and there are groups who feel they should propagate prolifically (despite the problem with overpopulation) in order that their way of life will thrive. When an individual has not had their needs met at this first stage of development they are likely to exhibit less healthy Aries characteristics: anger, impatience, aggression, a lack of concern for/awareness of others and others’ needs. This can look/feel like a sense of entitlement, but it often stems from a sense of panic, fear that there isn’t enough (milk, love, oil); and that they need to do whatever it takes to guarantee their own survival. In the color spectrum, red molecules move the fastest – there is no time for reflection, only action and reaction.

The color blue is associated with the sign Cancer (June 22 – July 22) and with the moon. The moon is a feminine body, reflecting the light of the sun. It creates the emotional ebb and flow that correlates with the coming and going of the tides. Just as 69% of the earth’s surface is covered with water, our bodies are composed of 69% water. The moon and Cancer are associated with the ebb and flow of emotions, and with a tremendous sense of loyalty to the personal group. (It is still a personal sign. We don’t enter the realm of the transpersonal until we get to the outer planets of Pluto/Scorpio, Uranus/Aquarius and Neptune/Pisces.) If the family of origin provides a healthy, nurturing environment, the individual will grow up feeling safe with others, and will tend to be a caretaker, treating others as “family”. The sign is associated with “mother”; and there is that overprotective aspect of the cancer nature that can be like a mother bear protecting its cubs. If the family of origin has not provided a safe environment the individual might be fearful and inhibited, withdrawing into its crablike shell, not trusting other groups/tribes/families. At its most extreme, this will result in genocide. The molecules at the blue end of the spectrum move very slowly, water forming ice. Blue is associated with depression, as in withdrawal from life. Because blue personalities care about others they are not likely to rush to war. They are the ones who will come in and care for the survivors.

Now for the resolution – the purple person that appears when we merge the colors red and blue. Purple is associated with the sign of Pisces (February 19 – March 20) and its planet Neptune, god of the ocean. Pisces is the last of the signs and, as such, has “seen it all”. They have a reputation for inaction, but it’s because the Piscean nature is aware of consequences and is therefore exquisitely empathic. Piscean types are beyond political classification because they see us all as the same in our essence. Once something has dissolved in the ocean it no longer has individual form. Many of our great spiritual teachers are Piscean in nature. The Dalai Lama, Thich Nhat Hanh, Buddha, The Christ are all very Piscean. Mother Theresa is classic in her sense of compassion for all. Their love is a universal love, beyond discrimination. It is the only solution for this war-torn world of ours. And I have to believe the vision means we will overcome our sense of polarity, even if it happens by backing into one another in our attempt to differentiate.

I want to share the words of a friend here, as they seem very appropriate:

I wrote this last year. It was inspired by a Jimmy Webb song called Asleep on the Wind. He saw love like a glass of champagne perched on the rails of a ship. I see love differently. To me, its fragility is an illusion, love never ends. It is as constant as the wind. Without love, the world would stand still and stop spinning. All the love I’ve ever known blew in on the wind. If love could truly end, the world would have fallen into nothingness long ago. Since the morning still comes and the evening too, I know that love still turns the world.

It just feels like it stops spinning sometimes when the flow of love stops flowing into our hearts for a little while. The wind always returns, just like love. And as long as the world is turning and the wind is blowing, there is love. To me, love is like the wind that carries the sailboat through the dark and dangerous sea. I wish you all gentle winds and a soft breeze that never stops blowing. May love guide you, may the winds carry you, and may you always feel the wind that you cannot see and the love that surrounds you.

Sheree Rabe srabe@austin.rr.com

Sheree sends out a regular email newsletter on the theme of love. Please email her if you’d like to be on her email list.

The thoughts I’ve shared above on color/signs are part of the foundation of the book I’m working on. The information on types is not about individual sun signs. You can be an Aries sun sign, but a Piscean type, based on a myriad of factors in your individual chart as well as on your level of personal growth and awareness. If you’d like to know more, and if you’d be interested in helping to bring this book to fruition (target date fall of 2007), please call or email. I am so thankful to those of you who have already provided support for the writing of this newsletter and the book.

Recommendations

The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom.

Another wonderful, heart-warming book by the author of Tuesdays With Morrie. This is a quick easy read, and will have you thinking and acting more carefully in day to day life. I don’t want to say too much – other than I think you’ll love it. Please let me know.