Etheric Bodies, Robots and Artificial Intelligence

Anyone who works with energy-focused disciplines such as yoga, Chinese Medicine, Qigong, Reiki-Seichem or sound healing will have at least a dim awareness that individual human beings possess a subtle energetic body akin to an electrical current which profoundly affects the functioning of the physical body. Bear in mind that this subtle or etheric body is not the soul - the soul is the immortal being housed within the physical body.

What is less commonly known is that the etheric body is an important part of a larger etheric body of humanity itself as a composite entity. And the etheric body of humanity is inextricably interwoven with the etheric body of Earth, which is in turn part of the etheric body of the solar system - and so on. This cosmic configuration of etheric bodies provides further insight into how astrology works.

At a very basic level, the existence of etheric bodies means that - whether we like it or not - all human beings are connected. What we project en masse into our collective consciousness therefore affects the functioning of the whole. In keeping with the universal law of polarity, mass consciousness - inexorably fuelled today by the media machine - can therefore operate for our betterment or to our detriment as a group. For example, if our collective consciousness is being fuelled by mostly toxic matter, the impact on humanity will be crippling.

We can close our borders to enforce geographical separation, yet still infect each other with whatever stream of consciousness we distribute through the group etheric channels.

One of the clarion calls that we must accordingly pay attention to in the context of the global pandemic is the need for individual discernment; we must always question whether the communications that we are receiving through the subtle network are valid for us as individuals. What is right for one person may not be right for another. That judgment involves the need to harness enormous strength to quieten any unruly emotional response and tune into what is true for each of us.

One of those unruly emotions is fear driven by the primitive part of the brain - the ancient defence mechanism that humanity was given at the dawn of time to make sure that we were able to avoid premature death when we had not yet sufficiently developed our intellect. Unfortunately, once activated, that primitive defence mechanism may not be so easy to switch off. Trauma, for example, removes the ‘off switch’, resulting in irrational fear and systemic shut-down such as numbing or dissociation in the face of certain innocuous triggers. So often we may find our reptile brains defaulting to fear rather than allowing the more evolved part of the brain to activate reason. Where this mechanism is within our control and can be subjugated by the intellect, it seems a travesty to ignore it. But of course awareness of our foibles is a necessary first step.

We were never meant to be homogenous. Each one of us has a soul which has incarnated for very specific purposes and a body which is subject to certain unique characteristics to facilitate the particular experience of the soul. A one-size-fits-all approach cannot therefore be applied.

As we drift into the Age of Aquarius, we will begin to experience more strongly the notions of individual consciousness versus mass consciousness; togetherness versus being intellectually and physically apart; the prevailing orthodoxy versus the enlightened consciousness; dogma versus individuation. It is only when humanity as a whole entity embraces the necessity for differences that our group consciousness will advance. By ‘advance’ I mean awaken to the great illusion that we are merely what I like to refer to as glorified meat sacks with a certain amount of intellectual capacity. That type of awakening requires individuals to undergo a shift in consciousness away from mass consciousness, individual personality and physicality towards group awareness and spirituality.

Some astrologers (including myself) are forecasting a world in which artificial intelligence and robotics play an increasingly significant role. That is certainly in keeping with the Uranian qualities of Aquarius. But a friend of mine recently voiced a concern that robots of the future will be programmed with the characteristics of individuals of today. I recently dreamed of a future in which robots were in charge of the administration of society and could not be reasoned with. Do we want future robots to apply value judgments based on dumb acceptance of prevailing dogma or do we want them to operate more objectively (limiting their power where objectivity is difficult to achieve)?

Recall how Galileo’s theory that the Earth revolved around the Sun was scorned by the Roman Inquisition in 1615 as foolish, absurd and heretical since it dared to contradict Holy Scripture. Galileo was the laughing stock of his profession and of society at the time. And his groundbreaking theory cost him a sentence of house arrest for the rest of his life. Seems eerily resonant, doesn’t it? Let’s not unwittingly adopt the Roman Inquisition as our benchmark for reason.

MysticMag Interview

In this interview with MysticMag, I talk about my introduction to meditation through yoga, how I integrate my various esoteric practices, and how I deal with challenging situations. I also offer my perspective on the notion of freedom.

A Matter of Boundaries: The Saturn-Venus Opposition

The Saturn-Venus opposition in a natal chart is often an indicator of relationships (Venus) with a significant age (Saturn) difference, relationship constraints (Saturn) or relationship skills which develop over time (Saturn). At a more trivial level, it can also indicate a penchant for old (Saturn) things of beauty (Venus), such as vintage jewellery or clothing.

 A major theme of this configuration (and potentially also the Saturn-Venus conjunction, square or quincunx) is that of relationship boundaries. Where it appears in a natal chart, the native is likely to be required to actively engage with issues around personal boundaries within relationships from an early age, including, but not limited to, unwanted intrusions by others. These intrusions could take a number of different forms – constant demands for help or attention are one example. Unwanted sexual advances are another. 

The intrusions are often insidious or ambiguous – the other party may deliberately blur the lines to confuse the native, or emotionally blackmail them. If unchecked, these behaviours may make the native feel uncomfortable or resentful, disempower them, put them in danger, or leave them with the sense that something has been stolen from them. The native must act quickly and assertively to bring the situation in line with their own sense of what is appropriate in the circumstances before it is too late. 

The situation can be more challenging where the native has a tendency to be a people-pleaser, feels too much compassion for others, is naturally inclined to a sense of duty, or was brought up in household in which it was wrongly expected that children be unconditionally deferential to their “elders”.

The key is to identify any bullshit early on – and call it. The intuition is usually a reliable barometer of unacceptable behaviours – as is the visceral reaction of the body (“this doesn’t feel good”). Calling bullshit doesn’t necessarily mean aggression (although of course physical self-defence may sometimes be necessary). It could be as subtle as a polite but firm refusal of an unwanted advance – or telling the other party that one isn’t able to help them. 

Whether or not the other party had intended to put the native in an uncomfortable position is irrelevant. Maybe they are a ‘bad’ person; maybe they lack the self-awareness necessary to understand the adverse impact that their behaviour is having on the native. It is also possible that others have unwittingly enabled their behaviour - however reprehensible - in the past. 

The purpose of this pattern appearing in the natal chart is to cultivate a sense of inner strength and autonomy in the native so as to enable them to exercise appropriate discernment. Awareness, together with the exercise of right-thinking, empowers the native to assert their boundaries and (hopefully) put a halt to any behaviour which they deem inappropriate. By learning where their boundaries are – and how to thwart any purported breaches – the native continues to build a strong sense of self and self-sufficiency – both critical for soul growth.

I believe Aleister Crowley had a similar message in mind when he channelled paragraphs 43 and 44 of The Book of the Law:

43. Let the Scarlet Woman beware! If pity and compassion and tenderness visit her heart; if she leave my work to toy with old sweetnesses; then shall my vengeance be known. I will slay me her child: I will alienate her heart: I will cast her out from men: as a shrinking and despised harlot shall she crawl through dusk wet streets, and die cold and an-hungered. 

44. But let her raise herself in pride! Let her follow me in my way! Let her work the work of wickedness! Let her kill her heart! Let her be loud and adulterous! Let her be covered with jewels, and rich garments, and let her be shameless before all men!

Health and Healing: Looking Ahead to 2047 with Chiron, the Wounded Healer

Working with my Chiron Tuning Forks today, it came to my attention that Chiron will next be perihelion (closest to the Sun in orbit, and therefore visible) in 2047.

Chiron is an asteroid that was discovered in 1977. Named after the mythical Greek centaur, Chiron represents the wound from which the subject will never fully recover. True healing comes from rising above the pain. Chiron also represents physiological health and healing issues, and is often prominent in the natal charts of healers.

Looking at the July 2047 transits, I can’t help but notice the challenging and very public (10th house) Sun/Chiron square next to an unhappy and volatile Mars in Cancer. This configuration appears to give rise to difficult themes involving imbalance and disharmony in important relationships and in the domestic health arena with Mercury, powerful in Gemini, in the 6th house.

These themes seem to play out within a climate of fear and insecurity. Something significant is exposed in a very public way - very likely a past transgression (South Node). But there is also a suggestion of the right use of power, leading to expansion in consciousness, with the Sun trining Pluto in Pisces. In other words, spiritual progress.

The Uranus/Saturn trine in the 2047 chart may facilitate a comparatively easy dismantling of structures that no longer serve us - an ease which may simply amount to a crumbling. But that process seems set to take place in an environment of pain and sacrifice.

Question is, what will we discover about past public health policies in 26 years’ time?

The Jupiter-Saturn Great Mutation Conjunction in Aquarius and the Importance of Mental Autonomy

The Great Mutation Conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn is due to take place place on 21 December 2020 - contemporaneously with the winter solstice, when the veil between this world and the subtler worlds is thin. You see, this is no ordinary alignment of Jupiter and Saturn. Unlike the usual cycle, which is characterised by 20-year conjunctions, a mutation conjunction happens only once every two hundred years or so, when Jupiter and Saturn not only come together, but shift into a different element.

In this case, the Greater Benefic and the Greater Malefic are shifting from Capricorn into Aquarius, and thus from earth into air. Fundamentally, these particular elemental changes mark shifts in the evolution of humanity. The collective must go through ordeals in order to grow - just like the individuals that give it life.

Plagues, wars, changes in rulership, and development of social structures are some of the outputs of a Jupiter-Saturn Great Mutation Conjunction, as documented by astrologers through the ages. 2020 has certainly featured these.

If you are familiar with the Qabalastic Tree of Life, you will know that Jupiter is assigned to Chesed, the sephirah of Mercy on the Pillar of Mercy, and that Saturn is assigned to Geburah, the sephirah of Power on the Pillar of Severity. Whereas Jupiter represents growth and expansion, Saturn represents limitation and lack. But Saturn also represents structure. And so the structure provided by Saturn can form an effective container for Jupiter’s unbridled enthusiasm. The two planets must come into a state of dynamic equilibrium - or balance - in order to give birth to something new. That is the natural order of things and must not be interfered with. When anything becomes unbalanced, the scales will inexorably tip in the other direction to bring about the necessary balance. When greed, laziness, complacency, entitlement, and inertia begin to halt necessary growth, the power of reason must intervene to bring in new ways of thinking and new social norms. Crisis is often the unlikely avenue for that type of intervention.

The ingress into Aquarius seems quite obviously to be about the growth of technology and new forms of currency. It is also markedly cold in many ways, sometimes forcing us to be physically apart. But it is also paving the way for humanity to move into a higher state of consciousness. To do that, we need to break away from outmoded ways of thinking. We need to use the rational mind and logic - as represented by the element of air - instead of assuming that other people will make our decisions for us. We should always question what we see and hear - even when the monologue is our own. That requires us to exercise independence of thought. We can also use the element of air to dispel irrational fears and to seek truth in all things.

Material needs - as represented by the element of earth - have their place, but we are moving to an age of subtler sensibilities. Things that we have become familiar with are beginning to fall away. It won’t pay to cling onto them, blaming others for our own shortcomings and feeling cheated when the rules that we have become so wedded to begin to change. We are dynamic beings in a dynamic world and so we can either use this elementary shift to transform ourselves in a manner that takes us out of our comfort zones and forces us to think and take responsibility for ourselves, to embrace illumination - or we can resist growth and succumb to darkness. We can choose.

The Astrology of Fear

Politics is divisive. Two of my close relatives continue to argue between themselves over the relative evils of US leadership. One is a Trump supporter, the other supports Biden. Neither of them is American. Yet they do seem united in a mission to perpetuate negativity by continuing the debate.

The more humanity embroils itself in pointless self-flagellation through the mass media, the deeper it will sink into the quicksand of despair.

It’s that old adage that it’s not the situation - however miserable - that matters; it’s our individual responses that make the difference.

The fact is that for all her outward perfection, righteous Karen is never going to make bad people disappear from the world. Seemingly gratuitous death will continue. Destruction will continue. Jealousy, greed, and religious martyrdom will continue. Deception will continue. Shockingly, governments will disappoint (guess what - they’re run by HUMANS). So best Karen focus on improving her own shortcomings - her desperate need to control everyone and everything, for example - instead of banging on and on about how awful Trump is on social media. If every one of us focused on improving our inner worlds, maybe the outer world would be a better place. Maybe we would be better equipped to uplift those in need. And THEN we could achieve far more positive outcomes as a collective.

Be in the world, but not of it; wear it as a loose cloak about your shoulders.

Not sure who first coined that phrase, but I have found it helpful. It applies to any situation where we are tempted to obsess and waste energy over things that we simply can’t control; from the friend who repeats the same dumb patterns in relationships, to the maniac in charge of a global agenda. You can’t change it, so walk away. And stop bothering your social media connections with it. Let. It. Go.

Let’s have a look at how the UK public, for example, might currently be experiencing fear, and how individuals may choose to overcome that fear.

The analysis that follows is suitable for astrologers and those who don’t have a technical understanding of astrology.

Let’s consider the impact of the planets in their current positions on the planets in the inception (birth) chart of the United Kingdom, including the general public (as represented by the Moon). I’ve used the 1922 Reorganisation inception date for the UK’s natal chart (when Ireland became mostly independent and the UK was renamed the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland). There are arguments for and against that date, but I’m not bothered by that. Each chart has its own magic and offers its own particular window into the mysteries.

As a backdrop to the current transits, Uranus began to wreak havoc in social affairs in the UK when it entered the UK’s 12th house (representing sacrifices and things beyond one’s control) back in March 2019 - the peak of post-Brexit disarray. Things have been rocky ever since. Newsflash: the UK doesn’t like being a member of groups (natal Chiron is in the 11th house).

The Moon in Aquarius in the UK’s 9th house (its international dimension and house of travel) is squaring Jupiter in Scorpio in the 6th house (concerning health matters). The Moon rules the natal 2nd house (concerning all things of value - both material and non-material). At a basic level, the public seem particularly unhappy that COVID-19 is scuppering travel arrangements. Jupiter, representing travel, growth, fertility and other good things, already in a somewhat challenging natal situation in Scorpio in the 6th house, is being properly reigned in. Growth and expansion are very tricky dynamics for the UK at this time. Members of the public may feel that their independence (Aquarius) is being impeded.

Malefic Mars, ruler of the 6th house, and particularly potent in Aries in the 11th house of society matters, is opposing the natal Saturn in Libra in the 5th house (representing all matters creative and fun). Mars is also squaring natal Pluto in Cancer in the 2nd house. So if we take Mars to be a significator for the Coronavirus, and Pluto in Cancer to be the latent domestic disharmony inherent in the inception chart, Mars is currently the match that lights the fire that erodes harmony in home life, as is evidenced by Lockdown 2.0. Mars is also having a decidedly adverse impact on our financial security as a collective.

The Moon is also squaring Uranus - unexpected events are generally raining on society’s parade.

Much more could be said, but let’s leave it there for now and turn to what our options are for gearing ourselves up to adopt a more constructive mindset in the face of fear.

The Moon happens to be in a happy trine relationship with natal Saturn; so one thing that is flowing well for the general public at present is the ability to find innovative ways of building creative new structures in the face of limitations. There are Aquarian-type things - such as social media and other technology - that are permitting us a more global perspective, despite the restrictions that prevent us from going out and socialising. The structures that we create now are likely to have a lasting, positive effect.

But, more importantly, transiting Mercury as ruler of the 1st house (of self-determination) also happens to be in Scorpio in the 6th house, and in another positive trine with natal Uranus in Pisces in the 10th house (of public and reputational matters). The message in that particular planetary signature is that we have the power to consciously choose how we think and respond to the difficulties that we are currently experiencing in matters such as freedom and public health. As natal Uranus sits in the 10th house, our own choices elevate us and set us free. But Scorpio demands that we dig deep and face all manner of unpleasantness head on so that we can expand our consciousness (Pisces).

Astrology readings - what's The point?

I recently attended a lecture at a well-known research institute by the author of a book on astrology. The book isn’t a traditional astrology manual, however - it looks at astrology as a medium of data collection. I was surprised to learn that despite the author’s extensive study of astrology greats such as 9th century Persian astrologer Abu Ma’shar, and despite the numerous telling ‘coincidences’ that the author acknowledged based on the case studies that he presented to us, he was quick to tell the largely academic audience that he didn’t ‘believe in’ astrology. He said that rather than bothering modern astrologers (and presumably their clients) for their views on whether this stuff actually works, he had based his analysis on an obviously binary interpretation of ancient astrological writings. He went on to admit that in researching his book, he had visited what sounded like a hippy town in Sedona in the US, where he had obtained a natal chart reading in the form of a ‘print-out’.

In a nutshell, the author had obtained a computer-generated reading based on his birth data from someone who may or may not have been an actual astrologer. I was saddened to hear that on various levels; not least because he had not given himself at least a fighting chance of getting to the truth of the matter - surely a schoolboy error for an academic. In any event, I like to think that had the author done his research properly, he would have discovered at least some of the incredible richness that astrology has to offer.

Different people use astrology for different things, depending on their particular philosophical outlook and what they want to get out of a particular reading. You may hear that astrology is about predicting the future or telling someone their ‘fortune’. Those sorts of statements are likely to alienate significant numbers of the potentially interested population because they suggest that individuals are not in control of their destinies to any degree. In truth, astrology is a lot more nuanced than that. I will attempt to explain my own philosophical outlook as an astrologer.

The starting point is for me to make it quite plain that astrology is neither science nor religion; it falls somewhere in between the two. Now take the birth chart, for example. Imagine it as a map of sorts to help the ‘native’ navigate the multifaceted experience that is their lifetime. The native will inevitably experience both joy and pain. They will experience the loss of loved ones . And they will experience both betrayal and injustice. The birth chart shows the skills and talents that the individual comes into life with, as well as the more challenging aspects of their personality. It shows areas where the native can overcome difficult circumstances by applying grit and determination and by mustering the strength to avoid falling into familiar traps. The birth chart shows what ‘shadow’ aspects of the personality must be overcome to enable the native to become the best version of themselves. It is also the basic outline of the type of life that the native has been born into the world to experience - for better or for worse.

When the natal chart is examined in light of current planetary movements, significant ‘transits’ will be revealed, throwing light on the times during the native’s life when they will experience particular highs or lows. It is of great comfort to the native during those times to be able to look to the natal chart to better understand why (and when) some of the more difficult circumstances must be experienced. For example, the ‘Pluto return’ transit will be experienced by everyone to a greater or lesser degree (depending on their particular circumstances) in the late ‘30’s/early ‘40’s - the classic mid-life crisis - often marked by a catastrophic loss or erosion of something that appeared unshakable. If the native is suitably enlightened, they will use the experience as an opportunity to implement constructive change and to rebuild something better suited to them in the next part of their life. But the experience will have changed them forever. The natal chart can’t take the pain away, but it can make the process of change a lot more bearable. For some, the warnings inherent in the birth chart will not be heeded for one reason or another, and the native will be doomed to experience the same painful experiences over and over again - often across multiple lifetimes.

Astrology can also be applied to reveal when dormant challenges or successes which must be experienced in the interests of soul growth may be triggered. Ticking time bombs waiting to explode - or bountiful gifts waiting to flower into existence. That can be very helpful for planning and for working harmoniously with planetary influences.

Perhaps I should make it clear that there is no unfettered exercise of free will in life. We all arrive on Earth with a particular life plan and we all have to work within the broad parameters of that plan. Yes, we have some wiggle-room within those boundaries (and that’s where intention becomes important), but we can’t avoid every single hardship or challenge because whether or not you want to believe it, we chose to experience them.

Chances are that life is going to be bloody difficult. But challenges are opportunities for soul growth. And yes, the reality is that some of us have opted to experience more challenging lives than others. That’s also part of the higher plan. The best we can do is stop feeling sorry for ourselves, stop trying to blame other people, and focus on leveraging the good dynamics that are available to us. To that end, think of astrology as a life coach of sorts.