【随笔】阿兰•奥肯：天秤：另一半，与自我2018.9.（已3%）

来源：newsletter（阿兰奥肯个人网站见小组资料贴，由@做你的喵提供，https://www.alanoken.com，站内可订阅免费新闻信

https://www.alanoken.com/newsletter-3/?dt_dapp=1

参考2018.9.21.对天秤另一篇深度剖析《上天的婚姻》：https://www.douban.com/doubanapp/dispatch?uri=/group/topic/124632075&dt_dapp=1

LIBRA: THE OTHER, AND THE SELF | SEPTEMBER 2018

There are several perspectives from which we may examine the interactions of the 12 signs of the zodiac. We can study them through the lens of the three modes of expression: cardinal, fixed, and mutable; through the lens of the elements: fire, earth, air, and water; and through the lens of polarity: the six pairs of signs. Let us take the latter perspective as our place of inception as understanding the Aries-Libra polarity is essential to the way of understanding ourselves and our reflections through relationships.

It is a simple matter to look at the six pairs of signs as two energetic dynamics synthesized into one unit. In this example we are dealing with the quality of cardinality. Cardinality can be said to be characterized by “motivational activity.” In the case of Aries-Libra, this is the motivation to project the self ceaselessly out into the environment and thus evoking response (Aries). The resulting balance of what is projected and what is received is then reflected (this being the keyword here) resulting in the interplay of human relationships (Libra). While the unconscious Aries individual cares little about who is responding to his energetic thrusts and impulses, the unconscious Libra is unaware of the vital energy coming from the people from whom there are creating their response. Thus we have a case of “double blindness.” Aries is blind to the nature of himself while Libra is blink to the nature of the other!

This unconscious dance is like playing alone on a handball court. The Aries player is just smashing balls against the wall with the racket of his personality without a specific placement in mind and definitely with no understanding of the trajectory of response that the ball will take (thus it can at times sock him right back in his Aries nose!). The Libra player is the wall taking all these hits and bouncing them back into the court aware of neither where the ball is going nor who may be hit by the balls that he is batting back. These batted balls by the way are morphed by Libra into relationships that have the shape, quality, and form of the Libra’s personality. And do not worry about the pain of impact of Aries’ blindly projected missiles as an unconscious Libra has a thick coating of air which cushions and defuses the blows.

If this same Aries/Libra relationship is taken “up” a few notches into consciousness, we have an entirely different handball game. We now find a very focused Ram, clear as to his aims and objectives in terms of where on the wall and with what degree of impact his projectiles will land. The conscious Libra is very discriminate in terms of what and how he receives and equally conscious of the nature and purpose of the relationships he is creating as a result of catching, reflecting, and returning the handballs to the other side of the court. Indeed, the wise Libra will not be on automatic pilot at all about this, but will frequently pause before responding. It is in these pauses and intervals that Libra accumulates much power.

When we examine these signs through the lens of the elements, we are combining the two male/electric dynamics of astrological alchemy: fire (Aries) and air (Libra). The unbalanced fusion of these two ingredients leads to three primary conclusions. The first is that when air is stronger than the fire, air blows the fire out. The second is uncontrolled fire overly stimulates air which then rises up into a furious column, but soon dissipates once the fire is removed. The third conclusion is that air gives fire more oxygen to burn but once this gas is used up, the fire goes out. The conscious balance of fire and air however provides a smooth and consistent pathway for mutual stimulation, circulation, creativity, and growth.

The position of Aries/Libra in the natural zodiac of the signs is Aries on the Ascendant and Libra on the Descendant. When we move from Aries to Libra via Taurus (and thus travel through the lower hemisphere of the natal chart), we awaken those signs and houses that have to do with our personal and subjective life: our “primary self” (Aries). Once we reach Libra we come to the “social horizon” of the natal map. As we move from Libra back to Aries via Scorpio (and thus travel through the upper hemisphere of the horoscope), we stimulate those astrological signatures and domains that relate to our social and objective life. In essence, Aries is the first “footstep” into the dynamics of self while Libra is our first movement into the dynamics of our relationships with society: interpersonal, impersonal, and should higher consciousness be achieved, transpersonal.

I would now like to return to the subject of Libra and the concept of “pause.” The Scales represent an interlude from the constant act of polarization. In essence this is a “peace treaty”, a place of neutral assessment, objective contemplation and thus, a hiatus between interacting energies. This is specifically applicable in a soul-centered sense to a pause between the interfacing activities of the Soul and the personality as they seek alignment and eventual “marriage.” People incarnating in Libra who have made the necessary effort to “walk the Path,” can use this interlude in preparation for the greater conflicts that await them (and us!) via those plutonian process contained within Scorpio. We can express this evolutionary movement non-astrologically by stating that every battle has its conclusion and then there is a “cease-fire” and thus the quietude of death and the beginning of the regeneration/reincarnation processes commence.

The very diligent process to raise our consciousness is a full-time job! We finally achieve the Promised Land of the next (but by no means, final) level of realization and perception and may pause and relax. “Whew,” we sigh, “that was some trip! Glad I made the journey and even happier that I have come to the end of it.” And we rest. Some of us rest longer than others before realizing that there is yet another level of consciousness awaiting our admission and a still more inclusive ring of perception for us to enter. The struggle recommences. In esoteric astrology, we call this conditioning of consciousness the “energy of the Fourth Ray of harmony through conflict.” The Fourth Ray is ruled primarily by the interactions of Taurus (matter and desire) and Scorpio (death and the freedom from desire).

In Libra, the need to pause between such battles becomes a predominate theme of life developed characteristically by some Librans as the urge for universal equality under the law. This is symbolized by the Scales of Justice that a blind-folded, impartial Venus holds in her hands in courtrooms all over the world. Other soul-centered Librans join the peace-makers, diplomats, and peace-corps of the world, working actively to create intervals between warring people and nations so that such brutal conflicts may be worked out. This is only “energetically correct” as Venus (goddess of love), Libra (sign of marriage), and the Seventh House (place of partnerships) are the polar opposites and the antitheses of Mars (god of war), Aries (sign of self), and the First House (domicile of the ego).

This very same Libran characteristic (“the movement-to-pause”) evokes in other Scale holders however, the urge to do nothing and a tendency for lazy self-indulgence, sloth, and procrastination. The urge for balance thus becomes an avenue for indecision and the dissipation of all creative impulses. Libra as the sign of “the other,” in this case easily mutates into, “Let the other person do it; I prefer to wait, look pretty and amuse myself with you—or perhaps not—until I make up my mind.”

I am presenting quite a polarized portrait of the Scales when they are tipped upwards to the heavens above or when they are weighted down to the ground below. But such descriptions are natural when we consider that Libra rules both the Law of Polarization and the Law of Karma. It is through polarization that we become aware of ourselves becoming aware of others. The act of achieving objective awareness of self and other is absolutely essential to the process of Soul growth. In effect, it is through Libra that we can poke our head above our own egocentric subjectivity (the houses below the horizon of the chart) and into the realm of social interaction (Seventh House). Such socialization reaches maturation in Aquarius and the Eleventh House. This is when the personality-centered dynamic of “you and me” or “you versus me,” typical of the state of Libran personal relationships evolves (via Scorpio) into “you, me and our common humanitarian purpose” (personified by the evolved Aquarian).

Polarization is also especially at work in the most prevalent of all human activities, the interplay between the male and the female. This takes place both in terms of our intimate relationships as well as within each one of us regardless of gender or sexual orientation as we work to harmonize our anima and animus. When this fusion of opposites is synthesized in the heart an incredible creative power is released through the uniting of two conscious individuals. A “Third” is birthed into the world, one that is greater than each of its two separate components.

It takes a great deal of maturity to recognize the Law of Karma in action and an even more evolved human being to be able to participate consciously in the process of karmic resolution. Saturn is known to many astrological students as the “Lord of Karma.” This title is more easily understood when we take into consideration that Saturn is exalted (has its most refined expression) in Libra and Aquarius is one of the two signs ruled by this planetary “Old and Wise Man of the Law.” There is one other factor in soul-centered astrology that I would ask you to hold in mind. This is the fact that the esoteric ruler of Libra is Uranus and as is well known, Uranus is the other planetary ruler of the Water Bearer. So what do all of these astrological significators mean for us and for Libra in particular?

Karma and the Law of Polarity embody Newton’s “Third Law of Gravity” which states: For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. Aries is the “action” while Libra is the “reaction.” In order to remove oneself from the frequent human state of being a mental or emotional Ping-Pong ball (especially in the realm of human relationships), we have to find a place of resolution that moves us upwards from this perpetual back-and-forth, I want or I do not want him/her/it tension and duality. The personality normally lives in such fluctuating conflicts and flux: the Soul meditating on its own level of awareness “within” us lives in a place of serene resolution. This means that to achieve the reality of our Soul’s awareness (which indeed is the outcome of the spiritual Path), we must climb beyond the rings of Saturn, achieving a definite sense of freedom for the thralls and magnetism of the personality in the process. This is what the Saturnian keyword “discipline” means in the term “discipleship” When we harness and integrate the power of Saturn, using control and self-containment properly, Saturn will give us a totally clear view of the structure of all relationships and reveal the nature of fair and just mutual responsibilities, hence its exaltation in Libra.

Moving beyond Saturn’s rings requires us to create an individual relationship with the so-called “collective” or “higher octave” planets: Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto. Once we are able to incorporate consciously their higher energetic principles into our lives, we are immediately thrust into a sense of awareness that speaks to us most clearly of our place in the large Life Collective. We become much less personal about life, much less centered in the solar-plexus domain of our subjective, instinctive lunar world. We evolve instead into a greater impersonality that is not cold and detached but loving and inclusive as it is centered in the Heart and the Ajna (Third Eye) centers. This brings us into the waters of Neptune where compassion and inclusivity rule over so much of humanity’s astral, egocentric, and divisive passions. Neptune rules Pisces and it is in this sign where Libra’s ruler Venus, has her exaltation. This awakened state beyond the Saturnian “ring-pass-not” also opens the doors to the workings of Pluto as an evolutionary agent. Here we see death and destruction as positive instruments for the purpose of the Soul, which is always involved with the dissemination of Cohesion, Consciousness, and Love. Pluto rules Scorpio, the sign opposite Venus’s rulership of Taurus. So this message is clear: Pluto/Scorpio “kills off” the lesser and grosser attachments to the material, so that a more refined physical, emotional, and mental body may be created for the descent of the Soul (which by the way, has no religion) into matter. Thus Venus is liberated from material restraints to be what she truly is: the goddess of love and abundance.

But most important to theme of this article is our being taken out of the confines of the rings of Saturn and into the activities of the higher nature of Uranus. Here we have a direct link to Libra as from the level of the Soul it is Uranus who rules the Cosmic Scales. Uranus is the revolutionary liberator. What exactly are these Saturnian confines out of which Uranus liberates us and where does he take us instead?

I am a Flower Child of the 1960s and as I now find myself in my 75th year on this planet, my belief and stand for “Make Love not war!” is even greater now than when I shoulder-length hair, was living in communes, and marching in the streets protesting the war in Viet Nam. I firmly believe in the positivity of personal relationships, the lessons learned from intimate relationships, and the joy coming from healthy sexual relationships. In effect, I believe in Venus as the ruler of Libra! But I also believe that the chaos of the present times, the constant testing of humanity in terms of Right Human Relationship (and the daily broadcasting of the tragic results of wrong human relationships) is moving men and women of Goodwill to embrace Uranus as the ruler of Libra as well. This means that we dedicate some part of our lives to serving humanity in some fashion. We switch our primary focus from obsessing over personal relationships to becoming active in any way large or small, in the revolutionary struggle for Right Human Relationship (Uranus in Libra). It is through these activities that we gradually shift into becoming more impersonal to the personal and more personal to the impersonal. This will create a trine between Venus and Uranus, a trine between your lovers and the way you love, and a trine between the personality and the Soul. Guaranteed.

（End）