^Awe and its Reward^
Moon in Leo ****
|Karmically difficult or sobering third| of this week begins at 11:44a PT | 2:44p ET | 7:44p UT *** |
/moon goes void-of-course at 7:10p PT | 10:10p ET | 3:10a(W) UT **/ |
The gloom you may have been feeling over the past week (or more) may have a lot to do with the triple conjunction of Mercury, sun, and Saturn in Sagittarius, all squaring Neptune in Pisces. Saturn is the planet of gloom--I will not say "doom" because we have to guard against fatalism and learn how to turn Saturn's requirements into a blessing. But that requires realism of us, at the least, and sometimes what seems like unreasonable sacrifice--especially this time because of the square with Neptune, which when adversely aspected is a planet of sacrifice or obligation. You know how this has worked out in your own life. For me it became poignant this morning when I read the following words of Sri Aurobindo:
"The work itself is at first determined by the best light we can command in our ignorance. It is that which we conceive as the thing that should be done. And whether it be shaped by our sense of duty, by our feeling for our fellow-creatures, by our idea of what is for the good of others or the good of the world or by the direction of one whom we accept as a human Master, wiser than ourselves and for us the representative of that Lord of all works in whom we believe but whom we do not yet know, the principle is the same. The essential of the sacrifice of works must be there and the essential is the surrender of all desire for the fruit of our works, the renunciation of all attachment to the result for which yet we labour. For so long as we work with attachment to the result, the sacrifice is offered not to the Divine, but to our ego. We may think otherwise, but we are deceiving ourselves; we are making our idea of the Divine, our sense of duty, our feeling for our fellow-creatures, our idea of what is good for the world or others, even our obedience to the Master a mask for our egoistic satisfactions and preferences and a specious shield against the demand made on us to root all desire out of our nature."
Very strong and, perhaps, frightening words. Sri Aurobindo's Integral Yoga is not for dabblers. I realize that not all who read these forecasts are involved in such a Yoga or Religion or Consecration or Devotion. The words above have challenged me to wonder how much of a hypocrite I am myself. Yet in them, Sri Aurobindo is merely following the explicit advice of Krishna in the Bhagavad Gita. "To root all desire out of our nature" seems to most of us very harsh indeed. In other places, Sri Aurobindo explains that it does not mean to reject all pleasures and satisfactions, not at all--rather to accept these when they come naturally, but not to put them above duty or work for the Divine. They should not be sought after directly but appreciated when they are given us. This is really not so hard, it seems to me, because the Divine is gracious, merciful, and kind. He or She meets us half way when we are trying.
Still, the rebuke in those words is awesome. It is, in a sense, the essence of Saturn. And Sri Aurobindo was born with that planet in its own sign, Capricorn. Now, with the Saturn configuration outlined above, we are feeling, perhaps, the need to heed such a teaching, or else wonder why we are feeling miserable and gloomy. As most have learned through experience, the effort to do one's best is in itself a relief and a subtle satisfaction, while running after false pleasures makes one less happy.
Today we have help, because the sextile of Luna with Venus, always a "reward" aspect, comes in late afternoon and evening as if to recompense us for our Saturnian struggles. The resulting pleasures might be in entertainment or in personal relations.
It is interesting that the climate conference in Paris, beginning now, lasts twelve days, and is being touted as of immense importance for the future of our planet. Whatever is decided there could shape our destiny. And it begins with this Saturn configuration, which grows less and less as it progresses--a good omen. Also, very significantly, a square from the sun to Jupiter begins right now, by twelve degrees, and since the sun moves a degree a day, will be exact by the end of the Conference. Virgo is in a sense the sign of the earth, or certainly of environmental crises and needs and solutions (together with the other two earth signs) and so the aspect makes perfect sense. Further, the sun is in Sagittarius the sign of international relations, so this Conference is written in the heavens--is a heavenly decree. Let us hope it has excellent results.
{Tuesday} ^Awe and its Reward^
Cosmic Piper
P. S. The four stars may not indicate a sense of ease and pleasure, at least not early in the day, as much as a feeling that one knows what one is doing and can proceed wisely with one's plans. Then pleasure may flower afterward, even though the |difficult third| is with us. Gotta believe in the holiday spirit on the first day of Advent!
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