A Call to Return to a Natural Psychology to

Contribute to Authentic Self-Expression and Health

            The following article will blend a series of apparently separate realities into a comprehensive whole. In addition to briefly introducing how and why Astrology works as a psychological influence on our lives, I will also bring attention to the value and importance of Astrology for our times to assist us to awaken to a deeper and wider perspective of reality. The goal is to both remind people in general and professional healers, counsellors, psychologists, life coaches and so on in particular of the importance of working from a more holistic foundation. Furthermore, my aim is to also activate a deeper appreciation of the fact that our psychology and our ecology are intrinsically linked. We have reached a crisis point in the world and hoping that the government or some ‘they’ is causing it or alternatively will fix it is indicative of a deep problem in the world. Specifically, that someone else is at fault and to blame and that someone else is causing the problems in the world while disregarding our own impact. By choosing to tune-in to our own natures, we thereby gain a closer connection to nature in general. By addressing our own nature, we might begin to recognize how our relationship with nature, with our selves and with one another is too far out of balance for sustainability. So, my goal for this rather short article is quite ambitious and somewhat idealistic. Yet I trust that it will serve to make a few important points and generally activate a wider perspective on reality and inspire people to break the trance of ‘matter-of –fact’ thinking that we can no longer afford the luxury of  perpetuating.

            Astrology is the study of natural cycles. These have a cosmic foundation. The cycles begin with our own planet, Earth and the Moon and Sun and the remaining planets in our solar system. I use the word cosmic, because from a planetary perspective, we are part of a greater cosmic reality. This is a hint at the meaning of the ancient phrase describing how life works: ‘wholes within wholes’. We can think of a single cell in the body as a whole unit and sure enough each contains the entire DNA code. In turn, each person can be seen as a whole person or being, then each home, community, region or province, country, continent, planet, solar system, galaxy, universe…. Each whole is governed by certain laws and realities that surround it to make it a functional whole. However, each exists by virtue of the other whether you begin with the microcosmic or the macrocosmic. Let’s look at a current cycle we are now concluding, that of Mercury Retrograde, which is a cycle within the greater cycle of Mercury.

            Mercury has a cycle of 88 days. Within each cycle Mercury enters into a retrograde period as it ‘appears’ to cycle around our own planet whereupon the two planets enter into a relationship where the orbital movement of one planet makes the other appear as though it is moving backward, akin to two cars in motion on the highway when one is either passing or being passed by the other. This creates a temporary optical illusion that the slower moving body appears to be moving backward. While this is not ‘in fact’ what is happening, it does create a psychological effect. Although planets do not actually revolve around the Earth, they appear to and this does have an effect on our psyche. Many examples can be given about how less that factual realities are influencing what we perceive, experience, feel and each has or can have a psychological effect.

            With Mercury now direct as of May 30^th, a clearer and lighter flow will become apparent. Some people are more sensitive to such cycles generally and sometimes a cycle can hit hard close to home because of close connections between the planet in question, the cycle considered and one’s own birth chart. This is a basis of Predictive Astrology. People with their Sun Sign in Gemini or with their Ascending Sign Gemini, for example, will have experienced this particular Mercury Retrograde period more strongly than most others signs. This is due to the fact that Mercury retrograded back into Taurus, the Sign that precedes Gemini, and this would in effect put Mercury retrograde into the Solar or Natal 12^th House where Mercury is very challenged by position. In simpler terms, feelings of confusion, emotional and mental blocks, cloudy or ‘mucky’, as one person who’s Sun in Gemini commented, would have been and may well remain prevalent. If your Sun Sign is Gemini, you will now be experiencing some initial reprieve, yet a slow but sure relief from this potentially disturbing state will take until mid June when Mercury finally re-enters the Tropical Sign of Gemini. The exact date is June 13 at 7:47 pm. I offer this as an example of how Astrology works.

            Throughout life, we are all subject to heavy, confusing, disturbing, awkward and downright challenging feelings, moods and cycles that we must endure. Knowing that such periods can be traced to planetary activity can be very helpful. The tendency is to ‘take it personally’, which is quite natural. Astrology can offer insight into such cycles and decipher their duration right down to days and even minutes and therefore help us to objectify such states and thus not add to the experience with negative reactions and self defeating attitudes and so on. Further, Astrology can be used to gain a clearer understanding of the meaning and purpose of any given cycle and experience. For this reason, I refer to Astrology as “Natural Psychology”. Astrology does not necessarily replace good counselling, psychotherapy or psychiatry etcetera; however, it can greatly facilitate our understanding of complicated states and experiences that might otherwise remain obscure and misunderstood. Further, Astrology can and does offer a great advantage to counsellors and psychologists and so on. It can do so by very quickly targeting areas of likely disturbance or where one might be out of balance. Astrology can do this and incorporates a natural and holistic perspective where the relationships between body, mind, heart and soul (physical, mental, emotional, spiritual) are quickly recognized, because that is how Astrology works – holistically. From there, the given therapist can utilize their skills, tools and techniques for healing more quickly and effectively for their own and their client’s of patient’s satisfaction.

            The same can be said for the popular trend toward life coaching, yet on a different basis. The key for the life coach, in addition to gaining a clearer sense of an individual’s truer nature, is timing. I have observed over the past few years how life coaches and counsellors and so on guide people to think they can be and do ‘anything’ they want to be and do. I refer to the negative implications of this movement as the ‘my will be done’ movement. This movement, at worst, is very selfish and often plays right into the materialism that has gripped the world. Having a lot of possessions and even financial freedom or ‘perfect health’ sounds great, however, it can serve to satisfy shallow desires and cause us to miss out on achieving a deeper purpose for our lives. As long as the world is ill and out of balance with a poisoned environment, rampant toxicity, starvation, violence, rampant death by disease and so on, how can we ever assume to be ‘in perfect health’. If we think ‘why should I forfeit my dreams, goals and desires…’ we see evidence of a consciousness that is directed to outer comparisons verses inner alignments, intuitive guidance and a will to surrender to inner authority. Truly authentic coaching would endeavour to activate a person to fulfill their true nature and destiny. This implies a co-creative and cooperative participation with life and transcends the process of merely ‘realizing dreams’ which have often been stimulated by the outer world. Here we see a case of the blind leading the blind. The good news associated by activating a person’s authentic nature and destiny is that it brings a deep level of joy, fulfillment, purpose and yes health that might actually reduce the amount of contributing problems that occurs when we seek to merely ‘realize our dreams’.

            While there are definite assets to activating a person’s will and thereby awakening people to their co-creative power and choice and freeing them from feelings of victimization, limitation and powerlessness, which life coaches especially are very eager, able and sincerely desiring to do, it is best done from a place of visionary attunement to natural realities. So, activating people’s potential anchored in mere ego assertions and desires rather than helping them attune to their own nature and to larger and deeper realities can be very short-sighted and problematic over time. It may prove satisfying to the coach and the client, but may ultimately operate in a closed manner that even further separates a person from the greater realities and challenges that oar everywhere apparent. In fact, it may lead to exacerbating the problems. Take a closer, more critical look at television and advertising everywhere and you will see that the rewards we seek for our efforts often amount to shallow desires and hedonism. Rather than see the rewards of our efforts as healthy, peaceful and purposeful expressions, we see a lifetime of material indulgences, gold courses, expensive homes and the like. While these are fine activities and possessions in and of them selves, they are better understood as extras rather than prime objective of our efforts. 

            Where such attitudes prevail, it might be recognized that fear and reaction manifesting as selfishness and endless indulgence is the goal of life. This as opposed to love, faith and a natural confidence might prevail instead, where one is free from having to have as the operative paradigm guiding their daily focus and choices. A key theme here is time and timing and this is where Astrology is unparalleled. After all, since life generally implies that we are born, live and eventually die and all within a relatively short period of time. Because Astrology is based on natural cycles to which we are intrinsically connected, we are wise to tune-in to them. Astrology is also extremely effective in identifying a person’s general psychology by way of personality and character traits. Furthermore, because Astrology identifies one’s psychology as a reflection of nature and natural cycles and cosmic realities, it serves to identify, or at least sound, a person’s core nature. There is much to be said about one’s core nature, both individually and collectively, but I do not have the space in the article to address it. However, what I am saying here is hinting at it and readers should by now be recognizing that I am addressing a holistic perspective of reality. As modern physics is now re-sounding the ancient knowing that division is ultimately an illusion, yet the paradox of reality, at least according to ‘normal’ perception, is such that we perceive a wide compendium of parts and otherness in general. Even so, by stepping back and looking to the bigger picture, which encompasses the macro-cosmic, and the microcosmic and everything in between, our inner knowing via imagination and intuition are activated and we can then at least begin to realize the greater truth of unity – the perennial message of all genuine religions.

            The severe damage we have caused to the environment all over the world culminating now in a global ecological crisis is an example of wilful action that disregards nature and forces situations according to short term and agendas. Similarly, on personal levels, we can exercise our will, mind focus, determination and concentrated efforts and achieve positive results. But, if these are out of tune with deeper evolutionary cycles that we each and severally are subject to then we may later find ourselves going back to address what we missed and even having to unravel years of effort and outer achievements in as much as the expedience of our focus and efforts overlooked a wider and subtler scope of needs and purpose that are natural to our being yet require recognition to honour and accept.