Prophesy, Catastraphobia and the Value of Astrology in Daily Life

Now that people are more aware of the realities of Astrology, people look to these bi-annual events with excitement and some dread. Will this be the one that triggers the hammer to fall? I believe that in our collective memory, we hold remembrances of sudden events of cataclysmic proportion. Whether it was an earthquake, volcano, tsunami, landslide or something of much greater magnitude like a meteor strike, it is instinctual for us to wonder and dread if and when such events will occur again. Other natural realities include attack from a predator.

In as much as we are re-incarnating souls then it is likely that we have all experienced such a thing, at least ‘our ancestors’ our ‘previous incarnations’ did. (The good news is whatever happened we survived it because here we are but it does remain a collective phobia. Barbara Hand/Clow even wrote a book about it called Catastraphobia.) Then there are the social realities like war or some other political uprising and the common theme these days is the entire economy crashing followed by economic depressions, hyper inflation, hunger, violence and the general disintegration of civilization as we know it.

I have met people who dwell on these negative events so much that living in a healthy and balanced way is disrupted by their conviction that the world is run by evil doers that are bent on controlling the entire planet and bringing harm and pain and suffering upon the masses. Such can be the nature of thinking when it comes to prophetic considerations. Our entire lives we have heard about the apocalypse and the second coming and how we better be afraid and behave and pray really hard for forgiveness. After all, ‘he’ is returning and those who obey will be saved. Sounds like a good bit of social manipulation gone a long way to me.

Then there is the 2012 theme. As I understand it, a major cycle, a world age is ending a new one is beginning. Of course, there are those who are convinced that at one extreme we will experience collective annihilation, a polar axis shift, a massive meteor strike, earthquakes galore, death and pain. Sadly, people often associate such thinking with Astrologers.

Actually good Astrology is about self-awareness and self-actualization and individuation, and conscious growth and fulfillment. Achieving these common ideals is what good Astrology endeavours to assist people to do. Lower level Astrology is purely about prediction and is therefore a form of fortune telling. The fact is we are co-creators; one with life and the key is cooperation. However, to cooperate effectively with our life path, society and one another, it is good to know with who and when and how should one might go about cooperating with their own life specifically – body, mind, heart and soul.

These are good questions because although we are all somewhat the same, the closer one looks; the more unique is each person. It is also quite evident that people do not always make wise choices. Living life impeccably takes a lot of focus and discipline and could get too serious so this is where Astrology can help a lot to ease the challenge of seeing oneself more objectively. To use a simple metaphor, how useful is a road map and road ‘signs’ when travelling?

Using common sense would be a simple solution if good sense were common. I always laugh when I see commentary in the papers whereby people make appeals on the basis of common sense only to be completely contradicted by other appeals on the very same theme and page. So, we are left to accept that success has both a generic quality but also a very particular emphasis which looks to one’s individuality. Most people want to realize success, or achieve or at least be happy and healthy but despite the advances of modern civilization, many people are not so healthy and happy at all. Part of the reason is that their orientation is externalized, fearful, reactive and materialistic. Without vision and purpose and an awareness of self and destiny, life can appear very confusing and it does too many who therefore move away from asking deeper questions. After all, why bother if all we are is some big accident or experiment. Astrology proves that life is conscious, intelligent, loving, purposeful and meaningful intrinsically – from the inside out. Yet it is a sad twist of irony that many people disregard Astrology on the basis of popular opinion and overlook the value of increased self-awareness reflective not simply of our psychology but of our life journey as evolving souls incarnate. 

There is a lot of generic advice out there and with it comes the conviction that free will can be employed to overcome any difficulty. While will power is certainly good, at what point does it become ego will, or ‘my will be done’. Just look around and you will see quite a bit of that. What you will not see as much of is people consciously in-tune with their deeper destiny. Consequently, may people are imbalanced and not very healthy actually. Whether the imbalance is physical, mental, emotional or spiritual, it is common. However, it is no person or persons in particular who we can blame. In this age of accountability, it really begins with being accountable to our own health. Good health does not mean be an Olympian or even an athlete – even some of these experience various imbalances. Good health can be reflected in a variety of ways and we should not seek narrow standards.

Astrology is instrumental in helping people live more conscious, healthy and fulfilled lives everyday, even if it does not suit the beliefs, biases and lack of vision of the mainstream of society. But the times are changing… Astrology is on the rise thanks in part to the advances of responsible science and it can prove to be an invaluable tool for putting things into perspective and for consciously evolving and living happier lives.