January 19, 2010

The Wisdom of Sadness: No one likes to be sad. In fact, it’s a fundamental premise of positive thinking/New Age idealism that we shouldn’t be sad. It’s a dark place that will drown us in a bottomless well of wounds that can never be healed. I’m not making a case for depression here, but there is something valuable about the compassion that arises from our capacity to feel the pain of others and the sadness of their situation. We’re seeing it every day in the news from Haiti. This impoverished nation has fallen even lower than we thought possible as the shaking earth has brought this shaky nation to its knees. If we cannot feel sad at their suffering or at the struggles of so many of our fellow humans, we cannot become complete and heal ourselves.

Wise Jupiter’s entry into sensitive Pisces on January 17 brings a message of hope that’s rooted in compassion. We will learn more from our feelings now than we will with our minds. Intellect leaves us on the edge of full immersion, outside the field of full experience symbolized by the boundless water sign Pisces. This is also the sign of the Christ, the Fishes and the Age of Pisces that was born with Christianity. Its spiritual roots are compassion, as in God’s compassion for humankind and Jesus’ compassion for the poor and suffering. Yet the gospel of prosperity and self-interest has grown in the U.S. where the values of many churches align perfectly with business interests more concerned with profit than with our collective well-being.

This year’s Saturn-Pluto square is a severe test of values and resources. Are we going to compete harder with one another to acquire money and material things in times of scarcity? Will the growing disparity between rich and poor continue as an ideal model of modern life? Or will be shift our priorities from acquisition and keeping up with Jones to connecting with and caring for our neighbors?

Hard times produce hard answers, revealing the underlying values upon which a society is based. Thus far, the response to Haiti’s crisis has been highly encouraging. People are opening their hearts and wallets instead of turning their heads away from the unspeakable tragedies of death and destruction there. It is from such sadness that true wisdom and compassion can emerge. The message of Jupiter in Pisces is to erase the lines between and to acknowledge our common fears and aspirations. While the disaster in New Orleans opened a floodgate of economic and political opportunism, we have not turned that dark corner yet in Haiti. Let us hope that the light of Jupiter in Pisces compassion illuminates those dark corners of fear that leave us mired in isolated self-interest and lead us toward a more humane and loving society.

Co-creating the Future

Rick Levine and I are presenting an exciting seminar on using astrology to live more effectively in these changing times. On March 7 – 13, 2010 we will be teaching in the beautiful colonial town of San Miguel de Allende, Mexico for a limited group of attendees. Whether you’re a serious student of astrology, total beginner or seasoned professional, Rick and I promise to enrich, enliven and educate with astrology’s magical language to help you create a brighter future. Go to Heaven and Earth Workshops for details.

As published here on my Tarot.com blog.

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