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Tuesday, November 22, 2011

Mercury Retrograde- The Psychopomp


Ok, for starters- You guys are all freaking amazing! Without you guys, it’s just me babbling to myself in cyberspace. Also, in interesting new developments, I would like to formally greet all my readers in Romania- Bună ziua, România!

Now on to the Astro! Next up, Mercury Retrograde. Oh, dont give me that, Its not that bad. All the usual stuff applies, dont sign contracts/make major purchases/entertain the partners from Tokyo blah blah blah, you want that pop astro, go somewhere else, the rest of you, get ready. We’re going somewhere we’ve never been before. Yes, you’ve come a long way, baby- Remember that, because what im about to say will shock you. We are standing at the Gates of Hell. Yes, Hell. Ill give you a minute to freak out.

Better? Good; now here’s the deal. We are standing at the Gates of Hell, like I said. The thing is, we are on the INSIDE of the gate. Let that sink in. We are standing inside of the Gates of Hell, and its time to leave. On the other side is Paradise. First though, we have to prove that you’re ready to leave.

Ladies and Gentlemen, its time to face the Dweller on the Threshold.

What is the Dweller on the Threshold, you ask? Well, here’s where it gets a little technical; According to Alice Bailey- "From ancient recesses of the memory, from a deeply rooted past, which is definitely recalled, and from the racial and the individual subconscious (or founded and established thought reservoirs and desires, inherited and inherent) there emerges from individual past lives and experience, that which is the sum total of all instinctual tendencies, of all inherited glamour, and of all phases of wrong mental attitudes; to these, (as they constitute a blended whole) we give the name of the Dweller on the Threshold. This Dweller is the sum total of all the personality characteristics which have remained unconquered and unsubtle, and which must be finally overcome before initiation can be taken. Each life sees some progress made; some personality defects straightened out, and some real advance effected. But the unconquered residue, and the ancient liabilities are numerous, and excessively potent, and - when the soul contact's adequately established - there eventuates a life wherein the highly developed and powerful personality becomes, in itself, the Dweller on the Threshold. Then the Angel of the Presence and the Dweller stand face to face, and something must then be done. Eventually, the light of the personal self fades out and wanes in the blaze of glory which emanates from the Angel. Then the greater glory obliterates the lesser. This is, however, only possible when the personality eagerly enters into this relation with the Angel, recognizes itself as the Dweller, and - as a disciple - begins the battle between the pairs of opposites, and enters into the tests of Scorpio. These tests and trials are ever self-initiated; the disciple puts himself into the positive or conditioning environment wherein the trials and the discipline are unavoidable and inevitable. When the mind has reached a relatively high stage of development, the memory aspect is evoked in a new and conscious manner, and then every latent predisposition, every racial and national instinct, every unconquered situation, and every controlling fault, rises to the surface of consciousness, and then - the fight is on."

Translated- You have done a lot of work, and made a ton of progress. This is your final exam. Now you are going to come face to face with the embodiment of your fear, and it will be as strong as it has ever been- Exactly as strong as it has ever been, in fact. You, however are entering the ring stronger than you have ever been, and you are more than a match for your fear, right here and now. You are going to stare your fear straight in the face, and Laugh. Because if there is one thing the darkness cannot tolerate, it is being laughed at. Darkness is Fear, which in the end, the absence of Light; which is Joy and the connection to Source. When you laugh at the darkness, you expose its fear, and once you see the darkness’ fear of you, well then your fear dissolves into nothing.  This physical manifestation of your fear is really just a part of yourself that you need to re-integrate into your personality. That’s where it gets Shamanic.

In the Shamanic tradition, whenever we experience a trauma or shocking event, a piece of our soul splits off from the whole soul (Ha! Couldn’t resist, carry on [resist bad carrion joke, resisting…shit. Okay im done]) and when this happens, we need to bring those pieces back so we can be whole. This is usually achieved by the Shaman going into the underworld, a dangerous journey (semi-literally; the Shaman enters an altered state of consciousness, and makes the journey in that state. Then the Shaman does what is necessary to recover that piece of the soul, if at all possible). That brings us back full circle, in my unique and rambling fashion; In the Greek myths (my bedtime stories), technically speaking, there was only one God that could go in and out of the underworld as he pleased- Hermes (a.k.a. Mercury). Hermes is a psychopomp, a god who ferried souls from one life to the next. Originally, the job belonged to Apollo, but Hermes swindled it out of him about 3 hours after being born, because he was bored. To be fair, Apollo didn’t really care for the job, it cut into his lounging time way too much.

Now we know Mercury Retrograde, dont we guys? Forget all that pop astro crap (ok, maybe not all of it. Seriously, don't ever sign a contract during Mercury Retrograde, especially not Cell phones or Cars). Its not just that there is miscommunication, Mercury Retrograde exposes our illusions, and helps us get back to reality. In Saggo, Its all about facing your Fears and limits, and smashing through them with reckless abandon.

Now, back to the Gates; The Dweller on the Threshold, the piece of yourself lost to fear, is standing in your way to Hermes, who is ready to escort you to Paradise. Now this is not the end of our growth, oh no! Count this as the end of this phase (we haven’t even gotten to the eclipse yet!). Like I said, think of this as the final exam. Go back over what you have done this year, and how much progress you have made. Remember everything you have overcome, every painful moment, every accomplishment you have won. Then laugh at the monster; Keep laughing until he shrinks down into nothing. Stand in your strength, and Laugh. Remember- You’ve already gone through Hell.

                                                                               Live Dangerously,
                                                                               -The AstroGeek



Your song of the Zeitgeist-


Image courtesy of http://www.canalsonvenus.tumblr.com

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