The Steep Upward Climb

photo Mark Brookes

So. as we bring another tough year to a close and set off on the new, 2022, with all the hope and eagerness for a fresh start, we know that the hard journey we are on is not over. I don’t want to spend this whole blog discussing the pandemic as I do believe it is on the wane and wish to concentrate more on the lessons and look to what is on the horizon.

As with all aspects of life I always look to the bigger picture, I try and find the widest perspective I can, knowing that we are always working from our own limitations and that is not a bad thing as long as we understand this.

I use the adage that through limitation comes expansion and never has this been so true. I learned this by watching a documentary about twenty years ago on Quincy Jones. A musician and artist, a leader in his field in every respect and a consummate artist. It was through his studies at a Paris Conservatoire that this lesson was conveyed to him and so to the viewers. It has stayed with me ever since, knowing that artists generally have a more expansive view of the world. I think it was because it was also that at this time I was becoming interested in the concept of quantum mechanics and its effect it will have on our world when we all grasp it. I am not talking about the mathematical aspect but the concept of all things being connected and the true understanding of cause and effect; something most people, before our patriarchal mindset changed the way we viewed the world, would have taken for granted. Those who live outside this mindset still do.

This is what I yearn for, a return to balance, a holistic view that takes the whole universe into account, not the just the bits the modern humans believe they can control. I would like to change the consensus, open it up, and to do that we have to go beyond and face our greatest fears. The truth is that if we don’t choose this, it is going to be chosen for us and the pandemic is just a small taster of what is to come.

This month, from an astrological point of view, is the month of Capricorn and is ruled by Saturn. Those that have been following my work - and others in the field of astrology - for more than a year, will know what I am going to say. But this is the beauty of ancient truths, it understands that we need to tread these paths time and again to learn the lesson and that each time we return to it, it is never the same, as with each cycle, we grow. If we don’t grow in wisdom we certainly grow in age!

Saturn is our teacher, our guide, our limiter. He lies at the extremity of our Solar System that is visible to the naked eye. So, after the modern mind lost its ability to sense into the universe to understand its truths, and before telescopes were invented, for this time we thought Saturn was the extent of the universe. It is the father, the time-keeper and became associated with death.

So if we are going to make this incredible step into the collective unconscious, return to sensing the world beyond the physical, we need first to learn the lessons that Saturn is offering. He invites us to climb the mountain, face our fears, our pain, and literally save our soul. To do this we must learn the joy in each step, and not try and avoid any aspect of it. It might sound like everything you would normally avoid, but that’s the point. Our society has avoided all these necessary aspects of life and because of this is facing its own extinction and bringing most other life forms with it. 

Although this is not all our doing, it is Mother Nature’s journey, how we participate in it comes back to the cause and effect idea and how we come through this time is absolutely up to us.

The pandemic has just shown that we are still behaving like children, throwing stones at those we disagree with and jumping to short term solutions that could be very damaging in the long term. How we come through this, feels important. Are we going to deeply listen to others point of view or just stamp on this who appear, for example, ‘different’, to be ‘stupid’ or ‘selfish’. I think these words could and have been used on and by both sides and not just about the pandemic; it is just the reactive behaviour of our culture today. 

I believe, we need to look to the long haul, understand that the mountain is high and a difficult climb, but it will be worth it and Saturn will ensure that we are duly rewarded, as the rewards are what we all yearn for in our hearts. 

Find me one person who doesn’t want true peace in this world, if the true understanding of peace was understood, who doesn’t want to be able to live in a society that can work through conflict in a way that doesn’t harm anyone. I believe we all deeply wish to be loved and valued and if we had that, then we would understand that it is impossible to have this exclusively. It is a psychopathic mindset who is happy holding their millions when they know others are starving on the streets. Sadly this is the path we have taken and we need to look inward to find the strength to turn this around.

We, have created a modern consensus where the individual is most important and we apply this to our wealth, our health and our lives in general, even our death.

If we are going to find our way through this great shift and truly save our souls, we need to grasp what Saturn is asking of us so we can step into the next two archetypes and embrace the holistic universe. This involves a good deal of letting go, a lot of hard work and the prospect of waking up to what is going on around us and choose the path of love that we can all walk together.