Back to School

It’s been an extraordinary week, with change at the heart of it. We have seen an extreme change in the weather and a change in Westminster. Although I often feel that neither of these are important to my day to day living, actually they have a subtle but powerful effect on all our lives.

In this country, we have rarely had to worry about extreme weather conditions, yes we’ve had flooding and occasional heatwaves, but generally Britain has a temperate climate and for this I am very grateful.

Politically, also, I have been lucky enough to live in a society that is fairly open-minded and has been growing more so with each decade. However, it is important to recognise that in some ways, we have paid for this with our personal freedom, that is, if we have bought into the mechanisms created to temper this. I will explore these ideas more next month in my Libra blog.

Now this is all changing, and our outward view on life is becoming far more conservative in most areas of life. Brexit has curbed our ability to travel easily, our commerce abroad has been impaired and our view on immigrants has become harsher. Our new Conservative government, of course, reflects this and the irony cannot be ignored that this comes at a time when our immigration numbers are soaring and our employment sector is in complete disarray. The fact is, we need people to come and work here and yet we’re fending them off with our fear and inhospitality. 

I am keen to explore the idea that if we are concerned with what type of people we are attracting here, then perhaps we need to look more closely at why. Again, I might investigate this in next month’s blog.

As life becomes more challenging this is often what happens, we close ranks as a society and become more self-interested, nationalistic and fearful of those outside of our circle. Treacherous weather can challenge us in this way. It is something we cannot control and our patriarchal society is based on control. When we feel helpless we close ranks and the cycle revolves inwards. 

The archetype of the Virgo sign is all about initiation, preparation and purification.

I am interested to understand how this time of outward, physical growth has coincided and so maybe led to a psychological mindset that has become more inward-looking, more enslaved. I am thinking that if outer world view is changing, willingly or not, then potentially our internal landscape might be up for a shift too. If this is true then we will need to work hard to prepare for the path ahead. 

This is exactly what Virgo teaches. This is an invitation to get out into the fields, reconnect with Mother Nature and bring in the harvest, the fruits of our labour. It couldn’t be more perfect. Our need to consummate our relationship with Mother Nature, rediscover our power that she feeds us (but we have for so long cut ourselves off from) is long overdue. It is time to be the apprentice again relearn how to be in the world, offer our gifts and participate in a way that is sustainable and mature. We would do well to become responsible in the workplace, create businesses that are mindful of the Earth and leave little or no trace. 

We are being asked to develop a more adult way of working - as we have been behaving like teenagers for too long. It is interesting that the Virgo archetype also represents our sexuality. It deals with purification and preparation, and as young adults we are being asked to prepare for adult life and marriage. For me, marriage is about the inner marriage, a way of balancing the masculine and feminine aspects of ourselves. Sadly, this has become a battlefield for over a hundred years, though actually, internally, for thousands of years, and if we could look within to understand the inner battle and find our peace there, we might learn to reconcile this wound we all carry. 

It is a deep wound, which we carry as the head enslaved and negated the wisdom of the heart. The heart understands the nature of all life and its infinite nature; the fact that we never die. When we cut ourselves off from this wisdom we are left alone, abandoned and fearful. This begins and ends with our fear of death. We all carry the archetype of the wounded healer represented by the minor planet Chiron which is considered to rule Virgo in modern astrology. 

The time is ripe. If we choose this moment to go back to school we can prepare to move forward in a positive way, full of grace, both open-hearted and open-minded. This has never been more perfectly designed and created for our success. Transformation is not only possible but happening right now and I am ever hopeful that you long to be a conscious active part of it? I do.