Living the Symbol Life: The Archetype of Wholeness

Living the Symbol Life: The Archetype of Wholeness

    Living the symbolic life means that we inhabit an image to find its meaning.  Since meaning is rarely valued in patriarchy, we have to re-learn how to use our imaginations to do this.  So one of the first images we can meditate on is the image of Earth in the photograph called 'Earthrise'. 

Even after seeing the amazing images of our universe taken by the Hubble space telescope, it is no surprise that the picture of Earthrise is still a powerful image after almost 50 years (the crew of Apollo 8 took the photo on Christmas Eve Day, 1968).   Our universe is vast, mysterious, a bit scary as well as breath-taking, but there's something hopeful about that image of our beautiful Earth shining in the darkness of space that touches my heart and soul.  Do you feel that way too?

I've been drawn to that photo since the first time I saw it back in 1968.  I put it on the front page of our college year-book the next year; it's on the cover of my book of seasonal fairy tales, Stories of the Earth, and for me at least, it is connected with my vision of Lady Wisdom as the ‘Woman clothed with the Sun’.  Our Mother Earth is indeed ‘clothed with the Sun’ in this iconic photograph.  

     This image of our Earth evokes what the Ancients called the Anima Mundi or World Soul, the idea that there is an intrinsic connection between all living things on the planet, which relates to our world in much the same way as the soul is connected to the human body.  (Also see Lynn Margulis and James Lovelock's Gaia theory.)   When we look at this picture of our home planet, we can sense the truth of that belief.  There's only one world shining out in space.

The Western idea originated with Plato in the Timaeus.   Therefore, we may consequently state that: this world is indeed a living being endowed with a soul and intelligence ... a single visible living entity containing all other living entities, which by their nature are all related. (Timaeus:29/30)

An Eastern image of this connection is called Indra’s Net.   ‘When Indra fashioned the world, he made it as a web, and at every knot in the web he tied a pearl. Everything that exists, or has ever existed, every idea that can be thought about, every dharma and destiny that is true, is a pearl in Indra's net. Not only is every pearl tied to every other pearl by virtue of the web on which they hang, but on the surface of every pearl is reflected every other jewel on the net. Everything that exists in Indra's web implies all else that exists.’

"Imagine a multidimensional spider's web in the early morning covered with dew drops. And every dew drop contains the reflection of all the other dew drops. And, in each reflected dew drop, the reflections of all the other dew drops in that reflection. And so ad infinitum. That is the Buddhist conception of the universe in an image." –Alan Watts

Carl Jung called the archetype of wholeness in a person the Self.  The Anima Mundi is the archetype of wholeness for our planet. This Feminine principle manifests within us as the collective unconscious, which contains all the images and feelings and experiences of humanity throughout the ages.  Is it any wonder that this image of Earthrise speaks to us of the Wisdom that creates worlds and galaxies and conscious beings?

     Joseph Campbell felt that the image of Earthrise was a symbol of new myths arising in the future.  I believe it, because the image has worked upon my unconscious to open me to the mystery of Lady Wisdom.  There is an image of the returning Divine Feminine that shares this image of Earthrise.   

And a portent appeared in the heavens: A woman, clothed with the Sun, standing on the Moon, crowned with Stars, in labor...giving birth to the Savior.

     The Cosmic Story is calling us back to re-work the soil and tend the plants that were seeded in the 60s.  As Uranus and Pluto square (90*) each other seven times, we find ourselves at a crossroads.  Will we let the powers of repression and domination continue to shape us?

'If myth is a storied way to feel out our place in the world, then we can grasp the significance of ‘Earthrise’ by considering what it rode in on. The Environmental Movement, Ecopsychology, Systems Theory, the Internet that joins us across the globe, global structures of finance, the Goddess movement, the push toward sustainability, organic agriculture, Brian Swimme's inspiring cosmological reveries: these and other worldly-circling matters grew up in the light of Earthrise. This image did not "cause" these movements so much as announce them as they swarmed into collective consciousness.'    (Craig Chalquist, Ph.D. Earthrise: A Mythic Image for Our Times.) 

Images are not owned by any one religion or corporation.  Symbols are universal and they come to us pure in our dreams and through synchronicities in our waking life, and through true myths, music, art and stories.   Of course, patriarchy is very aware of how to use images to capture our attention, but they use it to lie, manipulate and control.  When we look at an image and let it speak to us—just as we can let this image of Earthrise or that of the Woman clothed with the Sun speak to us—we really can arrive at the wise answer to any question.

If we want to evolve, we all have to undertake a Heroine's Journey.  It is an inner journey that can free us from the patriarchal corsets and straightjackets we've been shaped by.  And the gift we receive and the treasure we bring back will be the Wisdom of the World Soul—the wisdom to find solutions to the personal and collective crisis which face the world. 

Some of those solutions involve the archetype of community.  In patriarchy, community was usually centered around the tribe, the nation, the race, the gender, the religion, the army, the family.  Usually it involved being separate from others, being special in some way, being chosen.  

When we look at this image of Mother Earth and see that we are one world, opportunities for community expands.  Our new communities are connected via the Internet—much like Indra’s Net—where we connect with like-minded individuals around the world.  These communities are based on common ideals, interests and beliefs and make no distinction between races, religious beliefs or genders.  

There are other communities being formed, much like the communes of the 60s.  Family now consists of close friends as well as blood relatives.   People feel they are citizens of the world rather than just one country. Patriarchal religions are losing ground to spiritual communities comprised of Christians, Moslems, Jews, Pagans, Buddhists, Hindus, etc.  Sports teams honor the player, not his or her race.  In this new idea of community, no one needs to be the leader, because each of us can lead when our expertise is needed.  This re-birthed archetype of community is all about equality.

Community gardens, business co-ops, and charter schools are just a few ways to be in community.  People with common skills form guilds or unions.  People with common ideals gather to stand up for what they believe in, such as the Occupy Movement.  We still have spiritual communities, although these are different from the patriarchal monastery or convent.  There is a common bond between the members of the armed forces just as there was with the ancient Irish warband called the Fianna; and of course, we have the image of the Knights of the Round Table.   

When we look at this image of our one world, we can imagine a multitude of new ways to be in community. 

We are living in a time of choice.  The Cosmic Story is supporting transformation and rebirth.  Will we stand with the Earth, with the Anima Mundi and with our souls?  Will we find new ways to be in community?

Perhaps we need to meditate on this picture of our Mother, the Earth and remember that we are indeed all connected. 

Merry meet and merry part and merry meet again!

Cathy

 

Living the Symbolic Life: The World Needs a New Story

You see, man is in need of a symbolic life - badly in need. We only live banal, ordinary, rational, or irrational things . . . but we have no symbolic life. Where do we live symbolically? Nowhere except where we participate in the ritual of life. . . We have no symbolic life, and we are all badly in need of the symbolic life. Only the symbolic life can express the need of the soul - the daily need of the soul, mind you! And because people have no such thing, they can never step out of this mill - this awful, banal, grinding life in which they are "nothing but." . . . C.G. Jung, The Symbolic Life

I believe it’s time to take the idea of the symbolic life seriously.  That means it’s time we see our lives as meaningful.  This is the first of a series of essays that will look at the old archetypal stories and see how they might be renewed within each of us.

It’s time to tell a new story about life, love, community, power, responsibility and re-birth.

Today’s New Moon in Aquarius is a new beginning for the collective Mind.  Each year this New Moon gives us an opportunity to transform the collective Mind, but this year something bigger is happening.  This year’s Aquarius New Moon is gestating in the womb of a cosmic grand cross; the 5^th cosmic challenge between Pluto in Capricorn and Uranus in Aries, invoking the continuing story of the revolution and evolution that started in the 60s.  The challenge becomes an energy generator with the addition of Jupiter in Cancer and Mars in Libra this Spring.   

The Cosmic Story is telling us to work with these energies now, because our challenge is to become conscious forces of evolution.  It’s time for us to bring our gifts into collective awareness. We are challenged to change a whole world view that was once necessary and good, but which has become lop-sided and detrimental to the health of the entire bio-field of Earth.  We are facing Death: the death of our environment as we know it, the death of patriarchy, and the death of the belief that we are separate from each other.  If the knowledge of Death doesn’t get us out doing something, I don’t know what will.  Are we really willing to let ourselves to lead to the slaughterhouses without protest?  Without doing something about it with originality, honor and courage? 

Aquarius symbolizes humanity’s ability to consciously connect with the archetypal patterns, the cosmic laws of the universe.  These laws are instinctual, built into the fabric of our world and cosmos.  Archetypes are energy fields which structure plants and animals and human beings, rocks and trees, wind and rain, light and dark.  And as far as we know, human beings are the only ones here on Earth who can become conscious of these archetypal patterns.  And as Carl Jung demonstrated, once we become aware of these archetypal instincts, we can change how we relate to them.  

Archetypes can only be known through an image, a symbol which contains many layers of meaning.   As we work with the archetypal symbols of the collective unconscious, we rediscover the original intent of the archetypes.  And when we are aware of the archetype’s primal power, we can consciously let it shape us. 

 

Yes, we have to be balanced to do this—we need a sharp mind that can discern what is delusion (God told me to sacrifice my son, and then try to literally do it) and wisdom (I sense that I need to let my son live his own life now and stop trying to make him into someone I want him to be).  But if we hold true to our values and our truth, the archetypes can gently shape us with a true story.  Right now, we have all been shaped by the patriarchal stereotypes of what life is all about.  

The freed-up archetypes can tell us a new story, which can inspire our imagination and in turn, give us the courage to take action.  For example, the archetype of the leader has become the stereotype of the politician.  When archetypes lose their feeling aspect (when people no longer believe it) they become dry stereotypes.  Once we stop ceding the archetypal power of leadership to this stereotype, the archetypal energy of leadership becomes accessible to us.  I’ve often talked about how the archetype of the Bard, whose word is law and inspiration, has become the stereotype of the entertainer, who takes our minds off reality.   The good news is that the archetypes of leader and bard are still accessible to us.

So the New Moon in Aquarius is an ideal time to nurture an archetypal seed lying within you.  Where do your talents lie?  How do you use them now?  How would you like to use them?  To change your life, you need to change the story.

The ancient myths show us collective archetypal patterns that shaped cultures and people’s perceptions of life.  Which pattern calls to you?   

I just wrote a blog after I read an article by Craig Chalquist, Ph.D. "Earthrise: A Mythic Image for Our Times." on the image of Earthrise, that first mystical picture of our Earth floating in the heavens.  This image, while unique to modern times, derives some of its power from the archetype of the Anima Mundi, the World Soul.  You can just see that beautiful soul shining out into space, can’t you? 

 

 

Archetypes get renewed in our consciousness when there is a need for new perspectives and new actions and new growth.

With Pluto in Capricorn breaking down belief in our collective social structures—patriarchy, finance, government, religion, capitalism—we have an opportunity to create something different because the archetypal patterns are also being renewed.  Of course, the old ways aren’t dying easily, but that’s Saturn—archetype of patriarchy—for you!  In Greek mythology, Saturn ate his own children, swallowing them until Rhea, the Earth Mother, gave him a rock to swallow instead of her youngest child, Zeus.  Zeus grew up and went on to lead the revolution against Saturn.  

At this New Moon, Pluto is joined by Venus, stationing and about to go direct.  Venus has just come through her conjunction with the Sun, reborn as the Morning Star.  The energy of a planet in retrograde motion feels like it’s going into the inner/under world.  So at this New Moon, Venus has just emerged from the Underworld, bringing new heart knowledge to this collective breakdown.  Joining Pluto, we might imagine that Venus takes on the role of Persephone, wife of Pluto as well as the Spring Maiden.  Venus and Pluto are around 13* Capricorn, in the second 10* of Capricorn, ready for rebirth—ready to start rebuilding a new cultural foundation.  A strong foundation that gives equal weight to the feminine aspects of life, something sorely lacking in patriarchy at the moment!  

When we add Venus to Pluto’s energy of rebirth, we could say that Lady Wisdom is guiding us with the truth and the beauty of the Morning Star.  The Cosmic Story is telling us that it’s time for us ‘to be as wise as a serpent and as gentle as a dove’. 

Another new archetypal pattern concerns Uranus in Aries.  Aries is the sign of self-discovery, a brilliant flash of fire that illumines new ground for action. Why have we incarnated?   Uranus brings sudden changes, opening us to the archetypal fields (Uranus rules Aquarius).  This energy once again offers us a choice: who do we want to be, what do we want to discover, what is our purpose in life?  The breakdown of the system (Pluto) calls for individuals (Aries) to become their archetypal Selves, living their soul’s purpose (Uranus).  That’s our personal challenge.

What will really get this challenge moving is the addition of Jupiter in Cancer and Mars in Libra.  These four planets are in the four cardinal signs, energy generating signs, action oriented and energizing.  The addition of these two planets moves the square’s challenge forward.  

Jupiter is the Roman aspect of Zeus, leader of the rebellion against Saturn.  Jupiter awakens our curiosity, expands our vision, and opens us to spirit.  In the sign of Cancer, it broadens our appreciation of the archetype of the Mother and her nurturing qualities.  Jupiter pushes us to explore our inner depths (Cancer) and discover who we really are and what we really want—instead of what patriarchy has shaped us to be and want.   And as a mother, I can tell you that nobody is as fierce as a mother defending her children.  We need to become fierce in defense of ourselves, our people and our planet.  

The last to connect with the upcoming grand cross is Mars retrograde in Libra.  At this New Moon, Mars is still moving forward in Libra, away from the other four planets, but it is going to turn retrograde on March 1^st and will be very tightly bound to the grand cross in April.  Mars is the archetypal energy of desire and assertion, the energy that moves us and shakes us and tells us that we’re alive.  With Mars in Libra, we are learning that we feel more alive when we partner up with others, when we take their needs and desires into consideration and learn to be fair and balanced.  A true balance of masculine and feminine consciousness opens us to Wisdom.  

There are many archetypal patterns being renewed now—perhaps all of them with the changing of the ages.  We are at the beginning of that change, and so we are responsible for how those new archetypal stories begin.  Will we rise up and meet the challenge in new and creative ways?  Unnecessary war is patriarchal.  A grown up doesn’t have to literally fight to win a battle.  With intelligence, creativity, courage, intuition and wisdom, we will change our world.

Emerging Archetypal Themes: Scorpio, Death & Rebirth and Guy Gavriel Kay’s The Fionavar Tapestry

          The sign of Scorpio ushers in the cold and dark part of the year in the northern hemisphere.  Coming after the last harvest, people celebrated year’s ending and honored their dead in holidays such as Samhain, All Hallow’s Eve and the Day of the Dead.  The rising of the dark during this time makes Scorpio the perfect time to honor the fact of death as part of life. 

          Scorpio is called the sign of death and rebirth.  Ancient star maps show a giant scorpion with its tail raised to sting the heel of the hero Ophiuchus or Aesculapius, the great healer, called the Serpent Bearer.   Death, healing and rebirth are all part of Scorpio’s cosmic story.

          The most intense of the three water signs (Cancer, Scorpio and Pisces), Scorpio symbolizes our inner struggle to open up and allow intimacy with others, to acknowledge someone else’s values, and to learn how to work in deep emotional partnership.  With Saturn in Scorpio these past two years, we have been given a lesson in dropping old emotional patterns that no longer serve us and opening ourselves to an emotional healing and rebirth. 

          We are experiencing a breakdown in our culture, and we need to accept the Scorpio initiation of death.  With Scorpio’s ruling planet, Pluto, in Capricorn, the sign of our cultural institutions, and Capricorn’s ruler, Saturn, in Pluto’s sign, it’s a cosmic wake-up call to all of us.  The force is with us on this one.   It’s time to see that death is not the end, but merely a transitional phase to another type of life, whether here on Earth or in the spiritual realms.  We have to get over our fear of death so we can bring new life to our planet and our people.

          We have to help patriarchy die.

Guy Gavriel Kay’s The Fionavar Tapestry 

        Once again, I want to talk about a series of fantasy books by my favorite author.  Yes, this trilogy is even more my favorite than Tolkien’s LOTR, which I must have read 40 times throughout the years.  It makes sense, since Mr. Kay helped Christopher Tolkien edit his father’s work after his death.  

                                                Martin Springett--artist

          The Fionavar Tapestry is Mr. Kay’s first fantasy novel, but don’t stop there.  He’s written 10 of my favorite historical fantasies.  I’m sure I’ll get a chance to talk about a few others at The Bard’s Grove in the future.

          The Fionavar Tapestry is a trilogy comprised of: The Summer Tree, The Wandering Fire & The Darkest Road. It resonates with our times, because 5 of the many wonderful characters in the books are modern college students who find that they have big roles to play in saving the first world of Fionavar from a deep-seated darkness whose only passion is to unravel the tapestry of Life in all worlds.

          Sounds like some of the issues we face as we work to get rid of the end game of patriarchy—its monolithic corporations which are destroying our Earth and taking our freedom away!  With Uranus in Aries, we are each being called to our heroic selves, to stand up and help change the world.  In these books, these five college students find that they have a place in the last battle again evil alongside great heroes and heroines in a world where magic and mystery are still acknowledged and valued.

          We meet the main characters in The Summer Tree.  Four friends attend a summer lecture by a mysterious and reclusive genius and along with a fifth student, Dave, get invited after the lecture to his rooms, where he tells them he’s from another world—the first world of all worlds, Fionavar.  He has been sent to bring back five people to attend a great celebration in their world.  The five, for various reasons, all accept his invitation and are taken to a world of magic and wizards, kings and princesses, priestesses and seers, and an ancient evil which is rising again with intentions of destroying all the worlds.

          Each of these young people discovers who they are truly meant to be when they accept their roles in the army of Light which gathers in Fionavar.  Fionavar is the home of many races: the Kings of Men in Brennin and Cathal, the Dalrei, the native tribes of the Plains, the gentile Giants and people of Eridu, and the stalwart dwarves as well as the beautiful Lios Alfar, the Fair Folk.  This brief explanation tells you nothing about the finely drawn characters who I know will stay in your imaginations for a long time.

          The five chosen ones are all uniquely themselves.  Kimberly is a med student who discovers she has been seen and awaited for many years in Fionavar, and who must bear the burden of the War Stone.  Then there’s Kevin, the brilliant lawyer who goes so deep in lovemaking that he touches a goddess.  Paul is called to an especially hard task—to be tied to the Summer Tree and so become the Arrow of the God.  Jennifer, whose beauty enchants even the immortal Lios Alfar, must pay a debt from past lives and come through the fires of death and transformation to a new life.   And the fifth is Dave, who has always felt himself an outsider and who gets separated from the other four upon their arrival in Fionavar.  He finds himself called to become a warrior when he is found on the Plains by one of the Dalrei tribes.

          And those are just the modern Canadian characters!  In Fionavor, we find out that the mysterious lecturer is none other than the wizard Loren Silvercloak along with his source, Matt, who was once King of the Dwarves.  The wizards of Fionavar get their power from their source, and we see both the good and the evil of this in the stories.

          Then we have some of the most marvelous warriors I’ve ever encountered in any story. The brilliant, daring, romantic and defiant Diarmuid, the youngest son of King Ailell and his solemn exiled older brother; the warriors of the Dalrei—Ivor, Levon, Torc and Tabor; Shalhassan, the Lord of Cathal and his beautiful, dangerous daughter Sharra; Na-Brendel and the host of the Lios Alfar; the goddesses and gods of Fionavar; the shamans and seers and the priestess of the Mother, Jaelle.  And so many other brave and interesting characters—a few which I will leave as a surprise for you.

          The main story is that Rakoth Maugrim the Unraveller, who has been chained under a mountain for millennia, plots to break free from his prison with the help of his lieutenant Galadan and the usual host of evil beings.  But even these characters are never one-dimensional and sometimes even sympathetic.  When Rakoth does break free, all our heroes and heroines must work to overthrow him on many fronts.  This they do, with great sacrifice and honor.

          Scorpio’s energies are part of this story of renewal.  In Fionavar, the old world is dying and everyone has to take up their archetypal roll if they are to defeat great evil and bring peace to the land again.  This can happen within an individual and within a society.  If we all make sure that we go through the death and rebirth ourselves, we stand a good chance of re-shaping our own world into a higher, better version of itself.  And this story of cultural renewal is a great guide for us.

          I can’t tell you anymore about the story because I don’t want to spoil your enjoyment.  This is the absolute best ‘end of the world’ fantasy you’ll read since you read the Lord of the Rings.  I suggest you order your copies now and spend the holidays inside a story that contains many aspects of our Celtic myths rolled into one in the most satisfying way. 

For more information about Guy Gavriel Kay, go to: http://www.brightweavings.com/index.htm

         

 From The Bard’s Grove,

          Cathy