The end of spring is a peculiar period of the year. Sunlight gets weird, and the Sun is so high in the sky that it almost feels like it’s not even shining. It is as if it was standing still, precisely as the word Solstice suggests. And in this stillness the Sun seems to call the human soul, almost absorbing it, dragging it with him in the heavenly heights.
It’s this feeling of “being absorbed” that in my opinion makes it difficult for the Soul to say that the Sun is shining out. This is because even though it’s true in a physical sense, the inner experience seems to go in the opposite direction. In a sense, when we look something irradiating we feel pushed away from it. And this is not what I feel, contemplating the midsummer Sun.
ST John’s Wort
We are leaving Gemini, a mutable sign. Traditionally all mutables are considered to be “double signs”. This also applies to Virgo that from a symbolic perspective doesn’t have a double nature at all. Whereas Pisces, Gemini and Sagittarius can clearly be understood as having a double body.
This doubleness refers to the fact that mutable signs transition us from a season to the next. This means that during the month we can experience a mix of the mood and flavor of both. In the case of Gemini in particular, the Twins have two different natures. One of them, Castor, is mortal; his brother Pollux, immortal. We can picture them as a living image of the human being. In fact we all have a mortal garment and an immortal spirit.
I consider myself a free researcher in western spiritual disciplines, in particular Rudolf Steiner’s Anthroposophy and the Neoplatonic Hermetic tradition. I have a three-year training in Astrology at the CIDA delegation of Trieste, the Italian Center for Astrological Disciplines. I graduated in Computer Engineering from the University of Trieste.
Much has been said about Jupiter in Pisces after the war broke out in Ukraine. How is it possible for such horrible things to happen during a benefic transit like that?
Jupiter is the so called Great Benefic, and in Pisces it’s in his domicile. This means that his influence is remarkably strong. So it’s perfectly normal to argue that under his wings humanity should feel safe and not on the edge of World War III.
We spoke favorably about it too, describing it as the Great Cosmic Harmonizer in this post. And we do not intend to take that back—the influence of Jupiter is certainly beneficial. So why is this horrendous scenario taking place?
The first thing that I’d like to highlight is that things could have been much worse. In general we tend to focus on bad things because they always come with drama. They get our attention easily, and media speculate on it.
I consider myself a free researcher in western spiritual disciplines, in particular Rudolf Steiner’s Anthroposophy and the Neoplatonic Hermetic tradition. I have a three-year training in Astrology at the CIDA delegation of Trieste, the Italian Center for Astrological Disciplines. I graduated in Computer Engineering from the University of Trieste.
In times of need, the gods help the human beings through cosmic processes. One of them is the appearance of comets, that from a spiritual scientific standpoint lead a purification process of the astral sphere surrounding the Earth.
In this article we are going to talk about the Leonard Comet, the brightest of 2021. What’s the meaning of the appearance of this comet? And why is it getting more visible now, right in December? Let’s try to figure it out by looking at its color, direction and zodiac sign, also taking into account the current astrological phenomena.
Photo by Chris Zurita, Tucson, Arizona, USA The Leonard Comet appears in a greenish light
The Meaning of Comets
According to Anthroposophy, comets are celestial bodies guided by the highest spiritual beings of the First Hierarchy. They have the task of cleansing the atmosphere from the astral impurities released by human beings in the cosmos. A process that usually takes place during Solar Eclipses, as we’ve seen in the recent Total Solar Eclipse in Sagittarius article.
I consider myself a free researcher in western spiritual disciplines, in particular Rudolf Steiner’s Anthroposophy and the Neoplatonic Hermetic tradition. I have a three-year training in Astrology at the CIDA delegation of Trieste, the Italian Center for Astrological Disciplines. I graduated in Computer Engineering from the University of Trieste.
I don’t know how’s the weather where you live, but it’s still relatively cold here in north Italy. The sunlight, the flowers, the birds singing—everything seems to talk about a new start. But it doesn’t really feel like it to me.
Maybe it’s for the cold. Maybe it’s for the whole situation. After one year of something we’ve already seen happening over and over again we are all very tired. And the pushing energy of new beginnings coming from the Aries is now fading away, giving way to the stabilizing forces of Taurus.
Usually when the Sun enters Taurus we start feeling that spring sleepiness. The forces of fixed Earth seduce our just awakened senses. We want to enjoy life pleasures more. Good company and good food. It’s time to take a break.
The activity of our spirit turns itself outwardly. Contemplation of the beauty of Nature and Art comes easy, as the Anima Mundi—the Soul of the World—exhales out of the Earth, longing for the skies.
Venus, the Goddess of Love and Harmony, thrives gracefully in Taurus. She’s at home.
I consider myself a free researcher in western spiritual disciplines, in particular Rudolf Steiner’s Anthroposophy and the Neoplatonic Hermetic tradition. I have a three-year training in Astrology at the CIDA delegation of Trieste, the Italian Center for Astrological Disciplines. I graduated in Computer Engineering from the University of Trieste.
“Anthroposophy is a path of knowledge, to guide the spiritual in the human being to the spiritual in the Universe” —Rudolf Steiner, Anthroposophical Leading Thoughts (1924)
One of the goals of Astrosophy is to create a bridge between the world of the stars and the spiritual realities dwelling behind them. Being part of the Anthroposophical current, these efforts definitely fall under Steiner’s definition reported in the opening quote. Indeed, one of the tasks of Anthroposophy as a path of knowledge is to provide an image of the higher worlds—the spiritual realities beyond the world of the senses.
In this regard we want to consider Astrosophy as a complementary discipline to Astrology. The latter studies the dynamic relationships between the stars, providing a traditional wealth of knowledge to observe and identify the Archetypes at play in the physical world. The former deepens the spiritual realities at the very foundation of this tradition.
In this series of articles we are going to talk about the three worlds described by Anthroposophy that we sometimes mentioned in previous posts. In particular, we are going to relate them to the planetary spheres in order to have a physical reference for them. This is going to allow us to expand our representations of the traditional astrological planets as well.
So let’s start with the our planet, the Earth, and the Physical World.
I consider myself a free researcher in western spiritual disciplines, in particular Rudolf Steiner’s Anthroposophy and the Neoplatonic Hermetic tradition. I have a three-year training in Astrology at the CIDA delegation of Trieste, the Italian Center for Astrological Disciplines. I graduated in Computer Engineering from the University of Trieste.
The Wheel of the Year turns again. The seeds concealed in the womb of Mother Earth open themselves to the light. The burning fire of the new life pushes up, fighting against the weight of the earth still asleep. And as Nature awakens from its rest, so does the world of our senses.
The heat of the Sun filters through the clothes, in contrast to the winter wind that hasn’t left us yet. The bright light of Spring hurts our gaze, which still has to get used to the new season. And sometimes we come across some unexpected scent that calls us back to the present moment.
Nature begins to exhale its spiritual forces outwards. Enraptured by this flow we follow it blindly, attracted by the senses delights. From the inside out, everything starts moving again.
The cycle restarts. And with it, so does our journey through the Zodiac Virtues. With Aries, we get back to the first one: Devotion.
Usually, we find this word used in religious contexts. And when we approach a spiritual path we don’t really like using it that much. In fact there’s a difference between being religious and being spiritual.
I consider myself a free researcher in western spiritual disciplines, in particular Rudolf Steiner’s Anthroposophy and the Neoplatonic Hermetic tradition. I have a three-year training in Astrology at the CIDA delegation of Trieste, the Italian Center for Astrological Disciplines. I graduated in Computer Engineering from the University of Trieste.
Reading Time : 3minutesOur society is drenched in Materialism. If we were true to ourselves we would say that we are all materialists. And I’m not talking about that shallow accusation of “not being spiritual”. I am talking about the materialistic mindset we have all been raised with.
The point is that Materialism is an insidious, subtle way of thinking that makes you focus mainly on results and outcomes rather than on the process, whatever it is. So the real question here is not “are you a materialist?” but rather “are you focusing mainly on results?”.
Let’s say you are. So, what’s wrong with that? Please note that I am not trying to demonize Materialism: I believe everything comes with pros and cons. Actually, I think that if you want to achieve something concrete you should definitely embrace that perspective. Nevertheless, it comes with a price and I believe you should at least know if it’s worth it.
Let’s take an example. Let’s say that Jessica loves painting. She likes it so much she doesn’t actually care about the final outcome—in this case, paintings. Loving what she is doing is what really makes her spiritual here. And yes,
you don’t need to talk about spirit to be spiritual
. She is free, because she is completely focusing on the process, she is enjoying it, and she has no other reason for doing that than painting itself.
One day, someone tells her she’s very good at it and she could definitely earn some money by selling her paintings. Let’s say she accepts the deal. Now, this is crucial: what once was an end in itself (painting) has now become the means to another end which—in this case—is making money. This is when Materialism kicks in, and no—money doesn’t have necessarily anything to do with it.
The point is her focus has changed. She is not focusing anymore on what she loves to do: she is now focusing on the result which comes from it. Do you realize how tricky is that? Apparently nothing has changed—she is still going to paint anyway—but the fire of the spirit is lost!
In order to be aware of the consequences, take this definition of Materialism I found online:
1. preoccupation with or emphasis on material objects, comforts, and considerations, with a disinterest in or rejection of spiritual, intellectual, or cultural values.
…
and replace the word “spiritual” with “what you love to do”:
Materialism is preoccupation with or emphasis on material objects, comforts, and considerations, with a disinterest in or rejection of what you love to do.
This is the price: a materialistic mindset is always going to deceive you confusing the ends with the means. It is in its nature. You want to achieve A but you must get B and C first. This because you want to achieve something rather than focusing on what you love to do. And there is always a strategy, a procedure, a series of steps to be taken in order to get what you want. But eventually this can only take you away from what you really love. On the contrary,
when you love what you do you the reward is in the action itself
.
“The fundamental maxim of free men is to live in love towards our actions, and to let live in the understanding of the other person’s will” — Rudolf Steiner (Philosophy of Freedom, Chapter 9).
This may sound very odd for us, considering that we have been educated to always think we need to do something to get something else. But this is what being free—and spiritual—is all about.
I consider myself a free researcher in western spiritual disciplines, in particular Rudolf Steiner’s Anthroposophy and the Neoplatonic Hermetic tradition. I have a three-year training in Astrology at the CIDA delegation of Trieste, the Italian Center for Astrological Disciplines. I graduated in Computer Engineering from the University of Trieste.
