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In this
article I want to focus on the dynamic interplay of the Aries-Libra
axis. Aries epitomizes the archetype of heroic courage that comes from
heart (French cour) while Libra symbolizes the harmonic balance in
life that flows from grace. Together they create graceful action.
Where Aries asks us to seize the moment through heroic living, Libra asks us
to demonstrate that fierce heat of living in and through our relationships. Aries
defines the AM-ness of existing as an individual, rushing forth into total self-expression
as a force of being, while Libra defines the relationship between beings and
expresses the field of love and interaction as well as tension and opposition.
Where Aries is the warrior, pioneer, and leader, Libra is the artist, lover,
and diplomat.
The mystics
proclaim that God is love and that eternal being finds expression through
humanity and creation. The second Hebrew letter “bait” (Greek
beta) means literally “house” and symbolizes the divine
spirit dwelling in form. We discussed this concept in the last article
on Ascension into the Here and Now. It’s difficult for some to
imagine the Western omnipotent, almighty God having a need for creation,
yet that is the creator’s essence. The primary attribute of a
creator is creativity. I like to think of universal love as the instrument
of cosmic creativity. The gravitational principle of divine love serves
galaxies around the clock.
In this way, the love of divinity flows into and enlivens creation and causes
life to blaze into being. The beauty of the archetype of Libra is demonstrated
as this love flows into and between the individual sparks of consciousness
that Aries symbolizes. The Hindu’s call creation Lela, which means God’s
Play. The Te in Tao Te Ching is usually translated as virtue and power. The
Chinese character for Te actually combines the three radicals (mini-characters)
for motion, vision, and heart symbolizing the ability to act or move through
life guided by heart vision. That’s the kind of graceful action (wu wei)
that emerges from the Aries Libra polarity. You can see it expressed in the
graceful movements of martial arts, (Mars doing art!).
In my fantasy
adventure novel series I’m crafting one book for each sign of
the zodiac. The first book, Brazenwood, explores the Aries archetype
seen through the lens of Libra. My main character Arian faces incredible
challenges in his quest requiring him to express great courage, but
the source of that courage comes from love. In the end, it is his heart
that elevates his path of destiny above a random meaningless fate.
Each one of us is on a quest whether we realize it or not, to find our unique
path in life. Our souls would rather fail at following their own destined courses
than succeed at living someone else’s life. The unknown sea of our future
often looks ominous and people are goaded by society to pull into the nearest
harbor for a nice, safe and secure life. I once heard that ships enjoy being
docked, but they were made for sailing. It is this image I tried to capture
in the following poem.
Well
of Being
Deep in the well of being burns the hidden desire
that you must discover and surrender to.
It alone will open the voice of your soul.
You
must find that fiery star and set your course
across the treacherous inner sea.
The
awakening of your true longing will inspire you
to persevere despite the abyss of fear that looms before you.
Your passion must resonate with eternal being
as you plunge into those mystery depths
so that the resolve generated in your heart is pure.
It is
that soul purpose only you can fulfill,
because destiny emerges from action and welcomes initiative.
Then
you will make your lasting contribution to humanity,
like Prometheus stealing the sacred fire from the gods
you will rise to the occasion and follow the
only life you know you must live but have forgotten.
Despite
the strain of Western culture on the traditions of Asia and Africa
throughout the Age of Pisces, the unfolding drama has not been one
of total loss. Most of the explorers of the Renaissance were Europeans.
In this sense, the West has given the East its spirit of adventure,
curiosity, and that Promethean fire that goes against the grain of
tradition to inspire new discoveries.
That same fire is available now to women as they have been empowered to explore
their own unique brand of courage rarely witnessed in history in such people
as Joan of Arc, Cleopatra, Boudicea, and Queen Elizabeth. At the same time
it has become kosher for men to explore and awaken their anima to reconnect
with the mystery of the Sophianic feminine.
I was talking
to a 78-year-old Italian immigrant the other day called Zai who is
an Argentine Tango dance instructor and he told me the story of his
life. He moves and dances like he’s 45 with his Gemini Sun, Sag
Moon, and Leo Rising. His childhood in Fascist Italy was brutal and
his father was harsh. This led him to escape into books and the life
of the imagination.
After migrating to America in his teens he eventually married and had three
children. In time his wife was diagnosed with a terminal illness (auto-immune
disease). The doctors said she had less than a year to live. Her name was Margaret
(notice the Mars hiding in her name inspiring courage). She told the doctors
that she was too busy to die and had to raise her three children. She often
told Zai, “You take what you’re given and you go with it.” During
the next 25 years of her life the doctors said she would be dead within the
year six times before she finally surrendered and passed into the spirit world
after raising her children. The doctors began calling her the miracle lady.
Zai told
me that he didn’t discard challenges until after he discovered
the gift they offered. At that critical first juncture when his wife
was supposed to die, he had to make the heroic choice of a lifetime.
His wife’s illness made it impossible to share passion together.
Instead of leaving her or cheating with other women on the side, he
made up his mind and heart to become an ascetic and devote himself
to her and the family.
He channeled his sexual energy into creative prowess through various Eastern
disciplines like yoga. During those last 25 years his wife became his spiritual
teacher. Her spirit was unquenchable, as she stood bold in the face of her
slow demise. Through her illness he mastered the heroic courage to love integrating
Aries and Libra.
As I talked
with Zai at the Irish pub here in Asheville one night he told me of
the physical challenges he was able to overcome through the continuing
power of his former wife’s love. At age 69, he climbed a wobbly
pole strapped in a harness for safety and stood on top of a swaying
one-foot square board balanced precariously thirty feet in the air
and leapt onto a trapeze suspended high across a 12 foot divide.
Where most other men of his men’s group between the ages of 20 and 50
failed, he succeeded. The younger men were astonished. He told them that he
made the jump because he imagined his wife sitting on the edge of the trapeze
smiling and urging him to do it. Secretly, he had a pinch of her ashes in his
sock during the test of courage. He often traveled to places she once enjoyed
to deliver a pinch of her ashes. As he told me this incredible story the following
poem spontaneously came into my mind. To me it symbolizes the essence of the
Aries-Libra axis of life.
Courage
I constantly contemplate transition, death, change,
the end in which I begin in utter transcendence.
Know thyself, and then go beyond it.
“Take what you’re given and go with it,” she said.
With a pinch of her ashes hidden in my shoes
I leapt and attained my aspiration.
I can still see the magic reflected in her cheek bones,
the courage blazing in her fiercely loving eyes
that froze even death for 25 years.
I continue to tango into her smile, her powerful presence,
her love that never falters as it reaches across dimensions
and wells up as tears in my eyes.
Aries is about motivation, self-expression, and adventure. Wherever this sign
is flowing into your chart, that’s where you are activating your
essence, creating vitality, and, and expressing consciousness. Libra is
about the grace of loving and the art of being loved. Wherever this sign
is flowing into your chart, that’s where you need to initiate awareness,
illuminate ideas, create the thought forms that nourish social interplay.
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