First of all, the last Aquarian oracle at 30° of the sign, is the longest winded Sabian Symbol of them all (thus far anyway): Deeply Rooted In The Past Of A Very Ancient Culture, A Spiritual Brotherhood In Which Many Individual Minds Are Meged Into The Glowing Light Of A Unanimous Consciousness Is Revealed To One Who Has Emerged Successfully From His Metamorphosis. Next I need to remind my three readers that these symbols were divined randomly—the clairvoyant who assigned them didn’t know to what day she was pinning them or in what order. So the fact that yesterday was about a butterfly emerging from metamorphosis and today’s is about one who has succesfully undergone his metamorphosis is more than mere coincidence. And it is the upshot symbol one might expect in the sign of Aquarius. We have merged into “unanimous consciousness”. Now we’re talking. And, though I can scarcely believe it, we have explored 330 symbols, daily, for the past eleven months and tomorrow we embark on the final journey through the final sign of Pisces. (I won’t be ending the Blague, in case you’re wondering—in fact I will likely edit these daily installments and offer them as a link or sidebar to what will be a new Blague focused more on my personal and professional experience as a showbiz sidearealist.)

Yesterday we discussed how changing your habits, routines and social sphere would be symptomatic of leading a new metamorphosized life. Today we go beyond the symptoms of that life to the penultimate payoff—coming in contact with higher forms of existence. The first thing I’m made aware of is what is holding me back from this. And I can tell you in all honesty: not being able to let go of hurts, by situations and by people, of the past. Would that I could take a pill to eradicate feelings of regret, resentment and rejection. For all my own self-professed enlightenment, which I don’t discount, and my ability to help others as I do on a daily basis, my own Achilles heal is feeling that I’m not valued or appreciated enough by others, even though I know, from an intellectual standpoint, that a) what others think of me is none of my business; b) that nothing is personal; and c) to be great is to be misunderstood, I have in many ways felt like an outsider all my life, one who is not readily invited in which I have always found ironic because, really, I’m really quite swell in my way and I am very conscious of the Golden Rule and all that. What I come up against, mainly, as an obstacle, is my incredulity at the fact that mercenary, sychophantic, social-climbing, narcisisstic, star-fucking, money-grubbing, cut-throat individuals in my midst tend to fool the world and enjoy celebrity (celebration by others) when I see nothing but mendacity and malevolence in their eyes and black hearts. Of course, If a client were to say this to me, well, first of all I would say I get you brother/sister; and that seems to be the way of the world and one of the great paradoxes: That being a good person who only seeks to help others in their ascent, rather than a not so good one that, often quite artfully and imperceptibly, walks all over others, will render that good soul rather invisible. And there may be so-called injustice in that; but the larger fact is that the pain, regret, resentment, rejection are all part and parcel of matriculation to the higher plane. To be great is to be misunderstood. Otherwise our messiahs and martyrs wouldn’t be routinely murdered. Now, I certinaly don’t need to ascend in such a way as to be laid out on some literal cross, but I can accept and carry the burden of my figurative one. Agony and ecstasy are two sides of one coin and, as the old refrain goes, “you can’t have one without the other.”

Anima means soul, so unanimity means a union thereof. There is no avoiding the more occult readings of this symbol which speaks of a Brotherhood of Light. Just as light can be seen as being made up of particles or photons, it can also be viewed, depending on perspective, as one solid whole that comes in waves. The photon is like the individual; and it is weirdly reassuring to think that we might always, likewise, retain our separateness at the same time that we ultimately merge with all other entities to create a whole, which is how light appears from a distance. Both things are true. As Virgo rules this symbol in a twelve-fold sequence I immediately think of that sign’s motto “I serve” because it immediately makes the link between the individual and something greater. In Sextrology the male and female Virgo chapters are called The Vehicle and The Vessel, respectively, both terms pointing to the individual being in service as catalyst or conduit. Stella and I speak with our clients about the importance of inter-independence as a marker of our own personal evolution in regard to our relationships; here we have the similar notion of multi-unity, a whole being made up of individual, self-sufficient, parts. We are not reliant upon others for our own light (enlightenment), it must be achieved by rooting out the darkness in ourselves—the last vestiges of which might be such pains as are given rise to by regret, resentment and rejection (why hath thou forsaken me?)—and yet that light, turned on by nobody but our individual selves, can then be merged with the light of others, the totality of which might indeed be greater than its individual parts. I truly can go on forever with this…..but….I have to go to yoga so I will stop here…but for a tiny tidbit of quasi-related in formation: If you Google Sabian (people) you will see a lot of theories on who they were and are. In modern-day southern Iraq the Sabians there are followers not of Jesus but of John the Baptist (did you know there are a number of Middle Eastern sects who opted for John not Jesus as the messiah?); I thought that would be a fitting news flash today as we leave the Aquarian sign of the Waterbearer, for which JtB is the biblical archetype and sashay into the Pisces sign of the Fish for which JC is the main man.

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It was just a few days ago we had a butterfly image and here we have once again at Aquarius 29° with A Butterfly Emerging From A Chrysalis which points to the ability to utterly transform the character of one’s consciousness by radically altering the structural patterns of everyday living and the types of relationships one enters upon. Radical change, of course, is endemic to the sign of Aquarius, ruled by Uranus, the reformer. And as we near the end of the sign, nigh on entering Pisces, we are feeling the full evolutionary, as well as revolutionary, power of the sign of the Waterbearer. I find certain symbols so inspiring. I love to imagine my own metamorphosis being the product of my actions, restructuring my daily life and rethinking the types of relationships in which I engage.

If yesterday’s Cancer-ruled image was about preparation and promise leading to deliverance, this Leo-ruled Aquarian image is about being newly delivered. Emerging from the chrsysalis is a literal delivery of new birth. In the biblical sense, the flood (myth) is followed by the age of miracles and the book of Kings, a nod to the sign of Leo and its archetypes of Solmon and David. Landing, post flood, we make a new pact with the god/s—Leo’s astrological fifth house is that of co-creation with god. The sub-righteous, one might even say sub-human brutes were washed away by said flood as a new breed of human begins anew. This can happen every day, right now. I always point out that Noah, the Cancerian archetype, was a drunk; and that the flood myth is a metaphor for recovery and rehabilitation. The butterfly has been re-made in that chrysalis which is one and the same as that ark via which life makes a transition and undergoes a transformation and breeds new beings. The butterfly is a more perfect being. It has gained the power of flight, a symbol of spiritual ascension. We will become more evolved via our choices of which people, places and things define our experience. We can spiritualize ourselves and our lives and emerge from the limiting experiences and environments of the past. We can embark on a journey toward enlightenment once we break out of our experience and period of transition. We mustn’t ignore the transition. We must die to ourselves as the caterpillar did and we can completely transform our lives and live on a higher plane, characterized by different and new activities and the company of like higher-minds.

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At Aquarius 28° the Sabian Symbol is A Tree Felled And Sawed To Ensure A Supply Of Wood For The Winter. This is about using resources that are readily available. I think it’s also about trusting in your own skill set; yes we should stretch in new directions, but we should use what is already in our arsenal. It is also an image of preparedness. We know from experience that we will need to storehouse certain elements—money, for instance—to help through leaner times. And we are talking about basic needs here, not focused on extras of luxury. My guess is that having this degree point highlighted in your astrological chart would make you something of a boy or girl scout, being rather thrifty and certainly prepared. The felling of a tree requires a combination of brain and brawn. There is some engineering involved as to where to chop to maximize effeciency and have the tree land exactly where we want it. As well, we need some muscle.

This image also portrays living in cooperation, closely, with the natural world. We are living off the land, using what nature offers us. As this oracle is ruled by Cancer in a twelve-fold sequence, a sign that is associated with flood myths, promise and deliverance, we see the inherent connection here. Noah had to build that Ark after all and he would have had to chop more than a few trees to prepare for the coming deluge. An ark is associated with promise; so that when we are chopping some real or metaphoric tree we are endowing our actions with a self-promise of would-be deliverance. In fact, all actions might be endowed with this spirit or energy. Intelligent foresight isn’t a sole human capability. Every squirrel knows that; and the fact that this rhythmic, seasonal action is something we share with other living beings only contextualizes us all the more as being part of the natural world, not just living in it.

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At 27° Aquarius, a symbol ruled by Gemini in a twelve-fold sequence, we encounter An Ancient Pottery Bowl Filled With Fresh Violets which couldn’t stand on starker contrast to the previous symbol of the greasy garage man testing his car battery. And on the surface this symbol seems more apt to be ruled by bucolic Taurus but we must look deeper. This is an oracle of traditional skills and artistic values rooted in man’s instinctive feelings as frames of reference for man’s most authentic emotions, or so I’m told. Gemini is all about immediacy, both in time and space. Here we stop to place these violets, symbols of humility, in something ancient and useful. We are creating an atmosphere of beauty, quite simply, right under our nose which is filled with fragrance. Like the insect, a nod to Gemini’s rule of all things airborne and planet Mercury, named for the winged god whose symbol recalls a bug with antennae, we are buzzing around our place, alighting upon flowers, delighting in the moment, perhaps finding eternity in that instant. Birds, too are known for their displays, not just of feathers but in their decoration of their nests. Few other so-called lower creatures with reptilian brains have an aesthetic flair which they use to invite, court both companionship and love as might give rise to new love. When we put flowers in a vase we are appreciating our own surroundings, the field of our own experience, making a statement that we are happy to be where we are in the here and now. It’s a finishing touch, perhaps, on the realm in which we’ve set up life or shop or both. We are ready to receive and share the moment with others; what are those buggy antennae after all but receptors? All too often we look upon Gemini as the transmitter of information, but the sign also speaks to the receipt of it. The sign might rule the lower (reptilian) brain—something that does rule courtship and hoarding—but it also rules positive thinking which itself works two ways, like mental cross pollenation: thinking positive thoughts not only puts a high vibration out into our field of experience, but it also attracts like vibrations to us. The subtle sweet scent of the violents in its earthy vessel is a lovely fragrant emission, while the placement of said flowers in their vase also brings good thoughts and feelings and wishes and interest to us.

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I know the sign of Aquarius rules technology but, man, this sign has had many a symbol that I have found dry and disconnected. I suspect when I get into the sign of Pisces, I’ll be overwhlmed with things to say but, honestly, it’s symbols like these that post a challenge: A Garage Man Testing A Car’s Battery With A Hydrometer is the Sabian Symbol for 24° Aquarius, which is ruled by Taurus in a twelve-fold sequence. It’s all about applying natural laws in dealing with problems that arise in our technological society. Yes, Taurus is the most natural of all the signs, the least complex and most straightforward of the earth signs. Management and maintenance are keynotes here, both practical attributes of the sign of Taurus with it’s focus on comfort and security, elements that are being sought here through the testing of the car battery. We need to know that there is sufficient sustanance and energy and power to make the journey, real or metaphoric though it may be. So you might want to ask yourself in what ways your life has become unmanagable. Or it what ways you need to sure up you vehicle or instrument or make sure you battery is charged or that you’re just plain ol’ hydrated?

The whole of our modern lives can be seen as a machine, increasingly capable of speeding out of control. And staying on top of all aspects of that machinery is important. As we race in our lives there is all the more reason to make sure that we have the appropriate power to do so. This maintenance is had via the keenness of our mind which must be put in service, not just to our emotions, but to our body as well. We can self-destruct in telling ourselves that our mechanism needs to maintenance; none of us have escaped seeing others run themselves into the ground or done so themselves. We must recharge. We must make sure the literal integrity of our being is intact. Our individual designs for living require staying on top of things, whether it be flossing your teeth, paying your bills, feeding your mind, or excercising your body, we have to take care of this vehicle we have for driving toward our desired destinies.

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A Butterfly With The Right Wing More Perfectly Formed is the Sabian Symbol at Aquarius 25°; it highlights the development of ones conscious individuation over that of the emotional—the right side over the left. Actually what we are seeing is the transmutation of emotional into conscious power. Just as the maggot might be hatched in the trash and become a fly, so too is the caterpillar reborn as the butterfly. Birth is the provenance of the first house and sign of Aries, which rules this symbol in a twelve-fold sequence. And so this is a symbol of overcoming. We are taking ourselves off the Pisces trash heap of reincarnation, being re-born as a more evolved being, with the new mutation to prove it. This symbol portrays the capacity to develop the rational and fully conscious aspect of the mind ahead of normal evolution. Symmetry is in large part an illusion on all levels. Though humans and other animals are seemingly symmetrical, there are always inconsistencies. And metaphorically speaking we all have leanings for which we must compensate. How else do we know to move toward balance and less we feel the inherent imbalance.

With the previous Pisces-ruled image we spoke of the disenfranchised, the forgotten, the discarded or otherwise disabled. We were asked to have compassion. And now, perhaps we are able to see our own imbalances, our own handicaps, our own imperfections. Just as we are taking flight we realize that we have our idiosychrasies or impediments. Can we thus have the same compassion for ourselves as we have for others. Or is our giving to others a distraction from the necessary focus we should place on ourselves. Still, we must note the the Right Wing is only more perfectly formed; that is to say that the left isn’t imperfect, begging the question what is imperfection? A more perfect right said just goes to show that our evolution is happening through the conscious right-brained side of ourselves; perhaps because the soul level is already a form of perfect, immutable, and therefore can’t evolve but just always, already is complete unto itself.

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I’m hoping I have more connection to this symbol than I have had with the few previous ones. At 24° Aquarius, ruled by Pisces in a twelve=fold sequence, we find that A Man, Having Overcome His Passions, Teaches Deep Wisdom In Terms of His Experience, a constructive use to which difficult past experiences can be put as examples for those who are striving to overcome their passions. This doesn’t vary much in theme from those we’ve been exploring of late, the on specificity here being that every kind of experience can serve a spiritual purpose. This might be comforting to know if and when one feels they have been off some sort of axis, for even our so called down moments provide wisdom to impart. One might argue that they provide the most. I for one always feel most vulnerable when things are going well, that is to say when one is living some paragon version of their life. To me that seems tenuous and doesn’t provide much in the way of learning. We are often at our best when we are at our worst. Just as I find sticking to some sort of moral or spiriual model of perfect living can bring out the absolute worst in people. I think of those who become to married to organized religion or even self-help programs. There is something about drinking any flavor of Kool-Aid that narrows or closes the mind making people most judgmental, when compassion is meant to ensue.

Pisces is the sign of Love and Compassion, the cosmic mutable-waters via which we are purified, washed clean, the obstacles to our Soul-self being dissolved or made to vanish like mist. It’s in the picking ourselves up and brushing ourselves off that we learn the most. And, guess what? We are always picking ourselves up and brushing ourselves off. Those you know who feel they have some magic pill or program or self-image of perfection are the ones with the least to give. The twelfth house of Pisces is associated with strangers, the forgotten and disenfranchised, those in most need of said wisdom and compassion and for whom any of us can serve as an example. The young too need our special attention as does anyone strugging to overcome the compulsive drives of their emotional or biological natures. Our achievements are not our own but meant to stand as inspiration to others. The individual with this particular degree of the Zodiac highlighed in their chart will likely have this as a major theme in their life.

Everybody wants to keep it when in fact they should be giving it away, not to the detriment of the self, but to the benefit of the many. I have spent a good many years writing horoscopes and sharing them for the love of it. It’s the same with this Blague. I spend half my year producing performing artists and a non-profit festival in Provincetown. Even when I perform my own shows I give the money away. And I don’t might trumpeting the fact. I’m proud of the fact I spend time and energy in this way. And in truth I get a whole lot out of it. I get way more than money. I get a feeling. I get the feeling that I’m making some kind of difference. That adage about the rich man not having less a prayer of getting into heaven that a camel does getting through the eye of a needle. It’s true. It’s not a judgment, it’s a warning. Because greed is a disease. And material success can be spiritual downfall. You have to fight not to have it effect you.

The twelfth Pisces house is the poubelle, the trash, the bin. It’s the return of the material to waste but that’s not the end of it. That is the ultimate source. That which rots is the source of new life. There are things being bred in the trash bin. And metaphorically speaking, it is the cast-off, the discarded, the rejected people whose purpose then becomes distilled, it becomes the vehicle of their ressurection, it is the fuel for the fire of their passions. We are all those people at some point. And in the meantime we must participate in others’ rise from the trash heap as best we can.

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Today’s image might be the stragest of them all thus far. At Aquarius 23° we find A Big Bear Sitting Down And Waving All It’s Paws. This is a double Aquarius image, ruled by that sign in a twelve-fold sequence. It explores the connection between discipline and disciplehood. Like the previous image which provided children with some comfort, providing assistance to their growth and development, here we have a lesser being in the form of the bear who is able to achieve a level of activity that mimics human behavior and one that nonetheless takes discipline on the part of the bear and on the part of the human that would have instructed it. Self-discipline is had under proper training.

The bear symbolized our nore natural, if not beastly instincts which can be transcended via the personal trainer that is God or Soul. Again, it’s a combination of not having an image speak to me in a way that it inspires reams of response together with the fact I’m experiencing a bit of Sabian fatigure that dictates my keeping this a bit short today.

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At Aquarius 22°, we encounter an enrgy of growth and development. A Rug Is Placed On The Floor Of A Nursery To Allow Children To Play In Comfort And Warmth is the Sabian Symbol for this day and it points to our being aided, like children are, when we seek to grow emotionally and spiritually. When we do so we are never alone so long as we don’t take the world for granted nor believe society owes us some kind of favor.

The rug provides just a bit of thin comfort and ease. We don’t need much, except for an attitude of appreciation. There isn’t a whole hell of a lot to say about this image. So I think I will move on.

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A Disappointed And Disillusioned Woman Courageously Faces A Seemingly Empty Life is the Sabian Symbol at 21° Aquarius and it speaks to our ability to meet emotionally upsetting experiences in human realtionships with strength of character and personal integrity. Funny that this symbol coincided with an artist friend going on a rant on Facebook about not feeling appreciated as an artist, wondering if s/he should give up. I definitely think that if people are doing what they’re doing for anybody then themselves then they’ve already given up. And, in terms of relationships, we can’t expect anything from anybody, really, ever. This is, in some way, the other side of the Sabian coin from the big businessman at his desk last week; as we have to look at male/female metaphorically. In that image the man was managing a complex of enterprises, dealing mentally with success and reversal of fortunes in turn. Here, the woman figure represents the emotional level of coping with disappointment and facing disillusionment of goals and ideals and dreams, particularly in close relationship. Who hasn’t felt that.

Perhaps an individual with this degree of Aquarius highlighted in their chart might be overly sensitive on that score with the paradoxically ability to buck up and transcend issues of failure and rejection and plain old regret. This is symbol of the kind of inner strength and compassion one might need to face inevitable failings. This figure has the ability to learn through her emotional crises and to have it build strength and character.

It is thus all about resilience, which is a subject of study in our household right now as Stella is in the midst of her masters degree in psychology. I know this much from speaking to her: That it’s about the depth of our failures as much as it is about how resilient we are in the face of that which mightn’t have panned out as planned. It shouldn’t keep us from having hopes and dreams and we should expect the best all the while; but when life or relationships fall short, it’s really how we roll with it.

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