Mercury, the psycho-pomp Hermes, stations to go forward- outward – tonight… and Pluto arrives at 27 degrees Capricorn- the beginning of America’s death-re-birth democracy dedication…
Liu Ming once asked his teacher what could be done to exorcise the ocean of illness and injury related to possession; he looked slyly and said: “Kindness.” We can all take responsibility for the unevenness of life by being as kind and gentle as we can.“
Birth is the cause of death. Everyone ages, falls ill from time to time, and eventually dies. Old age and illness, however, are not the cause of death but simply a natural unwinding of the polarity (yīnyáng) that temporarily holds together human jīng (substance) and qì (energy) as shén (experience).Ming once said – death is a fish returning to the water after a leap into the air and is a natural returning home. It is neither tragic nor mistaken. For although death can appear gradual (as an illness) or sudden (as an accident), no one has ever died from illness or injury – they died because they were born. The experience of our “life,” in fact, is a constant alternation of birth and death, like inhale/exhale, awake/asleep.
Everything that comes together comes apart, and all rivers return to the Sea. And just as the Sea, again, becomes the rivers – death is not permanent, nor is it a “stop.” How could it be?
The “story” of death in traditional cultures often sounds like a journey, one that starts with an end and ends with a start (as in re-birth). As such, life and death alternate in an endless circle. Everything flows, carrying momentum from start to finish and from finish back to start.
To hear this story of endlessness may sound like a punishing wheel (samsāra, full of ignorance and suffering) but it is also a nameless and incomprehensibly permissive Reality, animated with endless presence. In Chinese Astrology, the “story” of this endlessness, the immortality of our presence, the complex interaction between life and death, is called “Fate,” 命, and Fate is a “possession.” We are all possessed…..”Whatever you have not finished is the ghost you will become.The coming Year offers a profound capacity for exorcism and catharsis – a Ship to Cross the Sea of Suffering. But it also presents a gale force of fear. The Water Tiger asks – what possesses you? What possesses us? Do you have the courage to let go? Or will you be swept up in the current?
Welcome back to Rén Yín, 壬寅, Year of the Yáng Water Tiger, the “Roaming Tiger,” which begins officially on Tuesday, February 1st, 2022! As always, I must remind you that Astrology is not fortunetelling. Divination is a dance between Fate and Freedom via the medium of symbols, symbols which describe the cyclical flowing dynamics of nature itself. There is nothing other than an immortal present – no past or future can be found. But the eternal Now has a multi-directional flow, called Qì, which can be interpreted (loosely/playfully). For what we perceive as the future is broad and unfixed, yet once you pass through it, the future can become a narrow door.The big picture here reminds us that creating and maintaining an orderly society, lacking selfishness and aggression in our relationships to each other, is good for our health.[1]
…..The Yáng Water Tiger is a profound and powerful symbol. The Qì of this Year is not for the faint of heart. Water Tiger is something like a tidal wave or tsunami propelled by a hurricane or volcano, or perhaps even a nuclear bomb. It is a force of nature, so grab a surfboard, strap on a helmet, and get ready because things are about to get wild.
The Tiger is, therefore, the symbol of Spring, representing the impulse of birth arising out of death, the raw force of the sprout bursting through a seed, or a chick breaking open an egg.
Finally, it is worth mentioning that if we take the signing of the Declaration of Independence as the “birth” of the United States, July 4th, 1776, then the USA is a Yáng Fire Monkey, and this Character can be said to govern the growth, activity, and conduct of our country. Well…the Fire Monkey is the diametric, 60-60, opposite of the Water Tiger. Water Tiger is, therefore, antithetical to the United States. Not only are Monkey and Tiger opposites, but Fire and Water make for an explosive, albeit important, controlling cycle. Water controls Fire, so in this case the Tiger is in control, but the Fire Monkey is still a wily adversary, and we will likely see it do everything in its power to squirm and evade the Tiger’s pounce.
Opposites in Chinese Astrology are not considered bad but rather mirror like. And mirrors can be very uncomfortable to look at it. The relationship of opposites can be extremely revealing, for they show to us what we do not normally see about ourselves. The relationship of opposites is usually mutual and creates very strong attraction, but without self-honesty and reflection, they can easily turn to repulsion, because what we hate most is usually something unintegrated within ourselves. Opposites create passionate, wild, romantic relationships that have an equal potential for growth and/or disaster.
I bring this up because this relationship of opposites creates the possibility that this year above all others could be explosive for the USA in a way that brings our country a kind of reckoning. It could exacerbate the violent potential in the Tiger image, and the dynamic of opposites will likely expose/reveal a lot of deep underlying problems in our culture, you know…more so than usual, lol. However, as this energy is antithetical to the USA, the results could be positive, pushing to rectify systemic problems that plague our culture. I hope that it isn’t an issue, so this is a word of warning…things could get weird, for the Tiger-Monkey dynamic is a powerful one.
This is the year to lurch, to make sudden/dramatic change. Anything big you’ve been planning for, waiting for, hoping for, afraid to do, hesitant to act on, unsure if you should reach out – this year is the time to do it, and you may even be compelled for better or worse. When in the Year to act is, of course, on a case-by-case basis, but new beginnings, initiations, fresh starts, big moves, bold risks, wild adventures, passionate romances, and so on, are all supported by the Water Tiger. If you have taken such action in previous years, it is likely that the results were mixed. Now they will still be mixed, lol, but the impulse/force behind them could be much stronger and somewhat unavoidable. Is this good? Maybe.
This Year, we are on the hunt, possessed by our ghosts, our unfulfilled desires, our frustrated plans, our deepest longings/yearnings, our primal hungers, and we are compelled to act on them. Results could be disastrous, or they could be wonderful, and both could happen simultaneously, such is the Tiger way. Fortune favors the bold, as they say. Our bravery is enhanced and our capacity to wait, to hold back, to stop, to not make leaps of faith is hindered. If Metal is restraint, Water is release, and there has been a lot building up behind the dam. Metal and Earth Tigers are good at restraint, crouching in the tall grass, waiting, but Water Tiger is the maw of the death drive, eyes rolled back, sinking its teeth in. ..”
etc
We do have much heartening guidance,
Venus returning from the Underworld with manners to be translated into wise governance…
Mercury stationing to go forward – outward…
WHEN DEATH COMES
BY MARY OLIVER
When death comes
like the hungry bear in autumn;
when death comes
and takes all the bright coins from his purse
to buy me, and snaps the purse shut;
when death comes
like the measle-pox
when death comes
like an iceberg between the shoulder blades,
I want to step through the door, full of curiosity, wondering:
what is it going to be like, that cottage of darkness?
And therefore I look upon everything
as a brotherhood and a sisterhood,
and I look upon time as no more than an idea,
and I consider eternity as another possibility,
and I think of each life as a flower, as common
as a field daisy, and as singular,
and each name a comfortable music in the mouth,
tending, as all music does, toward silence,
and each body a lion of courage, and something
precious to the earth.
When it’s over, I want to say all my life
I was a bride married to amazement.
I was the bridegroom, taking the world into my arms.
When it’s over, I don’t want to wonder
if I have made of my life something particular, and real.
I don’t want to find myself sighing and frightened,
or full of argument.
I don’t want to end up simply having visited this world.”
Full of Curiosity and wonder…
Jupiter and Neptune…
I root for Jupiter, as so often the signature of death…that we leave with Curiosity…
And how deft our re-guest, Susan…
Her Sun’s image is “widow at an open grave…returning to the earth what is of the earth. Rituals of transition and renewal…”
Sextile Dark o Moon in Pisces….spirit to matter, to and fro…like now..
Meanwhile Let’s ride on out with Juba:
Nilz Fullerton: “The song “Juba” is a powerful Tool I have used for protection from Bullies and psychic vampires, communication in a “different” language that only your close friends and loved ones will understand. We use rhythm & good humor to elevate our vibrations. This will promote our survival, and nourish peaceful & creative healing resistance!!!! All courtesy of the African American Goddesses of the District of Columbia: Sweet Honey in the Rock.
Instructions are included in the song!”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bCId1ikSW3I
