Year: 2018

“A Sufi story tells of a student who complains to his teacher about the cruelties of the world. The teacher replies,’Yes of course. but if it weren’t for the hidden work of those who imagine, dream, pray  and act compassionately when the opportunity presents itself, things would be much worse.” Caroline W. Casey

‘You are not the oil, you are not the air – merely the point of combustion, the flash-point where the light is born.” Dag Hammarskjold

The many and varied cultures throughout the world value levels of consciousness differently. In the industrialized western world view, the cerebral approach is prioritized over a  dream like, imaginative or reflective state. In many circles a sense of mystery seems to have vanished entirely.

This week and for much of this month, as planets transit through the ethereal sign of Pisces, is a good time to be more in touch with these  dreamy, intuitive realms.

Venus in Pisces is conjunct Neptune this week. This combination is often seen in the charts of mystics and artists – like  Michelangelo- who, in their work, are trying to make manifest a higher vision or an awareness of higher realms. It is a muse like energy – similar to when an artist receives inspiration from an intermediary to a source of inspiration. It governs platonic love – as seen in some of the stories of the Knights of the Round Table – where love for an unavailable woman inspired the brave deeds of the knights.

Neptune also rules illusion and disillusionment. It’s a good time to rethink  moments or times when disillusionment has occurred or has a pattern of recurring, and if indicated, to find a better approach.

When Neptune has transited through the sign of Pisces before there has been an increased interest in spirituality on the planet.  In more recent times during that period the knowledge and understanding of Buddhism and eastern spiritual practices spread throughout the western world.

One of the Sabian symbols for planets entering Pisces is,”Moonlit fields, once Babylon, are blooming bright.”

Sabian symbol from Lynda Hill

 

 

 

Once when I was the marketing director for a  radio station, I had made an appointment to meet with the owner of a night club.  He had told me on the phone how to find his office. It was in the very back of the club which was in a renovated train depot.

It was quite dark and cavernous inside the depot. It had that feeling of a place that only comes alive at night. I walked  through the dim light and knocked on his office door.

I was quite taken aback when he opened the door and I saw his face because he looked exactly like my husband who was out of the country for an extended period of time. And I missed him.

His office was small and plain. It had probably not changed much since the train station had been  there. Adorning the walls were small, framed painted pictures of frogs that looked a bit comical.

But he couldn’t have been more gracious and welcoming. And he directed  me to the chair near his desk.

He was fun to talk with and I don’t know how we got onto the subject of birthdays – maybe I asked him his because he reminded me so of my husband. But then he asked me, “When is your birthday?”

And I said,”Today,” at which point he suddenly  jumped up and said in a very loud, excited voice, “Today? My God I didn’t know it was your birthday! ” and he tore several of the frog pictures off the wall and handed them to me. They were in kind of an awkward stack because he had torn some of the sheet rock off too. He smiled at me glowingly and said,”Happy birthday!”

Appointments in my workday could at times be terribly boring- I had never had much of an interest in business and seemed to have crafted a career where I engaged in business discussions for most of the day.  So meeting him was a very welcome relief indeed. We became fast friends. He told me he was an inventor and that the latest project he was working on was something kind of like a boomerang. He didn’t describe it that way, of course, because to him there had never been anything like it and he was applying for a patent and it was all a very big secret. He asked me if I would like to see it fly sometime and I said,”Sure that would be fun.”

So we set up a time and he came to my house and we went to a beautiful neighboring field and he showed me how it flew.  He explained his ideas  about aerodynamics and why it was unique.

Later that day, when we were talking, he told me that he had just been through  a very contentious divorce with his wife and he really regretted the way things had turned out. (She was furious and wouldn’t talk to him.) But he had done something that he had hoped would endear her to him once again. He had written a book of poems for her and published it. The title of his book was, “I  Love You Whether You Love Me or Not.” He gave it to her for Valentines Day.

And he gave me a copy too.

I didn’t see him much after that because I stopped working at the radio station. But I have kept that book and sometimes remember  him and wonder how things turned out. And I think about the sentiment behind the title.