Anyone who works with energy-focused disciplines such as yoga, Chinese Medicine, Qigong, Reiki-Seichem or sound healing will have at least a dim awareness that individual human beings possess a subtle energetic body akin to an electrical current which profoundly affects the functioning of the physical body. Bear in mind that this subtle or etheric body is not the soul - the soul is the immortal being housed within the physical body.
What is less commonly known is that the etheric body is an important part of a larger etheric body of humanity itself as a composite entity. And the etheric body of humanity is inextricably interwoven with the etheric body of Earth, which is in turn part of the etheric body of the solar system - and so on. This cosmic configuration of etheric bodies provides further insight into how astrology works.
At a very basic level, the existence of etheric bodies means that - whether we like it or not - all human beings are connected. What we project en masse into our collective consciousness therefore affects the functioning of the whole. In keeping with the universal law of polarity, mass consciousness - inexorably fuelled today by the media machine - can therefore operate for our betterment or to our detriment as a group. For example, if our collective consciousness is being fuelled by mostly toxic matter, the impact on humanity will be crippling.
We can close our borders to enforce geographical separation, yet still infect each other with whatever stream of consciousness we distribute through the group etheric channels.
One of the clarion calls that we must accordingly pay attention to in the context of the global pandemic is the need for individual discernment; we must always question whether the communications that we are receiving through the subtle network are valid for us as individuals. What is right for one person may not be right for another. That judgment involves the need to harness enormous strength to quieten any unruly emotional response and tune into what is true for each of us.
One of those unruly emotions is fear driven by the primitive part of the brain - the ancient defence mechanism that humanity was given at the dawn of time to make sure that we were able to avoid premature death when we had not yet sufficiently developed our intellect. Unfortunately, once activated, that primitive defence mechanism may not be so easy to switch off. Trauma, for example, removes the ‘off switch’, resulting in irrational fear and systemic shut-down such as numbing or dissociation in the face of certain innocuous triggers. So often we may find our reptile brains defaulting to fear rather than allowing the more evolved part of the brain to activate reason. Where this mechanism is within our control and can be subjugated by the intellect, it seems a travesty to ignore it. But of course awareness of our foibles is a necessary first step.
We were never meant to be homogenous. Each one of us has a soul which has incarnated for very specific purposes and a body which is subject to certain unique characteristics to facilitate the particular experience of the soul. A one-size-fits-all approach cannot therefore be applied.
As we drift into the Age of Aquarius, we will begin to experience more strongly the notions of individual consciousness versus mass consciousness; togetherness versus being intellectually and physically apart; the prevailing orthodoxy versus the enlightened consciousness; dogma versus individuation. It is only when humanity as a whole entity embraces the necessity for differences that our group consciousness will advance. By ‘advance’ I mean awaken to the great illusion that we are merely what I like to refer to as glorified meat sacks with a certain amount of intellectual capacity. That type of awakening requires individuals to undergo a shift in consciousness away from mass consciousness, individual personality and physicality towards group awareness and spirituality.
Some astrologers (including myself) are forecasting a world in which artificial intelligence and robotics play an increasingly significant role. That is certainly in keeping with the Uranian qualities of Aquarius. But a friend of mine recently voiced a concern that robots of the future will be programmed with the characteristics of individuals of today. I recently dreamed of a future in which robots were in charge of the administration of society and could not be reasoned with. Do we want future robots to apply value judgments based on dumb acceptance of prevailing dogma or do we want them to operate more objectively (limiting their power where objectivity is difficult to achieve)?
Recall how Galileo’s theory that the Earth revolved around the Sun was scorned by the Roman Inquisition in 1615 as foolish, absurd and heretical since it dared to contradict Holy Scripture. Galileo was the laughing stock of his profession and of society at the time. And his groundbreaking theory cost him a sentence of house arrest for the rest of his life. Seems eerily resonant, doesn’t it? Let’s not unwittingly adopt the Roman Inquisition as our benchmark for reason.
