Journey over the Earth
13.6
page 6 of 8
The temperate latitudes
In our temperate latitudes, the Self does not adopt such an absolutistic attitude, nor is it so exclusively dependent on its surroundings for its self-esteem. Through rationality and keeping our distance, we attempt to put ourselves into perspective, establishing a personal relation with objectivity. Here, a more mental, intellectual attitude emerges. Our influence in past and present is made felt through our commercial relations and means of communication. In our cultural sphere, the sunny aspect is considerably weaker than in the regions outlined before.
In our mental attitude, Saturn is much more in his element. Saturn promotes our concentration and singlepointedness. Individualism is taking shape here, leading to the development of different social and societal structures. Individuals are no longer sustained by family networks, but break away from these on reaching adulthood, in order to build their own independent lives with their own homes and sources of income. In our culture, this is what autonomy and adulthood are taken to mean.
Man and society
Saturn helps us design our society by explicitly formulating laws and regulations. Coinciding with the separation of the individual, a sense of social responsibility has awakened within our society. Social care is no longer dependent on family relations, but falls under the responsibility of the whole.
Saturn also serves us in protecting us against the cooler climate, providing warm clothing and isolated buildings.
Western man experiences himself as someone who is placed in opposition to the outside world. He moulds himself after that mirror image, where one’s activities in the outside world are regarded as expressions of one’s personality. Self-realization and personal growth form an intrinsic part of our Self-image and cultural heritage.
Turning inwards
And finally, in Scandinavia we find an introverted and subjective Self, with a tendency to withdraw into itself. Saturn shows himself here less as pride and more as reticence and loneliness. Here, stripping off psychological excess baggage in order to get to the core, forms the main ingredient for a meaningful human existence.