18.1.a addendum to
18.1, Planet Meanings as Derivatives of Earth
The Living Universe
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Disenchantment
Many astrologers are attached to the idea of living planets whose intelligence exerts an influence on us. This idea is also known in circles outside astrology. So even though we have no factual knowledge of this, the idea does resonate with some people.
Nevertheless, this viewpoint does call for some prudence. After all, astrological statements that hit the mark can easily lead to the concept of a system existing outside of us which is imposing its laws upon us.
The inner and the outer route
Possibly, this notion of being at the mercy of outer forces was prompted in the past by a kind of magical thinking, which assumed that astrological influences affect us from the outside. This way of thinking is sometimes called ‘the outer route’. The mechanical view of Man implied in this approach has evoked resistance in the course of time (3.1), because it is contra-productive for our Self-development and emancipation.
Nowadays ‘the inner route’ is mostly preferred. This is the path of resonance within our own being. On this path, we use our own senses, through feeling and thinking, and accept that ultimately we are our own touchstone for our choices and actions.
Encompassing spheres
Even though our quest on this website is leading us back to ourselves, it does not end there. For in analogical thinking, the opposite is equally true:
As they arise from a Self, with its corresponding subtler bodies as its work field, the forces at play in this field can be viewed as an exponent of that central Self.
By analogy, we may assume the existence of a central Self in Earth itself, at the center of the shells we encountered around Earth. This would imply that we should assign an identity to Earth itself.
We live in concentric circles
This image follows from the envelopment or wrapping up that we found in our first articles (1.4). That image gave us the green light to think about astrological relationships in a human context. It led us to the image of concentric circles of spheres of consciousness, each with its own developmental process. It was stated that actually, everywhere where there is an I-sayer, such an encompassing sphere can arise (18.1.b).
An identity of its own
But that is not all. We do not know whether on other celestial bodies, too, we can find cores of consciousness standing as autonomous centers in a sphere of their own. In that case, it is conceivable that elsewhere in the Universe there might be other systems of concentric circles with their own interrelated developmental processes.
In this context, we should bear in mind that any planet within the group of classical planets, let us say Jupiter, occupies a specific place and function relative to Earth, whereas his function relative to the Sun will be a different one. Based on his placement within the Solar System, a planet derives its quality from his position within the Solar field. This function is different from the one he fulfils within the field of Earth. This, in turn, leads us back to the idea of planet qualities making a specific contribution in each sphere, based on their relative positions. When we look at this from a general perspective, we come upon the image of a living Universe.
Back to ourselves
One may well fall silent when contemplating the beauty of this image. Yet we should also realize that we are still in the dark about this subject. All our knowing starts with ourselves, specifically in the axioms that we formulated at the beginning of our Reading Route. After all, all our knowing will always lead us back to the image we previously have been casting out ourselves.
The unknowable Solar System
Any system as a whole forms a unity with the center that gave rise to that system. The inherent meanings involved will refer back to that center and work out at the circumference.
So for our line of reasoning, we need to bear in mind that it is not Earth that is at the center of our Solar System, but the Sun. Therefore the Solar System, and the planet meanings that correspond to that system, cannot serve as a mirror for us as inhabitants of Earth. It is a different frame of reference with its own exponents. As yet, these are unknowable to us.
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