PAN 84
PAN - Provisional Astroshamanic News
Ezine of the Sacred
Editorial Director:
© 2008
This PAN transpires through the last remaining exhales and inhales of summer, during this rewarding interval announcing forthcoming Autumn Equinox and the ingress of the Sun in the sign of Libra. This is a major shift in the cycle of the zodiac, an initiatory swing into the sacred path of relationships.
The first six signs of the zodiac, from Aries to Virgo, are concerned with individual life and the interaction with one’s self and its inner world. The second six signs of the zodiac, from Libra to Pisces, describe the integration of the individual in the collective, and its relationship with the outer world, which is the mirror of her-his inner world. Here the self relates with the outer projection of itself, its shadow, gaining an enlarged perspective of its nature and taking a crucial step on the healing trail.
Libra stands as the pivotal point between inner and outer world, relationship with oneself and relationship with others, conscious and unconscious self. The first step in the above regard is given by the most basic form of human interaction, i.e. one-to-one relationships, partnerships or marriages, which are what Libra traditionally represents.
Every relationship is an unconscious agreement between two individuals to unveil, explore and integrate each other’s shadow. The shadow is the other half of each of them, the opposite bit of the split self we identify with. All the partners we meet during life are projections of this other half. Even if you are not in any one-to-one relationship, you will meet other people who will represent your shadow, such a colleagues, roommates, relatives or friends. Also no matter how many relationships you have, each of them will portray an aspect of your shadow. Hence if you are currently a good time with a partner and you were once with another partner with whom there were many issues, you may project the positive quality of your shadow on the first partner and the negative ones of the second partner. Yet, all these partners are only there to show you what is hidden within you so that you can become conscious of what you are projecting. The task is to ultimately retrieve, transform and integrate whatever you project, and this is what the second round of the zodiac cycle exemplifies. What makes a relationship sacred is the fact that the partners involved are fully conscious about such a task and experientially acknowledge it as the priority in their rapport.
There are many elements in astrology that indicate the features of our partners in life and the shadow elements we project on them. The position of the Descendant, the point opposite to the Ascendant, for example, is one of the most typical, especially in its capacity to hold the characteristics of our shadow, which astrologically is given by our individual chart upside-down and can therefore be described in all its details. Other elements are the entire are of the seventh house and eighth house, with planets and aspects, and the position of, including aspects to, Mars and Venus.
This autumn features a series of workshops based on the energy of the season, with particular regards to soul retrieval, release and the function of forgiveness. In Jesi (
In Scotland the forthcoming astroshamanic workshop takes place in Edinburgh, on 25-26 October 2008 and it is The Way of the West:. This workshop is part of the One-Year Course in Astroshamanism, yet it can also be attended without taking part in the course, and is most recommended if you wish to explore the energy of this seasonal cycle, also in preparation for the upcoming Samhain (see details on the workshop in the calendar below).
The following, most unprecedented, workshop at the Findhorn Foundation will be Restoring the Fragmented God: A Healing Voyage into Christian Shamanism, from 6 to
Equinox blessings, Franco
We warmly encourage our readers to comment on the articles in PAN. If you wish to write a comment or share your experiences related with the themes of our articles, please contact pan@astroshamanism.org.
Astrological Data: Please click here for Moon’s ingresses and here for planetary ingresses.
IN THIS 84th ISSUE
Restoring the Fragmented God: A Healing Voyage into Christian Shamanism
The Way of Sacred Relationships: The Mind Holds the Key by
In the Shaman’s Cave: The Magic of the Hang by Simon Wood
Justice - Libra: An Astroshamanic Voyage into the Tarot by
The Karma in Your Chart by Ruth Aharoni
Blended by the Light by Roland Mann
Upcoming Astroshamanic Events – New Calendar 2008-2009
Restoring the Fragmented God: A Healing Voyage into Shamanic Christianity
Findhorn Foundation, 6-12 December 2008
God is dead. God remains dead. And we have killed him. How shall we comfort ourselves, the murderers of all murderers? What was holiest and mightiest of all that the world has yet owned has bled to death under our knives: who will wipe this blood off us? What water is there for us to clean ourselves? What festivals of atonement, what sacred games shall we have to invent? Is not the greatness of this deed too great for us? Must we ourselves not become gods simply to appear worthy of it? - Friedrich Nietzsche, The Madman.
God is dead (Gott ist tot) is the famous statement used by Nietzsche, and also the title of a legendary Italian song of the late 60s (Dio è morto) authored by Francesco Guccini and originally sung by the group Nomadi. Click here or here for video clips of this popular song.
The song says: “I saw the people of my age going away along the roads that never lead anywhere, looking for a dream heading to insanity, in search of something they do not find... In the nights bathed by wine… in the clouds of smoke, in the world, made of towns, fighting or swallowing our exhausted culture. It is a God who is dead, on the edges of the streets, God is dead…. I was told that my generation no longer believes in what was often masked by faith, in the eternal myths of one’s land or of the hero, because the time has come to reject all that is false, religious beliefs based on habits and fears, the dignity made of void, the hypocrisy of those who are always right and never wrong, … and a God who is dead…. Yet, this new generation is ready for a new world and a newly born hope, for a future which is already in their hands, for a revolution without weapons, because we all know already that if God dies it is for three days and then he resurrects, in what we believe God is resurrected, in what we want God is resurrected, in the world we will create God is resurrected.”
Restoring the Fragmented God is a unique workshop aimed at exploring our relationship with God, retrieving the pieces of a puzzle that encompass indeed all our culture and all aspects of life, and ultimately the essence of our human relationships. The week, focalised by
The week is ideal for those wishing to heal, restore or deepen their relationship with God, which is here meant as Core Multidimensional Identity, Wholeness, Undivided Self and Unconditional Love, devoid of any identification with a specific gender or creed. What counts here in this workshop is the experience of God, rather than the term we employ to refer to it. For some people the term “God” causes grievances, yet this is not caused by the term, it is due to the grievances associated to it. And these unresolved grievances need to ultimately be confronted and cured in order to fulfil our healing purpose.
The workshop is a wide-ranging journey, encompassing a tapestry of shamanic practices from various Christian traditions, also with elements of esoteric astrology and A Course in Miracles. And most of all it is an in-depth healing voyage into the dynamics of human relationships, which are here regarded as inevitable projections of our rapport with God.
The Way of Sacred Relationships: Your Mind Holds the Key by
The following is an edited version of a long excerpt from a recording of the workshop Restoring the Fragmented Heart: The Way of Sacred Relationships given by Franco at Jesi (
When facing the theme of relationships from a spiritual and multidimensional perspective a most relevant question is: who and what is truly relating in a relationship? If, as most spiritual seekers appear to concur, we are not physical bodies, then a relationship between two human beings, no matter how it comes into sight for us, has very little to do with the interactions between two physical bodies. Relationships are not about meeting particular persons, as we identify them by their physical body, name, role and outer behaviour. Relationships do not seem to be emotional interactions either. They are not ruled by emotional responses, by the fact of feeling in a certain way with someone, such as in love, attracted, upset, angry, etc. Emotional and physical responses are the mere echo of a much deeper rapport, which develops at the level of the mind. This is what is ultimately engaged in our relationships. Hence a relationship can be described as a mental activity, the result of two or more minds coming together, which may at times use bodies or emotions as vehicles for their mental interaction, yet only optionally and provisionally, and never as a requirement.
The term “mind” is used here to represent that part in ourselves that includes thoughts, awareness, intent, will and capacity to express or exercise choices. In its natural state the mind is at one with Spirit, i.e. the part that is connected with God,[1] through its identification with wholeness, the web of life, the sacred circle, etc. This is seldom the case in our ordinary reality based on separation, where the mind is split in two parts: one that is in harmony with Spirit and the other that is in concurrence with the ego.[2] This latter part, which originates the deceptive notion of an “individual mind”, is entirely illusory and deals only with illusions, such as our consensus reality, or human arbitrary configuration (HAC), in which it is totally absorbed. Yet, since these illusions show up in forms that seem like something, as long as we are in this world, they cannot be denied for they alone appear real.
The physical human body, as we speciously perceive it in our separated reality, is the primary deceptive form employed by the ego, a structure of flesh placed around the mind, an illusive cage aimed at demonstrating and preserving the ego’s paradigm of a split self. This body relates exclusively to human beings and, as some shamans describe it, is a conglomerate of “energy fields which have been bent and contorted by a life-time of habits and misuse”,[3] by deceptive belief systems and false perceptions. The ego created this split physical body in order to corroborate a thought system based of separation, which also includes the assumption that there is no way out from this system. The consequence of this is that while on one hand the physical body becomes a cult, with masses of worshippers both in the spiritual and mundane world, on the other, subtly or overtly, it is deeply hated and blamed as the cause of all pain. The ego employs the body as the major tool to fortify itself, as well as to condemn itself.
“The body is the ego’s home by its own election. It is the only identification with which the ego feels safe, since the body’s vulnerability is its own best argument that you cannot be of God. This is the belief that the ego sponsors eagerly. Yet the ego hates the body, because it cannot accept it as good enough to be its home. Here is where the mind becomes actually dazed. Being told by the ego that it is really part of the body and that the body is its protector, the mind is also told that the body cannot protect it. Therefore, the mind asks,
With the term “body” we refer here to the physical human form as we commonly perceive it: a separated body, in competition with other bodies and disconnected from the wholeness of physical reality. This body has nothing to do with the true physical world, which is a whole in itself, devoid of fragments of personal ownership. What the ego cherishes is the split body, the splintered physical form, a tool aimed at fomenting ongoing separation and conflict. “It does so by using it to attack others and to seek physical pleasures. It adorns the body to make itself feel special and to attract special love partners. It uses the body’s sickness, aging and death to prove to us that we are frail and guilty and that God is dead. The Holy Spirit sees the body as neutral, as having no power over the mind. He sees it as a means not an end, as an instrument for reaching our brothers and extending love, forgiveness and healing to them. Thus it can be a useful tool here.” [4]
My Body is a Cage: “The body is a fence the Son of God imagines he has built, to separate parts of his Self from other parts. It is within this fence he thinks he lives, to die as it decays and crumbles”. (ACIM, WII..5.1:1-2) or as Plato puts it “The body is a prison in which the psyche is incarcerated, kept safe, until the price is paid.” (Plato, Cratylus). As long as I continue to perceive my individual human body as myself there is no way out of separation and no freedom is possible. Here the problem is not the physical body, and the fact of using it, it is the idea of having my own physical body” as opposed to hers, his, theirs, yours, and whatever physically exists. It is this insane belief that creates a cage for our minds and prevents it to expand into the totality of life, including the true physical world.
Throughout human history shamans have used shape-shifting as the basic feature of their work, transforming themselves into other physical forms and developing the capacity to move beyond the confinement of the personal human form, also at a cellular level. The fundamental and experiential assumption of shamanism is that we are at one with everything, and this “oneness” does not apply solely at a spiritual level, as also conventional spirituality may concur, it concerns every aspect of existence, including the physical realm. And since our false perception of the physical body as separate from the totality of oneness is what creates most pain and grievances, it is in that respect that healing needs first of all to take place.
Yet, since in our consensus reality we can see only separated physical bodies, the mind is easily confused with the body, and is definitely most vulnerable. As a result it is easy to lose track of what is truly happening in our relationships with others and the environment. No matter what I do to relate and engage with others, they all seem to end up staying put with their own physical bodies. And once these bodies go away, an inevitable occurrence whether they die or leave, this brings the relationship to a tragic close and all that triumphs is separation, which is exactly what the ego eventually and always wants.
The confusion between the physical and the mental level is basically the cause of all the problems we experience in human relationships. Due to this crucial misperception, the mind is forced to use the physical body in order to be acknowledged, which results in the mind being literally imprisoned in a separated body.
“My body is a cage. That keeps me from dancing with the one I love. But my mind holds the key”, sing the indie rock band Arcade Fire (click here for a video clip of the song) “I’m standing on the stage. Of fear and self-doubt. It’s a hollow play. But they’ll clap anyway. I’m living in an age. That calls darkness light. Though my language is dead. Still the shapes fill my head. I’m living in an age. Whose name I don’t know. Though the fear keeps me moving. Still my heart beats so slow. My body is a cage. We take what we’re given. Just because you’ve forgotten. Doesn’t mean you’re forgiven. I’m living in an age. Still turning in the night. But when I get to the doorway. There’s no one in sight. I’m living in an age. Realizing I’m dancing. With the one I love. But my mind holds the key. Still next to me. My mind holds the key. Set my spirit free.”[5]
The ego mind is based on the assumption of being contained in a physical body. This fortunately means that the body is a cage only as long as I continue to identify with the ego, the individual or separated mind. The other part of the mind is free, and holds the key for stepping out of the ego system and setting our whole mind free. ”The mind that serves the Holy Spirit is unlimited forever, in all ways, beyond the laws of time and space, unbound by any preconceptions, and with strength and power to do whatever it is asked. Attack thoughts cannot enter such a mind, because it has been given to the Source of love, and fear can never enter in a mind that has attached itself to love. It rests in God. And who can be afraid who lives in Innocence, and only loves?” (ACIM, W199.2:1-4)
One major characteristic of shamanic and ancient earth-centred cultures is that they did not have beliefs concerning an individual mind or a personal body, just as they did not believe in death as we currently conceive it. They were not afraid of dying and for them death was not a tragic event, because they believed that when someone died their self shape-shifted into another physical form. Also there was not any hierarchy in terms of physical forms, and humans were not regarded as the most important, so that they were very pleased to transform into a bird, a tree or a stone.
The Mind is Free: The awareness that the mind is free and not trapped in a human separated body is a most obvious realisation if we simply look at our own experience of the mind itself. When I speak or write, I relate with you and communicate my ideas and feelings without the need of a physical body. You are now reading this article, which contains my thoughts and also ideas from other people, yet you receive all this information without seeing or touching me or these people. Of course, if you have seen my physical body at least once, then you can think of me as a body, while you read these lines, yet this identification of me with a body happens in your mind, it is your mental activity. You can also read articles, letters or books written many years ago by people you have never met or seen, and still receive ideas and feelings without using any body as reference. Images, music, sounds, movies and talks also continue to provide information even when their authors or actors are not alive anymore. In this respect there are incalculable amount of ideas, thoughts and emotions that continue to influence our minds coming from people with whom we are not able to relate with through a body.
The mind does not need the body in order to communicate and create relationships. And even when it uses the body, what it perceives of the body occurs only at the level of the mind. We take for granted that the physical form of whom we see in front of us is who is speaking or listening to us. Yet this is an arbitrary assumption, and solely what we have decided to believe. With our mind we can believe whatever we choose to believe, no matter how false and unreal. The worst thing that can happen is confusing beliefs with reality. Then there is no choice and all freedom is lost. Then a belief becomes our reality and we get stuck in it as long as we become aware that it is only an idea, a mental construct. And that we can decide to believe otherwise, electing what is worth believing according to our direct experience, and what truly brings benefit to us and the world. And all this process happens at the level of the mind, through what we think.
“Every thought you have makes up some segment of the world you see. It is with your thoughts, then, that we must work, if your perception of the world is to be changed.” (ACIM, W23.1:4-5) Whatever we think produces an effect in the world and in all our relationships, both known and unknown. The mind is not the victim of the body. In contrast, it is the ego mind that creates the body we see, abducting it from the collective unity of the Earth, forcing it to live in fear and isolation, and sentencing it to preordained death. Yet, we can believe that this is not the case and that we are the victim of the world we have decided to believe in. “There is no point in lamenting the world. There is no point in trying to change the world. It is incapable of change because it is merely an effect. But there is indeed a point in changing your thoughts about the world. Here you are changing the cause. The effect will change automatically.” (ACIM, W23.2:2-6)
When two individuals meet, it is primarily the meeting of two minds, which appear to employ physical bodies in order to communicate, while the communication is indeed taking place at the level of their thoughts, conscious and unconscious. Yet, in our separated world reality is defined by the separated physical forms we see with our eyes, which in the end are the pictorial representations of thoughts of attack, fear and death. “One can well ask if this can be called seeing. Is not fantasy a better word for such a process, and hallucination a more appropriate term for the result?” (ACIM, W23.3:3-4)
All Forms are Provisional: How can I regard separated physical bodies as real, when among all the other planes, they are the only one that regularly vanishes? Nothing lasts in the physical realm, everything is provisional. The bodies of the people we love have all a date of expiry, including our own bodies. These bodies move around for a while and then, often without notice, they die, leaving inevitable pain, loss and anger. All the physical bodies of our beloved ones are bound to vanish at a certain stage, because they are part of a dream, an illusion, which when it is accepted as reality, allows the ego’s separated world to thrive. Yet those we love continue to remain in our emotions and minds even when they are not physically visible or close anymore. We continue to relate with them in our thoughts and feelings.
Thoughts and feelings are not considered reality, for what is officially real here is only the visible physical world. Everything and everyone in this physical world is provisional and can vanish in a moment. Yet thoughts and feelings continue to survive. All is destined to physically fade away in this separated world, although it keeps living at other levels. How come then that these other levels are not considered real? Why do we consider real only what is bound to die? Is not this a proof of the madness of this world? How is it possible not to feel frustrated and desperate in such a desolate scenario?
Yet, we are not trapped in this nightmare, because its cause can be changed at a mental level. First of all, I need to become aware of the confusion that the identification with physical reality generates in my relationships. I need to realise that the crucial activity occurs at the level of the mind and become aware of what I think. What do I think about myself? What do I think about the person I relate with? What truly unites me and the other? Is it the physical body? Is it our mind? And where is God[6] in this relationship? These are crucial questions I need to ask myself, for the answer determines what actually happens in a relationship.
Although the level of the mind may appear rather complex, it is in the end very simple and straightforward. Whereas at a physical level there are incalculable forms, in the mental realm there are only two types of thought forms: those based on unity and those based on separation. There are no other thoughts, or as A Course in Miracles puts it “there are no neutral thoughts”.
“Everything you see is the result of your thoughts. There is no exception to this fact. Thoughts are not big or little; powerful or weak. They are merely true or false. Those which are true create their own likeness. Those which are false make theirs.” (ACIM, W16.1:2-7) The thoughts we have determine the nature of our relationships. Every thought we have can bring unity or separation, love or fear, peace or war. Hence when working with relationships I need to be aware of my thoughts. In every moment I can discriminate between two types of thoughts. And I need to be alert about my thoughts for a tiny thought of separation produces result that will reflect in my rapport with the world.
Relating with the Mind. What counts primarily here is the relationship I have with my mind, which is also the mind that exists everywhere. There is free circulation among minds. Thoughts are not stuck in my individual mind. The concept of an individual mind is based on separation and, from a perspective of unity, is totally insane. There are no private thoughts, all thoughts are public and have an effect on the environment. Hence what I think with my mind affects other minds, simply because minds are not personal attributes. There is nothing like “my” or “your” mind, there is just one mind. And, once separation is transformed into unity, this mind becomes the Mind of God.
In our relationships what counts is not the physical interaction involved, whether I meet or nor the person, whether I physically behave in a certain way. What counts is the type of thoughts I have. These thoughts produce effects at a physical or emotional level. It follows here that in order to heal relationships, it is very valuable to devote abundant time to practices that involve a focused use of the mind, such as meditation, shamanic journeys, affirmations, prayers, etc. It is also vital to exercise ongoing vigilance on our thoughts, promoting thoughts of unity and letting go of thoughts of separation.
This does not mean that I have to be round the clock like a watchdog. Being in constant control generates tension and here I need to learn also to be compassionate for my thoughts of separation, for this thoughts are not healed through repression. They are healed when they are transformed into thoughts of unity, when I truly acknowledge that they do not serve me, when I understand their cause and let it go.
In the past days we saw that there are only two types of attitudes regarding love: expressions of love and requests of love. Thoughts of separation are request of love. If I respond to a thought of separation with a thought of unity, I respond to a request from a part of the mind that is trapped in separation and this allows it to be released, liberated, healed, so that ultimately there is only one mind. The work of unity is not about cutting out separation by repressing and destroying it, by creating a dictatorship of unity. It is about responding to separation with unity. Hence we can relax in the awareness that there is nothing to fight, learning to relate from a perspective of unity.
Working at a mental level can be hard because thoughts often go unnoticed and what I perceive are only their physical and emotional developments, without any apparent clue of where they come from. Hence when dealing with physical or emotional issues, such as loss, pain, suffering, fear or anger, the healing aim is to find out where they come from, where they originated. If I remain at the physical and emotional level, I get more and more confused for I am dealing with effects and overlook the cause. I need to ask myself: what is the thought that originated this issue? And perhaps this is a thought that was produced long ago, millions of years ago. Yet the point is not to find out who is the culprit, who has created that thought. What counts is to find the thought itself and to do it now, for if we think it now, this proves that we are the creators of that thought, and that we can also choose to let it go.
This choice requires that we first identify the thought of separation and then let it go, so that it can return to unity and be transformed. “The above process requires patience and perseverance, and I may need to spend a large amount of time in the primary stage of identification, before I move into the second step of letting go, which may also require further time. “The first two steps in this process require your cooperation. The final one does not. Your images have already been replaced. By taking the first two steps, you will see that this is so.” (ACIM, W23.5:3-5). This is forgiveness. And of forgiveness “your mind holds the keys”.
“Forgiveness paints a picture of a world where suffering is over, loss becomes impossible and anger makes no sense. Attack is gone, and madness has an end. What suffering is now conceivable? What loss can be sustained? The world becomes a place of joy, abundance, charity and endless giving. It is now so like to Heaven that it quickly is transformed into the light that it reflects. And so the journey which the Son of God began has ended in the light from which he came.” (ACIM, W249.1:1-7)
In the Shaman’s Cave: The Magic of the Hang
by Simon Wood
The Hang is an elaborate melodic steel drum, which is the recent result of complex acoustic researches developed in
During a shamanic outing to Primrose Bay, near Hopeman, Simon recorded the following gem, a long hypnotic shamanic drumming video inside a cave, which you can see and listen to in two parts by clicking here (first part) and here (second part).
Justice - Libra: An Astroshamanic Voyage into the Tarot by
Justice is the Major Arcana associated with the sign of Libra. In many tarot decks, and in the Rider Waite Tarot, to which we specifically refer in this article, this card portrays a crowned woman, or androgynous figure, resolutely sitting on a stone seat, with one foot protruding from her robe. The woman holds a pair of scales in her left hand and pointing up with a two-edged sword in her right hand.
The image reminds the Greek Titan goddess Themis, daughter of Uranus and Gaia (Heaven and Earth), mother of the Seasons and of Astraea (“star-maiden”), the last of the immortals to live with humans during the Iron Age. Themis is traditionally featured as a symbol of justice in court houses and tribunals. Yet, unlike these social representations the Justice of this trump is not blindfolded. This card is about consciously seeing and acknowledging the truth about ourselves and the world, and making the right choices according to a deep inner sense of justice rather than to what is considered just in the consensus reality. A deep sense of justice acknowledges all aspects of reality, ordinary and non-ordinary, life and death, keeping them in balance, without either of them prevailing.
The two-edged sword held in the right hand emphasizes the power of the conscious exercise of choice. Each choice we make allows us to move on through the healing path. This path is formed by all the choices we have made in the past, which determine our future according to the choices we make in the present. Justice may confront us with the beginning of a new cycle in which a choice is required. This is not a very popular card since it is devoid of the glamour of most trumps and also because it challenges us with all the fears related with justice, punishment, judgments, etc. In the Aleister Crowley’s deck the card is called “Adjustment” suggesting a modification, amendment or balance of one’s own path, as a result of the acknowledgment of something wider with the wider. Justice, which in traditional Christianity is the most important of the four Cardinal virtues, represents the moderation point between selfishness and selflessness, and plays a pivotal role in adjusting all possibilities of relationship.
Justice is assigned to Libra, the seventh sign of the zodiac. The first six signs of the zodiac, Aries through Virgo, are related with the development of the ego and the individual self. Their nature is subjective and focused on the relationship with oneself, in which rapports with the outer world are oriented and understood solely according to one’s individual intention. Libra and the Autumn Equinox mark a major shift and the inauguration of the cycle involving the second six signs of the zodiac. These signs are focused on the integration with the outer world, and more esoterically with one’s shadow, the non-ordinary, included death, with the aim of expanding the edges of the individual conscious self. Libra is the initiator of this second half and moves the first step towards the other, which usually entails the most basic form of human interaction, i.e. partnership or marriage, which at an esoteric level correspond to a first step into initiatory death. The major challenge here for Libra is keeping the balance between the individual self-focused self and the social couple-oriented self, inner and outer world, conscious and unconscious, life and death, ego and shadow.
Libra shifts the focus from individual to collective, ordinary to non-ordinary and, while this promotes healing and expansion of awareness, the risk is to lose the connection with the preceding inner-focused path and its original intention, due to the excessive attention given to what emerges in the relationships with others or the non-ordinary. This stage, when taken too far, is typically followed by a reawakening of the previous individual’s intention, which usually results in relationships, or the non-ordinary, being identified as the cause of the preceding loss and a reversal of the process from collective to individual, non-ordinary to non-ordinary. The process will then be overturned again once it reaches its unbalanced climax, and so this continues to go on from one excess to the other, fomenting the struggle of polarities upon which the ego’s separated reality is based.
Justice can represent a stern moment of awareness in the above respect, a firm warning on balance in our relationships and all aspects of life and, especially, of death. Death is indeed the aspect that goes most out of balance, since in our consensus reality represents the major denial and unconsciousness. As a result, Justice often confronts us with the fear of death, which also includes the incapacity to let go in our relationships with others and the world, the failure to accept the provisional state of physical reality and the rejection of what each human being is bound to face at the end of their journey on this planet.
It is essential to point out here that a true balance between polarities and worlds can only be pursued through the direct participation of Spirit, the third polarity, the Core Multidimensional Identity (CMI). Hence the figure in the card points the sword up with the right hand, stressing the need to direct one’s conscious attention to the presence of Spirit, as the essential requirement for maintaining balance.
Justice, and Libra, also operate as gateways to Death and Scorpio, the following trump and sign on the voyage through the zodiac. The card represents all the mediating figures that guard the access to the other world and to any major process of transformation, such as death, rebirth, shape-shifting, etc. The model of Maat, the Egyptian goddess of truth and justice, is specifically exemplified here. It was Maat that at the time of death weighed the heart of the deceased in the Great Balance against her ostrich feather. If the heart was found to be heavier than the feather, the soul was sent back to the third-dimensional realm, the world of illusion and separation, so as to release the extra weight, while when the heart was lighter, or of equal weight, the deceased could move to the next realm. This was inherited by the Christian tradition, where the archangel Michael also holds in his hands the scale of justice and weighs the souls of the deceased.
Justice describes the essence of all ancient mystery schools and esoteric knowledge. It is associated with the truth and justice that is unchanging, being the same in the beginning of time, in the present and in the future. It includes any act or state that promotes balance, co-operation and reciprocity between all apparent polarities and diversities, between higher and lower realms, life and death, gods and human beings. Justice is the acknowledgement and conscious expression of multi-dimensional balance and harmony. In ancient times there was no separation among dimensions. All the realms were united and men were gods, and gods were men. When the process of separation began to take over, ritual practices were introduced in order to safeguard the connection, at least in certain moments of the day or in specific places (temples, sacred sites, etc.). Hence, the celebration of rites and spiritual exercises, the use of particular traditions and customs became a way to practice Justice. These would, and still, allow a relationship with the ancient gateway or bridge to other dimensions, although they did, and do, not necessarily imply the passing beyond. While the allegiance to specific practices is fundamental and demonstrate one’s will to retrieve the original unity, in order to truly move beyond we ultimately need to cross the familiar structure of the bridge and step into the mystery, the sphere of gnosis, i.e. knowledge gained through direct experience.
In tarot readings Justice indicates a moment in which vigilant awareness is required in order to gain wider awareness regarding what is happening in one’s life It may indicate that a certain outcome or situation is the consequence of decisions made in the past, and that needs to be karmically accepted, no matter whether it is good or bad. At the same time this can promote the possibility of changing or correcting a course of action in consideration of the lessons learned from the past and present. It can also signify a potential outcome in the above terms for the future. Moreover it can represent a confrontation with what was disregarded or denied, because uncomfortable, such as a completion, death, or any situation of release, which now emerges and call for rebalancing.
The Karma in Your Chart by Ruth Aharoni
Ruth Aharoni is an Israeli professional astrologer and yoga teacher, with over 25 years of experience in both fields. She is the author of several books on yoga, astrology, channeling, tarot, and children¹s books for body and soul, and conducts workshops on spiritual growth and self-empowerment. She is the author of Karmic Astrology: Past Lives, Present Loves
Astrologers will tell you that the stars impel, they don't compel. That is, you have free will to do whatever you want. Your horoscope merely gives indications of things that influence your life. You can choose to overcome your negative points and enhance your strong points. People who do this tend to be those who excel in life.
But there is one question that is ignored in this: why are these things in your chart? Certainly they're based on the time and place you were born, but why? The answer is found in the ancient concept of cause and effect — karma.
According to the concept of karma, your soul has experienced many lives. Your actions in those
past lives determine what you need to experience, deal with and overcome in this life. The biggest problem with the theory of karma is discovering exactly what it is you need to learn and do. Luckily, those questions can now be solved thanks to Karmic Astrology by Ruth Aharoni.
Karmic Footprints: Every horoscope is covered with indications, "karmic footprints," of what you need to do in this life. In Karmic Astrology you'll learn to see them in a chart and be able to work with them.The first indicator is the sign opposite the sun sign. It reveals those aspects you need to bring into balance with your natural inclinations. Thus, for someone born in the Taurus/Scorpio axis, it will be important to learn values and balance power and desire, while someone born in the Gemini/Sagittarius axis will want to blend pure reason and broad faith.
The second indicators are the planets. Each planet has significance to past lives. However there are personal planets (the inner planets) that reveal the traits a person should develop in this incarnation and the karmic planets that reveal the karma a person brings into this world. Jupiter serves as an intercessor between these groups. A complete explanation of the planets and karmic relationships is included here.
The Most Asked Question in the World: Perhaps the single question most pondered is "What is love?" According to Aharoni, "Love between two people is an attraction between their planets." Since the planets are related to karma, so, too, are relationships. Here you'll learn how this is shown in the signs, elements, conjunctions, houses, nodes and more.
Karmic Astrology goes beyond simple romantic advice. It also uses the chart to look at "cosmic couples" where it seems as if their very souls are kissing when they unite as one. Beyond that it looks at spiritual attraction and how our multiple bodies interrelate. The focus here is on the chakras and the planets, and it includes exercises to breathe in spiritual light, couple with the light energies and then connect to universal energy.
This groundbreaking book crosses the breach that many have found between the science of astrology and the spirituality that so many people seek. Perhaps you are wondering why you chose a particular partner in the past. This book explains the karmic reasons for that choice. Whether you have been looking for ways to improve your relationships with friends, family members and spouses and discover your purpose in life, or are looking for new ways to expand the horoscope interpretations you provide for others, this book is a must.
. Copyright © 2007. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
THE ASTROSHAMANIC
POETS’ CORNER
Blinded by the Light by Roland Mann
Blinded by the light
I stand
Torn
Tortured
By my desire for what I want
That unattainable out-of-reach
Light.
Blinded indeed,
For as I turn my back in agony
On that false god
I see with horror
My own fearful shadow
Darker still from the brightness of the light,
Stretching before me.
I have missed the point.
In my passion for unity
My shadow grows ever greater.
I have missed the point.
It's not about light and dark
But what is in between.
I have missed the point.
Too long have I wandered in the dreams of the light.
Now, with resolve,
It is time to walk
Into the Night.
Forthcoming Astroshamanic Events: 2008-2009
Please be aware that new events may be added with short notice, especially with regards to Jesi (
For further details or information please contact Franco info@astroshamanism.org or alternatively go to www.astroshamanism.org
To book Findhorn Foundation workshops, please contact bookings@findhorn.org or Bookings, The Park,
Jesi (
Restoring the Fragmented Heart: The Way of Sacred Relationships
Jesi (
Restoring the Fragmented Heart is a workshop that explores relationships from a multidimensional and astroshamanic perspective with the aim of healing our significant connections with others and transforming them in sacred relationships.
All those we meet in life are parts of a wholeness from which we have separated ourselves, and every single relationship is a path to that wholeness. Finding fulfilment through intimate love associations is one of the greatest desires of most human beings, yet this search can cause conflicts and pain. In this workshop we will track and release blocks to our capacity to love, identifying the underlying issues that hamper relationships, promoting healing, fulfilment and blessings. The aim is to support and implement righteous close relationships aligned with our authentic soul purpose. The workshop is designed for all types of relationships, encompassing couples in intimate or platonic connections, singles who wish to be in a relationship, partnerships in work or service, rapports with friends and relatives.
The workshop is held in English and Italian.
The retreat takes place near Jesi in the central Italian region of
There are only few residential places left and, if you are interested to take part, please book at your earliest convenience. Income related price: Euro 537 (high), Euro 497 (medium), Euro 467 (low). Bursaries are available. The cost includes half-board, accommodation in two or three-bedded rooms with bathroom. The event starts at
For bookings: Letizia +39 0731206687 or zone25@tele2.it
For those of you who live in the United Kingdom there are cheap flights from London, Liverpool, Edinburgh, Nottingham, Birmingham and other British airports to Ancona, Pisa, Rimini, Forlì and Rome, all within convenient reach to the venue. Dave Mountjoy, taking part in the workshop, is driving from
The West is the direction of autumn, water and the emotional body, an area of radical transformation, which confronts us with the multidimensional nature of life and death. Over the week-end we explore soul retrieval, time-space voyages, the realm of ancestors and sacred relationships, employing potent release practices and techniques associated with Libra, Scorpio and Sagittarius. Cost: £ 119 – 99 – 79. Bookings: Foundation for Planetary Healing, 288 Portobello High
Findhorn Foundation, 6-12 December 2008, Restoring the Fragmented God: A Healing Voyage into Shamanic Christianity With Franco and Astrid Gude. This workshop aims at reviving our Christian shamanic heritage through an experiential exploration of some of its mysteries and wonders. The week is ideal for those wishing to heal, restore or deepen their relationship with God, including former Christians who intend to face unresolved grievances with their early religious roots. The workshop is a wide-ranging journey, encompassing a tapestry of shamanic practices from various Christian traditions, also with elements of esoteric astrology and A Course in Miracles. Read further…
Cupramontana (
Findhorn Foundation, 28 December 2008–2 January 2009, The New Year Spiritual Healing Retreat (with Franco & Astrid Gude) An opportunity to promote expanded awareness and healing through meditation and spiritual practices. We will alternate periods of silence and dialogue, stillness and movement, touch and contact, relaxation and activity, group and individual work, bringing careful attention to our inner and outer world. We will scan the past year, extracting blessings and releasing grievances, paving a luminous healing way for the New Year. Read more…
Findhorn Foundation, 21 February–6 March 2009, FOUNDATION TRAINING in ASTROSHAMANISM:
This programme introduces participants to astroshamanism in a practical and effective way. Participants will experience tools for opening, discovering and supporting the relationship with their core identity and essential Intent. They will also focus on releasing blocks and retrieving hidden potentials, learning to bring shamanic healing work in their life and relationship with others. Read more… The training consists of two workshops, which can also be attended independently
21-27 February 2009, A Journey into the Inner Universe.
28 February–6 March 2009, The Voyage through the Zodiac
Findhorn Foundation, 14-20 March 2009, Being with the Spirit of Cluny Garden (with Franco & Sverre Koxvold)
Findhorn Foundation, 11-17 April 2009, Flowering of Life – A Spring Retreat (with Franco & Astrid Gude)
Findhorn Foundation, 2-9 May 2009, Restoring the Fragmented Heart: The Way of Sacred Relationships
Findhorn Foundation, 20-27 June 2009, The Original Quest: An Astroshamanic Journey into Space and Time
Findhorn Foundation, 1-8 August 2009, Astroshamanic Trance Dance, Drumming and Chanting
Findhorn Foundation, 7-14 November 2009, Being with the Spirit of Cluny Garden in Autumn (with Franco & Sverre Koxvold)
Findhorn Foundation, 28 November 2009 5 December 2009 , The Blessed Way of Passion: Astroshamanic Healing and Touch.
Disclaimer: All information provided in PAN is presented solely for inspirational or recreational reading, and it is not meant to substitute the recipient’s direct experience and investigation. The information is also given to strategically exemplify the different features of astroshamanic cosmology and is not intended to reflect Franco’s opinion or astroshamanism in general. Franco does not necessarily endorse any of the ideas and views expressed in this literature, including his own.
PAN welcomes assistance with transcription of recent workshops in English and Italian. If you would like to help please contact pan@atroshamanism.org.
Astroshamanic Healing Sessions - How do they work and how to arrange them.
Sessions typically last 60 minutes and can be in-person or distant (over the phone). Distance sessions involve a preliminary telephone consultation, followed by a healing practice and a successive consultation aimed at examining what emerged during the practice. Each session is geared according to the issue and intent of the client. The aim is to focus on prominent issues, both from an ordinary and multidimensional perspective, releasing grievances, while uncovering authentic talents and finding empowering guidance. If the client finds it helpful, it is also possible to have additional sessions, or start a specific training programme. Fees for a distant session (60 minutes) are Euro 60 (£ 40). If you wish to arrange a distance session, please contact Franco to make an appointment at info@astroshamanism.org
Astroshamanism Book I: A Journey into the Inner Universe and Astroshamanism Book II: The Voyage Through the Zodiac feature the core teachings of astroshamanism. They are available, together with various drumming and trance dance CDs, from Franco and by mail order from the Phoenix Shop at store@findhorn.com or +44(0)1309-690954.
The Operative Training in Astroshamanism (OTA) is a certificate course in core astroshamanism which allows you to study at home as part of an ongoing interactive training. Participants will learn a wide range of techniques, exploring all aspects of their soul, individual and collective, as they are reflected in the astroshamanic cosmology of the 12 Sectors, the 4 Directions and the 3 Worlds. They will receive initiation into specific healing and ceremonial practices according to each zodiac sign, integrating shamanic experiences with information drawn from astrology and other esoteric sources. The OTA can ideally be integrated with the One Year Course in Astroshamanism and the Astroshamanic Practitioner Training. For information contact: info@astroshamanism.org
Donations for PAN and Astroshamanic Healing activities: PAN is available free to anyone who has attended astroshamanic events/sessions or simply wishes to receive it. If you find PAN useful, inspiring, appealing or perhaps even revealing, any donation (small, medium or big) would be greatly appreciated (for further details contact info@astroshamanism.org). Donations will encourage us to continue on this path. Also articles and other forms of contribution are much appreciated.
PAN on-line: You can find an abridged edition of the latest issues of PAN on-line at http://panissue.blogspot.com/. The abridged Italian edition is at http://panitalico.blogspot.com/, while the full edition is available on request. The abridged Spanish edition is at http://panhispano.blogspot.com/ and the full edition is available on request.
[1] God in PAN is always meant as Core Multidimensional Identity, Wholeness, Undivided Self and Unconditional Love, and does not denote identification with a specific creed or gender. What counts here is the experience of God, rather than the term we employ. Hence if the term God causes grievances, please feel free to substitute it with another word. Yet here I wish to stress that astroshamanism and any deep spiritual work, as I see it, will however confront us with all grievances we hold towards the term God, as to any other term, with the aim of healing them.
[2] The term ego is Latin for I and is used in various contexts with different senses. Here ego refers to the entire psyche or individual self based on the belief of being a separate identity as distinct from others in its body, emotions, mind and spirit.
[3] Carlos Castaneda, The Wheel of Time, Penguin, 1998, p. 159.
[4] Robert Perry, A Course Glossary, 158 Definitions from A Course in Miracles, p. 5.
[5] “My Body is a Cage”, Neon Bible, 2007. For other video clips of this song click here and here.
[6] see note 1.
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