Sagittarius 2005: The Relativity of Truth
Keynote
“I see the goal. I reach that goal and then I see another.”
The Relativity of Truth
USA and Media
Neocons and Change
Spiritual Groups
The Relativity of Truth
Sagittarius is a sign well noted for its love of truth and higher spiritual principles, yet quite often it displays a proclivity for bending, distorting, exaggerating or just plain ignoring the truth! In the words of Jack Nicholson’s character in “A Few Good Men”, “you can’t handle the truth!”: ironic words for a person who in a court of law, projects his inability to tell the truth onto his accusers.
The “truth is out there” is a popular modern catchcry yet ultimately and ideally “the truth is in here”, in the deepest part of one’s own being and experience. Your truth, my truth. There is an interesting correspondence here to the “god transcendant” (out there) of western religion versus the “god immanent” (in here) of eastern disciplines.
I use the word “ideally” as usually one’s own experience is a subjective mish-mash of perceptions viewed through the eyes of the unredeemed and unrefined astral body, plus an inadequate and imperfect mental body. Both bodies are, like all of humanity, at varying stages of unfoldment, struggling to balance the pairs of opposites.
Hence what we see through the lens of the personality is ever relative, yet if that personality is reasonably integrated and aligned with the soul, then it has a much better chance of sourcing a “purer truth”. The soul on its own level is truth, yet the unevolved or unintegrated personality has its attachments and issues that make it bend or rationalise that purer truth into something that serves its recalcitrant nature. Sometimes, rather than recognise the purity of the higher truth and doing the transformative “hard yards” in the astral-mental, we may create another reality that serves as a buffer from the truth.
Herein is one of the major sources of glamour, illusion and duality with which we all struggle. The Sagittarius-Gemini axis is one that primarily deals with this theme of duality. The opposite sign of Gemini is of course one of the most dual signs of the zodiac – The Twins. (The amusing paradigm of lies (Gemini) and truth (Sag) has been explored in other newsletters on Gemini.)
When we withold the truth, the duality of Gemini kicks in. This is humorously brought out in the movie “Liar, Liar” where Jim Carrey’s character is constantly untruthful, deciding eventually to tell the truth with a directness and honesty that is truly liberating and hilarious. Hence the “truth will set you free”, no matter how much conflict it causes. As Librans are wont to do, the truth is quite often compromised by the fear of causing conflict and upset.
Whilst in the movie medium (must be something to do with my current proximity to Los Angeles!), there is another powerful tale of truth, in “Dead man Walking”. (See also https://esotericastrologer.org ) It is about a convict (Sean Penn) who is charged with murder and is in total denial of the crime whilst he is waiting on death row. Eventually, through the visits of a nun (Susan Sarandon), he gradually strips back his “recollection” of events until he finally arrives at the shocking truth and owns it. Interesting to note that Penn has Sag rising with Jupiter in the same sign in the first house.
The difficulty of Sagittarius arriving at the truth has several sources. Number one would be the propensity for Jupiter (the ruler of this sign) to exaggerate and dramatise – it just loves a good story or going over the top to make a point!; second, the aforementioned tendencies of Gemini in its sometimes very deviant expression.
In esoteric astrology the “science of the crosses” is far more accentuated, hence considering Sagittarius, we can look at the other signs of the mutable cross to see from where it draws its sources, negative and positive. The Virgo-Pisces axis which completes the mutable cross has a potent source of personal maya in Pisces. Hence we could extrapolate: Sag-exagg., Gemini-lies, Pisces-fantasy and Virgo- the “embroiderer”. Of course we are considering the lowest common denominator here but students may be surprised to see how much it works in their lives! All these signs are great at humour and imitation too.
From the rayological viewpoint there is the third ray of active intelligence, well known for its Machiavelli-like tendencies, plus the sixth ray of devotion or idealism, with its Neptune rulership that tends to distort reality in its lower register. The sixth ray finds its strongest expression through Sagittarius in this cycle and the idealism, enthusiasm and aspiration of Sagittarius is well known. This is another good example of how the rays constitute the missing part of astrology, demonstrating the sources of some of the deepest meanings of the signs.
The sixth ray and Sagittarius are very similar and it is this quality of idealism, while positive in aspiring upward to the spiritual goal, is also paradoxically that which veils or distorts the truth: The ideal is up there but the reality is down here. Maybe this has something to do with why Sagittarians are always re-scheduling! (Heheh!) The mutable cross is one of constant movement, change and instability; one is reminded of a passage from the “Old Commentary”:
“Amid the whirling forces, I stand confused. I know them not, for, during all my past, they swept me up and down the land wherein I moved, blinded and unaware. From place to place and point to point, they drove me up and down the land and nowhere was there rest.”1
It is the primary quality of Neptune (especially in its lower octave) and idealism, that is responsible for the “untruth” of Sagittarius. Much has been written about this in other newsletters on America and her Sag rising horoscope, as well as the lies and deception of various media around the world.
USA and Media
As this author is currently enjoying an extended stay in America, the media has come into peculiar focus. It is almost impossible to find a news bulletin on American TV that covers what happens around the world. Most stations focus on current news and only overseas news if it involves America. In other western countries it is taken for granted that most stations will give local and international content that is relatively unbiased.
America gets a lot of “filtering” of its news. “Embedded” journalists have been a big propaganda tool. There is a lot of spin and bias, increasingly from channels like CNN which has its American version and its international version – the latter is way better! The Fox network and others have created a competition which increasingly leads other networks to sensationalise and compromise their reporting/truth. This is partly to do with America’s exoteric chart of Sag rising ruled by Jupiter in Cancer – news of what’s happening at home, or those from “home” who are overseas, e.g. the troops in Iraq.
But of course Sag rising America is big and generous and friendly and is where the “family” of humanity can find its place; it is a great place, yet has many dualities and double standards.
Neocons and the Truth
A recent BBC documentary called “The Power of Nightmares” looks at the rise of Islamic terrorists as well as the “Neocons” in the White House. It quite persuasively illustrates how Al Qaeda was “manufactured” by the neocons in order to bring about the prosecution of certain individual terrorists; they have since run with Al Qaeda as this organisied world group of terrorists when in fact there was no such thing, only isolated loosely organised groups of terrorists.
The same Neocons were in power with Reagan and did similar spin-doctoring about the Soviet Union it is claimed. Politicians have lapsed into the politics of fear in order to stay in power and have perpetrated and compounded these original lies in order to run other agendas – such as the grab for oil and mineral resources in Iraq and Afghanistan etc. The documentary demonstrates very well the idealism that factored in from both sides and created the fundamentalism and distortions we see today. (A three-part astrological essay on the Neocons can be found on this website.)
During the American invasion of Baghdad in 2003, Pluto was sitting on Mars in Gemini in the US horoscope. It has only just moved away from this degree and reflects the depth of lies and deception which took place during that period, some of which were:
Weapons of mass destruction – there were none.
Saddam Hussein was linked to Bin Laden – no such link.
Al Qaeda is a global terrorist organisation – it more than likely is not.
The toppling of the Saddam statue in Baghdad at the start of the invasion was a complete hoax perpetrated with (more or less) a “rent a crowd”. The documentary is in three parts and can be viewed as streaming video:
The Power Of Nightmares – Part I: Baby It’s Cold Outside
The Power Of Nightmares – Part II: The Phantom Victory
The Power Of Nightmares – Part III: The Shadows In The Cave
As mentioned in other newsletters which go far more deeply into this transit, Mars in Gemini is square to Neptune in Virgo in the US chart. One could not hope to have a more challenging aspect of self-deception and deceit, the downside of the high aspiration and intelligence latent within this aspect. Transiting Pluto certainly brought out its worst characteristics, particularly in the subversive way that the propaganda machine kept pushing its agenda. It is interesting that one of the main propogandists of the Neocon group was the brilliant Paul Wolfowitz (now head of the world bank), whose Sun is in the last degree of Sagittarius … opposed by four planets in Gemini! … hmmmm.
Spiritual Groups
One might think that spiritual groups would be one of the few areas where the sanctity of truth is preserved, but alas quite often, far from it! Even within the area of very similar teachings there are many divergences of opinion in interpretation – and also how material should be presented. Hence the “house” can be “divided against itself” while members of its “family” make ad hoc decisions and judgements based upon their version of the truth.
“Brothers” of the same spiritual family can arrogantly sit in judgment of one another. Sagittarius is associated with the law, and is also one of the most judgmental signs of the zodiac. Judgmentalism comes from a narrow interpretation that the one-pointedness of Sag brings about, plus the superficiality of its Gemini counterpart; the sixth ray is also involved. Hence Sag can be very easily fooled by outer appearances, making judgment accordingly; it can tend to tar all with the same brush. Sagittarius can get very attached to religious or spiritual thought, hence the fundamentalism mentioned earlier as well as its rise whilst Pluto transits through Sagittarius.
As Sagittarius rules over truth, so it rules over illusion, the truth veiled or distorted; it can be a very fine line sometimes. The trauma of a criminal perpretator (as earlier discussed) was blocked out to “cope” with the truth. Any shock or trauma will create a dis-association from reality or the truth; whether it is sexual abuse of a young child, road accident victim etc. Yet a person thus affected will in all sincerity recognise the only truth that they can see.
These are some of the more gross examples but there are subtle levels where the truth is more difficult to discern; this could be illustrated by the impressionable Pisces who lacks the discrimination of Virgo. Any of the glamours or vices of pride, fear, love of power etc. will compound and compromise truth. That pretty much makes most of us liars because none of us are free from glamour and illusion!
An individual through their own efforts may have received powerful impressions over the years from the Master. The energisation created quite often leads to an over-stimulation and a powerful thoughtform that they are the “chosen vessel”. There are many examples of this from past groups of a hundred years ago up until present time. Quite often, in order to maintain a spiritual prestige and power that may be latent within their unredeemed personality, these individuals will go on claiming to have the Master’s ear when in fact they have some astral echo of a past accomplishment – or not even that.
Likewise today, as existed in some theosophical groups many years ago, there are leaders and many “channel-folk” who claim to have the Master’s ear and seem to be paralysed into making any decisions themselves unless they can ask the Master first! A true Master (not an astral prototype) does not have the slightest interest, inclination or time to respond to such mundane requests! Yet individuals who may have personal agendas within the context of a larger group, have been known to manipulate and coerce others by saying that the Master said it was thus and so, therefore they must comply – or be out of step with “Hierarchy”:
“The disciple soon finds also that the Masters are not easily accessible. They are busy men, ill able to spare even a few moments in which to communicate with the disciple, and only in emergencies, in the case of a beginner on the Path of Discipleship, do the Masters expend the necessary energy with which to get en rapport.”2
May we all find our truths which will lead eventually to Ultimate Truth – hmmm, still relative though!
Phillip Lindsay © 2005.
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