“Freedom of will is the ability to do gladly that which I must do.” Carl Jung’s paradoxical maxim can be seen as a motivational urge to make the best of a bad situation by wearing a happy smile. Or at a more profound level as an encouragement to accept who you are and live that out with enthusiasm.
Gauquelin’s work with astrology indicated, as I recollect, that the most successful were those who lived out their birth charts most fully. Which resonates with another of Jung’s thoughts “Until you make the unconscious conscious, it will direct your life and you will call it fate.” Stay unconscious and you’ll be buffeted by outer events for which you are seemingly not responsible but in some mysterious way are part of who you are.
Patterns of life fascinate me and more the older I get. How seemingly random life experiences happen again and again. Even with growth of self-awareness (and consciousness) there seems to be no escaping some level of repetition – which can usually be found in the chart if the individual is keen to know the whys and wherefores.
The birth chart lays out personal temperament, psychological dynamics and the pattern of a life. It does not pin point what can best be described as ‘grace’ or in different parlance level of soul evolution. Or the level of conscious versus unconscious that operates within the individual’s life.
Accepting the hand of cards you were handed at birth, reflected in the birth chart, would appear to be the way to fulfilment. Which means kicking envy (they are richer than me) and regret (I never won Wimbledon) to one side and becoming fully invested in who you have the potential to be – i.e not designed to make mega-millions or be a sporting superstar. Be yourself.
But can you ‘choose’ to become conscious? I have never been able to decide whether that is a choice or not, since some individuals are predisposed to be curious and dig for answers where others have a different temperament and are content/resigned to plough the same furrow without scratching the surface or plumbing the deeper mysteries. Indeed there is an argument that the glue which holds society together are the less-than-fully-conscious ones since they offer cohesion, structure and stability. While the constantly-questioning ones threaten to upset the applecart. Of the latter variety, some become trailblazers and inspired leaders, while others are creative or troublemakers.
Harsh influences accompanying challenging experiences bring positive results? Positive change usually only comes through pressure – not quite as extreme as a breakdown means breakthrough but heading in that direction. There was an intriguing hypothesis by Julian Jaynes in his Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind book which posited that major climactic crises and natural disasters two/three thousand years ago caused significant changes and advances in human consciousness.
Some temperaments come alive in moments of high stress and sink into a gloom when life become settled and calm. Squares in a birth chart teach resourcefulness and resilience. Too many trines/sextiles don’t. Life and psychology are complicated.
Astrology while it does not have all the answers has more than enough to make it invaluable. The only explanation I have ever seen which even touches on a possible explanation is an analogy with theoretical physicists David Bohm’s thoughts on an implicate universe which unfolds into the explicate order. The implicate universe which is a realm of potentials and possibilities is what astrology taps into and that unfolds in a variety of possible ways into external reality, but within the constraints of the underlying pattern – if that makes sense.
Sun sign astrology though simplistic can be astonishingly accurate in terms of temperamental inclinations, including the signs which distrust astrology or say they do. Top of the list would be Taurus – maybe too earthy and practical to be drawn into what feel like mystical realms. But also I suspect more to do with Taurus’ underlying drive which is for power. They dislike the idea that they are not masters of their own fate. When the truth is we are and we aren’t.
My remedy for most lives it to find a context which suits your temperament (and chart). If you have a substantially Cardinal chart you are a sprinter, not a marathon runner and have an overdose of resourcefulness and initiative. Find a lifestyle with frequent new starts and variety.
All Fixed? Go for an unchanging lifestyle where you are ploughing the same furrow for ever. Periods of change are inevitable and will cause strain.
Too much Mutable – blown around like a feather in a strong wind, you need to find a calm centre out of which to operate and be grateful for your ability to be flexible and fit in with prevailing trends.
Heavy Mars Pluto or Mars Uranus aspects – you won’t turn yourself into a suburban plodder no matter how hard you try. You need crises, excitement, thrills and risk otherwise you’ll constantly be creating disasters just to feel alive.
Random thoughts. Astrology works in its own peculiar way and has some limitations but used sensibly it will bring more freedom to act not less.