Come Dancing!
By
Sarah Varcas
Mars and Venus are now in the finale of their recent powerfully creative dance. Whilst moving on to new partners, they look over their shoulders to steal a final shared glance before embracing new steps. Mars has chosen the Moon’s South Node, where we fall into unconscious habits and familiar patterns of behaviour. We feel comfortable at the South Node because we know it so well. It comes easily to us and we arrive fully formed in this area of life. It is our natural inclination to rest there, but life itself demands that we leave its haven of familiarity and set out on a journey to the North Node, its opposite point where we develop those aspects of the self needed for growth and balance. This is how we become whole, by daring to step out of the familiar into the unknown, where we are challenged and stretched to become someone who doesn’t feel familiar, to do things which don’t come easily. The Nodal Path is the grain of sand in the oyster shell of our lives which, after years of rubbing and irritation, reveals itself to be a perfect pearl.
At the South Node Mars puts up a fight, and in Aries even more so. He wants his own way and will ensure he gets it whatever it takes. Why should he consider anyone else, take account of the bigger picture or consider the long term outcomes of present moment actions? That’s not his way and he doesn’t see why on earth it should be! He knows what he wants, and whatever it is can be summed up in one word: power. He wants to be in control and able to satisfy his desires whenever and wherever, no holds barred! On first glance it looks like his wish has been granted for this is a powerful Mars, energetic and imposing. But in fact this is the diminished masculine, incapable of tolerating frustration of desire, delayed gratification or the contradictory needs and desires of others which must be considered for the world to work in harmony. Mars on the South Node tells us ‘might makes right!’. He oppresses and disrespects in order to gain leverage and influence. In doing so he belies his deep disempowerment fuelled by an ever-present fear of perceived weakness and the need to maintain a front of control no matter what. In fact this Mars, and ourselves when aligned with him, are under the sway of an immature ego incapable of recognising its own insignificance in a universe so vast our minds simply cannot perceive its realities.
In its dance with the South Node, Mars is urged by Venus and her new partner Uranus to awaken to this deeper truth and recognise that the pursuit of personal power is an ugly distortion of his relationship with the sacred essence that animates all things. We cannot assume the god-force for ourselves, seeking to manipulate it to our own ends. It does not exist in service to us, and whilst all things eventually return to a state of unity so deep there is no separation, there are points on the journey that require complete surrender of the distinct egoic self to the sacred force which powers our life and shapes our path. At these times we embrace our service of the sacred, not the other way around. They prepare us for the mighty power of the god(dess)-force when fully unleashed within. Without this willing surrender of self to something infinitely greater we cannot be prepared for the transformative experience once we are divinely, not egoically, empowered. This shift, from ego to essence, from self-interest to sacred service, lays the groundwork for a deeper and more profound merging with All That Is in due course.
Venus and Uranus see through Mars’ puffed-up persona to the child beneath, scared to cry for fear of ridicule, afraid that weakness may eliminate worth in the eyes of the world. They remind us of another way, a new way, in which everyone can be respected, autonomous, self-determined and part of the greater whole. It demands we let go the need for the diminishment of others to secure inflation of our own importance. The game of competition and comparison in which there are necessary winners and losers must end. Embracing this new way leaves us vulnerable. It shifts the ground beneath our feet and demands that we create a new value system not born of duality and opposites, compared value and mitigated worth, but instead of a deep respect for all beings, all life, together with heartfelt recognition that service of the self is but a tiny part of what this life is about. Its greatest gifts and blessings are encountered when we recognise that in serving others we are blessed and in maintaining the integrity of the whole not fracturing it through oppression, competition and war, every single living being is raised up to their rightful place within the sacred field of the god(dess)-force.
When we see ourselves tussling for position or catch ourselves riled by those whose desires confound the satisfaction of our own, we must also be sure not to make that very recognition our own internal oppressor. We do not need to chastise or berate ourselves for our ‘weakness’. Instead, a light-hearted knowing chuckle can be the first step to releasing the inner tyrant which demands power and respect to make up for hidden vulnerabilities and fear. Compassion is needed too, of course, for ourselves and all who struggle with egoic demands born of fear, but right now some light-hearted humour may be just what is needed to lift the atmosphere and enable us all to work together and find a better way.
Sarah Varcas
{ 1 trackback }