Image: Josephine WallĀ
Grounding the Cardinal Cross
by
Sarah Varcas
The Sun entered Taurus a few hours ago and I, for one, am grateful for some earthy energy to keep me grounded! Weāve been low on earth since Venus left Capricorn at the beginning of March, so itās about time we got a bit more down to earth, not least because the Cardinal Cross is working very hard at present to convince us that earth is just about the last place we want to be!
Thatās not to say we shouldnāt be here, by the way, or that weāre all waiting to be spirited off to some better place (which weāre not!). Consider it a test, of our commitment to being here and doing what it takes to get ourselves and this wonderful planet through these intense and challenging times. In essence, we are being placed in situations (for each of us the details will be different) in which we have to work out how to be here differently because how weāve been doing it up to now has not been working so well.
Many of these situations appear to arise out of nowhere, the kind of thing we can all too readily put down to ābad luckā or a āmarked cardā in life: our partner ups and leaves; our employer goes bankrupt; our health fails; a disaster befalls someone we love. We may be only too tempted to feel hard done by, victimised by life, treated unfairly by the gods of chance. But in fact the urgency of the Cardinal Cross tells us thereās no time for self-pity and āoh poor meā rhetoric. We just donāt have the luxury of such indulgence anymore, because right now the way we behave and the changes we make are being cast into the foundation stone of the future. As such, what and how we currently are is effectively being stored as a prototype for who we become in due course. We have a window of opportunity throughout the coming week, to effect significant change in ourselves over a short space of time, merely by changing how we act and react in the present. The question is, will we open the window or leave it boarded shut, refusing to embrace the possibility of such radical change?
I say āmerelyā but of course, the things we really need to change are usually the bits about ourselves which are the most rigid and intractable; those habits of thought, feeling and behaviour that seem to have become the very essence of who we are, even if they repeatedly cause us on-going problems! And as problematic as they are, we often identify with them in some way, which makes it even harder to let them go and choose a different way: āIām just an anxious person, I canāt help itā; āIāve always been depressed, itās because Iām sensitiveā. When we experience something often enough, no matter how painful it is, ego will latch on and make it āme and mineā, part of, or in the worst case scenario, all of, our identity. And letting go of a part of ourselves is tough to do. It challenges our sense of self, of certainty and familiarity. It pulls the rug out from beneath our feet just when we seem to need it the most.
Nevertheless, that rug has to go – at some point, if not now. And if not now, when? As Richard Moss once very wisely said, if you knew you were going to die in the next minute, would you be willing to let go of that issue youāve struggled with all your life? Many people would answer yes to this, recognising that to cling to it even in the face of death would be crazy. So if one minute before death weāre prepared to let go, how about two minutes before? Or three? How about a day before, a week, a month or a year? And given few, if any of us, know the hour of our own demise, how about right now? Just in caseā¦
Which is why Iām happy to welcome the Sun into Taurus, because it gives us the staying power to do whatās needed, to dig in our heels and refuse to sink back into old habits when new possibilities are so close at hand. The week ahead is full of power – raw, creative, cosmic power. It comes not as a gift with no strings attached, but as an opportunity available to those prepared to knuckle down and do the work of deep change. For those ready and willing to do things differently, to let go and challenge the most intransigent parts of their nature, this week comes with profound hope and possibility. But if we resist thisclarion call we may find ourselves sinking more deeply into our own particular brand of suffering. The choice is ours, even when it doesnāt feel that way, because believing we donāt have a choice about who we are is the biggest lie of all! No one can be absolutely anything, but every life has more than one version available. This week is upgrade time, to a version which works better for all concerned, both personally and collectivelyā¦. if we choose to make it so.
Sarah Varcas
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