Your individual state of consciousness is your level of being and attracts all of the events you encounter in life. Since your reactions determine what you are, any change in your outer world must be produced by your inner level of being.
In the 7th Chapter of the Book of Mark, we are told, "Hear and understand: there is nothing outside which can defile man; but what comes out of a man's mind is what defiles him. He who has ears, let him hear." Now, thoughts are things. When you identify yourself with a thought, it outpictures itself as an act. If the thought is unlovely, it defiles you. Awaken and select only thoughts that contribute to the birth of your desire. You must constantly observe your dwelling place, for where you are psychologically is what you are. Your mood indicates your state, and you are always externalizing the state upon which you stand.
The Upanishads, one of a class of Vedic treatises dealing with broad philosophic problems, states: "The soul, imagining itself into a state, takes upon itself the results of that state. Not imagining itself into the state, it is free from its results." Your soul is what you consent to. As you feel yourself into the situation of your answered prayer, you have entered a state and your soul has taken upon itself the results of that state. If you do not enter the state, you are free of its lovely results. Accept an idea as true. Identify yourself with it and it will outpicture itself in your world. But if you do not accept the thought and identify yourself with it through feeling, you are free from its results. You must become very selective and learn not to associate yourself with unlovely thoughts.
In the Book of Kings, we are told how those who entered the temple brought something alive with them such as an ox or bullock. These were used as burnt offerings. These sacrifice offerings are your body of suffering. They are the animals you must offer called grievances. No matter what the grievance may be, you have no right to carry it around with you and you cannot ascend in consciousness until all of your grievances are tossed on the altar and sacrificed. Only as you give them up will you find the holy water.
Now, this holy water is not the church variety but the symbol of the twelve aspects of the mind. When your mind is cleared of all of its cobwebs (grievances), the bowl of holy water is placed on the backs of oxen, and your disciplined mind serves you rather than you serving it. The bull symbolizes the mind in its wild state and must be tamed (washed in holy water and clothed in soft raiment). When you enter the Holy of holies alone and bathe in its waters, your mind is washed of all mean thoughts and cleansed. Begin now to associate your thoughts only with the good; then that which proceeds out of your mouth (mind) will never defile you.
I AM is the self-definition of the infinite. "Go and tell them that I AM has sent me unto you. Awareness (I AMness) is the only power of the universe. Its power makes you alive. If you say, "I am sick," you are! If you say, "I am secure," you are! Feeling yourself into the situation of a given state, you must take upon yourself the results of that state of mind. All things are made alive from a state of mind and without the state nothing can be made, as you only resurrect the state from which you are identified. Where you are psychologically is what you are in reality. Therefore, if you catch yourself feeling sorry for yourself, stop it and start feeling happy. If you don't, you will identify yourself with the state of self-pity and outpicture it.
"Let the weak man say, 'I am strong'." Don't wait until you become strong before saying this. If you feel weak in any sense, affirm "I am strong," and if you persist in that assumption it will harden into fact. No one should evertake the name of the Lord in vain, for that name is I AM.
The righteous man is already conscious of being the person he wants to be. He never sins, but runs into the name, for sinning is missing his desired state, and righteousness is hitting it. "I will set him on high because he knows my name." Assume the consciousness of being the one you want to be and you will be saved from your present state. Your individual hunger can and will be satisfied when you run righteously into the state desired. This is done through the act of feeling. Feel happy and you are conscious of happiness. Feel married and you have consciously moved into the state of marriage. The thing desired must be felt before you are conscious of possessing it.
Learn to say "no" to unlovely thoughts rather than accepting them with passive indifference, for a soul must imagine himself into the act to taste the fruit of the state acted upon. Remember, consciousness alone is the cause of the fruit you reap and the only explanation for its existence.
There is no one to blame but self for all of the things that have happened, are happening and will happen to you, as they could not come into your world unless you consented to them. Start now to consent only to lovely thoughts of fulfilled desires prior to their confirmation by your senses, and give up the animal instinct of suffering and bathing yourself in the feelings of hurt and self-pity.
The psychological tongue is much like the physical one. If someone annoys you, turn aside and keep the tongue of your mind away from the sore spots of dislike, for your little mental conversations are the producers of your future. Sacrifice your body of suffering by giving it up and tame your mind, for we are told, "Blessed are the meek (tame), for they shall inherit the earth." Clothe yourself with joy and good news and you will walk into your holy of holies clothed in your immortal garment of love.
There is a rhythm in your world which you cannot hear or see, and your aura is like no one else's. A bloodhound knows. If two odors were alike, no bloodhound could find you. But you are unique, one of a kind with your own special aura radiating your level of being. Don't judge auras for the simple reason that you have to see the aura of another through your own, and what you are seeing is only your assumption of the man.
Complacency is a curse. "Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after righteousness." Control your imagination with steady attention and dare to stand and be heard. Andrew is the disciple who symbolizes this aspect of mind. Pay attention to your thoughts and discipline them so that they flow from the feeling of your wish fulfilled, for you are not awake until the outer you becomes placid and the inner you dynamic.
Don't try to argue someone out of their misery. We are told to, "Let the filthy be filthy still; what is that to thee? Follow thou me." Man is given the power of the "I" to think, and everyone is allowed to think for himself.
All things, when admitted to consciousness, are made manifest, be they good, bad or indifferent. Dare to stand on your own by this teaching and you will never again feel the need to justify failure.
The Creative Use Of Imagination - CHAPTER 1 YOUR INFINITE WORTH
CHAPTER 1 YOUR INFINITE WORTH
The purpose of these talks is to bring about a psychological change in you, the individual. Humanity, understood psychologically, is an infinite series of levels of awareness and you, individually, are what you are according to where you are in the series. Consciousness is the only reality, and where you are conscious of being psychologically, determines the circumstances of your life. The ancients knew this great truth, but our modern teachers have yet to discover it. There is only one substance in the world. Our scientists call it energy while scripture defines it as consciousness. We are told that the universe was caused by water, but if this is true, then it could not evolve into anything but water. But if the basic substance is energy (or consciousness), it can be made to manifest itself as iron, steel and wood, to name but a few. Man, seeing a variety of forms, thinks of numberless substances, but what is seen is only a change in the arrangement of the same basic substance — consciousness.
Ephesians tells us that, "All things, when admitted, are made manifest by light." The word "light" recorded here means awareness; consciousness." The state the individual admits into his consciousness is the cause of one man being rich and another poor. The poor man admits to being in the state of poverty by saying, "I am poor," just as the rich man admits wealth by saying, "I am rich." Anything you, an individual, claim yourself to be (be it good, bad or indifferent, right or wrong) must be made manifest in your world, for by claiming the state, you have consented to its life.
There is only one cause, and that is consciousness. Your consciousness is the center from which your world mirrors and echoes the state you presently occupy. Now, a state can be defined as all that you believe and consent to as being true. So, if you want your world to change, you must determine what you want to accept and consent to as true before you can change it. To arrive at a certain definition of self, you must begin by uncritically observing your automatic reaction to an event, for your reaction defines your state. And you can, without getting out of your chair, rebuild your world by changing your level (or state) of being. This is done by observing yourself uncritically as you react to life. If you do not like the circumstances of your life, acknowledge its cause. Be willing to admit that the circumstances are only objectifying what you are conscious of, then change your consciousness and your world will change. If you react to that which is being objectified, you bind yourself to a certain, level of awareness, but if you refuse to react, the thread is broken. Stop being conscious of something unlovely, for every unlovely thought causes you to walk in psychological mud. Rather, identify yourself with beauty, with love (the Christ in you) and you will ascend the infinite level of your own being and change the circumstances of your life.
Your state of awareness, like a magnet, attracts life. Steel, in its demagnetized state is a whirling mass of electrons, but when the electrons are faced in one direction, the steel is magnetized. You do not add to the steel to make it magnetic or take anything away to demagnetize it. This same principle is true for you. You can change your world by rearranging your thoughts and having them travel only in one direction, and that is toward the fulfillment of your desire.
Watch your reactions to life, for any change in the arrangement of your mind which can be detected by self- observation, will cause a change in your outer world. It is important to learn to be passive to that which is unlovely and unacceptable to you. In that way, you are awakening the dynamic one within. And when you find your inner being, you will discover that the qualities you condemn in others are really in yourself. Then you will know the secret of forgiveness, for as you forgive yourself, the others are forgiven.
All things (not just a few) are made manifest by the light, and everything manifested is light. The moment you consent to a thought, it is made manifest. It could not come into being unless you consented to its expression by being aware of it. The universe moves with motiveless necessity as it has no motive of its own. Rather, it moves under the necessity of manifesting the arrangements of the minds of men. This teaching is to awaken you to your light, and the awakening begins by self-observation.
If you have a secret affection for living in the mud of self- pity and condemnation, your world will mirror those feelings. But if you will rearrange your mind and live in the heavenly feeling of harmony and love, your manifested world will change. If, today, you would spend five minutes in uncritical observation of yourself, you would be surprised to discover how deceitful you are. It is a terrible shock, I know, but every shock of this type will let in the light of awareness, and life is an ever-increasing illumination. As the light comes in, you become more and more conscious of who you really are.
There is only one cause for the phenomena of life. Only by observing your own consciousness can you discover the cause of what is happening to you. There is no greater tyrant than the belief in a secondary cause. Let that tyrant go by remembering the one and only substance; the only cause which is awareness and immediately change what you are aware of. Only by observing your reactions to life can you find yourself. And remember, as long as you react as you do, the same things must confront you, for all that you admit to is made manifest by your consciousness, and everything you manifest is your consciousness.
Stop walking through the world in the mud and living in its basement. Your soul is made up of all that you consent to. Lose your soul on one level and you will find it on a higher level, defined differently. Always examine yourself uncritically, for the moment you become critical, you automatically justify your reactions and associate yourself with the thing observed. Everything is individual. Collective security and collective salvation are terms approached individually. Learn to stand on your own feet and not on the feet of a group. You must free yourself, and the only way to do that is to awaken the Christ in you who is sound asleep. Think noble thoughts based on noble concepts and they will pay great dividends, for you will rise in consciousness and transform your world. Give yourself your daily bread by giving yourself the opportunity to remember who you are! Never envy the good fortune of another, simply appropriate your own. "Be transformed by the renewing of your mind" by changing the ideas planted there, for you cannot change your thinking until you change the ideas from which your thoughts flow.
This book, as all things, came into being because of a thought acted upon. Neville left us October 1, 1972 and, since that time, I have invested many hours transcribing the hundreds of tapes I have of his lectures. Neville explained that the ark of life contained and could be understood on three levels: the literal, psychological and spiritual. The lectures which are available deal mainly with the spiritual. However, because those who are now hearing his words on tapes and reading his lectures, did not hear him speak on the second (or psychological) level, I realized the need to provide that psychological plane as a foundation for the higher, spiritual level. And so, the thought was planted in my mind. What if there were some lectures that taught this principle on a practical level? Wouldn't it be wonderful if such a series could be found and made available for those who would desire it. And then one day I received a letter from a lovely lady in San Francisco who said she was moving into a retirement home and wanted to send me some notes she had from Neville's lecture series in San Francisco in 1952. These notes constitute this book.
I had a thought. Wouldn't it be wonderful if... and acted upon it by feeling the thrill of the thought's completion. I have never met the lady or heard from her since receiving the notes, but I have proved, once again, that imagination (thought) fulfills itself. The living proof is in your hands.
Now, let me tell you a bit about me. Born and raised in a small town in Kansas, I moved to California in 1942 as a good Protestant. But I had a hunger that no organized religion could fill, so I drifted from one belief to another, seeking yet not finding what I was searching for, possibly because I did not know what it was. Then one day I heard a man called Neville, and I knew that, although the outer me did not understand his words, the inner me was singing the Hallelujah Chorus, for I had found the cause of all life.., that my very thought, mixed with feeling, was an imaginal act which created the facts in my world.
I remember the first night I lay in my bed and dared to claim, "I AM God." Afraid that the ceiling would crash down on me, I quickly covered my head - just in case. And when nothing happened, I gathered more courage and set out to prove for myself that imagination could create reality. I did not believe it could, and I wanted to prove Neville wrong. That was back in 1964, and I haven't succeeded yet. Not all of my imaginal acts have come to fruition, but I now know that the fault does not lie in the teaching, but in my belief in myself. And, as I have grown in my belief and trust and faith in what I have imagined, I have gained confidence in my own wonderful human imagination.
Several years ago, I put together a group of lectures of Neville's and called the book "Immortal Man." At the time, I was afraid to change his words even though felt I could make the message clearer if I did.
Shortly after its publication, I turned to self one night and asked, "Is it all right to change the words as long as I do not change the meaning? I know that if truth were told so that it could be understood, it would be believed. I know your words are true, Neville, but think I can make them clearer." I fell asleep questioning myself and, in the night, I had this dream: I am on my way to work. As I enter the building I see, directly before me, a beautiful restaurant whose tables are filled with diners, enjoying their meal. Neville is standing next to a fireplace, speaking to a group nearby. Thrilled to find him there, I am eager to show him the book of his lectures I had just published and question him regarding the change of words. But as I turn to take the case I am carrying into my office, get the book and return, he glances up and catches my eye. Instantly changing my mind, I turn and go directly into the restaurant to join him. But when I arrive, I discover that he has vanished, leaving the ladies to tell me that he is gone and will never return again.
Heartsick, I return to the lobby with its hard, tile floor when, suddenly the case I had been carrying fell from its handle. The moment it hit the floor, the case opened, my book fell out and lay open at its center seam. As I looked down in horror, I saw that I had been carrying a brief ease which contained a tape recorder that had turned on due to the fall, and Neville's voice was ringing out loud and clear. Embarrassed, I stooped down to turn off the volume, only to discover that all the knobs had fallen off the machine and there was no way for me to turn him off. As I tried to push the case over to the far wall in order to pick it up, I awoke with these words ringing in my ears, "I am IN you, AS you." From that moment on, my fears have vanished and, since that time, I have gained confidence in my writing. These are Neville's words - Neville's thoughts - yet we are so closely woven in the tapestry of thought that the words are now mine.
The lectures you will read are Neville's words. Yet they may not have been the exact words he spoke back in 1952. The material I had to work with were notes someone had taken in shorthand, transcribed, and duplicated. I have taken the notes and elaborated on them. The words are true and, hopefully understandable enough so you can test them and discover for yourself that when the truth is applied, it is made alive by a spiritual experience.
Always bear in mind that when Neville speaks of "man," he is speaking of generic man (man/woman). Man is the external world, the natural man; while imagination is the internal world, the man of spirit. God (imagination) became the natural man that the man of nature may become God who is Spirit.
Always think of yourself as two beings, one who sees through the organs of sense and the other who sees through the mind of imagination. And always remember God's name as he revealed it to Moses. "I AM. That is who I AM. And by this name, I shall be known throughout all generations. I AM that I AM." I the trinity, in unthinkable origin, AM God the Father. And I in creative expression AM the Son, for imagination is born of consciousness. Therefore I, in universal interpretation, in infinite imminence, in eternal procession AM God, the Holy Spirit.
A 45-year cycle of society and culture from 1988–2032
Are we witnessing the era of a New World Order?
The Mutilation of Uranus by Saturnby Vasari and Gherardi (16th century)
As I discussed at length in my recent article What’s Next: The Astrology of 2021, the major theme of this year will be the rather tense square aspect forming between Saturn in Aquarius and Uranus in Taurus. So I thought it might be beneficial to take a deeper dive into the symbolic relationship between these two planetary energies and examine the implications of this potent combination.
The Mutilation of Uranus by Saturn, depicted in the image above, is a 16th-century painting by Vasari and Gherardi that adorns the ceiling of the Room of Elements in the Palazzo Vecchio in Florence, Italy. It illustrates the Greek myth of the Titan, Saturn — the youngest son of the primordial god Uranus — in the act of castrating his tyrannical father with a sickle made of adamant (diamond), which was fashioned by his mother Gaia specifically for that purpose.
Entire volumes have been written attempting to unpack the complex symbolism and psychology of this succession myth. But for the purposes of this article, it provides us with a colorful backdrop for our discussion of the planetary archetypes that bear their mythical names.
For those who might be interested, I recently published an in-depth companion video on this subject of the Saturn/Uranus cycle on my YouTube channel.
Clash of the Titans
As planetary archetypes, Saturn and Uranus couldn’t be more different. They are in fact quite antithetical to each other, which is why the dynamic relationship of their cycle is so fascinating to observe. Saturn is the great boundary maker. It limits, restricts, confines. It is compelled to define and structure the world and bring order to chaos.
Uranus, on the other hand, revels in chaos. It is a most mischievous archetype that represents the urge to break free from all the limits, rules and restrictions imposed by Saturn. It is constantly bombarding Saturn with a relentless onslaught of revolutionary impulses, trying to break up all the crystalline structures that the old taskmaster has worked so hard to build, maintain and preserve.
Uranus wants to decondition us from all the conditioning patterns of life, family and society that Saturn represents. Why? Because it is an evolutionary necessity. In order to discover our true essential nature, we must progressively strip away all the conditioning patterns of our family, society and culture to find a deeper expression of the most unique and authentic aspects of ourselves — the core of our individual personalities. C.G. Jung referred to this as the process of individuation.
At their best, these two planetary archetypes combine to move society forward by means of slow and steady progress.
Depending on your own astrological framework, you may favor one side or the other in this cosmic battle between structure and reform, tradition and revolution, the safety and security of the past versus the risk and excitement of the cutting-edge future. Those of us with more Earth and Water in our birth charts may tend to be more risk averse and favor the Saturn side of the equation. Those of us with more Fire and Air may tend to be more risk-taking and embrace the exciting chaos of Uranus.
This tension between the archetypes of Saturn and Uranus often shows up as a “versus” dynamic:
conservative vs progressive
security vs adventure
age vs youth
materialism vs idealism
So we can expect these thematic tensions and energetic polarizations to be magnified within our culture this year. And keep in mind that the square aspect tends to constellate more of the shadow qualities of these two titanic archetypes.
At their worst, these two planetary archetypes can constellate and reinforce each other’s shadow aspects.
Synod: A Journey Together
The concept of a synodic cycle in astrology comes from the ancient Greek word synodos which means to “journey together.” So the synod of Saturn and Uranus outlines the roughly 45-year cycle of their journey together, and it’s influence is most acutely felt at its conjunction, square and opposition points — the so-called hard aspects. In 2021, we are experiencing what we call a “waning” or “last-quarter” square, marking the ¾ point in the 45-year cycle.
Typically, this period in any synodic cycle is associated with a crisis in consciousness. It represents the challenge of integrating what has been learned since the opposition of these two planets (which occurred back in 1999–2000). And that opposition represented the point of the greatest maturation in the entire cycle, where the original “seed idea” that was planted at the last conjunction (which occurred in 1988) came into its fullness.
So what was the original “seed idea” of this current cycle? In order to answer that question, we need to rewind to the beginning of this entire cycle, so we can understand the deeper meaning of this current crisis in consciousness.
American Global Hegemony
The current Saturn/Uranus cycle began with the last exact conjunction — which occurred in February of 1988 — when these two planets met at 29º Sagittarius. Of course, the beginning of a new cycle always signals the end of the old.
A linear mapping of the current cycle, highlighting the four “hard aspects” and their positions in the zodiac.
The previous cycle (from 1942–1988) perfectly bookended the Cold War Era — from World War II to the fall of the Berlin Wall. In the late 1980s, it seemed as if the USA had clearly won the decades-long Cold War, with its adversary, the USSR, having crumbled from within. America was emerging victorious as the sole global power.
A new era was beginning.
At its best, the initiation of a new Sa/Ur cycle represents the ability to take bold new inventions and innovative technologies (Uranus) and harness them in productive and lasting ways within society (Saturn). When they form a conjunction, they conspire to “birth’’ or “seed” a new vision that reflects the qualities of the sign in which they conjoin.
So we can frame this current cycle as one that began in the sign of Sagittarius, and is encapsulating a period of global expansion that has created a deeply interdependent global economy and a deeply interconnected global information ecology (via the internet). The notion of a Global Village first articulated by the famous media theorist Marshall McLuhan in the 1960s has now become our planetary reality.
Some very “global” seed ideas were planted during the Sa/Ur conjunction that occurred in expansion-minded and worldly-oriented Sagittarius in 1988.
Crisis in Action
The energy initiated during the conjunction in Sagittarius in 1988 would have come into its first hard aspect during its first quarter square in the year 2000, when Uranus had moved into Aquarius and Saturn into Taurus. The incredible period of technological innovation and global expansion that occurred throughout the decade of the 1990s (with Uranus moving through Capricorn and then Aquarius) created a dot-com bubble, which suddenly burst when Saturn (limits and restrictions) came into a hard square aspect in the sign of Taurus (resources and finances).
This first quarter square created a crisis in action and required a necessary adjustment. The unbridled enthusiasm of the early phase of the cycle needed to be harnessed into more practical and sustainable structures. Keep in mind that this was also during the period of Pluto’s transit through Sagittarius (1995–2008), so the energy pattern for global expansion was incredibly accelerated during this period.
But the dot-com bubble is clearly connected to the Saturn/Uranus (Sa/Ur) cycle. Particularly, this era of America’s global hegemony, which has been bolstered as much by technological innovation as by military might, witnessed the center of economic power shift from the industrial military complex of the previous cycle, to Silicon Valley and the tech giants of the current cycle.
From the perspective of the Sa/Ur cycle, we can see this first quarter square in the year 2000 as a point of adjustment: a revaluing and retooling of the entire tech sector. The next phase in the cycle would witness the potent combination of wireless networks and smartphone technologies that pushed the internet age to new heights.
The disruptive effects (Uranus) of the nascent app-based economy would prove to have monumental consequences for more traditional providers of goods and services (Saturn). The disruption of online retailers to traditional brick & mortar outlets was overwhelming. Over this period businesses like Barnes & Noble, a literal cornerstone of the retail space, would all but disappear in the face of competition from online bookseller Amazon, which ruthlessly leveraged its massive asymmetrical advantage to gobble up other areas of the retail space as well.
Disrupting The Grid
Another common manifestation of the Saturn–Uranus interface can be witnessed in disruptions to the energy grid. The rolling blackouts during the 2000–2001 square aspect that led to the California electricity crisis were a perfect example of this phenomenon. A myriad of factors were to blame, including a drought, lack of new capacity and market manipulation.
The last of those factors was directly connected to the Enron scandal that occurred during the same time period. The energy giant’s complex financial scheme was exposed as a massive fraud. The company went bankrupt and a few executives went to jail. But electricity consumers—mostly Californians—were left holding the bag. This is a common theme that tends to play out over the course of this push/pull, expansion/contraction cycle, as we’ll soon see.
Does any of this sound familiar? Should we consider the most recent Texas power crisis of 2021, when more than 4.5 million homes and businesses were left without power… in the dead of winter… during a pandemic? Yeah, these cycles tend to repeat themselves. It seems the current square aspect of 2021 is starting to feel a lot like the last square aspect of 2001. And as we’ll see, the parallels are becoming eerily similar.
Pluto Enters The Picture
By the middle of 2001, Saturn was moving beyond its square aspect with Uranus. But it was headed straight for another difficult encounter—an opposition with Pluto. The Saturn/Pluto cycle is yet another pattern of great significance in our world, one characterized by war, violence, terrorism and disease. And it illustrates how often these planetary cycles can intersect and overlap, sometimes with far-reaching and often devastating consequences.
On September 11, 2001, Pluto (planet of chaos and destruction) was in Sagittarius (sign of religious fanaticism), while Saturn (planet of rigid authority) had moved into Gemini (the Twins). How’s that for archetypal symbolism expressing itself?
In two years—from 1999–2001— a chain reaction between Uranus, Saturn and Pluto had triggered a major shift in geopolitics. The War on Terrorism, the Department of Homeland Security, the Transportation Security Administration, the Iraq War, the rise of the surveillance state— the world has really never been quite the same since. And the impact of this triple triggering transit—with Pluto interfacing the Saturn/Uranus cycle—would continue to exert a disruptive and transformational force.
During the 1st quarter square in 2000, the globalist cycle encountered its first test—a crisis in action.
American Dream or Financial Ruin?
The next major aspect came in 2009 with the opposition of Uranus in Pisces to Saturn in Virgo. This exactly coincided with the height (or rather depths) of the Great Recession that resulted from yet another bubble — this time the one created by the subprime mortgage scandal that resulted in the housing crisis.
Considered to be one of the greatest economic disasters in US history (second only to the Great Depression), the fallout from this crisis spread around the world, exposing just how interconnected — and perilously fragile — the global economy had become. Reflecting back on the fact that this cycle began in Sagittarius, we can understand how this opposition reveals the maturation of the “seed impulse” towards globalism that was implied by the original conjunction in 1988.
It’s also interesting to note that the opposition occurred while Uranus was in dreamy and deceptive Pisces, expressing both the American Dream of owning your own home and the deceptive practices of the investment banks and financial institutions who knowingly packaged these low-grade and risky investments and labelled them as A-1 quality. The bankers were using high-tech and extremely complicated financial instruments (Uranus) that even they didn’t fully understand (Pisces). In a classic expression of the opposition aspect, we had become divorced from reality.
So when Saturn moved into opposition in practical and detail-oriented Virgo, and the lawyers and accountants came in to analyze the nitty-gritty details of the “cooked” books of the investment banks, they quickly realized they were in way over their heads, and that entire global economy was about to come to a screeching halt.
But a new concept was born from this crisis: too big to fail. Now, if that doesn’t have the fingerprints of Saturn conjunct Uranus in Sagittarius all over it, I don’t know what does. But it really does set a dramatic stage for the theme of the second half of this cycle. When we unpack this concept, we see that when something is too big (Sagittarius) to fail (Saturn), it’s going to require some massive reform (Uranus) in order to survive, otherwise it will likely be destroyed (Pluto).
Again, I’ve interjected Pluto into this formula, because it continues to be a major player in this unfolding Saturn/Uranus story. Coincidently, Pluto moved from Sagittarius into Capricorn at the exact time the Great Recession was imploding in 2008. So the symbolism of Pluto (the impulse for necessary change and evolution) moving from Sagittarius (global expansion) to Capricorn (social structures, institutions and hierarchies) highlighted a need for necessary reforms to the system in order for society to continue to evolve.
But those reforms never happened. The Federal Reserve printed a few trillion dollars out of thin air, and everyone pretended to go back to business as usual. The problems and inequities inherent in the underlying fundamentals of the global economy that were laid bare by the events of Great Recession were never properly addressed.
As Pluto has continued its journey through Capricorn, all the various systems and institutions that make up the global economy have been increasingly stress-tested. Keep in mind that Pluto tends to elicit evolutionary change in one of two ways: either by slow and deliberate evolution through cooperation and conscious effort, or by sudden, catastrophic destruction and havoc wrecked by unconscious impulses. Which side of that equation does it feel like we are embracing?
During the opposition in 2008–2009, we lost our focus and became deeply divided.
Crisis in Consciousness
Now in 2021, we are entering the last quarter square phase of the synodic cycle between Saturn and Uranus, which is characterized by a crisis in consciousness. What’s required to handle the current situation is not so much new actions, but new ways of thinking. During the opposition of 2009, we were shown how dangerously divorced we had become from reality, revealing a world increasingly divided between haves and have nots, the 1% versus the 99%.
There’s an interesting symmetry between this last quarter square we are entering now in 2021 and the fist quarter square we endured back 1999–2000. At that time, Uranus was in Aquarius and Saturn was in Taurus. This time, it’s the other way around — Saturn is in Aquarius and Uranus in Taurus. Might we expect some sort of role reversal?
During the tech bubble of 2000, what was disrupted (Uranus) was Big Tech (Aquarius), which caused limits and losses (Saturn) to the financial markets (Taurus). This time around, a scenario could play out where the disruption (Uranus) will occur in the financial markets (Taurus), causing limits and losses (Saturn) to Big Tech (Aquarius).
Could the Big Tech platforms be in for a rude awakening this year? Or have they become — like the out of control investment banks in 2009 — too big to fail? It seems counterintuitive to think that tech stocks — now riding all time highs in the current (and highly irrational) bull market — could somehow suffer the limits and losses often imposed by Saturn during these triggering transits. But stranger things have happened, my friends.
What’s that old saying on Wall Street? Bulls make money. Bears make money. Pigs get slaughtered.
Mad Money
Another area that could be up for disruption and sudden change is the entire global monetary system itself. With central banks printing trillions of dollars out of thin air under the auspices of “quantitative easing,” and crypto fever pushing Bitcoin over $50,000, the climate seems ripe for some kind of showdown between traditional fiat currencies and the emergent digital coin culture. This is classic Saturn/Uranus.
The two recent events that most characterized this archetypal complex are the Capitol Riot (irresponsible or harmful forms of rebellion) and the Gamestop phenomenon (challenging the bedrock assumptions of a worldview).
Both may be harbingers of things to come.
The “Big Brother vs. Little Brother” theme of Saturn and Uranus seems to constellate just these types of scenarios. More often than not, the Uranian or Promethean-like hero figures end up being subdued by the Saturnian or Authoritarian-like powers that be. But in this new Aquarian Age, might those tables be turning?
There are a lot of big ideas and big numbers being floated. Infrastructure packages exceeding $2 trillion. Great Resets and Green New Deals. Debt jubilees, indigenous reparations and universal basic income.
Many of the major decisions that are made in the next few years will determine how this entire 45-year cycle will end. We likely won’t know the true outcome until 2032, when the current cycle concludes and a new cycle begins. The next conjunction will occur in the sign of Gemini — certain to usher in a future era mediated by exponential advancements in information technology. Will it look more like a decentralized, equitably-distributed and inclusively-oriented global village — one that restores the tragedy of the commons? Or will it devolve into a dystopian prison planet dominated by Big Brother and Big Tech — one that perpetuates the zero sum game of a voracious global technocracy?
We are about to find out.
During the last quarter square from 2020–2022, we are being challenged with a crisis in consciousness. Can we think our way out of this mess?
Resolving Internal Conflicts
2021 will continue to be a year dominated by this square energy. We have Uranus in Taurus — a progressive planet in a rather conservative sign, in square with Saturn in Aquarius — a conservative planet in a rather progressive sign. So we can expect a lot of tension (square energy) between progressive and conservative impulses throughout the remainder of 2021. This will likely play out on the political stage and continue to ripple through the culture at large. Additionally, each of us as individuals will likely feel this tension internally as well as interpersonally.
Many of us are internalizing the push/pull dynamic of this current energy pattern. We are torn between clinging to our past and traditions (Saturn) and embracing what seems like a necessary and inevitable future (Uranus). Any cursory cruise through any of our social media feeds will show us this tension playing out in real time amongst our friends, family and colleagues. We’re all in the midst of a crisis in consciousness. So what is the best course of action to navigate this current crisis?
When we consider the best qualities of the archetypal Saturn/Uranus complex, we are encouraged to pursue the paths of responsible freedom, cautious innovation and liberation through everyday routines. None of it is super sexy, but it does contain the kind of sober medicine and healing elixir that is necessary for the times.
When properly and potently combined, the archetypes of Saturn and Uranus arm us with the courage to challenge the bedrock assumptions of our worldview. What is wrong, or simply outdated in our approach? What new perspective is required to continue to evolve and innovate? How can we extricate ourselves for the problem — solution — more problems trap? How do we embrace the dialectic process of moving beyond thesis and antithesis, and shift into some new synthesis?
There are no easy answers. There rarely are during difficult or challenging times. These are times of character testing. These are times to dig deeper. These are the times that try our souls.
We have crossed a threshold. We have entered into the Aquarian Age in earnest. We opened a cosmic and collective doorway during the Great Mutation that occurred in Aquarius on the Winter Solstice last December. With Uranus as the modern ruler of Aquarius, and Saturn as the traditional ruler, the combined planetary energies certainly align with Aquarian values. The question is: which aspect of the Aquarius archetype will we embrace? The positive side of responsible freedom and cautious innovation? Or the shadow side of extreme polarization and rude awakenings?
There will be two more exact squares of Saturn and Uranus this year — on June 14th (with Saturn retrograde) and again on December 24th (with Uranus retrograde). Regardless of which side of the equation manifests, we can all expect to feel an acceleration of the acute tension between conservative and liberal elements, between materialism and idealism, between past comforts and future needs — both in ourselves and in the world at large. And we will all be required to reconcile these tensions within ourselves. May we endeavor to do so with the courage of love and the humility of necessity.
Sat Nam, everyone.
Want to explore the topic further? Check out my in-depth companion video on this subject of the Saturn/Uranus cycle on my YouTube channel. Hope to see you there too!-----------------------------------------------------------------------------Source https://medium.com/astrolab21/the-saturn-uranus-cycle-clash-of-the-titans-9fc789e3b738
It’s been almost twenty years since I sat in the auditorium of the Women’s Club in Los Angeles, California and watched a man in a gray pinstriped suit walk out on the stage and take his place behind the podium where many tape recorders were placed across the stage. A man would walk by, press the buttons of the many machines, sit down and the speaker would begin.
I have blessed my recorder many times for, although I attended the hour long lectures for seven years, when I heard the words, “Now let us go into the silence,” I could not recall one word that had been said.
Neville always had the power to take me with him. (Perhaps because I was always eager and willing to go). I seemed to have no control, but would simply be transformed by his words and allow him to take me to experience sights and sounds I never before knew existed. Yet they were all so familiar that my heart sang the Hallelujah Chorus.
The hour was always over much too quickly and I would drive home trying to remember what I had heard, and wondering why I felt so heavy. Was it because I had been so free? It was always that way. Neville had that effect on me. I believed him with all my heart and soul. I still do.
Neville Goddard left us October 1, 1972. But where did he go? I can still see his smile (you know, the kind the cat gets when he has swallowed the canary) and hear him say, “Where can I go but within you!” That’s where I have found him. He is within me, as he is within you, not as a man of flesh and blood, born to the Goddard family and named Neville, but in our own consciousness.
But perhaps that is not the Neville you want to know about. Perhaps you need to know about the boy who was born on February 19, 1905, the fourth son of a family of nine boys and one girl. I will tell you what I know. You must remember, I am sharing with you my memory image of a man who was my teacher. A man I respected greatly and learned to love, with a love deeper than I knew I was capable of possessing. His name was Neville Goddard.
One March morning in the year 1905, a man climbed the stairs of a wooden frame house on the island of Barbados. He was on his way to see his sister and her new baby boy who had not yet been named. Suddenly he stopped. A voice, speaking loud and clear said, “His name is Neville.” Pondering these words, the man continued up the stairs and entered his sister’s room. And when he told her what he had heard she said, “Yes, I know. We shall call him Neville.”
Living in a family of nine boys, Neville learned at an early age how to share. The saying around the house was, “The first dressed is the best dressed,” for if the boys began to argue about who had on who’s tie, their father would end the argument by taking the tie and saying,
“The tie is mine. I paid for it. I am willing to share. Learn to do the same.” And they did.
The Goddard family was poor in material worth, but rich in love. His mother was a disciplinarian. His father a businessman. Neville used to tell us stories of his youth; about the sand crabs with their hind claws, and the old woman who lived alone on the sand dunes who could read the future. It was she who told one of Neville’s brothers that he would be a great businessman, another brother a doctor, but to leave the fourth one alone as he belonged to God.
The fourth one always enjoyed a good laugh. If he had a nickel, he spent it. He used to tell about paying a friend’s way into the movie with the promise that he would laugh out loud at the very saddest part. The friend always kept his promise and, therefore never got to see the end of a movie. Or, he would pay a man whose donkey was in heat, to wait at a corner for Neville and his brothers to arrive riding their big jack-drawn cart. I can still see Neville laugh as I write this…and remember.
What I am trying to tell you is that Neville was a human being, just as you are. Just as I am. Yet, in spite of all of his human frailties, Neville was conscious of being God the Father. But I am getting ahead of my story.
When Neville was still very young (in the fifth or sixth grade, I believe) he was to bring his Bible to school and recite a verse from it. Since the family only owned one Bible, and one of his brothers had already taken it to school, Neville arrived without a Bible. When he recited the verse, “Take up thy bed and walk,” the teacher corrected him saying the verse read, “Take up thy couch and walk.”
And when Neville could not produce his Bible, the teacher made him take off his shirt and pull down his trousers. Then he beat him unmercifully. Neville was taken out of that school to continue his education elsewhere, completing his high school years at the age of seventeen.
Yet there was a hunger in the young man, a hunger that could not be satisfied on the little island of Barbados. So, at the age of seventeen Neville left home for the mainland, arriving in New York in the year 1921. And there, as a young uneducated boy he began to seek his fortune.
Finding a job as an elevator operator for J.C. Penney Company, Neville worked for $15.00 per week until one day he was told that his services were no longer needed. With a recommendation in hand, Neville secured a job on Macy’s shipping dock for $13.00 a week. But this position was short lived as Neville soon became so angry he said to himself, “From this day forward I will not work for another. I will only work for myself.” And that is what he did.
Believing that if others could dance on the stage, he could too, Neville joined an established dancer and began his professional career. It was during this time he married. This union produced a son.
In 1925 Neville and his dancing partner sailed for England and traveled widely in that country. While there he was introduced to the world of psychical research which interested him greatly. Shortly after his return to America in 1926, his interest in mysticism increased as his interest in the theater decreased. And when the depression hit in 1929 and the theaters closed, so did Neville’s professional life as a dancer.
During this time Neville became interested in the Rosicrucian Society and met a man who was to influence his life. The man had thought he wanted to become a Catholic priest. While he was studying for the priesthood, his father, a wealthy businessman died and left an estate of thousands of dollars to his son. Quickly changing his mind about the priesthood, the young man proceeded to spend the money as fast as he could.
Having no respect for a man who would spend so lavishly when the country was in such need, Neville found excuses when asked to attend a class the young man had joined. But one day Neville ran out of excuses and attended the class of an eccentric Ethiopian rabbi named Abdullah.
When the class was dismissed Abdullah came over and, taking Neville’s hand said, “Where have you been? You are three months late! ” Taken aback Neville asked, “How did you know I was coming?” to which Abdullah replied, “The brothers told me.”
With Abdullah, Neville studied the Kabala, a Jewish form of mysticism, and obtained illuminating insights into the books of the Bible. He developed a new approach to the problem of man and his relationship with the pulsating world of spirit around him.
It was Abdullah who taught Neville how to use the law of consciousness and how to see the Bible psychologically. And as Neville began to see the world as a picture world, projected from within, his faith in himself grew.
In February of 1930 Neville began lecturing in New York City. First meeting in a small room of a public building where only a handful of people attended, as his speaking ability grew and he gained confidence in his message, so did his audience.
Neville’s first marriage was short lived and he remained a bachelor for several years until one day a young designer sat in his audience. As she listened, she said to herself, “This is the man I am going to marry.”
And when they shook hands at the end of the lecture, Neville held her hand and said to himself, “This is the woman I am going to marry,” and they did. It was a good marriage. They loved each other deeply, that was obvious, and from this union a daughter was born.
After the war was over, Neville began to travel, holding lectures in various large cities as far west as San Francisco. And then one day he knew it was time to leave New York City. He had hoped to move to San Francisco, as he loved this cosmopolitan city, but this was not to be.
He knew by then that his major work was to be done in Los Angeles so, packing up his wife and child, the Goddard family moved to Los Angeles in 1955. They returned to New York in the fall of 1956, coming back to Los Angeles in 1957.
I am at a loss for dates here, but I do know that during the early years of the 1950’s Neville had his own television program. He made two phonograph records during those years which are now available on (Audio CD) cassette tape. He also debated with teams of ministers, priests and rabbis on special television programs.
Neville taught the law of consciousness in Los Angeles at the Fox Wilshire Theater on Sunday mornings to crowds so large the people were standing outside in throngs to hear his words. He also spent several weeks each year in San Francisco.
It was in San Francisco, on July 20, 1959 that Neville awoke to find himself sealed in a tomb. Removing a stone placed there, he came out of his skull just like a child comes out of its mother’s womb.
From that moment on Neville’s lectures changed. Having awakened from the dream of life, Neville’s outlook on the world changed. He knew, as the visions came upon him from that point on, that the garment he wore, and answered to its name, was simply a covering, hiding his true, immortal being who was God the Father. And he tried to tell all those who would listen that they were not the little mask they wore, but a being far greater than they could ever conceive themselves to be.
And from that day forward, until his departure on October 1, 1972 Neville, like Paul, Expounded from morning till night, testifying to the kingdom of God and trying to convince all about Jesus, both from the law of Moses and the prophets. And some believed, while others disbelieved.”
Margaret Ruth Broome Quoted from The Miracle of Imagination introduction.
