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The Light We Cannot See
Hope [excerpt]
It hovers in dark corners
before the lights are turned on,
it shakes sleep from its eyes
and drops from mushroom gills,
it explodes in the starry heads
of dandelions turned sages,
it sticks to the wings of green angels
that sail from the tops of maples.
[…] It is the singular gift
we cannot destroy in ourselves,
the argument that refutes death,
the genius that invents the future,
all we know of God.
~ Lisel Mueller
Winter cold and stillness is upon us, the leaves steadily flying from the trees. Prepping for my Sagittarius class last week, I was reminded that the mighty Oak is one of Jupiter/Zeus’ totems (Jupiter being the ruler of Sag). Fitting as, at this time here in my watershed we are gifted with a diverse array of oak leaf shapes and colors, fluttering in the winds, sparkling on trees after the rains, or carpeting the ground. (I so love shuffling through them!)
After a particularly brutal Scorpio season on the world stage, it surely amazes to now find ourselves being infused with the sharply contrasting Sagittarius themes of hope, vision, and faith that the ‘Archer’ archetype brings. The Wheel of Life does not rest for long in one groove, we find. Not to deny the grim headlines as I write, that the ‘Pause’ in the war on Gaza has ended, our Sagittarian glimpse of political high-mindedness and morality newly eclipsed by continued carnage.
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Call to Joy – A Shift in the Memes
Nevertheless, somewhere in the mix, since the Sun entered Sagittarius on Nov. 22, there has been a shift in the memes. These now include a call to joy and hope, two prominent themes of the archetype. All the more appropriate, with the holidays at hand, when we are called to raise our voices in song, or tune in to ‘choirs of angels.’ In this light, I’m feeling acutely how the corrective medicine of Sagittarius (which each sign offers as an antidote to the extremes of its predecessor), is truly a necessary and healing balm. I was recently blessed to listen in on an inspiring conversation between two women authors, Kerry Ni Dochartaigh (Thin Times) and Nina MacLaughin (Winter Solstice), which hones in on these messages. To allow joy to come and sit close is a very political act—to sit in the light that can only exist because of the darkness, Kerry said. She pointed to the need to find hope in the big picture view of life, a project that Sagittarius is keen to tackle. Allowing hope and joy is a quick-fire way to open to heart-centeredness and growth. Growth, akin to expansiveness, another core feature of Sag/Jupiter energy. Upwards and outwards, the courageous Explorer/Adventurer’s cry goes, not deterred by setbacks and failings, continuing on the driving quest for noble ideals and vistas, be they peace, justice, or awakening. The two writers also touched on their pursuit of truth, a calling of both Sagittarius and Scorpio, each in their own way. Scorpio asks us to surrender to the truth of our pain, as part of healing and regeneration. At its best, it stands ready to face down, feel, and excavate repressed traumas, unafraid of opening to the suffering that such truth may impart. Sagittarius, in contrast, is after a transcendent, over-arching truth, which it aims to bring into Life by grounding it in our hearts and our seeing, after first encountering it in high places—whether these be a mountaintop, a meditation cushion, or a seat of higher learning. A recent newsletter from awe-inspiring author, theologian, and activist priest, Matthew Fox, echoes the call to noble aspirations. Speaking to the moment of the horrific Middle East situation, Fox asserts that joy is deeper than sorrow and grief, and that it is found not by banishing suffering, but by going still deeper. “The via postiva sustains us when the via negativa tends to swamp us and take over.” No doubt Fox’s own Sun-Jupiter-Mars conjunction, trine Neptune (the significator of spirituality, among other things), helps fortify his faith in goodness and nobility, and the capacity to rise above darkness. Key to the endeavor of rising from darkness, however, is that it not be a spiritual bypass—one of the potential pitfalls of the Sag/Jupiter impulse. |
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The Compass of Meaning – Viktor Frankl
While many untold oppressed individuals have managed to find a sustaining light within horrific darkness, only a few have achieved fame in so doing. Viktor Frankl, holocaust survivor and author of the powerful book, Man’s Search For Meaning, may be the most renowned. In an interview I stumbled upon he shares his secret for surviving the horrors he lived through.
He who has a why to live for can bear almost any how, he states in the interview. The will-to-meaning, the will to find and to fulfill meaning is the basic motivation in a human being.
Meaning-making is a major concern of the Sagittarius archetype. Frankl himself had an optimistic Sagittarius Moon opposite Pluto, planet of ‘death and transformation’ (and ruler of Scorpio), which certainly speaks to his capacity to rise from the ashes of his experience through focusing on the Light of meaning. He found this light in both witnessing and engaging in creative pursuits while in the camps, as well as in serving and caring for others in their despair, in his capacity as a psychiatrist. All of this helped him achieve a level of balance amidst the grueling losses he endured and was surrounded by.
While meaning can take many forms, Sagittarius often aims for the prize through the synthesis of knowledge and ideas into a larger system of understanding (such as religion, spiritual philosophy, or astrology). However, Sag is a Fire sign. As such, its mode of accessing Truth is the Intuition, not the mind. Hence its connection with the Teacher or Wisdom Guide, such as the Wise Men in the story of Jesus’ birth, guided not by book knowledge, but by the light of a star.
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From the Heart to the Universe – Thomas Berry
In this vein, I came upon a recent written interview with another great wayshower of our time, Thomas Berry, cultural historian, world religions scholar, Catholic priest, and staunch advocate for protecting the earth’s integral systems. In the article Berry speaks with great eloquence to the value of intuitive consciousness.
We have the capacity to awaken to the inner life of things. It is about another way of knowing, an ‘origin-al’ way of knowing, you might say. It is a knowing that is connected as a tendril of the heart to the heart of the universe. It is a numinous awareness, an intuitive consciousness, a second voice, which resides beneath the rational faculties and is actually the approach to transformation.
Throughout his long life, Berry determinedly spread his vision of human interdependence with the earth as part of the unfolding journey of the universe. Something which of course indigenous peoples have known and lived for 10’s of thousands of years, which is why we are increasingly turning to them as the last, vital repositories of how to establish a truly ‘ecological civilization’.
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‘Muscular Hope’ – Christiana Figueres
One more member of the Sag ‘big picture’ parade, also an advocate for shifting wayward humanity’s course to one that respects Earth’s systems, is Christiana Figueres, Costa Rican UN climate diplomat and orchestrator of the 2015 Paris Climate Accords. In a recent OnBeing podcast with Krista Tippett, Christiana also spoke to the need to claim joy, as fuel for the hard work ahead of meeting 2030 goals to mitigate the worst climate eventualities. She also spoke of the need for muscular hope, how in this critical decade we must overcome fear-induced “paralysis” and continue to strengthen ourselves in ways of interconnection and solidarity. This too syncs with Sagittarius, whose totem is the centaur, with chest and head of a human, and body of a horse—which comes with strong muscles!
While admitting to phases of very deep grief in her own life, particularly ecological grief, Christiana insists on returning to a mindset of presence and optimism. (Sag/Jupiter has a reputation for magnetizing good fortune due to its attitude of optimism.) She refers to another, recent conversation she’d had with author/journalist Rebecca Solnit (who wrote Hope In the Dark) and Buddhist Roshi Joan Halifax, on the topic, Uncertainty and Possibility: Meeting the Climate Future. Caring for and focusing on the future, with a spiritually-tuned vision, these three powerful women set themselves to the task in a deeply thoughtful way.
In considering ourselves as the planet’s future ancestors, they addressed the need for a New Story, NOW. (Storytelling is Jupiter’s domain par excellence!) A story that includes possibility, and collaboration with all beings. As part of this, we must learn to train our thoughts and attention not on anxiety over what’s failing and what’s being lost, but on what is coming alive, and on what is noble and beautiful. There is in fact much to celebrate in this time, although the news headlines rarely speak to this.
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Celebrations of the Light
In this season of darkness, Sagittarius also partakes of this essential practice of celebration. In pre-Christian times, the approaching Winter Solstice was the marker for revelry. Here at this shortest day, when the visible light in the northern hemisphere ebbs to its lowest, the light begins to return. “Solstice,” derived from the Latin, solstitium, means “sun stands still.” After months of becoming shorter and lower since the summer solstice, the sun’s arc through the sky appears to stabilize, with the sun seeming to rise and set in the same two places for several days.
In these weeks before and after this ‘still point,’ we are invited to a deepened companionship with darkness. But it is also a time when we celebrate and call on the Light by putting up lights and lighting candles, warming our hearts with uplifting music and, of equal import, turning towards the light within.
In Ancient Rome the “Saturnalia’ winter solstice festival took place from December 17-24, in honor of Saturn who, prior to his son Jupiter’s birth, was father of the gods. Suspending the usual discipline and order of Saturn’s rule, a week of feasting ensued. Some astrologers suggest that in fact, Jesus was a Pisces. A pagan view is that his 12/25 birthdate was selected by the Christians to offset these ‘unleashed’ celebrations. And, that to lure pagans to their cause, church leaders added Christian meaning to the Solstice festivals.
For instance, Christmas has been referred to as Yule, which may have been derived from the Norse word jól, referring to the solstice celebration. In Scandinavia, the Feast of Juul was observed in pre-Christian times around the Winter Solstice. Fires were lit to signify the heat, light, and life-giving qualities of the returning Sun. A Yule, or Juul, log was brought in to burn on the hearth in honor of the god Thor.
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Santas Among Us
A Christmas-related myth to add to the mix is that of Santa and his Reindeer, which legend suggests derives from Siberian and northern European shamans who dispensed hallucinogenic ‘magic’ mushrooms to their tribes at this time of year. Reindeer, common to those parts, are known to forage for these hallucinogenic fungi, as are the local humans. So, as it’s told, these shamans used to visit teepee-like homes with bags full of Amanita muscaria (aka fly agaric or ‘holy mushroom’)—gifts for the season of inner visioning!
Because the ground-level doors were blocked by heavy snow at this time in these parts, openings in the roofs were used to enter and exit, hence the modern-world tale of Santa dropping gifts from the chimney. A Harvard scientist who studies fungi speculates that the tribespeople who ingested the mushrooms may have hallucinated that the ordinary reindeer were flying.
Distinct in the fungal world for their bright red caps flecked with white spots—models for the future Santa motif—the amanita mushrooms populate beneath conifer and birch trees. And where do we put our seasonal gifts, if not under the conifer tree? The pieces of this extensive myth all kinda make sense, to a Jupiterian believer like me!
Here in Sonoma County, CA, I’ve been spotting the occasional amanita in my local park for years, but in recent years they’re on the increase, even springing up in my own neighborhood. The phenomenon, in true Jupiter style, is growing! I just today was out walking in the early winter rains and found that these ‘snow-flecked’ red caps are not just far more populous beneath one long patch of trees along “Jewell Avenue” where they were last year, but in multiple other sections of my 50-minute loop—some even popping up beneath drip irrigation pipes!
In keeping with their shamanic associations, these special fungi are purported to promote creativity and healing in many arenas, including mental health. My working theory is that as the world’s fear and despair increases, the earth is generously sending up a growing army of these healing beings to help us out!
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Astrological Gods of the Season
I find it interesting that the Earth festivals and zodiacal correlations of this season involve both Jupiter and Saturn, the two ‘gateway’ or ‘social’ planets who mediate between the fast-moving inner, ‘personal’ planets—Mercury, Mars, and Venus—and the slow-moving outer, transpersonal planets—Uranus, Pluto, and Neptune. Jupiter and Saturn (ruler of Capricorn, next month’s sign) are the last two visible planets in the sky (Saturn being the furthest), and as such, beckon us toward worlds beyond visible sight – to the ‘lights’ we cannot see.
Though serving similar roles—helping us navigate with the larger social and transpersonal realms, the energies these two planets represent are seeming opposites, with Jupiter bearing joyous optimism and expansion, and Saturn being associated with caution, discipline, and limitation. Given the wisdom to be found in ‘making the two into one’, I find that one of the keys to grounding meaning in our own lives involves the artful integration of these two contrasting energies.
The anxious, deficiency mindset of Saturn needs the boon of Jupiter’s faith and positivity. Jupiter/Sag invites us to look at what comes to us (or what doesn’t come!) as Gift, rather than mourning what is no longer, or has not been. But if the world were all Centaur and no Goat (Capricorn’s totem), we’d be bogged down by our excesses, and foiled by unplanned and careless overshoots. As in all things Earth and Sky, balance (thank you Libra!) is essential.
For a deep dive into Capricorn and masterful but oft-maligned Saturn, you can purchase my class recording and notes. Saturn is the Teacher par excellence, showing us where and how we need to ‘get serious’ in our lives, in order to focus on and achieve our designs.
Sagittarius New Moon
Saturn and Jupiter energies are at work in the next New Moon, at 20° Sagittarius on Dec. 12, 3:30pm. Mercury will be at 9° Capricorn, where it forms a trine with Jupiter in Taurus. The trine, a harmonious aspect, in grounded Earth signs, will help us infuse our practical thoughts and communications with high-mindedness, and lend faith to our mindset.
With Pluto moving direct in the final degrees of Capricorn, squaring the confrontational Aries-Libra axis of the Moon’s Nodes, and Mars joining the Moon-Sun conjunction in Sagittarius, we will likely continue to see violence and volatility in the news during this next lunar cycle. But inwardly with our thoughts and prayers, and in our personal communications, let us stick to the high road.
Neptune has just turned direct (making its energy better able to flow out into the world) in Pisces, and squares the Sun and Moon. This can go two ways: towards a heightened sense of interconnection with all beings, a religious or spiritual sense perhaps inspired by the stillness and power of winter, or the joy of music, communion and celebration; or towards deception or disillusionment, which can result from having unrealistic hopes, expectations, or ideals dashed.
This latter could speak to the challenges with family, or the lack thereof, which many face in this holiday season. If so, leaning into the Mercury-Jupiter trine can serve to ground our thoughts with both realism and faith, and the recognition that we’re all doing the very best we can at a difficult time. If we don’t ‘find what we’re looking for’ (with a nod to the classic U2 song on a Sag theme) in the outer world, the light within Self and within the Earth-Cosmos always beckons. And we may call on Neptune, bestower of compassion and forgiveness, strong in its own sign of Pisces, and supported by Saturn at 1° Pisces as well, to help us find compassion for self and other.
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The Light Within
I recently watched a gripping Netflix series, All the Light We Cannot See, based on the highly acclaimed book of that name by Anthony Doerr. The title phrase alludes to words spoken by one of the story’s characters, a French shortwave radio broadcaster during WWII, who called himself ‘the Professor.’ His words were encoded messages for the Resistance forces, words which at their surface meaning also offered a lifeline of wisdom and hope to the story’s two other key protagonists, one of whom was a blind girl.
“All the light we cannot see,” a phrase he used, speaks to the light within, the light of vision and imagination, which can inspire through a darkened time. While I’ve read a review that slammed the series for not doing justice to the book, since I’ve not yet read the book myself (on my list!), I can say that the message came through just fine, delivered by some powerful acting.
I close with an offering of angelic musical heights by favorite composer, Norwegian Ola Gjeilo, from his album Northern Lights; and a quote from nature writer extraordinaire, Annie Dillard. Annie points us to the ultimate truth: that the truth, or the Light cannot actually be ‘found’ or ‘claimed’, but only aimed at, for it is grace that bestows it. But it is the pursuit—the journey itself—that offers a mighty fire of an engine to fuel our lives, particularly in troubled times.
The secret of seeing is…the pearl of great price…But although the pearl may be found, it may not be sought…although it comes to those who wait for it, it is always, even to the most practiced and adept, a gift and a total surprise….I cannot cause light; the most I can do is try to put myself in the path of its beam.
~ Annie Dillard, Pilgrim at Tinker Creek
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Further Meanderings
Matthew Fox Daily Meditation Newsletter (short): The Mystics on Joy and Thanks: https://dailymeditationswithmatthewfox.org/2023/11/21/the-mystics-on-joy-thanks-whatever-the-news/#comment
Viktor Frankl Discussing the Search For Meaning: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OL8DyVusLeE
Thomas Berry Interview in Kosmos Journal: https://www.kosmosjournal.org/kj_article/thomas-berry-on-intuition/
Christiana Figueres with Rebecca Solnit and Roshi Joan Halifax – 10 Short Videos on Uncertainty and Possibility for Meeting the Climate Future: https://www.upaya.org/2023/08/video-series-uncertainty-and-possibility-meeting-the-climate-future/
Eight Ways Magic Mushrooms Explain the Santa Story: https://www.livescience.com/42077-8-ways-mushrooms-explain-santa.html
U2: I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e3-5YC_oHjE
Ola Gjeilo, Pulchra es: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OYojufFNEHs
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All photos copyright Diana Badger 2023 (unless otherwise indicated)