"Girls Against God"
Last week, I had an interesting conversation with a client, "Josie" about existential despair, loss of meaning and my favorite topic: God. Not surprisingly, this person is a Sagittarius.
Since to know and understand God are part of the Sag archetype, I thought I would share a bit of that conversation with you.
(When I use the word "God," I'm basically just referring to Source or Divine. I know it's one of those words that can really rub folks the wrong way, so please substitute it for something different if you prefer.)
I'm paraphrasing here for comedic effect, btw.
Josie: I'm tired of the ebbs and flows of my life. It feels like my spiritual practice isn't preventing me from ebbs; nor does it help me manage them.
Me: Do you blame God or turn away from God when you're in an ebb? [I do sometimes!]
Josie: What do you mean?
Me: Sometimes, we have a tendency to project onto God whatever unresolved bullshit we have with our parents. This causes us to turn away from what we actually need most.
So if things aren't working as we would like them in our lives, we blame God, like God is responsible or otherwise failing us in some way, when really it's an unresolved childhood issue that needs to be addressed ...
Then I told her about one of the most fabulous songs I've ever heard — "Girls Against God" by Florence and the Machine. Florence perfectly, melodiously, eloquently makes the point that we blame God for our suffering.
"When I decided to wage Holy War / It looked very much like staring at my bedroom floor / But, oh God, you're gonna get it / You'll be sorry that you messed with me"
What I love about this song is that she brings the subtle into sharp attention. I'm not suggesting that you're walking around thinking, "Fuck you God, I'm going to give it to you good!" (But if you're verbal like me, then maybe you are!)
What I've definitely observed to be true is that these thoughts are operating in a lot almost all of us — but sooooo far deep down that it's a barely audible whisper over the louder ones that grab your attention.
This can turn into existential despair or loss of meaning or even just the false belief that if we maintain some kind of "perfect" spiritual state we won't have any more drama or suffering to deal with in this life. #YaRight.
A lot of my clients want me to tell them WHEN their life is going to be filled with kittens and rainbows. I won't lie, I've asked my astrologer mom that question a dozen times myself, so I'm not judging.
The reality is, no amount of spirituality or spiritual transcendence will spare you from the travails of life.
I mean, the entire Buddhist philosophy is based on the observable fact that there is a lot of suffering in life. The more we focus on that suffering and tell stories about the suffering, the more miserable we make ourselves.
When we're stuck in an ebb, it's often the stories we tell about the ebb that are far worse than the actual stagnation or difficulty itself.
Sagittarius is also the archetype of our Belief Systems. So when you're enduring an ebb, your deeply held beliefs — whether you're aware of them or not — can wreak havoc on your ability to stay in the present moment or to turn to Divine for comfort and assistance.
Example: I have a friend who has chronic migraines. Almost every day he has a migraine. The pain is terrible.
But how much worse is his pain if he also tells himself, "It's my fault I can't heal this problem," or "There must be something wrong with me that this keeps happening. God is punishing me for being bad,"?
>> Believe it or not, the Sagittarius archetype in your personal astrology can actually assist you in unraveling where you're holding onto specific belief systems that were formed in childhood — or inherited from your family, culture, etc. — and that increase your suffering.
This is why Sag is also the archetype of Truth and Freedom. Because as we start to unravel these false Beliefs and see the Truth of reality, we Free ourselves from unnecessary suffering.
Which leads me to this week's AstroLogical Forecast:
Meh. Who cares? My ego is having one of its cyclical existential crises this week. (Joking not joking.)
Oh wait, this entire email conversation is reflected in the astrology right now because ...
Mercury (our thoughts) and Venus (our values) are in a contentious square with Neptune (our spiritual practice and "views" about God).
>> And blasted Mars is still retrograde, so even physical activity is doing little to help shift the mood.
The solution? Chillax.
Create
Meditate
Relax
Take a load off. It's really not the time to force things — internally or externally.
But it is a time to put on your pajamas in the middle of the day and have a dance party with your BFF or watch some I Love Lucy reruns while writing out holiday cards.
There's only one inquiry for you this week
Can you identify three Belief Systems (or thoughts) that are running right now and that cause you to feel bad about yourself or life?
Here's a few that I've found to be pretty prevalent in the human psyche:
I'm bad. I'm not important. I'm ugly. I'm not lovable. I'm not safe. There must be something wrong with me. I'll never be good enough. God hates me. Life is meaningless.
As Eckhart Tolle says, simply identifying the thought is like throwing it onto the fire of Conscious so that it may be transformed.
This first step is more powerful than it may appear.
Sagittarius is eternally optimistic. With all the Sag energies surrounding us right now, it shouldn't be overly difficult to tune your dial to Prime Time Divine.
>> If you've got something to say, I'm listening.
Until next week, cheers to understanding yourself better!
P.S. Astrology gives the priceless gift of helping you understand yourself better so that you can live with greater ease and happiness.
