Forecast for Sunday, August 23rd
Scorpio Crescent Moon
★Oracular Overview—factional and fictional fears…
The Stoic philosopher Seneca pointed out that “there are more things…likely to frighten us than there are to crush us; we suffer more often in imagination than in reality.”
While “some of these imagined fears are of one’s own making, many are the consequence of narratives created by those in positions of power,” as the academyofideas.com informs… the “ruling classes for thousands of years have understood the power of intentionally invoking fear in their subjects as a means of social control.”¹
A social control which largely dictates the narratives of authenticity.
❝One doesn’t see exactly where or how to move. Believe me, this is true. Each act, each occasion, is worse than the last, but only a little worse… you wait for one great shocking occasion, thinking that others—when such a shock comes—will join with you in resisting somehow… but the one great shocking occasion, when tens or hundreds or thousands will join with you, never comes. That’s the difficulty.❞
——Milton Mayer; “They Thought They Were Free”
Allegra Ringo wrote in The Atlantic that “one of the most interesting things about studying fear is looking at the social constructions of fear, and learned fears versus those fears that appear to be more innate, or even genetic—when we look across time and across the world, we find that people truly can become afraid of anything… through fear conditioning we can link pretty much anything to a fear response… we know that we can learn to fear, and this means our socialization and the society in which we are raised is going to have a lot to do with what we find scary.”²
Yikes. This is truly horrifying, though, outrageously appropriate…
Today’s moon is what shamanic astrologer Raven Kaldera titles the Blood Moon… a moon which reminds us that “fear is especially fascinating…” and on this moon “we study darkness; we search inside our minds and hearts for fears and pain that we bear… and compare [our fears] with others…”³
However. We should not project our own fears and shadows upon others or attempt to manipulate in any way whatsoever, or judge… we seek, rather, simply and honestly, with honorable intention, to understand our own fears and shadows through observing and acknowledging the fears and shadows of an/Other—with open-mindedness and open-heartedness.
❝If the last and worst act of the whole regime had come immediately after the first and smallest, thousands, yes, millions would have been sufficiently shocked… but of course this isn’t the way it happens. In between comes all the hundreds of little steps, some of them imperceptible, each of them preparing you not to be shocked by the next… and one day, too late, your principles, if you were ever sensible of them, all rush in upon you.❞
——Milton Mayer; “They Thought They Were Free”
Should we befriend that which causes fear—and own our own individual shadows… and thereby work to normalize the likelihood and/or reaction of our fears, be these egoic-based or otherwise, factual or fictional, and effectively dis-empower another’s ability to control or manipulate these fears… would we then each, individually, be able to collaboratively nurture our shared and collective shadows?
Today’s moon moves into an inexact yod with Mercury, to Chiron at the apex… then opposes Uranus, suggesting, basically, what academyofideas.com suggested, that “most of us are not in a position to single-handedly change the world, but we can at least try to rid ourselves of the unnecessary fears which are the fuel for so much hate and destruction in the world—in fact, taking responsibility for one’s own actions and the beliefs that motivate such actions, may be the most important thing one can do when faced with the prospect of an oppressi[on]…”¹
Furthermore, taking responsibility for our own shadows and fears, too, and perhaps most imperatively, may be the most important thing we can do, individually, when faced with a reality of just about every little thing we do not know for sure, or at all.
Taking these realities on in bits, in stages, and in very patiently nurtured steps with yourself, one by one, is best—as it becomes all too easy for these overwhelming fears and shadows to become bigger than big when ignored, avoided, repressed, or denied.
❝The burden of self-deception has grown too heavy, and some minor incident collapses it all at once, and you see that everything—everything—has changed… now you live in a world of hate and fear, and the people who hate and fear do not even know it themselves…❞
——Milton Mayer; “They Thought They Were Free”
★It’s that time of year again—when we tidy up end-of-the-year goals and begin preparing for the next year’s goals… that’s where I come in—to help you strategize 2021—message me directly to book your reading
★If you’d like my undivided attention for an hour each month via phone or zoom call with personalized astro advice and horoscopic forecasts relevant to you—please drop me a line
¹academyofideas.com. “Fear and Social Control.” ©2015.
²Ringo, A. “Why Do Some Brains Enjoy Fear?” The Atlantic; ©2013.
³Kaldera, R. “Moon Phase Astrology” Destiny Books; ©2011.
Image credit— @sammyslabbinck on Instagram