Social Media and the Age of Aquarius

A reluctant user to begin with, I am becoming even less of a fan of social media. 

I know that writers are supposed to have blogs and Twitter accounts and Facebook pages.  I know that self-promotion is part of the deal if you want people to buy your stuff.  But all the “look at me” stuff is difficult for me to take.

I was dismayed to see that “selfie” was recently chosen as the Word of the Year.  Bluh. . . .   Are we all really THAT self-absorbed?

As I am wont to do, I tried to put things into astrological terms.  Social media is very much a child of the Aquarian Age.  Aquarius rules all things social and all things electronic.  It is the symbol for friendships and groups and intellectual exchange.

So maybe we humans are just trying to figure out who we are collectively.  Maybe all this navel gazing is our way of understanding how each of us individuals fits into the group, which is, after all, a big part of what Aquarius means.

But we should also remember that Leo is the other side of the Aquarian coin.  Some of the challenging aspects of Leo include self-centeredness, arrogance, childishness, and look-at-me-ness.

Perhaps we humans just have a need to be a bit egocentric on our way to becoming evolved and enlightened.  After all, how can we know the creature we are trying to improve unless we examine it closely?

For me, I am going to try to fuse the best of Aquarius and the best of Leo:  social awareness (Aquarius) with a heart (Leo).  Unless it comes from the heart, I’m not putting it out there.

What do you think about social media? 

 

The Case for Bias

Today I saw an article that was about teaching children how not to be biased.  Now, I will admit that I did not read the article; rather, the title simply got my attention because lately I’ve been thinking a lot about judgment and tolerance.  And after a good long think, I’ve decided that bias is good, and the notion of equality is hooey.

Bear with me a sec.

First, understand that I’m not talking about hating certain groups or making different rules for different people.  So please don’t think that I mean that kind of discrimination.  What I mean is that we should learn how to be more discriminating, how to analyze things thoughtfully and carefully and make a wise decision.  And then allow others to do the same, even if you don’t agree with it.

In other words, the Golden Rule is dumb, and it’s impossible for us all to be alike or for us all to want to be treated alike.  Because we are NOT alike, and that’s okay.

Think about it.  Take any topic in the world: coffee, television, religion, clothing, dinner, politics.  I bet if you asked ten different people their opinions on any of those, you would get a hundred shades of grey.  Maybe I love strong coffee with cream and sugar, but you think coffee tastes like dirt.  Maybe nine out of those ten people like coffee, but this one only drinks organic, fair trade coffee, while that one gets his morning cuppa joe at the gas station.  Maybe you have five cups of coffee by lunchtime, but I only have one per day.  See what I mean?  The number of variables and possibilities is too endless to ever think that we’ll all be the same and agree on every point.

It really bothers me when well-intentioned but oh-so-righteous people try to argue or even make others feel bad just for having a different opinion.  You eat meat?!?!  Murderer!  You don’t go to church?!?!  Heathen!  You voted for which party?!?!  A-hole!

What if instead of trying to eliminate our instincts to judge and define and categorize, we learned how to understand ourselves and others better, and then tried to figure out how to be our own successful individual within the group?

Lemme ‘splain using some astrological evidence.  Right now we’ve got Saturn in Scorpio and Pluto in Capricorn.  Long story short, that represents the breaking down of old structures that aren’t working anymore.  We can apply that to social, political, religious, or any kind of structure . . . . pretty much to anything that’s outdated and no longer serving us.  And with the Age of Aquarius (that has either already started or is rapidly approaching, depending on which astrologer you ask), we really need to figure out what “New Age” looks like.

In my opinion, political correctness and the idea of holding hands around the campfire singing Kumbaya has not been and is not working.  We have been trying to stuff everyone into the same mold with no success.  Maybe instead of trying to bring everyone down into the same common denominator, we should instead recognize that we each have a different path, we each have different strengths and weaknesses, and we each have a different life purpose.  And that’s cool.  We don’t need to feel threatened by someone who has different beliefs or traditions or habits.  We can learn about our differences, feel happy and secure in our own choices, and go about the daily practice of “live and let live.”

What do you think?

 

 

Tradition or Change?

On this date in 1941, President Franklin Roosevelt signed a bill making the 4th Thursday of November the official date for Thanksgiving.

I read that history fact this morning, and it struck me that something we Americans embrace as “tradition” is actually a fairly new event.  As human beings, I think most of us are more comfortable with routine and habit.  In our minds, change is associated with discomfort and a scary unknown.  But what’s the saying?  “The only constant is change.”

If you accept that we are currently in the Age of Aquarius (there is debate among astrologers as to the exact start date), and if you accept that Aquarius represents a New Age, then apparently we Earthlings are in for some changes.  The ending of the Mayan Calendar on December 21st of this year also signals a transition; according to that theory, we are wrapping up one phase (of over 20,000 years) and beginning a new one.  With several symbolic indicators of “do over” in the air, I’m guessing that we’d all better buckle our seat belts and get ready for a bumpy ride.

How do we decide which habits to keep and which ones to ditch?  Which things are beneficial and which are no longer serving us?  Aquarius represents the individual within the group, so one of the things we will have to figure out is “where my freedoms end and where yours begin.”  It will be curious to see how we individually change and evolve, and how we integrate those shifts into the big picture of society.

 

Age of Aquarius . . . or not?

“When the moon is in the Seventh House and Jupiter aligns with Mars, then peace will guide the planets and love will guide the stars.  This is the dawning of the Age of Aquarius, Age of Aquarius, Aquarius, Aquarius!”

Back in the 70s, The 5th Dimension sang about the Age of Aquarius, with its “harmony and understanding, sympathy and trust abounding.”  Astrologers have yet to agree on a firm start date for the Age of Aquarius.  Some think it has already begun; some think it won’t arrive for another 75 years or so.

Noted astrologer Dane Rudhyar thought that Tuesday, October 2nd, may have been a start date.  On that night, Venus in Virgo passed over the star Regulus.  Rudhyar felt this arrangement was a pretty strong indicator for the new Age.

Whenever it starts, what exactly IS the Age of Aquarius?  In astrology, an Age is said to last about 2000 years, and the period can be described by its ruling sign.  The last age (or the one we’re still in, depending on your perspective) was the Age of Pisces.  In this age, we humans collectively experienced sacrifice, persecution, victimization, blame, illusion.  Our group lessons revolved around forgiveness, perfection, emotions, and spirituality.  For those interested in symbolism, like me, consider that the sign for Pisces is the fish; Christianity began at the beginning of the Age of Pisces with the birth of Jesus Christ; and Jesus Christ probably knew a thing of two about persecution, sacrifice, and forgiveness.

With each new Age, we humans are given a chance to raise our consciousness and become more spiritually mature.  Have we learned the lessons of the previous Age?  Ready for the next lessons?

Under Aquarius, we will be asked to look at issues like tolerance, personal responsibility, and equality.  Here are some things that Aquarius represents:

• Groups and social causes
• Electronics and technology
• Invention and genius
• Holistic approaches and alternative methods
• Individuality and personal freedoms

One of the things that fascinates me most about Aquarius, and one of the things that I think will be the biggest challenge for the Age of Aquarius, is the Individual/Society polarity that exists in that sign.  Aquarius is very much about BOTH the individual and the group.  In other words, how do we maintain our individuality while in a group?  If this current political season is any indicator, tolerance is going to be a hard-learned lesson for us all.  It seems to me that we humans are very tolerant . . .  as long as the other person agrees with us.  I am very curious to see if we can figure out a way to allow for personal freedoms within the structure of a society.

What do you think?