One of the most difficult challenges for any of us, is to hear the soft whispering of our Soul's Calling over the bustle and noise of our everyday lives.
In Esoteric Astrology, the Tibetan Master taught that our Soul 'does battle' in two signs: Leo and Scorpio. in Leo we battle for our individuality, in Scorpio we battle for our Soul. This is not an outer battle, but a deep, internal 'battle' where we fight not with weapons, but with our growing awareness.
The challenge on this inner battleground, is within ourselves, as we learn to keep focusing our attention on that which really wants, and deserves, our attention: our Soul's Calling. In some traditions this is called our Heart Wish or our Heart's Desire. It is that deep desire within each of us, to explore and truly come to know ourselves.
But if it's so important, and if it's what we truly want, and need, why can it be such a struggle? How can we feel so far removed from the very thing which we desire? And how can we feel so lost? Because, as we saw in Hercules' story last month in our Libra Symbol post, we are so distracted and caught up in worldly concerns, that we 'forget' to listen to our heart. It is in Scorpio that we have an opportunity to bring our focus back to our inner world and listen to our Soul's Calling.
Daily Meditation - Insight Practice
Some type of daily meditation is essential for all of us if we are to develop deeper insight. The only way we can come to know the workings of our own mind is from within! So we have to cultivate the practice of stillness, observation, where we witness our own energy dynamics at play.
Scorpio can be good at this, as the fixed water sign Scorpio has a tendency to 'lock on' to a target and hold. However, it is essential that you learn to meditate correctly, because there is also the danger with a Scorpio type of mind that you become fixated wrongly and miss the whole point of your meditation.
I highly recommend "Openness, Clarity and Sensitivity" by Rigdzin Shikpo. (Available to purchase from The Longchen Foundation) It is one of the few books that explains clearly how to meditate correctly so that it is of the most benefit. It explains how we may be meditating wrongly, and what to do to correct it, if we are. If I was stuck on a desert Island and could only have one book - this would be it. Why? Because I would have lot's of time for meditation but I would want to be certain that I was meditating correctly! Even though it was written by a buddhist monk, you don't have to be buddhist to benefit from the insights on how to check that you are meditating correctly.
It is through a daily practice of sitting in stillness that we can begin to 'listen' to our Soul's calling. The noise of everyday life has to die down a little so that we can be aware of the subtler energies that make up our being. In the stillness, we then need to develop and strengthen the skill of continuously returning, and re-focusing, our attention on our own mind, so that we can also do it throughout our day, even when we are not in a formal meditation practice.
This technique of constantly 'turning towards your mind' irrespective of what is happening, is explained very well in this video by Lama Yeshe. Unfortunately the sound quality isn't good, but you can feel the subtle energy he describes:
Once you become skilful at recognising and returning to your own mind, then the language of Soul Astrology can help you to identify the energy dynamics at work. For example, if you have personal planets in Scorpio, or Scorpio Rising, can you see a tendency to 'hold' things in your mind? How easy is it for you to 'let go' in meditation? Having observed tendencies in meditation, how then do they translate into your everyday life?
Soul Astrology originates from Esoteric Astrology and is all about our inner journey of personal and spiritual growth. The prefix eso means 'inward' or 'within', so in esoteric astrology, or Soul Astrology, we turn our attention inwards. This means our learning is experiential – based on knowledge gathered from our own experience like the great saints, yogis and mystics that have gone before us – practitioners who discovered their true nature through their own inner exploration. It is because we are relying on ourselves, that we need to ensure we are practicing meditation correctly, so we don't delude ourselves.
Observing Our Own Energy Dynamics
Within the context of a foundational meditation practice, we might begin noticing how our personal energy dynamics relate to our Soul Astrology.
We might notice, for example, that from birth to about 20 years of age we may have been driven by our Moon sign. This is said to be energy from our most recent past life that still carries momentum over into this lifetime. The Moon is also our emotional world, and any inner child wounding, we might notice, expresses itself in the nature of our Moon sign.
From around age 20-40 we may largely be driven by the energy of our Sun Sign, as we establish career, family and our position in the world. The Sun is how we express our prana, chi, or life-force energy in the world. So we might notice if and how our daily activities involve the nature of our Sun Sign.
Our Rising Sign is also our Soul Sign. So in those still moments of meditation, you may begin to notice what your most altruistic urge is: what is your heart's wish, your highest calling? This may be in the nature of your Soul Sign. For example Scorpio's deepest desire may be: to enter and understand the suffering of humanity, in order to develop the power to end suffering by transforming darkness into light. How? You'd need to go deep into the journey of Scorpio for the answer!
Knowing that we have a higher calling, a higher purpose, can help us to deal with some of life’s challenges. Knowing the energy dynamics that are at play, in terms of what strengths we can draw upon, and what challenges we need to overcome, can support us through all of life's stages as we change, grow, and transition into the highest and best of who we are, led by our Soul's Calling.
When we commit to our inner journey, so that our inner world takes priority over outer worldly concerns, then we can be said to have stepped onto what the Tibetan calls the 'reverse wheel'.
