The Mind in Transformation

By MELANIE REINHART

From June 2001 to August 2002 we are living with Saturn and Pluto in opposition. Melanie explores the energies that are at work.

This article took days longer than usual to write. My exasperation turned to amusement as I recognized the Saturn-Pluto quality being precisely evoked in my struggle. These two planets oppose each other across the Gemini-Sagittarius axis during the period June 2001-August 2002, and will highlight the workings of our mind and its beliefs and confusions and our potential for mis-communication. How we share thoughts and words may be a major focus. Writing this, I surely experienced a 'metalogue' occurring, meaning 'that which we are speaking about is also arising'.¹ This article focuses on the inner side of this planetary process and what it offers.

With Saturn as 'Father Time' and Pluto as 'Lord of Transformation', the season of change is upon us, in a very particular and intimate way. During our times of rapid cultural change, even our language is affected, and we sometimes need to work hard to articulate new concepts and procedures, or sort through a deluge of mis-information to re-establish clarity. Gemini and Sagittarius are concerned with many levels of mind, from our innermost perceptions and their communication in language, through to the over-arching belief systems which find their collective expression in morals, cultural customs, religious frameworks and philosophical systems. Gemini asks the questions, Sagittarius seeks the higher Truth; Saturn and Pluto signal a time to put our unconscious beliefs and thought processes under the microscope of awareness. Their combined message is about looking within.

The potential

Often it is our unconscious beliefs that obstruct us, rather than those we know about. To discover what they are can be painstaking inner work, but can help release their grip. Stephen Levine uses an amusing analogy to describe this process, likening it to the cramp in the hand that finally opens after carrying heavy luggage. What a relief it is to put it down, and how the fingers hurt initially.

To facilitate this opening, however, we may need to slow down and gently limit the habitual activities of the mind. Curiosity, greed for stimulation and information (useful or not) and the compulsion to communicate are released. Instead we wait quietly for the light of True Awareness to shine through the fog, continually re-focusing on the intention to allow clarity. As our mind becomes purified, we can see more clearly our toxic beliefs and allow them to disperse like dark clouds broken up by the re-emerging Sun.

Who is speaking?

Our inner world of ego and personality sub-structures consists of a multitude, not a singularity. To whom, then, do we lend our voice? The collective voice which speaks in platitudes, saying nothing? Or the complaining child for whom nothing is ever right? Learning when to speak, to whom, from whom, and when to remain silent is also part of the learning process symbolized by these aspects. The practice of 'Right Speech' means to avoid engendering fear, hatred, prejudice or blame with our words, but to entrust communication to our wiser self, able to mediate and shift perspective to a more inclusive and compassionate view.

Who is listening?

When we listen to someone speaking, which part of us receives their words, and who responds? The Victim, the one who easily feels guilty? The Inner Judge, the Kind Friend? 'Open listening' is a practice very congruent with the Saturn-Pluto aspects, where we sincerely attempt to lay aside our own 'position' and simply listen without interruption or question. This may also make us uncomfortably aware of our own inner 'noise' which gets in the way of true communication with others, and also with our own deeper self. Also, when we attempt to simply listen to ourselves in silence, we will initially become more aware of our internal chatter. Can we let this be, witnessing it all without becoming entranced or taking it as 'the Truth'? Given time, self-judgement makes way for compassionate self-enquiry.

During these aspects, the formative process of Saturn will allow us sharper awareness of our thoughts and their origins, and the trans-formative process of Pluto will help us to let them go in the interests of opening up more space within.

To think or not to think

The Light which the mind so longs for will also illuminate that which we would rather not see. Our minds may have become 'endarkened' with ideas that result in negative judgements, selfish values and other areas of congestion which make us unhappy. The mental 'house-cleaning' favoured by the Saturn-Pluto aspects offers with its ruthless honesty an opportunity to rekindle the fires of our faith, and to learn to access more easily our inner sense of wisdom. We are invited to personalize our own beliefs, and to consolidate our ethical way of being in the world. This is essentially a meditative process.² Thinking is a process of primary creation, and these aspects concentrate our desire for just such a focus, as well as revealing the mental debris which gets in the way.

The symbolism

Gemini is the sign of the Twins, and the Archer of Sagittarius is the Centaur releasing his arrow upwards. Paired together, they symbolize our developing the One-pointedness of mind necessary to heal the oppositions and conflicts in which the mind may have become stuck. To go beyond conflict within ourselves or with another person we must honestly discern its workings, and simultaneously anchor ourselves in the compassionate view. If we seek neither to wage war and be 'right', nor to 'fix' a situation, but rather to allow the light of Loving Inclusiveness to penetrate to its inner core, a creative solution often spontaneously presents - a miracle, we call it. The stuck duality surrenders - lays down arms - and the battle is over.

The current Saturn/Pluto cycle began in 1982, and the forthcoming oppositions may bring recognition of the deep significance of relationships that were constellated around that time. The lessons have been learned, and we can move on. Many people born in the mutable signs (Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius and Pisces) will resonate especially strongly with the forthcoming aspects. These become exact on 5.8.2001, 2.11.2001 and 26.5.2002. Additional times of intensification occur on 23.8.2001, 27.9.2001, 8.2.2002, 20.3.2002, 26.8.2002. The energy builds strongly during the week before the dates mentioned, and time set aside for relaxation, and for gentle meditative and contemplative work will allow the planetary energies to register most deeply. ++

Endnotes

1. The term was coined by Gregory Bateson in his work The Nature of Mind.

2. See A Gradual Awakening by Stephen Levine, published by Gateway Books.

(Caduceus Issue 52, Summer 2001)