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Tightening Spirals: Earth
I'm doing a lot of inner work right now, and the common theme that continues to emerge is that my big Task at this time is to find the sacred in those parts of life which I have always dismissed as being mundane: homemaking, finances, body/fitness, job -- all those aspects of life which are traditionally associated with the element of Earth.
I had a hard time falling asleep last night (again) because I couldn't let go of the topic. I even got up shortly after I went to bed to sweep the kitchen and clear off the dining room table. At one point, after I was back in bed, I thought back to childhood, and my attitudes about home-tending, and I could almost feel my mind/spirit literally turn away in aversion and disdain.
I'm sure the root of all this is two-fold: my natual tendency toward the intellectual and abstract rather than the physical/material, and my self-conscious choice to emulate my father and his intellectual and professional lifestyle rather than my mother's traditional homemaker path. No one ever pointed out to be that there might be a way to balance and blend the virtues of both. It was yet another case of me dividing things into absolute either/or choices.
This is not the first time I have thought or written about this, but the importance of it, and the urgency continue to grow. The archetype work I've been doing fits into this in the concept of the Sovereign, who tends the realm, and provides structure, organization, and blessing. ("Queen of Pentacles" if I go to tarot symbolism.) The Lover belongs in here too, but the Sovereign has more 'juice' around this topic than the Lover. Or, speaking of tarot symbolism, I can use the Lover card as a symbol of the union of opposites, which in my mind is what this is all about: finding the sacred, the spiritual, the passionate, the creative in those parts of life I have always dismissed as tedious, uninteresting, and to be avoided if at all possible.
Unfortunately, avoidance only ends up wreaking havoc with my environment, resources, and health. It is not a workable life strategy anymore. And I would rather transform my relationship with these facets of life and learn to celebrate and be nurtured by them rather than grit my teeth and resign myself to martyrdom.
The other aspect of this is that there is only so much time in a day, and if -- as has become very clear -- I need to spend more time taking care of my hearth and health, I'm going to need to find a way to also use that time for spiritual work. I don't have time to separate my spirituality into it's own set-aside place. And really, what good is a personal spirituality that can't be found or expressed in the most mundane parts of life? I realize that that's hardly an original observation, but this is the first time it's made gut sense and had real urgency for me.
I had a hard time falling asleep last night (again) because I couldn't let go of the topic. I even got up shortly after I went to bed to sweep the kitchen and clear off the dining room table. At one point, after I was back in bed, I thought back to childhood, and my attitudes about home-tending, and I could almost feel my mind/spirit literally turn away in aversion and disdain.
I'm sure the root of all this is two-fold: my natual tendency toward the intellectual and abstract rather than the physical/material, and my self-conscious choice to emulate my father and his intellectual and professional lifestyle rather than my mother's traditional homemaker path. No one ever pointed out to be that there might be a way to balance and blend the virtues of both. It was yet another case of me dividing things into absolute either/or choices.
This is not the first time I have thought or written about this, but the importance of it, and the urgency continue to grow. The archetype work I've been doing fits into this in the concept of the Sovereign, who tends the realm, and provides structure, organization, and blessing. ("Queen of Pentacles" if I go to tarot symbolism.) The Lover belongs in here too, but the Sovereign has more 'juice' around this topic than the Lover. Or, speaking of tarot symbolism, I can use the Lover card as a symbol of the union of opposites, which in my mind is what this is all about: finding the sacred, the spiritual, the passionate, the creative in those parts of life I have always dismissed as tedious, uninteresting, and to be avoided if at all possible.
Unfortunately, avoidance only ends up wreaking havoc with my environment, resources, and health. It is not a workable life strategy anymore. And I would rather transform my relationship with these facets of life and learn to celebrate and be nurtured by them rather than grit my teeth and resign myself to martyrdom.
The other aspect of this is that there is only so much time in a day, and if -- as has become very clear -- I need to spend more time taking care of my hearth and health, I'm going to need to find a way to also use that time for spiritual work. I don't have time to separate my spirituality into it's own set-aside place. And really, what good is a personal spirituality that can't be found or expressed in the most mundane parts of life? I realize that that's hardly an original observation, but this is the first time it's made gut sense and had real urgency for me.
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wish i had time to write more. luck!
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I know the Iron Pentacle has been a very important tool/exercise for you. I'm trying to imagine doing that kind of work while doing cardio. . . but I can intuit the value in the combination of exercises.
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This was an issue for me for a long, long time. Sometimes it would go away for weeks or months, but it always returned. It's extremely difficult to live a world-view in a world that doesn't share it.
The beginning of my solution was to go to work for a place that shared my spiritual and (largely) my intellectual values. Visitation has been a literal Godsend for me. Every day I work is lived in a rhythm apart from the American Corporate Culture of greed.
Personally, I'd rather be a Human than a Consumer any day!
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For some reason, I always forget that interpretation, and it's one of the most central.
Or maybe the reason is obvious: the synthesizing element is directly contrary to my either/or nature (although interestingly enough, I typed "both/and" and didn't realize it until I came back to re-read.)
What's funny too is that although Temperance is the usual card associated with my sign of Sagittarius, the combination of man and horse in the Chariot card resonates more as "Sagittarius" to me. And both are about blending. I've always liked the both/and aspect of the Sagittarius sign, but evidently have not yet integrated it enough. . .