Sun-Neptune: The Good, the True, and the Beautiful
In my last post, I discussed the idea that astrology can help us open to “The More” — whatever lies beyond the borders of ordinary consciousness. Whether or not it will do so depends on us. Can we discern the real from the unreal? Can we empty our vessel?
Today’s Sun-Neptune square highlights the need for discernment, pointing to pure illusion on the one hand and absolute reality on the other. Here, Neptunian idealism touches the Solar Light of consciousness. At one end, we are drawn to the I Am, the Logos, the Good, the True, and the Beautiful, and beyond. On the other, a Selling Sunset binge-fest. In between, we get to enjoy the various forms that nature, in Goethe’s words, “spurts forth,” sometimes caught, sometimes free, in neverending hide-and-seek with ourselves — the exhilarating play of Maha Maya.
How can Neptune symbolize dreamy deception and escapism on the one hand and unity with the absolute on the other? As always, it’s a matter of perspective. How tightly are we holding onto definitions? Yearning for The More, how likely will we look for it in someone or something? When we have an opening to the transcendent, how quick are we to make a story out of it? Yearning for knowledge of the Self, how likely are we to go looking for it in external pictures — I am a man, woman, healer, fighter — versus discovering it within: I am.
The mind is capable of many wonders. But one thing it is not capable of is grasping the Ultimate. Let the mind be the mind, but don’t look for any place to land with it because no such place exists. In the words of the Diamond Sutra, “Let the mind function freely without abiding anywhere or in anything.”
Let’s look at how things can go wrong when we try to grasp the transcendent and consider how to get aligned again. Take the Platonic trinity of the Good, the True, and the Beautiful. These transcendental Ideas form the core of Plato’s conception of divine reality. He believed them to be imperfectly reflected in the things of the world but directly knowable through deep contemplation.
It’s increasingly unfashionable to take universals like this seriously, for good reason. One person’s definition of the Good is different from another’s. Same for Truth and Beauty. And, as always happens, the people with the most money, power, etc., get to write the rules for everybody else. So, f*%^ the man, let’s tear it down. Also, overemphasizing the reality of Ideas over tangible reality, we denigrate the material world, seeing it as a prison, and end up with a whole lot of Bad, Untrue, Ugly thoughts as a result. But does that really mean the very idea of transcendental ideas is wrong?
Could it be a case of interdimensional mistranslation? Perhaps the Good, the True, and the Beautiful do exist as archetypes in another dimension — not someplace “out there,” but simply another (accessible) plane of consciousness, one which is always working to shape the contours of our experience. Maybe the only problem lies in defining them, trying to cram them through our cookie-cutter minds. Perhaps the only prison is the one we build for ourselves. Maybe it is just a matter of recognition. When you can empty your mind enough — not letting it “abide” anywhere or in anything — things reveal themselves as they are. You might have something to say about these revelations, but in your heart, you know anything you can say will not do justice.
Deep down, we all know the Good, the True, and the Beautiful. We know them when we see them. Why argue? So what if someone had a different experience than you? Doesn’t that mean more Goodness, Truth, and Beauty?
Solstice is coming up, and square Neptune no less. Take the next few days to cultivate an attitude of love and reverence for the Sun as the source of Light and Life and the visible manifestation of the Good, the True, and the Beautiful. Don’t get hung up of ideas about any of this — vibrate and feel into it. Each time you eat a piece of food, consider where it came from and where it will go. Thank you, Sun. And thank you to the Light behind all of it.
As an astrologer, writer, teacher, and coach Alex helps people to discover just what their consciousness is capable of. Weaving together practices from ancient and modern traditions, both Eastern and Western, Alex helps people let go of their limitations, discover powers they did not know they had, and open up to whole new dimensions of experience and manifestation. Alex lives in Benicia, CA and is currently pursuing a PhD in East-West Psychology at the California Institute of Integral Studies in San Francisco. Visit him at https://www.twentyfirstcenturyalchemy.com/
