The Underworld Journey: Social Distancing, Restriction and the Shamanic Journey
Welcome to the Underworld!
In this time of pandemic, loss, social distancing and 'shelter-at-home' restrictions, those of us who are natural introverts, who have been practicing "social distancing" for years, or even decades, have a decided advantage. I note daily on social media that the extroverts are suffering, daily moving a little closer to a panicked freak-out, and are deeply disturbed by something that is extremely alien to their natural inclinations. Well, now they know how it feels for introverts to be told by extroverts that they need to just "get over it" and "quit being weird". Welcome to my world! See how nice that feels to have your basic nature and needs frowned upon by social mandate and peer-pressure? This terrain you suddenly find yourself in is the Underworld, the private place of self that you have worked so hard for so long to avoid. Luckily for you, we introverts are here to guide you, to become your Psychopomps; the underworld guides.
The Psychopomp
As a natural denizen of the underworld, the night side of life, I am a natural guide for you first-time underworld visitors, and I take that role seriously! While it might be fun to poke at your discomfort, I actually have a job to do here. You might not have sought out this tour, but let's make the best of it while you are here. To begin, there are, and always have been, people who dwell within the underworld; deities. spirits, the dead, those who live on the margins of society, the shamans of all cultures and, of course, the Psychopomp.
The Psychopomp is the guide who helps the souls of the dead to cross into the underworld and who guides and tests the shamans in their work in the underworld. The Psychopomp can also play the role of gatekeeper, presenting a test for those who seek to move through. The photo above shows a classical representation of the hybrid Greco-Egyptian deity Hermanubis, who was a synthesis of the Greek psychopomp Hermes and the Egyptian psychopomp Anubis. On this blog, I will be your psychopomp, guiding you who are still living in the underworld, and also offering a challenge or two to your beliefs and sensibilities along the way.
The Underworld Rulers
The Underworld is typically associated with Hades/Pluto, but it is a space equally related to Saturn. The particular underworld journey that the world is taking right now is equal parts Pluto and Saturn. It is the conjunction of Pluto and Saturn in January 2020 that saw the emergence of the Corona virus into the news cycle and set off the chain of events that we find ourselves living under now. It seems natural and intuitive to me that Pluto and Saturn both have relationship to the underworld. In order to cross into the underworld space, one must pass through Saturn, as it is Saturn that is the ruler of all that is in form, and the underworld is the realm of shadow and formlessness. To get there, you have to cross beyond the gate of form. The threshold of form in our current events was the closing-down of the regular, day-to-day world, with instructions to shelter-in-place, and in some places, mandatory orders to shut down non-essential businesses and public gatherings. This is the Saturnian restriction and contraction that has taken most of the world into the underworld space. Saturn, as ruler of winter, restriction and contraction, is extremely influential right now. In the winter quadrant of the zodiac, Saturn has been in Tropical Capricorn since late 2017, and recently crossed into Tropical Aquarius/True Constellation Sidereal (TCS) Capricorn. Saturn is the ruler of both Capricorn and Aquarius, so it is particularly powerful right now and is dictating restriction and contraction on many levels.
There has been a huge amount of activity in Tropical Capricorn, especially since 2019, but dating back to 2008 when Pluto entered Tropical Capricorn, with Jupiter in its last visit to the sign, so there has been activity in this sector for over a decade. It was in 2009 when Jupiter crossed from Tropical Capricorn/TCS Sagittarius into Tropical Aquarius/TCS Capricorn that I began to become a permanent dweller in the underworld. Up until 2009 I had been relatively social, going out in public and attempting to be a social-mandated version of a person, but in 2009 I simply decided that I was done, and made life-changes that allowed me to move full-time into the underworld, where I have resided happily been ever since. Luckily for you, that allows me to be your Psychopomp. Because I am very sensitive to and connected to the planets Saturn and Pluto, the activation of the winter quadrant of the zodiac by the ingress of Pluto into that region pulled me into the underworld and the shamanic journey. I had been experiencing the shamanic long before then, but I had not taken up full-time residency until that time.
The period of late 2017 through 2020 has been exceptional, and has seen a huge amount of activity in the winter quadrant, within the Tropical Capricorn/TCS Sagittarius region. In late 2017 Saturn entered this region. This put both Saturn and Pluto in the same quadrant and sign, and Saturn in its rulership within the Tropical zodiac. 2018 saw Mars transit this region, conjuncting both Saturn and Pluto, and then in November of 2018, the South Node of the Moon (which moves backwards, clockwise, through the zodiac) moved back from Tropical Aquarius/TCS Capricorn into Tropical Capricorn/TCS Sagittarius. This movement brought the eclipse cycle into this region, and all the eclipses from late 2018 through mid-2020 have occurred in this region, in close proximity to Saturn and Pluto. The Nodes of the Moon indicate karmic forces, and the South Node in particular is said to have Saturn-like energy, bringing with it restrictions and karma from the past. Throughout 2019 the eclipses interacted with Saturn and Pluto, and then in December of 2019, Jupiter crossed into Tropical Capricorn/TCS Sagittarius.
In January of 2020, the only exact conjunction of Saturn and Pluto in this period occurred, and then in February of 2020, Mars crossed into the winter region, into Tropical Capricorn/TCS Sagittarius. The heavy influences of Tropical Capricorn/TCS Sagittarius will remain in effect through 2020. In early 2021, the only planet left in Tropical Capricorn/TCS Sagittarius will be Pluto, but Jupiter and Saturn will remain in Saturn rulership, moving into Tropical Aquarius/TCS Capricorn (both signs ruled by Saturn), and even when they move into Tropical Pisces (Jupiter in late 2021 and Saturn in 2023), they will still be in TCS Aquarius, and so will still have heavy Saturnian influence. Saturn finally leaves TCS Aquarius in 2025-2026, but at that same time, Pluto enters Tropical Aquarius/TCS Capricorn, where it will spend about twenty years. Pluto exits TCS Aquarius in 2060-2061, and finally exits the winter quadrant of the zodiac in 2068. Before you panic though, be clear that by 2025-2026, the heaviest period will be past, as Saturn exits the winter quadrant. The decades that follow the late 2020s will see the ripples of the period from 2008 through 2026 settle in and bring massive transformations on many levels. (More on that in a future post...)
While the transformative period started in 2008, it intensified dramatically in 2017 with the peak being early 2019 to early 2021, and will continue on and gradually wane through the 2020s, and then carrying the repercussions well into the 21st century. The major theme of the period is the Saturnian dictate of restriction and contraction and the Plutonian dictate of transformation and the breaking down of old systems and power structures. It is interesting that in the True Constellation Sidereal Zodiac, the sign Sagittarius is where the winter quadrant begins, while the Tropical zodiac has Capricorn there. The two signs combined in synthesis would seem to be opposites, as Jupiter rules both Sagittarius and Pisces, and is symbolized by expansion, while Saturn rules both Capricorn and Aquarius, and is symbolized by contraction. However, when we look at the period of 2008 to 2020, we have seen an ill-advised expansion of wealth disparity, based upon the constant-growth economic model, while at the same time, the wealth held by the majority of people on earth has decreased.
When we look at the period spanning 2008 through 2020, we see the constant expansion of environmental destruction, while the effects of climate change become more and more apparent and destructive. We have seen an increase of globalization, while at the same time seeing a rise in isolationism and nationalism. These dualistic extremes represent the manifestation of the Tropical and TCS zodiacs working together. As planets move into Tropical Aquarius/TCS Capricorn, we will see much less of the Jupiterian drive toward over-expansion and ideologic fantasies based upon imagined purity, and more of the Saturnian drive toward contraction and constraint, realistic thinking and grounded innovation. We are seeing this beginning to happen, as the Pluto/Saturn conjunction in January 2020 triggered off a series of events that have brought the expansion to a standstill, even if temporary. I would suggest that when this current crisis is over and we begin to come out of the underworld, we will find an altered reality that will never fully return to the 'old normal'.
The Shamanic Journey - Your Opportunity
While we remember those who are dying, there is a gift here for those that can take it! The Universe is never needlessly punitive, but it will dictate course-corrections, when it deems them necessary. Apparently it currently deems one necessary, so the question is not, "Why is this happening to me?", but rather, "What is the gift I am being offered right now?" No matter how 'un-gift-like' the current moment might seem, there is something of value hidden here for you, if you can find it. Not everyone will find it. That is just the way it goes. In cultures with shamanic traditions, the initiation of the shaman was often a life-threatening crisis. While it might seem cruel to our modern, delicate sensibilities, the simple fact was that those who survived their underworld journey became a shaman, and those who didn't survive it weren't alive, and became permanent underworld denizens, not just frequent visitors. I'm not even going to try to justify it to the 'woke'. Take it up with the Universe, I'm just the messenger.
I know many of you are freaking out. You are scared, both of illness and death, as well as the potential destructive consequences to your life, lifestyle and finances. Many of you, barely subsisting to begin with, have real reason to worry. I acknowledge your fear. I acknowledge the fear of illness and death. I acknowledge the fear of financial ruin and a decline in lifestyle. I want you to know that I know this is all 'very real', and your fears are real and justified. I am not unsympathetic to your plight, and I share your worries, but fear is the first threshold to the underworld, the inner realm of your hidden self, and the Universe itself. The first doorway is within you, and you have to face your fears to cross that first threshold. The keeper of your fears is the door guardian of this level. It will confront you with your total destruction. To enter the underworld you must be dead, and if not literally, then you must metaphorically die to your artificial, socially-constructed self. This is the first ring of the shaman's journey. So many are in that fear stage now, and perhaps for the first time ever. Maybe it hasn't fully hit you yet, or maybe you are keeping it pushed down, but the longer you push down that fear, the more it is going to appear to you in other ways, in the external and in your psyche. Face your fears, or they will climb over your back!
So how are you experiencing your social distancing and self-isolation? Just this alone will tell you a lot. Are you freaking out? Are you getting the rest you have been needing for years? Are you engaging in creative projects you have wanted to do for years? Have you started a garden, or worked more in the garden you already have? Or are you sitting on a couch staring our into space? There are no wrong answers. I see so many people telling everyone what they 'should' be doing right now. I am telling you to figure out what you should be doing right now. Only you know, and I don't think anything you choose is wrong. The first step is to get past your fears. Do you have beliefs about what you 'should' or 'shouldn't' be doing right now. Are you trapped in the 'look busy' mindset that infects modern culture, and so just can't let yourself rest? You will have to get past socially-imposed stories, and the fears they induce to keep you paralyzed, in order to find what it is you need to do with this time, but it is worth this sacrifice, because there is a remarkable gift on offer that you might never get again.
In this time of magical restriction, you can explore where you might go, what you might do, the little areas where you can set up the ripples of change, the hidden places where you can be creative, and right now, the Universe is giving you a chance to begin to explore your inner landscape. Find out what is in that inner landscape. Most people are on autopilot, going to destinations that others directed them toward. There are no right or wrong answers. There are no right or wrong destinations, because in the end, there is only one destination for us all. For those on the margins (far too many!), I know you are filled with fears, but you too have an inner landscape and we all will die at some point, so while you are being forced to stay in your home, if you want anything other than what you are, or where you find yourself, go within and see what the inner darkness has to show you. Don't get caught in the fears. The fears are there to keep you from crossing the threshold. Go past them, even if for just a moment, and see what is there waiting for you. Hold the knowledge of certain death, for we all must die - this is Pluto and Saturn's message - but until you are really and truly dead, you still have volition and autonomy to make choices, no matter how small. Then have the courage to be honest about what you really want, what you feel your reason is, and be that. Have the courage to find the light that awaits you down in the darkness of the underworld.
There is a massive change occurring on our planet, not through some 'mass spiritual awakening' where we all ascend to some mystical dimension to reside with some mythic race, savior, master or pal, but where the manifestations of the planet of contraction and the planet of transformation in the winter quadrant simply change the equation on this planet. There are forces bigger than us, and they are not really concerned with whether you are ready or not, how it effects your 401k, or what you had planned for next week or next month. This time period that we are living through is a wake-up call. All that we depend on can collapse in a moment. The infrastructures and governments to whom we have given our autonomy are artificial constructs that can fail. It is the human spirit and its vast potential that rises to the surface in times of unexpected and overwhelming change to manifest the energies of higher meaning and new knowledge, creating a new direction to embrace the zeitgeist of the times. The underworld now offers a gift in the form of a moment of pause when we can look inward to determine what we wish to return to and what we wish to walk away from, to find our own strengths and weaknesses and pull forth the resources we have been given to face such times. Saturn and Pluto in the winter quadrant are telling us to grow up. They offer the tools to do just that. Those tools are individual to each of us. Can you find your tools? They await you across the threshold of your inner fears and limitations, false beliefs and egoic projections. Welcome to the only space where you can find them!
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