Using the Cyclical History as a Point of Entry
Into Astrological Recapitulation
June 2014
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A knowledge of astrology can help facilitate recapitulation: first because it is an extraordinary tool for exploring the evolution of patterns over time; and secondly, because its symbolism reveals the archetypal nature of the slow transformation underlying the events of ordinary life and makes them more accessible to Second Attention. Astrology approaches the recapitulation process through the technique of the cyclical history. Since the strongest patterns in our natal charts refer to the core patterns likely to command the greatest portion of our First Attention, the triggering of these natal patterns – particularly by the transit of any outer planets involved in the natal pattern – will provide the most potent openings to Second Attention.
As we track our memories related to these cycles, we are likely to stumble into the life experiences we outwardly recognize as turning points, moments of catharsis, breakdowns in the pattern, and occasionally breakthroughs to another level of being and possibility. Harbored within these experiences are also strong sensory and emotional memories, and to evoke these is to stand on the threshold of Second Attention. With distance and in retrospect, we are in a position to perceive what was actually transformed in these moments, and – most importantly – to identify less with the events themselves, and more with the transformation. To the extent that we can do this, the wisdom to be found in our experience can be harvested, and we begin to dwell more permanently in the place where Second Attention brings meaning to a mundane life of suffering. We develop a dispassionate distance from the events of our lives, and are able to function more freely within that dispassion.
The next post in this series is Bringing Second Attention to the Story.
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