One of the things I love about astrology is how much it philosophically benefits a person the longer they study. It is almost an unavoidable side effect.

According to Brittanica, philosophy is the “…rational, abstract, and methodical consideration of reality as a whole or of fundamental dimensions of human experience.”

In this regard, consider these general experiential polarities:

• The expression of the self in relationship with others.
• The balance of resources with debt.
• The general observations that become our judgments and beliefs.
• The upbringing that shapes what we become.
• What we create in response to our dreams and how those creations become our hopes for the future.
• The daily work and what we sacrifice to impact our karma.

Relationships between different areas of life exist irregardless, but I can’t think of many other systems that so succinctly display their various connections better than the structure of the astrological house system.

And this conception doesn’t end here. If expanded to the general qualities corresponding to the standard order of zodiacal signs we see this same degree of elegance and intentionality.

• Recklessness needs stability.
• Stubbornness needs flexibility.
• Curiosity and wit need sensitivity.
• Introversion needs charisma.
• Arrogance needs self-criticism.
• Criticism needs diplomacy.
• Superficiality needs depth and intimacy.
• Despondency needs optimism.
• Blind enthusiasm needs realism.
• Pragmatism needs vision.
• Detachment needs empathy.
• Dependency needs assertiveness.

These qualities (and many others) reflect a type of cyclical progression of natural growth. An evolution of the basic archetypal needs…which are as follows:

• The need to exist and shine.
• To feel and nurture.
• To communicate and think.
• To love and harmonize.
• To fight and survive.
• To expand and grow.
• To stabilize and structure.
• To change and break through.
• To dream and believe.
• To purge and be reborn.

Once you get past all the planetary minutiae, you begin to see that this system is inherently structured to analyze the “fundamental dimensions of human experience.” The relationships of the areas of life, qualities of existence and archetypal needs blend together in innumerable ways (sometimes breathtakingly beautiful) challenging even the most studied in interpreting what any specific combination means, both eternally and within the context of current reality AND the individual microcosm.

It enriches us because it trains the mind to conceptualize existence in this organized manner. It compels us to absorb this logic that is a foundation of reality. This is why those who have devoted their lives to studying this system have a type of enlightenment beyond anything the world is able to comprehend.

It is a path for those wise enough to see it for what it is and those courageous enough to study it despite how it is perceived by those who have grossly misunderstood and underestimated this foundation.

Simply stated, astrology provides meaning.

It is philosophy. It is teleology. It is spirituality. It is cosmology.

End Notes

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