Astrology's Present Moment by Barry D. Cowger - HTML preview

The 9 Semi-Septile @ 231.42 Degrees of Separation, or 21.42 Scorpio

Dying or Transforming Parts

The present moment is not composed of separate or individual parts. The most intractable attachments or parts are those that repeatedly loop around themselves, compulsively interfering with or "killing off" continuous present moment awareness, even when the reasons for it are unknown, or have not been brought into awareness. While this chapter cannot extensively examine all possible mental, physical, emotional, psychological or spiritual dimensions, I encourage the reader to consider the celestial bodies defined in the previous and following chapters that can represent the 9 Semi-Septile aspect portal in detail, in terms of their need for further development or transformation. By bringing awareness to and exploring the quality and nature of those parts, represented by the celestial bodies in their signs and houses, each can transition or progress to where they need to be or go, enabling a more cohesive present-moment awareness as the individual's own reclaimed power, energy or capacity being the part less non-state of "now."

The Evolution of Direction

At this point, being more than halfway around the circle, the contrast between the process of becoming and awakening realization experience should be familiar. The awakening seed thought is that awareness is not oriented toward survival because awareness will survive it. While everything comes and goes in and out of existence, awareness and awakening remain constant. They have never had a beginning, nor will they ever have an end. In awareness, it means that they are neither any closer nor further from awakening at one moment than the next. Experiences that didn't happen on the becoming wheel of the 1 Semi-Septile were those that did not have their roots in any biography. The nature of the 9 Semi-Septile Fire is one that will not create any ashes or waste because it is not becoming's by-product. It's human scale fusion. These individuals have the will or focus to realize the core of "their" nature, in the knowledge that all becoming spacetime wheels will produce another pile of ashes. While new places and "directions" appear to be different, or more interesting states than the old ones they left behind, it's the same old song and dance. The same seed thought mentioned above knows this and makes a different choice in awareness. That's the difference in awareness, or in evolution, viewed from this "direction" or perspective. The eventual outcome is awakening because any other direction will lead to yet another, or different, state.

Silence as Stillness without Becoming

For example, one outcome is realizing the difference between the small "s" silence as a conditioned or common silence and another silence that is not the result of the absence of sound or decibels. It is a silence that becoming can't get to yet can be experienced. A good analogy is the atomic value of an electron that "makes" a transition or transformation to another level or orbit even though it does not move or go through any intervening or "becoming" space of its new destination. It just arrives at its new orbital cloud location. Observers know the jump occurred because of a change in its shape representative of its new energy value. No act of will is responsible for the change. But conditions can be created that open the way by the ubiquitous field of awareness. In this context, the celestial bodies in a birth chart that define the 9 Semi-Septile are those involved in their own non-becoming experiential "jump" in greater awareness. In this context, it's the difference between common silence and another level of it. This aspect portal represents another level of power and transformation, where awareness is the chemistry or catalyst, but alone does not determine progress or advance through intervening space even though what arrives at the new destination as changed is now different in an obvious way. Perhaps I'm getting ahead of myself and may have skipped to Chapter 13, in terms of transformations that can't be reached on one's own but are experienced through their own similar, but not identical, qualities. Any celestial body can "go through" this quality of transformation, which is, in a sense, directionless or through no space as we know it.

Into and Beyond the Breach

Awareness survives through the threshold of the deepest transformation, "deaths" or fears imaginable because it's always one step ahead of it or not subject to it. Any celestial body's becoming will create fears of its own loss or fears of death. Awareness may feel an impending fear of loss, but awareness knows it's not a part of it. And that is what can make all the difference while going into and beyond any breach or into any fearful hell world. Awareness, not becoming, will be the sole survivor. Having a virtually unmatched tenacity, or compulsive curiosity to look death in the face and come out the other side is the process even though awakening is not a process. Death is seriously true but not actually true and awareness is the truth that knows the difference. The biggest dragons reside in one's deepest depths, even though they are not their final forms, somewhat like frogs in other stories. While there may be crossings and challenges at the deepest depths, and they do their best to make them, there is no other side to awareness or awakening because it doesn't exist that way. At the apparent bottom of any turning or becoming wheel, there's no possibility of survival in any direction, and that is the point. All forts will fall. But awakening does so into another pair of hands, or one step "beyond" or "above" in awareness, at the "end" of the road or path that has no ashes to it.

Powerlessness

This is a steep curve that beginners have a very difficult time navigating in awareness on their own. Sometimes, feelings of powerlessness just keep happening or increasing. To have the willpower to stay put or to remain present during them is extraordinarily unusual, but not impossible. Courage, with a sincerity to become more aware through the middle of it, is extra-ordinary, and much easier with assistance. Powerlessness tests the courage to exist and see through being a "sitting duck" as it were. Awareness does not attempt to "hold" it as if tensing against it. All feelings are invited to the table, and they are bound to change. This is the courage part. Awareness is trying to distinguish between what is real and what is not. "Fake" reality is a mind that creates a burn mark from a stick that's just a stick. There are larger forces from which awareness will know enough to remove itself from, but will also know that powerlessness is relative to those who experience it. Any part of the constellation that defines this aspect portal in a birth chart will undergo these tests in awareness, revealing their perceived and felt powerlessness as well as their awareness to see through it all. This often plays itself out as their most intense, challenging, or consequential battles and choices in their lives.

A Path of Eroticism

Eroticism is life itself. Consciously directing sexual energy can be a separate path, whether progressive or incremental or sudden and direct. It has been described as the pilot light that resides silently, or latently, at the "base camp" that can be coaxed to awaken or rise to promote an awareness of its energy or nature not intended for procreation. The climax may or may not be a consistent goal in this practice. When sexual energy is consciously directed, it should be approached cautiously and with respect due to its raw and instinctive power. Sometimes overwhelming and spontaneous experiences can happen. Once awakened, you cannot put the genie back in the bottle or back to sleep. This aspect portal combines awareness and eroticism as conscious sexuality. It is difficult to anticipate and manage the amount of energy that can be released from conscious generation. This path is not for everyone. The conscious use of breath in unity is also a major factor in how it can be directed towards goals or purposes beyond procreation. Couples can decide this for themselves with guidance or assistance from experienced teachers. Where this extra energy is directed also depends on the level of awareness of both participants. The degree of trust promotes greater intimacy which is synergistic and escalatory. Addition is simple enough, and so is multiplication. Consciously directing sexual energy is akin to raising or multiplying a number by itself, which can quickly lead to unexpected levels within the system or between them. This can bring up a lot of emotions and history because sexuality can uncover emotional vulnerabilities or wounds. The focus of this path is toward greater awareness or awakening experience through sexuality, rather than attempting to "fix" or manipulate the emotional states or either participant. This path aims to increase awareness of any control or unequal power dynamics in sexuality, without putting anyone in another box to control them under the guise of "spirituality." Consciously generating sexual energy for the purposes of awareness and well-being requires caution and respect. It involves igniting, raising, fanning and directing this energy throughout various "bodies" within or surrounding the physical body. It can be one of the most powerful paths in awakening as an expression of each individual's or couple's evolving spiritual nature through sexuality. Many people seek out individuals who have written or published extensively, dedicating their lives to this work for years, if not decades. These individuals are often seen as trusted teachers or guides.