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

The 1 Semi-Septile @ 25.71 Degrees of Separation, or 25.71 Aries and The Seven Harmonies

The Seven Harmonies

Chapter 1 begins with the Seven Harmonies. Despite being armed with years of experience, I struggled to find the common thread among autobiographies, biographies and in my own birth chart. Had I defaulted to traditional awakening or spiritual birth chart signatures, I would not have found it. All awakening experiences are unique making it difficult to identify how and where their spiritual lives began as the circumstances surrounding it. I could not see where these experiences were coming from, until the essential pieces of the awakening puzzle were calculated, correlated and fell into their slots as the Seven Harmonies, as well as the family of septile aspect portals and sensitive degrees described in the following chapters. The harmonies are derived from dividing the septile by three through nine, totaling seven distinct aspects, even though harmonies 9-6 are within four degrees of one another. It's important to note that even though the harmonies are represented by seven small dots in the graphic, they can appear anywhere in the birth chart, similar to how the sign Aries can be located in any house.

The Math of the Seven Harmonies

The septile at 51.42… degrees is our base unit or workhorse. When anchored at either "0" or "7" by the process defined above, the points of the mandala are created. Dividing the septile aspect portal by nine creates harmony "9" and dividing by eight creates harmony "8" and so on. Seven divisions by nine through three create the Seven Harmonies, 9-3. Each one defines, correlates and solves different qualities of awakening experiences. The important point about harmonies, just like the points on the mandala, is that they are defined by phase and by the sensitive degrees in any sign. By phase, harmonies are created and identified when any two celestial bodies in any sign are 5.71, 6.42, 7.34, 8.57, 10.28, 12.85, or 17.14 degrees distant from each other. By sign, they are defined as a celestial body at 5.71, 6.42, 7.34, 8.57, 10.28, 12.85, or 17.14 degrees in Aries. For the purposes of illustration and to begin the counter clockwise direction that we will maintain throughout this work, we place and identify the Seven Harmonies as the dots between the "0" and "1" on the circle graphic as harmonies 9-3.

The Purpose or Intent of Harmonies

The harmonies have distinct qualities, briefly described below. Their common thread is to introduce an individual to an awakening realization experience that may or may not repeat itself. The nature of this Fire, by phase or sign, may bring a "one and done" experience, as a sample or taste, and nothing more may come of it. For others, a harmony may be like crossing the Rubicon, a powerful resonant experience that places their life on a new path that can't be unexperienced or denied. Profound, impactful harmony awakening realization experiences can take a life to places it never could have imagined, revealing new capacities or abilities previously unthought of, to say the least. Because harmonies and the 1 Semi-Septile by phase are both correlated to "Aries" they point to a redirect and/or continuation of energy flow as conditions to awakening experience. This is world's apart from becoming states of "Aries" or any other sign for that matter relative to one's biography. The essential point is that no one has awakened. There's just awakening, and there are many ways this happens. Sooner or later, harmonies intend to bring entirely separate experiences that are obviously distinct from a biographical or becoming history. Naturally, the house location of the phase or sign of harmonies will describe the context or environment of their experience. Harmonies and their house locations are remarkable in describing the particular environments most likely in awakening experience.

The Seven Harmonies in 9-3 Experience

An awakening through Harmony 9 at 5.71 degrees may have been brought on or initiated by a simple and unassuming moment of quiet time, reflection, or meditation. We begin here through an experience that can gently arrive on its own, which is usually facilitated by nature or being outdoors. It's so profoundly "9." It's inspiration but on an entirely different level. A fissure of profound light or awareness may have opened from a calm space, peace, or environment that's often described as magical, extra-dimensional and entirely captivating. To consciously recreate this space or condition at any moment in a day is to make an offer or petition for its introduction or return. Take some time out of every morning or day to be more sensitive and receptive to whatever feelings, images, or inspirations may arise from this entirely receptive state afforded by this harmony. When eggs are ready, they hatch. When inspiration arises, it will. Silent receptive awareness is a good space to bring it forward and what may continue to come out of it. Silence and stillness are everything. Going further, to "surrender" while no one is doing so, is hinted at here. Chapter 13 explores this more fully. In Harmony 9 a sense of loss, separation, loneliness, and unity may exist simultaneously. As irrational as that may feel, there's nothing wrong. All can exist in the same space or awareness here. The meaning or mythology surrounding "40" may also provide additional insight into the depth of this awakening process and where this harmony may eventually lead them to "their" newly inspired life.

The Harmonies 8-7-6 can also be grouped as a whole. This trio represents a challenging area between approximately 6.00-9.50 degrees by phase or any celestial body between 6.00-9.50 degrees of Aries. However, both 8 and 7 tend to be highly reactive and unstable. Harmony 6 often indicates periods of physical limitations relative to the body's adjustments or adaptions to its environment that tend to manifest more gradually, like a slowly rising temperature. Harmony 6 may involve a lengthy or challenging physical adjustment period, similar to the process of combining two different elements or substances of very different frequencies, densities or qualities in "the body" to create something new. This process also takes more time to settle or cool down than harmonies 8 or 7 that tend to be more abrupt.

Specifically, Harmony 8 at 6.42 degrees can bring a heightened awareness or a powerful or overwhelming force. Some individuals feel as though they are being tested through this experience. Difficult or limiting situations, often referred to as "trial by fire" are likely to occur whether self-imposed or imposed by stronger, external forces or teachers, both symbolic and literal, to which individuals may eventually submit. Within this zone, individuals become aware they do not "own" this greater energy or force just as a blacksmith does not create bronze when mixing heat and other elements in correct proportions. Power and responsibility are intertwined and tested here as well. Harmony 8 also suggests the alchemical process of directing or managing sexual energy as a spiritual practice. Exercise caution when harnessing or directing this energy. Further discussion on this topic will be provided in Chapter 9. The combination of sexuality and spirituality is often a complex cultural and religious issue but it can serve as a path to awakening through this harmony.

Harmony 7 occurs at 7.34 degrees of separation between two celestial bodies or one celestial body at 7.34 Aries, allowing for the recommended 1.5 degree orbs for harmonies. This Harmony is a numerical double signature, strongly indicative of a sharp, or jarring, and not so gentle experience, in direct contrast to Harmony 9 for example. It is an inherently twice-powerful and difficult harmony to manage, especially in the beginning. It may manifest as an "accidental" and significant spiritual crisis. The imperative after-effect is to learn to live consistently in the present moment, one way or another. Awakening may have always been closer than one ever believed. Previous anxieties or generalized stress may have been less about worldly concerns and more about the pressure of a need to awaken, serving as a portion or source of stress. In hindsight, anxieties or stresses may have always had their roots in an unaware or unacknowledged pressure to realize their essential nature. Maintaining brain health and developing techniques to soothe anxiety, support the nervous systems and to separate oneself from identifying with the finite mind will lead to new lifestyle choices and an entirely new way of living.

Harmony 6 at 8.57 degrees points directly to the physical body and its health or strength in terms of what individuals can do with it, and how to take care of it for as long as they have it. Here, awakening is a mind-body-spirit experience. The work they engage in is not simply part of the commonplace daily "task-and-rest" cycle but may become an expression of who they are and what they do as their "calling" that now may move through them. Embodying the meaning of, "chop wood, carry water" or discovering the miraculous in the every day also points to the mind-body-spirit in its renewal and service to a much larger picture in which they may find themselves. Significant physical or sensory limitations or constraints through no fault of their own may also be a part of their experience. Naturally, daily lifestyle choices for health are important and will evolve. The loneliness of separation or isolation, relative to themselves, others, or the Source or God can also be a significant part of their experience along with its gifts and graces that may or may not heal their suffering or pain or make it stop.

Awakening through harmony 5 at 10.28 degrees creates an entirely different atmosphere compared to the previous three as a group. This harmony also has a polymath vibe to it, representing an inherent or emphasized human potential for expression, often assisted by the nature of the celestial bodies in phase or the celestial body at 10.28 Aries, with an allowance for orb. It can also serve as a reminder of humanity's ongoing evolution contrasting with our deep instinctual past. In other words, a notion, idea, moment, or space may be the key awareness that precedes a human response or demonstration rather than an instinctual one. The core purpose of this harmony is to recognize and to act upon that difference as awareness itself. Sometimes the best creative expressions point in this direction. Eventually, as the awareness process continues to evolve, there will be more human responses in contrast to purely animal or largely unconscious reactions. This harmony is meant to provide the space or moment for those more human awareness responses to occur, take shape, or be expressed. The primitive or animalistic part of the brain, which governs preferences, instinctual or "pressurized" behaviors, and survival reactions differs from the outcomes that arise when creativity and awakening are more likely to occur.

Awakening through harmony 4 at 12.85 degrees fully opens the emotional doors and is inherently unstable or uneven. It's "on" one day and "off" the next. These are not detours. Strong emotions can be powerful creative energies that can be harnessed, but they can also seem to derail spiritual growth and set one back to square one. However, that's not entirely true. Emotions cannot be prevented from happening. They move too fast for the frontal cortex. To remain in their truth as they come and go is the yoga. This can be daunting and exhausting due to this harmony's emotional nature. Self-image is always under the microscope. Being mentally awakened is one thing, but being emotionally awakened is often more challenging to realize and embody. This harmony points to the emotional or gut center which is denser and requires more time to process emotionally than a profound or "higher" insight. The work aims to bring honesty to individuals' emotional lives, and how it influences their behavior, particularly in their relationships with those closest to them. Surface insights are distinct from those that stem from deeper emotional truths. Emotional rip tides and the deepest memories are not always biographical; they are meant to catch one off guard. This harmony is paradoxically highly personal, also reaching beyond mere biography and delving into the realm of larger truth recovery. Processing emotions and providing support for this back-and-forth, larger time scale movement requires an exceptional degree of awareness. However, the rewards are equally significant. Emotional-spiritual awareness involves incorporating this type of memory into one's progress.

Finally, Harmony 3 at 17.14 degrees often intuitively understands or expresses spiritual capacities, even though they may not have taken the time, like most others, to learn about such things. Awakening can be relatively easy or smoother for some individuals, as it supports or confirms what they already know about themselves or how they have always easily expressed themselves. Awakening being no exception in this case. Skills, gifts or creative capacities may be easily accessible, develop rapidly, or already be exceptionally well-developed. A transition towards their heart-centered intuition may become evident, or it may have always existed, and they are thankfully unlikely to outgrow it. Their natural abilities need to be encouraged, expressed, and shared. Maintaining a long chain or relatively unbroken present-moment awareness can be easy during meditation sessions, throughout the day's activities, or while engaging in their newfound creative capacities. Post-awakening awareness is typically more consistent and evenly distributed compared to other harmonies. It is also generally less traumatic than harmonies 6-7-8, which can be earth-shattering, jarring or crisis prone. Awakened capacities or spiritual imagery may be revealed at a young age, sometimes even before the age of seven. Incidentally, Harmony 4 also supports awakening episodes or sensitivities in pre-adolescent early life, especially when the Moon or ascendant is involved or constellated.

The 1 Semi-Septile @ 25.71 Degrees of Separation, or 25.71 Aries

All septile aspect portals are inherently irrational and paradoxical. The 1 Semi-Septile does not point to the idea of a separate individual. Present-moment awareness is not an action or behavior, but is a unique and distinct experience. The present moment is not realized through an act of will, or as something to owned independently. These concepts can be difficult for the finite mind. It does not know about awareness that goes beyond its supposed independent nature of acting or doing. The present moment cannot be contained by spacetime events or states, such as a mental or emotional state. The concept of "being in the moment" is a notion that often reinforces repeated or unnecessary trial and error as misdirected energy. The house and sign characteristics of the 1 Semi-Septile will indicate how and where to direct awareness, in order to correct these common mistakes. For example, if Sagittarius conditions their 1 Semi-Septile, their separate self would tend to dash towards a non-existent, other or "better" future, rather than what each present moment could teach them when awareness is operative. This is how an astrologer, armed with their birth chart, could target the situation that identifies any misconceptions about present moment awareness.

What, not Who is Asking

From a different perspective, this aspect portal is meant to ask, "What is asking, who am I?" as an "individual." This repeated inquiry may lead to a direct unmediated awakening experience. They may need to make this inquiry more than once, or at the right moment or situation, to receive a response that does not come from the individual "who" is asking the question. I also recommend limiting exposure to secondary sources. They tend to get in the way, similar to the teaching of the tea cup that is too full to start with. This is the main reason why this chapter is brief, compared to all the others that follow. The nature of this Fire is best left for individuals to experience first hand or to carve their own way forward, much like the wild, wild west of "their" spiritual path.

Experiments in Experientiality

For anyone, but especially for those with little or no meditation experience who have the 1 Semi-Septile in their birth charts, experientiality may be more productive in keeping with the nature of this Fire than an individual in meditation. Experientiality is the raw experience without any specific technique or association. These individuals desire a more direct path beyond their individuality in raw experientiality. Meditation implies a process or technique that is unnecessary, as the present moment exists outside of a temporal "becoming" context. The 1 Semi-Septile aspect portal is a fork in the road between historical or changing states of mind and non-historical awakening experience. Awakening is not about changing mental or emotional states as an individual actively doing something to alter them. Sitting at attention with eyes open, in a soft focus, doing nothing but acknowledging the present moment is happening is as straightforward and uncomplicated as it gets. Mindfulness is completely left out of it as an unnecessarily complicated detour. When mindfulness and meditation come together in a beginner's mind, they often understandably find themselves entirely out of their element. The great thing about experientiality is that it's quite difficult to get off track or detoured, since no steps are ever taken on one's path. The desired path or way cannot be lost because there is no one with any desire to go anywhere on it. Experientiality requires nothing other than attention to present-moment awareness that no one is doing. They come face-to-face with these paradoxes. They can go an infinitely long way in the experience of "now" because they have never tried to go anywhere in particular in the meantime, and therefore would not have to start all over again. They exist and remain at the start of every never-ending beginning, or in a space that leads nowhere else because they are not meant to be anywhere else but in the present moment of their experientiality as a condition of awakening.