hand of healing

Just a little taste of what's been swirling around...

I've been planning on doing a very large post about all of the recent connections that have been coming together for me, blossoming from attention to Chiron - the astronomical comet/asteroid, the mythological wise, healing centaur, and the astrological wounded healer and unconventional force. But as the connections keep growing it has been quite the task! I hope to give a full update sometime soon, but for now will post another teaser collage. For a little bit o' background, I have written bits and pieces about this subject in these posts over at the MOG:
a new earth.
22's Day



Chiro- means "hand" and the Hebrew letter Yod means "hand" as well.

About 2 weeks ago at the book store I opened a book on symbolism and randomly happened to open to the page directly to the symbolism of the "hand". Then I noticed that the book was on the same shelf as the collection of PALMistry books and while paying for my goods at the register I noticed a book with the last name of PALMer. Then later that evening my husband read me this news story about a guy named Jonathan PALMer:

Way to face your fears, Palmer!

 So I got to thinking about Palms - and remembered that there is a Hebrew Letter that means "palm" or "grasping hand", the letter KAPH. This letter is associated with the Wheel of Fortune Card in the Tarot.

"The Egyptians made this letter like a bowl, and the palm of the hand, when cupped, likewise holds something. In the days when the Hebrew alphabet was formed, a bowl was made on a wheel, by the turning of the wheel. It was shaped by the palm of the hand, cupping itself as the wheel spun the clay. The letter has the same idea of spinning, or rotation, and the Law this letter stands for is ROTATION. Number 1 is the beginning of the whirling, and whirling is the basis of all physical manifestation. All forms are something which are spun and number 1 is the first stage of form." ~ The Rabbi's Tarot, Daphna Moore

In April, around the time that we first began to hear of a rise in tornadoes, I was having multiple synchronicities with words, all coming from the root vertere "to turn". I mentioned this in the comments of Alan's awesome big post at Look at All the Happy Creatures:

"..I was particularly blown away with the Taurus/Torus vortex connection as today I was analyzing another recent dream of mine from which I woke up thinking "The Fall of Man was a divorce." Not really that cryptic or anything considering the material we're used to diving into, but I decided to dig into the etymology of the words a bit this morning. "Divorce" being related to "diVERT" which has it's roots in the word vertere = to turn. Versus also comes from that word, or other words meaning "to beFALL", "what befalls one", fate/destiny. And actually just turn comes from tornos which is a lathe, tool for drawing circles. This was all significant to me because of some other things that have been leading me to turning and twisting lately (which, silly me, i hadn't even thought about in relation to the recent tornadoes). Later this afternoon I was talking with someone about the difference between introvert/extrovert and she started talking about the "vert" part and how it meant to turn, which was hilarious considering how i had spent my morning researching that very word! And now your post brings up vortex..." 

*I have written a little more about these connections in my part of the forthcoming Sync Book, due to be released this Fall. I am thrilled to be 1 of the 22 bloggers, writers and artists that are contributing thoughts on the mysterious and beautiful universe in The Sync Book. For more information, photos and updates, please visit and "like" the Facebook page!

conception perception

(In the spirit of double rainbow guy, "what does it meeeeaaaan?")

We often look to visual artwork, movies, commercials, poems, songs, etc., as expressions of ideas with the use of symbolism. But lately I'm thinking about this 3 dimensional realm that we live in, and that literally everything that we see and touch around us is a symbol for an idea, a collective belief that we all have. We create/manifest our thoughts into material existence. Some people reject this idea, thinking that this statement implies that when you think something it instantly appears. Following this line of thinking - seeing as that this obviously doesn't seem to happen for most of us (based on our definition of "instant" in our concept of time), the statement doesn't seem plausible. But who decided that manifestation had to be instantaneous? Every object around us has originated with a thought, something non-material. First came the idea/thought/belief, then came the act of using our tools to build something based on that vision. So we literally do manifest our reality, whether it takes billions of years, or some amount of months, or a 30 minute meal. So I am interested in the part of the physical reality that most of us can't see - the slippery, elusive thought matter behind every thing we have created.

con*cep*tion [kuh n-sep-shuh n] -noun  1. the act of conceiving; the state of being conceived. 2. fertilization; inception of pregnancy. 3. a notion; idea; concept: She has some odd conceptions about life. 4. something that is conceived: The machine is the conception of a genius. 5. origination; beginning 6. a design; plan. 7. the act or power of forming notions, ideas, or concepts.  

 

"...We work with being, but nonbeing is what we use." Lao Tzu

While having the stream of thoughts flow through my mind, my eyes focused in on the railing around our porch, which I normally don't even acknowledge or think about. "What does a railing symbolize?" I thought to myself. It signifies our belief that we need a boundary wherever we find a railing, that for whatever reason we believe that we need a reminder that without that boundary we may find or inflict harm or discomfort if we go there (wherever there is). That there is a need to keep something in, or keep something out. The belief that we can separate inner from outer. If we did not have these beliefs, we would not have created railings and fences, for there would be no reason for them, as it would not yet have become our conviction that we needed to attempt to isolate one part from another. In exploring the symbolism of the railing, we can ask:
What would the world be like without boundaries? What was it like before we brought about this symbol of separation? And if we removed such a symbol, would it alter our belief that we need such boundaries?

This of course, is just one example of the symbolism that is all around us. Paying attention to the meaning inherent in every structure gives new perspective and profound meaning to the world. It makes you think about what your beliefs really are, and what you want them to be. If we want to change our collective beliefs, then manifesting a physical structure - or maybe more importantly removing structures and things that aren't relevant anymore, is our task. Of course, this brings us to the realization that there are some groups of individuals that are well versed in shaping the collective belief systems simply by introducing the idea into our physical environment. (One obvious means of doing this is through the use of media). This you probably recognize, also happens to be explored in the movie "Inception".

*update 9/16/10* Today I read this quote which is all too fitting with the subject of this post!
"...everything on the material plane takes on new meaning because it is seen as a symbol for an inner quality or state of being." Liz Greene, from her book Saturn: A New Look at an Old Devil

What do we believe? We can see by looking at what objects and symbols we surround ourselves with. And what do we want to believe? What ideas and frameworks still have value, and which ones are outmoded and should be deconstructed to build something new? Hmmmm...
And who knew a porch railing could be so mentally stimulating?



Recommendations:
*The previous post "crystallization" also relates.
*For further exploration of the power of your beliefs, I always highly recommend the work of Dr. Bruce Lipton.
*The work of Michael Tsarion and his study of symbols, words and history has also enriched my life and added perspective.
*The work of the individuals over at the The Sync Whole (and the myriad of other blogs that interweave there), make amazing connections and decipher symbolism through the observation of film, pop culture and more. Their stream of connections is enlightening, but is also just plain fun and inspiring!

quantum astrology

Two thumbs up! Check out this video by filmmaker Jay Weidner featuring astrologer Rick Levine, who gives an eloquent and concise introduction to the symbolism and patterns of energy that planetary movements represent. Through looking at the patterns of movement of the stars and planets in the sky, throughout time we can see obvious patterns of events on Earth that correlate with such celestial movements. Giving meaning to the ancient's saying, "As above, so below."

crystallization

Here are some excerpts from what I have been reading lately that have inspired me:

“Anthroposophically, bone is considered the hardened state of the first wave of spirit to encounter the realm of matter. Raw soul, entering the force field created by the embryo, is whorled deeper and deeper into the physical dimension until it resembles stone – a fascial cave of dripping lime. In this singular deed of grounding, it remains spirit; it also becomes newly crystalline and electromagnetic, a sacred quartz…at the heart of the body’s manifestation.” – Richard Grossinger, Planet Medicine -Modalities

“…Saturn represents concentrated experience and learning which comes only through life in the physical body, in the material plane. Through the resistance of matter and through the pressure of being incarnate in the physical body, we have the opportunity for developing a greater level of concentrated understanding and greater patience in our attitude toward life itself. Saturn is often said to “rule” the dense material plane. When one incarnates into the physical world, the energy field is constricted and thus concentrated. That is why earthly life is such a good experience, for here we learn through depth of experience, concentrated work, and through seeing the immediate results of our actions. The pain, tension, and pressure of earthly life therefore has an evolutionary and developmental purpose. The material plane is, as the poet T.S. Eliot writes, the point of intersection of the timeless with time. Saturn is the planet of time; and, through the Saturnian experience of living in the material world, where everything moves so slowly and where we have to work so hard to make anything happen or to grow in any way, one can make the greatest spiritual progress. It often seems to go too slowly, and our patience is tested at every point along the way, but persevering through the inert resistance of matter clearly shows us what is enduring and what isn’t, where we meet the tests and where we fail. Saturn’s action clearly shows us the cost of our desires and attachments; it starkly reveals the limitations of our ego; and it shows us that a highly concentrated consciousness and in-depth understanding are the main things we can take from this world when we leave it. It shows us the value of work, for all the wonderful beliefs and ideals ever thought of by human beings are of little value if they are not applied to everyday life through effort. Saturn’s pressure should therefore be taken as a helpful push toward doing the work that we need to do in order to develop at a deep level, rather than as something to dread and to try to escape from.”-Stephen Arroyo, Astrology, Karma & Transformation

*update 9/16/10* "Of all the planets only Saturn appears to have an exclusively material value, but as we have seen, this is deceptive because his function is to demonstrate the relativity of all tangible values. Through Saturn everything on the material plane takes on new meaning because it is seen as a symbol for an inner quality or state of being." -Liz Greene, Saturn: A New Look at an Old Devil

Learning about the Tarot has also inspired and made some interesting connections in my mind. The Devil and Heirophant cards in particular describe the archetypal energies that I am referencing in the above collage. You can view insightful interpretations of the cards by Michael Tsarion here:
http://www.taroscopes.com/major/hierophant.html
http://www.taroscopes.com/major/devil.html