The Fifth Door: Transcendence Complements Engagement |
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Different
people bring very different attitudes to bear on
the relationship between transcendence and
engagement. Some people have never meditated, never
had any kind of mystical experience that lifted
them out of mundane realities. They remain
completely caught up in the trials and tribulations
of making material life work. Some of these folks
are quite cynical about anything
"religious" or "spritual", and live in a very
literal world. At the other extreme, some people
are so enamored of the mystical that strive to be
as ethereal and detached as they can be. Some even
assuming an attitude of superiority, looking down
smugly on the unenlightened folks who are so caught
up in their jobs, relationships, and
moods. If you
are reading this, chances are you are somewhere in
between these two extremes. Still, you might want
to take a few moments to reflect on your own biases
and attitudes. As
a symbol for the complementarity between
transcendence and engagement, I have chosen the
World Tree Yggdrasil from Norse mythology. The
World Tree is the central structure of the cosmos,
embracing the loftiest heavens in its high brances,
while its roots stretch deep into the mysteries of
the underworld. Around its trunk are the middle
worlds where humanity dwells. The Tree is a living
being, with a circulatory system. The roots pull up
water and minerals from the earth and carry them
all the way up to the leaves. The leaves take in
the air and sunlight, creating the food that is
needed to sustain the Tree and help it
grow. The
World Tree connects sky and earth, and is
furthermore the structure that keeps the two
distinct, gives them each its own place, its own
context. In the traditional symbolism, an eagle
perched in its branches and a dragon or serpent
coiled about its base. The eagle's flight is a
splendid metaphor of transcendences, of that call
to rise above an earthbound existence and see
everything from afar. The coiling dragon represents
the physical roots of our life-force; it is the
kundalini coiled at the base of the spine, the
primal being within all living things. We, as
human beings, dwell between these two creatures,
partaking of the Tree's living form and its gifts
of food and shelter. We can contemplated its
deepest roots or its highest branches, but we do
not live there. We live where the two come
together, where body and spirit meet. It is our
great gift that we can blend these two principles
together, in a kind of creative alchemy. Our
astrological poster child for the interplay of
transcendence and engagement is Jupiter. On one
level, Jupiter (Greek Zeus) is a rendition of the
Indo-European sky father. Viewing the world from
the lofty heights of Olympus, he serves as judge
and overseer. (The eagle, not surprisingly, was his
traditional bird.) Jupiter, as the patriarch
of the Greco-Roman pantheon, served as a
placeholder for deity in general, and for the
associated concepts of religion and piety. He was
the figurehead for all our spiritual yearnings and
aspirations. On the
other hand, Zeus was notorious for his sexual
escapades and other meddlings in human affairs. He
was no stranger to the pleasures of the body, and
not above playing favorites in mortal disputes. He
was thoroughly at home in the ego-driven world of
humanity. The
dichotomy is reflected in the astrological signs
ruled by Jupiter: Pisces and Sagittarius.
Pisces is the most mystical of the signs. We
associated it with dreamy, oceanic oneness and ego
transcendence. Pisces can have trouble engaging the
world productively, because the details of personal
goals and the drama of life seem irrelevant to the
Piscean vision. Sagittarius, on the other hand, is
all fired up to explore - to go places, meet
people, and sample the dinner menu. Sagittarius is
determined to seek out and enjoy all that life has
to offer. (US astrologers tend to emphasize
the sign's connection with spiritual pursuits,
including religion and higher education. In the
European tradition, however, Sagittarius has a
strongly hedonistic quality. The lower body of the
centaur makes this case symbolically.) Taken
altogether, Jupiter is simultaneously bestial and
deific, lusty and blissful, selfish and just, fiery
and cool. He is a god image from an earlier time
and culture, one whose gods were more hands-on. For
Jupiter, the material world is a playground full of
delights. If a god could get excited by
participating in the sensual, rough-and-tumble
world of human drama, then so, as spiritual beings,
can we. Here
are some ways to explore the balance of
transcendence and engagement in your
life. Copyright © 2008 Tom Waters |