My original intention for this week's post was to write about the approaching Sagittarius Full Moon, taking place on 4th June. What you are instead about to read is not entirely unrelated to that event; regardless, it seems worth saying*.
When the lunation occurs, the Moon will be conjunct a deep space point known as the Great Attractor (GA). While I was researching the astrological implications of this point, I came across a thorough and most interesting delineation by Philip Sedgwick. He argues that the GA acts as a symbolically attractive force as well as a literal one, drawing us in by our curiosity to seek a hidden gem of knowledge. When we find it, we are in danger of elevating it as the sole and simple truth, to the exclusion of all else: hyperfocused on that one concept as a one-size-fits-all panacea.
This is a trap we humans are prone to fall into, especially in times of difficulty or crisis. We have limited powers of perception, and yet are always at risk of believing ourselves infallible, of considering that our mortal vision can encompass universal truths. We like easy and neat answers, clear systems that allow us to fit all things into discrete categories, rather like the baby's toy that involves slotting a few simple shapes into perfectly complementary recesses. There's (for example) a square, a circle, a triangle and a star, and nothing else. How much smoother life would seem, no doubt, if that were a comprehensive metaphor for our world.
Many people take comfort in ideas like these, and (often with the help of various interested parties) attempt to squeeze the complexities and mysteries and general messiness of existence into tidily placed, rigid boxes. This strategy allows one to go through life without having to do too much thinking, instead being led by the hand. There might be intervals of cognitive dissonance, but we humans seem to have an incredible capacity to remain somnambulent in such circumstances.
Those of us in particular who are products of a WASP or WASP-adjacent upbringing inherit extra drive to try and force reality to bend to our arbitrary restrictions, from back when our ancestors thought nothing of riding roughshod over whole civilisations, stealing their valuables and converting everyone present, usually by the sword, to a specific religion and culture. Our history is littered with examples of people - usually of the male persuasion - who thought they were impeccably right, or at least righter than most others**, and were willing to commit horrendous acts to sustain that belief. We are not, sadly, free of such arrogance in our midst even today. There are still far too many people who are convinced of their own rectitude and others' error.
Nowhere does this problem appear more plainly or egregiously than in opposition to human rights and social progress.
As we enter Pride Month, I feel it due amid the many current threats to LGBTQ+ people, among others, to express my solidarity with them. I know that being a student of astrology does not automatically indemnify anyone against regressive and hateful prejudices, or bestow any special kind of understanding regarding systemic issues of oppression. What I can say is that the natal chart is a helpful symbol of both our species' complexity and that within individuals.
The planets in a chart signify archetypes: pure embodiments of specific ideas. These include archetypes relating to gender. Everyone's natal chart contains Mercury, Venus and Mars, the Moon and the Sun - suggesting that, far from falling neatly into one of two distinct categories, we each contain a mixture of female, male and nonbinary energies, and the potential to manifest any of them. This intricate view of gender differences is borne out somewhat by today's scientific understanding, as is the complex picture of romantic and sexual orientation that is likewise indicated, which arguably corresponds with socially progressive models.
As a society, we will benefit enormously from a policy of acceptance, inclusion, humility and respect. In contrast, where we allow the worst excesses of fundamentalist imposition and oppression, we stand only to lose.
LGBTQ+ rights, and those of BIPOC and other marginalised groups, are human rights, and thus non-negotiable.
Wishing you all a very happy Pride Month.
Theano
* I have written only a small fraction of what could be said on this subject, and all of it has undoubtedly already been expressed far better by others.
** A Doctor Who reference, in case you're curious.
Further information and resources:
More Than 530 Anti-LGBTQ Bills Have Been Proposed Across the Country in 2023
A post on the evolving science of biological sex (Facebook)
How Is The Science Behind Gender Division Evolving?
The Gender Spectrum: A Scientist Explains Why Gender Isn't Binary
Stop Using Phony Science to Justify Transphobia
Transgender history (Wikipedia)
Third gender in cultures around the world (Wikipedia)
ContraPoints: The Witch Trials of J.K. Rowling (YouTube)
Philosophy Tube: I Emailed My Doctor 133 Times (YouTube)
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| Detailed infographic on the complexity of sex and gender as understood by modern science. Credit: Pitch Interactive and Amanda Montañez. Click for the full-size image. |
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