17 November 2008

An Abstractionist View

Age is the external experience of your surroundings.
But, the truth is,
the deeper you are connected
with the eternal,
the less you need to experience in the world
to understand yourself.

In his book, Astrology of Inner Space, Carl Payne Tobey retells a story that an inventor John Hays Hammond Jr. related to him about the nature of science. Tobey recalls,
"At one point, he put his hand on a floor lamp and [Hammond] said, 'we call this electricity and because we have given it a name we think we understand it, but we do not know what it is. In university, they classify and give names to things and think they have solved the problem. They have not. They do not know what electricity is.'"

Over 30 years later, [Tobey] told this story to a college student. [The student] said, 'But, that was a long time ago. Now, we know electricity is a stream of electrons.' 'Thought up a new name, eh?' [Tobey] commented. The student laughed, seeing the point. 'I guess you are right,' he said."

Not much has changed in over 35 years. And, in these past 35 years, another issue Tobey goes on to discuss has bored even deeper roots for our planet's system of materialism: our educational systems.

"Opinions depend on education and a large part of our education could be classified as brainwashing, and this kind of education is compulsory both here in in communist countries.

* * *

There are two opposing viewpoints in science and elsewhere. One is the materialistic viewpoint, the other the abstract. It would seem that the two can never meet. The materialist is less sensitive, restricted to what he can detect with his five physical senses; while abstractionists, particularly mathematicians, inventors and a large number of engineers, see with their minds....

The materialists believe in the doctrine of materialism, which tells us that all cause lies in matter. Others [abstractionists] consider that life itself is a primary cause....

Materialism thrives on rationalization, reasoning to a conclusion a priori, made in advance. Once the conclusion is made, evidence is carefully divided. All evidence that appears to fit into the doctrine is accepted. All evidence in conflict with the doctrine is excluded as not being respectable. Our compulsory educational system is heavily under the domination of the materialist. Our world of material science is principally under its domination."

(Astrology of Inner Space, Carl Payne Tobey, Omen Press, Tucson, Arizona, 1973.)

Using the labels as defined by Tobey, I am an abstractionist with a good dose of materialistic instinct. As it relates to astrology, Tobey discusses the system of houses and some of the more abstractionist views on which to understand the design of house in the horoscope. I highly recommend any student of Evolutionary Astrology to consider Tobey's in depth discussion on house systems.

I have long suspected the "Midheaven" to be the key to the shift of "living sidereally in a tropical world." Given, Tobey's perspective on the houses, I am more convinced that the Midheaven is the way out of and tool to use in the effective operation within "the Matrix" so to speak.

The "tropical" world (the world at large) and modern astrology is based on the materialistic point of view propagated by Claudius Ptolemy (150 AD). Removing from a system of communication and symbols based on cosmic order, the "signs of our time" were etched in stone or matter. It is that stone tablet that we find our clues and the keys to our freedom, only we need to infuse a bit of abstractionist thinking in this materialistic world, lest we maintain a level of superficiality that quiets the thinker, shackles the creators, and martyrs the saviors.

It was Ptolemy's ideas which were integrated into the Julian and then Gregorian calendars. Having a materialist time sequence that is based on what exists and then its existence rationalized (such as having a leap day every 4 years to "adjust" to the conclusion how dynamic time and space will be at that time), rather than experience what life creates in the moment is unnatural and creates an unnatural state of humanity and cosmic energy.

To understand the "unnatural state of humans," one can look to what the natural state is as described in our important documents like the Declaration of Independence, e.g., that humans are free, are creative beings (liberty), and are here to become happier and happier.

In this the next few years, there will need to be many people highly focused, willing and able to effectively operate in both realms of our reality as we transition to the new reality we are here to create. If you are one of those people and would like my perspective on your chart, please contact me.

peace & harmony,
elaine
'freedom must be exercised to stay in shape!'