Chaos

Chapter 8 from "Astrological Repair Manual" by Alexander M Zoltai

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Here we are traveling through what's been called the Asteroid Belt-many thousands of carbony or rocky planetoids, chunks of stuff that some think are left over from a destroyed early planet and others think think haven't been together long enough to make a planet; jury's still out...

The thing is, that since they first called it a belt, astronomers have found bodies orbiting in something more like a sphere with the majority of them huddling in the somewhat flat plane of the major planets. Also, this conglomeration of bodies between Jupiter and Mars used to be the big thing in small bodies. Now we know there are large groups between Saturn and Neptune, not to mention all those Hordes out past Pluto.

The critical thing for an astrologer to consider is what can be done, with such a wide variety of objects orbiting in such a wide variety of places, when the astrologer comes to the point of trying to draw any logical, interpretive conclusions. Sad to say, there are many astrologers who don't stop to consider many things before they blithely offer up their opinions. Result? Chaos; in the astrologer's mind and in any soul unwitting enough to bite this particular apple.

One outstanding example of this unconsidered (though, probably, sincere) approach to interpreting this realm of chaotic bodies is the object dubbed Chiron. Discovered in 1977 and having an orbit that takes it between Uranus and Saturn, this small celestial traveler has been given way too much responsibility in the traditional astrologer's bag of tricks.

The first major consideration before attempting astrological interpretation of this kind of object is, "What about all the other ones?" Sure, some astrologers interpret a few of the asteroids in their practice, but the critical difference between planets and this host of other bodies is that they are a host, a multitude, a legion. Back when we were hovering near Xena, I said one approach for hordes-interpretation was to, "...think of a sheath or aura around the chart, a non-localized group of potentials and energies that each individual can tap into IF they can manage to begin using the other planetary functions consciously."

That was said for the bodies out beyond Pluto, but it can certainly be applied to the asteroid belt and this plethora of small bodies. Another consideration is the length of their cycles. This depends on physics, but with this legion spread over most of the extent of the solar system, we witness cycles from less than a year to many hundreds of years. One approach would be to use "the sheath or aura...of potentials and energies" and give it special attention when we find a concentration of these denizens of chaos. Since the Hordes of Xena have very long cycles, they would represent a congregation of energies that society-at-large can use; the flock between Jupiter and Mars would be oriented toward the transition between Social Expansion and Personal Motivation (Mars-teaser-meaning).

I should make it clear that since astrology deals with the mirroring of solar system cycles in the lives of people (cultures or individuals), everyone is always "using" these energies and functions. The goal is to make this cyclic-meaning more conscious. And, to be as progressive as possible, astrology is not the only way to do this; just the one I'm writing about...

So, in other words, these hordes and legions are a cloud of cycles and meanings that don't have the clarity or precision of interpretation that planets do. They do, however, let us consider the value of chaos in our lives.

Chaos is a word, like many others, that now seems to live far from its birthplace. Not to say that words shouldn't grow and move from place to place, but, like you and me, if they change their identity too many times, we should give them a new name or folks might get confused. Actually, most words like this don't change their meanings; people just don't know them well enough. Like "chaos".

It came from the Greeks and originally meant something like the primal emptiness or to gape or be wide open. One thing it didn't mean back then was disorder or confusion-meanings common today. Some of you may be thinking, "So the word changed its' meaning. Forget about the old ways of using it." Well, the fact is that's real hard to do, and the reason is lurking right there in all our minds-the unconscious. It remembers, very well, and, when we use words in ways they weren't born for, we induce chaos in our thoughts. Oops! Did I mean disorder or confusion? Did I mean emptying our minds or making them wider? (Actually, I tried hard in that sentence to leave room for all the meanings of chaos...) Let's leave this discussion behind with the understanding that words can be tricky, we should be wary, and chaos just might be a good thing-in its proper place, of course!

I feel this is the proper place for an understanding of the potential for using all these otherwise misunderstood space objects as a symbol of the vast and multilevel energies available to us; some deep in the unconscious, some much closer to our waking understanding. It's my firm conviction, though, that none of us will use them consciously unless we are using the main functions-the planets we all know and love-in consciously controlled ways.

Let me share another quote from Dane Rudhyar that speaks to this positive understanding of chaos:

"Whereas our ancestors used to dwell in a comfortably static universe in which everything had a well defined and rationally reassuring name, a form and a permanent set of characteristics, today we find change enthroned everywhere.... Against the classical concepts of permanence and identity the realization that all living is a dynamic process of transformation from which no entity escapes now stands backed up by the whole edifice of scientific research and theory. On the ruins of the world of thought dogmatically extolled by nineteenth century minds we witness the reappearance of ancient concepts which were for millennia the foundations of human knowledge. The universe is once more to be understood as an ocean of energies in which two vast complementary tides can be distinguished. Everywhere a dynamic and electrical dualism appears as the foundation upon which all reality stands."

--- The Pulse of Life (1943)

Humanity is far from a complete understanding of life, the solar system, or the universe. There will always be more to learn and new ways to use what we already know. As we approach the inner edge of this asteroid belt, let's just agree that there is more to know, and we can profit from letting our minds open a little bit wider at times. If we can reach a place where our minds feel somewhat empty, we will feel less driven, less oppressed. Our minds might even become broad enough to let new interpretations in, interpretations that include enough reality to have the power to take us closer to the truth.

---

Read more chapters from this book:

The Voyage

Chapter 1: Xena and the Hordes
Chapter 2: The River of Death
Chapter 3: Idealism Abounds
Chapter 4: Venus and Her Father's Penis
Chapter 5: Transpersonal Awareness
Chapter 6: Father-Time Is All Spaced-Out
Chapter 7: Promiscuous Gods
Chapter 8: Chaos
Chapter 9: The Ancient Warrior
Chapter 10: Home Sweet Home and Lunacy
Chapter 11: Acid Love
Chapter 12: Messenger of the Gods
Chapter 13: Plasma Love
Chapter 14: Galactic Visitors