Traditionally the mutable signs were called “double bodied.” As I was meditating on today’s astrology this morning I was reminded of the doubled trigrams of the I Ching. In particular I was led to study the 51st hexagram, where the element of thunder is doubled, appearing in both the top and bottom trigram.
The 51st gua is like a short scene from a movie. First there comes an enormously loud blast of thunder, stretching out for 100 miles, which everyone hears and is frightened by. Then we flash to the image of someone in the process of making a ritual sacrifice. The thunder comes as no surprise to them and they are sure not to drop the sacrificial cup they are holding. We also see an image of people reacting in fear and anxiety to the thunder, and then eventually laughing in relief. Perhaps the thunder strikes again. Perhaps people will be more prepared for it the second time. Meanwhile, again, the sage making his offering is not disturbed.
What can we learn from this?
* Mutable signs frequently disrupt fixed or stable systems. As they demonstrate both cardinal and fixed qualities, they are known to perpetuate disruptions, diversions, and consistent changes.
* Sometimes it’s one thing after another, after another…are we living our life for these dramas? Are we always in a state of simple minded herd reactivity? What else do we see when the world trembles and reacts over and over again all around us?
* When we are in an ongoing state of prayer and meditation, and especially when we are in the process of making any important sacrifices or changes, whenever our inner spiritual practice is reaching the altar of an important moment within the work, should we be surprised that thunder suddenly strikes outside? Should we join with others in the constant alternation between fear and relief, fear and relief?
* Sometimes the most important validation we can get from the Universe that our offering is being received and that our prayers are being heard, or that our inner work is bearing fruit, are the shocks that come unexpectedly. Why? Because witnessed without reaction, when everyone around us is doing nothing but reacting, we are gifted with the knowledge that we are already awake and require no shocking events to return us to the work. From here the only appropriate response is to continue whatever we’re in the midst of doing, finishing what we’ve started.
* Disruptions and shocking events, especially those that repeat and interrupt, are part of life. Sometimes they appear to get our attention, and sometimes they appear to test our concentration. Knowing the difference we remain calm either way.
* Nature disrupts, erupts, and interrupts. This is natural.
* The fear of God’s awesome power, kept close to the heart, as an aspect of our love of the divine, is an armor against shocking events in the world around us.
Prayer: Shock brings success. Shock comes-oh, oh! Laughing words, -ha, ha! The shock terrifies for a hundred miles, and he does not let fall the sacrificial spoon and chalice. (I Ching #51)
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