Mercury and its Higher Octave Uranus
By Maurice Fernandez
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Mercury ruler of Gemini

The archetype of Gemini is concerned with the issue of integration into the environment as a survival necessity. The environment reflects the dynamics of life surrounding the soul in a particular time and space. This archetype is mutable by nature, which reflects the reality that life is built on a holistic foundation, meaning that every single component of life invariably relates to every other one. As a result the life of the individual is part of an enormous chain, and the individual learns to consciously integrate in that chain.

Understanding the holistic foundation induces the individual not to separate him or herself from the outside world. External events are interfering with the private reality even if the individual refuses to be part of those events. The soul incarnates as an entity; yet this entity is part of an existing framework. The individual lives and interacts with an environment regardless of personal choice.

For example as one drives a car into town, the need is to relate to the other vehicles. Personal actions impact on the traffic stream just as the traffic impacts on personal actions. Through Gemini the urge is to enter the traffic of life and to melt into it in order to participate in the existing dynamics. It is like stepping in the rhythm of a dance that has started before one came, and will continue after one leaves.

In other words the air that we breathe is shared by everyone and is everywhere. Ignoring the fact that each individual interrelates with the environment is like trying to isolate the air only for the use of the self. As a matter of fact, it seems that the first sign of integration in life is reflected in breathing. As one breathes, one enters the rhythm of life.

Life operates regardless of the individual personal rhythm; its pace is a mixture of everything that exists. Therefore life never stops and never concentrates solely on one particular thing; rather everything is always doing something all the time. The clock ticks continually as every living thing breathes without a pause. Life is a simultaneous phenomenon and all its components are synchronized with each other as they interrelate. This again described in the car example, as one drives, one does simultaneous actions of looking in the mirrors, shifting gears, pushing pedals, listening to the radio station. All these actions are synchronized with each others just as the personal car is synchronized with the rest of the traffic.

The individual is in a state of deep shock facing the simultaneous, interrelating and synchronized reality. Everything is in constant movement and seems to happen so fast. Furthermore, one cannot stand aside and take a brake; one is part of the mechanism and therefore pressured to grasp as fast as possible the way to deal with it in order to avoid losing control and break down.

The condition required for integrating into the stream of life is knowledge. There is a survival need that pressures to learn how the mechanism works in order to be able to act accordingly and know how to use it. The more one knows the more one can regulate the interactions. The absence of knowledge would represent a reality within which the soul would be invariably involved in the dynamics of life without having any clue as to how to operate in it. The outcome would create a state of inner chaos as one would be dragged by external occurrences in every directions, ultimately leading to accidents, insanity, or death.

A common example to describe this dynamic is of a person visiting a foreign country. Landing in an environment that one is not accustomed with and not integrated into leads to a feeling of deep insecurity, it is a cultural shock. The language is foreign, the climate is different, the money has different value, the rhythm of life is altered, and so on. Unless this person is guided by tourist services or books to gather the necessary information and understand where and how to deal with the new environment, he or she cannot participate in it. In extreme cases again this person's life and sanity can be threatened as he or she cannot bridge with the life and elements of that place. A foreigner in England can be killed by looking the wrong way when crossing the street; to know is to survive.

The need to know reflects the need to understand, and the ability to understand is again based on life as being a holistic mechanism. Personal understanding must relate to the rest of the environment's understanding, otherwise the organism would not function as an unit. For example it is generally understood that for a car to function, one has to put gas into its tank. Through Gemini we gather common knowledge that is necessary for our survival as individuals living in a holistic reality.

As a result language is developed through this archetype, for language enables common understanding for particular phenomenon. As every component of life is named it becomes possible to relate to it and associate it with defined characteristics. When the sound of the word "telephone" is mentioned, every one involved knows what to refer it to. One of the primary function of language is for life to operate communally, reflecting a holistic reality.

As one names the phenomena of life and learn about them, one starts to understand the interrelationship between them. Each phenomenon combined with another leads to a new one, and thus the soul starts to perceive and form the equations that constitute life, such as: black + white = gray; or coffee + water + milk = "cafe au lait"; or love + health + money = satisfaction, and so on.

As the soul gradually progresses in the learning process, it realizes that life can be understood. There exists a certain order to grasp and follow in life. When the order is followed, one can then anticipate the outcome or the result of various operation. The element of surprise is reduced for it becomes possible to understand the way things work and deduce from it where they leads.

As the logic is gradually uncovered, it becomes evident that life is an intelligent organism. The existing sense of order demonstrates that occurrences do not happen by mistake, rather there is a logical law that governs every process. The laws are not always recognized or understood, they require continual research to explore the dynamics and to reach conclusions. It is a world of science, and every individual becomes a scientist as he or she ponders, observes and learns about the intelligence of life.

By forming equations and learning the logic of life, one can find order and therefore control one's own existence, as well as integrate, function, participate and fulfill the evolutionary requirements. One develops the ability to navigate and establishes a sense of security; the effect of chaos is reduced.

The learning process occurs through the senses as the soul captures information from its environment. At first it is done in a non-selective manner, without judgement as to what is relevant or not, because everything seems relevant in an interrelating reality. If the person wants to learn how to plant a flower, he or she has to learn about weather condition, soil, insects, or basically, about everything. And again, the more one knows, the better the integration, the higher the potential of achievement.

Yet as the soul wonders in the scenes of life it starts to understands that under all the existing variety, the same logical equations and laws operate. It becomes then sufficient to realize the bottom lines in order to orientate oneself in the endless manifestation of forms. From there, the soul develops the ability to simplify the adaptation requirements and thus to speed up the learning processes.

To understand the underline logic in life is to understand the common meaning that is manifested in various forms. For example if one desires to plant a flower, one can gather and memorize endless information on how to do so; or in a simpler manner to understand the basic principle that the flower will require regular nurturing just as any baby would need. Thus the information required would be reduced to small details versus investigating the whole theory of it. Through Gemini the soul develops the instinctual logical feeling for things, the common sense. This feeling is the basis of intelligence.

Learning only through rote memorization, ultimately leads to chaos instead of order. The mind of this person would always be overcharged with data, and it would incessantly expand with every new book coming out in the market, to finally lose a sense of gravity in life. The major problem in this scenario, is that this person would be in a constant state of confusion. The reason for that is that he or she would often collect contradicting information as a result of the lack of selection.

For example the person would read in one book the opinion that if one loves ones child, one should hit the child for better education, and yet in another book, the contrary opinion might be presented. Without the instinctual feeling of logic, the person accepts everything encountered. In real time as the person faces the child, he or she rushes to the immense library of the mind to find out what to do, and thus faces the contradictions. These scenarios always lead to wrong actions, therefore to continual accidents and chaos.

It is impossible to gather every existing detail in life without using the logic of things. Another example would be the study of Astrology; one can try to learn Astrology by collecting information for every specific chart and every combination of planets. Yet at every single moment, there is a new chart in the world with new combinations; unless one would learn the bottom line logic of interpretation instead of learning every chart separately, there would be no way to master the analysis.

When there is no foundation or meaning guiding the learning process, the individual becomes scattered, and needs incessantly external stimuli. The mind becomes so restless that it needs to occupy itself all the time; keeping the mind busy becomes a condition to find some gravity in life. The individual tries and buys anything encounter in order to satisfy the immediate hunger for interest. Since the search is not based on any sense of meaning, the individual gets easily bored as nothing encountered is really integrated. Boredom creates a need for stronger and stronger stimuli and sensations to captivate the mind. In extreme scenarios, the lack of inner consistency can lead to immoral actions for the sake of personal entertainment.

The archetype of Gemini deals with the present, or shall we say with the present manifestation of the truth. The truth is the logic of life and it is immutable; it transcends time and space. Yet the process of learning is spread through time and space. Life changes form to adapts itself to the present time and space, relative to what is understood at that moment. Each time and space emphasizes some phenomenon, hence cultures, fashion, and customs are developed.

Furthermore, as life changes form through time, it speeds up as well. Through the learning process, phenomena that were once very slow to understand and to manipulate, have become obvious and easy to comprehend. What was once considered a state-of-the-art computer is today considered primitive and slow, just as today's latest high-speed computer will be considered primitive tomorrow. As life speeds up, it is possible to deal with more sophisticated forms and paradigms.

Hence, through the archetype of Gemini, the soul is not only pressured to adapt to life, but to modern life and to "faster" life. The soul is required to integrate in the present manifestation of forms, and so has to update itself continually to constant modifications and innovations. Innovations are the fruits of progress in learning; as long as there will be learning, there will be innovations.

For example it is clear that the means of communication and travel have changed considerably in form and speed during the last century. Each soul now has to update itself and adjust to the new means, otherwise it will not be able to participate in life, and again will experience chaos. A few years from now, a person that will not be able to manipulate a computer will be expelled from the circuit of life, he or she won't be able to bridge with the environment. From this pressure arises a fear of missing any event occurring in the present. In such cases, the individual will shop for any new book, movie, social gathering, information of any kind, in order to ensure continual updating.

This dynamic often creates social pressure as to who is updated and who is left behind. It leads to a race to become more educated, trendy and integrated. Those who are not updated usually become the objects of ridicule and considered "retarded" or "primitive". The judgement standards are very high, sometimes causing pressure to fit at any price, even at the expense of lying.

The potential exist for pretending to be knowledgeable, and to present a persona to the public that is far from the truth. This kind of person fools everyone with words, and is a slave to his or her superficial image. These individuals have no self-esteem and betray themselves in order to fit into trendy or intellectual images. In so doing they easily betray and abandon their own family, friends or peers, especially if these spoil or shame their "socially successful" image.

An example for this is the story of a man who emigrated from Iraq to a western country. He made new friends in the new country and they often went together to classical music concerts. These shared experiences were sources of many discussions and debate in social gatherings. However, later in life he confessed that these concerts were a torture for him for he did not inwardly relate to this kind of music, and in his private moment, he use to listen to oriental music. For years he lived a lie because of the fear of being labeled "primitive" and being expelled from his social sphere.

To uncover the logical laws of life is in fact to uncover the secrets of the universe and the truth. The more one progresses in understanding, the better the ability to make the right moves in life. Through Gemini, the soul expands the mind to wider horizons and thus expands its ability to cope with the vastness of life. From life in the immediate environment to life in the city, and from there to other communities and countries. As the understanding of the principles of life expands, the soul becomes more and more sophisticated.

A sophisticated soul, usually rich in knowledge and consistent in character, understands how to use the logic and is therefore able to select which information is reliable and valuable, and which information is a fruit of confusion, or inconsistent opinions. This kind of soul builds an inner foundation of logical understanding like the truck of a tree, and adds to it every new piece of understanding, like the branches of the tree, to expand higher and wider.

Truly wanting to learn, the soul exposes itself to all the variety of experiences, cultures, lifestyles and landscapes, guided by the common meaning expressed in the logic underlining every differences. In Beijing, Paris, or Maputo, the same logical laws apply in different costumes and in different dosage. It becomes easy from this point of view to relate to each one.

Nevertheless, through Gemini, the actual difference in dosage and form is a source of interest, for the soul learns about life through the changes in time and space. In every different culture, there are different accents. In each environment some elements are emphasized at the expense of others, again the dosage of elements varies. So in order to experience and learn about a specific phenomenon, one travels to an appropriate environment.

The Earth offers a great deal of diversity in forms of life. The cause of the diversity is related to time and geography (space). If one lives in the North Pole and another one in the Sahara desert, both will need to feed themselves, yet each one will operate differently relative to his or her environment.

As the soul realizes through Gemini that the air that everyone breathes is the same, and that everyone interrelate in the same environment called Earth, the need arises to bridge between the differences. In so doing it becomes possible to learn from one another, expand the consciousness, and have a better understanding of life. In bridging diversities, it becomes possible to reach new heights, like: Buddhism + Judeo-Christianity + Islam + Hinduism = New perception of truth ! or Spirituality + Mathematics = New perception of truth!

Mercury ruler of Virgo

Through the archetype of Virgo the soul realizes that since all the elements of life interrelate and are synchronized with each other, they become interdependent as well. The interdependence reflects the fact that each element is adequately able to fulfil its defined function only if all the remaining ones fulfil their own. In other words, the quality of each individual operation is dependent on the quality of every other individual operations. In the holistic reality life operates as a unit, and therefore if an individual part of the unit is dysfunctional, every one suffers from it.

for example if schoolteachers stopped adequately fulfilling their roles, the children's education would be affected in such a way that they would not fulfill their inherent potential as future participants of society. The whole chain would then suffer from it on the short or long run.

The interdependence urges the individual to be aware of his or her environment in order to make sure that everything involved is indeed productive. The soul learns to value every single role played in the chain of life, for even simple roles are essential to the proper functioning of the whole. In fact, through the archetype of Virgo, the individual is often in a position of fulfilling the less "glamorous" jobs upon which everyone rely on, such as cleaning public toilets for example.
The holistic reality is a source for concern for many since it reflects the fact that the survival and well-being of the self is dependent on others. It requires considerable trust on others to be able to feel secured. The common tendency is to worry a great deal that others will not fulfil their individual task adequately and that the chain will break down as a result. In this case, the individual feels the need to supervise and interfere in the functioning of others in order to make sure that all is in order. It can go as far as doing other people's tasks in order to ensure that the job is done to satisfy the personal conscience.

Through the Virgo outlook one strives to control its environment in order to minimize and eventually eliminate every dysfunction within it. The awareness that the well being of everyone involved could be at risk urges the individual to raise the feeling of responsibility for the services done and thus to improve their inherent quality. Recklessness is recognized as dangerous.

From there, the soul adopts an analytical and critical approach towards life. Nothing can be neglected or overlooked for every detail is important to make the whole chain work. The individual strives to control the environment and thus to prevent life from being at risk. There is a need to secure the future of life.

Through the critical approach the soul becomes aware that life is not operating at its optimal potential. The equations and the logic of life learned through the Gemini phase reflect a reality that is whole, reliable and applicable; yet this reality can be improved. The original set of nature can be modified.

Also through the critical approach the soul realizes yet another truth, that the amount of resources available in the world are limited. There is limited amount of land, time, energy, money, and so on. Thus the need arises to organize life so as to maximize the efficiency in use and to minimize the waste of resources. The struggle is to find the right economy of nature.

The individual has a hard time resting because everything is stressful. Time becomes expensive and cannot be wasted with "useless" actions. The individual develops a guilt pattern which prevents him or her to relax and have a good time. Every action must be justified with concrete results. Usually, the build up of stress overcharges the nervous system, and can lead to outbursts of any kind.

The ego at this stage is very active and strong for it takes the right to interfere with the creation of God. The ego becomes a full participant in the divine scheme of things as it influences and modifies the original regulations of life. Since the dynamics of life can be improved, it induces that nothing is perfect and that there is room for change.

In the quest for improvement, the individual strives to know, monitor, measure, analyze, and criticize everything. The awareness of existing problems becomes central as the soul experiences crisis and lack in the course of life. With it comes the search for new solutions and improvement.

As one progresses in improving the function of self and the environment, one reduces the affect of chaos in life. Gradually the soul tames nature through Virgo; it transforms the raw manifestation of life into a refined and efficient organism. Life in its primal and original form is unexploited and gross; the functions within this form are basic and limited. The individual analyses the chain of life and breaks down its constituents in order to understand every detail within it, thus learning to use the constituents in a more productive manner.

For example petroleum exists beneath the earth's crust; yet its raw form is useless. It is only after a process of decomposition and refinement that the petroleum can be valuable and useful, such as in gas for vehicles, or in the production of plastic materials.

Another example refers to times when human life expectancy was approximately thirty years. People lived without understanding the overall mechanism of their body; they were powerless facing diseases and could only project their suffering on the world of spirit and superstition. The higher forces were the only remedy for difficulties ranging from disease to famine to disputes etc... The world was chaotic for humans for it was beyond the human ability to comprehend and interfere.

By analyzing the mechanism of the body, by separating the defined function of each organ, it has become possible to improve the health and the physical quality of life. Humans have gradually become more independent of the higher forces as they have become more knowledgeable, thus reducing the lack of control and the suffering which is experience in chaos. Again, the ego has increased in power as it has become more independent.

The ultimate purpose in gradually mastering and controlling the mechanism of life is to be able to help the higher forces and simultaneously, to learn more. As humans have become more independent, they have found better ways of enhancing and ensuring life. They have become more efficient, fighting diseases with cures and vaccines, or protecting themselves from weather conditions with air-conditioning and refrigerators. In so doing they have enabled the primal forces of life to expand and grow. Additionally by being independent, humans have developed methods of learning more sophisticated and complex paradigms. The cooperation between Earth and the heavens is established though this archetype.

The condition for succeeding in the relationship between the earth and the heavens, or between the ego and the higher forces, is for the ego in its independence to always remember the ultimate reasons for its actions. The ego in its separation has to remember that its purpose in individual development is to serve the higher forces and to contribute in its own way for the betterment of the whole. The holistic reality reflects that the separated constituents of the chain of life in their interdependence; either win or lose together.

A strong tendency is for the ego the get carried away in its independence and thus forget the union with the higher forces; the individual then sinks in the illusion of separation. In this scenario, the ego uses its power and knowledge for selfish purposes only and intervenes in the original setup of nature without sensitivity and consideration for the environment. Nature and its resources become toys to control, manipulate and enslave. The outcome creates a distortion and destruction of life in one way or another. Instead of creating more order and quality, the ego creates more chaos and regression on the short or long run.

Endless example exist to illustrate this reality, starting from the pollution of the air, water and earth, to the extreme abuse of animal experiments in laboratories. Another case is the farmers in England who were feeding cattle with inappropriate, yet cheaper, food which constituted of rotten remains of dead animals; the outcome of the misuse and abuse led to the "mad cow" disease which killed in a cruel manner consumers and cattle. On another scale, the misuse can manifest itself in the need to manipulate the body extensively and distort it as a result, such as the use of silicone injection in the body who often lead to serious health problems or the use of all kinds of extreme diets which distorts the body functions.

The bottom line is, that for the ego to participate and interfere in nature and in the larger scheme of things, the intention behind every initiation must be pure, meaning for the benefit of the whole including of nature. Otherwise humans will distort the already limited resources. We have only one body and one earth so to speak.

Furthermore the ego has to recognize that its ability to control the environment is based on the acquired knowledge, and this knowledge no matter how sophisticated, is limited. In other words the ego has still a lot to learn from life and the higher forces; therefore the ego must be humble, surrendering and accepting that it is not in control of everything. Otherwise again it has to face destructive consequences.

The need to be in control of everything feeds on the illusion of perfection. It creates the desire to eliminate all possible mistakes or flaws in life. Thus the individual wishes to conquer the future by planning it far ahead. The strong limitation in this approach is that by controlling the future the individual cannot learn anything new. The future is planned according to the past experiences and therefore is confined relative to the existing knowledge and understanding of the person. Sooner or later the plans made for the future have to crumble since they do not fit with nature's development; the unexpected has to strike in order to transcend the limitations of the plans. As it occurs one can choose to be humble and realign with the higher forces, thus cooperating, or to have anger outbursts at the whole world and at God and react with violence; God is blamed for the personal crisis or defeat.

The key word is cooperation; as the individual learns to cooperate with the environment, he or she can focus on personal tasks and rely on others for other services, instead of doing everything alone. Cooperation is the essence of real efficiency, for one can use time and resource in personal tasks and thus provide quality services, instead of trying to accomplish everything alone, falling apart with fatigue and providing unsatisfactory services as a result. One must strive to work relative to the right economy of resource and true efficiency.

The same rule applies with the higher forces; the individual has to let go and trust life with all its uncertainty. Doing one's best and allowing life to proceed with success or failure, then learn from the results. To apply this approach, the ego has to transcend the illusion of perfection and understand that life is a medium of work, there will always be something to improve. Trusting life is understanding that despite the imperfections, there is a meaning for everything, and that the higher forces are intelligent and just and therefore ultimately reliable.

As the soul realigns itself with the higher forces, another potential problem exists in the other extreme, which is to be ashamed of the ego. The soul goes through a phase in which it needs to humiliate the ego for the sake of purity and modesty. In this case every source of joy becomes sinful; the individual becomes a masochist. Pain and hurting are accepted as glorifying experiences.

This is usually a difficult dynamic to uncover since most people would not admit that they accept and value suffering and hurting. In reality most of these souls live unsatisfactory, humiliating and painful lives, and find every argument and excuse to stay in these patterns. A masochist can be defined as someone who does not do enough to stop the hurting in his or her own life.

The truth about masochism is that it originates from selfishness. As one neglects oneself and accepts hurting for the sake of purity or in the name of service to others, the ego glorifies itself in martyrdom; it is an action coming straight from the ego in disguise. It is yet another way to misuse nature and its resources. The individual has to be happy and healthy in order to serve well; by neglecting oneself, one neglects and humiliates life.

Uranus ruler of Aquarius, higher octave of Mercury.

Through the archetype of Aquarius, the soul deals with the necessity of introducing new components into the chain of life in order to adjust to the new needs expressed through the Virgo archetype. As life undergoes a process of continual improvement, new realities are created with new phenomena.

The present does not remain the same; there is a need to find new solutions for problems or existential necessities. Life's development counted through history is not built solely on linear progression, as in one experience leading to the other; rather sudden events often catalyze the linear progression to unexpected horizons. The causative factor for these digressions from the expected is the introduction of new phenomena, which have a shocking affect on the course of life. The common logic of things is challenge by a new logic and vision. Individuals like Gandhi, Einstein or Jesus were clearly agents of these "turbulence" and led humanity into unpredictable spheres.

Innovations are launched resulting from discoveries, inventions and the intervention of higher forces. Inventions and discoveries are the fruit of human effort, while through higher forces, the new phenomena and forms of life permeate nature regardless of human conscious desire.

A discovery is made when a longstanding phenomenon is newly recognized and taken into account by humankind, i.e. the discovery that Earth is round and that it is not the center of the universe, or the discovery that animals do have emotions. By developing new tools it becomes possible to expand common knowledge about the nature of existence, just as telescope allowed discovery of planets unseen by naked eyes.

An invention takes place when a previously nonexisting phenomenon is introduced into reality, such as airplanes or compact discs. Inventions result from new combinations of existing elements within the present chain of life. For example, when one combines solar energy with cars it becomes possible to create a new phenomenon: solar-powered vehicles. Invention are often the fruit of switching the existing logic of things and thus creating a new logic. Mixing elements that were never mixed before or trying new directions to reach a certain goal, such as in the case of solar-energy-cars. New inventions lead to new discoveries and to new natural conditions.

New natural conditions are resulting on the one hand from human actions. Through technology it has become possible to grow plants in deserts and thus to create a whole new ecosystem where it was previously nonexistent. This can express itself negatively as well; the industrial development led to excessive pollution and to a hole in the ozone layer. Consequently new natural conditions are created on Earth to this day.

On the other hand new natural conditions can result from cycles of nature which are vaster than human comprehension. Aquarius is concerned with the fact that our collective survival on Earth relies on the interdependent relationship between Earth and its environment, the cosmos. All factors of the universe tightly relate to each other in their individuality, just as each factor on Earth relates to another (as described through the Mercury signs Gemini and Virgo). Life on Earth depends on the whole mechanism of the solar system, which itself depends on galactic influences, and so on. The chain of life is universal. This idea reflects the fact that there is a continual influence from the cosmos on earth. Hence through Aquarius the study of outer space phenomena is of great importance for life on Earth depends on it.

One example is the Ice Age, which led to radically new natural conditions regardless of human intervention or participation. Every shift occurring in the universal geography, impact on life on Earth directly or indirectly. As a result, new forms of life emerge while others fade out.

By introducing new phenomena into Earth reality, the archetype of Aquarius brings the future into the present. The new phenomena are not yet integrated in the mainstream, but represent a potential future. The innovations have to be tested in order to ensure that they are consistent and indeed useful for life. The risk being the introduction of innovations which could have a devastating effect on life to the point of endangering the survival. For example many cosmetic products were taken off the market because they were proven to be dangerous for the health.

In other cases some innovations are simply recognized as irrelevant or useless and therefore dismissed. The reason for the dismissal can be based on genuine lack of integrity, or on the fact that some innovations are simply too sophisticated to be valued in the present. In this case they have to be "rescheduled" for the future !

In either case in order to enable the innovating process to unfold, one must enhance the creative process. Each individual has the capacity through the creativity process, to have an impact on life to a certain degree. The nature of the impact is relative to the nature of the individual.

Since every single component of the chain of life is different from every other one to a certain extent, it can be deduced that each living thing is unique in its nature. Therefore each individual in his or her uniqueness has the potential to create something unique from what already exists. This fact demonstrate that to a certain degree, every one has a spark of genius and therefore everyone has the potential to innovate.

The Aquarius outlook is concerned with the need to foster the diversity within a society. For the chain of life to be rich and productive, it has to include every aspect of life. As each element is unique and interdependent on others, they unify in their diversity.

For each entity to fulfill its unique potential and be innovative in some way, it has to recognize its own individuality and differentness. It is not an easy task since it requires the person to stand apart and abandon role models or standard means of comparison; to be different is to be alone. The immediate instinct is to look for security, thus to conform, belong, and have a guiding authority. Consequently, to live the individuality in a healthy manner, one has to mature the early needs of nurturing, to feel secured in being different.

Often one feels different from within the existing structures and does not find ways to legitimize this difference. There is then a lack of relatedness to the family or environment, which can either lead to active rebellion or to passivity as in living life without passion due to the lack of interest and relatedness. Furthermore, it can lead to emotional or physical ruptures as one can either be expelled from the structures, or depart willingly on the basis of being different. Feeling alienated yet hungry emotionally, the person strives to find peers and like-minded people with whom he or she can relate; hence groups of like-minded people are formed. Consequently society, the largest group, is formed of many sub groups such as the group of astrologers, Hispanics, feminists, stamps-collectors, and so on.

As the person integrates into a group dynamic, he or she finds an identity and a framework to support the self. The dynamics of the group foster mutual exchange and creativity. It can strengthen the identity and the impact of everyone involved, and therefore facilitate the approval of the legitimacy. For example, gays as a community have better chances to be recognized than gays than standing alone.

Nevertheless, within the groups new conditions and conformity pressures can arise resulting from the insecurity of being alone. Within the feminist group, there could be a conformity pressure to have a prominent career as a female leader; within the gay male community there could be a conformity pressure to have a muscular body, and so on. A person within these groups can feel alienated yet again from the consensus pressure and disengage from the group-structure. In this case one can choose to form subgroups within the larger groups. For example within the astrology community, there are subgroups of those who use the sidereal zodiac, Placidus house system, or horary techniques, and so on. These divisions end up in the formation groups of one; no-one is exactly identical therefore the feeling of being different will result in standing alone with one's own personal flag.

The Aquarius archetype deals with the necessity to recognize and accept oneself as being different, thus promoting within each person the innovative creative principle. To fulfill this dynamic one has to free oneself from external pressures; to be able to neutralize oneself from what is expected and known, thus let the unique spark reveal itself. It is a liberating experience that requires a great deal of faith in oneself and courage.

Being freed from expectations, the individual experiences new grounds. Like a scientist in the laboratory who awaits for the next moment to reveal itself without any projection or wishful thinking on the results, whatever will be is the truth ! The approach is impersonal and therefore the results are relatively objective. The individual becomes highly inspired and can act as an instrument through which higher forces channel innovations on Earth.

To bring the future in the present one must be freed from the expectations of the future. Furthermore one must live in peace with the past otherwise the past will haunt the soul and block its genuine freedom. Denying the past because it is too painful or too primitive causes unresolved emotions. These unresolved emotions are enslaving the soul for they represent a hunger that is not satisfied; consequently the emotions blur the clear visions of the present and the future. To be freed from the past is to recognize the emotional needs and lacks, and to deal with them.

In some cases one can detach from the emotional body and anesthetize one's feelings as a reaction to experienced traumas; thus no pain is felt. This reaction cannot stand the test of time for the emotions are stored and can result in irrational behavior. The soul will need to re-engage with the emotional body in order to integrate into life. Often the way to re-engage in the body is to experience emotional shocks that will cross the threshold of resistance, similar to electric shocks who reactivate the heart. The paradox is that through these emotional shocks one can detach even further from the pain and aggravate the situation to reach a point of extreme disengagement, coldness and insensitivity. One fluctuates then among extreme emotional reactions such as anger, tears, love or violence to extreme numbness.

Unless one consciously deals with the emotions and potential traumas, the vicious cycle cannot be broken. Dealing with the emotions is the only condition to attain that inner freedom from which liberation occur to promote the innovative creativity.

As one liberates oneself from social pressure, integration in society is done without compromise on the individuality; one lives and exposes a distinguished personality and qualities which can be sources of admiration and respect. Nevertheless a potential problem can arise as one liberates oneself from the normative pressure to develop and anarchic attitude. Separating from the social order, one can legitimize crimes of any kind in the name of individual expression or creativity. It is the reason why judgement is necessary to identify if the individual expression or innovation are contributing to the development of life, and that fundamental moral standards are respected. This judgement should be based on objective standards and not on subjective likes or dislikes.

This is the subject of a lot of controversies since it is difficult to draw a clear line between the subjective and the objective. Some people even give credit to the inhuman Nazi medical experiments on prisoners in the second world war by proclaiming that it led to very important discoveries in the scientific field. This is clearly an example demonstrating how insensitive one can get, and to justify it in the name of progress.

Nevertheless, many issues are perceived as negative or irrelevant because they are not truly understood. For example many can perceive the homosexual phenomenon as a threat to a healthy society; yet this judgement is usually based on lack of understanding since homosexuality is not detrimental to life in any way.

The bottom line being that through the archetype of Aquarius, the individuality and uniqueness are to be valued regardless of biological or national identity. The color of skin, the gender or the national identity are irrelevant; rather it is the personality, and the individual contribution to the whole. From this emerges the humanitarian vision to promote equal social rights for everyone, for those in the fringes of society in their different lifestyles or status, and for those in the mainstream of society. No-one is born equal yet each one should be respected through those basic rights. It is a condition to foster the individual creativity in each person, reflecting the understanding of the necessity in diversity of life.

The archetype of Aquarius is concerned with the overall nature and character of individuals, groups, communities, societies, and any other form of social gathering on Earth and in outer space. It deals with the development of the individual within the collective. The focus is on enhancing the quality of life in large-scale vision. However, this vision can create a lack of intimate and personal contact with the individual, rather an anonymous approach. In this case, individuals are referred to as numbers, and only the outstanding contributors to the progress of the whole are recognized for their sophistication. Often this becomes the standard for judging people; the sophisticated, intelligent, and progressive as opposed to the "regular", slow, and uninteresting. The person looks down at the world from above and finds it hard to be impressed by the trivial emotional dramas of "normal" people. In this indifference one can truly "castrate" other people who do not meet the standards of personality. It is a feeling of belonging to an elite and higher race of sophisticated people who feel different and superior to the masses. These individuals usually come from early life dynamics where they were treated as such, and humiliated by the parents or by the social environment for being dull or unimpressive.

Another manifestation of this dynamic is reflected in the enhancement of progress to benefit the elite of society only. Hence the large gaps existing within a society as some enjoy the privileges of advanced means and education while others are denied access to these privileges and settle for mediocre standards. On another scale this is shown in the progress of human race development to the detriment of animals and nature in general. All the resources are invested to benefit the "superiors" only.

In a positive way, the soul can develop the individuality and sophistication without lacking in respect for the less sophisticated. This is the case where the soul recognizes the emotional nature of life and therefore ceases to judge everything solely on intellectual standards. The soul develops a relatively impersonal judgement on life which enables one to see things in clear light without projections based on likes and dislikes.

This becomes a quality that contributes a great deal to the evolutionary process for one can look at the self in a relatively objective manner. Looking from a bird's-eye view with larger perspective, and in so doing identifying potential blocks or talents; this approach enables the individual to laugh at him or herself. The individual feels ready to admit various facts about the self as a result of an objective self-analysis, and this gives way to development. There is a healthy detachment from expectation and therefore a realistic observation of the phenomena of life; it is a scientific approach in the real sense of the word.
With this attitude the soul is able to step into the realm of the unknown and the "yet to be discovered". From here the ability to bring life to new forms, new speed, and new achievements. The environment is modified, modernized and a more efficient use of resources and energies results from it.

©Copyright 1999 . Maurice Fernandez