Purpose and Meaning

After some reflection, I have decided to make some changes to the articles I write here. I realized that I was pursuing two avenues of a central viewpoint at the same time, which created tension rather than integration in me. Since I believe that our evolutionary work must begin with the integration of ourselves, I need to resolve this tension. In practical terms, the content of the articles will change somewhat. Before saying literally a few words about tomorrow’s new moon, let me tell you how I got in this pickle.

Holism and Reductionism

Briefly, the central viewpoint can be summarized as an approach in life where everything that exists is considered as a whole, rather than a “clever” assemblage of moving parts, from the scale of an atom to that of a galaxy. Furthermore, the parts that make up the whole are functionally interrelated for the benefit of the whole! This is evident in biology when we talk about organs and organisms but the same is true of atoms and molecules or star systems and galaxies.

That is holism, the approach espoused by the South African Marshall Jan Smuts in his 1926 book Holism and Evolution, in which he coined “holism” to mean: a theory that the universe and especially living nature is correctly seen in terms of interacting wholes (as of living organisms) that are more than the mere sum of elementary particles, according to the Merriam-Webster dictionary. In the book, Smuts argues that holism is an alternative approach to reductionism, which the same dictionary cites as being used for the first time in 1925 to mean: a theory or doctrine that reduces complex data and phenomena to simple terms, but which was quickly expanded to the current meaning: the explanation of complex life-science processes and phenomena in terms of the laws of physics and chemistry, presumably to the world of “inert” atoms and molecules, which is now reduced further to subatomic particles.

In simpler terms, when we view the world holistically, it becomes a world of symbols and archetypes. This is the world of the right brain, of intuition and inspiration. When we reduce the world to ever-smaller parts, it becomes the world of reasoning and measurement, the left-brain domain. We need both, but science and technology have been obsessed with reductionism. The biggest problem is a lack of purpose, a lack of meaning, and indeed science rejects all teleology which is defined as: the use of design or purpose as an explanation of natural phenomena. Science tells us that natural phenomena is the consequence of “laws of nature” invoked from its causes, and eventually the causes come from physics and chemistry. As you know, I have been a technologist all my adult life, my doctorate is in computer engineering, so I have a good scientific feel and I was trained to see the world in a reductionist manner, trying to explain how natural phenomena occurs, disregarding why. But life must have purpose.

A Whole in Space

Even simpler, a whole is what we would loosely call an “object” in space. So, we consider an atom as a unit, not as an organized bunch of protons, neutrons and electrons, and a molecule is also a unit, and not an ordered collection of atoms of different types. And so on, until we get to a human being which should be integrated as a whole, and not an incredibly clever collection of material and non-material “parts”, like a skeleton, organs, etc., themselves composed of cells, plus a collection of thoughts, memories, complexes, etc. When we see an object in holism, be a molecule or an individual, we see a self, when they see an object in reductionism, all they see are parts.

So, on one side, I am trying to explore the implications of holism in science because it relies on the sacrosanct “scientific method”, which is based on measurements that can be repeated, and that relies on knowing the parts and their interactions. However, I believe that most of the scientific mysteries, and there are plenty at every level, are the result of not considering that the parts have a reason to exist, namely the correct functioning of the whole within which they are contained. And this is another important point, that wholes are arranged in a hierarchy based on containment, a holarchy, if you wish. Our organs are contained in our body but we, as individuals, are also contained in our collectivities, from family and society or nation to humanity as a whole.

A Whole in Time

The concept of a “time-whole” is more complicated and will defer its derivation for another time, but the end result is that a whole in time is a cycle. Just as reductionism measures and decomposes an object in space in its attempt to explain how the object behaves, it does the same to a cycle and tells us all about various properties like its frequency, phase, etc., to manipulate and use radio waves or light. But, we can only measure things in space! This is why the concept of time in physics is the rate of change in space, and General Relativity has reduced time to be a fourth coordinate of space. The holistic view of a cycle speaks of its internal rhythm as it goes through the different phases that compose it, a “subjective” time that cannot be measured and philosophers simply call duration.¹

The best tool for dealing with parts and their properties is mathematics and that is why physics always wants formulas to describe the “laws of nature”, from Schrödinger’s equation in quantum mechanics (tiny parts) to Einstein’s equation in General Relativity (huge parts). What is needed is the equivalent of mathematics for holism, a tool on top of which we could build an algebra with which we can meaningfully describe holistic interactions. Remember that we are talking about an algebra of symbols, each providing the entire meaning of the whole at once, for example, a mandala, a mythological god or a zodiacal sign.

Fortunately, since a time-whole is a cycle and astrology is concerned with the study of cyclicity, we can use astrology as a pseudo-mathematical tool to build an algebra of holistic interactions in both space and time, as long as we are careful not to mix the two. I will come back to this topic but for now, let’s just say that if looking at the impact of holism in science is one avenue I am pursuing in my thinking, the other is furthering the holistic astrology along the lines Dane Rudhyar drew with his books. It is most important that I keep working on both, side by side, and not on one after another, as I have been doing.

New Moon in Leo

Speaking of astrology, tomorrow, August 4, we will have a new moon at Leo 12°34′, occurring at 4:13 a.m. in California, 5:13 a.m. in Mexico City, or 1:13 p.m. in Central Europe.

Looking at the chart shown on the left, you can see the Sun–Moon conjunction in mid Leo, around 4:30 if it was a clock face. It forms a trine with the North Node at Aries 8°01′, shown in green, which indicates energy for a month of opportunities and synchronicities related, once more, to the proper integration of ourselves, our personal sovereignty but specifically as it relates to issues of the heart, that wonderful organ that beats in our fourth chakra and which is our ethereal connection within humanity and with the cosmos. Leo symbolizes the expression of the Cancer selfhood, concentrating the individual power obtained from our own integration. It represents our creative expression, perhaps a work of art or perhaps a child, and every creation must have purpose. Therefore, the heart is where we perceive our intuitions and Leo rules the heart, so the Leo lunar month is one of intuitions. And, in this particular one, by forming a trine with the North Node, our intuition and our destiny will work hand in hand.

Venus and Regulus

I will talk more about the new moon, in particular the Sabian symbol, when I talk about the full moon in another article. My main interest is to provide information today so you can declare an intention before the new moon occurs, if possible. Something that I do want to analyze is Venus that, at Leo 29°13′, forms a near-exact conjunction with the star Regulus (Virgo 0°10′), the “heart of the lion” in the constellation Leo. Venus will enter Virgo just fifteen hours after the new moon and their conjunction will be exact a few hours later, on August 5.

Just like we spoke about Algol being the star of the decapitated medusa, the most malefic of stars, related to losing ones head, sometimes literally, Regulus is one of the four Royal stars, the guardian of the northern sky that symbolizes courage, boldness and passion. As the guardian of the north, Regulus helps us activate our crown chakra and establish a direct connection with our heart chakra in a link to our higher spiritual self. When it is activated in a chart, as Venus does for the lunation, we can use that energy to facilitate our spiritual growth, follow our passions, and make bold and courageous decisions, according to star astrologers.

Seeing that Venus is the planet that represents the value system by which we relate, this is a good time for working in our relatedness issues, making sure that our value system is coherent with who we are as a whole, namely, with our individuality. But, remember that at the new moon Venus will still be in Leo, in its anaretic degree, so this brings the new-moon Leo intuition straight to our relationships. The next two weeks will offer opportunities to mend relationships or form new ones, all we have to do is “follow our heart”.

Enjoy it because the full moon will have plenty of drama once more. I only want to call your attention to how precise an isosceles triangle the transpersonals Minor Grand Trine looks already. It is shown in green between Pluto at the 11 o’clock placement (Aquarius 0°35′), Neptune at 9 o’clock (Pisces 29°39′) and Uranus at 7 o’clock (Taurus 26°56′). That’s where the chaos is still coming from, but for the next two weeks let’s concentrate on our relationships and especially their spiritual aspect.

Wrapping Up…

This will be the new style of articles, more free flowing, less structured and a combination of astrology with other topics. Sometimes biology, cosmology, whatever is hopefully advancing our capacity to view the world holistically. I believe that such a mindset is more capable of losing crystalized structures and old paradigms, and thus will give us a type of plasticity we need to accept and maintain the higher and subtler level of consciousness we are receiving nowadays.

I hope you have time to declare your intention. Venus and Regulus featured along with the Sun–Moon conjunction in a trine with the North Node mean tons of opportunities to work on our relationships, but not work as in trying to reason but intuitively, from the heart.

Be creative, follow your passion, there is good energy. Just follow your intuition.

Always Love. 🌹🙏💖

1. Einstein’s Theory of General Relativity came to this conundrum and defines proper time as such an internal time. Of course, then they make up an external equivalent that can be measured in spacetime. ↩︎