Editor's Note: I talked with my mentor-friend Jessica Murray of Mother Sky recently by email. I told her about leaving Facebook (two weeks now), and how radical it felt for me. Like virtually jumping off a cliff? Mainly it has to do with time -- the stuff life is made of -- and wanting to rein in my focus. And a instinct to find a deeper rhythm in these darker months, to see what's there to be unearthed, if I have the patience to go against the manic norm, and be still.
Jumping off the Facebook thing, and one person's radical action, she had this quote to share with readers here. From Jessica Murray:
The Uranus-Pluto square is redefining what "radical" means. Time was, its meaning in the American vernacular was "a notch or two to the Left of liberal:" My generation, coming of age in the mid-sixties, took its cue from the Pluto-Uranus conjunction that occurred during those years. But now that these two planets are moving into a square (first exactitude is June 2012), we are being asked to reconsider radicalism; to take it one step further, or rather, deeper. Pluto is a reference to the root (radix) hidden within radical, and Uranus is the call to defy the status quo in order to express it.
Every one of us tuned in to the transits overhead is being nudged to be radical, each in her own way. Those who use astrology for personal growth can find opportunities to press this Cardinal square into service several times a month. We can discover new ways to respond to Uranus's call to creative rebellion, and Pluto's call to look underneath appearances, every time the Moon passes through the early degrees of any of the four Cardinal signs. Pretty soon the collective values of the past will begin to feel so oppressive and wrong that it will feel unbearable to be anything less than radical.
Jessica Murray is author of Soul Sick Nation: An Astrologer's View of America. Her most recent post at Mother Sky is Tent City, her take on the global uprising.
The Photo of the Week here is from the Ta Prohm temple at Angkor Wat, in Cambodia. If you catch an inspiration for an image, send it in for photo of the week (an aspect, an illustration of a planet in its sign or house, etc) to astrology.guide@about.com. Also see Around About: More pictures of the week like this of a magickal totem, a Water Horse from Holistic Healing.
Frangipani tree roots with smiling divinity, Cambodia, Siam Reap, Angkor Wat, Ta Prohm temple/Laurence Monneret/Getty Images
I’ve taken a step back from facebook too but wouldn’t leave it completely. It really helped when FB quit sending notices to my email, now I just look when I have time and inclination. I can certainly think of a number of values we as a society need to completely and radically overhaul if we want to keep our mind, bodies, spirits and environment healthy!
Thanks Sukhmandir Kuar. Yes, that’s what I’m doing, stepping back — my account is on hold (de-activated), not deleted. I see the positives of FB, but am enjoying the spaciousness of taking a break.
As always, I appreciate you taking time to make a comment.
Right now I would feel very dis-connected if I didn’t have Facebook, working from home I do feel isolated at time. But, I too am finding myself checking the newsfeed less, also not posting so much. My FB usage is sporadic. I’m happy you liked my Water Horse!