{"id":834,"date":"2019-07-28T08:38:54","date_gmt":"2019-07-28T09:38:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/malvinartley.com\/blog.malvinartley.com\/?p=834"},"modified":"2019-07-28T08:38:56","modified_gmt":"2019-07-28T09:38:56","slug":"the-earth-in-astrology","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/malvinartley.com\/blog.malvinartley.com\/2019\/07\/28\/the-earth-in-astrology\/","title":{"rendered":"The Earth in astrology"},"content":{"rendered":"

Unless one practices sidereal astrology, the Earth itself is hardly, if ever considered in standard astrological posts and literature. But it leaves an obvious question, as well as a hole in our interpretations. The Earth is a planet. It orbits the Sun. It interacts with the other planets. Why do we not consider it to be a viable or even important factor in astrological interpretation? Well in fact, the Earth does<\/em> factor into astrology. We just don\u2019t recognize it as such.<\/span><\/p>\n

There is a so-called \u2018Earth point\u2019 in the geocentric horoscope, which is what the great majority of Western astrologers use. As to where it is, it is always directly opposite the Sun in any horoscope, and also by transit, and by direction. So here is something for us to wrap our heads around: the Sun never makes transits in a chart. Let that percolate for a moment.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Sun is the center of our solar system. All the planets and planetary bodies orbit the Sun. What we actually see as the Sun making transits is instead the Earth mirroring the Sun as we transit the zodiac in our geocentric universe. It is we, on the Earth, who transit the Sun, not the other way around. This is readily apparent if we use the sidereal zodiac, wherein the Sun disappears from consideration. Solar transits and directions are illusions in a geocentric chart (tropical zodiac), a point which will be important later in this discussion.<\/span><\/p>\n

However, the thing one notices whether using the tropical or sidereal zodiac is that the position of the Earth is always opposite the Sun, regardless. In other words, the Earth is always in opposition<\/em> to the Sun. That has more than a little symbolic meaning, and will also be important later. When we see the sign the Sun is \u2018transiting\u2019 at any given moment, the Earth is always in the opposite sign, which is the sign we should also be considering. There are thus a couple of important considerations. Firstly, consider the following, from Alice Bailey\u2019s Esoteric Astrology<\/em>:<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThere is one aspect of energy for which the modern astrologer makes very little allowance, and yet it is of paramount importance. This is the energy which emanates from or radiates from the Earth itself. Living as all human beings do upon the surface of the Earth and being, therefore, projected into the etheric body of the planet (for the reason that “man stands erect”) man’s body is at all times bathed in the emanations and the radiations of our Earth\u2026\u201d (p.13)<\/span><\/p>\n

Then, there is this, from the same book:<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201c[The study of the centres (chakras)]\u2026is an intricate occult study and is concerned with the response of the etheric body to the incoming energies. It relates finally the lowest centre at the base of the spine to the highest centre, the head centre. This is a correspondence to the relation of the Earth to the Sun. Think this out.\u201d (p. 26)<\/span><\/p>\n

From these two quotes alone, we see that the \u2018Earth point\u2019 is a substantive point \u2013 i.e., it points to our relationship with our immediate environment, and points as well to the very substance of the body, especially the more energetic components of it, which are by far the most important anyway. Does the Earth rule anything in astrology, then, since it is a major planet? Yes \u2013 Gemini at its most occult level (Hierarchical) and Sagittarius esoterically \u2013 two opposing signs, interestingly. The Earth is also connected with the sacral and spleen chakras as well (p. 81).<\/span><\/p>\n

Going further, the \u201c\u2026Earth stands for the sphere of experience.\u201d (p. 27) We do live on the Earth, after all. It is where we live out our experiences. This might seem to be common sense, but again, the statement means something more when we dig a bit below the surface. That leads to the next passage:<\/span><\/p>\n

Regarding experience, that relates to, \u201c\u2026the influence of planetary experience (which is different to individual experience) in order to transmute [one\u2019s] personal consciousness into group awareness.\u201d (p. 128) And there you have it, the importance of the Earth in astrology.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Earth is never used as a ruler of a sign except esoterically, for the very reason thus stated. It is a point that specifically speaks to the development of \u2018awareness of the other\u2019, which only makes sense. If the Sun represents the personal ego and the aspect called the opposition fosters greater awareness, then the \u2018Earth point\u2019 will be one that takes us out of our own self-interest and introduces the element of \u2018experience\u2019 in our lives \u2013 in other words, having to interact with others, not simply one\u2019s environment. The Earth can thus be called, \u201cthe place of the perfecting process\u201d. This brings us to what the \u2018Earth point\u2019 really entails.<\/span><\/p>\n

The sign opposing the Sun sign has been called the \u201csign of consummation\u201d (p. 143), or \u201cthe place of personality perfection\u201d. It represents an energy whereby we can very effectively round out our development. But it takes willpower to be able to do so. It takes us \u2018out of our comfort zone\u2019, which the Sun sign \u2013 the sign with which we are most acquainted \u2013 represents. Leos, for example, like being the center of attention. Librans are most comfortable in relationships. Taureans crave a comfortable environment, and so forth. Since the sign opposite the Sun sign requires a certain amount of willpower to be realized, it has been called a point of \u2018monadic emphasis\u2019. This aspect of being taken away from one\u2019s comfort zone is most easily seen when the so-called \u2018malefic\u2019 planets (Mars and Saturn) and the outer planets (past Saturn) transit over the \u2018Earth point\u2019. From standard interpretations:<\/span><\/p>\n