vol. 2 episode 24
Greetings,
In this episode, we gain insight into what might have led Elisabeth to astrology…an existential angst-ridden adolescence where her prom song was Dust in the Wind by the album-oriented rock band, Kansas.
And no, she did not dance.
I thought her revelation was humorous, but it got me thinking deeply about how lucky we are here in the United States to have the freedom to study and explore the cosmos when it calls us, in exactly the manner that suits us best. Witness, there is a raging (yup, raging) debate among professional astrologers as to which house system is best or at the very least, most historically accurate.
Since I entered the professional realm of the field in late 2019, the debate has simmered in the background.
But now, as we discuss in this episode, it has boiled over the pot. As I was editing the audio last night, a nearly 7 hour (7 hours!!!) of defense of Whole Sign Houses (the system I use in my work), was being Twittercasted in response to an equally vigorous, if not prolix, declaration on behalf of the perceived need to interrogate the Whole Sign House system more thoroughly, and thus, to my mind anyway, a staunch defense of quadrant house systems.
Not being invested in flying a flag for or against any form of divination, I think this debate is brilliant!
Why? Because careful people with sharp minds are taking astrology seriously and publicly, and are demonstrating their dexterity with attention to detail, tradition, and logic, the kind of tools that lead us to profound insights, even when we disagree. And as I say, it is indeed divination, not science, even if Elisabeth, I, and others approach it with an inherent logic that leads to consistent outcomes.
Like it or not, we are indeed dust in the wind. Star dust. That is a scientific fact. But we are also composed of earthen minerals, water, and fire, same as the rest of the cosmos.
Fundamentally, astrology is a framework upon which we build our call and response to the universe.
It’s how many of us choose to hear the All, it’s a way we perceive how the All hears us. The hinge in that equation is us. That is why Elisabeth and I remind you so often that we — as in you, me, all of us — we are the true media, the ones who are meant to filter and interpret the energies of life, that is to say, what is the matter, and give it meaning that is urgent and personal to each of us as individuals.
When we let other media, such as profit-driven corporate news outlets, interpret the world for us, it is far easier to believe nothing matters because we have outsourced our powers of universal connection to entities not invested in flowing that power back to us in meaningful ways.
As we’ve noted in previous episodes, plenty of atheists rely upon astrology to help them navigate their place in the cosmos. These people are heroes in my mind. To stand firm against the crush of existentialism’s potential paralysis, while also resisting the societal pressures to conform to, if not a religious perspective, then at least an agnostic one, is pretty damn tough. To do so and not be a jerk? That’s sublime, and yet I do know some people who have managed this.
Personally, I am not reassured by the thought that I alone am the most powerful one in my world, and that life is lived only once. I view the natal horoscope as my personal contact tracing back to the elemental nature of who the gods remember me as having been in lives past, and could possibly become now, standing here on the planet today, and in possible future lives.
As for the house system debate, I view it as both important and irrelevant at the same time. I view house systems as a component of the cartography of our soul scapes. If you have a map, then theoretically you will not be lost. Whether you are skilled at reading that map is up to you.
The only way to know if your map is working is through trial and error; that is to say, by living your life fully, taking responsiblity for the choices you make, predicated on your own observations of how the cycles of life play out. The potential richness of your life, and thus your personal antidote to any existential crises, is derived from the meaning you assign those choices and cycles.
Also in this episode…
Elisabeth and I review how our predictions shook out this past week (we’re on a hot streak…), I tell you my theory about Meta founder Mark Zuckerberg’s claim he is Nero reincarnated, and why ultimately the mainstream media is irrelevant.
We give you the heads up on who and what you can expect to see in the news over the next week, and Elisabeth sings, of course (you guys have no idea how much singing ends up cut from these podcasts)…and I describe life lived with a Taurus moon in the natal horoscope, because mine is a tad provoked by circumstance right now.
Support our mission
As always, we appreciate you choosing to invest your time and energy into our efforts. As our audience increases, so does our commitment to our mission, which is:
to boost your confidence in your personal power to mediate the universe.
If you’d like to materially support us in this mission, you can do so at 25% off the regular annual subscription fee until March 7. That’s when we will return to bi-weekly podcasts for everyone, while weekly podcasts will be available for patron subscribers.
Patron subscribers will also receive access to a growing library of our charts in the news, in-depth articles about astrology, and our popular “outtakes” feature, where we share the parts we cut from the show. They are raw and candid and often filled with pathos we didn’t feel confident sharing with the masses.
Here’s where you can become a patron subscriber:
And if you’d like to read the forecast on which this podcast is based, visit Elisabeth’s website here:
To read more of my thoughts on the universe, and our place in it, please visit my flagship publication, docu-mental: mapping the american states of mind.
That’s all for now folks!
xx Whitney and Elisabeth
PS: Per the mention I make in the show of practicing Tonglen for the Turkey/Syria earthquake victims: Tonglen: The Path of Transformation
House system debate is just dust in the wind