The Lost Healing Art of Astrology by Rob Burlinson
What most people think of as 'Astrology' is, I feel, merely a watered down simulacrum of an ancient profound healing system, to which we have lost the keys of access. This change has come about with the passing of time, partly due to purposeful misdirection by those who did not want such power to be available to all, and partly through those seeking to protect this wisdom, masking the sacred healing knowledge within symbolism, so that Astrology could be kept alive 'in plain sight' through less enlightened times. Otherwise, it may simply have ceased to exist.
Astrology is literally a key to knowing our own soul. To work with it seriously, has the potential to show us the path to 'enlightenment'. It is both a roadmap to highlight the way, and the tool to utilise to get us there. Through it we can gather up and reintegrate all the lost fragmented parts of ourselves, in order to make us once again ‘whole’. It offers us the potential of total self-knowledge to a point where we are able to evolve beyond samsara.
‘Samsara’, a word found in various spiritual traditions, means the continuing cycle we undergo of birth, life, death and rebirth, on this plane of existence. It is often depicted as a wheel, (as portrayed in ‘The Wheel of Fortune in the Tarot’) symbolising the endless turns of fortune over lifetimes; the extremes of joy and sadness, hope and fear, all set in motion by the flow of our desires. This wheel of samsara is echoed visually in astrology by the shape of the birth chart itself.
The birth chart is drawn as a circle, with many spokes emanating from the centre to dissect it into twelves segments, known as ‘houses’. These twelve houses are, in essence, an earthly manifestation of the areas of the twelves astrological signs, from Aries to Pisces.
The twelve houses/signs comprehensively map all the possible realms of our three-dimensional existence; the turns of the Wheel of Samara; the potential total playground of the soul whilst incarnate in the density of matter. This is important for understanding how astrology can be used as a tool for ‘enlightenment’. For if we are aware of the wheel, then we can also theoretically be aware of how to stop it, and get off. A shamanic teacher I once worked with told me there are two potential ‘stepping off points’, one is located between Pisces and Aries, and one is through the centre of the chart itself.
In order to understand how we could ‘step off’ the chart between Pisces and Aries, the twelve astrological signs need to be viewed as a complete journey of learning from birth to death; one complete turn of the wheel.
Aries represents the first huge rush of energy and new life, like Spring. It is known as a self-centred sign, because it is fascinated with the self, in the same way that a new born baby would be. Thus, such people need to be their own boss and are pioneers. From here, the journey continues with Taurus, where there is a focus on what one owns, the possessions of the self, just as a baby then begins to explore and see things as an extension of itself. The next sign is Gemini, which has a great desire to communicate with others. There is a move now from what was immediately in front of us (Taurus), to having a huge curiosity about the world around us (Gemini), just as when we are a child. This journey of expansion carries on through all the signs of the zodiac, with each sign having a different, slightly ‘wider’ focus. From Cancer (family), to Leo (one’s expression and creativity), Virgo (work/service), Libra (relationships), Scorpio (sharing on the deepest level), Sagittarius (our faith and belief systems), Capricorn (building something in the world), Aquarius (being part of community/humanity) until one reaches Pisces, where there is a dissolution of the self, as the soul prepares again to unite with the Divine.
It may be that Pisces readers of this article are now thinking, ‘yipee’ this is my last incarnation, and I’m off to higher realms after this life, whilst simultaneously looking disdainfully at any Aries in the room. However, the journey of the soul is not so simple, as each sign contains so many potential ‘octaves’ it can function at. Unless you have reached a buddha like state in Pisces, the wheel turns back from Pisces to Aries and we carry on round, deepening our experience of all the energies as we go round and round again and again. It could be said that what appears to be a two-dimensional construct of a birth chart, should actually be depicted in three dimensions, and if so, it would instead be a spiral. Each turn of the wheel, stepping from Pisces to Aries, would be moving (hopefully up!) to a finer and 'higher' turn of the spiral: from lower Pisces to the next octave of Aries and so on and on.
Of course, in practice, our journey is not in a neat curve from life to life round the spiral. We may be deepening one area of experience in our lives, whilst simultaneously learning new things and/or repaying debts in another area.
The birth chart reflects this more complex journey. The planets when we are born, representing the different energies which form our psyche (for example the Moon can be interpreted as our needs, whilst Mars is our will) are located all over the natal chart’s twelve ‘realms of samsara’. Their placement and relationship to each other reveal a wealth of information about what we are focussing on in this lifetime to propel us towards unification. These are the lost ‘soul fragments’ which we must understand, feel, and re-collect in order to heal ourselves.
The question remains, if the birth chart is the road map, how practically can we use astrology as a tool to collect these fragments? Years ago I was lucky enough to come across an little known branch of astrology called ‘Experiential’. Rather than an astrologer interpret the birth chart, instead it is recreated physically on the ground, and a client is empowered to experience the chart’s energies for themselves. The chart is no longer separate from us, something to be analysed by our mind, but instead becomes something that can be felt by our whole being. To me, this is the key that begins to open up the ancient wisdom of astrology as a profound healing system. The natal chart, representing our soul’s blueprint, can be worked with, meditated upon, and healed.
The planets are where they are in our charts because they show us the ‘past’ life experiences, both helpful and blocked, that we need to work with in some way. However, it is not the past life stories themselves that are important, but the trapped feelings behind them. The same feelings can be replayed lifetime after lifetime in so many alternate scenarios. The stories may appear totally different, but in reality the feelings experienced are exactly the same. Perhaps in one life we were a sailor on the high seas who created a mutiny and in another a priest who disobeyed his superiors. The feelings in both, that of potential shame, guilt and letting others down, are exactly the same. In a birth chart this could be embodied for example, by links between such planets as Jupiter (faith/far travel) and Neptune (loss, deception, spirituality, the sea) and Mars (taking action) or an emphasis on the signs or houses these planets rule. By working on these planets in the natal chart, these trapped stories and feelings are allowed to resurface and be healed through re-member-ing, self-forgiveness and release.
Ultimately, I feel we are all attempting to ‘balance’ and harmonise our own birth charts; to achieve equilibrium between all the signs and planets, reaching a point of stillness wherein we are no longer swayed by desire in one direction or another and can transcend the illusions of this plane of existence. Perhaps we would be able then, like the camel through the proverbial needle, to slip through the balanced centre of our charts, to enlightenment.
Simple Experiential Astrology Exercise
Meditate on why you have chosen to be whatever sun sign you are in this lifetime (this is your star sign - the one everyone knows). Ask to be told or shown the answer. This could also be done holding a picture of the sun, or, in an experiential astrology session, by sitting in the sun’s position in your natal chart.
What most people think of as 'Astrology' is, I feel, merely a watered down simulacrum of an ancient profound healing system, to which we have lost the keys of access. This change has come about with the passing of time, partly due to purposeful misdirection by those who did not want such power to be available to all, and partly through those seeking to protect this wisdom, masking the sacred healing knowledge within symbolism, so that Astrology could be kept alive 'in plain sight' through less enlightened times. Otherwise, it may simply have ceased to exist.
Astrology is literally a key to knowing our own soul. To work with it seriously, has the potential to show us the path to 'enlightenment'. It is both a roadmap to highlight the way, and the tool to utilise to get us there. Through it we can gather up and reintegrate all the lost fragmented parts of ourselves, in order to make us once again ‘whole’. It offers us the potential of total self-knowledge to a point where we are able to evolve beyond samsara.
‘Samsara’, a word found in various spiritual traditions, means the continuing cycle we undergo of birth, life, death and rebirth, on this plane of existence. It is often depicted as a wheel, (as portrayed in ‘The Wheel of Fortune in the Tarot’) symbolising the endless turns of fortune over lifetimes; the extremes of joy and sadness, hope and fear, all set in motion by the flow of our desires. This wheel of samsara is echoed visually in astrology by the shape of the birth chart itself.
The birth chart is drawn as a circle, with many spokes emanating from the centre to dissect it into twelves segments, known as ‘houses’. These twelve houses are, in essence, an earthly manifestation of the areas of the twelves astrological signs, from Aries to Pisces.
The twelve houses/signs comprehensively map all the possible realms of our three-dimensional existence; the turns of the Wheel of Samara; the potential total playground of the soul whilst incarnate in the density of matter. This is important for understanding how astrology can be used as a tool for ‘enlightenment’. For if we are aware of the wheel, then we can also theoretically be aware of how to stop it, and get off. A shamanic teacher I once worked with told me there are two potential ‘stepping off points’, one is located between Pisces and Aries, and one is through the centre of the chart itself.
In order to understand how we could ‘step off’ the chart between Pisces and Aries, the twelve astrological signs need to be viewed as a complete journey of learning from birth to death; one complete turn of the wheel.
Aries represents the first huge rush of energy and new life, like Spring. It is known as a self-centred sign, because it is fascinated with the self, in the same way that a new born baby would be. Thus, such people need to be their own boss and are pioneers. From here, the journey continues with Taurus, where there is a focus on what one owns, the possessions of the self, just as a baby then begins to explore and see things as an extension of itself. The next sign is Gemini, which has a great desire to communicate with others. There is a move now from what was immediately in front of us (Taurus), to having a huge curiosity about the world around us (Gemini), just as when we are a child. This journey of expansion carries on through all the signs of the zodiac, with each sign having a different, slightly ‘wider’ focus. From Cancer (family), to Leo (one’s expression and creativity), Virgo (work/service), Libra (relationships), Scorpio (sharing on the deepest level), Sagittarius (our faith and belief systems), Capricorn (building something in the world), Aquarius (being part of community/humanity) until one reaches Pisces, where there is a dissolution of the self, as the soul prepares again to unite with the Divine.
It may be that Pisces readers of this article are now thinking, ‘yipee’ this is my last incarnation, and I’m off to higher realms after this life, whilst simultaneously looking disdainfully at any Aries in the room. However, the journey of the soul is not so simple, as each sign contains so many potential ‘octaves’ it can function at. Unless you have reached a buddha like state in Pisces, the wheel turns back from Pisces to Aries and we carry on round, deepening our experience of all the energies as we go round and round again and again. It could be said that what appears to be a two-dimensional construct of a birth chart, should actually be depicted in three dimensions, and if so, it would instead be a spiral. Each turn of the wheel, stepping from Pisces to Aries, would be moving (hopefully up!) to a finer and 'higher' turn of the spiral: from lower Pisces to the next octave of Aries and so on and on.
Of course, in practice, our journey is not in a neat curve from life to life round the spiral. We may be deepening one area of experience in our lives, whilst simultaneously learning new things and/or repaying debts in another area.
The birth chart reflects this more complex journey. The planets when we are born, representing the different energies which form our psyche (for example the Moon can be interpreted as our needs, whilst Mars is our will) are located all over the natal chart’s twelve ‘realms of samsara’. Their placement and relationship to each other reveal a wealth of information about what we are focussing on in this lifetime to propel us towards unification. These are the lost ‘soul fragments’ which we must understand, feel, and re-collect in order to heal ourselves.
The question remains, if the birth chart is the road map, how practically can we use astrology as a tool to collect these fragments? Years ago I was lucky enough to come across an little known branch of astrology called ‘Experiential’. Rather than an astrologer interpret the birth chart, instead it is recreated physically on the ground, and a client is empowered to experience the chart’s energies for themselves. The chart is no longer separate from us, something to be analysed by our mind, but instead becomes something that can be felt by our whole being. To me, this is the key that begins to open up the ancient wisdom of astrology as a profound healing system. The natal chart, representing our soul’s blueprint, can be worked with, meditated upon, and healed.
The planets are where they are in our charts because they show us the ‘past’ life experiences, both helpful and blocked, that we need to work with in some way. However, it is not the past life stories themselves that are important, but the trapped feelings behind them. The same feelings can be replayed lifetime after lifetime in so many alternate scenarios. The stories may appear totally different, but in reality the feelings experienced are exactly the same. Perhaps in one life we were a sailor on the high seas who created a mutiny and in another a priest who disobeyed his superiors. The feelings in both, that of potential shame, guilt and letting others down, are exactly the same. In a birth chart this could be embodied for example, by links between such planets as Jupiter (faith/far travel) and Neptune (loss, deception, spirituality, the sea) and Mars (taking action) or an emphasis on the signs or houses these planets rule. By working on these planets in the natal chart, these trapped stories and feelings are allowed to resurface and be healed through re-member-ing, self-forgiveness and release.
Ultimately, I feel we are all attempting to ‘balance’ and harmonise our own birth charts; to achieve equilibrium between all the signs and planets, reaching a point of stillness wherein we are no longer swayed by desire in one direction or another and can transcend the illusions of this plane of existence. Perhaps we would be able then, like the camel through the proverbial needle, to slip through the balanced centre of our charts, to enlightenment.
Simple Experiential Astrology Exercise
Meditate on why you have chosen to be whatever sun sign you are in this lifetime (this is your star sign - the one everyone knows). Ask to be told or shown the answer. This could also be done holding a picture of the sun, or, in an experiential astrology session, by sitting in the sun’s position in your natal chart.