Though
I have been practicing as a medical astrologer for almost thirty years,
it only recently occurred to me that what is so obvious to me is not
at all understood by my colleagues. Of course, I did know that it was
difficult to explain what I do in one sentence at a dinner table, but
I did not quite realize that this was equally true at banquets at astrology
conferences!
To
the best of knowledge, astrology and medicine were not, even in the
West, regarded as two separate disciplines until some centuries ago.
Before that, all educated persons were broadly acquainted with astrology,
philosophy, and medicine. Interestingly, whereas astrology was generally
considered to be a reputable occupation, medicine seldom was. It is
only in modern times that medicine has come to acquire the status that
it now enjoys.
Part
of the regard attached to medicine is its identification with science.
Most of us today would probably find this alliance so natural that it
would not occur to us that in earlier times, medicine was far more clinical
and less scientific. What does this mean?
Science
requires the examination of parts isolated from their wholes, quantifiable
studies, blind and double blind tests of hypotheses; and it requires
credentials. A person without proper qualifications cannot have a voice
in academic science. At first glance, this may seem proper; however,
what it also means is that a patient cannot determine whether or not
his health is improved by the treatments rendered. So, what has happened
is that research is now quite isolated from clinical results. At this
point in time, the public seems largely faithful to science, however,
disenchantment has been mounting—and it is my opinion that part of the
image problem with science is its sterility.
It
is, however, a two-way street. Holistic medicine, not to mention astrology,
has its critics; and this will continue to be the case so long as only
doctors with the right degrees can assess treatments and so long as
such persons remain more or less laboratory based rather than clinically
involved with patients.
What
is not so well known outside of academia is that professors in medical
schools are not physicians, that they do not see patients or perform
medical procedures, nor do they work with human subjects. Research,
therefore, tends to involve cultures or animals that are exposed to
single, repeatable measures. Often as not, the animals used were rendered
"ill" in some artificial manner. In other words, the conditions studied
in the laboratory often did not arise in the normal course of life but
rather were induced in some inhumane manner in order to make observations.
Likewise, the substances studied are usually isolated from their wholes.
Either active ingredients or synthetic substitutes for organic medicines
are utilized in order to hold variables to a minimum.
What
has ensued from such practices is a state in which each study tends
to revolve around a single basic hypothesis, a hypothesis which is narrowly
defined so as to assure scientific control and opportunity to profit
should there be a positive outcome of the tested hypothesis; however,
the hypothesis is often as not viewed outside of the context in which
the particular condition studied actually arises "in the real world."
Laboratory
Trials versus Clinical Results
The
real world is clinical. This means that in the real world, real people
with real problems consult practitioners who recommend or prescribe
particular strategies that either do or do not shift the illness. Each
"case" is different and hence quantification of results is virtually
impossible—and research is therefore also not possible since clinical
practices do not consist of uniform groups of carefully matched trial
and control subjects. The medicine and medical conclusions that arise
from such practices are hence not scientific but anecdotal.
Basically,
this is the major difference between holistic and modern medicine. A
vaccine may be licensed and marketed because its manufacture parallels
similar tests conducted for entirely different viruses. This is not
quackery, but science. However, a product used successfully in clinical
practices for generations or millennia is neither licensed nor credited
with validity if it was never tested scientifically.
I
am not describing these matters so as to present my own work, but rather
in order to clarify certain misunderstandings that I felt while speaking
at the UAC gathering in Monterey.
Astrology
is Clinical
My
own practice has always been clinical—and so it is with all astrologers
who offer consultations to clients or patients. As time has progressed,
I have refined my insights and polished my protocols. However, each
"case" is really the story of an individual, not a sterile trial. The
problems people describe in their sessions arise in the real course
of life, and these problems result in suffering. My job is to unfold
inner understanding of the circumstances surrounding the disease and
to shift the conditions from a state of disease to health.
With
time, I was completely overworked. I opened a clinic, hired assistants,
and offered courses to train others so as to have a referral network.
In the clinic, I tended to see mostly people with very serious illnesses,
usually life threatening ones that had already been unsuccessfully treated
by allopathic means. Statistically, if even a single person recovered
from such conditions, the result would be significant. However, it would
not be "scientific." Nevertheless, I have tried to summarize some of
my understanding in the form of lectures and publications. For this,
I have received a number of awards, including several degrees, in countries
where the schism between the laboratory and clinic is not so great.
I am not saying this to precipitate controversy but rather to illuminate
the world of medicine and medical practice—for medical astrology does
not exist apart from medicine. However, medical astrology, as I practice
it, is clinical. At various times over the years, I have actually applied
for grants (not successfully), but the truth is I have more faith in
the cures that ensue from profound inner work than I do in treatments
that address symptoms rather than causes.
Astrology
Now,
I wish to return to the theme of this article which is, "What is Medical
Astrology?" I have begun by showing that medical astrology and modern
allopathic medicine have evolved to the points they are today from rather
different roots. Not only are their practices different, but their vocabularies
do not even express the same understanding of illness and cure. Nevertheless,
to understand medical astrology correctly, one must first understand
medicine and astrology. I have given a brief overview of medicine and
shall now do the same for astrology.
So,
what is astrology? Basically, the horoscope is a map of celestial patterns
whose influence catalyzes terrestrial experiences. The patterns mapped
in the horoscope are "alchemical" in the sense that energies combine
in infinitely various ways so that each instant is different from every
other instant. Time is hence inseparable from "event". The Chinese have
profound ways of addressing this concept. Each moment is an event. The
memory of events is contained in the vast subconscious vaults of the
divine feminine. Memories are reactions to experience. What we call
therefore call "experience" is really a memory. Together, memories have
patterns, but their patterns are different from the celestial patterns.
Archetypal
Patterns
Celestial
patterns are archetypal. They map Divine Idea and represent Intent or
Destiny. Experiential patterns are personal. They are karmic.
Fate—what happens in any given moment of Time—is a mixture of destiny
and karma. Ideally, in a perfectly balanced individual, the personal
would resonate as a response—as opposed to reaction—to the Divine. The
Chinese describe the ideal interaction of celestial and personal patterns
by a human being suspended between Heaven and Earth, a person acting
as an intermediary between the two realms of existence.
In
the horoscope, experience is represented by the Moon and its condition
by sign, house, and aspect and other factors. Soul intent is portrayed
by the Ascendant and its ruler, destiny by the Midheaven. The individual
is the conscious being living, likely as not, unaware of the unconscious
forces that determine the Fate that occurs in each moment.
Interestingly,
the unconscious forces, the patterns of celestial and personal energies,
exist outside of Time. Time exists in the manifested world where incarnational
experiences are taking place. In other words, the personality, the Sun,
is ephemeral—as are the moments we perceive as linear Time. The subconscious,
or realm of personal memory, is built of reactions to moments which
we call experience. It is entirely idiosyncratic and formed out of the
past. Thus, if one were to dwell in the subconscious, the past would
reverberate and give the impression, emotionally, that it is repeating.
This is what is called karma and why, on a personal level, it
is very difficult to create new experiences.
If
one were instead to become soul conscious, one would see destiny as
a state of beingness, not unmanifest and waiting to happen, but complete.
It is only in the personality that we think that the future has not
yet happened. Likewise, from the vantage point of the soul, the past
is not entirely real. Reality, for the soul, is the expression of the
soul’s truth which is, as noted, complete in its "mind".
What
does this have to do with astrology?
To
the extent that astrology is a tool used to guide individuals through
their lives, it is important to recognize the forces which shape the
moment. This does not mean that astrology is fatalistic, rather that
Fate itself is born of the commingling of destiny and karma,
the proportions of which differ according to the instant and the individual.
Health
Health
is essentially perfect balance. Balance between what and what? We have
many ways of answering this question. Balance is ultimately an intimate
issue that differs from person to person and moment to moment. Since
each moment is different, part of the capacity to remain in balance
depends on adaptability. In its turn, adaptability is the ability to
be responsive to inspiration or destiny and to utilize this inspiration
by the personality in an active and fulfilling way. If the response
is inadequate or resistant, part of the energy is deflected or detoured.
This creates disharmony with the moment — which, in turn, gives rise
to imbalance.
Balance
cannot therefore be viewed from a material angle alone. Balance is alchemical.
In
medical astrology, balance on the physical level is most easily determined
by the elements. The elements are constituents of the manifest realm
which blend with each other to produce both form and chemical reaction.
For instance, fire is found in the caustic chemicals of the digestive
system. Without these chemicals, digestion would be incomplete. This,
in turn, would result in fermentation, bloating, gas, and metabolic
residuals which clog the system.
However,
it is not sufficient to diagnose a person as "low fire." One must also
know why a person rejects or suppresses fire. An individual may be constitutionally
deficient in fire and able to compensate by taking supplements that
augment hydrochloric acid and enzymes or which promote the secretion
of bile. However, someone with very similar superficial symptoms may
have suppressed fire (rather than low fire) because expression is viewed
by the unconscious as undesirable: likely to provoke antagonistic reactions
from others, reckless, dangerous, or otherwise inappropriate. Fire may
also be deflected.
If,
however, the moment requires the expression of a certain quota of fire
and the individual does not express the fire, the fire will act upon
him or her from without and function as a malefic. One might view this
as a sort of unwritten law, a law that stipulates what a given moment
will contain. If, in this case, expression is suppressed or diverted,
fire is not allowed to function in its natural way. Usually, this gives
rise to symptoms of depressed fire — apathy, malaise, and so forth —
or to the victim experience. With a victim, the fire is expressed outside,
by someone else whose use of fire is greater. This person raises his
voice, becomes bossy or arrogant, or has temper tantrums, aggressive
fits, or accidents.
In
a balanced expression, there are no malefics or benefics, just adequate
and complete responses to the moment. In such instances, Mars does not
give rise to temper or fever, but rather to decisiveness, initiative,
action, self confidence, and courage. Mars is then a catalyst, a prod
to movement, directed and focused movement. It is neither reckless nor
brave, malefic or benefic, merely the signal for the Time for action.
Where
there is imbalance, the energy is not utilized in the intended manner.
This is a deflection of cosmic intent, usually in the form of blocking
of energy so that the energy is suppressed or deflected. Using the same
Mars example, suppression might give rise to symptoms of toxic fire:
blood impurities, rashes, feelings of despair and futility, indecisiveness,
fear of the future, etc. On the other hand, deflection tends, as mentioned,
to draw the Mars energy in the form of another individual and to result
in a "poor me" drama that suggests that others have more strength and
power than the one deflecting Mars.
Medical
astrological counseling has to take into account both the symptoms and
the cause of problems. The advisor must understand the individual and
his or her reasons for reacting as he/she does.
For
example, a person with a Capricorn Moon may value caution, preparation,
and thoroughness more than spontaneity. These behaviors may feel safer
and hence whatever is sacrificed by deflecting Mars is viewed as a smaller
loss than whatever might be risked by embarking upon enterprise at the
expense of predictability. Such a pattern might be deeply entrenched
if past impulsiveness has been met by criticism, reprisals, loss, and
disaster; for the memory of past experiences of unskillful uses of Mars
tends to reinforce the psyche in such a way as to perpetuate the resistance
to Mars.
For
purposes of health, what is sought in each moment is adequacy of response,
and this, in the example cited, requires some utilization of Mars --
regardless of the individual’s affinity or lack thereof to the energy
stimulating response.
Medical
Astrology
In
my various attempts to describe medical astrology, I have often remarked
that the horoscope is a map of Time and energies. It is not a microscope.
It does not describe pathologies. Many people are disappointed that
I think this. They feel that their efforts to differentiate typhoid
from hepatitis through astrology will not succeed if I am right. I would
not go so far as to suggest that such a differentiation is impossible.
However, I am convinced that it is highly unlikely and perhaps also
irrelevant.
In
my practice, most people already know that they are ill, and most come
to me already knowing what their allopathic diagnosis is. Some even
come with a grasp of at least some of the ways they might have participated
in the creation of the disease or condition. Many have some insight
into the patterns that might be contributing to their lack of health.
They come seeking additional understanding, insights which go deeper
and enable them to address their problems on a more causal level.
Patients
almost never expect me to diagnose their conditions nor even to offer
a prognosis. I work energetically and generally attempt to describe
patterns and alternate ways of managing energies. So, my job is first
of all to facilitate deeper insight and secondly to relieve suffering
through whatever interim management of symptoms is possible. Where insight
is concerned, I am functioning more or less as any other skilled astrologer
might except that my special ability to focus on the body-mind connection
often exceeds what those not so grounded in medical astrology might
see or say. Where relief is concerned, my motivation is compassion for
suffering and my repertoire of treatments is entirely energetic—and
old-fashioned—for I am concerned with the pacification of excess and
stimulation or fortification of deficiency. In holistic parlance, this
is really detoxification and tonification, but this in the broadest
sense of psyche and body. The result, it is hoped will be a lessening
of pain and increase of proper flow of vital force. This is what is
medical about my own practice or medical astrology, but I stay well
within the realm of my own expertise and do not cross the fine line
of practicing medicine without a license, for what I do is not medical.
In the modern age, medicine is usually defined as the prescribing of
pharmaceutical drugs, surgery, or delivering of babies—and I do none
of these.
Over
the many years that I have been interested in healing, I have studied
a truly wide range of approaches to health. Among these, Ayurveda has
played a major role, but astrology still provides the major insights—and
music therapy the bulk of the significant cures.
Health
Assessment
Occasionally,
I am consulted by people who have an awareness of their symptoms but
no names for their conditions. Either they do not wish to consult a
medical doctor who performs such diagnoses or they have encountered
doctors who remain baffled by the symptoms and are not able to render
an opinion. In such cases, I have sometimes been asked if I could diagnose.
My answer is always the same, "No." This does not, however, imply that
I am unable to impart useful advice. It merely suggests that I do not
perceive astrology as a diagnostic tool in the sense they have in mind.
I could as easily say, "Does it matter what the name of the disease
is if the treatment will be the same?" This surprises a few people.
I usually then go on to explain that all diseases have patterns, that
the patterns of imbalance will usually go back to very early in life,
that uncorrected patterns will become more and more complicated (symptomatically)
as they remain untreated, and that likely as not, the symptoms will
begin retreating when the right balancing measures are applied. In this
way, I am stating a philosophy of medical astrology and healing as well
as setting a conscious limit on what can be expected of me.
In
fact, I prefer to work this way because names have powerful thought
forms built up around them, most of which are quite demoralizing. For
instance, it is seldom constructive to mention a so-called incurable
disease by name because the thought forms of despair and hopelessness
are often as not stronger than my more positive views of what might
be done to bring about balance.
If,
however, I were to say that all medical astrology can do is offer conjectures
about general causes underlying symptoms, I would be doing medical astrology
and myself deep injustice. In fact, I believe medical astrology is a
potentially powerful holistic approach to health. I simply believe that
its proper use needs to be understood, and much of the preliminary presentations
to clients and patients needs to differentiate what can be expected
from a medical astrologer as opposed to a physician.
By
what has thus far been said, it must be quite obvious that I do not
think that medical astrology and modern medicine have much in common.
Medicine, as it is practiced today, essentially subscribes to the view
that disease is pathological and that it needs to be destroyed or removed.
It does not see disease as arising from imbalance but rather as entering
from without due to invasion of microorganisms whose power for havoc
is estimated as immense. To destroy these little germs, lethal treatments
are used that undermine not only the vitality of the germs but also
the patient.
So
long as disease is viewed as dangerous, such measures will be tolerated.
There is great historical evidence for the views which sustain modern
medicine: fearful epidemics, dreadful suffering, and disfiguring results
of disease. The plague, leprosy, poliomyelitis, and now A.I.D.S. are
just a few examples of the reason for the posture of modern medicine.
Posture is one matter, premises another. There is actually nothing in
the annals of modern medicine that addresses the issue of imbalance
. . . and, simply for the record, there is no one in holistic medicine
so foolhardy as to suggest that there is no such thing as an invisible
organism capable of causing infection. We no longer live in the Dark
Ages, but if we did, we might find some medical tenets worthy of posterity.
The
whole point is that nothing about astrology renders it fit to attack
a germ. Even if one were able to identify typhoid in a chart, there
is no vaccine that emerges from the alchemy of the planets to treat
typhoid. What one sees instead is a constitution weakened by imbalances
which render the individual unable to protect himself or herself from
the ravages of disease.
If
balance is the crucial issue, then the treatment must ensue from the
premises. In this case, balance will correct the imbalance. In such
instance, the logical treatment will not be the destruction of the germs
but rather the strengthening of the weaknesses. Modern medicine has
a few concepts that border on this, but I often as not find their thinking
rather blurred. For instance, laboratory tests of blood may measure
red and white blood counts, but the treatment that follows is often
illogical. A better example would be that of reproductive hormones.
If a woman’s estrogen level is high, she is sometimes given testosterone.
This, to me, is absurd. It suggests that there is some vague understanding
of balance, but it is seen as a kind of male-female issue whereas in
reality a woman’s reproductive system is cyclical and estrogen is balanced
by progesterone, another female hormone not by Jane trying to become
Tarzan.
In
other words, I do not think the concept of balance is well anchored
in modern medicine. However, it is intrinsic to Chinese, Tibetan, and
Indian medicine. It is also crucial to medical astrology.
The
Elements
My
system relies heavily on several key factors: stress, the role of the
unconscious in illness, and the elements. The elements are the easiest
part of the system to teach because they relate clearly to symptoms,
and many treatments are logical corollaries to the astrological information.
For instance, sticking with our low fire example, if it is known that
a person suffers from low fire, one can render simple but highly effective
advice about ways to increase the fire through diet, herbs, and psychotherapy.
The diet, if correctly implemented, will result in immediate cessation
of the primary symptoms of indigestion. It will therefore usually help
to prevent the imbalance from worsening. If a person overdoes the diet,
he or she will eventually create a condition of the opposite: high fire.
It’s logical. If an obese person dieted until reaching a normal weight
and then persisted past this ideal point with the same diet, he or she
would become emaciated. Likewise, if a corrective protocol achieves
the optimal state, it should be adjusted so as to maintain that state
rather than continued until it overcorrects to the point of folly.
If
such a strategy is used, all symptoms can be gradually controlled, over
a period of time. However, if the underlying causes are not addressed,
the old condition will reassert itself if the corrective measures are
discontinued. This may take days, weeks, or years; but it is certain
that the patterns will eventually produce similar results if the patterns
are not themselves changed.
So,
therapy is designed to correct the patterns and eliminate thereby the
causes of disease. This takes far more skill, more patient participation
in the cure, and usually more time and practice. If one has a habit,
an old, old habit, one can hardly expect to break it the first time
one tries. Even if mind managed matter, it would take vigilance to prevent
relapse and lots of skill before the adequacy of the response was satisfactory.
I
sometimes use the example of my mother who learned when she was in her
fifties that she was repeatedly the victim of Mars. When she first began
to explore the use of Mars, she did not circle the globe on a surfboard
or astound anyone with her heroism or militancy. She simply taught herself
to be more physically active on days when Mars was more arousing. She
did quite practical things around the house, Mars in Cancer, like cleaning
cupboards, garages, and filing cabinets. She even taught me some things
about astrology such as that it is easier to throw things away when
the Moon is in Scorpio!
Years
went by without her being a victim of Mars. With this came a gradual
increase in self assurance and many other pleasant side effects that
had been lacking earlier in her life when hot tempers seemed to flare
up all around her.
In
simple terms, it is not necessary for every Mars to become a shining
knight, athlete, or pioneer. It is, however, necessary for every Mars
to find some expression.
Ancient
Medical Astrology
Ancient
medical astrology used many tools that have gone out of fashion in the
West but are still highly regarded in the East. Various precious and
semiprecious stones were prescribed along with metals or alloys of metals
to pacify strong planets or strengthen weak ones. Likewise, herbs were
all classified according to their planetary rulerships as well as energetic
properties such as hot, cold, wet, dry, etc. A cold condition was treated
with warming herbs, and a fever was treated with cooling herbs.
Every
food has similar classifications, and this is part of what makes a system
of medicine "energetic." Modern medicine is not energetic. It barely
recognizes constitutional types and differences. All people with the
same pathological conditions are given the same treatments regardless
of their responses to the treatments; and people are taught to eat from
the major food groups as if all bodies metabolized foods in the same
way.
This
makes no sense whatsoever to someone trained in any of the many branches
of energetic medicine. However, it must be understood that just as modern
medicine looks naďve to practitioners of energetic approaches to health,
it possesses formidable powers of diagnosis which are much sought by
patients.
What
I would like to propose so far as medical astrology is concerned is
that its history has probably never been separate from the history of
medicine itself. Moreover, the schism I have described in medicine today
is not new. There have always been empirical and clinical approaches
to health. There have always been surgeons and herbalists, those who
employ toxic medicines and those who use only benign remedies. What
is new is the tremendous sway the one school of medicine has over the
modern mind. What is new is the political and economic power of a school
of medicine representing but one possibility in many.
There
is no need for astrologers to embroil themselves in debates, but there
is a need for astrologers to be realistic about what can be seen in
a horoscope and then to develop the skills to apply the information
in healing ways. Personally, I see herbs as the simplest natural adjunct
to astrology, diet as somewhat more reliable in the long run and also
more delicate, and psychotherapy of various types as the most labor
intensive and insightful use of horoscopic information. Counseling skills
evolve with proper use and attention to feedback and results. They are
never born overnight nor handed to anyone on a silver platter. I can
teach the fundamentals of my system in two-to-three years, but I have
never been able to force anyone to put into practice what they learned.
Some people apply new ideas instantly; others wait years before putting
their toes in the water. It’s individual, but one should expect that
expertise, whether of the patient or practitioner, grows with practice.
In
the meantime, I would suggest following the advice of the ancients:
heal thyself!
Back
Malefic
or Benefic?
Ingrid
Naiman © 2003
Mars
and Saturn were traditionally called the lesser and greater malefics
while Venus and Jupiter were considered benefic, the lesser and greater
benefics. One can still find authors and textbooks using this terminology,
but it it not only archaic sounding but woefully misleading and inaccurate.
The
simplest way to put this would be to say that for a person suffering
from obesity, diabetes, or cancer, Venus and Jupiter would not be
good for the health whereas Saturn might be just what the doctor ordered!
Reconsidering
the Ancient Assignations
While
some concepts from the past are just as relevant today as they were
historically, the idea of evil planets causing harm and good planets
delivering fame and fortune is seriously dated and dubious. A more
psychologically appropriate way to look at the planets would be to
study the affinity each person has towards a planet and his or her
skill using the energies symbolized by the planet.
For
instance, if we consider that the Moon is a clue to historic tendencies,
then we might also conclude that a person with an Aries Moon has more
understanding of Mars than someone with a Pisces Moon, all other things
equal, which, of course, they seldom are. Likewise, a person with
a Pisces Moon might have more affinity for Jupiter and Neptune and
be uncomfortable with Mars and Saturn.
In
my article on the Monastic Moon,
I explain this in a little more depth. I will just recapitulate a
bit for those who haven't read that article or who forgot what it
says. Imagine yourself entering a monastery, surrendering your will
to God and forgoing wealth, comfort, natural instincts, and even the
right to survive. In your initial training, you are told to listen
but not speak. Your hair is cut and your head is covered. Your knees
are bent in prayer and your head is reverently bowed. You eat modestly,
often only what benefactors have left in your begging bowl. You sleep
in a dank room and awaken early to perform chores and attend to orphans
and sick people. You pray, you serve, and perhaps you sing or chant.
You might learn to read and interpret scriptures; and you might travel
and proselytize. You might also develop a rich inner life, full of
imagination, vision, and wisdom.
You
learn nothing much about your body except that it is to be obedient
to your will. Life outside the gates of the monastery is a mystery.
You have forfeited Venus: riches and sensuality. You have banished
Mars: personal initiative and anger. In subscribing to rules, you
have given up freedom, at least the freedom to "be different" and
independent. Much of what is normal and natural for others is unknown,
unexplored, and prohibited . . . and the planets that represent those
undiscovered experiences cannot be expected to be as dependable in
your horoscope as the planets that represent religion, philosophy,
and meditation!
It's
really this simple. There are few people who are so versatile and
accomplished that they have a mastery over all experiences and by
extension, all planets.
Affinities
Now,
if we take the Aries warrior, we will assume that the subconscious
has very strong opinions about what is worth a fight and when it's
best just to let matters be. It could also be prejudiced against anything
that led to trouble, such as differences in viewpoints, wars, and
force as a means for determining outcome. Someone who died for his
beliefs in one lifetime after another may be more cautious when forming
alliances, vowing allegiances, and choosing sides.
What
generally happens is that the individual, being who he or she is,
adheres to some of the traits of the sign, such as strong polarization,
loyalty, and thrill when impassioned, but he or she may be reluctant
to act on the feelings because they have precipitated so much difficulty
in the past.
Based
on such assessments, we conclude that the warrior either has a good
or bad relationship to Mars and probably also to Saturn since those
in authority issue the orders that lead to victory or defeat, glory
or disgrace, advancement or death. Such people also tend to have very
deep issues surrounding how to handle differences. We might say that
the monk and nun were trained to understand weakness, right and wrong,
and atonement. They were also taught not to force issues but rather
to lead people through their difficulties into peace.
On
the other hand, the warrior was trained to believe that the strong
prevail and the weak do not inherit the earth. There could hardly
be a greater disparity in beliefs than in this one area.
For
this same reason, we can look at almost anyone's horoscope and gauge
how he or she would handle a challenge, which "weapons" they view
as assets and which as liabilities. We can see whether an individual
believes in compromise, in forcing issues, or in waiting for the opportunity
to present a better solution, for there are those who do not resolve
problems using either compromise or force, they simply bide their
time.
Malefics
Getting
to the crux of this article, it might be argued that a planet is malefic
if its strategies tend to fail for the individual in question or if
the individual is blind to the energetics of the planet. Ergo, Saturn
is a malefic for people who lack discipline or the capacity to make
effort. It is also a malefic for those who are impatient or unwilling
to prove themselves and for people who expect to be acknowledged without
having demonstrated any reason to be recognized. It works against
those who do not follow the rules, and a good case could be made for
it being hostile to those who want to make sweeping changes or who
want to reform the status quo. Saturn rewards those who uphold the
systems that are in place, those who work hard, and those who are
ethical, discrete, and timely
My
point is that Saturn is good or bad depending on how much affinity
one has for Saturn and how well one appreciates Saturn and Saturn's
modus operandi.
Returning
therefore to my early statement that the traditional benefics are
not healthy in certain circumstances, it might be argued that Saturn's
dietary restraint and discipline might be good for a person who needs
to lose weight or lower blood sugar. Similarly, Saturn tends to restrain
growth of tumors and to give people time to address their situations.
Having a strong Saturn or Saturn transit is thus generally "good"
for people with cancer. It might not be true that Saturn is "fun"
-- this probably is rarely, if ever, the case, but Saturn is at least
fair (exalted in Libra) and He delivers in Time.
Aspects
For
the most part, people have very good or very bad aspects to the planet(s)
dispositing their Moons. If one has spent many lifetimes as a warrior,
it would be difficult not to have a strong opinion about Mars, but,
in most cases, the warrior would not be blind to Mars. A priestess,
however, might be utterly oblivious to persons who are arrogant, assertive,
dangerous, and motivated by their agendas. She can therefore be caught
off guard by Mars whereas this would seldom happen for a warrior.
She might also lack responses that help her to defend herself, her
self esteem, and her commitments to her path.
For
instance, if she has taken vows of chastity, she could be thrown by
an argument that she was too young and naive to understand what she
was doing when she threw away her potential to become a mother. She
may argue that she is mother to all the homeless children in the world,
but if the warrior says she will develop many illnesses of the reproductive
system if she does not allow this part of her body to experience what
God intended women to experience, she may be perturbed but run out
of clever answers. Moreover, if, as so often happens these days, she
is violated by someone, she will tend to look to God for explanations
for why she deserved the ensuing sorrow; or she may ask to be shown
her lessons and try to deal with abuse by becoming more pious rather
than more protective. The warrior will, of course, continue to perceive
her as weak and naive because she has not learned to correctly identify
the traits that make him offensive to those with different aspirations
in life.
Malefics
A
planet seems to be malefic when our responses to it are inadequate.
Thus, for the beseiged nun, Mars is a malefic if her reflexes are
too slow, if her passion is blurred by tears, or if the warrior is
right and the suppression of her sexuality is causing internal problems
or the renunciation of her anger is forcing her to pray harder to
deal with the evils he brought into her life. It is not that nuns
cannot express Mars; it is that most often, Mars is incapacitated
to some degree by those who have elected the path of non-violence.
In such cases, Mars generally expresses through a void, generally
another person.
Sometimes,
a very simple behavioral change will transform those around the pacifist.
For instance, we all know the cases of the enabler awakening to the
fact that he or she is contributing to a bad habit in another person.
When this person decides to devote his or her energies to something
more worthwhile, the energy is used and not only is the issue of enabling
resolved, but the person who has been on the receiving end of this
charity has to change or find another sucker.
There
are other ways to utilize the energy fully. A peace loving person
may not like competition so sports may not be an outlet for Mars,
but gardening or attic cleaning may be enough to keep the wheels moving
so that one is not a target.
On
yet deeper levels, there are attributes of Mars that are lofty and
easy to accept. One admires warmth and idealism, courage and loyalty,
and decisiveness. Cultivating these traits makes for less random Mars
energy and more focus, clarity, and directed expression.
Conclusion
Many
people have said to me that Jupiter can never be a malefic, but I
disagree. There are many Jupiter traits that are not particularly
redeeming: self indulgence, procrastination, exaggeration, self-satisfaction,
and unwarranted optimism. Some people spend their lives waiting for
gold to rain from the sky or they are so gullible they would invest
in oil exploration on the top of Mt. Everest. In most cases, however,
an afflicted Jupiter is more or less harmless and likeable, even if
not trustworthy.
How
important an affliction depends a great deal on the expression it
takes and the sensitivity to that planet on the part of the individual.
For instance, a person with a strong Jupiter would be sensitive to
misinformation because education and ideas are important to him, but
if judgment is impaired, the person may need to pass ideas by someone
whose feet are on the ground before acting on the information.
The
horoscope contains a simply amazing number of clues to the individual
and governing patterns as well as past life expressions of the planets.
For example, a Jupiter contact to Mars may be more opinionated and
quick to express those opinions than Jupiter to Uranus which is more
keen on truth and less dominated by narrow versions thereof. Jupiter
in the 12th may suffer for the views held whereas in the 10th, the
person may become well known for his beliefs.
We
can also deduce a lot from the horoscope. For instance, a person with
a Gemini or Sagittarius Moon will suffer from lack of education whereas
someone with Moon in Aries may want to get out in the world quickly
and catch up with the books later. Of course, these possibilities
depend on many factors so it is not always safe to generalize, but
I think it is safe to say that the more important something is, the
worse it feels if that something is not happening the way a person
wants.
Back
Spirituality
and Psychology:
A Lunar Perspective
Ingrid
Naiman © 2003
In the
beginning, the Creator contained all possibilities. When God decided
to actualize the Plan that had been gestating within, the two key
components of Creation were extruded in such a way as to render them
interdependent for the duration of Eternity. That which we call the
masculine is radiatory, linear, and dynamic. It has life, vitality,
and is the very Essence of existence. This part is "qualified" by
Ideas which are expressed as purpose or destiny. The feminine is magnetic,
spacious, and originally – at the beginning of the incarnational odyssey
– devoid of content, empty. In my somewhat poetic imagination, I see
a vast milky, opalescent Space, shimmering in her immaculate purity
and Divine Innocence. Into this marvelous and beautiful Cosmic Womb,
an intense Light entered and Space became filled with passionate ideas
and holy love. Out of this exuberant union, Heaven was born. This
is the First Cosmos and every soul came into existence at the time
of the birth of Heaven. So, Heaven is our true place of birth and
our original home. However, since our original birth, we have been
traveling throughout Space, experiencing the many parts of Creation,
retaining memories of our experiences, and expressing our uniqueness.
The soul
of each of us is what I call "the true self." To know this true self,
we have to align with the source of our beingness. When this occurs,
we experience purpose as a brilliant light which we sense as inspiration
and express as destiny. This is half of the nature of the soul. The
other half remembers the harvests of its journeys. These memories
are called wisdom, and wisdom can be very practical or very profound.
This is the feminine half of the true self, and this part also has
the power to attract guidance (from the masculine) and to build the
forms that Intention, the Father, needs to fulfill Its purpose. The
true self is thus qualified by purpose and composed of memories of
experience as well as the substance necessary for building in the
created worlds.
Everything
in Creation is thus composed of a masculine and a feminine part which
are forever united by the love that joined them at the time of the
birth of Heaven. Whether one wishes to express this Creation drama
as the uniting of opposites, the joining of the Divine Father and
Holy Mother, or as an abstract scientific wedding of an electrical
force and magnetic field is not so important as the ramifications
that can be drawn about the nature of Creation and of the consciousness
that arises out of the perpetual interaction of polarities.
By definition,
both the destiny aspect of the soul and the memory component are unconscious.
Typically, the destiny is described as "spiritual" or superconscious.
It is also "causal" in a very meaningful way in that it projects the
energies and plants the seeds that set in motion the ripples that
are experienced in the world of action and later come to be felt as
karmic patterns.
Space
was originally innocent; moreover, She is incapable of originating
action, for She is pure responsiveness and magnetism. She has choice:
acceptance or rejection. She also has the power to produce out of
what She contains, but this is a process of reflection, not origination.
In other words, She is a mirror of what already is rather than a designer.
These
Divine Mother qualities are usually described as subconscious or psychological
as opposed to spiritual, but these terms tend to limit our understanding
of this part of our Divine heritage. In any event, Her Knowing is
accessed by reflection which proceeds most easily through a multiplicity
of associations which trigger banks of memories. Discovering what
is held in memory requires the willingness to dive into waters that
are more or less inviting depending on one’s sense of what the waters
contain. For the sake of clarity, I would like to propose that we
can swim in these waters for moments or half of Eternity itself without
having any conscious recollection of where we have been or what we
experienced where we were. This is like awakening with no memory of
one’s dreams.
Consciousness,
as suggested, arises in the true self where the polarities are wedded
and interactive. Yes, one may have a mystical experience and come
to recognize one’s truest purpose and "awaken" keen to fulfill this
destiny. And, one may dive into the vaults of Space and return with
a knowledge of all that has happened on one’s journey since the beginning
of Time, but who exactly is it that "returns" to consciousness with
this knowing? It is the true self, the conscious self, the intermediary
between Essence and Space, the Divine Soul.
I will
go a step further in this discourse. An individual may, as a result
of an extraordinary experience or intense meditation become aware
of his or her Essence, feel himself or herself to be more guided,
more spiritual, and more "brilliant." If such insights and inspirations
do not produce more relationship to the here and now, more love for
experience, and more appreciation for "life," the result is more ideation,
more thought processes, more information, not more awareness of the
fullness of the true self.
Likewise,
a person who develops deep familiarity with the nuances of human experience
may become more psychologically sensitive without having any genuine
sense of purpose. In my experience, Western culture is today experiencing
just this schism between what passes for spirituality and what poses
as psychology, neither branch of knowing leading to wholeness.
My immediate
concern is with correct understanding of consciousness, for it is
all too seldom depicted impartially. I wish to emphasize the essential
purity and tirelessness of the feminine. She draws to Herself the
Light that will give meaning to Her Being, and She builds the realities
we experience as incarnate souls. Each of us exists because we are
enlivened or vitalized by the Divine Flame and because we have been
able to anchor that Light in our souls in such a way as to hold a
certain part of the Divine Idea in place. The place is the Mother’s
Space.
Space
In the
beginning, Space was "unconditioned"; it contained nothing but the
innocence of the Mother. However, after union with the Father, Space
was conditioned by Intent, a very potent force that impels Creation.
Each attempt to express destiny in manifestation (or motion) results
in experiences which are held in memory in the Mother’s Space. Memory
is retained by Space because Space draws to Her by virtue of Her magnetism.
She then holds or contains experience, something the Father cannot
do because of His radiatory nature.
Astrologically,
it is my belief that the Moon in the chart symbolizes the soul’s incarnate
experiences. The Moon is a miniature portrait of the major focus and
emotional and karmic patterns that the soul has expressed and
experienced as a result of being incarnate. As such, the Moon refers
to responses that operate below the threshold of consciousness as
instincts, attractions and aversions, biological wisdom, and feelings.
Each pattern has an explanation in the annals of involutionary and
evolutionary history. None are "irrational," but all are emotional.
They are also largely personal though included in personal experience
is the desire for understanding of the reason for one’s existence,
insight into one’s uniqueness and purpose, and conflict over incidents,
issues, and events.
Memory
In a
sense that is simply overwhelming in its ramifications, every experience
is judged. Experiences are judged by rudimentary survival standards
as supportive of life or destructive to it. They are also colored
by nuances such as tenderness, affection, risk, antipathy, reward,
confrontation, challenge, etc. Experiences are judged as pleasing
or displeasing to God, self, and others. My sense is that these judgments
occur in the lunar nature but do not affect the essential compassion
of the soul – which with its wisdom, understanding, patience, and
knowledge of the facts accepts itself for who it is and tries to project
more of its essential truth and beingness into the personality. From
the perspective of the Moon, nothing is this clear; for the lunar
consciousness has to experience the entire process of unfolding potential
in a realm which often as not does not support this process. It hence
has opinions about the process, the absence of support, and the suffering
that disharmonies have entailed. In a way, it is entirely fair to
say that the "spiritual" part of us does not experience this suffering,
for it cannot hold impressions of what happens. It is an energy which
has thrust itself like a projectile in a certain direction and is
aware of its Intent but not the reactions that occur all around it.
It is, however, the First Action and is therefore Causal in a way
that the feminine perceives all too clearly, so much so that She needs
to feel that there is shared responsibility for the reactions that
are termed karmic.
To understand
the lunar self, one must first understand its vast magnetism. It is
the Womb which gestates the Idea that is the source of the life of
the true self. Without this Idea, it is both barren and motionless.
However, since the birth of Heaven, it has felt the intensity of the
First Cause as well as all the reverberations to that Action known
as reaction. In its original nature, it was pure and innocent, but
ever since the First Cause, it has been holding the Action as well
as Reactions in memory.
I am
taking a great deal of trouble to explain this because the current
philosophical as well as scientific fashions are so unclear. Polarity
is seen as a struggle between good and evil in which the masculine,
Adam, was innocent, and the feminine was the original temptress, the
masculine assuming no responsibility for the dramas which ensued.
Or, we see Cosmos as orderly and Chaos as destructive and give the
feminine reign over discord and the inevitable disease and death which
follow. Or, masculine is light and feminine dark. Some time back,
I reached my own limit in trying to sort out the ramifications of
these theories and realized that the feminine is basically the result.
Returning
for a moment to our poetic beginnings, I would like to suggest that
the masculine is melody, notes spewed forth with incredible force
into an instrument which is feminine. It is then the form builder
who must calibrate the flow of the force, establish the rhythm which
will sustain the Ideas and forms which the masculine bids her to build,
and which occasionally buckles under the pressure of too much energy
and too little Space. Ironically, in this Divine Process, both masculine
and feminine feel themselves to be the givers. The masculine shoots
forth energy, light, and ideas; the feminine endows them with substance
and a capacity to function in greater or lesser harmony with the Original
Cause. In this, the masculine is often impatient because it does
not understand the process, and the feminine is burdened because She
feels unappreciated and urged to achieve more than is immediately
realistic.
We then
experience another schism. The masculine is idealistic, and this,
of course, is good; and the feminine is realistic, and that is somewhat
flat-footed and dull, not interesting enough to sustain the attention
of the First Cause upon whom all ultimately depends. I am taking a
position in favor of perfect balance.
I see
the masculine energies functioning in the higher chakras and
the feminine in the first three chakras. Let us take a moment to consider
the chakras – just a few sentences because the issues
are important and frequently misunderstood.
The first
chakra is the place where Life is anchored in the Form. It
is a place of union in which the terrestrial energies predominate
because the will to be, to survive, and experience incarnation is
the raison d’ętre of this chakra. What it needs is support
to become what is expected. The second chakra is another kind
of life chakra, the place where forms are built (and repaired).
It is a chakra which suffers acutely from its absolute and
utter dependence on its contrasexual component, which to it feels
estranged because of certain events in long lost history. The third
chakra is the seat where memory and emotion are anchored and
where psychological experience is most deeply registered. In a sense,
the first chakra is instinctual, the second biological, and
the third psychological. The development, rotation, and sensitivity
of these chakras depends on the heritage from the Mother.
Now,
let us work in the opposite direction. The crown chakra is
where Spirit or Destiny is connected to the Form. It hence expresses
a celestial energy which eventually must join with the terrestrial
to achieve perfect human expression. The third eye is, like the sacral
center, dual. However, it is also different in important ways. The
sacral has actually lost half of its wholeness (for reasons that can
be discussed in a future article). The third eye is, however, obscured,
for it has lost most of its capacity to function due to various obscurations
which affect the vision and understanding of the spiritual force as
it is expressed in matter. Ironically, the obscuration is, at this
juncture, lunar; and for most individuals, this chakra functions
with severe handicaps even though it is less tortured than the sacral
center. Nevertheless, it very seldom works as an adequate transmitter
of Divine Idea so the Ideas are very seldom manifested correctly.
Then, the throat chakra is the site for the anchoring of the
mental energy in much the same way that the solar plexus is for the
emotional.
Between
the three psychological and the three spiritual chakras is the place
of balance, harmony, and understanding, the heart. In my opinion,
the heart is where the balance between spiritual destiny and personal
experience is expressed. The understanding that the heart has for
both intention and history, future and past, and idea and feeling
results in dynamic wisdom, compassion and the will to bring forth
the full potential. This is the place of union of masculine and feminine
and the seat of the soul.
I am
acutely aware that certain "spiritual" traditions present other interpretations
of the chakras, but the experiences I facilitate for my clients
and students suggest that what I have just stated is what works in
actual fact. There are levels of information and insight that can
be reached via the head chakras, but these are mainly ideational,
not based in the harmony of the soul. Likewise, there is much to explore
in the personal chakras, but they present only half of the
picture.
My proposal
is thus that the entire Creation and the ongoing processes that we
observe and experience in Creation is a bipolar or dual effort involving
Essence and Space. In terms of the individual, we might consider this
as a process involving masculine and feminine, but I think it is clearer
if we use words such as destiny and karma.
The
Moon
So, with
this introduction, we come, at last, to the Moon and what it represents
in the horoscope. For me, it is the ultimate symbol of the Mother
energy, Space. The Moon shows our line of least resistance while incarnate,
what interests us, how we wish to express ourselves, and how we have
reacted to events in our personal incarnational history.
Each
aspect to the Moon reveals a psychological pattern, and because of
the magnetism of the feminine, there is a powerful tendency to repeat
patterns. We might therefore say that our entire instinctual and emotional
repertoire is circumscribed by the memories held in our personal Space.
Anything new has to occur because of interaction with something outside
our own Space or we will merely reproduce the familiar from our own
reservoirs of experience.
In my
estimation, Space does not contain historical accounts of our journeys.
Rather, it contains the results of experiences and whatever modifications
to experience that have occurred. I like to think of memory as a sort
of computer file. To access a memory, you have to have an association
which will trigger a recall. These associations generally have emotional
content rather than "feeling.doc" as an access code. In other words,
a specific feeling, rage, grief, abandonment, hopelessness, etc. is
the key to a vault containing memories of a similar vibration, but
the vibrations are filed in much the same way that we group files
onto floppy disks or into folders. If a current experience follows
the overall pattern of the previous experiences, the file remains
essentially unchanged; however, if something new happens which is
different, the file is overwritten and, in my view, permanently changed.
For example, if a person is afraid of losing the affection of someone
important, but the current most important person makes skillful efforts
to "erase" the fear, the "loss" file will eventually be changed. Moreover,
if, as a result of introspection or psychotherapy, one accesses information
that helps to explain a pattern, the pattern will be modified. For
example, if one discovers that part of the reason that people abandon
each other is that they feel they do not deserve lasting relationships
and that one has oneself left family and partners in the past (past
lives), then one may conclude that more steadfastness within oneself
may change the view that one does not deserve these qualities in another.
The subconscious is not always governed by guilt, nor is it the rule
that everything is tit for tat: "You left me, now I’m leaving you.
We are thus even and the karma is ended." I suspect, this does
not end the karma at all, for it is not events but vibrations
that are the key here.
Lunar
Rulerships
I am
simultaneously working on four separate books revolving around my
understanding of the Moon – so you must realize that whatever can
be said in this article is just touching the surface of a big area
of inquiry. This said, I feel that the Moon describes many basic instincts,
most of which reside below the threshold of everyday awareness. The
easiest way I can describe this is to say that if we had access to
our instinctual memories, we would easily recognize old karmic
foes and be able to differentiate them from friends. Animals have
access to just such instincts and must find human behavior quite confused.
Likewise, we would know our affinities and aversions, which foods,
for instance, were likely to cause allergic reactions (and why); and
we would not have to consult an allergy specialist about our diets.
To see how ridiculous this is from the standpoint of one’s instinctual
nature, try to imagine a chimpanzee collecting samples of all the
leaves in his jungle, carting them off to some fifteen story medical
center, and asking someone in a white coat what he should and should
not be eating. Most people have lost touch with this biological wisdom
and do just this, often with inconclusive results; but I suspect that
Aborigines and Bushmen find this human behavior dumbfounding.
If this
sounds exaggerated and absurd, then take the extreme opposite perspective
and think of some sincere spiritual seeker sitting year after year
on the same rock in an effort to discover, through meditation and
enlightenment, what every angel and star no doubt knows about itself.
Now, do you see that we are incredibly "unconscious?"
In any
event, we will continue to focus on the Moon. Next, we need to consider
the Moon in terms of every psychological idiosyncrasy that individuals
have. One person feels competent, another feels he or she will never
measure up to what is expected. One is afraid to say what he or she
thinks, another speaks up fearlessly. In today’s world, many people
spend years in therapy trying to understand why they are the way they
are. Many have to begin at even more rudimentary levels by asking
how they are before "why?" If we really were conscious, we would not
need to ask another person how to understand ourselves or what we
would become if we understood ourselves. Moreover, whatever issues
we have about why we react or behave as we do is not a part of "destiny"
but rather a part of personality, that which many are seeking to define
and others to elude.
Pir Vilayat
Khan told a wonderful story at a lecture I attended many years ago.
It seems that he and a psychologist were counseling the same individual.
The psychologist was urging his client to develop her ego and sense
of self whereas the spiritual teacher was urging her to transcend
the personality and to dissolve the ego. As I indicated at the beginning,
this schism has become very strong, but it is not probably what divides
East and West so much as what divides Essence and Space. Personally,
I do not feel we will succeed in sustaining our parts in Creation
until we balance the polarities represented by what are often felt
to be irreconcilable dualities.
Yet,
for the very reason that Creation Itself is a marriage of energies,
we must find the place of balance, and when we do, we will discover
that it is also a place of dynamic equilibrium, harmony, and inexpressible
love . . . but I am jumping ahead a little.
Besides
storing memory, Space, as suggested earlier, also provides the substance
for building forms. For this reason, I use the Moon as the major determinant
of constitutional type as well as physiological functioning. For those
who have followed the logic thus far, they must then understand that
besides there being such a thing as type, there is also a reason for
every uniquely individual manner of bodily functioning. Fear, for
instance, is cold and contracting whereas courage is warm and expansive.
How the body works will depend on whether there is inhibition or overstimulation
of the flow of energies through the psyche and the form built by that
psyche. There is therefore always a connection between feelings and
function, and therefore it is also unlikely that any condition can
be cured by physical means alone. This is the basis of much of my
work in medical astrology.
Summary
I recognize
that each topic introduced in this article could be expanded much
further, but suffice it for now to conclude by saying that the entire
content of the feminine is the result of conclusions drawn about experiences
remembered by the feminine . . . Who can never be causal since She
is responsive, not initiatory. If She therefore sometimes appears
dark and sometimes deep and wise, it is because of Her process and
experiences, not because of Her basic Nature which is, as I have labored
to point out innocent, divinely innocent.
However,
because the Mother of Creation was originally innocent does not mean
that Her children have not had experiences which have made them angry
or sad. It is therefore neither wise nor proper to ignore feelings
or their causes. Feelings which perturb the natural harmony require
recognition and acknowledgment, healing and rebalancing. Moreover,
healing does not imply surrender of grievances or forced alignment
with the Original Cause. Healing entails understanding, acceptance,
forgiveness, common sense, and even a measure of humor as well as
a hefty dose of love, beginning with love of self and ending with
appreciation for the process the self has endured and sometimes enjoyed.
In Space,
all is in process and as yet far from the ultimate perfection that
is inevitable. Perfection is inevitable because the First Cause is
the strongest force in Creation, and everything will eventually be
drawn into harmonious vibration with this Cause. In the meantime,
we are all engaged in a process that is both demanding and fulfilling,
inspiring and challenging, and it serves us to recognize this fact
in our own lives as well as in the lives of those with whom we share
our journeys. It will also speed our healing if we remember how sensitive
the magnetic component of each of us is to any inference that it is
expected to be perfect and is not yet so. Moreover, if the feminine
is touchy about the pressure She feels to complete the Ideas which
first impregnated Her, imagine how She feels about being blamed for
everything that has not remained instantly responsive and harmonious
with the First Idea? Both Her Nature and Her dilemma need to be understood
entirely differently: She is innocent and therefore blameless; She
is responsive and therefore not Causal; She is also obedient to pressure
since it is Her only hope for survival as neither She nor Creation
are viable without Loving Light.
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