Living Things and the Signs – Part 13 of The Chemistry of Time
Underneath the atmosphere within our world are many things which are alive – people, animals, plants, bacteria, even certain rocks. Whatever force animates and gives life is a question for another, but within the system we see some interesting indicators that can further help us understand how the times we live in are formed. In all moments we are being infused with each of the elements as they are persistent – what changes is their combinations. In the case of a person we can often see an excess in a certain triplicity or modality and the way that presents in their life and approach is very obvious. The person with all of their planets in Fire and Cardinal signs will be fiery and always up to or starting something. They will not be the quiet and contemplative type who stays home or avoids doing things but instead will be a person of action. The concentration of planets in a single area of the chart can be a very useful way to study that element because you can more easily distinguish it from the rest of the formula which is, again, always present. In these cases the ratio of red is turned up to seven while the greens and blues are turned down to one, producing a a distinctly red final product. From this you can more easily see what “red” is. The other elements are also present and there will be times and contexts in which they are shown but the overpowering impression of this person to most others will derive from that heavy “red” quantity they carry. We all know these different types of people in life and the system is providing a spectrometer for analyzing how those differences are formed. Because we are human we have a certain baseline expectation of the possible formulas in a person – it never gets truly extreme – as we all have very fundamental things in common which are far greater than our differences. This is immediately revealed when we pay attention to the other life forms on this planet.
As different as another person may be from you those differences appear almost comically insignificant if you find yourselves in the common presence of say, a tiger. A tiger is a mammal and as far as animals go is relatively close to us but it is also clearly an entirely different thing. It is to such a degree that the idea of comparing person A, person B, and tiger A is pointless. It would be as if we were comparing apples to oranges or something like that. The question is how this results – why does the tiger take on such wildly different characteristics from the person if it is composed of and experiencing the same combination of active and territorial elements that the humans are? Genetics answers this question biologically – the information that forms the structure of the animal is arranged and expressed differently as it grows into its earthly shape. Part of that genetic profile is likely to be a difference in the absorption rate of the different types of light being directed our way by the Sun. Humans absorb the different elements in some balance we all take for granted, but a tiger could have a much greater ability to absorb, say Scorpio, and as such exhibits a more Scorpionic presence compared to a human. This is to say that the size of the “Scorpio” bucket in the tiger is larger than that in the human, especially in proportion to the other elements. As a result all tigers will always be of greater Scorpio influence than all humans no matter how many planets a human may have present in that sign. The differences between us within our species are relative to our shared genetic receptivity and that is something which varies across species, and may even be a key defining differentiator of species. It is this difference which explains the symbolic symbols for the signs that help us to recognize their influence when it is expressed in the times.
As it is an element, there is no synonym for “Aries.” Aries is Aries and if you want to know what Aries is you have to examine Aries. There are many methods and tricks for learning how to see the light of Aries and that is where many of the “keywords” and shorthands you can find in modern astrological discourse come from. It is easy to misinterpret the elements using this keyword method, which tends to work sort of like this:
Given three descriptive terms it is natural to want to combine them and decide that it is in Aries where the three meet and combine, and that is what “Aries” is. This approach is misleading because it is backwards. The keywords of signs are secondary-effects of “Aries,” byproducts, evidence that Aries Was Here. To visualize this, consider instead:
Aries is an element which produces the keywords that have come to be associated with it. When you see aggressive and forceful movements you are seeing the evidence that Aries is present. It will have a distinctive signature which you come to recognize innately after you start to look for it – you’ll know it when you see it. It is that ability to recognize the element that leads us back to our animal friends, because some of them appear to be an almost total embodiment of a particular element, as though they are made up of a much larger quantity of that element than we are and as a result their actions and way-of-being can act as almost a stand-in for the sign itself. They are the super concentrated version of it, a more pure expression than is found in people or elsewhere, and as such they can be seen as an index of the element itself. Consider the Ram:
The Ram is a type of male sheep with large horns attached to its head. Its behavior is so iconic that its name has become the verb to ram. The distinctive action of this animal is to very quickly rear up and bash its horned head against things. To someone who is already familiar with the element of Aries the behavior of the ram is almost comically on-the-nose. Upon further investigation this animal carries numerous characteristics which are closely consistent with those of the territorial element Aries. For this reason the ram has become the basis for the symbolic name of the sign of Aries. By associating the ram with the sign you instruct the observer on how to recognize the element of Aries. The ram and the other symbolic names of signs originate from this consistent alignment of the symbol to the element. For the ram to be so thoroughly embodying the element of Aries it is likely that in its genetic structure it absorbs a much higher quantity of Aries than is normal to other living things and as such the ram becomes an index and reference point for it. When we see the ram we are seeing Aries in the spotlight, and the same is true for the other symbolic representations of the signs.
Consider further that several of the symbols for signs are not animals but behaviors or concepts, and these work similarly. The fullest representation of the characteristics and properties of the element of Libra are found in the object we call “scales.” This is a balancing device that weighs things against each other, primarily to measure value. By studying these symbols you are effectively studying the element which creates them and you become more able to see its light in the world around you.
A calm and patient bull relaxes in the grass, receiving the light of the Sun. In this scene we are shown the element of Taurus.
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