Episode Details

Note: after I recorded the audio, I checked and it is a bit low, next time I will do a better job…

Polarities and the illusion of separateness

I woke up inspired, a very Neptunian quality, tapping into the mutability of the zodiac. I have started feeling a lot of love expressed in others while simultaneously feeling a heavy burden on those who suffer when they stay in victim mode.

How do we discern our thoughts within the ecology of our environment? What we eat, what we choose to focus on, and what we absorb in all shapes or forms—all of these affect us.

— Where you put your attention, you put your energy—

Neptune is at 29° of Pisces, which is the last degree of the whole zodiac. The last time it was here was at the brink of American civil unrest. Neptune entered Aries on April 13th, 1861, just one day after the start of the Civil War. We still have until 30 March 2025 for the Aries ingress, before it turns back to Pisces and commands the rulership of the upcoming lunar eclipse axis (January 12, 2025 – July 26, 2026).

What is it about transcendence that differs from transfiguration, or transformation? All three words imply crossing a border, moving beyond a line, point, essence, or even form, yet they each carry distinct nuances in their meanings.

…Marco’s answers and objections took their place in a discourse already proceeding on its own, in the Great Khan’s head. That is to say, between the two of them, it did not matter whether questions and solutions were uttered aloud or whether each of the two went on pondering in silence. In fact, they were silent, their eyes half-closed, reclining on cushions, swaying in hammocks, smoking long amber pipes.

Marco Polo imagined answering (or Kublai Khan imagined his answer) that the more one was lost in unfamiliar quarters of distant cities, the more one understood the other cities he had crossed to arrive there…

~Italo Calvino, Invisible Cities

A constant yearning for transcendence

Transcendence, as in reaching higher states of consciousness, is going beyond the ordinary limits or boundaries, often in a spiritual or metaphysical sense. It implies surpassing the constraints of the material world or one's current state of existence, a mystical state perhaps…

A man sets himself the task of portraying the world. Through the years he has created a space with images of provinces, kingdoms, mountains, bays, ships, islands, fishes, rooms, instruments, stars, horses, and people. Shortly before his death, he discovers that the patient labyrinth of lines traces the image of his face.

~Jorge Luis Borges, Dreamtigers

Transfiguration, however, is about a visible change in appearance, often linked to something divine or elevated, like the transformation of Jesus in Christian belief, the unio mystica, or sacred marriage, where all elements dissolve into one another.

As a Daoist disciple, I've encountered countless tales of enlightened beings (immortals) capable of changing their form. Mastery of life force or qi could enable feats like levitation or sustaining oneself solely on breathing air. Whether these stories are factual is not the focus here.

What's noteworthy is the symbolic resonance in contemporary culture. Figures like Jordan Peterson and his daughter Mikhaela, Russell Brand, Candace Owens, and Jordan Hall seem to be rediscovering Christ's consciousness. There seems to be a universal yearning for connection to a higher, more profound, and divine essence.

Could this yearning be a response to current events, such as genocide or imperialistic forces that perpetuate suffering while devaluing humanity as the currency is also losing value? The current zeitgeist feels like a battle of light and dark, reminiscent of the David and Goliath tale. It appears that more individuals are awakening from the collective dream. In recent times, there