A man before a square with a manuscript roll before him

Holding a manuscript

This universal idea is best expressed through planets in

16th degree of Cancer (15° - 16°)

PROFOUND SELF-UNDERSTANDING
We need to learn how to understand, acknowledge and willingly embrace all the various parts of our nature

Repeatedly throughout life we are placed in a position of choice and decision. According to our degree of realised wisdom we will see this as a conflict between this and that or an opportunity to learn how to integrate opposites as this and that. A mandala, based on the all-enclosing image of a square, suggests inclusivity (in contrast to the cross that indicates division and separation). Eastern philosophy leans towards integration through meditation on Unity.

Rudhyar:
A MAN STUDYING A MANDALA IN FRONT OF HIM, WITH THE HELP OF A VERY ANCIENT BOOK.

A man studying a mandala in front of him, with the help of a very ancient book

Profundity

We reach our goals with clear vision and a detailed plan

There is no ethical standard that remains untouched by time or geography, no absolute measure of goodness or truth. These are ideals rather than practical working models. Each of us grows towards the ideal that we ourselves choose, and develop competence in being what we aspire to become.

The scenes and scenarios that each day pass in front of our eyes stimulate in us an intellectual response, and it is helpful to employ these dramatised life situations as if they were mirrors reflecting back to us who we are and what we are doing.

It is we who write the manuscript for our own life drama. As directors we express our feelings about what we value and, as actors, we dramatise these feelings. A masterly actress is convincing because she is convinced; she gives herself, body and soul, profoundly, to her performance.

Yet, from time to time, it is wise to detach ourselves from our current involvements. We need to look again at the script and realistically examine whether we are keeping to it, lest we lose the plot. Against this plan we check how well we are doing by gazing into the mirror of life.

Personal control stems from clear vision focused by a specific detailed plan of intention. Without a disciplined goal, a person is as unlikely to reach safe harbour as a ship with no rudder.

True self-awareness requires us to consider ourselves through the eyes of others, and follow up our observations with a process of continual self-re-examination and adjustment. Learning to master situations overcomes self-limitation and our personal plans are thus coordinated within the greater design.

What arises out of this is a great deepening – when we learn to trust that life offers us much more than we have been able to imagine. However profound life may be in its scripted form, typically the deeper profundity of personal experience is reached by serendipity, when we go beyond into unscripted realms of spontaneity.