Sabian Symbols: A widow at an open grave

A widow at an open grave

This universal idea is best expressed through planets in

5th degree of Taurus (4°- 5°)

CUTTING TIES WITH THE PAST
Coming to terms with the temporary nature of
all relationships, positions and possessions

As much as we must exhale at the end of every breath, it is inevitable that we must lose our wealth and influence. The grasping that occurs as we cope with materiality is a major obstacle to soul evolution and if we are to optimise our progression we must learn to let go of everything in the very moment of its completion. For a true seeker, grief is a debilitating emotion that must not be overindulged, so too is nostalgia.

Rudhyar:
WIDOW AT AN OPEN GRAVE

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​A widow at an open grave

Reorientation

​A widow at an open grave

The gate to freedom is in the ability to turn feelings around

Everything dies. We need to have the ability to release our attachments, and move our focus of attention away from what has passed. We are severely tested in life, often to the limits of our capability to cope, and if we are to maintain the integrity of self we must be able to live with grief, and resist the descent into ineptitude born of distress.

One of the most debilitating features of the grief that follows the departure of a loved one is the sense that we are powerless. This is, of course, essentially false because it ignores the creative influence we have in which we are responsible for our own circumstances, all of them. Learning how to turn around these feelings of disempowerment is the gate to freedom and happiness.

The widow at the grave indicates our natural inclination to relate with certain special others with an open vulnerable heart. Our needs for warmth, companionship and comfort are usually tied up with one or two particular people. It is quite normal and not entirely unhealthy, at least to a certain extent, to invest our identity in these people.

Evolutionary journey of the soul

Sometimes it takes great personal aplomb to be able to regroup and refocus; we are tested in this. Disappointments, loss and even grief can be transcended by a correct attitude of mind, so that by the true seeker even these most troubling events are seen as grist for the mill.

The ever-spiralling, eternal, evolutionary journey of the soul requires such examinations for its best progress. We simply cannot progress towards our fullest potential without enduring and learning how to cope with these seemingly impossible emotional trials.

Death is as much a beginning as an ending. We are profoundly challenged to come to terms with loss, to reorientate our intimate life circumstances, and to claim back whatever we had invested in those who leave us. Everything real is within us – what we cannot fully embody within ourselves is not truly ours, so the loss of anything external does not in fact rob us of anything essentially real within us.
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This wisdom applies generally to every aspect of our lives. When we permit reality to become static, we are lost. Each moment is already gone in the instant of its arrival – life is death. The advanced being knows how to release completely and immediately all experiences – they are outworn the moment we recognize them.

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Commentary from Rochelle Beaty
A Widow standing; speaks of strength through life’s changes. Having a heightened awareness of both the physical and spiritual. An open grave; a gateway to another realm. A soul’s liberation. This symbol reminds us that all things will eventually transform in time.  We have no choice but to let go of things that have completed their cycle. We must remember that where there are endings there are always new beginnings and opportunities.