Sabian Symbols: Prima Donna singing

Prima Donna singing

This universal idea is best expressed through planets in

Cancer 21 (20° - 21°)

BEING AWARE OF THE PRICE OF SUCCESS
Despite the huge social cost of our attainments they almost
never produce the happiness we yearn for
"Seeing that success and failure are simply emotional outpourings"

The pursuit of fame and fortune is so commonplace that it forms the core motivation for the majority of people, and our cultural ideas of what is successful are mostly shaped by the measurement of financial wealth or wide social popularity. Rarely does a person enquire of themselves at what price was such success purchased.

Rudhyar:
A FAMOUS SINGER IS PROVING HER VIRTUOSITY DURING AN OPERATIC PERFORMANCE

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A famous singer is proving her virtuosity during an operatic performance

Excellence

Only when we are aspiring to excellence can we feel alignment with the soul

It’s very interesting that this image has become so ambiguous, in that the phrase prima donna is often used facetiously to point to a person’s unseemly display of superficial self-affirmation. One interpretation of the original meaning is that someone has persistently and rigorously sought perfection in order to improve themselves, and to project their best into the world.

We cannot truly rise to the highest potential version of ourselves without ardent self-improvement, through which our skills and talents are perfected to the level of excellence. The soul’s constant, recurrent rediscovery of itself requires this process of perfecting – and we can feel ourselves aligning with soul only when we are aspiring to excellence.

From this we can infer that excellence is a soul quality – a spiritual practice. The medium that stimulates the expression of soul – in this case singing – tends to vary from place to place and over time, according to currently popular human values.

We can use this as a way to generate sufficient incentive to progress. Our best creativity is encouraged by the popularity received when we tune in to the zeitgeist sensitively enough to become generally favoured. The resultant quality and quantity of attention that flows towards us empowers our efforts.
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We all have opportunity to excel at something, but very few fulfil their potential. It is the culmination of several things – aptitude, vision, imagination, effort and opportunity for example – and we need to respect the need for all of them.

Seeing this from the other side – the audience is enabled in an important way. We benefit from being able to live out our dream vicariously – just losing self-limitation in the moment by ‘becoming’ the prima donna on stage ourselves.

This can awaken and stimulate into reality an overflowing richness of self in full command of our own deep and genuine potentials. By pretending to be the celebrity, we are likelier to become the same as her – or at least similar.

​Prima Donna singing

Advanced Level: Elven Star Analysis

​Although we can find relevance in some way to all 360 degrees, each degree resonates particularly, and mysteriously, with the 6 other points of its Elven Star and clues, from the 7 Words System, and the Sabian Journey, are shown in the text below. This first degree of the Expression "Centring" is the Affirming principle.

The scope of Cancer 21 is "Seeing that success and failure are simply emotional outpourings", and its means of expansion is Sagittarius 25, "Using imagination to build an ideal life". Its preferred path, Taurus 29, "Respecting other ways of being and doing", leads to its principle challenge, found in Scorpio 3, "Building a better future working with others in our community".

Awareness of its spiritual purpose is described in Aries 8, "Guarding our sensitivities", which generates the feedback found in Virgo 12, "Unveiling the mystery of all types of intimate relationships" and thus the evolutionary gateway offered by Aquarius 16, "Self-organisation and staying on top of things". 

​(This list will differ slightly from your Elven Star points unless your degree is exact, such as Taurus 15:00 not Taurus 15:39)

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