The Elven Star Interpretations

Mystery 4: Struggling with the Shadow Self

Course Introduction
Use your fourth Sabian Symbol to study the word Goodbye
Conflict is unavoidable in life, it is a defining feature of our environment. Teachers who advise us to shun it are being unrealistic, almost fanciful. We will certainly experience it, and it is best to welcome it and bring wisdom and truth to the matter instead of the pink and fluffy delusion that by offering our blind obedience to the status quo we all live happily ever after. There are indeed times to turn the other cheek, and yet there are also times to defend a principle with our lives. First of all comes the realisation that all is not well. From this we start the process by which, in the name of Freedom, we say Goodbye to unwarranted limitation.
Elven Star Mystery 4

Decisions to Reflect Core Principles

Much of the specific detail of life, perhaps most of it for many people, is trivial or has little consequence. The daily round simply continues things in a given direction and its deeper meaning may not be knowable for decades, as we see what our children became and how our career panned out. Yet there are also defining moments when we make critical decisions that alter our life trajectory permanently and irrevocably. The 4th mystery within the Elven Star draws attention to the backbone of who we are, the core of our being, the structuring principle upon which our key decisions rest.

We cannot find out what that backbone is unless and until we are profoundly challenged. Each difficulty in life is an examination – and yet so too is each opportunity – by which we determine who we are, who we really are when push comes to shove. If we casually say Yes to every tempting opportunity – sex, promotions at work, parties and holidays, new things for the house or to wear, and so on – then we find that each time we submit to temptation erodes our will a little bit and we gradually forget who we are in tiny stages until we completely lose track of something indescribably precious within.

Yet if we stand on principle, bear the discomfort, pay the price and release our attachment to comfort and security, then what unfolds is the full character of who we are. It is courageous and bold, dependable, forthright and honest, it speaks truth and commands respect, it attracts responsibility and has the power of influence and the charisma of faith.

The 4th Sabian Symbol shows us what types of challenge we meet in life, how to deal with them and the resultant direction we take when we focus our decision upon principle instead of expediency. It also warns of our hidden temptations and any inclination toward addicted and unhelpful or obsessive attitudes.

Suggested questions to process for making important decisions:
  1. What are the facts of the matter, the scope of the decision and the issue being resolved?
  2. What options are available?
  3. Which option optimises grace, harmony and caring?
  4. Is the benefit worth the cost?
  5. What are the long-term implications?
  6. Who might object to this decision and why?
  7. Where is the line of least resistance?

Primary Word: Goodbye 

Are you good at avoiding being stuck in a rut?
Life is about movement so being stuck in any situation is not healthy. There is a strong tendency for all of us to continue to do what we have always done, and this carves the track of our lives. It becomes increasingly difficult to cut new paths when the old ones are deep and unquestioned so we may be caught up or bogged down without knowing we are. We must realise that such unconscious habits of behaviour need to be avoided lest we become trapped and begin to lose vitality.

Do you have courage to move into the unknown?            
Typically many people fear the unknown. It takes decisive courage to overcome our disinclination to take risks, and this applies to all areas of life. New job, new town, and new relationship – these are all obvious. What about new opinions, new perceptions, and new beliefs? We know so very little. The universe of possibilities is vast and mainly unexplored, waiting there for our readiness to have an adventure.

Do you quickly let go of the past?            
This question is profoundly correlated with happiness. To be happy usually means that we can let go of what we cannot influence. Mulling over our personal history can be useful if it brings a better awareness of the present, yet dwelling on past pain, lost opportunities, errors of judgement and so on – this will never bring us what we want. Life is now; it is the only thing that is real. So when we have properly completed our involvements, and tied up what needs to be resolved, then to move on requires us to let go
Realisation is the process of exposing illusion. A realised person can expose illusion.
There is a universal formula that describes interactions between people. Firstly there is exclusion, then casual enquiry, then intimacy, and then separation. These interactions can be imagined as the reaching out of strands of psychic energy like tentacles. At first they have little impact but, as intimacy develops, they become as if sticky. The closer two people get emotionally, the stickier become the tentacles until they are increasingly inseparable.
Realisation leads to Decision in a straightforward, courageous person. Most people are neither, and hide the truth from themselves in order to avoid facing up to the need for a difficult decision, for which they lack the courage. Courage is not easily developed at all, but what can replace it is faith.
Freedom is a state of mind as much as it is the capacity to resist invasive forces and do what we choose. Nietzsche speaks of the slave mentality that locks up the minds of people and binds them into their own personal prisons. To be free we have to find a way to shrug off unconscious obedience and any expectations of limitation that impact our sense of liberty.
The Sabian Images on this site are by Ruby Fumizki