Sabian Symbols: The Great Stone Face
The Great Stone Face
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This universal idea is best expressed through planets in
Pisces 30 (29°- 30°)BECOMING OUR OWN IDEAL
There is no right answer to, or best version of, anything - we make it all up according to how we feel or think we should "We become whatever we idealise" Instead of ending our journey, we find that we have become the seed of yet another cycle of experimentation. We idealise many things – love, truth and God itself for example – and this is how we become aware of our relationship with archetypes. The essential conundrum with which Plato and Aristotle wrestle without resolution is whether we create the archetypes or the archetypes create us. The exact same puzzle is posed in the Hindu scripture, the Mahabharata - do we create God or does God create us?
This is the mystery of life and, simply put, it is that life is a mystery, a paradox and not within our grasp to understand. Life, God, Oneself…are all beyond our comprehension and yet Divine Curiosity to know more of the eternal paradox is the very motivation that began it all and keeps it all going. What we see when we look is nothing more and nothing less than our expectation. Rudhyar: A MAJESTIC ROCK FORMATION RESEMBLING A FACE IS IDEALISED BY A BOY WHO TAKES IT AS HIS IDEAL OF GREATNESS, AND AS HE GROWS UP, BEGINS TO LOOK LIKE IT |
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A rock formation like a face is idealised by a boy who, as he grows up, begins to look like it.
Discernment
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First imagine, then expect
In a story by American author, Hawthorne, there is a rock formation imagined to resemble the shape and features of a human face. Folklore suggests that one would be born whose features would resemble the Great Stone Face; and be recognised as ‘the greatest and noblest personage of his time.’ The twist in the story is that a humble young man, who sets out on a quest to find the hero, ends up much later recognised as the hero himself. Yet he walks away still hoping that there would one day appear some wiser and better man than he. Each of us selects an image within, to which we shape ourselves outwardly, and this is what we come to resemble. The Great Stone Face represents the externalisation of inner aspiration, which subsequently becomes our life goal. More than anything, we desire to realise in actuality the vision we create of the ideal person – who we would at all costs become. And in normal terms, we find someone to admire whom we wish to copy and eventually equal. This means constantly expressing the manifestation of our ideal as a normal way of life. Such unwavering integrity – of just being authentic – has an irresistible influence on the course of events. Our own self-idealisation encourages others in their own alignment to eternal reality. This is impactful. Destiny is then seen as nothing more than character as it most persistently constitutes itself. If we are confused or self-denying, then our creation can be no more than a wholly inarticulate ineffectual self-denigration – otherwise, it can be unsurpassed perfection of human potential. All depends upon our self-created self-image, and our consistent expression of that image into actuality. It is the essence of human responsibility to act out our personal destiny – and this is an aspect of the immortality of the soul, whenever the soul’s destiny aligns with our personal destiny. Whether we can reach our optimal degree of self-expression depends upon the discernment of two things – envisioning and realising. First we must imagine, then we must expect – and stay true to that expectation. |
The Great Stone Face
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Commentary from Guin
Pisces 30's Great Stone Face is the final one in the circle of Sabian Symbols. Then we cycle back to Aries 1 -- A Woman Rises Out Of Water And A Seal Rises And Embraces Her. Likewise, Nathaniel Hawthorne's Ernest, whose wisdom has drawn a community of followers to its glow, continues to seek an even wiser one. "Instead of ending our journey, we find that we have become the seed of yet another cycle..." [Burgess] Nathaniel Hawthorne's lovely short story is free online here: http://www.online-literature.com/hawthorne/139/ Irish poet David Whyte gives a lyrical sense of the never-ending journey in his poem Santiago. "As if all along you had thought the end point might be a city with golden domes and cheering crowds, and turning the corner at what you thought was the end of the road, you found just a simple reflection and a clear revelation beneath the face looking back. And beneath it another invitation. Beneath it another invitation. All in one glimpse. Like a person or a place you had sought forever. Like a bold field of freedom that beckoned you beyond. Like another life, another life. And the road still stretching on." He can be heard performing it here: https://youtu.be/eYzIayVDN5o |
