The moon shining across a lake

This universal idea is best expressed through planets in

8th degree of Scorpio (7° - 8°)

STILLNESS
The secret joy of the inner world is made available to those who know how to find peace through stillness

Passion whether for outer attainment or knowledge of emotional processes is an overwhelming distraction and keeps the mind from stillness. It is in calm serenity that love finds its home and with it comes peace and joy. The idea that we need someone else in order to know love is false, as indeed is the quest for self-knowledge if it is based on the idea that it will produce contentment. Rather, we choose stillness and learn to find it through meditation and then notice that all else follows – worldly success, inner awareness and most importantly the presence of love, which we see wherever we look. Love is cause not effect; so is peace.

Rudhyar:
A CALM LAKE BATHED IN MOONLIGHT

A calm lake bathed in moonlight

Rapport

Soul empathy creates a powerful, subtle influence

Some would see as magic the special atmosphere generated by natural forces such as moonlight reflected on a lake, where all aspects of a scenario find mutual rapport. Others would recognize that in fact eternal harmony is the outer expression of an enduring inner rapport, an alignment with our higher selves, which can be harnessed and made to work according to our will.

Indeed, we can learn how to call on magical states of being within ourselves and in our situations. This is especially helpful when we are coping with inner ambiguities that require us to make some kind of psychological adjustment and reorient our perceptions toward more helpful attitudes of mind and heart.

We know that rapport is a feeling of fellowship. It is much more than just a feeling however, since it is a tool by which support is given and received between people; it is felt as empathy and strengthens our courage. It creates the conditions wherein the whole becomes greater than the sum of the parts.

We can gain mastery over the conditions of our lives when we know how to apply such knowledge of empathy – so that the magic of rapport unfolds. This allows us to bring a seductive sweetness and beauty into our connections with people and elegance dealing with things so we gain quite extraordinary subtle influence.

The way this works is by offering our full involvement – especially in the depth of an emotional moment. We often experience this as yearning, and we allow our desire full rein so that it becomes the overarching reality that engulfs us and everything around us.

The danger with such a powerful emotional nature is the risk of becoming lost in an undisciplined imagination. We tend to create whatever we passionately imagine – for better or for worse. We must not lose contact with the hard facts of physical reality and of course the mind’s rationality of approach so that a somewhat balanced line of attack may be found. Also it’s of great importance that we guard against negativity, and constantly affirm optimistic outcomes, otherwise we attract the worst as well as the best.

The human heart has its own compelling need to find a way to release pent up feelings. We need to attend to this demand for expression, because if it were allowed to build up it would become a force of overwhelming strength – then an explosive uncontrolled discharge occurs, one that is unlikely to be very helpful to us.