Three stained glass windows one damaged by bombardment

Three stained glass windows one damaged

This universal idea is best expressed through planets in

Capricorn 2 (1° - 2°)

THE THREAT OF DESTRUCTION
Beauty is one of the first casualties of war

What could possibly justify war as a helpful factor in the evolution of our species? There are those who would suggest that it motivates us to achieve greater and greater mastery of the material plane of existence through technology and management of land use and commerce, which are essential to fund the military.

Creating artworks, in order to manifest beauty, and enacting war, in order to manifest power, are not activities that can be easily reconciled. Creativity and destruction are normally polar opposites, yet we learn that the community we belong to is as much defined by its attitude to war as by its beautiful old churches. We live constantly within a cycle of creation and destruction and we need to come to terms with that.

Rudhyar:
THREE ROSE WINDOWS IN A GOTHIC CHURCH, ONE DAMAGED BY WAR

Three rose windows in a Gothic church, one damaged by war

Commemoration

Commemoration creates our sense of belonging and is a binding force of community

The original artist, who first made a window that was able to evoke feelings of inspiration and beauty, was dramatizing his personal characteristics and sense of life through his handiwork. This subsequently impacted upon appreciative observers.

In the same way, each of us has responsibility to bring to an exalted expression anything we find of high significance in our lives. What happens subsequently – whether seen by just a dozen or a million observers, whether preserved and protected or damaged by bombs – is not relevant in the moment.

In this way an historical record is made – on a personal or a collective level – that commemorates feelings as well as events. This is non-trivial; it is thus that we create our sense of belonging and the all-important binding force of community. If the sense of involvement with our community is to bind us deeply and significantly, as an aspect of its evolving cultural expression, then we must commemorate a real feeling not an idea.

There will always be the threat of damage, through bombardment or other forces of entropy, because superficialities are constantly at risk from the inherent destructiveness of life. So we have to protect and defend that which we value enough to commemorate. Two of the windows survived the attack.

Things which are raised up by this special quality of communal attention are those that sponsor pride in the vision we share – typically how we decide to serve humanity.

Yet taken out of the context of our own lives, with current-day needs and aspirations, an overly-loyal commitment to past moments can engender an unhelpful, even fearful, conservatism that leads to dogma and diminished vitality.

Our ideas only take on a real dimension to the extent that we are able to narrow down their meaning to a point of significance in our personal situations. They have to matter to us at a deeply subjective level if they are to have any impact upon others.