The phase above is a line of poetry penned by a Massachusetts 10-year-old in 1980. The nonprofit I worked for back then chose the line to title a publication of children’s artwork and poetry from an artist-in-residence program. What a lovely turn of phrase this is! Recently it occurred to me that it captures a truth from our tradition about the nature of time: it’s all there already.
Are we building our lives as we go? Some say yes, that nothing is predetermined; that our lives are shaped by the choices we make in the present moment, giving us the power to be or do anything we want. But if that were the case, there would be no reason for astrology at all. We wouldn't need birth charts to understand who we are or what our lives will be.
Hard as it may be to believe, the truth is that our lives are already complete. We experience life in linear fashion because we live in this time-bound realm of Creation rather than the timeless realm of Eternity. To explain it another way, “The movie’s already in the can,” as my teacher has said.
We are born at particular points in time and space. The stars are a mirror of the world and of us: as above, so below. The very reason we can predict with astrology is because the universe and its motion are perfectly ordered. The stars reveal this order, which is not random but entirely meaningful. We know what the stars’ motion is, so we can go to any point in time and see what is unfolding. By comparing the placement and condition of the stars with those in the birth chart, we can see what has happened, is happening, or is going to happen. If our lives weren't already complete, this would not be possible.
Those of us who attended Mr. Frawley’s lectures in Chicago discussed this at length over the course of the weekend. For example: if we truly could do anything we wanted, then anyone who was terminally ill would simply cure themselves and be done with it. Several friends of mine have died at an early age from cancer. Think about it: if we say that anything is possible, then we are saying that those who died could have survived but fell short somehow—they didn't go to the right doctors or get the best treatment or whatever else. What cruel thoughts those are!
No: my friends died young because that was how it was to be. Their lives simply had come to their natural end. As one friend put it, “All lives are a full circle; some are just smaller than others.” Why is this so? We don’t know and we can’t know--at least not while we’re here on Earth. Those questions are part of the Mystery.
So when a young child writes, “The flowers are in the crayon, waiting,” she is capturing a philosophical and spiritual truth. Yes, the flowers are already there, awaiting the moment when the child picks up the crayon, puts it to paper, and draws them. This is the real meaning and miracle of manifestation: that which already is, becomes.
First published Dec 12, 2012 on silvestreastrology.blogspot.com.
PHOTO CREDITS: Pixabay (CC0)