Spiritual Path and Individuation
Every spiritual tradition uses the image of a journey to denote our passage through this lifetime. And most writers describe the path as the most heroic of journeys – one that takes courage, persistence and fortitude. The path has been the subject of great myths and compelling stories told throughout eons. Yet, these stories are deeply symbolic and psychological reflecting the landscape and the journey of the soul.
Jung named this journey “individuation” and described it as our life long instinctual urge towards wholeness. It is a journey to the true and authentic self which is both psychological and spiritual.
Path to the Heart
The meaning of our lives is found in the pathway towards every human being herself. It is the pathway to the heart that is a unique journey for everyone.
Gottfried de Purucker, wrote: “ There is a path, a sublime Pathway of wisdom and illumination which begins, for each human being, in the present life . . . . it is a pathway of consciousness and spiritual realization leading ever inward, more inward, still more inward, toward the mystic east, which the heart of the universe, and it is the core of you – the rising sun of spiritually divine consciousness within you”
Astrology
If we are talking about Individuation, the spiritual journey and how that path is seen in the astrological chart, we are talking about the Astrological Sun. Astrology is a symbolic Language that everyone has access to and understands at some level. Astrology becomes the cosmic mirror for our inner journey. And we can use it to understand the deeper levels of the journey that we are on.
It is not surprising that human beings would take the actual sun in the heavens to become the image of our individuation journey. The sun is centre and the engine of our solar system, as it is for our lives. Journey to the true self authentic self is through the heart, and it is the Sun that symbolically that reflects the heart of our journey in the life.
Join Julie Simmons and me for a 5 day retreat from October 9 to October 13, 2013 exploring the connection between Jungian Psychology and Astrology. We will delve into the deeper spiritual dimensions of the individuation process – the journey within – and how we might find that in both our inner world and in our astrological charts.