nature's zodiac

The Aquarian Age is most certainly upon us in these first days of Spring. Aries, the Ram, is the archetype that heralds in the Springtime. Its horns draw inward, symbolizing the immense amount of reality that each individual draws into a very private place of reflection. 

It is from this inward place that the spark ignites; a blast of self. Something, selfish.

Selfishness is too often dismissed as a ‘bad’ or undesirable’ trait. But, as Edward Edinger points out in his book, Ego and Archetype, selfishness is an important component in establishing a good relation to the urge to individuation (a very important concept in the Aquarian Age). He says that the majority of people

“need to learn how to be more effectively selfish and more effective in the use of their own personal power; they need to accept responsibility for the fact of being centers of power and effectiveness.”

He references some beautiful lines from Wordsworth to further get this idea across:

To be effective with selfishness, we can’t be demanding from others what we fail to give ourselves. Avoiding this trap means that selfishness must be married to consciousness. That is to say, fire must become more lit up, brighter with self-knowledge. He writes:

“Every unit of life is self-centered to the core. The only varying factor is the degree of consciousness which accompanies that fact.”

Springtime is here with the promise of new flowers and sunshine. But these flowers must push themselves up through the soil in a brilliant, ‘selfish’ act. Do you feel anything trying to push its way up? Are you listening to this instinct? Are you dismissing it as silly selfishness? Are you demanding from others what you are failing to give yourself? Can you bring more light to your fire? Can you feel your soul, with faraway origins, rising within you?

Schedule a nature reading to learn more about your own special signatures!