The Next Copernican Revolution
This was originally written as a Twitter thread which you can read here:
At the turn of the 16th century, a new world view was coming into being. A world view that would accelerate itself into the Scientific Revolution.
Copernicus conceived the heliocentric theory of our solar system, demolishing the previously held view of Ptolemy’s geocentric model.
Geocentrism proposed that Earth was at the center of the universe. The Sun was just another planet revolving around a solid and stationary Earth.
So when Copernicus and his immediate successors theorized that the Earth was not actually at the center of the universe, and was in fact rotating on an axis around the Sun, it caused major upheaval.
Copernicus was ridiculed.
Kepler was ignored.
Galileo faced inquisition.
Just imagine…
Thousands of years of belief shattering before your eyes.
Not an easy idea to swallow.
We often take our current mode of consciousness for granted by not looking at the trail of evolution that has brought us to this very moment, this very perception, this very being.
Had we modern beings lived through that moment in history, we may have experienced a deep sense of collective enlightenment.
Because that is exactly what occurred.
A new universe was born.
A new human being was born.
A new world view was born.
Humanity was no longer at the center of the cosmological drama, but a part of something vastly and deeply magnificent.
Science became the weapon for truth and reality.
From Enchantment to Disenchantment
With this complete transformation in world view came an unintended shadow.
What Nietzsche called “the will to power.”
Science, reason, and measurement gave us predictive power but in exchange sucked the soul out of our universe.
Under the gaze of rationalism and materialism, the cosmos was coming to be seen as a place for us to conquer.
Humanity became the subject.
Cosmos became the object.
A clear separation between the self and the world was emerging and taking form.
It has only been a couple hundred years since most of humanity was initiated into the modern world view.
But for the vast majority of our ancestors, an enchanting world view was the norm.
In his paradigm shifting book “Cosmos & Psyche,” Richard Tarnas illustrates the fundamental shift that took place between the primal world view and the modern world view.
Primal World View:
Purpose, meaning, intelligence, and soul (shaded area) pervade all of nature
Human self is permeable with the larger world
Modern World View:
Purpose, meaning, intelligence, and soul (shaded area) are hyper-concentrated into the human self
Nature and the larger world has become a backdrop
Essentially, the modern world view is one of utter disenchantment.
And even worse, the postmodern world view has shrunk the circle of Self into a tiny speck of nothingness.
We are just a small dot in this ever-expanding universe.
Life is meaningless.
And that my friends, is why enchantment is important.
It challenges nihilism.
We are in need of a new paradigm. A paradigm that will take science to a new level. A level to which nihilism cannot reach.
And that new paradigm is Archetypal Astrology.
Uh oh - what’s all this woo woo?
Just hold on. Entertain enchantment for a moment.
Remember when all the great pioneers of the Scientific Revolution were ridiculed?
Well, perhaps we’re in a similar moment…
Paradigm Shifts
Historian, Thomas Kuhn established the term “paradigm shift.”
Through his study of history, he noticed that scientific knowledge did not progress in a linear accumulative way but rather in periodic revolutionary shifts.
Those changes were embraced by both: creativity and destruction.
The death of an old paradigm.
And the birth of a new paradigm.
Science too—like the rest of life—thrives in a metaphysics of circular evolution.
The cycle of revolutionary breakthroughs:
Pre-Science: lacking a concrete paradigm
Normal Science: establishing a paradigm through puzzle-solving
Model Drift: anomalies appear and the paradigm weakens
Model Crisis: paradigm no longer works
Model Revolution: a new and contradictory paradigm is introduced
Paradigm Change: the new paradigm becomes normal science
The heliocentric model was a paradigm shift. Without this paradigm, modern science would have had no solid ground to stand on.
And if the the history of science seems to follows a pattern, then could it be that history itself is patterned?
The Rhythm of History
We are told to study history so we don’t repeat the past.
But could history have a different purpose?
What if history was actually the study of the future? Of our current moment?
Mark Twain once said: “history doesn't repeat itself but it often rhymes.”
Twain probably didn’t know this.
He was spot on.
Astrology is that rhyme.
Through extensive research and observation, Tarnas found that the movement of the planets correlate intelligibly and meaningfully with human affairs.
The heart of this correlation resides in the magic of synchronicity.
Carl Jung defined synchronicity as a "meaningful coincidence of two or more events where something other than the probability of chance is involved.”
The principle of synchronicity shares a similar sense of mystery that relativity theory and quantum mechanics are grappling with.
Synchronicities provide a multidimensional view of reality.
Manifestations of the deep unconscious
Communicates in metaphors and symbols
Acausally connects the inner and outer worlds
Embodies and governs archetypal principles
Synchronicity is the notion that the entire universe is breathing together.
It finds itself in a timeless dimension—in the ever-unfolding “now.”
“Synchronicity,” said Carl Jung, “is an ever present reality for those who have eyes to see.”
Synchronic time shows you the interconnectedness of each moment.
Diachronic time shows you the deep patterning of our unfolding history.
Synchronic and diachronic time are both navigated through the archetypal realm.
The archetypes are related the planets.
Tarnas states: “the planets do not “cause” specific events any more than the hands on a clock “cause” a specific time.
The modern scientific paradigm cannot explain this astrological worldview. We are in the model crisis-revolution moment.
A synchronic view of reality provides you with the understanding that rise in cryptocurrency and the sudden spike in earthquakes are archetypally related through the planetary alignments of Saturn and Uranus.
While a diachronic view of reality provides you with the understanding that the financial crashes of 1987, 2001, 2008, and yes, our current moment are all occurring under the Saturn-Uranus theme of “collapse.”
PLANETARY ARCHETYPES
So let me give you a better sense for how this enchanted expression of time and archetypal essence actually works.
Introducing: Uranus and Pluto.
Uranus is the archetype of the cosmic trickster. It reflects itself in innovation, liberation, genius, lightning, electricity, unpredictability, rebellion, impulsivity, breakthrough, and novelty.
Uranus is Prometheus—the Greek titan who stole fire from the Gods.
Pluto is the archetype of the instinctual beast. It reflects itself in power, depth, intensity, sexuality, volcanoes, criminality, decay, taboo, regeneration, breakdown, and rebirth.
Pluto is Kali—the Hindu goddess of creativity and destruction.
When these two planets come into alignment, we generally witness moments of:
Radical political change
Revolutionary movements
Rebellious impulses
Intensified creativity
Technological advancement
Liberation of the masses
Massive demographic shifts
Urge for freedom
The planetary archetypes unfold in a multidimensional and multivalent manner.
You can feel Uranus in a moment of insight, and you can hear Uranus in the sound of the electric guitar.
You can see the destruction of Pluto in the school shooting, and you can see the regenerative power of Pluto in your local gardening community.
Synchronic Waves
The most recent alignment of Uranus-Pluto was during 2007-2020.
During that period we saw:
The rise in dating apps
The trend in street fashion
The support for feminism
The rebirth of psychedelics
Prior to that, Uranus and Pluto were in alignment during 1960-1972.
During that period we saw:
The liberation of sexuality
The birth of ready-to-wear
The movement for women’s rights
The entry of psychedelics
Synchronic trends may seem unrelated or coincidentally related, but actually express an underlying archetypal signature.
When you develop your "archetypal eye" these trends become easier to spot and categorize.
Diachronic Cycles
If we dive further into the archetypal realm, we spiral in and out of deep diachrony.
So let’s zoom into the Uranus-Pluto themes of: technological advancement and the urge for freedom to get a better sense for how historical patterns unfold.
During the Uranus-Pluto alignments of:
1896-1907: The Wright Brothers launches the first powered flight
1928-1937: The first non-stop transatlantic passenger flight takes off
1960-1972: Apollo 11 lands on the Moon
2007-2020: The privatized space industry takes shape
The next major Uranus-Pluto alignment will be from 2041-2052.
So could we perhaps indulge in a little archetypal prediction?
Will humanity land on Mars during that period?
We shall see...
PLANETARY ERA
Archetypal astrology opens up your sixth sense.
That sixth sense is your capacity to feel the past and the future in the current moment.
It is your capacity to see and live in the liminal space between matter and spirit.
Archetypal cosmology places humanity back into an enchanted universe.
Not one that is dictated by superstition and determinism but one that is pluralistic and co-creative.
If we open ourselves to this world view, our species will undeniably enter into a new phase in consciousness.
A consciousness that perceives the entire planet to be one intelligent living being.
We would be on the cusp of a planetary civilization.
