Action Cures Fear

One of my old astrology books has a quote from Carl Jung to the effect that astrology deserves respect if for no other reason than because it represents the human understanding of psychology before science.  There are various systems of astrology and each, I suppose, does represent some of the primal understandings its culture has about human nature and human psychology. What impresses me more and more as I get older is how telling and how true the psychological insights of astrology really are. This thought was prompted by coming across a discussion of how taking action cures one of fear.

It so happens that in astrology, Mars is the planet that represents action. It is also the planet that represents courage. Saturn is a planet that represents inhibited action. It is also a planet that represents fear. In other words, the ancients bundled together action and courage into a single symbol because they are in some sense the same thing. They go together in real life, and astrology is an attempt to represent and understand life.

Now this seems simple enough in discussion. In fact, as I look at it, it begins to seem so absurdly simple as to be hardly worth mentioning. After all, how could courage demonstrate itself if not through action? But...the truth is, in daily life, these very simple principles are often devilishly hard to remember, understand, or apply. When you are scared, the last thing you want to do is take action. You become frightened of action itself. It seems as though the cure for fear is avoidance. After all, that's what fear tells you to do--avoid what you are afraid of.

Let's take a simple case of hypochondria for example. You note a suspicious tingling in your feet as you lay in bed at night and your mind races to the idea that you have diabetes and are experiencing the first effects of nerve damage. Your aunt had diabetes and she had terrible pains in her hands and feet as a result. You're doomed! Obviously your blood sugar is way too high and you will henceforth be subject to a daily round of insulin and dread of more tingling and pain in your feet. Do these thoughts make you want to go to the doctor?

Not if you're like many people.  You don't want to go to the doctor because you're afraid he or she will tell you that you have diabetes! No, what you actually want to do is lie in bed sweating nervously about your imaginary diabetes while you avoid going to the doctor. As a gender, in fact, men are notorious for avoiding the doctor when they have health worries--a trait that has less than positive consequences. So...in real life, it often seems counter-intuitive that taking action would cure fear.

Yet, if you haul your worried mind and tingling feet to the doctor, you will more often than not be reassured to be informed that there is some other entirely common reason for your tingling feet and that your blood sugar is just fine. Or you find out that you do indeed need to be worried about diabetes, and you learn what actions you can take to keep it under control so that it doesn't become a much more serious problem. Even when the news is bad, simply taking action releases energy and contributes to calmness, control, and yes courage.

Now I admit I am a bit obsessed with Mars and the various things it symbolizes and means these days. It is close to stationing right now, and by mid-month it will turn retrograde, which theoretically means it is particularly powerful right now, especially for people with planets located at the middle degrees of cardinal or water signs. It is also in Cancer, a sign that I associate by experience with a certain type of worrying and fear (sort of like a mother's worrying is the vibe I get from Cancer).

The sign of Cancer is also associated with the stomach, and the stomach, I have learned, has a great number of fear and anxiety receptors, as well as other receptors that contribute to sensations of attachment, desire, and love. The gut is a pretty amazing organ, and quite sensitive. All of which is quite in line with the symbolism of Cancer. It is as though the astrological sages of antiquity were observant enough to note how the stomach is related to fear is related to attachment is related to love is related to mothering is related to nurturing is related to female energy. The astrological savants of yore were geniuses, it seems, at figuring out what goes with what in ordinary human life.

At any rate, here we are, all of us, with the planet of courage stuck in a sign of anxiety and "gut" feelings. So is Mars here to teach us how to quell the anxiety in our guts through courage? Here to remind us what courage and action really consist of, and why they are needed? When it goes retrograde, will I have a chance to retrace my recent steps and up the courage level of my responses to the situations in my life? I kinda hope so. 

I'm looking forward to Mars retrograde and a second chance to be courageous in situations in which I'm normally just anxious.  So this is my shout-out to Mars in Cancer going retrograde: "Thanks Mars! Thanks for reminding me that action (Mars) cures fear (Cancer). Thanks for reminding me not to ignore my feelings, but to confront them instead."

Have a happy Mars retrograde everyone!