July 12, 2011

Extra-sensory Perception

I was recently thinking about our five senses and trying to imagine other senses that we don’t have. Extra-sensory perception (ESP) came to mind, but the so-called “Sixth Sense,” covers a wide range of psychic abilities rather than a single trait like touch, taste or smell. The idea of seeing through another person’s eyes popped into my head. It’s Saturn in Libra, the sign of the other, that I was imagining as a new sense, like a superpower. Instead of being locked up in our own heads, imagine if we could transport ourselves into the mind of someone else.

Now I get that lots of people do this already. Libras, Pisces, individuals with strong Neptune influences in their charts, among others, might frequently put themselves in another person’s place and try to see the world as they do. But I’m a Taurus with Aries Rising, and a man, and am profoundly habituated to holding my own point of view. Sure, I often act with consideration of how this will affect someone else. Like most people, I choose my words and alter my behavior based on who I’m with and what the circumstances are. This is called being socialized.

Still, tailoring my actions based on how others will respond is not the same as seeing through their eyes. I have a specific reason for my actions and want to control, manipulate, placate or do whatever else is needed to achieve my purpose. My purpose. Not theirs. If I could see through someone else’s eyes, I would probably discover needs, desires, fears and aspirations that are completely unknown to me.

Saturn, the planet of necessity, in now in Libra where becoming more aware in our relationships is a priority. It’s a time to establish a new balance with others and in the relationships among our contrasting needs. It’s often, however, the nature of Saturn to suppress whatever it touches by building up defenses, in this case, against acknowledging that there are at least two sides to every story. I’ve written about this before with respect to maintaining an open mind to ideas that are opposed to our own.

I’ve tried this with politicians I don’t like and I can tell you that it’s not easy. But occasionally I am able, at least, to pause in my reflexive reactions of opposition. There are fleeting moments of grace when I don’t have to push back or argue but can, ever so briefly, drop my guard and let down my walls of resistance. There are these instants of neutrality, cracks in the certainty of my beliefs that allow a glimpse of the higher side of Saturn in Libra. It is that we and those we oppose are one and truth fully belongs to neither side in any argument. Grasping a mere sliver of this experience may not radically alter the world today, but might be a worthwhile investment in mutual understanding that ensures that we will have a future.

As published here on my Tarot.com blog.

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