Spiritual traditions throughout the ages have advanced the notion of a “veil” or barrier existing between spirit and matter. The seen and the unseen. The unknown vs the known. The “great mystery” lurking in the background of our lives and stalking human existence since the beginning of time. If one chooses to dismiss the idea of spirit, the unseen, or another reality, then life must be lived under the sad shadow of believing this is all that there is…
As I was preparing to write this blog, a childhood memory was ushered into my awareness from elementary school. I grew up in a suburb of Chicago. Annually, my school hosted a marionette troupe that would present an extraordinary and magical string-puppet show. If I close my eyes right now, I can journey back to those moments. Dangling from strings and wires, which disappeared under the bright stage lights, were a cast of characters who came alive and soon captivated the anxious eyes and ears of an eager collective gathered in a small grade-school gym. For a little over ninety-minutes we were transported to another realm.
While there, we totally forgot that behind the scenes, in this case positioned strategically in a place above the stage, were a cast of persons pulling strings and wires and bringing life to what otherwise would have been a heap of inanimate puppets below. Through a series of carefully orchestrated tugs and pulls a story began to emerge. However, because all this was happening beyond our vision, we quickly forgot about the puppeteers above, and focused completely on the puppets on stage.
In recalling this enchanting childhood experience through this lens, what was evident to me is that it represents a mirror of what we encounter on our day-to-day mortal journey. Echoes of the Hermetic axiom, “as above, so below”. If we embrace the idea that spirit is equivalent to the wires and strings that connect matter to something beyond, something higher, and in that “above” there exists a divine marionette troupe helping to stage-manage it all, a picture materializes.
Though the human experience is much more nuanced than a puppet show, an abundance of parallels still exists, even an overarching script, though a bit more improvisational in nature. As an astrologer, I have the privilege and honor to help others identify the script, their character, and even what outfits and roles that they are playing. There are also cues that pop-up as the story of our lives unfolds, reminding us what is supposed to come next, yet sometimes we ignore the cues and get lost on the stage. I like to call these cues… transcendent moments.
The word transcendence finds its roots in Latin. The prefix “trans” which means beyond, and word “scandare” which means to climb. In achieving transcendence, one is literally believed to be going beyond what are considered ordinary limitations. Climbing is an action that is associated with rising above or surmounting something. The most common connotation of transcendence is a merger with the spiritual realm that activates a state of moving apart from one’s physical needs and realities; the dwelling place of the timeless.
Enter an elusive and sensitive astrological point that can be plotted in an individual’s natal chart known as the Vertex. In the horoscopic chart, the astrological Vertex is calculated as being the point located at the intersection of the Ecliptic (path of the Sun) and the Prime Vertical, a plane that divides the celestial sphere into front and back. It is marked in the natal chart with the notation--Vx. The discovery and application of this “electric axis” is credited to the work of Lorne Johndro and Charles Jayne. You can read more about it here: https://www.uraniatrust.org/celebrated-astrologers/charles-jayne
In its simplest terms, the Vertex is a point in someone’s horoscope that when activated, seems fated and represents matters beyond our control. Through this opening, we attract destiny, synchronicity, happenstance, and chance encounters and events. Perhaps we find ourselves in a rut and cannot see a way out, enter a mechanism of mind that connects all minds together which opens and allows an outside influence to come in and disrupt certain portions of our otherwise seemingly peaceful existence. The following quote captures the concept:
“People have had experiences of the soul’s transcendence since time immemorial. Yet we continue to wonder...What do these experiences prove? Do they offer a genuine vision of reality, or are they only products of human imagination? Are they rooted in human desire, in the wish for immortality, in projection?
There are certain special moments in life, call them “openings to transcendence,” when we confront a symbol and see reality much as the Unconscious (according to Jung) sees and regards it [reality] all of the time. At this level, the psyche knows no difference between spirit and matter. They are identical. Figures from both dimensions of reality are experienced as woven of the same threads.”
Short excerpt from Jungian Analyst and author Dr. Murray Stein’s lecture on "The Reality of the Soul" 2000
And so, it’s through these transcendent openings that we receive “cues” from the marionette troupe above designed to help keep us on script. These are the Vertex moments in our lives. Those moments that seem like turning points, where someone or something takes us by the shoulders and points us toward a gate—destiny’s gate. These are unusual, and extraordinary times that literally feel electric, as Lorne Johndro postulated the Vertex to be in his early work. As the “great mystery” brushes up against us, we are reminded of the inner-connectivity of it all. The Austrian physicist Erwin Schrödinger is known for the phrase “The total number of minds in the universe is one.” The Vertex reminds us that this is true…
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