The Flip Side of the Coin

This is the ninteenth part of my essay series “Inner Work with the Planets”. If you haven’t read the earlier parts yet, I suggest you start with part 1 to get the most out of this essay.

So… have you started inventoring your own planetary coins yet, as I suggested last time? 🙂

(If you haven’t, there’s still time to start. Right now, for example, would be a great opportunity, before we contemplate the planetary vices and virtues some more further below… 😉 )

But before we talk about the planetary vices and virtues, we’ll continue right where we left off last time: with planetary order(s) and their shapes.

In the past couple of essays, you might have been wondering what we’ve been up to, with all this re-shaping of the planetary ladder. Granted, bending it by hand has been a nice workout. But still…

Why do we keep trying on new planetary orders and shapes for size?

I mean, the spheres were just fine, and very Hermetic. The ladder, too, especially with regard to our existence before, between and after material incarnations. Plus it gave us a lot to contemplate and to reflect on for our inner work, and for improving our lives.

But planetary folding ladders and scales are not just somewhat unconventional, they also aren’t part of the classic Hermetic way of thinking. So why bother with them at all?

In order to answer this question, we have to take a step back and consider what the purpose of this essay series is in the first place…

Way back, in the very first essay of this series, I told you that these essays cover a somewhat obscure approach to “improving” yourself and, consequently, your life.

Back then, I also explained what exactly I mean by “self improvement”:

To me, “self improvement” means there are certain things about yourself or in your life which you’d like to change – and you’re willing to do things differently than before in order to achieve this change.

(Incidentally, I also explained why I don’t particularly like the term “self improvement” and will thus use “inner work” instead, as far as this series is concerned. After all, it’s work, and the bulk of it happens inside of you, right?)

What we’ve never explicitly discussed, though, is what you, personally, are hoping to gain from this essay series.

Are there certain things you want to change about your self or your life? Are you generally interested in self improvement inner work? Are you just curious? Or fascinated by Hermeticism and are thus reading this series?

Please feel free to answer this question in the comments if you’re so inclined!

While you’re more than welcome to read these essays just out of general curiosity or some interest in Hermeticism or the planets, one of my basic assumptions when writing them is that there are certain things you’d like to change about yourself or your life. And even if this shouldn’t be why you came along for the ride, there’s no harm done in putting in a bit of inner work while you’re at it, right? 😉

But what does it mean, changing things about yourself or your life?

“Change” implies that certain things don’t stay the same. This could be drastic in-your-face changes, or tiny-and-subtle ones, or anything in between. It could be changes across various areas of your life, or laser-focused on one specific issue. These changes could e.g. affect your emotions, your thinking, your habits, your beliefs and worldview, your perception, your action or your re-actions, or any combination thereof.

Whatever it is you’re trying to achieve and to make “different”: In order to get there, you’ll need to leave the well-trodden paths you’re used to.

This in itself is easier said than done, of course (if you’ve ever tried to change a life-long everyday habit, you’ll appreciate how difficult it can be!).

But this change inside yourself, leaving your established paths, is necessary if you intend to achieve changes in your outer life.

E.g. if you aren’t happy with your income, you’ll need to do something different than before in order to raise it (get a new job, apply for a job at all, change careers, learn some new skills, dare to ask your boss for a raise, …).

If you aren’t happy with your relationship situation, you’ll need to do something different than before in order to have a happy and fulfilled relationship (talk to your partner, change your own habits to become more attractive or less annoying, really listen to your partner, go out there among people to find a partner in the first place, reflect on what you expect from a relationship and from a partner, and what you are willing to put into it, …).

And so on.

Any of these changes in your outer life, at least as long as they are induced by you (and not by chance, by others, …) and are thus within your control, require you to leave some familiar path, and consequently to do some kind of inner work first.

This alone can be daunting or difficult.

(It can also be easier than you thought, though, especially if you’ve done your inner homework before! Thus don’t make the mistake of talking yourself into problems and insurmountable hurdles where there might not even be any!)

But the first necessary step, even before diverging from your familiar ways, is to notice that other directions are possible, that different paths exist, that you have other options at all.

This sounds trivial, but it isn’t. Especially with regard to well-trodden habits or long-cultivated views of the world and of ourselves, it can be really hard for us to even consider that there might be other ways to do things, or other viewpoints from which to look onto events.

Thus the very first thing, before you can even start any kind of inner work, is to realize that in this particular issue you’re looking at, change is possible – that other paths even exist in the first place, which you could take if you so chose.

In short, any kind of “self improvement” or “improving your life” requires, as a very first step, the awareness that there even are other paths through the jungle you’re currently stuck in.

It also requires the realization that yes, it would be possible for you to take one of these other paths, and then the courage to do so – but these are all secondary things. As the very basis, you have to become aware that change would be possible at all.

And one of the easiest ways to become aware that other paths are possible is to cultivate different viewpoints. Once you have a firmly installed habit of viewing things from different angles, you will by almost by default tend to perceive different options.

You know where this is leading towards, right? 😉

The one thing I’ve constantly been harping about throughout this series is for you to consider things from the specific angles of the planets – and not just from the one planetary viewpoint which suits you particularly well, but from all seven angles!

The reason for this is, as mentioned repeatedly, to give you other options at hand. Other options for things to do (or not to do), to think, to feel, to consider, to perceive.

But establishing this habit of “always considering all seven planets” (or at least always more than one… 😉 ) has another, hidden effect: It trains your mind (and all other parts of you) to just know that there are other paths available.

I.e. whatever you do, perceive, feel, etc, you do, perceive or feel it with the underlying, possibly unspoken, but secure knowledge that you could do, perceive, feel, something else.

Whatever path you take, you’re aware that other paths would be possible and available.

By systematically training yourself to always consider the six other planets, too, you’re also systematically training yourself to know and be aware that there are other paths available to you.

(“Knowledge”, in this sense, isn’t by-the-book knowledge. It’s a deep seated “knowing” which we have about certain aspects of life, based on our own experiences.)

This might seem a bit lame, but it is powerful stuff. It covers the very basis of any change – the fact that you need to even be aware that change is possible at all, in order to change anything in yourself or in your life.

Thus what your constant engagement with the seven planets brings forth isn’t just different options for change. Systematic engagement with the planets and their different angles will, over time, set the stage for changes and “improvements” in yourself and your life by making you more and more aware of the existence of alternative paths.

Sounds too good to be true?

Well, it’s a process, and you do need to put in the work, of course. Also, we’ll never be perfect, and we will always have our preferences and blind spots. (Plus, sometimes life just throws stuff at us which it isn’t in our power to change!)

But if you’ve put in the work while following these essay, I’d bet you’ve experienced at least the odd occasion where you’ve suddenly been aware of other potential paths which you wouldn’t have noticed before…

Besides this powerful gift, there is something else the planets have to teach us, though:

Whatever you look at, whatever you deal with, there is never only one truth – there are at least seven truths. I.e. there is not just one “right” point of view, and not just one correct way to deal with things.

Instead, several things can be true at the same time, even if they seem to be conflicting at first glance. Several worldviews, several opinions, several choices.

If you’re in a disagreement with somebody else, for example, both your point of view and theirs can be “true” or “right” – they are simply different ways to look at the same situation.

(This doesn’t mean you always have to accept somebody else’s point of view, or, heaven forbid, their actions! It simply means that they could feel to be just as much in the right as you do.)

Where Venus might see a fun night out, Saturn might see sloth. Where Mercury might see unreasonable emotional upheaval, the Moon might see cleansing tears.

Where you see something, your boss, your partner, or the guy in the other car might see… something else. 😉

With a little practice (or, in some situations, a lot), you can learn to not just perceive a situation through the seven planetary lenses one after the other, but to hold two or more of them in your awareness at the same time. You can consider that they all might be true at the same time, each in its own way.

And this gives you the freedom to pick the one which is the best fit for you and for this particular situation…

So. I think I should get some extra credit for giving you such a nice, motivating pep talk! 😀 And since I hope you’re now reasonably excited about your Hermetic inner work with the planets, let’s put this excitement to good use and get a bit more practical right away:

How these thoughts relate to the different planetary shapes and orders is something we’ll discuss in a second. But first, I want to pick up the planetary vices and virtues again, just quickly.

Last time, we talked about these vices and virtues as two different sides of one planetary coin. Thoroughness vs. pettiness. Rational thought vs. emotional chill. Carefree laughter vs. irresponsibility. Generosity vs. wastefulness.

All of these pairs are two sides of the same respective coin… or are they?

Remember what we’ve just talked about a bit futher up: How different things can be true at the same time – ’cause the same idea can be applied to the planetary vices and virtues.

Yes, in some sense these pairs represent two opposite sides of the same coin:

Applied in real life, what is “just enjoying life” to your teenage kid might be “enjoying certain substances too much” to you. What might be “thorough work” to your coworker might be “slowing the project down” to you. Etc etc.

As such, they are opposites. But then aren’t they both true at the same time? Are they really opposite sides of a specific coin? Or do these planetary coins maybe, potentially, only have one side at all?

When dealing with others, this thought can sometimes be hard enough to accept – after all, your coworker is just deliberately being a jerk by slowing the project down, isn’t he? He knows full well how urgent this stuff is, and could simply work faster if he wanted to, right? 😉

Still, after some calming down and trying to put yourself into the other person’s shoes, you might be able to appreciate that maybe, just maybe they really do see the world differently – that they are living on the other side of the coin, and are looking at the world from their vantage point on this other side.

Or rather: that both worldviews are true at the same time, yours and theirs. This coin doesn’t really have two sides, but only one…

But what about yourself – what about your own coins?

This is where it gets tricky. I’m fairly sure that on its way down through the planetary spheres, your soul picked up some coins which you don’t really like at all.

I can’t tell what this is for you, as each of us has our own coins to bear. Maybe laziness, or anger? A mind on overdrive, or gullibility? Shyness, or overspending?

One of the ideas I’ve tried to hammer home throughout this essay series is the insight that each of your personal coins, even the most annoying ones, have two sides to them:

The other side of your laziness is being smart about your own resources, and not working yourself into a heart attack. The other side of your anger is the ability to pull on this powerful energy when a situation warrants it. The other side of your shyness is the ability to observe situations without being in the thick of them. The other side… well, you get the idea.

These two sides are what I’ve called the “vices” and the “virtues” of your planetary coins.

(Btw, these terms have some interesting background – but we’ll have to postpone this topic to a later essay…)

I’m fully aware that it might not always be easy to perceive the opposite side of each of your personal coins (guess how I know! 😉 ).

And while it’s hard enough to honestly see and appreciate the virtues to each of your vices, it might be even harder to fully see and appreciate the vices corresponding to each of your virtues. If you’ve managed even some of that, you’ve already done a tremendous amount of inner work!

But today, I’m suggesting you try something even harder:

Consider, as much as you can, that your vices and virtues aren’t two opposite sides of one coin – but that they are the same side.

Whenever you enact one of your vices, you also enact its virtue. And whenever you enact one of your virtues, you also enact its vice at the same time.

They are like Siamese twins, you can’t have one without the other.

Is this hard to imagine? Most likely, yes. But remember that there isn’t just your point of view, but also those of others. What might be a vice to you in one situation might come across as virtue to your counterpart. And what might seem to be you acting on one of your virtues might very much seem to be a vice to somebody else.

Thus in any given situation, you apply one (or oftentimes more than one) of your coins – both its vice and its virtue at the same time.

It’s somewhat hard to wrap our minds around this, isn’t it? But once you start viewing some of the situations in your life through this lense, you will realize how powerful it is.

Well. I’m afraid I’ve gotten a bit carried away with all this. But this stuff can be a powerful help for your inner work (and for “improving” yourself and your life) – and it’s important to me to get this across.

Since we’re almost straddling the word limit I’ve set myself for these essays, and since I want to avoid you losing your focus from exhaustion right when we start working with the power tools, I’m afraid we’ll have to postpone the handywork on our revised planetary ladder to the next essay.

Sorry about that! But please do keep your pliers and safety googles at hand. Oh, and if you happen to own a cutting wheel, it might be worth checking it to make sure it’s in working order… 😉

We’ll be back in two weeks with the next essay – brace yourself for some creative crafting action and for very practical suggestions on how to actually do inner work with the planets!

Until then, I’m looking forward to your comments, thoughts and questions below! 🙂

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Image: Noah Buscher on Unsplash