BELIEF IN GOD

When Einstein gave lectures at US universities, the recurring question that students asked him most was: “Do you believe in God?” And he always answered: “I believe in the God of Spinoza.”

Baruch de Spinoza was a Dutch philosopher considered one of the great rationalists of 17th century philosophy, along with Descartes.

[Spinoza] God would say: “Stop praying. What I want you to do is go out into the world and enjoy your life. I want you to sing, have fun and enjoy everything I've made for you.

Stop going into those dark, cold temples that you built yourself and saying they are my house. My house is in the mountains, in the woods, rivers, lakes, beaches. That's where I live, and there I express my love for you.

Stop blaming me for your miserable life; I never told you there was anything wrong with you or that you were a sinner or that your sexuality was a bad thing. Sex is a gift I have given you and with which you can express your love, your ecstasy, your joy. So don't blame me for everything they made you believe.

Stop reading alleged sacred scriptures that have nothing to do with me. If you can't read me in a sunrise, in a landscape, in the look of your friends, in your son's eyes...  you will find me in no book!

Stop asking me ‘Will you tell me how to do my job?’ Stop being so scared of me. I do not judge you or criticize you, nor get angry or bothered. I am pure love.

Stop asking for forgiveness, there's nothing to forgive. If I made you, I filled you with passions, limitations, pleasures, feelings, needs, inconsistencies... free will. How can I blame you if you respond to something I put in you? How can I punish you for being the way you are, if I'm the one who made you? Do you think I could create a place to burn all my children who behave badly for the rest of eternity? What kind of god would do that?

Respect your peers and don't do what you don't want for yourself. All I ask is that you pay attention in your life, that alertness is your guide.

My beloved, this life is not a test, not a step on the way, not a rehearsal, nor a prelude to paradise. This life is the only thing here and now, and it is all you need. I have set you absolutely free... no prizes or punishments, no sins or virtues, no one carries a marker, no one keeps a record. You are absolutely free to create in your life. Heaven or hell.

I can't tell you if there's anything after this life, but I can give you a tip. Live as if there is not... as if this is your only chance to enjoy, to love, to exist. So, if there's nothing after, then you will have enjoyed the opportunity I gave you. And if there is, rest assured that I won't ask if you behaved right or wrong. I'll ask, ‘Did you like it? Did you have fun? What did you enjoy the most? What did you learn?’

Stop believing in me; believing is assuming, guessing, imagining. I don't want you to believe in me, I want you to believe in you. I want you to feel me in you when you kiss your beloved, when you tuck in your little girl, when you caress your dog, when you bathe in the sea.

Stop praising me, what kind of egomaniac god do you think I am? I'm bored being praised. I'm tired of being thanked. Feeling grateful? Prove it by taking care of yourself, your health, your relationships, the world. Express your joy! That's the way to praise me!

Stop complicating things and repeating as a parakeet what you've been taught about me. What do you need more miracles for? So many explanations?

The only thing for sure is that you are here, that you are alive, that this world is full of wonders.”

— Spinoza 

PERSEVERANCE

 Difficult Paths Often Lead To Beautiful Places

The ECLIPTIC

The plane (an imaginary line) of Earth’s annual 360°-orbit around the SUN, extending to the CELESTIAL SPHERE is called the ECLIPTIC. This circle marks the line on which ECLIPSES occur, the MOON and the other PLANETS travel, and where the CONSTELLATIONS (stars) of the ZODIAC SIGNS live. This circle is divided into 12 30°-segments, each representing one of the 12 ZODIAC SIGNS. 

The Earth rotates on its axis, making a complete rotation each day (24 hours), traveling through each of the 12 HOUSES. It makes a complete 360°-orbit around the SUN in 365 days (1 year), traveling through all of the 12 ZODIAC SIGNS.

The ZODIAC SIGN in which the SUN appears is determined by what CONSTELLATION appears on the opposite side of the SUN from the Earth at any moment in time. On March 21st (the VERNAL EQUINOX), the SUN is moving into the CONSTELLATION of ARIES. As the Earth continues to orbit around the SUN, it will remain in ARIES until April 19th when the SUN then moves into TAURUS and so on around the ZODIAC, according to the dates of each ZODIAC SIGN.

MASCULINE / FEMININE Zodiac Signs & Houses

The ZODIAC SIGNS are divided into MASCULINE and FEMININE energies that also correlate to POSITIVE and NEGATIVE, respectively. 

The MASCULINE signs are the odd-numbered ZODIAC SIGNS of the FIRE and AIR triplicities:

• ARIES 
• GEMINI
• LEO
• LIBRA
• SAGITTARIUS
• AQUARIUS

The MASCULINE signs also correspond to the odd-numbered HOUSES:

• 1st
• 3rd
• 5th
• 7th
• 9th
• 11th

The MASCULINE signs are AGGRESSIVE in nature, taking ACTION to achieve results (they don't wait for things to come to them... they charge forward). Wherever these signs fall in the HOUSES (areas of human life) of a HOROSCOPE, the person is most likely to take INITIATIVE and go after what is wanted. A predominance of PLANETS in MASCULINE signs indicates a SELF-PROPELLING person with POSITIVE AGGRESSIVE tendencies.

The FEMININE signs are the even-numbered ZODIAC SIGNS of the EARTH and WATER triplicities:

• TAURUS
• CANCER
• VIRGO
• SCORPIO
• CAPRICORN
• PISCES

The FEMININE signs also correspond to the even-numbered HOUSES:

• 2nd
• 4th
• 6th
• 8th
• 10th
• 12th

The FEMININE signs represent PASSIVITY; capable of acting forcibly, these individuals typically wait for things to come to them before taking action. These people interact with whatever comes their way, working by the principle of ATTRACTING what they desire rather than pursuing to conquer it. A preponderance of PLANETS in FEMININE signs will manifest in a female that is more feminine and can make a male more effeminate, possibly acting less aggressively.

MANIFESTATION

“Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.”

— Albert Einstein

The TRIPLICITIES & QUADRUPLICITIES of the ZODIAC SIGNS

Each ZODIAC SIGN has unique qualities and characteristics that are specific to that sign. These qualities are influencers for how an individual born under that sign will behave in the various circumstances of living… what will be felt, thought, said, and done according to the experience. An individual has all 12 ZODIAC SIGNS influencing that behavior, according to the positioning of the signs (and the planets) within their horoscope at the time of birth.

Each of the 12 ZODIAC SIGNS is 30° of the ZODIAC WHEEL, and they are grouped into two fundamental arrangements called TRIPLICITIES and QUADRUPLICITIES.

The TRIPLICITIES deal with tendencies of the temperament and correspond to the ELEMENTS of nature (fire, earth, air, water). There are three ZODIAC SIGNS in each TRIPLICITY with three ZODIAC SIGNS separating each (120°; called the TRINE ASPECT).

The QUADRUPLICITIES deal with the basic modes of expression of the temperament in the various areas of life (cardinal, fixed, mutable). There are four ZODIAC SIGNS in each QUADRUPLICITY with two ZODIAC SIGNS separating each (90°; called the SQUARE ASPECT).

The CARDINAL INGRESS is the entry of the SUN into one of the ZODIAC SIGNS of the CARDINAL QUADRUPLICITY (beginning of the FOUR SEASONS):

• VERNAL EQUINOX (Spring) — MAR 20 — ARIES
• SUMMER SOLSTICE — JUN 21 — CANCER
• FALL EQUINOX — SEP 23 — LIBRA
• WINTER SOLSTICE — DEC 22 — CAPRICORN

Each sign has its strengths and weaknesses, having unique characteristics, desires, attitudes, and manners of approaching life and other people. Those signs sharing an elemental association (TRIPLICITY) are naturally compatible. AIR signs are compatible with FIRE signs and EARTH signs with WATER signs. 

One must consider the qualities of the ZODIAC SIGN of the individual in conjunction with the tendencies that are also unique to the TRIPLICITIES and the QUADRUPLICITIES of their sign in order to gain the best understanding of that person. Better understanding of self and others facilitates a more harmonious and joyful life experience.

12 SIGNS of the ZODIAC WHEEL

There are 12 ZODIAC SIGNS that follow the specific order of:

ARIES – TAURUS – GEMINI – CANCER – LEO – VIRGO – LIBRA – SCORPIO – SAGITTARIUS – CAPRICORN – AQUARIUS – PISCES

The ZODIAC YEAR begins on the VERNAL EQUINOX at 0° of the ZODIAC WHEEL, corresponding with ARIES’ beginning date of March 21st, thus making ARIES the 1st SIGN of the ZODIAC. The SIGNS are arranged in a circle in the order of how they follow each other around the ZODIAC, beginning with the first sign of ARIES and arranged in a counter-clockwise order.

Each SIGN is 30° of the 360° in the ZODIAC WHEEL. The line dividing one sign from another is called a “cusp”. People “born on the cusp”… either on the last date of one sign or the first date of the next sign… are prone to having the characteristics of both signs. Each of the ZODIAC SIGNS represent both positive and negative characteristics of human behavior and development.

Be able to name the SIGNS of the ZODIAC in the appropriate order. Know the names of the SIGNS forward, backward, and starting with any sign. Be able to name a sign by seeing just its glyph. Know each sign's direct opposite on the ZODIAC WHEEL. (Example: Gemini is the direct opposite of Sagittarius.) Know the dates of the ZODIAC SIGNS so that just hearing someone give their birthday, you immediately know the answer to the ever popular ice-breaker, "What's your sign?".

NOTE: Three glyphs are used to represent CAPRICORN. Be familiar with them all; use the one that speaks most to you.