Hi, Jason.

I totally agree with your assessment of the situation.

This is like the situation of many new immigrants in a country. When they first enter the country, due to sheer necessity, they quickly pick up the rudiments of the language by immersion. However, after they get to a level where they are comfortable, their language skills do not continue to improve notwithstanding continuing immersion. The reason for this is because immersion is important, but not sufficient. At various points of a person's language-learning journey, deliberate effort is required.

I think the situation is the same with learning divination. Perhaps it is kind of like a sine wave. One first learns some rudimentary ideas about a system of divination. Then, one goes out and practices a bit. Then, one realizes the limitation of one's skill and knowledge. Then, one has to come back and make the deliberate effort required. Then, one can go out and practice again, and this process is repeated in an ever-ascending cycle of learning and mastery.

(This is not to criticize anyone for not having taken their language skills to the next level. The amount of time required to make even the smallest improvement is beyond the imagination of many people, who have never had to learn a new language.)

Hi, Wei.

You said,

However, it's also essential not to completely reject the words of teachers and masters. I often reflect on what teachers have said in the past and realize that only through personal experience and firsthand encounters can I truly understand their meanings.

I couldn't have said it better myself.

Wei wrote: My intention is to suggest not taking the words of masters and teachers too literally. Sometimes, they may express themselves unclearly, using metaphorical language, and perhaps even they themselves may not fully understand their own meanings. Each of us selects and interprets others' words based on our own experiences. However, it's also essential not to completely reject the words of teachers and masters. I often reflect on what teachers have said in the past and realize that only through personal experience and firsthand encounters can I truly understand their meanings.

All of this is an inevitable part of the journey of learning and growth.

Wei, thank you for putting these thoughts down. They reminded me of one of my favorite Buddhist suttas. Are you familiar with it, the Kalama Sutta?

Wei wrote: In the past, I believed that astrologers were the closest to "the divine (God)." I thought they should be the most knowledgeable and understanding individuals. Because of their understanding of fate, I expected them not to be interested in wealth, not to be elated by good fortune, and to silently endure misfortune and setbacks.

Yet, I forgot that astrologers, like all spiritual masters, are human. They are not divine beings.

I am also human.

"Master" and "mastery" are, in a sense, funny words. We say things like, 'Man has mastered nature' or 'The dog obeyed their master' or 'She is a master of astrology' as if it's a special sort of superiority. But a single weather event can destroy homes and infrastructure in a matter of minutes, and a dog can bite the hand that feeds it at any time, while astrologers can make statements or predictions that don't reflect reality. These things not only can, but actually do happen all the time. The truth is, there is really no such thing as mastery in a sense of superiority - as you said, we're all just human (and I'd add: hopefully trying to do the best that we can).

So should you ever find a TRUE SUPREME ULTIMATE master in human flesh, please point them out to me, so I can have a good laugh. ;)

Jason wrote:
Wei, thank you for putting these thoughts down. They reminded me of one of my favorite Buddhist suttas. Are you familiar with it, the Kalama Sutta?

Jason, I like this story. Thank you.

Jason wrote: Sun Dec 24, 2023 12:48 pm If she has produced 10 charts in a short span of time and is keeping up with how the results of those questions are unfolding, and all the while continues casting charts and keeping up with those too...

If one is doing constantly new charts in a short span of time then there is no time to learn from these charts. Yes, one must errect many charts and try to delineate them before…–

I just came upon a text by Dane Rudhyar about horary saying:

Dane Rudhyar wrote:The real function of horary astrology is to establish a state of relationship between universal intelligence or divine Grace and the individual person buffeted by the cyclic storms or repolarization and the baffling confrontations of experience.

–…usually many charts before this can happen through astrology.

Georgius wrote: Mon Dec 25, 2023 9:50 pm I just came upon a text by Dane Rudhyar about horary saying:

Hi Georgius,

Thank you for sharing this article with us!

Looking back on when I first started learning horary, the charts I often created for clients had Saturn retrograde in the 1st house or rising within the initial three degrees.

Wei wrote: Mon Dec 25, 2023 7:17 pm
Jason, I like this story. Thank you.

I also appreciate your sense of humor, which brings me a sense of ease and joy.

Thanks, Wei; I'm glad you liked the story. I figured you might. As for my sense of humor, it's nice to hear you appreciate it. It might sound funny to say, but I appreciate it, too. It feels good to laugh. For a long (long, long, long) time, I wasn't much the joking type. Life had hardened me, and I was full of fear and negativity, and overly serious, but something shifted eventually, and I'm a lot "lighter" these days. I mention this to pass along a small piece of advice insofar as you saying you don't understand your transformation or yourself at times - try not to worry so much about it, if you can help it, and just do the next 'right' thing. Seasons come and go, some feel longer than others.

Wei wrote: Mon Dec 25, 2023 7:17 pm I watched the Skyscript Brainstorming video.

I've been wandering around Skyscript for 20 years. This year, with the help of AI, my language skills have improved significantly, allowing me to communicate with all of you.

I've been learning English for decades, but there has been little progress, and I don't understand why.

Perhaps it's because I rarely communicate with "people." I'm not used to group life and collaboration; I prefer solitude.

But I still love my astrology teacher and friends.

Like the words you spoke to Ouranos, it feels like appreciating the same piece of art together, side by side.

I'm not young , in my forties. I feel time is running out, and I want to share and contribute more to astrology.

I often have reservations about a world that depends too heavily on AI, but it's stories like what you share here that help me to remember that everything has its two sides. I'm glad you've found a way to harness it positively. You mention the meet-up video and wanting to be able to contribute more at times- that makes me curious if you've looked into any of those programs that allow the user to speak in their native tongue and have the AI translate it into other languages - IN THEIR OWN VOICE! I've seen some YouTube videos about it, but haven't looked into it beyond that. I wonder if it works as well as the demonstration videos make it seem. And if there's a way you could use it to join the meetings and feel more comfortable sharing with others when you'd like to. Hmm.

Jason,

Thank you for sharing your thoughts and experiences.

Thank you.

Wei,

I'm here waking up, sipping some coffee, and reading your latest replies. It's very early, dark, and silent; outside the neighborhood is motionless. The hours before sunrise are a love of mine. So quiet and when I'm at my clearest after a good night's sleep. I'm laughing a little to myself because last night I got to a chapter titled You can't say "I Miss You" in Japanese in the book I am currently reading. The book is someone's attempt, through paraphrasing and commentary, to make a difficult 800-year-old Japanese (and Chinese) text more accessible to modern readers. In the chapter I read last night, the author recounts some of the trouble they've encountered working with translations, ancient languages, and the original text's author's use of puns in it that were archaic even at that time. It seems like a bit of a synchronicity - to be carrying on this conversation with you that includes the topic of language and communication barriers and attempts to overcome them.

Wei wrote: In comparison, I find it challenging to interact with real people. I easily sense impatience from teachers or others. It seems like I've become accustomed to exploring and learning on my own. I understand that everyone is busy and has their own matters to attend to; it's not possible for them to always revolve around me, investing extensive time and energy in my behalf.

I find it challenging to speak in real-time discussions, not because of language differences, but due to the slow and deliberate nature of my thought process. While I can type very quickly, my speech tends to be slower. Mercury is positioned in the 12th house, completely independent, without any planetary aspects within a 5-degree range before and after. Additionally, it sits at 29 degrees, forming a precise T-square with the lunar nodes. What are your thoughts on this astrological configuration? :-D

I'm willing to show my face in online meetings, humorously playing the role of an observer. However, please spare me from speaking.

There's no pressure to join any of the online meetings. But you've mentioned your loneliness and desire for the company of like-minded students. So just keep them in mind - they're there.

Regarding the position of your Mercury with its square to the nodes: As you already know, we can't really place too much emphasis on an isolated factor, but can I remind you that in the uranian and cosmobiology schools the nodes are associated with contacts, alliances, meetings, and fellowship - and while the square aspect indicates tension and difficulty, it doesn't outright deny anything. Now, I know you believe things are fated. And sometimes texts will give some harsh meanings for square aspects. But I'll leave you with this poetic example from nature to consider: Irritation is the prenatal syzygy of the pearl.

Very sound Jason!

Thank you Wei for sharing your adventure with ChatGPT. You are laying down the foundations of what we can develop with Artificial Intelligence.
My house is filled with products 'Made in China'. But I am proud to say that I have witnessed something 'Made in Taiwan'.

And as Jason mentioned, the square between Mercury and Node is not bad, it says that intellectual connections are 'manifested'.
How is to be judged by other midpoint combinations in the axis Mercury/Node.

Be well!
Ouranos
---------------
I would like to share a joke with you. How human beings understand each other....

United Nations... up in the air!

An airplane takes off from the airport. The captain is Jewish and the first officer is Chinese. It's the first time they've flown together and it's obvious by the silence that they don't get along. After thirty minutes, the Jewish Captain speaks,
"I don't like Chinese."
The First Officer replies,
"Ooooh, you don't like Chinese? Why is that?"
The Captain says,
"You bombed Pearl Harbor. That's why I don't like Chinese."
The F.O. says,
"Nooooo, noooo... Chinese did not bomb Pearl Harbor. These are Japanese, not Chinese."
And the Captain answers,
"Chinese, Japanese, Vietnamese... it doesn't matter, they're all alike."
Another thirty minutes of silence. Finally the F.O. says,
"I don't like Jews."
The Captain replies,
"Why not? Why don't you like Jews?"
F.O. says, "The Jews sinked the Titanic."
The Captain tries to correct him,
"No, no. The Jews didn't sink the Titanic. It was an iceberg."
The F.O. replies," Iceberg, Goldberg, Rosenberg, no matter. All the same."

Ouranos wrote: I would like to share a joke with you. How human beings understand each other....

Ouranos, my friend, I love a good joke as much as the next person, and this one has a good moral observation at its core. I know you meant well, but the phonetics employed might be a bit too much. Just saying...