As Above, So Below

Arms of Heaven, artist unknown.

One of the things I like most about astrology is the way it makes tangible the ancient maxim “the macrocosm is a reflection of the microcosm.” When, through astrological analysis, we pay attention to the archetypal patterns at play in any given moment, we see over and over again the same themes showing up in both our personal lives and the world at large. Not only does this serve as a constant reminder of how deeply interconnected everything is, it points to a profound link between personal and collective transformation. This link underlies a principle of real magic: That when we consciously make a change in the microcosm of our own psyche, we seed a parallel transformation in the collective psyche. When, as part of a coherent group field, we make such a change together, the effect on the collective is magnified exponentially. This principle is the basis of my approach to subtle activism.

In my Navigating the Storm series, I suggested that our current state of intense polarization can be understood as the surfacing of profound tensions between the masculine and feminine dimensions of the collective unconscious. The Right, with its emphasis on individual responsibility and self-determination, tends to hold more archetypally-masculine values, while the Left, with its emphasis on inclusion and compassion, tends to hold more archetypally-feminine values. I proposed that the extremism that has overtaken our politics on both right and left in recent years can be seen as expressions of the shadow or immature versions of the masculine and feminine principles, respectively. From this perspective, the aggressive, bullying authoritarianism of the far right represents an expression of the shadow masculine, whereas the hypersensitivity and moralizing dogmatism of the extreme left represents an expression of the shadow feminine.

Today I want to explore the (perhaps counter-intuitive) idea that one of the more profound ways we can help defuse the polarized tensions in our body politic is to become more conscious of the relationship between the masculine and feminine principles within our own psyche and to bring these energies into greater balance. My hypothesis is that the way we relate to the polarization in our world will tend to reflect the way we relate to these archetypal energies within.

The principle here is that our political views are formed not merely — or even primarily — by rational thought and empirical data but on a more primal level by the psychological lens through which we make sense of the world. The values we adopt, the evidence we pay attention to, the sources of information we find credible — all these are shaped fundamentally by our core psychological sympathies and commitments.

The polarity between masculine and feminine principles is one of the most primary for human beings. We have all been wounded by the shadow masculine and shadow feminine in different ways. We all likely experienced one parent or another as the more frustrating or disappointing one, for example. We all inherited various wounds and assumptions from our ancestral, cultural, or even past-life history that shape how we relate to these archetypal energies.

The psychological concept of ‘splitting’ refers to the tendency to see people and things as all good or all bad with no middle ground. In relationships, it manifests as the extremes of idealization and devaluation. Splitting is regarded as a common defense mechanism during childhood and adolescence, but something we usually grow out of. It is a highly relevant concept, however, to understand the psychology of extreme polarization that has infected our public dialogue in recent years. In our evident inability to discuss any topic without immediately splitting into two implacably opposed camps, it is as if we have collectively regressed to an adolescent (or younger?) phase of consciousness. The extreme Left tends to idealize the feminine principle and devalue the masculine. The far Right tends to idealize the masculine principle and devalue the feminine. Most of our culture war skirmishes can, I think, be seen as a clash between these value systems. Faced with such a binary choice, where we end up coming down may tend to reflect how we relate to the masculine/feminine polarity in general.

I don’t mean to reduce all our political positions to mere psychological projection. But in a time of such acute polarization, when we are being increasingly pressured by social and political forces to definitively pick a side (as during peak-Covid, for instance), it activates our more primal instincts and surfaces our unconscious psychological loyalties.

The danger of course is that we will keep triggering each other’s primal wounds, leading to a downwards spiral of ever-increasing polarization, extremism, and conflict, and an inevitable breakdown of order. Yet I believe our situation also presents us with an unprecedented opportunity for the transmutation of these patterns in a way that might catalyze the development of a higher order integral consciousness, one that may serve as the guiding light of the emerging era.

The point in making conscious these deeper psychological commitments–-and the wounds and traumas that have shaped them–-is not only that we get to free ourselves from highly restrictive patterns from our past and bring our own masculine and feminine energies into greater harmony, with many positive flow-on effects in our personal lives. Such a process also enables us to enlarge our political vision. It’s hard to see another’s perspective when our view is occluded by pain. And as we do our own healing work — as above, so below — we seed a similar shift in the collective, opening an energetic window of possibility for the emergence of more integrative cultural developments. When we do this together, in the context of a coherent group field, we start to magnetize collective change.

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A week or two after I published the last essay of my Navigating the Storm series, I noticed a subtle emotional pain coming up from within. As I stayed with it, I realized that a deep wound in relation to the feminine was breaking into my awareness. The process of publicly critiquing progressive doctrine and dealing with pushback from various readers seemed to have surfaced an old trauma.

Kate was around and she held space while I let the pain move through. She witnessed me without judgment. It was edgy, but real.

The next day I felt that a huge psychic weight had been lifted up and out of my core. It took me by surprise, I felt liberated. Now that the pain had been released, I felt my heart open to the feminine at a deeper level than ever before. And with my heart open, my vision expanded. An insight bubbled up about the nature of the dialectical interplay between the masculine and feminine — how our wounds polarize each other — and I found myself understanding with much more compassion the feminine side of that dynamic.

Something shifted between me and Kate as well. An obstruction had been removed from my heart and a new level of appreciation welled up in me for the preciousness of our bond.

As the energy pattern continued to release, it entered my head center. It erased the certainty in my mind, leaving me temporarily in a state of not knowing anything. That honestly felt like a big relief. I realized that the state of ‘not-knowing’ is where I feel closest to the Mystery. Yet it had been quite some time since I had felt that degree of spaciousness in my mind. It made me understand that we are all being intensely pressured at the moment to take a position and fortify it at all costs.

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In my Navigating series, I argued that ‘woke’ ideological dogma represents a direct threat to the principles of liberal democracy most of us take for granted, such as the presumption of innocence, freedom of speech and thought, or even the need for evidence to establish the truth of an accusation. Under the guise of compassion for the oppressed, today’s social justice orthodoxy replaces these principles with a collectivist framework in which virtue or vice is determined not by one’s individual character or actions but primarily by where one is situated on a hierarchy of oppression, as well as one’s level of adherence to doctrinal orthodoxy. I argued that it was not hard to recognize the totalitarian implications of this approach and that, in light of how quickly it has been adopted by key sectors of the power structure, woke ideology is now largely being used by the neo-liberal elite as a political tool of control.

I stand by that assessment.

But why has the left gone in this direction?

I think it is in large part because the movement for liberation has not been able to find a conscious outlet for the collective trauma now surfacing for healing. And to the extent that we are unconsciously identified with our pain, we become possessed by it. In that state we become so focused on relieving our pain that we become blind to our own destructiveness.

That’s why I believe that one of the most powerful things we can do right now is to create new forms of conscious containers that can hold our collective trauma in a way that leads to the transmutation of that energy, rather than it being acted out. Yet in the design of these containers, it’s critical we understand the systemic or dialectical nature of collective trauma, that is, the way our wounds are inextricably interconnected.

I concluded my last essay in the Navigating series by saying that, on the energetic plane, what is really wanting to happen between the polarized masculine and feminine forces is an “almighty and sacred fuck.” Obviously I knew that was a provocative way to put things. But I believe the metaphor is accurate to reflect the primal intensity of the tension we are feeling between these polarities.

And consider the alternatives.

If these forces do not meet and join on a deep level, one of two things will happen (or perhaps both simultaneously). Rather than the creative union of a metaphorical ‘fuck’, the shadow masculine (represented by the far right) will act out its rage and violate the feminine dimension. Alternatively, the shadow feminine (represented by the extreme left) will act out its fear and castrate the masculine. The core wounds of the masculine and feminine are inextricably linked. When we fail to understand these wounds systemically, we create solutions that prioritize one side of the dynamic at the expense of the other. In attempting to heal one wound, we automatically trigger the other.

On the other hand, when we recognize the dialectical dynamics between the primal wounds of masculine and feminine, it helps both sides understand each other with more compassion and makes creative win-win solutions more achievable. Why is the extreme left (as an expression of the shadow feminine) attempting to establish increasingly totalitarian systems of coercion and control? Because it is terrified of the shadow masculine acting out in the form of authoritarian strongmen who run roughshod over democratic principles and out-of-control predatory capitalism that violates the sacred balance of life on Earth.

Why has the far right (as an expression of the shadow masculine) become increasingly belligerent, lawless, and authoritarian? Because it is enraged at the shadow feminine acting out in the form of insidious systems of control that contravene sacred principles of individual sovereignty and freedom of speech and thought.

I suspect that the deepest existential factor underlying today’s extremism on the left is humanity’s imbalanced relationship with the Earth. Put aside for a moment where you might stand on the issue of climate change. I think it’s undeniable that for a long time now human civilization has not lived in harmony with the living systems of the Earth. We have not observed the principle of sacred reciprocity with the greater community of life. We have taken far more than we have given. It’s plain that we cannot go on forever like this without threatening to spoil — perhaps irrevocably — the living systems that sustain us. If a trauma of that magnitude were indeed to happen, not only would it threaten the physical survival of our species, it would be spiritually catastrophic as well.  The feminine dimension of the collective psyche is the one most sensitive to this possibility. I think this may be the underlying cause of the moral panic that has overtaken the left in recent years, as though it is frantically attempting to ward off what would be a truly unbearable cataclysm. Given the stakes, the left feels justified in doing whatever it takes to prevent that calamity from happening, even if it means subverting cherished principles of individual rights and democratic freedoms.

I believe the deepest factor underlying today’s extremism on the right is the specter of a dystopian global system of totalitarian control, a la 1984 or Brave New World. A world without freedom would not be a world worth living in at all. In some ways, a global totalitarian state that indoctrinates our children and dictates our lifestyle and health choices (for our own good) is an even more horrifying prospect than nuclear war or ecological catastrophe, because at least in those cases there is an identifiable end, with the possibility of a rebirth in some other dimension. The AI-empowered totalitarian state has God-like aspirations that threaten to capture our very souls. The masculine dimension of the collective psyche is the one most alert to this possibility. I suspect this fear is what drives the belligerence and authoritarianism of the far right, which feels it must do whatever it takes to prevent such a system from being established, even if it means contravening cherished democratic and constitutional principles.

Both of these stances are understandable from within their own perspective. But in prioritizing what’s most important to them, each side triggers the core wound of the other. And to the extent that they are unconsciously identified with their own wound, each side tends to be blind to the ways they injure the other. To the extent that the extreme left (as an expression of the shadow feminine) unconsciously identifies with its wound of violation, it does not see how its systems of moral shaming and control might turn into dystopian totalitarianism (thus triggering the core masculine wound of castration). And to the extent that the far right (as an expression of the shadow masculine) unconsciously identifies with its wound of castration, it does not see how its lack of concern for the Earth might turn into unthinkable tragedy (thus triggering the core feminine wound of violation).

Just like in an intimate relationship, the masculine and feminine energies in the collective unconscious hold the keys to each other’s fate. We can choose to focus on the egregious ways the other acts out their pain, while denying our own dysfunctional patterns. This sets up a vicious cycle of competition that leads to relational hell. Or we can take responsibility for our own unconscious behavior while offering compassion for the other’s core wounds and needs. This sets up a virtuous cycle of trust that leads to relational heaven.

We can hold onto our sense of moral superiority if we want to. We can contend that our side alone is the one aligned with the good, or that, if it does have a shadow at all, it is much less serious than the other side’s. But we cannot do that and gain entrance to the realm of true relational or social harmony. In a healthy relationship at any level, both sides recognize each other as fundamentally their moral and spiritual equals. Both sides feel they genuinely have something to learn from each other, as well as something to offer. If that element is not present in any relationship, it will tend to devolve fairly quickly into dysfunction and failure.

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In the early 2000s, I participated in two programs that aimed to facilitate healing between men and women and between the masculine and feminine energies within ourselves and in the world. The first approach introduced me to the framework I outlined above, which holds that the core wound of the feminine is that of violation, while the core wound of the masculine is that of castration, with the two wounds inseparably connected. The remedy, according to this approach, was to create conscious spaces in which women (or the feminine) could experience their primary (i.e., sexual) energy in a way where it felt honored and not violated, and in which men (or the masculine) could experience their primary energy in a way where it felt welcomed and not rejected or castrated.

The other program focused more on addressing the historic imbalance of power between the sexes. At the beginning of the process, we were asked to agree not to engage in any form of romantic or sexual activity with each other during the year of the training. This protocol was seen to be essential to ensure that everyone, but particularly the women, felt safe to lean in to the deep work of healing the collective wound between the masculine and feminine. It makes sense from a certain perspective. But by attempting to ensure that the feminine wound of violation would not be triggered, the organizers automatically activated the masculine wound of castration.

Important and deep work occurred in both programs. But in terms of the effectiveness of the healing that took place, there was no comparison. Many participants in the first approach, myself included, had life-changing experiences that brought profound healing to our core wounds. The amount of joy, intimacy, connection, and empowerment that emerged among the women and men was nothing short of spectacular. It seemed to me that everyone felt united in the project of helping to liberate each other from our core wounds and conditioning.

In the other program, while important learning definitely took place, the bonds between participants were much more superficial. Perhaps predictably, the training culminated in a fractious event when one of the women ‘called out’ one of the men for inappropriately transgressing her boundaries with a romantic or sexual innuendo. This encounter split the group apart along familiar fault lines and it never fully recovered its coherence.

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The danger of extreme polarization generates the very heat required for its alchemical transmutation. Our core wounds are inextricably linked. Amidst the many challenges of our times we have an unprecedented opportunity to make a quantum leap in our evolution. We just need to remember that, as infinite beings in essence, we can allow ourselves to burn a little more intensely in the fire of purification.

Working with the parts of us that are triggered from our rancorous public dialogue is a subversive act that interrupts the cycle of reactivity. Ultimately, only the tantric union of masculine and feminine principles has the creative power to attract the allegiance of the collective psyche from the lure of extremism and to form the basis of the integral consciousness of the coming age. This transmutation is simultaneously a deeply personal and historic collective process. Engaging in this great work, alone and with others, thus represents a magical key to both our personal liberation and collective evolution.