Death’s Bequest is Life

I have met astrology about 20 years ago. It was love at first sight and we have been together ever since. With such deep familiarity, I am sure it is not my first or last lifetime that I engage in this holy matrimony with Sofia of the Stars. While some consider astrology an exact science and other refute her all together, for me, she is a mirror of the above in the below. She is an art form of free-association.

Sigmund Freud developed a therapeutic technique he called free-association. Derived from hypnosis, the therapist encourages the patient to spontaneously throw associations starting with one word of concept. These association might sound random and have no logical connection. But nevertheless, this procedure helps both patient and therapist catch a glimpse of the unconscious. Astrology contains the free-association humanity collectively accumulated over thousands of years. If humanity was a person reclining on Freud’s therapy sofa, it would use astrological symbolism as the free-associations to investigate the collective unconscious. For example, if the cosmic Freud would have asked humanity to free associate “identity,” humanity would say something like: I am, me, essence, first, seed, DNA, emerging, aggression, red, blood, war, leadership, shepherd, ram, Aries. Or if Freud would say “Finance” humanity would answer: money, talent, value, possessions, worth, self-worth, comfort, luxury, taste, smell, good food, comfortable bed, soft, milk, cow, bull, Taurus. While it seems like there is no logic, there is, however, a mytho-logic to the associations.

Scorpio’s Free-Associations
Since the Sun just moved into Scorpio and on October 30th the moon will join the sun in Scorpio (new-moon), I wanted to discuss the free-association of Scorpio and focus on one aspect of the deadly archetype: inheritance.

Scorpio: Autumn, Fall, foliage, transformation, death, resurrection, sex, violence, paranoia, intimacy, loss of intimacy, abandonment, fear, horror, witches, spells, occult, hidden, darkness, caves, volts, basement, banks, other people’s money, other people’s values, other people’s talents, inheritance.

Bequest of Death
The tarot card of Scorpio is Death, and in the Northern Hemisphere, Scorpio takes place when the trees shed, exposing themselves in their nakedness and pretend to die.

Apoptosis (Greek for falling off) is a relative new field in biology that focuses on investigating the death of cells in an organism as a necessary mean for healthy development. Think about Cancer. When uncontrollable growth of cells can lead to death. In other words, without death in life, there is no life. Pushing this further, one might argue that the inheritance of death is life itself. No wonder sages, philosophers and mystics from around the world and ages have always insisted that the purpose of life is death. And if you ever practiced yoga, you know that the most important pose in your practice is not the flashy pretzel asanas but the lifeless Shavasana, corpse pose.

When something or someone dies in your life, one thing you can count on, that within a short period of time, you will experience a download of an inheritance. I am not only talking about a monetary heirloom arriving with a lawyer in the form of a Will, but a deeper bequest that can materialize as a new relationship, a talent, a eureka, a new job opportunity, or a healing.

Death Mirrors Life
The idea behind death and life being the mirror image of each other is rooted in the concept that existence is not linear but cyclical. The serpent that bites its own tail is one of the ancient symbols of reincarnation.

Death is not the end; it is a beginning. In other words, the death of death is life’s re-ignition.

As above so below. This high concept can be found in the first law of thermodynamics that states that energy cannot be created or destroyed but transforms from one form to another. Like Sefer Yetzirah, the oldest manuscript in Kabbalah states: “Their end embedded in their beginning, their beginning in their end.”

How Inheritance Works
When you experience a death whether the death of a friend, death of your life in a country, death of a relationship, or a pet, you can expect something new to be born in your life. That rebirth or resurrection tends to be somehow “free-associated” or connected to whatever you lost. This is the true essence of inheritance.

It also makes sense psychologically. Let’s say your father passed away and few weeks after you find yourself connecting to a talent you never knew you had.  Maybe the father’s authoritative behavior when you were younger subconsciously repressed pursuing it and now that he is no longer there, you are free to explore it. On the other hand, maybe you could never conceive. You tried again and again but to no avail. Pressured by your mother’s illness, you wanted nothing more than to make sure you can give her the grandchild she always wished for. And now that your mother died you suddenly find yourself pregnant with her soul. She is to be your firstborn, her bequest to you is herself. Maybe getting fired from an oppressive job frees you to explore what you really want to do, and perhaps an end of a relationship gives you the time to start taking those belly-dancing classes you always dreamed about.

A Personal Example
I met Francisco on cyberspace around a year ago. We both have a common passion for martial arts. I didn’t know it then but our Mars, the ruler of Scorpio, align harmoniously. But one common interest is not enough to cultivate a relationship of any kind, just as one root is not enough to grow a tree. His soul decided to reincarnate in Argentina, while mine of all places chose Israel. Different time zones, hemispheres, and seasons, kept our expectations to a minimum. But death did not do us part. Death assassinated space and time and brought us together.

It was on the new moon in Capricorn, Jan 10th, when I heard that David Bowie, a Capricorn, died. It was a big soul-blow that affected me in all levels. I had a terrible flue, disabled by profound sadness and sense of abysmal loss. I went down to Brixton, the place he was born and raised to share my grief with strangers but it did not help. When I returned, I posted some pics on facebook and saw something Francisco wrote about Bowie and how important the master was in his life. Suddenly a strong sense of connection took over me and I reached out to him. We lamented together our spiritual father’s departure, sharing lyrics, stories and pictures. I realized how much Bowie was part of his life when he sent me the picture below that his friend Cristian Amaro drew when he wanted to capture Francisco’s essence. Since Bowie’s death, we skype every day, and in spite of the distance we met physically many times and plan many more in the future.

I know deep inside, that this relationship was Bowie’s bequest to his sons and that even after his death, he continues to write love songs.