PROLOGUE - 7

The Earth Foundation
The question which the modern type of intellectual may ask here is the often-repeated one: What have the cycles of the planets and the stars to do with events on this earth?
      This question is improperly stated. I repeat that true astrology does not deal with events as such but with the time structure of cyclic processes on the earth, with points or moments of special emphasis. If astrologers are able to predict certain actual events, historical or personal, it is because human nature today being known for what it is, the astrologer can guess or intuitively sense what the normal response of a collectivity or a person will be when structural changes of a certain type occur, i. e. when a new characteristic phase of destiny begins. Also in many cases what is operating in a successful prediction based on astrological factors is a "psychic" gift and the ability of the forecaster's mind or intuition to "resonate" to certain aspects of the vast Mind of humanity — which we may call the collective unconscious, or the Mind of God, or whatever we wish.
      Structural, or super-sensible and super-rational knowledge, is possible to a human being because he is part of Humanity, which in turn is an essential component in the total field of interdependent activities which we call the planet, Earth. This Earth — which may well include "kingdoms" of which we have little or no knowledge — has a definitely structured cycle of evolution; and it is an integral part of the solar system, which in turn is an integral part of the galaxy. The galaxy, the solar system, the earth, humanity are integral and structurally evolving "wholes of activity"; and so is an individual human being. All these wholes are interrelated as wholes. Currents of energy flow through them, and while it maybe inaccurate semantically to speak of them as "organisms" they are undoubtedly "organized and integral systems," each of which is in some sense an independent entity, but also all of which are interdependent.
      This kind of cosmological picture is the necessary foundation for any astrological thinking that makes sense; and it is a picture which does not differ essentially from what modern science presents to us, though it involves a broader process of generalization of the actually observed facts. Since the Geophysical Year of recent date the fact that every activity within the planetary field of the Earth is closely related to every other activity can no longer be denied. Recently a scientist, Scott Sleeper in San Diego, has pointed to a definite connection between the rhythm of the ionosphere and the alpha waves which represent the basic rhythm of the human brain; and the condition of the ionosphere is demonstrably affected by solar winds and apparently by the grouping of the larger planets within the "field" which the solar system constitutes. This may not lead to the demonstration of the validity of astrology as it is used today but it should make us realize better that every whole in the universe is related to every other whole, and that every "little whole" participates in some manner in, and is affected by, the structured activities of the "larger whole" in which it is contained.
      It seems time indeed for us to realize that man is not something alien and transcendent dropped upon this planet, but that he plays a definite function within the total being of the earth, just as the vegetable and animal kingdoms — and also stratospheric and oceanic currents — do. We should give up our proud sense of occupying a special position in the universe as favorites of a personal God, and integrate ourselves — collectively as humanity, and individually as persons — in the universe, and first of all in the evolution of the earth. We may reach beyond our planet, beyond the solar system perhaps; but, if we do, this does not mean that humanity will have transcended its structure of destiny. It simply means that, at a certain stage of evolution, man can gain the power to leave his natal home, the earth, and to participate in a vaster, more cosmic field of activity which is also structured by time.
      At present, mankind is still enclosed within the planetary matrix in which it has been able, through a multitude of experiences and a knowledge transmitted from generation to generation, to develop a collective mind. What we call "history" is the series of events which have served to develop, culture after culture on all continents, this one Mind of humanity. To know these events is extremely important, but it is not enough, especially today. We should try to ascertain the place and function of this crucial moment of human history — and as well of our planets' evolution — within the cycles which structure this evolution; and this requires a type of knowledge which differs from, yet which complements and indeed in some respect depends upon historical knowledge. Structural knowledge -a knowledge of the complex interweaving of small and large cycles of our planet's evolution — no doubt extends beyond the concept of our present-day astrology; but the astrological approach at least gives us a significant, even if somewhat rudimentary and uncertain, idea of its fully developed nature.