The Opposition

Those of you who follow the teachings of Abraham and/or the Communion of Light are familiar with their views on contrast. Frequently, they discuss its value as a tool. Out of contrast comes creativity. This morning I would like to talk specifically about opposition.

In Astrology, when two planets are very close together in the sky, it is called conjunction. When they are 90° apart, it’s a square. Conjunction is a blending of energies. Square is when there is conflict and tension. Now opposition is when planets are 180° and directly across from each other.

When doing chart readings, I have found myself describing oppositions using myriad visualization. Sometimes I’ve seen it as a sling-shot. Other times as two sides to the same coin. Most recently, I’ve thought of those times when we are back-and-forth in some way.

Take for example a teenage relationship: First I realized I have a crush on you. So I find ways to talk to you, to run into you accidentally. At first, I’m too scared to say anything about how I feel. But then, as you drop hints and signals that you enjoy my attention, I grow braver and more obvious. And then a day comes when you push back. Maybe it’s not intentional. Maybe it is reactionary. In any case, I perceive it to mean that you don’t like me. And at this point, I’m already too invested. So what do I do? I run.

How often have we heard of times when someone breaks up with another because they like them too much? That never made sense to me. If one’s biggest fear is to be abandoned, they why break up first? Doesn’t that create the same outcome? But in cases like this, we just can’t help it.

In my study of the Natal Chart, I started to really understand this dynamic. For example, the first house is the house of self. It is about our relationship with our self. For some, this might be a straightforward experience, but for others, it is very complex. Directly across the way is the 7th house, the house of partnerships, marriage: others. It is the age old me-versus-you dynamic. So what is it about when an opposition occurs in someone’s chart within these two houses?

Contrast helps up better know (and in finer detail) what we prefer and desire. Oppositions help us see something we’ve been missing.  Part of my purpose might be to learn something about myself, and so I set up some energy in my first house to draw me into that study. Maybe what I really want to understand is the whole concept of relationship to self. In either case, one perfect way to help this along is through partnerships. In relationships, we are fixated on another in an intense and intimate way (at least intermittently). In the end, we learn more about ourselves. How can we not? We react. We observe someone closely who is also observing us closely. We can’t help but see our self reflected in the other person’s eyes.

To me, it seems that oppositions are not just about refining our preferences. Thanks to contrast, when I look out into the world, I see all types of people, relationships, and expression. I learn from this pool of information and choose. But with opposition, I am faced with a very specific dipole. Something pulls me this way, and something else pulls me exactly the opposite way. Sometimes I want to be with you and move toward you. Other times I give up and run in the other direction. But a true opposition (in astrology) prevents me from really progressing in either direction – at least not until I really get what the dynamic is about.

So the sling-shot dynamic could be this. We load up some energy in the exactly opposite direction from where we really want to go. By being pulled that way, we build up desire and intention to go the other way. Maybe by avoiding you, I decide that I really do want to be with you, and am now intent on working things out and giving it what I got. With a little help of a transit, the sling-shot is released and I sail off towards my goal.

The back-and-forth dynamic is like a dog on a leash. You’ve seen this right? He runs in one direction until he reaches the end of the leash. He’s stopped, so then tries the opposite direction. Back and forth he goes until he finds the release – the open door. Have you ever done that yourself? It’s that archetypal chase scene where the pursued tries every door until she finds the one that’s unlocked.

Oppositions in our Natal Charts are dynamics we typically have to work through for an extended period of time in our lives. They are somewhat innate to our life experience. Oppositions as transits are when the universe pulls us directly away from our desired goal to show us something about ourselves.

In either case, the opposition is a powerful, useful tool of evolution and discovery. By understanding and accepting its value, we better save from choking ourselves on our own leashes.

In a recent reading, it came out this way:

Now remember, oppositions feel like opposites, but there is an underlying theme. The Universe hits you in one way, but is trying to get you to look at something else. So some obstacles might look like walls that feel hard to climb or go around. Sometimes, when faced with a wall like that, it is best to sit for a minute with your back against the wall, and look in the opposite direction to see what’s there. There’s always a solution, but sometimes it’s not where we think it is. So obstacles can really be guides keeping us going in the right direction.

By pulling on a leash, we test how strong it is. It could break! If not, then there’s another way. Happy searching…