The biblical “great cloud of witnesses” and archetypal astrology

The biblical “great cloud of witnesses” and archetypal astrology

The biblical phrase “cloud of witnesses” has long enthralled for me, for it hints at the mystical and archetypal.

Hebrews 12:1 is the Bible verse where it’s mentioned:

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.

As I continue to do dream work with my Jungian analyst, and have begun to study archetypal astrology, the phrase “cloud of witnesses” keeps coming to mind.

Dreams are populated with archetypal figures that are, in essence, a cloud of witnesses. Animus/anima figures, who often have the persona of the inferior function of one’s personality type. Powerful cameo appearances from loved ones who are deceased and bring a message of healing. And, of course, shadow figures, that remind us of what we have trouble facing in waking life.

I love how James Hillman, the late, great Jungian psychologist and founder of archetypal psychology puts it:

In astrology, this cloud of witnesses is just as evident. It is easier to have self-compassion, and empathy for others, while reviewing the times in your life when you had difficult transits (such as the Saturn return and Uranus square Uranus) because you know that every other person has had a similar period. We are all witnesses to each other.

This archetypal support emboldens us to “run with perseverance the race marked out for us.”

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What is mysticism?

What is mysticism?

During my podcast travels today I heard an excellent definition of mysticism from Elizabeth Gilbert and Richard Rohr.

Gilbert said the three things you need to create a feeling of peace in order to create are priorities, boundaries, and mysticism.

Mysticism is a human being encountering the mysterious and adding their labor to it. I believe that ideas want to be born, I believe that ideas have consciousness, that they circle the early formlessly looking for human beings to collaborate with to bring them into being.

In Oprah’s interview with Father Richard Rohr on her Super Soul Conversations podcast and show, she called Rohr a modern day mystic. He defined mystic as follows:

Someone who sees in whole rather than parts. They always end up emphasizing love as the center and the goal and the energy. Mystics are always non-dual seers.

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The Prayer of Approach

The Prayer of Approach

Elizabeth Gilbert recommends saying this prayer before work:

I will drink from your well.

I will honor your gods.

I bring an undefended heart to a meeting place.

I will not negotiate by withholding.

I have no cherished outcome.

I am not subject to disappointment.

Amen.

Source: Debbie Millman’s interview with Elizabeth Gilbert

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The 8 Jungian functions

There are many ways to describe the eight Jungian functions, but one of my favorites ways is John Beebe’s three word “semantic fields.” He describes these in his book Energies and Patterns in Psychological Type.

They are triangles — one main word with two wing words — but Beebe doesn’t include graphics of these as triangles and I couldn’t find any online. So I made triangle graphics for them, as pictured below.

Beebe says:

I found immediately that when I provided at least three words, listeners could begin to grasp what each of the mental processes was about, and could start to recognize it in themselves and others.

[…]

The system of keywords and wing words has helped me to understand type better, especially in regard to functions of consciousness that are normally in shadow for me and thus have been difficult for me to empathize with.


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