Influence is something I thought a lot about back in the day when I wrote marketing copy for clients.
When I was in the marketing world, it quickly became apparent that influence is something that applies to all our interactions, not just with those we are trying to influence through marketing.
The less you try to persuade and convince someone, the easier it is to attract them to you or your ideas.
Jung said sommething interesting about influence: “The personalities of doctor and patient are often infinitely more important for the outcome of the treatment than what the doctor says and thinks….In any effective psychological treatment the doctor is bound to influence the patient; but this influence can only take place if the patient has a reciprocal influence on the doctor. You can exert no influence if you are not susceptible to influence.” [emphasis mine]
R.L. Wing emphasizes the same point in his commentary on Hexagram 31: “In social matters, your willingness to be influenced, even though you may be altogether self-sufficient, attracts others to you and creates an atmosphere for the exchange of ideas.”
Being susceptible to influences doesn’t mean setting aside healthy boundaries.
Rather, it is about making ourselves more vulnerable by taking off the armor, removing projections as best as we are able, and becoming more clear about who we are.
I’m writing about influence today because the Sun just entered the stretch of Leo associated with I Ching Hexagram 31 – Influence/Attraction.*
Do you have Leo Sun, Moon, or rising sign? Leos can have that ability to lead and influence, even if not in a formal position of leadership.
That is because the Sun is the planetary host of the fixed fire sign of Leo. People sometimes turn to Leo in the same way they like to bask in the Sun.
Even if you don’t have planets in Leo, the Leo house of your birth chart is lit up this month. The area of life it represents is an area where you might have some influence in the next few weeks.
Some questions to ponder:
Are you willing to be influenced by those you lead or in your personal relationships?
What type of situations or people do you tend to attract lately? Do they tend to enlarge your life or diminish it?
When you find yourself drawn to a person, can you see the positive characteristics in them that are hidden within you?
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*The 64 hexagrams of the I Ching, an ancient Chinese text, are arranged along the ecliptic (the celestial equator) in Human Design. In astrology there are 12 zodiac signs along the ecliptic, so there are 5.3 hexagrams per zodiac sign. I’m contemplating these hexagrams as a way to engage with astrology, the I Ching, and Jungian psychology.
References:
The I Ching Workbook by R.L. Wing
