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Harmony is defined in the Third Axial Harmonic Level and is present in all Axial Harmonic multiples of three.
In much of mundane western thinking and writing, Harmony is seen as a lack of violence, a lack of war, or a lack of resistance. Notice anything peculiar about this? There is very little written about what harmony actually is. Anybody can tell you what harmony is not, but few they are who can describe what it is. When somebody does hazard a guess, it is usually something ‘drippy’ along the lines of 'harmony is when everybody is happy'.
Harmony, as an article of the human psyche, is introduced to the natal chart with the third Axial Harmonic Level. I touched on this subject very briefly in the short essay on the Article of Resistance. In axial harmonics, harmony is a vibrant energy in its own right, and should never be described in terms of a lack of 'negative' energy.
Harmony is generated whenever two or more people combine their talents and apply them towards a common goal. Thus harmony exists whenever people are doing what they do best. Perhaps the greatest myth of all is that harmony is only ever a positive energy.
I will say very clearly here that harmony always feels good and 'right' to those involved, and from that purely subjective standpoint, it is positive. The problem with the 'positive energy' myth is that people do not always develop their energy in a positive way, therefore a combined escalation of negative energy produces a dark form of harmony indeed. Examples of this may be seen anywhere from the corporate boardroom to the battlefield.
Let us look at a hypothetical example for a moment, and let us develop the two extremes of ultra negative and ultra positive. The truth of the aspect in a natal chart will actually lie somewhere in between.
The obvious choice for this discussion would be an aspect like Pluto-trine-Mars in a natal chart. For the sake of the discussion we will put Pluto in Libra and Mars in Aquarius and put the midpoint of the aspect in the tenth house, part of which must be in Sagittarius.
Here we have the two most potentially negative planets in a 'positive' aspect, so what does it mean? This depends entirely on how the person develops both their Plutonian, and their Martian energy.
In the most potentially negative case, where Mars is developed as aggression and Pluto is developed as ruthlessness, then the person is likely to take great delight in violence towards others, with no thought for consequence or compassion. They may even feel that this is their destiny, and that they are 'agents of karma'.
This represents quite clearly how a 'positive' aspect can be put to negative use. The individual concerned feels quite good about what they do, but the rest of us will see it in a less favorable light. If this hypothetical person were to combine their talent with that of a dark administrator (Jupiter-trine-Saturn with the 'dark' coming from elsewhere) then the two become a formidable team. This becomes an example of dark harmony.
In the most potentially positive case, where Mars is developed as self development and Pluto is developed as integrity, then the person is likely to enjoy behaving with the highest integrity. They will develop their talents within a community atmosphere, they will find it difficult to be dishonest and they may find it difficult to tolerate dishonesty. The tenth house means this energy is reciprocal with others and Sagittarius gives the whole aspect an idealistic flavour.
This picture is as rosy as the first is grim, but it does highlight the difference between the two applications of the same aspect. The second individual when combined with another positive talent would be unstoppable in their chosen field. This represents a more traditional approach to harmony and the 'positive' approach to the trine aspect.
The conclusion to be drawn from this little exercise is that, whilst the energy of harmony will always feel good to the individual, this does not necessarily mean that it will be put to 'good' use, or indeed any use.
Whenever harmony is seen as a lack of disturbance then the third harmonic level is stifled to the point of inertia. By seeing the third harmonic as purely passive, there can be no meaningful generation of energy from such an aspect. The best one can achieve from that standpoint is a 'good feeling' when those energies combine.
If harmony has a vibrant living energy of its own then it stands to reason that it can be put to good use. I like to describe the highest vibration of harmony as communion, the third energy which develops when two or more people combine their energy at the highest possible level. This energy is also known as love, but I find that there are so many opinions on the meaning of love that the word has become meaningless.
It is clear in the ancient scriptures that this type of communion is what they referred to as love. John (the Apostle) went so far as to describe love as the substance of Spirit ('God is love'). One might say, 'the experience of God is the experience of love'. If we read the rest of what John has to say about love and God, and especially when he recounts the words of his closest friend, Jesus, about the subject one realises that this is the fundamental basis of Jesus' and John's teaching.
What I said in the article about Union stands here as well, if your concept of God involves angry bearded figures and harsh judgment then you should review your conditioning on this matter.
My interpretation of these ancient texts suggests that love is the escalation of Universal energy between the individual and the Creator. When two or more parties bring this energy together love is accelerated, and a form of communion is generated between the parties. This communion also escalates the experience of the Divine presence. This is what I believe John was saying in his simple statement 'God is love'. My own experience of Spirit and love suggests that this is so.
This is beginning to sound like a sermon, so I will move on. Harmony is a vibrant energy which can be extremely positive and extremely useful. It can also be rather sexy, and here is where a great deal of confusion is created.
I will preface this section by saying that sexual energy is a natural expression of union and that orgasmic sex produces a form of communion, and that is why sex is referred to as 'making love'. There is most certainly nothing wrong with enjoying good sex.
A real problem arises when we do not understand how to deal with our escalation of energy in any way other than orgasmic sexual contact. I have already said that orgasmic sex is a form of communion, but it is by no means the only form of communion. Sexual energy is a natural expression of union, but it is by no means the only expression of union.
It seems to be a function of modern western thinking to equate love with sex at the exclusion of almost every other facet of life. Our most effective advertising is aimed at improving the sexual prospects of the viewer, or appealing to their sexual fantasies. 'Sex sells' is the answer you are likely to get if you ask why. We are being conditioned to believe that there is no love apart from sex and I believe that this is a tragedy. The greater tragedy is that this conditioning is done in order to sell us a particular brand of soap powder, or soft drink!
Like most of the problems with conditioning, this one is quite easy to deal with. Again we only have to replace one perception of truth with a better one. All actions which promote the life energy in our surroundings are functions of union and have the potential for communion. How many people feel that they do their best meditation whilst they are gardening? One of life's more simple pleasures is the enjoyment of a well kept garden.
I take delight in mucking about with kids, in laughing with my teenage children (and most of their friends), and generally making people feel better about themselves. These are simple articles of union and communion which have nothing to do with sex.
To be able to walk into a tension-filled room and leave it a little lighter is an art which takes a contributive attitude to life. Life's energy is escalated by the contribution of your own energy. We cannot truly escalate the energy of Life without making such a contribution. When we do make such a contribution, the energy of Life is accelerated within.
I must make a clear distinction here, and this needs to be correctly understood.
In the Article of Resistance essay, I spoke of compliance as a response to resistance. That type of energy transfer, whilst contributive in nature, is not what I am referring to here. It is the same contributive essence which makes the compliant person feel good about themselves, but to feed somebody else's need to consume energy is not a vibrant contribution to Life, it is a nett contribution to greed. Such behaviour is truly destructive and a habitually compliant person should remove themselves from the one who would consume their energy.
If we try to withdraw the energy of Life we deplete our environment and soon feel empty. (This applies to emotional and spiritual environments as much as it does physical) We must then go on to exploit another environment while the first regenerates and so on. We work at a job in order to consume, and we live as though consumption is the sustenance of Life. Unfortunately, this is the fundamental conditioning of western consumerism, but again it is easy to rectify in the individual.
Did you notice something peculiar in the last paragraph? A depleted environment, given time, will regenerate. (This is provided that it is not totally destroyed in the depleting process). From where does it draw its regenerative energy?
The article that consumerism does not teach us is that Life is a nett energy surplus and that by engaging the flow (adding our life energy to the Universal flow) we add to the surplus. The reciprocal flow of energy is not a withdrawal then, but a portion of the abundance which was made possible by our contribution.
This is what Jesus' discussions on abundance and the Kingdom of Heaven were about. When He said 'Give and it will be given to you...', I believe He was talking about engaging the flow of Universal energy, not putting money on a plate.
It is more than possible to raise the vibration of any given environment and walk out of it far more invigorated than when we arrived.
I practice this daily. It is one of the most fulfilling experiences in life, and a great habit to get into. It costs nothing (thankfully) and leaves me and my environment in better condition.
Anybody can do this. It does not require months of 'navel gazing', courses in meditation or 'special dispensations' from the heavens. All it requires is a change of attitude to the energy of Life itself. It is that simple.
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