Becoming Who You Were Meant To Be

According to astrology tradition, you were born under a special star of destiny.  It will take 26,000 years for your birthday’s unique pattern of stars to repeat itself in the heavens. The secret fate encoded in your chart is a sign that, as the Jungian thinker James Hillman said, “We are each born called.” Imprinted on your soul the split second it assumed a human body is the pattern of a purpose, the secret reason of your existence. Decoding this message and living it out is the most important work of your life.

Winter is an auspicious time to draw more closely to this deep reason for being. Here in the Northern Hemisphere, nature has stripped away all that is non-essential. Do you feel it–that instinctive desire to draw closer to your core? Maybe you’re feeling cold and weary. Maybe you’re tired, but spiritually hungry. You may feel willing to act, but unclear where to go.  For all of these conditions, tuning into the inner flame of your purpose is the remedy.

Many agree that we’re each born with a mission. But discovering the nature of that calling is more like Odysseus wandering through strange lands and across wide oceans than a clarion-clear set of instructions. You might think your purpose is one thing, and then, before you’ve even grabbed hold of this, it shape-shifts into something else. That happens. For most of us purpose is more like a quality or an archetypal yearning than a specific job description. Like a magnet, your life constellates around this core quality.

According to the Sufi teacher Pir Vilayat, there is a celestial realm of archetypes, a “Divine Treasury” of qualities. The spiritual task for humans is to bring these qualities into creative form through our personalities. As a writer, astrologer, meditator,  mother, friend, and seeker, for instance, the twin flames that burn on the altar of my heart are the qualities of wisdom and inspiration. Inspiring others to see the bigger picture, to focus on what really matters, and to awaken the deeper, ancient knowledge hidden within each of our souls is the orient of my life.

So sometime during this season (perhaps on a New or Full Moon), take time to reflect on becoming who you were born to be. This is more contemplation than religious ritual. It’s stripped bare. Instead of reciting prayers and focusing on a specific task, simply tune into the center of your heart.  Once you’re in gentle communication with this center, ask yourself, given your experiences this past year, what has most lit you up? Open your book of memories and go further back. What most ignited your spirit as a child? As a teenager? As a young adult? Those activities that lit you up, that brightened your spirit, and that you were able to throw yourself into whole-heartedly–those are the ones your soul keeps shouting “Yes!” to.

Whatever fills you with joy is a good sign that its on purpose. Perhaps you arrived here to bring beauty, whether through art, environmental justice, or fashion. Perhaps you came to help heal the suffering of the world, whether through your writing, activism, or as a physician. Or maybe you’re here to bring insight and truth where there is confusion and ignorance. What is the central theme that runs like a golden thread through your many different experiences? Study the great weaving that is your life. Where do its threads shimmer most brightly?

Spend some time in contemplation. Once you’ve clarified the quality that is burning the brightest for you now, imagine this “idea” taking form as a warm and luminous flame within your heart. This flame empowers your heart. It builds courage, conviction, and grows the energy necessary to accomplish your purpose. As you contemplate the flame, gaze deeply into its colors and movement. If it feels appropriate, see or imagine, at the center of the flame’s red aura, a blue core of diamond clear light. Let yourself become one with this light. After some minutes immersed n this experience, take an internal snapshot of your sensations. This is how it feels to merge with the angel of your divine purpose–the person you were born to become.

If you’re so inspired, let your journal or paints (or whatever is your best form of self-expression) enter your meditation. Activity can strengthen contemplation. Your gestures matter in this altered state. Do something that affirms your whole-hearted acceptance of your life purpose. You may feel an emotion that is close to love or joy. If you don’t feel this emotion, remember a time when you did and bring those feelings into the present. Savor this state. You are making an important impression on your whole being–both your conscious and unconscious minds.

When you feel complete, close your session by committing yourself: “I vow throughout 2017 to serve my special destiny. I vow to tend the bright and purposeful flame within.”

The surest astrological indicator of purpose are the Nodes of the Moon.  You can learn more about your Nodes in my Moonprints Report, which you can order here.