RE-DREAMING THE NATION

In Tibetan Buddhist terms, the UK is in a Bardo, a space between existences that is fluid and full of potentialities. Astrologically, our homeland has been abducted by Pluto (which is starting to oppose the UK Moon) and taken to the Underworld for dismembering and for the planting of a powerful new seed. In Psychosynthesis terms, we are having a crisis of meaning, and trying to find a new synthesis between our sense of who we are and our place in the world. 

And in terms of the Tarot, we have drawn the Fool Card: we are stepping out into the unknown, without a real plan, leaving our security behind, but in the trust that new paradigms will emerge. This has required courage, whether or not you agree with it. Shamanically, we need to beat our drums and draw in a new vision for the people, because now is when it can happen. 2 days ago, it could not have happened.

But it will also take time. It will take years. This is something western shamanism doesn't get, with its one year courses in becoming a healer. Real change is slow and not under our control. Anything that has depth takes years even decades even a whole lifetime and is largely unknowable. But we can plant a seed, even though we don't know what it is.

So we need patience. Above all, right now, we need to deal with the anxiety that is created by uncertainty. You cannot have deep change without uncertainty, for the old has to die, and it is dying as we speak. As an astrologer, I know about the anxiety that people go through when change happens. Well we have a whole nation going through that anxiety, and it is inevitable but it doesn't help.

The part we can individually play is to understand that uncertainty is the price of big change. Put aside whether you voted in or out, for that is in the past. Recognise the courage of those who voted to step over the cliff, even if you think they were wrong. Recognise the desire to be connected of those who wanted to remain. All these qualities are needed.

At the moment, it is an energy thing. If you can dwell in the uncertainty without feeling anxious or despondent, that will create space for something creative to happen.

It was not a party political decision. The Tories were the tools of much bigger forces stirring in the UK collective unconscious. In the short term, you may not have the government you want. Put that aside. The referendum has shown that the people CAN make a difference, and it is the seed of that which we can work with. We are not helpless against the big corporations and the forces of globalisation. We can vote in the government we want, and we have a chance to re-dream what this country is about. We can write laws that protect people and the environment that Brussels couldn't even have dreamed of. We just need patience and determination and a recognition that things are now possible that were not possible before.