January 2018 – How do we express our creative energies to others?

In that funny calculus that is the shift in the calendar year, January brings us yet another three month.  This Three, with it’s 11/2 Universal emphasis is firmly hitched to our social contacts.

Let’s face it…at any one time, we are operating on many different levels…there’s the self that is in our heads, and then there’s the self we show to the world. January 2018 asks us to drill down on who we are to the world… to do a check in on our public persona and how we dole out our creative energies in the world.

 

In the book “The Ascendant: Your Rising Sign”, Jodie Forrest explains that the persona is “something we construct ourselves, over time, and partially in response to the socialization process.”

Forrest goes on to say that the persona (which in astrology is recognized as the ascendant)  is “that which presents us to the outside world, that which adapts and adjusts to that world.” Our current personality is “a learned construct, a way of protecting and expressing the deeper self to the world outside.”

To a greater or lesser extent when we monitor our relationships within our families and with friends, intimates, acquaintances, and even strangers, a feedback loop develops to manage the highly volatile nature of the world.  But this mask/persona feedback loop is not just camouflage for the inner you…it’s also a filter for what comes in. It functions as a screen through which you see the world.

The Mask colors our experience of life.

January 2018 asks us in a pensive, thoughtful way to consider how we are expressing our creative energy in the world.  What kind of impression are you seeking to make on others?

To the extent you pay attention to the mask you show others, you become better able to understand how you grasp life…how you interpret it.

What are you concealing?  What are you revealing?

And ultimately, do these strategies help you enjoy your life?