The Bossy Universe - Faye Blake

Scorpio 2014

Recently I was asked to write an article for a Dutch Career Coaching magazine. Vocation is one of my favourites topics so I was delighted, as it is not often that astrologers receive invitations to contribute to ‘normal’ magazines. Each of their issues has a theme and this time it was ‘coincidence’ – obviously a topic for which one needs an astrologer. In fact one of my colleagues also contributed an article – so there were two astrologers in one issue! I am awaiting the next issue with anticipation, as it will give commentary on our articles. My colleague’s article was on fate vs. free will and mine was entitled ‘Did you fall or were you pushed?’ (published in Dutch – see the website section).

So I began…

The word coincidence comes from words that mean ‘to fall together’. This is even clearer in Dutch. Although ‘toeval’ has more than one meaning, it comes from the same roots. Do we just ‘fall’ into our professions? Is where we work just a coincidence? Were we pushed by parents, teachers or others? Or is there a larger plan? Or perhaps – a more challenging option – can we consciously choose?

Photo taken at the Amsterdam Maritime Museum – Scorpio.

The Scorpio strand

Around the same time, I was asked to write a contribution for a book for astrologers about musicians, and I have chosen to discuss a Scorpio woman. I will be writing about a different part of her chart – i.e. not the Scorpio part – so, in a fitting activity for Scorpio time, I have been doing a lot of research on her life. And, as I often do, I wonder just how bossy the universe might be! Does it push us to where we need to be if we don’t move in the right direction? Particularly (but not only) if we are unaware of our patterns.

My subject for the music book is Australian born Helen Reddy, a musician famous in the ’70s. Although she shows her passion for making a difference in the world, her work is not particularly Scorpionic. Her life certainly is – she is definitely a survivor. Early in her career she followed in her parents footsteps, not because she felt pushed, but because she had been involved in the theatre since the age of five and she knew it could be lucrative. She calls it work.

Her relationships often showed the negative sides of Scorpio, betrayal, jealousy, theft, abuse and general nasty stuff. And some difficult health issues. As a good Scorpio, she survived all of this and became a very successful performer. She married three times, partly due to her need to take care of her children and to be able to stay in the United States.

Tough love

I suspect the universe does try to help us, but it can be tough love! A bit pushy at times. Why did Helen need to attract such heavy circumstances? When such things happen, a good approach is to try to learn something from the situation. For Scorpio experiences such as hers, the right questions for gaining some insight are: ‘Did I become powerless in some way and give up my passion? Will revenge really solve anything? and of course ‘What can I learn from this?’ A good conclusion might be ‘If I can survive this, then I can do anything!’ and she certainly achieved a lot.

Researching yourself

By using astrology as a tool for looking back at any life, the important threads can be seen – that is what makes it so powerful. By having a framework to look at our lives we can find our patterns and our conclusions about life. Running through Helen’s life is a story of deep searching. She has spent a lot of time exploring her roots, looking at the history of Australia and thereby researching her family tree. She had an out-of-body experience when she was just eleven years old, which sent her on a journey of exploration into other worlds – the meaning of life and death, past lives and even astrology. These are Scorpio themes that run through her autobiography underneath her public story. Life gave her the chance to meet some fascinating people and when she retired in 2002 she returned to her native Australia and went back to her studies, obtaining qualifications in clinical hypnotherapy! A true Scorpio career.

The UN theme for International Women’s Day 2014 is ‘Equality for Women is Progress for All’ – Valentin Brown’s take on the original Rosy the Riveter poster.

So what now for Helen?

It seems to me that she finally achieved her true vocation at around age 60. She became a practising hypnotherapist, solving problems and sometimes uncovering past lives for others. Unrecognised and living very quietly and austerely in a small apartment, a mother and grandmother, she was the happiest she had ever been. Scorpios value their privacy. At the time of writing she is returning to the stage, as she finds there is more work to be done to change the world for women. She will continue her work highlighting the women’s movement as she did with her song ‘I am Woman’, which became the anthem for the UN ‘International Women’s Year’ in 1975. But now she will do it her way – by singing what she really loves to sing. And like a true Scorpio, I’m sure she will help transform the world – again!

But do we need to wait so long to follow our hearts and do what we really love?

Photo: Tom Eversley

And so my article ended…

In 2014 we are in the middle of a great transformation, which can be seen by observing planetary cycles. There is a sea change in all areas including job-seeking. Gradually, many are turning away from fitting in with the demands of powerful and often power hungry management. We are discovering how to choose a career that we love, and career advisors (and astrologers) have a big role to play here. C.V.s need to be about the client – not about how to bend the information to fit a job. By expressing who you really are, you are more likely to attract a suitable employer or client. We are slowly learning not to be pushed.

image from wikimedia commons

But perhaps something larger than us is at work, so that we fall ‘coincidentally’ into the right job. The trick is to be conscious of when and where to fall so that the universe is on our side. Astrology can help do that. Otherwise the universe has no choice but to get bossy with us, to try and get us to the right place.

Faye Blake-Cossar