Taleb and God(s); the Conclave; copywriting; and the course

(There’s info on my course at the end of the email, so you don’t miss it).

Uncertainty and God — or gods.

As you know, I’ve been (re) reading Nassim Taleb.

Somewhere in his Antifragile, after discussing the benefits of small volatility and the issues of artificially suppressing it, he states that Ancient people, due to the belief that God (or gods) ruled everything, had the healthy atittude of not trying to control things they don’t understand, while we admit and like general human solutions for everything — planned economy, centralized government, ecological manipulation, and other types of disaster-inviting passtimes.

Well, this is also a problem for us, astrologers and astrology-lovers.

The Cathecism of the Catholic Church is (although at the same time too vague and too harsh on astrology — I have written about it, I just don’t remember when), is spot-on when talking about the temptations of astrology, which are “a desire for power over time, history, and, in the last analysis, other human beings, as well as a wish to conciliate hidden powers. They contradict the honor, respect, and loving fear that we owe to God alone”.

Why?

Because we are astrologers, but we are also people of our times, with the same prejudices. Even religious people have a blind spot regarding who’s behind the wheel, so to speak.

Normal people used to think — and, believe or not, Mr. Taleb, they were right — that God (or the Divine) ruled this world from above. The problem with Modern thought is not that we don’t usually believe that anyone is doing it, but believing that it can be done from down here.

Time is as much part of this world as anything else. Beings subject to time cannot govern creation, using their own power, because they cannot control time.

Moreover, this vertical asymmetry implies a hierarchy of being, and this hierarchy is reflected in Creation. The farther above, a little closer to the hand on the Celestial Helm.

That’s why symbolical arts — a symbol points fundamentally upwards — are able to say something about things that are seemingly random. Because randomness is just the hidden part of God’s will, while “order” is the most visible part.

Modern thought doesn’t understand that. If no one is controlling from above, it’s because either God doesn’t exist or He just forgot about us; either way, local power is up for grabs. Except that it isn’t.

And it isn’t to economists, scientists, philosophers, politicians… and astrologers. As far as magic works, even for magicians.

We do not control things. By looking upwards, we see glimpses of the Light that made and controls everything. But we cannot hope to replace it, do its work, or even become one with it (not to hurt anyone’s religious beliefs: to become one with it as human beings).

But it’s easy to be dragged into the illusion of power.

****

I published a horary on when we’ll have a new Pope on Twitter (I’ll never call it “X”). Of course, I messed up, giving an impossible time unit. But I still think the reasoning is sound. I’ll review it when we have a new Pope (if not in around three weeks).

I’m the worst marketing agent I could think of hire, I should have done that extensively this week, but…

I wrote a book (more or less) about the previous Conclave, check it here. Any comments, good or bad, will be welcome and much appreciated — it has been a while.

***

Speaking of Twitter, I did a nice (sorry to toot my own horn) thread on the relationships of the qualities a good copy must have and the four elements.

I mentioned, at the end, the opposite order of the elements, in the stages of the possible costumer’s willingness to buy — the changes a good copy must want to do, or, in other words, the responses one must want from that four stages I mentioned.

I’d like to do a quick explanation of that.

1 - Fire. The initial spark of attention.

A copy (or any ad, for that matter), must ignite your attention, When we think of “buying this product/service/etc”, it’s not really desire, but curiosity, (mental) motion. There’s a reason contacting people who haven’t heard of your services is called “cold-calling”, your initial mission is to warm them up.

2 - Air - imagination and comparison

The possible customer starts to reflect on the problems of their life, remembering and imagining past and present events, and to think whether this is for them or not. The fire “opens up” a new space, air tries to expand it, touch all its boundaries, understand it. We don’t want what we can’t conceive, and this is the conceiving stage.

3 - Earth - Hunger — perception of a void.

Now, the person starts to feel what they lack. It’s not desire, it’s the mental equivalent of hunger. A sharp, sometimes painful, sensation that something is missing, and that this something can fill it.

4 - Water — desire — I want that!

Self- explanatory. Numbers 2 and 3 (assessing or imagining things and perceiving or being convinced that something is missing) brings desire. That watery flowy part of reality that drags us to want things, to love things, to hate things.

This, I think, could be developed into a more general model of how desire forms in the soul. But I’ll leave it for people more skilled (and/or more willing) to do it.

****

So, the natal course.

Here’s the e-mail I sent to people who said they were interested in it.

I am writing this to share the details of the course.

It will begin on Friday the 9th of May (I had hoped to begin on the 2nd, but I have a marriage to attend, on the same date).

The meetings will be held every Friday (if anything happens and I'm not able to do it [sickness, some accident, a general blackout in my city, the end of the world], I'll warn all the students as soon as possible). It will be best to have smaller classes, never longer than two hours, including time for questions. 

They will start at 2 PM, BRT (Local time, UTC -3). This equals to 7 PM Central European Time, 1 PM Eastern Daylight Time in US, and 10 AM Pacific Time in the US.

Price: 550 USD total (I accept Paypal -- [email protected] -- and I do have a stripe account, I just don't remember the data, if it's best for you, let me know and I'll retrieve it), or 200 USD Module I, 150 Module II, 250 Module III. 

This must be paid at least 24 hours before the first class (or, in case of the three payments, before each first class), in order for me to confirm and send the link of the class. 

The sessions will be done through private Youtube videos. I find it easier (both to read questions AND to send charts) to also make a Telegram (for those who never used it, it's a free and easy-to-use messaging app) group. Students will be able to ask any questions in the chat -- both during classes, to be answered at the end, and between classes). I'll send the Youtube link to student's email AND post it on the Telegram group.

Program (some classes must last one meeting more, or one less, depending on how we advance).

Module I

1 (one meeting) - General introduction and outline of the course. What is a symbol? What is a symbolic art? What is astrology? What is natal astrology?

Why there are so few books in this course? General x detailed. A brief word on rectification. Twins. Example. 

2 (one meeting) - Fundamentals. A review of the basic blocks. Signs; Planets (rulership, essential dignity/debility, accidental dignity/debility, receptions, aspects and conjunction, antiscia); Houses (and signs again). A bit (really) on house division. Arabian Parts. Fixed stars. Example of Arabian Parts and example of Fixed Stars.

*Yes, I know there's quite a lot of things to cover here. But it's mostly putting everyone on the same page, everyone interested in the course knows astrology already (if it takes too long, we can always do an extra meeting).

3 - Temperaments (two meetings) -- The beginning of judgment. Their nature, what they are, why they are, and where they are in us. The method. The problems with the method (and with any method). What to do with it. What not to do with it. Examples of simple and difficult cases, of well-marked and not-at-all-marked temperaments.

4 - Manners & Wit (two meetings). How  we behave, how we pay attention to things, and how we think when we're not thinking that we're thinking. 

How to look at the manners without giving medals to planets. What are the "manners". 

What is "wit"? What are the roles of the Moon and Mercury? The method. Another method, more... "textbook-like" (Do I contradict myself?), and the difference between them in the human being. Examples.

5 - "General Fortune" (two meetings). A discussion of fame -- can we predict fame? Glory? The pre-natal eclipse, and how (and how not to) interpret it. Other general assessments of the general fortune, and its limitations. Examples.

6 - The houses, part I (two sessions). Houses 2-5 (house one, if you have been paying attention, was already dealed with). A general blueprint, some theoretical observations on the nature of what is investigated (money/posessions/self-esteem/food; siblings/routine/communication; father/roots/home; children/creativity/sex/fun). Examples.

7 - The houses, part II (one session). House 6. 

8- The houses, part III (two sessions). Houses 7-12.

Module II

1 - Comparison between charts. What are we comparing? What are we comparing for? The method (with the extra step that makes a lot of difference). Examples: the most sought-after, love relationships.

2 - Examples - business and art. Partners and professional associations. Asymmetrical comparison: boss (master) and employee (slave. I mean, subordinate).

3 - Examples -- more asymmetry. Family.

4 - Examples. More asymmetry. Maybe more family. Master/student. What about enemies? A word on work that you'll never get (witches and their customers, neighbours, friends).

Module III.

1 - What is we're doing when we predict? What is there to be predicted? Very general assessments. Profections. What works well (probably), but I don't do, and why -- firdaria and other time periods and time lords (and the other use of profections and revolutions). Examples.

2 - Large scale -- secondary progressions. What they are; why I use them. Why are they secondary? What are the directions? Examples.

3 -  (three meetings) Medium scale. Solar returns, the "flower of prediction". The method. Examples.

4 - Smaller scale (two meetings) -- Lunar returns and derived lunar returns. The only difference (in judgment) of Lunar Returns. Examples.

5 - Two worked examples. Questions and discussion.

That is all, for now. Any doubts, please don't hesitate to ask me. 

My best,

Marcos.