By Suzana Da Costa
Just as Libra bridges the gap between discerning Virgo and all-or-nothing Scorpio, it’s through listening that we refine and define ourselves into a truer, more authentic version of who we are. Libra, the midpoint of the zodiac, enables us to bridge the integrity of who we are as individuals to the outside world and what is beyond our control, just as listening provides access to the information that we need to help us to navigate in our lives.
Art by Sally Smith.
This process of navigation can be exacting and difficult to achieve, and relates in many ways to the decision-making process that ticks within each of us when we express our own Libran qualities. Nobody knows better than a Libra that everything we choose in our lives rests on the fulcrum point of a decision, and every decision holds the opportunity to transform. No matter how small the issue may be, Librans know that it will either affirm who they are and what they stand for by re-enforcing what they know, feel and believe to be true…or not.
It’s no wonder so many of us are happy to let others make decisions for us and run around with our hands over our ears: listening requires great strength of character. To listen is to open yourself up to what is outside of your current paradigm, to be vulnerable and willing to be susceptible to what is outside of your known self, your identity.
However, if we can uphold the higher octaves of expression offered to us by Venus (Libra’s ruler) and Saturn (Libra’s exaltation), then we’re granted the ability to listen and relate to the world around us deeply and gracefully, much like a tree that ‘listens’ to the wind by bowing yet remaining steady.
It’s through the influence of Venus that we’re provided with the desire to, as well as the capacity for, relating, just as it’s through listening that we accommodate others. This is something that Libra is naturally attracted to, and one of the reasons why this is the sign of the diplomat, counselor and mediator — in the act of listening to another person, we’re privileged with the gift of holding and integrating a piece of that other person, that other individual. Here is where a crucial decision is made in our relation to others and the world outside us.
If we choose to accept what is offered, we’ve made a connection and supported it, deepening the partner end of the spectrum because we’ve made room within ourselves for another person’s truth. However, it’s clear that there will be a challenge here, especially if what is offered challenges our own truth. How willing are we to adjust and make space, or how willing are we to resist and hold our ground?
The very clear presence or lack of Saturn operating in an individual identifies those Librans who are rooted and secure in themselves and those who are not. Without Saturn’s influence, too much accommodation is allowed; a person will change his mind on a dime and follow anyone who tells him or her something that they want to hear. Without solid grounding of themselves, they’ll happily give themselves away, providing no resistance to what the person (or the world) before them proposes. This allows them to escape the responsibility of deciding and also allows them the luxury of being lazy (a shadow trait contributed by Venus).
Without the grounding influence of Saturn on Libra’s airy nature, we don’t have the integrity required for a deep connection with others and ourselves, and because of this we’re denied the opportunity to connect with others and to allow their influence to transform us. By not accepting the gravity and weight Saturn lends us, we’re too buoyant to delve deeper and life continues to deliver what we already know. Our current paradigm never shifts and we just wind up being surrounded by empty chatter.
However, for those individuals who are brave explorers and are up for the challenges of Saturn, the capacity for relating is strengthened and it becomes more focused and precise. There is no need to give oneself up for another if we can exercise control and balance in light of new information. If we can maintain a state of vigilant and open attention, hold a space without resistance that is solid, where we are still and steady in mind, body and soul, then true listening can occur.
In between resistance and acceptance is a fulcrum point that allows for two opposing points of expression, and that’s where Libra wants to live all the time. It’s in that precious slice of time when self-actualization has occurred and all the information inside and outside of us is balanced and in harmony. We feel secure and know what is true and false for us.
Unfortunately, nobody gets to experience this beautiful place for very long. If we really pay attention to the worlds inside and outside of ourselves, we know we’re dynamic and constantly changing, and that we live in a world that is also in constant motion. We’re required to process that information to survive and adapt.
Just like the motion of the scales that balances itself to find that fulcrum point, what makes Libra functional is not the end result of the weighing (stasis), but the dynamic give-and-take that is necessary to come to that point. It’s in that very act that we find a great vulnerability, for we are exposing ourselves to information that may change the course of our direction.
However frightening this may be, it’s as necessary for us in our process of self-definition and self-actualization as it is for the snake to shed its old skin. We need to leap across the unknown in order to achieve a new level of understanding and knowing.
In our willingness to listen, as well as our responsibility to exercise discrimination in what we accept, we call forth our own personal truth. This is what ultimately allows us to evolve and grow into more authentic versions of ourselves. It provides us with a space to define our deepest convictions, but also allows us to keep our hearts open to others; it’s what we use to lead us to our next adventure and what equips us to overcome the challenges we will encounter. Listening is what allows us to bridge the gap between between knowing and unknowing, truth and lies, rejection and acceptance; peace and war. It’s the bridge that connects us all.
About the author
Suzana Da Costa is an emerging healer, currently practicing astrology and massage
therapy in Montreal, Canada. She especially enjoys supporting others during periods of transition and change. She can be reached at suzana.heartstar@gmail.com for consults or writing requests.
