Henry VIII, King of England from 1509 to 1547, began the doctrine of divine right of kings. 500 years later, that archetype parades across the world stage as Donald Trump. Only this time, the emperor has no clothes on—meaning his delusions are on public display. Thinking he’s made of the finest fabric, a fabric so special that only richly entitled very special people can see it, he parades before the camera naked rather than admit to his failure to see.
Keep in mind that on the world stage we see a reflection of the transformations we are asked to notice inside ourselves. And that the votes of the American people created a Trump presidency. Trump was only the puppet dancing to the tune of our collective consciousness. By our failure to to claim our Spiritual voice and power, we let a pretender to the throne act as if he had protection under the 500 year old rule of a divine king—namely that he was the vehicle of God’s voice and whatever he chose to do, beheadings etc., he could not be held accountable for his crimes because God ordained it.
During Trump’s presidency, a Washington Post article made the following observation about attorney general Merrick Garland:
“In allowing miscreants to escape accountability, Garland has effectively told his Department that there are no consequences for unethical or even illegal conduct.”
In this I hear the call to integrity from that rare and powerful event when Pluto conjoined Saturn in the sign of Capricorn on January 12, 2020. Like the aftermath of volcanic eruptions, the new 500-yr cycle poured in like hot lava over stygian waters. It immediately changed the landscape—almost overnight the world stopped, never be the same. There’s an old familiar saying, spoken from exhaustion and weariness, “Stop the world, I want to get off!” That’s a powerful wish that has now come true! Suddenly, the doors closed on the so-called rat race.
Covid-19 is a tragedy of lost lives, and a proof that we can stop the constant rush hour, but it is coincidental to the once in 500 years alignment of patriarchal Saturn and transformational Pluto, January 12, 2020. Covid-19 has been a catalyst, but is not the cause of the ensuing shift in consciousness we are called to make —from deception to honestly, from lies to integrity, from abuse of power to the empowerment of the disadvantaged and downtrodden.
The Post article was a courageous attempt to shine a light into the shadows where ruthless abuse of power has had free reign--for far more than 500 years--mainly because its lies and propaganda acted as a smokescreen. Who can see clearly in a fog? No one, unless our focus is on what’s right in front of us. Seems there’s plenty to see and do right in our own neighborhood, our family home, our jobs. What’s your next step?
Events of unchecked abuse, violence and callous power mongering spilled onto the headlines as the doors of that new cycle were flung open. We’re invited to rigorously examine our own moral compass, our own efforts to stay in integrity and honesty and fairness in our actions. The stark contrast between truth and lies has been magnified, so that hopefully we could see it clearly. Many of us do see it. And we’ve felt the despair and weariness of it.
It is a dying thing. We have seen kings and presidents and judges and criminals and police no longer even pretend to fairness. Do they know we can see right through them? Do we hear an echo of that spontaneously innocent young girl who stood on the sidewalk watching the parade, and while most were to scared to say anything at all, she shouted, “The Emperor has not clothes on!” If you want to end your confusion about what’s up with the supreme court or the congress or the political parties, read The Emperor’s New Clothes.
I’ve been curious about how this archetype of the narcissistic ruler keeps repeating and repeating and we don’t seem to see it coming or know what to do about it when we do see it clearly. What was the destructive power of the self-appointed Divine King, Henry VIII? In part, he did whatever he wanted to, without being held accountable for any of it. After all, he considered himself above all laws. Even when the Pope tried to limit his actions, Henry simply turned against the catholic church and created a church of his own—the Church of England.
The Doctrine of the divine right of kings essentially exonerates the king from any wrongdoing based on the fact that he proclaims himself to be the agent of God's Will. Therefore to defy him is to defy God.
That one example of abuse of power, Henry VIII, has been echoing through marriages and governments and corporations and men with guns for the past 500 years. Aren’t we watching history repeating itself—with slight changes in dialogue and costumes?
Is there nothing new under the sun? Jupiter’s energetic signals are pushing doors open to new horizons of opportunity and renewed optimism. That’s more or less usual for Jupiter. What’s different, now that he’s in Aries fire, is that those opportunities will be for trailblazing, for charging ahead with innovations—like an innovative pioneer moving always forward, never looking back.