Ramblings, Reflections and Ruminations of Daniel Giamario | Nov 28, 2024 |
Preamble
In these final months of the Kali Yuga, and well past the midpoint of the Great Turning of the Ages precessional cycle (1962-2034), it is time to explore again just what TOTAMS is all about and what we stand for. I also had something happen last week that further motivated me to illuminate this topic anew.
A long-time client, during a session, informed me that she had asked ChatGPT about her Uranus cycle, and it dutifully gave her dates and a mainstream interpretation that freaked her out. We are sure to hear this kind of thing more and more. There may be over a hundred astrology apps out there now. I even personally spent thousands of hours of my life in the development of The Pattern app, the foundation of which is the Shamanic Astrology Paradigm ™. I fervently hope I haven’t contributed to something that can possibly be damaging.
The AI tech-wave seems unstoppable. In the face of this, TOTAMS is committed to offering an alternative. No AI or even the best app can ever replace a human soul-to-soul connection. Every chart and every personal consultation is completely unique and cannot be quantified or averaged. AI and apps can only be a simulacra of the real thing which includes spirit and soul. Our school will also always advocate and emphasize in-person courses and gatherings as much as possible. Meeting in circle, looking into each other’s eyes, and sharing our hearts in sacred space is where and how the magic happens!
What About Technology?
TOTAMS is committed to being an AI-free zone. I found the following at the top of the homepage of Spaceweather.com, a website I frequently visit to get intel: “This is an AI Free Zone! Text created by ChatGPT and other Large Language Models is spreading rapidly across the Internet. It’s well-written, artificial, frequently inaccurate. If you find a mistake on Spaceweather.com, rest assured it was made by a real human being.”
As you can see in the image here, we have been inspired to place something similar in the News section of our TOTAMS website:
Click here to read a further elaboration of this topic.
Hand Calculated Charts
Until around 1980, I was hand calculating my charts. I got to where I was able to do one in about 20 minutes. But I certainly loved being able to have them calculated for me, and for years was receiving “client of the month” awards from Astro-Computing Services. I now love my desktop Solar Fire astrology software. As you can see, I am not opposed to technology per se. I like to think of our school as “neo-Luddite”. We are not opposed to technology, but rather believe that if you choose to use it, have a relationship with nature first. We teach a form of astrology that would work at any time of history, with or without technology. These days, so many folks have phone apps that tell you what star or constellation you are looking at. Learn it through your eyes, senses, and brain first, and then, if you must, use the app as a means of verification.
My view is that AI, and a free and open internet, can be great research tools, just like computer programs are great to calculate charts. But always question everything that AI or the internet delivers, and develop your own intuition and intelligence. Don’t fall into the trap of letting AI do your thinking for you!
Without question, earlier in my life I was grateful to have the phone for remote readings, now replaced by ubiquitous Zoom and its kin. These platforms do offer another simulacra of reality, and often a rather good one at that – for as long as it’s not some avatar that shows up instead of you! Nevertheless, it remains but a simulation, and never the complete reality of a Soul-to-Soul connection.
For a further explanation of my views on technology, see these two articles:
https://turningoftheages.com/technosis-part-one/
https://turningoftheages.com/technosis-part-two/
The briefest of summaries of those resources is: “Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should.”
What is a Mystery School?
How is TOTAMS a “Mystery School?” What does that even mean?
The “Mystery” in the expression “Mystery School” originally and traditionally refers to a special gnosis, or a secret wisdom. Such schools have been dedicated to explore the secrets of Life and to learn the secrets of this hidden knowledge. Only sincere students displaying a desire for this knowledge and then meeting certain tests were considered worthy of being introduced to these “mysteries.” Historically there has always been an initiatory dimension to a Mystery School. Clearly a Mystery School is NOT a secular or mainstream form of education.
The Turning of the Ages Mystery School (TOTAMS) has been founded on this perennial understanding of a Mystery School, with the concept of “Great Mystery,” as the suggested and preferred way of designating the Ultimate Reality of Existence. Hermeticists often use the terms “The One Reality”, or sometimes, ‘The Pattern” to refer to this same “Great Mystery.” In India, the well-known mantra “I Am THAT, Thou art THAT, all THIS is THAT” also refers to this same “Great Mystery.”
In contemporary times, at the Turning of The Ages, a considerably larger percentage of people can gain access to the knowledge and experience of “Great Mystery”, as global humanity is, hopefully, moving beyond class, caste, and hierarchy. The requirement to have special priest/priestess elites high above everyone else and keeping secrets for no other reason than dominance and control is being rightfully exposed. Nevertheless, sincerity, intelligence, a willingness to study, and the courage to undergo an initiatory process remain integral parts of the Turning of The Ages Mystery School.
TOTAMS will therefore always offer courses that have initiatory and ceremonial components. We combine Knowledge, Initiation and Experience. with as many in-person events as possible strewn into the mix!
The Balance between Hierarchy and “Democracy”
One of the greatest challenges in making a school like ours or any organization work is to find a balance between authentic hierarchy and democracy. I have noticed that, in our times, hierarchy, and especially concepts of “hierarchical”, “matriarchal”, and “patriarchal” are rightfully criticized. And yet, cults of “hero kings” and saviors capture the attention of so very many! This is troubling. In the Kali Yuga, all is inverted.
During previous times, the respected elders and leaders, whether king, queen, shaman, priest, priestess or chief, derived their respect and power because of their spiritual initiations and deep learning. In our current times of the deepest descent into materialism, leaders derive their status by having the most money or the largest armies – rule by oligarchs and military commanders! Even worse, rule by a minute group of an unelected, technocratic, scientific elite. However, remember that there can, in fact, be authentic hierarchy, such as in parent-child, teacher-student, and therapist-client relationships.
Democracy as a system of governance was not well-thought of by almost every philosopher, as it easily becomes majority rule, then mob-rule and egregore. Even the United States’ founding fathers warned against it and were deeply concerned that the US would descend into democracy. In an age where so many can be manipulated by media and propaganda, the ideals of democracy, including building consensus, can only work in smaller groups and communities.
Rudolf Steiner, recently a major influence on me, profoundly struggled with finding solutions to these issues. His attempted idea was to be a respected teacher and leader of his school, and to then delegate responsibility to satellite communities and groups that would work with democratic procedures and consensus building. The ultimate decisions, rightly so, were to remain in his hands. These inquiries have become an important topic as TOTAMS moves into 2025.
The Individual vs. the Collective
A related issue is the relationship between the individual and the collective. Every spiritual teacher that I have loved and been influenced by – Steiner, Aurobindo, Rudhyar etc. – is clear that evolution can only occur from the individual and not the collective. Consequently, TOTAMS is committed to assisting the individual in finding their life purpose, taking their place on the wheel of life, and then contributing to the collective.
I have watched in dismay as the philosophy of the “greater good”, a vestige of the long-debunked utilitarian philosophy, has again taken hold.
As I have written about many times, the archetype of Aquarius cannot be fully understood, without its resonant polarity of Leo. Disregard the Leo polarity and the overemphasis on the collective in Aquarius becomes its ultimate shadow – the mob and the egegore! Certainly, Pluto in Aquarius will starkly reveal this. The sovereignty and autonomy of the Self in Leo can create a good balance. How can the purported ideals of individualism and uniqueness most often emanating from Aquarius be real without the individual?
My early mentor and teacher Dane Rudhyar explored this issue in his philosophical magnum opus: “The Planetarization of Consciousness.” He proposes an interesting dialectic: The Thesis begins with clan and tribal consciousness. This is followed by the Antithesis arriving about 575BCE, symbolized by the Uranus-Neptune-Pluto conjunction. This era established the primacy of the individual and of individual self-awareness and enlightenment. Individual horoscopes appeared for the first time then. Subsequently, the Synthesis is the Planetarization of Consciousness, wherein the individual joins and co-creates with the entire planet.
Virtual, Nomadic and Landed
Another important aspect of TOTAMS is its three expressions:
Virtual: The school has a strong presence online, and most importantly offers online course for certification.
Nomadic: Equally important are our journeys to sacred sites and offering our courses in magical locations. We particularly love working with eclipses and lunar standstills.
Landed Location: We have always desired a physical location for the school for courses and events. An exciting announcement about this is coming soon!
The Four Pillars and the Four Branches
TOTAMS is more than just astrology. As our website announces, we have four primary pillars:
Astrology: Our unique form of astrology, the Shamanic Astrology Paradigm ™, also known as TheGiamarioApproach™ and TotamsAstrology™, sourced by the founder.
Cosmology: We emphasize direct experience of the night sky as well as knowledge of the Turning of The Ages. We feel that to really be an astrologer, it’s necessary to know the sky.
Spirituality: The school and its paradigm are founded on strong spiritual and philosophical foundations, including Rudhyar, Jung, Reich, Aurobindo, Steiner and many others. This is important as this school aims to assist the individual in aligning with their life purpose and journey towards self-realization.
Ceremony: We align with Earth and Sky, always connecting with the direct experience of the Hermetic dictum of as above – so below, as within-so without. The intention is to bring Heaven to Earth.
These 4 pillars are expressed through the four branches of our school.
The Eight Main Principles
Click here to recap the eight main principles of the TOTAMS Astrological Approach
The Primary Purposes of the School
The Mission of the Turning of the Ages Mystery School (TOTAMS) is to provide transformational education in astrology and astronomy that celebrates the magical link between Earth and Sky.
TOTAMS aspires to share with the world a unique and useful astrological paradigm that reconnects us with the land and the sky through the use of astrology, cosmology, ceremony and spirituality. We are committed to assisting those members of global humanity discover their soul’s purpose and live a life in alignment with their original intent through a path and process of initiation.
To achieve this, our highest goal is to locate and cultivate seed people: those possessing the skills and knowledge necessary to maintain and disseminate the wisdom of our ancestors. We seek to be part of a renaissance inspired by this ancestral wisdom, where each of us must be as conscious as possible of the current global situation, and participate in dreaming the vision onward into a new epoch at this great Turning of the Ages.
TOTAMS serves as an alternative to mainstream and traditional astrology, for navigating the final portion of the Kali Yuga, and thriving at this great Turning of The Ages. This is quite important in these days of bifurcation and timeline splits.
Deeper Explanation of My Views
The following is a version of what I share with those who desire to work with TOTAMS. I will explain the genesis and development of my thinking in greater depth.
In 1964, a book came out called “Understanding Media: The Extensions of Man” by Marshall McLuhan. From this book came the well-known phrase: “The Medium is the Message”. What was meant was that the form of the message (visual, media, advertising etc.) would become the message. With the rapid rise of omnipresent advertising agencies, wonderfully captured by the TV show Mad Men and later involving media brainwashing and co-option as in the movie “Network”, this became dramatically evident in the 1960s. I am not saying this movement away from factual and authentic media content only started in the 1960s. But it sure became evident to our generation then and of course, has only accelerated since. McLuhan was so prescient about that.
By nature, I have always had deep suspicion of flash sales techniques and of following trends. I even openly criticized NLP and its offshoots for many of the same reasons. I have spent many of my early years in the TM scene, EST, and even Scientology, only to discover the dark truth: it was always primarily about sales and recruiting. This broke my heart in so many ways. I have come to have a visceral reaction to any hint of using media, trends, sales and advertising, which would obscure the actual message, the authentic content. Many of my generation have this sense, but then countless younger folks can sense this also. The word “inversion” applies here.
The Symptoms of Kali Yuga
But may I first remind you of the symptoms of Kali Yuga:
“The Vishnu Pranas, a mythological text of the Hindu’s, described it this way:
Kali brought sin into the world. In the Kali Age the proper order of human relations is reversed; social status depends upon the ownership of property; wealth has become the only source of virtue; passion and luxury are the sole bonds between spouses; falsity and lying are the conditions of success in life; sexuality is the sole source of human enjoyment; religion, a superficial and empty ritual, religion is confused with spirituality.”
Robert Lawlor, Voices of the First Day, p.76
I would add here:
When science becomes “scientism”; when definitions of things are altered whenever it serves the controllers; when a social media profile is more important that actual and truthful human connection; when consensus reality and utilitarianism: (“the greater good”) attacks genuine diversity and with it the full spectrum of organic human 1.0 possibilities. And last but not least, the attack on personal sovereignty and an attempt to make an inner life obsolete.
Many more examples can be given, right up to the ultimate inversion: human evolution or “progress” leading to becoming artificial intelligence, which would be the deepest possible descent into materialism, the extinction of our connection to Soul and Spirit, and the most comprehensive Kali Yuga descent ever known. It will make the Fall of Atlantis look like a walk in the park!
When the Medium becomes the message, and the authentic content is less important, altered, or watered-down, then that’s another symptom of Kali Yuga. When the sales angle or using current trends or styles are the leading edge, to me that equally is an inversion, which I have a visceral reaction to for which I am not alone.
Words Do Matter
Words really do matter and I must share that I even have a negative visceral reaction to the word “brand”. It comes from the Old English word “fire, flame, destruction by fire”, also a burning piece of wood. You can see how this came to be used in branding cattle. Later on, it acquired the additional connotation of “brand-new”. But even there it originally meant that the earlier form would be burned down. In my view, this is the wrong approach. What the Turning of The Ages Mystery School is doing is evolving and transforming the school and website. But it will always rest on the great foundation of our lineage and the experiences of my own life.
It was my as well as many others of my generation’s refusal to buy into the inversions which was instrumental in the creation of this powerful astrological paradigm in the first place. I do respect that and remain committed to it. Having said that, I am keenly interested and open to getting our contributions and knowledge out there in better ways. New platforms, new approaches to the use of media and media platforms etc. are great. For example, I would love it if our astrologers and teachers showed up more often on the platforms we use. We are accomplishing a lot, for which I am so grateful.
A Courageous Soul With An Open Heart
Now at age 76, I have been reflecting on all this quite a lot. And as the reality of the Kali Yuga descent becomes even more evident, truthfully, in my view there actually was a greater and wider swathe of people in the world awake in the 1960s than there are now – though I would really like to be wrong about that.
This is not all doom and gloom, because it is also true that a courageous soul with an open heart in Kali Yuga, at the time of deepest devolution and materialism, is more greatly connected to the comprehensively complete human experience and our divine and holy nature as the sons and daughters of Gaia and Christos/Sophia. This is far grander than at a time when almost everyone is open-hearted, as in Sat Yuga, the Golden Age. We are, indeed, the Seed People!