Laurence James Lucas

Key Points

Once More for Emphasis

It is imperative to recognize that the Enchantments of Life is a developmental map of human nature. It is not describing ‘those people’; it is describing all of us, the elements within the human psyche. The introductory key phrases and concepts for each Enchantment can appear quite ruthless in places. However, the map affords us an opportunity to gain an acceptance and an appreciation of the human drama, as well as to cultivate some humour about ourselves.

Upon initial exposure to the developmental view (especially true with the colour scheme of Spiral Dynamics), we do tend to see the levels as ‘types of people’, which is useful at first for ease of absorption—but not for deeper understanding. Seeing the levels as ‘types’ fuels prejudice and blocks perception.

As we move into the next Enchantment, there is an evolutionary suppression of our earlier self. Quite simply, we forget and we dis-identify with our earlier selves as we re-form the identity.

I urge you to stay open to the fact that each of the Enchantments is within you as a residual structure or as a latency to come.

Back Beyond the Veil

When working with clients, I always ask for a basic recapitulation of childhood. In the vast majority of cases, we find that our memories of childhood are sparse. Events that show up as having mythic import in the astrology chart are translated as mundane occurrences by the adult mind. What does this tell us?

The earlier stages of development are mysterious—this applies to both childhood development and cultural evolution. The early stages are harder to connect to and more elusive than we generally appreciate. The wall of Saturn Enchantment, which seems to arise from as early as 7 years of age, acts to shroud our earliest experiences from birth.

The stages that surround our centre of gravity in adulthood—Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune—are the most easily recognizable, compared with either the early stages (Ceres and prior) or the later stages (Pluto and onwards). Bearing this in mind, the overview of the earlier stages of development needs a much deeper explanation, which I will address in later works.

Backwards and Forwards

I adhere to the ‘oscillation of focus’ that was revealed through the empirical testing of Dr Clare Graves. In this regard, Dr Graves seems to stand out as the clearest voice. As a general rule we can see that development oscillates between:

1. Internal, collective, past-orientated focus, where involution of consciousness is emphasized; and,
2. External, individual, future-orientated focus, where evolution is emphasized.

Larger Lifescapes with More Going On

As we progress, the time frame and the spatial area to which we connect expands and complexifies in accordance with the size and scale of community that we belong to or are embedded within.

Each stage adds more to the reservoir of all human experience and knowledge. None of the stages are ‘wrong’.

By appreciating the underlying pattern that informs a lot of our choices, developmental maps give us the opportunity and tools to honour the journey of a human being, rather than sneering at the archetypes of any earlier stage.

For example, as we exit Uranus and enter Neptune Enchantment, we are seduced into becoming more sophisticated by watching fringe films, listening to world music, going to minority community theatre productions and looking at indigenous art from all around the world. The motivation is associated with both ego-led glamour and the soul’s authentic urge to expand the sense of terrain.

Transitional Stages

As well as evolving through the main Enchantment stages, we also go through transitional stages. These transitional stages can be further divided into a time of moving out of the Enchantment we were emotionally centred in and then into the upcoming Enchantment. Each stage and transition has its own flavour.

My evaluations of these transitions are directly inspired by own experiences and observations of other people, as well as by the works of Dr Clare Graves and other researchers in the field.

In general, we will experience a reaction against the Enchantment we are leaving, with a concomitant feeling that we are entering a no-man’s-land. In this desert, the individual will try to recall what they used to do (in previous Enchantments) and then attempt to re-enact old ‘coping mechanisms’ (a Dr Graves term). Connections with friends can disappear, while the identity crisis heightens the feeling of being lost. In a transitional stage, there can be a danger of getting stuck—the individual may grow cynical and live in the past.

Here are some brief examples of the modes in the following nexus (from earlier to later):

Transitional stage between Saturn and Uranus Enchantments:

• An aspiration to become part of the winning crowd; to break out of a lower class; to model oneself on those who seems to have ‘arrived’.
• Secular-expert–led individual reacting against religious and moral conformity.
• Materialistic morality, based on the work ethic and linked to the idea of money as a reflection of value; devoid of religion or spirituality.
  

Transitional stage between Uranus and Neptune Enchantments:

• Positive-thinking individual seeking health, vitality and quality of lifestyle; believing in the rights of all individuals to develop themselves, based on realizing one’s potential.
• Taking up yoga, purely for the body, and eating ‘correctly’; noncommittal about spirituality.
• Entering therapy.
• Ardent secular humanitarianism.
  

More information about the transitional stages will follow in later posts, but the two examples above are the most pertinent to the world as it is today.

Classifications of Planets and Stages

The Enchantment stages are named after the key planets that have initiated the emergence of each stage, but there are more bodies involved than are named.

For example, in the Dark Sun Enchantment—the first stage of involution—involves the Sun, the Source, as well as Mercury, the impulse to incarnate and return to Source, and Venus, which is both the seduction of soul into matter and the pull of soul back into spirit.

Ceres Enchantment includes the whole of the main asteroid belt, where Ceres is the leader of the pack.

Likewise, Pluto is the leader of the pack of the vastly populated Kuiper belt.

Chiron Enchantment includes many of the Centaur-like objects and some of the scattered disc objects.

Beyond Chiron Enchantment is Pholus Enchantment. Pholus was discovered in 1992 and the objects associated with this level include an even-greater orbital expanse.

Sedna, the inner Oort cloud object, seems to suggest yet another level of reality.

On the Far Horizon

The Maya 2012 era, from around 1980–2016 (as defined by John Major Jenkins), is a time of enormously increased astronomical discovery. This is indicative of a seeding of new realities with extraordinary future potentials.

The 2012 era, denoted by the conjunction of the Winter Solstice Sun with the galactic equator, tells the astrologer that we are living through a cosmic seeding period, which is linked to the next evolutionary cycle for our species, as we awaken to planetary consciousness and venture into the cosmic realms.