On death, decay and transformation..

Death has many definitions and each definition can be as unique as the specific kind of death that took place. As a person with a prominent Pluto, touching every single planet in the natal chart and blessed with an eight house eclipse, I believe I had my share on death and transformation in this life. Death and transformation has its unique and powerful qualities. Irreversibility is one of them. In fact where there is an irreversibility, it’s quite possible that there is also some form of death there too.

Every “living thing” dies. Don’t think of death only as the death of a person. Everything that loses its liveliness and transforms into something else can die. Feelings, habits, thoughts, ideas, tastes, beliefs, rules and structures can die.

Marriage is the death of celibacy, divorce is the death of marriage. For instance changing gender is the death of the life in the other gender, to really really love something, someone or a belief is the death of the ego. Everything that can be changed irreversibly, can die.

If you are trying to cope with death on any level, this article is written for you. Death is a difficult experience on every level.. But maybe it is possible to take a different look on death and while honoring your loss with compassion, also allowing yourself to experience this process as something that empowers your soul would be possible.

Times of change that are accompanied by a tremendous amount of emotional intensity like death, are symbolized by Scorpio and Pluto in astrology. The concept of death is also governed by Saturn. It’s no surprise that in the western astrology which is based on phases of nature, death is symbolized by Scorpio season where death of nature takes place.

“Irreversibility” as the most significant quality of every death, also involves a force that makes this change a transformation. This force or the power can lead an internal transformation when it can be owned that is if the circumstances allow, or can manifest itself as unwanted, painful, devastating changes, setbacks and crisis that are difficult to adapt.

Death, like the falling of the leaves in autumn when nature is preparing to die. Before the rebirth in spring, there is the winter where the death and the sense of loss deepens even more. Rebirth is definitely not to be taken for granted. The weak, not strong enough to survive cold winter, dies. Some branches need to be truncated to bloom again. Life coming out of death is only possible through enduring difficult conditions deep down (underground/ in the dark/inner world/ out of sight). Just like the seeds the death of nature leaves behind. Every death, leaves behind seeds of a new life.

The winter stands for your inner journey after death of someone you love, forced to change country, losing a job you love, material loss, transformation of your body, the end of a relationship you wanted to keep, loss of a dear friend, a son, a daughter, a pet, being cheated on, even a death of a dream.

Beneath the process of acceptance of death, there lies a psychological depth and a power waiting to be awakened. Mostly these times are seen as hard times that people want to get over with quickly, are precious for the journey of the soul. To live and feel every second of an inevitable destruction is no pony ride. Death is not easy to experience..Life always wants to continue.

The most beautiful people we have known are those who have known defeat, known suffering, known struggle, known loss, and have found their way out of the depths. These persons have an appreciation, a sensitivity, and an understanding of life that fills them with compassion, gentleness, and a deep loving concern. Beautiful people do not just happen.

Above words belong to a writer who deeply effects my soul, Elisabeth Kübler Ross. Her precious book “On death and dying” which was published in 1969, she tells that death and the grieving process has 5 stages. Ross was a psychiatrist and her work with patients who have terminal diseases and awaiting death made this book possible. According to Ross, the process begins with denial and continues with anger, negotiation, depression and acceptance.

The process doesn’t necessarily have to be experienced in this order. But her work points out that a person who faces death, is exposed to at least 2 of these phases. How many phases will be experienced and in which order changes according to the person or the circumstances. People who experience the death process in the worst possible way are the ones who resist to death by not being able to accept it.

In one way, Scorpio which represents death and transformation, finds its expression in Pisces. Acceptance is the realm of Pisces. All wisdom begins with acceptance. Pisces is related with a transcending understanding of life and death, requiems, divine power of music, spirituality, all kinds of drugs and addictions, letting go and losing sense of self, losing focus, being on the mercy of inevitable conditions, sense of eternity, arts and the dream world. Most of the time, we see these as a way of coping with death..

On the other hand, both Scorpio and Pluto has a reputation for having no patience for face value of things. They are interested in the core reality which nobody likes to dig in and the pure truth that might have the power to change the situations irreversibly. Through death, we are faced with questions we were afraid to ask and contemplate on the answers and in the end the cleansing and letting go takes place which is necessary to the transition to a life after death. Death is a great teacher and a psychiatrist who is capable of shaking you to the core if you accept it. Death becomes a trauma and hurts the soul when it is not accepted.

As it is with everything, death happens on many levels. Death on the spiritual level is the deepest. Then emotional level, mental level and the least the physical level. Deaths happening out of physical levels lack a more refined and subtle understanding which means how you experience death much depends on your own depth of understanding. Death defies all to be said, makes most words futile and mostly people don’t know what to say or how to act around a person who experiences a death. Even people very close to you might not understand what you are going through. For instance, it is almost impossible for someone who never had a close relationship with an animal to get a grasp of what a person who lived with a dog for 13 years experiences when the dog passes away..Even people who had pets can not get what it is exactly like for you, because it is impossible for them to understand your own very personal experience blended with your emotions and your memories and only valid for you just like a fingerprint.

In fact, I think in times like these, no one can actually understand how you go through death and what you think and “feel”. On the other hand deep sorrows emanating from death or loss, has a way of empowering us, making it crystal clear how fragile and sensitive life is like no other experience can and enabling us to develop a more sensitive and responsible approach to any living being and to life itself.

Within this process, there lies a huge potential for spiritual transformation. Death opens the door to a spritiual world by reminding you that there is something more to this life then just eating, drinking and having a good time. One can only stand before this door by the acceptance of death and to come to that you need to come to terms with intense and powerful emotions, and in some cases a depression might be a part of acceptance process.

Being compassionate to yourself, giving yourself time during the hard times of death and loss and positive affirmations around your loss of course helps. What else there is to do other than finding solace in resorting to God, remembering our weakness and mortality and the main reason for being alive and praying?

Transformation of death which is symbolized by Scorpio is by the means of Gemini. Adapting to changes and lightening up enough to talk about those very deep and powerful emotions you’ve felt, it means the most important part of the journey to transformation is completed.

“What life on earth all about is actually a death. Death that scares us is the life itself. Thinking the opposite of this, like seeing death not as being reborn to a new world, but to as coming to an end is only lack of faith! If God burns the house of flesh, do not groan or complain. Know this well you are a prisoner in your body, you will be saved when death comes and tears down you body. Rumi”