Modern society not only talks to us a lot about sex; upon investigation we discover there is a sexual structure to language, itself. Remember your own studies with a foreign language and how ridiculous it seemed to add masculine and feminine endings to all nouns and verbs? What do they do, pull down a verb's pants to see what it’s got? We swim in a veritable language soup of sexual and sexist connotations.

The "liquid" nature of these presumptions allows them to fall deep into our subconscious minds, thereby entering the collective unconscious, where we are not aware of their effects. Our world is indeed sexual in nature; every single atom reflects the law of balance between positive protons and negative electrons. With seeming "sympathetic oscillation," the electrons remain in constant motion, circling the massive nucleus of the atom. All possible materials (organic or not) are composed of equal numbers of both protons and electrons. This may well represent the sexuality of physics, for it defines the law of equilibrium inherent in all matter.

Whether we speak of atoms revolving around a nucleus, or the very planets keeping their orbits around the sun, this pattern exists universally. It is powerfully metaphorical. The polarities (male/female) must balance; nature established these rules eons ago.

Scientists wonder what holds these "building blocks" together. From an earthly viewpoint, the answer is "magnetism." Do we truly understand this power? Earth, itself, possesses both a positive pole and a negative pole. A current continually traverses this "spine," and the very force of it seems to animate earth's unceasing axial rotation. Hypothetically speaking, if one pole weakened, the earth could not maintain its proper axis or rotation. Recent seers and ancient prophets, alike, speak of a forthcoming shift likely to affect the earth's axis. They term this phenomena "pole shift" and believe it has happened before in earth's long, evolutionary history.

Some interpret Biblical scripture to warrant the same prophecy. However, it has been noted that the Bible often serves as a symbolic, rather than a literal, document. In that case, could it be that the pole shift referred to is more concerned with a shift in the relationship paradigms between the masculine and the feminine? Eastern religions define the duality as Yang (masculine force) and Yin (feminine force). Psychoanalyst Carl Jung suggested that within every male there is a feminine counterpart (anima), and within every female, a masculine counterpart (animus). These opposites are vital complements to one another. All efforts to understand human behavior must take this complementary equation into account.

Joseph Campbell's Power of Myth and Jean Shinoda Bolen's: Goddesses in Every Woman helps to us gain an overview of mythological archetypes. From this perspective, "Mars, the Roman god of war," has never died; he is alive and well in the collective unconscious of the human race. This muscular perspective views war as sport and is rather comfortable in our modern world.

On the other hand, Mars' polarity, Venus (Aphrodite) became identified with the feminine force of love, unity, and aesthetic expression. The separation between the sex roles was firmly established. Societies linked to Venus?values, (Italy during the Renaissance) placed their highest collective emphasis on the Arts, cultural achievements, and community life. However, neighboring regions that worshipped Mars (the sword, and later, gun powder) became omnipresent threats to them. Such societies have always posed a threat to gentler nations.

According to astrological theory, the entity of Mars is a viable energy principle, actualized to one degree or another in every individual. In fact, it is possible to predict how two "egos" may adjust to one another through the relative positions of each individual's Mars. Astrologers can also define the "sexual chemistry" between two people by analyzing the relationship of one partner's Venus to the other's Mars. Searching for evidence of polarity, it is precisely this magnetism that generates mutual attraction. It's irresistible stuff, and explains what psychology often can not: the illogical bonding of many couples. Whether we call it love, animal magnetism, or instinct, it would "smell as sweet by any other name." There is a very real binding gravity that works through the mesh of our own inner myths!

Examining this Mars?Venus polarity further, we can look to the cycles of history. Relative to mankind and the painful lessons of war, Venus?based civilizations were sitting ducks for the rabid trained armies sent by Mars?oriented societies. These warriors were a veritable class that thrived on plunder, thievery, rape and other acts of violence.

Mars can be a deadly force, even unto itself. Without an enlightened social balance, Mars has??over the centuries??gone unchecked. True to the ranks of military life, people, worldwide have been divided into hierarchical "control groups." Mars uses fear to justify the major expense of weapons, armies and "defense" technology. Venus, to the contrary, promotes a quality life for the collective. Cultural, religious, ethnic and racial exclusions are not a part of Venus' value system. Venus' celestial role may well be to teach us how to have community lives worth living.

Mars is, in many respects, indicative of the patriarchal emphasis societies have experienced for several millennia. There has been a strong wielding of control, authority set outside of the self, and power grossly misused. We often hear it said that "human nature doesn't change" or that "history repeats itself." These fatalistic presumptions suggest that premeditated human misery and war are inevitable.

With the analogy of a boat, I'd like to propose an alternative view. For a boat to move forward, it requires the use of both oars. If only one oar is in use, the boat will simply circle, endlessly. As modern societies fashioned after Judeo?Christian ethics, (although admittedly Eastern religions share many of these assumptions), we have indeed been circling. After all, there has been only one oar in the water for centuries??that of patriarchal bias in everything from religion to science. Nothing consequently, has served as the other oar, allowing societies to change direction and achieve quality life for all concerned. Thus we remain on a compulsive course where wars employing graver weapons, environmental rape, and epidemic violence within the family claim to be the "facts of life."

When the voice of the matriarchal (Venus), with its mystical capacity to unify, is given equal audience, we shall indeed have two oars in the water. That way, humanity's "vessel" could stop circling and be navigated onto a more progressive course.

There is a direct relationship between child abuse, domestic abuse, date rape, campus rape and rape of the land. They all reflect the "ethic of Mars." Society appoints "experts" to focus on minute pieces of the big puzzle, and their vision is myopic, at best. Mars' favorite modern arena is mass media sporting events. These offer powerful subliminal messages, as clone?prowess is celebrated: the weak lose and get "slaughtered." Mars, and those who identify strongly with him, inflate themselves with the status of Number One, and believe they are superior to others. Actually living up to only half their innate potential, each maintains the rationale of an ancient conqueror, believing him self justified in taking what he will. There is no living conscience. There is no acknowledgement of the victim's pain. The teachings conveyed through sporting events??in subliminal ways?? is that brute power, even through steroids, is more attractive than intelligence, wisdom and collective justice. Sports may appear to engage teamwork, just as Mars can power a unified military force. However, for any formation to operate effectively, Mars must first extinguish the individuality of the "players." The leader becomes the brain all others serve as sinews of muscular tissue following out its orders. This is not analogous to the unifying principle of Venus which celebrates each one's personal creative contribution as a gift to the whole.

Astrological theory marks off approximately every 2,400 years as an" Age of Mankind." The Age of Aries marked the time frame when the Ancient Hebrews were given the Ten Commandments. Each Age tends to unify the principles of opposing signs. So that while Mars "rules" the sign of Aries; it naturally invokes Libra??the opposing principle. Libra is the sign responsible for codified law(s). Venus "rules" the sign of Libra providing us with natural laws and tools for living amicably together. The bottom line, however, is that Mars, alone, IS lawless. This lop?sided power will remain until Mars advances and comes to discover and respect his complement, Venus. He must willingly transform his lusts while recognizing ways to use personal power for the good of the world society as a whole.

Listening to gentlemen in uniforms discuss their "rules of war," actualizes the folly of those "theaters." Any P.O.W. learns that these rules are little more than comforting illusions designed to hoodwink the soldier into the pretense that war is as clean??in word and deed??as the shiny boots and pressed uniforms that somehow turn the unspeakable evil into something "civilized."

In our earliest stages, we required Mars to insure our survival against inclement weather, hostile animals, and long excursions in pursuit of new "promised lands." Today, the essence of Mars hangs violently over modern cities and suburbs. People are armed in their own homes as media reports the effects of an institutionalized drug war raging in most cities. Weapons are the top export of many industrialized nations, contributing to the universal climate of fear. The Middle East is its most current televised casualty.

After the Age of Aries came the gentler teachings of the Age of Pisces, wherein Jesus Christ, the "Fisher of men," attempted to demonstrate the regency of peace. Venus played a primary role here. As the planet of unity, Venus is "exalted" in the sign of Pisces; there, she represents the individual's awakened capacity to experience a "higher love." Certainly that was what Christ brought. However, at this moment in time, it seems obvious that humanity allowed its leaders to keep the "Mars ways" while simply borrowing Jesus' name as endorsement! Could Jesus, Prophet of peace, want his name associated with all the "holy wars" that have arisen since he rose from the cross?

Even the astrological paradigm shows us that Venus and Mars have a natural attraction and capacity for balance. Who can argue with the equinoxes? One, the Vernal Equinox under Aries, represents Mars; while the other, the Autumn Equinox under Libra, represents Venus. These two are intended to be complementary forces. As individuals learn to integrate these seemingly antithetical forces, the crystallization of a prophesied global benevolence will result.

Venus lives within the collective unconscious as much as does Mars. Venus brings us our great human love stories, and the power of loving individualists to move beyond personal province to heal the world. Mother Theresa, Gandhi, Buddha and lesser known saints follow this high calling.

How is it possible to balance these two, Venus and Mars? The Sun and the Moon have found a balance, and these two luminaries are symbolic counterparts of Mars and Venus! The sun, "ruler of the day" is akin to the Yang, objective state. The moon, "ruler of the night" is akin to the Yin, subjective state. The moon rules our memories, our unconscious and the sleep state; while the sun takes us into actions born of the "light of day." Both luminaries control and direct the rhythms of organic life.

Carlos Casteneda spoke to an Indian Shaman about this. Casteneda's teacher, Don Juan, referred to these two states of consciousness as the tonal (waking, objective realm) and the nagual (dreaming consciousness, subjective). This same polarity is spoken of in Ancient Aboriginal teachings; most indigenous spiritual belief systems worldwide address it. These two major strands mirror the very structure of DNA's double helix; perhaps this weave is essential, defining the tapestries of our very lives.

The Seth Material, channeled by Jane Roberts, also addresses this duality. Seth believed that we overemphasized it to such a degree that each individual was confronted with an internal battle between Yin and Yang, or Venus and Mars. He suggested we change the fabric of our daily lifestyles to integrate hours of sleep with hours of waking activity??throughout each 24?hour period. The total separation of sleeping from waking consciousness, he indicated, created and perpetuated not only a major gulf within each individual, but also a gulf that which separated the sex roles. Jung, Seth, Casteneda's Don Juan, and other key metaphysical writers share conclusions in many areas.

The question we are left with is how to tame Mars so that Venus is allowed her equal, balancing position in our modern world. Just as the electrons and protons must bind in equal measure to concretize matter (and perhaps keep the world turning); our human dilemma involves mastering this balance on first an individual level, and eventually a collective global level.

The media's interests do not seem to harmonize with this ultimate ideal. Unduly emphasizing Mars with gruesome, nightmarish images of death and dying; the collective unconscious continues to fill up with images of fear, Mars' handmaiden. The daily news sensationalizes countless tragedies which destabilize life by breeding fear.

The Judeo?Christian (patriarchal) belief that "God gave man dominion over the earth, the fish, the sea" has been misunderstood, misguided, manipulated and grossly misused. It has brought a sense of illusory psychic immunity to those whose profits emanate directly from desecrated earth, or the devaluation of indigenous peoples forced into virtual slave labor to acquire their daily bread. Such activity reflects the lowest form of the Mars?based "ethic."

Slowly and gingerly, some scientists are beginning to refer to earth as" Gaia," a living being. Every shaman and mystic has known from time's beginning that earth is a living being! Should the earth's waters become polluted beyond restoration, what can Mars do then? Would Mars even humbly apologize? Or would the great warrior cast himself upon the pyres of that which he laid to waste? Must Venus join him like the powerless Hindu wife who is forced to lie atop her dead husband in the funeral fires?

Mars does not value anyone's right to life! Mars can make death, but he is powerless to make life. For that, Venus is necessary. Interestingly enough, the extremely patriarchal focus of science strengthens the pursuit of inroads into "birth technology." As though the poetic blending of he and she were not perfect enough, Mars wants to imagine his own omnipotence in regard to reproductive powers??life by selection??the perfect race?

In practices of yoga, the martial arts, new?age psychology, and other consciousness?raising endeavors, the search for inner balance is paramount. Perhaps the alignment of our planet depends upon it!

We must bring this truth to bear not only in those educational channels which address our conscious minds??school text books, the perspective of teachers and lecturers??but also through those subliminal channels which dramatically mold group thought. Behavior closely follows belief. We are witnessing tremendous violence in our society. If the media wishes to mirror the human experience, we will all experience double indemnity. Thus we must take care not to focus on our errors, our suffering, our mistakes, primarily. This is a dangerously imbalanced vision. A negative perspective, like a virus, manifests itself in a thousand other miserable forms! How much horror must it take to shock us into new behaviors?

We have the opportunity to realize??at any moment??that we can move beyond the circles (cycles) history has set. This may well be our recipe for a new global consensus, the "pole shift" that is promised. Continued emphasis on Mars can only mean total annihilation of all living things. Somehow this process has been euphemistically referred to as "progress." Who ultimately profits from such propaganda?

Obviously all men do not choose to directly identify with lower Mars; some are advanced enough to question, understand and willingly abandon the old relationship paradigm, too.

The truth of the self is the truth of the atom; a balance between Yin (feminine/Venus) and Yang (masculine/Mars). Both make up the whole. Gods never die. However, we, as a race, could if we fail to reconcile this dyad.

Fairness, balance and equality are the solutions no political or academic system will acknowledge. Why? Because those archaic systems accord with a bias towards Mars. Patriarchal society has so long been in its clutches, it cannot recognize the essential critical flaw in its reasoning. The scenario is reminiscent of the white man who refuses the black man the vote. Patterns of societal inertia??based on selfish privilege for the few at the expense of the many—are outgrowths of Mars’ control over collective values. These systems of hierarchy must eventually give way to new systems of socio?political equality. We approach the gateway to yet another Age. The cosmic clock has struck the hour; the transition has already begun. Aquarius now rises and will teach us to honor the divinity within each individual.

A Great Plan is at work. That plan will echo many of the truths originally voiced and penned by America's "founding fathers." We will come to realize, know, and understand that each is "created equal." But we will understand these concepts in a new, enlightened way. This equality speaks of binding each of us to the Infinite, the unfailing omnipresent inner Source. Christ spoke of this transcendent union shared with "the Father." He even said, "I of mine own self can do nothing; it is the Father that doest the works." Learning to engage our co?creatorship with Divine Will shall dislodge us, individually and collectively, from past power hierarchies and their limiting belief systems.

For now, each must confront his own inner battle, which is essentially between ego-- Mars?based self?interest--and Spirit--a Venus-based capacity to identify with the collective good.

There's an awakening taking place. Invitations are being "sent out" from the pulse of the collective unconscious, presently directing Cosmic Cycles. Those not bound to the past vision, or to Mars, alone, for their immortality will unlock and open the door. They will have access to higher ideals and find themselves ready to lead others into this new "Promised Land." Whether the reader accepts the theory of reincarnation or not, in essence, male and female energies "masquerading" as electrons/protons, Sun/Moon, Mars/Venus, mirror, comprise, and create our very lives! It's an eternal dance.

As each of us masters this "balance and rhythm," we take humanity an inch closer to its ideal. Perhaps we all have arranged to meet at this time and place, to be architects of a New Age; builders of a society that uses Mars?power under the marvelous direction of Venus. Can you imagine what wonders are possible in a diversified world society that celebrates the relations of Yin to Yang and back again? At last, the essence of the double helix??yin and yang spun eternally and joyfully around one another??can be understood. To actualize this knowledge, each strand must become radiantly aware of the other. As the myth goes, Venus and Mars do love one another.

(The above essay was written in l994. Its essential thesis has been broadly expanded upon in my new book on Neptune and the closing phase of The Piscean Age. This volume will be available via iUniverse. Com publishing in November 2004.)