The Spiritual Paradox of Separation and Union
When it comes to the spiritual idea of separation and union. Well, both separation and union are actually two states that exist simultaneously. We might be deeply searching for this sense of union, this desire. We search for it in many ways. Yet that what we seek is already with us. It is exactly in the lowliest of the low, in the most intense solitude and darkness, that we find it.
The Illusion of Separation
Though maybe this sense of separation itself is really a misunderstanding of the way things really are. If there is one other thing I learned in my life after the death of 8 loved ones by age 32, and being in a flood, that throughout the area took the lives of 15, that the only constant in life one will find is death, and with that at the same time the only constant of life is the observer within. Everything else is as much as it exists in this idea of it being separate, and behaving as such, is not truly so. As everything is impermanent and interdependent. As much as we can't separate light from shadow, we are not truly separate from the divine or others. Even if on another level we truly are separate and our own autonomous beings. Hence why both separation and union and interconnectedness exist at the same time.
With that said. Yes we will experience heart break, pain, loss and grief those emotions some deem to be negative. Yet this too is a distinction we make which is a duality. To be human is to ride the wave of life. From the pits of the underworld to the peak of the wave. This does not mean that we ought to suffer. As what we are is much more than the wave.
Transcending Piscean Dualities
The idea of separation versus union. Is as much reflected in the idea of scapegoat versus redeemer. Or shadow versus light. If we truly are to find wholeness and this sense of union, we have to let go of these old Piscean ideas. This entire idea of the contrast between separation (as represented by the scapegoat's isolation or rejection) and union (as embodied by the redeemer's ability to reconcile and unite). This too is reflected in the idea of the suffering servant versus the redeeming king. It is this entire framework itself which keeps us in the state of separation to begin with. Which creates scapegoating, shadow projection, and weird notions about virtue versus sin. Light versus shadow. Which is how suffering is perpetuated, through the passing around of the shadow, from one onto the other. It is not that these dualities don’t exist, but it is not for instance light versus shadow, but light and shadow. Whilst we should not act out and let the shadow take over in a destructive manner, we don’t have to judge it, or fight it. We can transform it.
Moving Beyond External Redemption
This framework keeps us yearning for a redeemer, something external symbolized by figures such as Jesus, Krishna, or any deity, to make us whole. That itself is a trap that perpetuates separation. What makes us whole is cultivating this wholeness within, nurturing it into being, bringing back the parts of ourselves that got lost and cut off. We must work through our pain with compassion, love, and understanding. This is something we can do ourselves; we don't need a redeemer or any external figure for that. While we may work with archetypes, our unconscious and the archetype of the Self within, this process ultimately requires an attitude of collaboration, courage, and a willingness to face the deepest depths of the underworld. We must go to the source of our pain, sit with it, and all the parts of us that hold this pain, including the divine child within that got ripped to pieces, leaving only the heart. Sit with this pain, with a sense of compassion and love.
Internal Healing and Integration
The traditional view often places the source of healing and redemption outside the individual, in the form of a divine figure or external redeemer. Yet this very framework maintains the sense of separation and the yearning for an external beloved. It perpetuates suffering, blame, shame, and sometimes even the glorification of separation and suffering. This keeps the individual stuck as a scapegoat or bearer of sins, waiting to be redeemed by something outside of themselves. The traditional view that sees the world as a place of exile from the divine presence, is itself echoed in the notion of the scapegoat exiled from wholeness. Our consciousness and awareness, whilst it separated us from the unconscious original wholeness, at the same time, it is the gift that can bring about a higher sense of wholeness. This gift, should not be seen through any lens of fault, shame or blame. It is through the cultivation of wisdom and overcoming of ignorance about the true reality, that we can find our way back to this state of wholeness.
If there is one thing I have learned from the Sovereignty Goddess, it is that the underworld and heavens are one. While we as humans cannot do this fully on our own, we can work together with archetypes such as the Goddess to integrate opposites within ourselves. This process of mending and healing our own woundedness with great compassion is the path to true wholeness.