The Sacred Dance: Navigating Life's Eternal Rhythms

David Krovblit | Body and Soul, 2023

"Life is a series of moments, which one lives as if one were dancing right now, around and around each passing instant."

The Courage to Be Disliked

While we cannot halt the turning of time's wheel, we can learn to move with its rhythm. Throughout human existence, we have witnessed the quatern dance —a pattern that repeats across scales: cosmic, historic, economic, and intimate.

In history, we cycle through four distinct "turnings" spanning 80-90 years: the High (spring's renewal), where institutions are strong and individualism weak; the Awakening (summer's abundance), when spiritual upheaval challenges the established order; the Unraveling (fall's warning), as institutions weaken and individualism strengthens; and finally, the Crisis (winter's freeze), when society undergoes painful but necessary rebirth.

The same quaternion pattern governs economic cycles over similar 80-year spans: Innovation Season brings creative destruction; Growth Boom Season creates new wealth and opportunity; Shakeout Season consolidates winners and eliminates losers; and Maturity Boom Season harvests the fruits before the next inevitable disruption.

Even the moon guides us through her four phases each month: the hopeful New Moon of beginnings; the energetic Waxing Quarter of action; the illuminating Full Moon of culmination; and the reflective Waning Quarter of release—a microcosm of the greater seasonal journey from spring's birth to winter's contemplation.

In our personal lives, these same patterns emerge as planetary returns mark transformative thresholds: Although not a tetrad, some of our most significant turnings include Saturn's return at ages 27-30 testing our foundations; Uranus's opposition at 38-42 challenging our authenticity; Chiron's return from 49-51 offering healing of old wounds; and Saturn's second return at 58-60 bringing wisdom through acceptance and an opportunity to learn the lessons you may have denied.

Currently, we stand in winter's grip—the fourth turning, the crisis that began with the 2007-09 Great Recession is predicted to extend through the early 2030’s. But yesterday marks the Astrological New Year at a pivotal moment. Neptune is about to enter Aries to begin a 165-year cycle, Saturn will return to Aries after 30 years, and Uranus transits to Gemini for the first time in 76 years.

In this moment where endings and beginnings converge, we face not just external circumstances but an opportunity to optimize our internal response to them. By recognizing these interwoven cycles—from the diurnal rotations of Earth to the grand procession of ages—we can transform potential catastrophe into harmony.

While we cannot stop the eternal quaternal dance, we can consciously move with its rhythm, discovering the magnitude of our power to recreate anew with each turning of the wheel, with the changing of the seasons.

Sending Love,

J