*Be sure not to miss details on my December Book Giveaway at the bottom!

Identity shapes most of my mental activity. It has for as long as I can remember and it wasn't until the past several years that I was able to articulate the topic as that of Identity. Prior to that it was a meandering path of wondering. 

"Identity is a mentality. It's the approach," said my hometown NFL quarterback, Jalen Hurts a few weeks ago in an Eagles postgame conference when describing the identity of his football team.

Oooh that's good, I thought to myself as I scribbled it down. Yet another way to describe this elusive topic. 

The more I try to define or clarify what Identity is, the harder the task. Like most things in life, it depends on where we've been, where we're standing and what our outlook is.

Perhaps I didn't realize the disappearing nature of Identity until my recent love affair with this new book on the Daimon where author Cat Rose Neligan describes her similar issue when trying to define the Daimon - it is an slippery task. (This book comes highly recommended and a separate review is forthcoming!)

Something about the elusive nature - of defining Identity and even the Daimon - makes the quest even more attractive.

Houses and Where Identity Lives 

Astrologically, the topic of Identity lies in the 1st House. I think a lot about which house is my "favorite." Perhaps it's because I have two elementary aged children who are relentless in their quest to know my favorite anything, with frequent interviews and painful follow-ups. 

When I think about the Houses (or Places) in Astrology I'm like a kid in a candy store and popping from House to House drawn to what might be my favorite arena of life.

I think, "Oooh yeah, the 9th House is so juicy, so many ways to consider our belief systems and how to be in the world."

I churn the 7th house of relationships and partnerships and am reminded of how complex and beautiful they are and how much growth is embedded in the daily interactions between humans. The sum of those interactions fuse together over years building the essence of how we relate to one another. 

Through it all though, round and round the wheel I ponder, the 1st House of identity, self and personhood seems to have it's fangs in me. (I don't typically use the word fangs, but I can't think of another way to put it. I'm in the grip of it.) I gather that my interest here it's rooted in my personal 1st House natal placements as well as lessons I'm intended to explore. 

But I'm not alone in the fact that the 1st House offers a magnetic pull and layers to unpack, there are many of us drawn toward it whether consciously or unconsciously for reasons we may not ever understand. 

We don't need to understand why in order to feel satisfied in simply excavating what is buried within us and considering the role of 1st House lessons in our lives. 

Persona

In her book Saturn: A New Look at an Old Devil, esteemed Astrologer Liz Green offers this,

The idea of the "persona" offers a considerable amount of insight into the function of the Ascendant which is often maligned by being considered merely a superficial mask which has little relation to the inner reality of the person. Like masks of the ancient Greek tragedy, the persona is the person's statement of himself to the world; through his cultivated component of the psyche he declares his role according to the manner in which he has developed over the years...Ideally this role should be a synthesis of what is best in him, and most useful, and should be worn lightly so that the man does not make the mistake of identifying with his presentation.

(page 75)

So if we should not identify with our presentation of ourselves, the next thing that comes to mind may be: Well then, what/who do we identify with?

The elusive soul? Nothing? A complex tapestry of threads that represent the many intricacies of our unique being?

Green continues,

The first house is the most unformed part of the birth chart for it, even more than the rest of the chart, is a process of becoming.

(page 75)

Some of us may be here to work out these answers and our unique birth chart points to much more of our individual stories. 

As Jalen Hurts said, it's a mentality, an approach. This statement in an NFL press conference from a young leader led me to something I didn't even know I was looking for - yet another way to describe Identity. 

I'm grateful that you're here with me on this excavation and I'm hopeful that these ideas offer a sense of clarity, comfort or simply something worthwhile to ponder.

How can one describe their identity? How do you?

BOOK GIVEAWAY! Since you've made it this far, please consider subscribing to my newsletter here as I will be giving away Planetary Threads: Patterns of Relating Among Family and Friends by Lynn Bell this month!*

• *December 2021 book giveaway is for NEW email subscribers (subscribed between 11/5/21 and 12/22/21)...but January's book giveaway will be for EXISTING subscribers!
• *Winner will be selected on 12/23/21 and notified within 7 days. 
• *Winner must have United States mailing address to receive prize.

And, if you are in need of a same day reading, I'm happy to refer you to Lisa Paris! Lisa is doing amazing work on reincarnation studies and her site has great posts to peruse. 

Wishing you an illuminating Sagittarius season!

xo,

Marjorie 

Photo by David Menidrey on Unsplash