John Fraim

Many in the world today can see the two great symbols of the world in stark contrast. The starkest contrast they’ve been in for many years in history. Contrasts that occur perhaps each 70 years. Large collective cycles. Within the various positions the three planets (Earth, Uranus and Pluto) during this period. Perhaps the greatest period for historic change in that the two grand symbols are in their greatest opposition. Much like the phases that the film series Changing of the Gods I watched with you and learned much from.

Interesting about the planet geometry suggesting grand shifts in particular collective events on earth like the Renaissance positions of a nation in the world

There’s a lot of charlatans out there today hawking their goods. Like barkers along the main way of a carnival. Screaming at you to get your attention. As media that great scholar Neil Postman said in the title of his classic book, Amusing Ourselves to Death. 

In many ways, it’s about how distraction by forms of modern amusement (all media we hear, see today) play their parts in the distraction through amusement. The grand control device of government in the modern era. Using soft symbols of hidden persuasion rather than hard symbols of military and economic persuasion. Government mandates the past year evidence mandates methods of persuasion are in effect across the nation. 

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The battle between the two great symbols of masculine and feminine energy in the world is happening now. The type of showdown that will great something new thru some form of a modern alchemy. Or discovering and using the alchemy already working in the world. New leaders of populations must have this new mixture of the two modern symbols within them. 

They must have the old artificial boundary separating Liberals from Conservatives, Democrats from Republicans, has always been really a battle between the two paradoxical symbols America was founded upon. The alchemical mixture, somehow, at a point in history that created not only a new person but also a new spirit in the people. 

More than anything, it has really served as a Postman type of amusement or grand distraction of the populace from their idea that it is the people against the government into believing (being hypnotized) into the battle was against another group in society. And not the grand god of society, government. Sitting up in the stands and watching the battle play itself out on the field below. The propaganda of the government with media, entertainment and adverting under its control is a monstrous type of control over the populace regarding forming their views of reality today.

Yet this control might be slipping greatly as the younger generations communicate more by interactive, two-way social media than one-way, broadcast media. 

It is a great problem for those in control of the cities, states and nations today it seems to me. 

Old methods of one-way broadcast communication that created mass media, culture and consumption, during the growing years of this type of capitalism during the early years of television in the late 40s. 

The major media trend in the years of this mass culture of mid-20^th century America and todays segmented culture. The grand symbols in mass culture of the Feminine symbol for much of the past decade within America. One could make a good argument that Feminine symbols – somehow – need to be assimilated with by the Masculine symbol. Assimilated with. Rather than defeated in battle. 

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Might the spirit of some type of a new humanity emerge from this fusion? The force of fusion rather than fission. This taken from photos and articles on atomic and hydrogen bombs I’ve been reading. Another one of those diverting and amusing things in life for me called the posts from the brilliant online publication about visualizing various type of information about our current world in The Visual Capitalist. 

Their latest post is the fission/fusion difference between atomic and hydrogen bombs. The greatest dual sources of power ever created, coming together, or coming apart. 

The conflict of the grand ideas of fusion and fission. Feminine and masculine. Unconsciousness and consciousness. Coming together to create the greatest weapons ever created. But also creating a great source of powers in the modern world.

For example, the perpetual battle with one’s opposition symbols in culture via placement towards the other political party. Masculine and Feminine as they relate to their cultural symbols of the Republicans and Democrats. The “horizontal” perspective of the world that places the grand symbolism of Masculine and Feminism into culture and puts it into a perpetual battle neither can ever really win. 

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The power of those in control involves around those who are controlled believing that they’re receivers of the messages. In a horizontal world. A medium that Marshall McLuhan laid out in his brilliant The Medium if the Message. Behind the book, was always the grand battle between the hot masculine media and the cool feminine media. 

Carl Jung reminds of the astrological symbolism of our times. The fish of Pisces (within water) changes to the new sign of Aquarius (the water carrier). A change to being within the context of life (water) to being a carrier of this context in Aquarius, the astrological symbol of the water carrier.

Everyone exists within various media contexts today. These media contexts define their virtual life. But today, the virtual life of many … define the only real life they know. The only real life known by many today. 

 Right? No one carries a context with them. One is always messages or parts of content, destined to always appear in the context someone else has already created. 

What does this change in astrological signs mean to Jung?

I’ve asked myself this question more than just a few times. 

The coming sign of Aquarius has a relationship to the new perspective started by Copernicus.

This pre-Copernican world at the narcissism center of their universe. Gods and Goddesses, even though they were all powerful and often wrathful towards the humans, at least humans were surrounded with all these familiar Gods and Goddesses. 

The world was not alone during the pre-Copernican (1540) era of world history. The change in perhaps the grandest perspective on the world that humans could have. 

I expressed one part of our film on Midnight Oil titled Copernicus. It placed the two grand symbols at battle today up against each other. Perhaps the grandest psychological battle between the Feminine connection and center and the Masculine individualism and non-connection. 

The political parties in the United States. Distraction of Postman’s amusement placed and reinforced within the populace. A method of control not based on the messages of content but rather the grand context of distraction.

In many ways, this battle is more obvious today than ever. It seems a noon time show-down between distraction and non-distraction. To forms of symbolic gunslingers out in the street of some old western town. The back studio of MGM in Culver City right across Washington Boulevard from my dad’s Lincoln Mercury car dealership in my birth town where I lived for my first nine years. Basically, from the late 40s to the late 50s.

Once, in the pre-Copernican world, before 1545, the world was a magical place with no science. (I envisioned making a diorama of this symbol of the world in terms of the pre-Copernican world. I envisioned the earth surrounded by all the Gods and Goddesses that lived right above humans. Maybe I would buy a lot of little Gods and Goddess figures and attach them to the little globe of the earth. The globe of the earth I visualize as being in somewhat of an inverted black shoebox. The earth and all of these figures attached to the earth. 

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The pre-Copernican world. Built around the Narcissism of humans. The psychological need to be at the center rather than a periphery of life. The post-Copernican word and realization (still in progress) that humans are no long the center of this world. Rather, they are peripheral viewers of life. Observers to life rather than actors within life. 

So much of the world today – for me – comes down to whether one is an actor or an observer of actors in your life. It sounds like somewhat a stupid question but this is the grand element that defines culture today for me as well as those within culture. 

All of this has great symbolic value that is obvious to me. The change from the astrological symbol of the fish (Pisces) to the water carrier (Aquarius). In a large sense, a change from a perspective of being messages within content of the world to becoming a form of context. Perhaps the greatest dramatic change of all. After all, the greatest films should be about the greatest battles of symbols at times within a culture. 

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Yet who were the artists (and leaders) of the modern world who escaped the distractions of the sounds and images created by those few in control? The fewer they are, the greater their need to control more and more media. 

The new artists of the world see things in 3D rather than that dimension of just horizontal 2D they have had the nation in for years. The great artists of today see a verticality of art rather than just a horizontalness. It creates a huge paradigm shift.

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Perhaps the grandest methods of control for the past 50 years or so have been the indoctrination into the culture that we were all receivers rather than our own broadcasters of life. In other words, did we create a reflected or radiated light into the world. This was a very important question behind things.

It’s a time of difficulty and it’s a time of testing all of us. 

The real question that each of us has to determine in life, for themselves without a lot of outside preaching, is whether they radiate or reflect light in life.

There is such a great difference between radiation and reflection.

It is the difference between the sun and the moon.

The sun and the moon are the two grand symbols for radiated and reflected light. The radiance of the sun and the reflection of the sun’s light onto the moon. The brilliance of light creation in the masculine of radiation, conscious ego (the sun). The reflection on life in the unconsciousness. Two old symbols hat Jung found much correspondence to with the anima and the animus. The two grand dualities of life controlling our lives moving in cycles of dominance and dominated. 

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Who knows what to say about the confusion of our current world? If one even wants to say something about this at all in the first place.

It feels like great forces are in conflict today. 

But it’s only a feeling about forces. Little more.

What are these forces?

In many ways they are the forces of export and import in life. That is, whether individuals are either an exporters or importers of life. Does one give more or take more from life? Is one a vampire taker in life? Is one the source of radiation of light? 

Or, the source of reflected light.

The change from reflection to radiation was related to the rising power of radiation in collective culture. To think this has nothing to do with a new paradigm coming in, over culture, a great, perhaps steady cloud.

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The grandest symbolism in the world today is that question of whether wants to take or give to the world.To life today. It is a big question. One of those big questions one seldom gives attention to. But the most important question of all.

That is the question of whether one will be a radiant source of life or a reflective image from this source of life. Freedom can only prevail when the majority in a nation realize they are the real sources of radiance rather than refelction in life. The idea that we are sources of reflected light rather than radiated light has been behind the grandest lies in history.