Our psychic energy is a mixture of individual spiritual energy bound to a three-dimensional body that interacts with other similar beings. In some energy theories distance is not relevant, but in our incarnate experience here on earth distance is important. Proximity counts; touch is essential.
Global interconnection began to accelerate after the Industrial Revolution (1760 to 1840) in the mid-19th century, peaked in the early 20th century, disintegrated during World War I, revived in the 1920s and fell apart again during the Great Depression and World War II. roared to its current form from 1950 to 2019.
Major improvements in communications (the Internet), travel (an extensive network of air and sea travel), and mass immigration/migration have all contributed to globalization permeating the daily lives of average citizens around the world. In many ways the world is ‘smaller’ than ever before, with psychological consequences that are both great and terrible. This article will express some thoughts on the psychological impact of globalization in this current time.
Unprecedented times
In many recent articles, I have written several times that we are truly living in unprecedented times. Until recently, using the word “unprecedented” was an overstated statement, largely because changes, even major ones, have never really broken or fractured the overall system. Globalism proved remarkably resilient in the face of revolutions, wars and economic disruption. Not even the September 11 attacks could stop American culture from “fighting back” with the ultimate weapon: shopping.
Air travel changed, but daily life for most people was only disrupted when they traveled by plane. Even the economic impact of the 2008 financial crisis was blunted by globalism and conscious decisions to force liquidity into the markets or bail out large corporations to avoid a potential catastrophic failure if left to truly capitalist market forces.
As an astrologer, I look at past, present, and future events through the lens of astrology, which very often provides a roadmap for how energy will evolve, even if the specific events deliver a surprise in the moments surrounding the astrological phenomenon . Astrologically speaking, 2020 has long been on the radar of the professional astrology community as a turning point, definitely with the potential to impact the global community in a way not seen since World War II, the Spanish Flu, the revolutionary wars of 18th century, and the Black Death (1346 to 1353).
The power and fragility of globalization
Globalization brings resilience as long as the impact on the system is not systemic in nature. In other words, a networked and interconnected world can better absorb catastrophic events that impact but do not infiltrate the system. There have been numerous significant, disruptive events since World War II, but none have derailed the march of globalism. The system, due to its interconnected strength, was able to absorb the disruptive events without breaking.
But as with many systems, its strength can also prove to be a weakness, especially if an event attacks the system at its core, from within. Then the global network becomes the vehicle for significant disruption that could cause the system to shut down or even fail. At the time of writing this article, there are over 7.5 billion people on the planet. The virus has infected about 14 million people, or 0.2 percent of the population. Herd immunity, the natural way to prevent/resist infection and spread, requires a minimum of 70% if the spread is relatively slow and up to 80 or 90% if the spread is aggressive.
We are still several billion away from herd immunity, which makes a vaccine of paramount importance, as well as extreme measures to slow the spread so a vaccine can be developed and medical systems to help those who become infected without succumbing to the weight of too many patients. We are not in the middle of a global crisis; we are at the beginning of one.
The psychological impact
Globalization, like any other system, produces mixed results and reveals hidden truths, some wonderful and others downright ugly. There are not only questions about the psychological impact of globalization in general, but also questions about the speed of the development of globalization. The globalization of the world has occurred at an exponential pace since 1950 and has become overwhelming due to rapid and aggressive technological advances that many populations cannot really cope with psychologically and psychologically.
A mind that is unable to adapt or cope with the pace of change easily feels thrown off, angry and frustrated. Minds that enjoy and embrace change, newness and diversity thrive within the psychic field of globalization. What we are experiencing at this moment in history is a new ‘de-globalization’, caused by a combination of tribalism and disease. Travel is limited, economic systems are shrinking rapidly, and infection/death rates/tolls continue to rise. However, the internet-connected world still exists as it did before the pandemic.
Will it be ‘different’ this time? The previous failures in globalization were made more concrete and possible by much weaker communications and slower logistics systems. It took time to get messages and products around the world, and breaks in the system weren’t that disruptive to the psyche because space and time literally functioned very differently than they do today. In many ways, the psychic disruption, along with the practical disruption, is being felt worldwide in a way that was not possible before the emergence and integration of the Internet, the largest psychic network that has ever existed.
The five stages of grief
“Kubler-Ross stages originally developed to describe the process that patients with terminal illness go through as they come to terms with their own death; it was later also applied to grieving friends and family, who seemed to undergo a similar process. The stages, colloquially known by the acronym DABDA, include denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance. Psychologically, most of the world is still in denial, but approaching anger quickly.
The diagram below is actually a model for the entire psychic assemblage of humanity.
By Rebestalic – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, Source: Wikimedia
Psychologically, we are dealing with a shock event, where with global communications through the Internet, cell phones and older technology such as television and possibly even in some remote areas, radio, the shock event is truly a global experience in the psyche of humanity.
While the world of globalization is not yet dead, and is unlikely to die, it is being rapidly and painfully reconfigured. I can still collaborate in real time with clients on the other side of the planet (most recently in Australia, which is a 14 hour time difference for me) with a reliable connection that makes communication easy and unobtrusive (although it is truly amazing!) . How we manage to navigate the stages of grief will determine whether or not we survive, both psychologically and practically.
What I believe will help you, me, and pretty much everyone else are psychic and spiritual tools like those here at Ask Astrology.com and with practitioners who contribute to this site and provide spiritual guidance in private practices. While the magnitude of this transformation is unprecedented, the type and cause of the transformation are not. Disease from plague or virus, regional or global, forcing changes in human society is part of our ongoing cycle. How we get through it, and we will, is the true test of our spiritual journey and why we signed up to incarnate during this time.
