Hi, Elsa
What do you think about guilt? Does it have a real purpose or is it just something we should get rid of as soon as possible to go on with life? How does astrology relate to guilt?
Gemini by the Sea, Colombia
Hi, Gemini. Thanks for the question.
Guilt definitely has a purpose. It comes in to let you know you’ve done something wrong. Something against, God or the universe, or however you view our word. It’s not at all problematic, unless it’s perverted. I’ll explain that, but I want to catch all your questions, first.
I do feel you should act to get rid of your guilt (as soon as possible), but in a way that’s authentic. If you’ve wronged someone, then make it right! Apologize. Make amends. Clear your guilty conscious!
This as opposed to finding friends and/or family to assure you, you’re right, maybe even infallible!
This as opposed to banging square pegs into round holes, in your brain so you can delude yourself that your wrong is in fact, right.
As for astrology, Neptune rules guilt. I covered this here, in 2011. In the case covered, it’s like an addiction, so this post provides a negative example.
Here’s another example, where guilty feelings ran amok for a different reason. This person can’t do anything right (in their own mind).
The weight you carry, may be imagined (Neptune).
You can learn to work with guilty feelings when they arise. These feelings are helpful in terms of “self exam”. If you’re feeling guilty over something you did; respond by acknowledging the wrong, and acting to make things right, to whatever extent may be possible.
Bottom line, your feelings work for you, but you’ve got to work with them, if you want them to resolve. If you can’t manage this, it’s a sign something is off.
How do you deal with your guilty feelings?
Most of my guilt and regret relates to long past irrational choices no longer amendable. But lingering guilt serves as a very valuable reminder to not make similar mistakes.
I once read somewhere that guilt is a self indulgent cop out for true remorse.
oufff that one hurts and rings very true.
As of late I wonder if I bugged my children( grown in 40’s)with my lists of things they might do with their time, when they were young( the obnoxious teacher) you begin teaching them not to fall and bang up their face stick fingers and plugs yada yada yada I’ll share this. I have learned that Tulsi basil takes cortisol out of one’s blood system. This is the reason for stress life is so much better without stress. I don’t wanna stress I don’t wanna fight with strangers actually I don’t wanna fight at all. Makes my face ugly, I wanna breathe deep I wanna thank heaven above that I wanna keep going. I wanna believe 99% of the people are good and one percent might have so much pain. I can never understand it. I just wanna Hula hoop and dance like the Simpson daughter.peaceful thoughts ya’ll
I’ve missed you!!!
That’s awesome, miss Raerae, too 💝
Without guilt people would do terrible things… Woody Allen.
But paralyzing guilt may be a problem, yep, because its kind of a self sabotage. Excesive guilt lead us to feel responsible for things we are not. The absence of guilt can make us bomb Nagasaki and be proud of it. An excessive Self ildungence or self forgiving can make us lose our soul. I guess it is a matter of balance and self exam. Sometimes its good to lose yourself. Sometimes its good to be with you. Just lets ourselves flow with a feeling of fresh lightness, acceptation and unimportance or trivial phenomena.
Guilt and shame go hand in hand, and both are highly weaponized in our culture. I think most folks have a hard time facing their own guilt and trying to repair whatever the situation is because society at large forces them to shove it so far down that they can’t access it. The fear and shame keep it locked up tight. It paralyzes and then it projects in order to get some relief. When guilt and shame are weaponized as a way to harm others or force them into ‘submission’ how does one begin to pick apart all of the pieces that others have handed them over the years to find their own true source of the guilt? This is all tied up with organized religion in our culture. We over-use these emotions for the slightest missteps, mistakes, moments out of integrity. It leaves people feeling like they are such horrid humans when in reality they are just messy like the rest of us. It’s one of single most destructive things you can do to another human’s well-being.
It crossed my mind; there are people who claim to feel guilty for doing something, but continue to do it. What’s that? Addiction?
Sure – addiction might be one reason. Cognitive dissonance would be another I’d throw in there. Something in their psyche NEEDS the thing and they haven’t dealt with that yet. Consciously they know they shouldn’t want/need it, so their mind creates dissonance that allows them to separate the having of the thing from their feelings about it. Existential kink is another option. We feel guilt and shame for needing or wanting the thing and that pushes it, subterranean, but resistance often makes the thing MORE prominent and so they subconsciously create situations to allow themselves to experience it. Our minds are incredible forces of creation. We get to choose if we use that to create beauty, or pain.