Diana asks on Eat, Drink, Breathe, Control:
“Elsa, do you think there are some people who enjoy being controlled? Or they enjoy the attempt of someone trying to control them?”
Diana, of course there are people who like to be controlled – what about the whole bdsm community? This is another hall of mirrors as far as I am concerned. Control is an illusion but I would think that – I’m a Saturn Neptune!
Bottom line, anyone who has an emphasis on Cardinal energy in their chart is going to deal with issues of control but this does not assume some sort of pathology. In fact I hate that. It’s energy and energy is neutral until directed. Further, every gift is a curse (in equal proportion as far as I am concerned) so the idea a person is this or that a way and it is automatically deemed pathological irks me to no end. But to answer your question: Yes.
Anyone else?
Of course there are!
RE: the BDSM community – Dan Savage calls BDSM “cops and robbers with your pants off” and it always amuses me to hear that. Very easy to take ourselves too seriously.
I have six planets in cardinal signs, 3 in capricorn, 3 in libra (nice and balanced 😉 ) and control issues are always around my life somewhere and prominent in my relationships. I like to control sometimes and I find being controlled comforting sometimes. And soemtimes I just wanna break the rules and muck stuff up. Hehheheh. You need to have something to resist against if you’re going to rebel . .
Elsa, I just wanted to say that I love your continual emphasis on, “it’s energy, and energy is neutral until directed…”
Maybe if you say it enough, it’ll get through to us!
I’m pretty sure that I never thought of it that way until I read it here.
:o)
LOL at Foxy! No Cardinal in my chart, but with Scorpio, etc. there are definitely control issues here – so I can totally relate!
Why is control an illusion, Elsa? What’s there instead of control? What about self-control? Yesterday I was working out what freedom is myself. I gave lipservice to Freud and the idea that there are myriad complex parts of the self not accessible to the conscious will. I decided that what can restrain you are all those complex components of the will and what is outside of the self. Doesn’t the fact that components of your outside environment can restrain your will mean that something outside of you is controlling you by restricting your choices and possibilities? What do you think freedom is, Elsa?
I’m having control issues too. I’m wondering how to not control children.
I’ve got a cardinal chart and control is definitely an issue, but how it gets played out depends on the situation. When I was a kid I was on the receiving end of control (from authority figures – Saturn), and now that’s eased up but it’s been replaced by self-control. Uranus trines to Aries make me rebellious and freedom-loving, so I accept orders from myself only!
But I do enjoy being in charge of myself quite a bit; self-discipline and self-control fill me up. Making my own decisions, carving out my own path and being responsible for how things turn out – incredibly satisfying! Nothing quite like it. When I need a lift, I just look at what I’ve done for myself and feel better instantly. Controlling others just can’t compare.
I find the whole BDSM thing fascinating because of the way control issues can be played out. And the fact that it is an illusion is very clear in that context. Who is really in control? The Dom gets to be in charge because the sub allows it/requests it. There is real power on both sides and everyone knows because (ideally) it’s been discussed beforehand.
It gets stickier in real life because people pretend to be weak but are actually manipulating the situation in underhanded ways or people posture and yell because they feel weak on some level. Definitely hall of mirrors territory.
But that may just be my Saturn in Pisces agreeing with you. 🙂
Everyone’s different so I can only speak for myself – as a submissive, it’s less about giving up control and more about giving up responsibility for a while. In the BDSM community, it’s called a power exchange. I have a great sense of responsibility and it’s such a relief to sort of shrug it off and say, “oh, well, I would have never done that but I was blindfolded and handcuffed. What could I do?”. :p
I used to let others control me. And I knew so little of myself it was sad.
well, yes. sometimes it’s nice to not have to be gunning all the time and instead let someone else take the reins….
as long as you can trust them.. that’s the tricky thing.
Cardinal people are sad
Have lots of cardinal energy and being a Cap Sun have always loathed it when people assume I am a control freak. So, otherday when I was studying medical astrology I loved what I discovered. The physiologies in the body that are governed by Capricorn are the organs that ‘stimulate’ others. Rather than words like ‘use’, ‘control’ – which is what they do sure, but more they ‘direct’ the energy, they ‘stimulate’ certain bodily activities e.g. Capricorn watches over / rules the anterior pituitary which then orchestrates a host of hormonal activity depending on the feedback it receives from the blood regarding the state of the body. So, the controller receives information and then directs instruction according to what is needed. No class struggle here, pure function.
That’s pretty cool, Natasha!