REALITY

UNSCRIPTED

THE METAPHOR

OF THE

MAGIC THEATRE

In Herman Hesse's novel "Steppenwolf," Harry Haller encounters a dreamlike inscription over a door in the old section of town that reads:

MAGIC THEATRE

ENTRANCE NOT FOR EVERYBODY

PRICE OF ADMISSION YOUR MIND

This inscription symbolizes a pivotal moment in Harry Haller's life. It serves as an invitation for Harry to explore the depths of his own psyche and confront the various facets of his identity. The "Magic Theatre" represents a metaphorical and psychological journey rather than a physical place. It's an invitation for Harry to delve into the inner workings of his mind, to confront his inner demons, and to explore the many conflicting aspects of his personality.

For Harry, who often feels like a divided and tormented individual (hence the term "Steppenwolf"), this inscription signifies an opportunity for self-discovery and transformation. He embarks on a surreal and introspective journey through the Magic Theatre, encountering a series of symbolic and surreal experiences that challenge his perceptions of self and reality. Ultimately, this journey leads him to a deeper understanding of himself and his place in the world. The Magic Theatre represents the idea that one must confront and embrace their inner complexities and contradictions in order to truly live and find meaning in life.

consciousness (SOUL)

In 1974 the philosopher Thomas Nagel wrote a paper called “What is it like to be a bat?” He was asking about the something-it-is-like-ness of the subjective experience of being a bat i.e., what is it like for Henry the bat to be Henry the bat? Does he even have an inner world and if so, what is it like?

Through a spiritual lens our inner world, subjective experience and sense of continuity of identity across our lifetime despite our many changes, is called soul, - for academics and scientific researchers, consciousness.

THE WISDOM TRADITION OF ASTROLOGY

Evolutionary Astrology provides a psycho-spiritual framework for the understanding of what it means to be human based on the maxim “as above, so below” - the patterns of the cosmos symbolically mirror the patterns in our life. The wisdom tradition of Evolutionary Astrology is essentially the study of character and circumstance - the process, quality and content diversity involved in the subjective experience of being human.

I am the first to be critical of certain aspects of astrology. Despite my criticisms however, I am still able to use astrology as a tool to better understand the extreme richness and diversity of human nature and the exquisitely unique experience of each human being. My suggestion is to suspend judgement, and focus rather on whether astrology helps you better understand your self and life.

The accumulative evidence-based research supporting the practice of astrology, will come in time. Astrology is simply a tool (like a mantra in meditation) to access the deeper, hidden parts of ourselves for the purpose of self-awareness, to better navigate life.

INTEGRATING MANY DIFFERENT APPROACHES

ASTROLOGY

I integrate two primary traditions of astrology in my work, Evolutionary Astrology (tropical (ecliptic) astrology) and Bernadette Brady’s Cultural Astrology (whole sky dome cosmology, cultural mythology). This practice of astrology blends humanistic, psychological and archetypal approaches.

PSYCHOLOGY

Anna Runkel (Crappy childhood fairy) has given me the deepest insight on childhood post traumatic stress disorder (CPTSD). Here is a recent video explaining CPTSD.

I deeply resonate with Richard Schwartz Internal Family Systems (IFS). IFS has been valuable in helping me understand and manage my emotional triggers and wounds. The IFS perspective is integrated into my work where appropriate. Here's a recent video explaining his approach.

MYTHOLOGY

Myth (mythology) and story opens up a mystical “back-door” into our unconscious. The moment we lean-in and participate in the mystery through the narrative, image and symbolic thinking (metaphor, paradox) of myth and story, the portal (back-door) appears for us to choose to walk through.

SCRIPTED REALITY

If you live in a scripted reality you defer to external authorities and pursue external validation through social status, social prestige and financial success and see these as defining measures of identity, meaning, purpose, fulfilment and worth. Rules, values and norms are externally imposed based on society’s laws, customs and taboos which you accept unconditionally and rely on to feel safe. Society rewards you for your conformity. Deviation from the social norm is not supported, even discouraged or punished. You have a high need to belong and therefore avoid negative attention, criticism, rejection, shame and exile. You maximise survival, safety and comfort over truth. Stability is a central driving force.

UNSCRIPTED REALITY

If you live in an unscripted reality you submit to your own internal authority and no longer need and seek external validation but instead are driven by your own judgement, internal values and ideas of meaning and worth (self-validation). You experience the scripted reality of society as limiting and have a need to live more authentically and realise a greater potential (there must be more to life than this). The truth is reached through personal experience and you are prepared to take some risks to find it. Personal inspiration is more important than meeting other’s expectations. You dare to challenge ideas, explore taboos and kick-back at society’s pressure to conform despite negative consequences. You are not afraid to be independent, to pioneer or to lead a more solitary life. Inner authority together with a need to experiment, a longing to fulfil a greater potential, to live authentically and feel unbounded and free-spirited, define this type of consciousness in unscripted reality.

The individuals mastering unscripted reality are responsible for the radical renewal (transformation) of our socio-cultural, economic and political reality. In scripted reality (consciousness) people are motivated primarily by money, status, social-esteem and comfort. In unscripted reality people are motivated by the pursuit of truth, personal experience, radical authenticity, living in alignment with own values, sense of purpose and freedom to change. Everyone living in unscripted consciousness is a truth activist in some shape or form. What is your form?

START YOUR

MAGIC THEATRE

JOURNEY

Explore the power of deepening our ideas of self and life, as a method of resurrecting artistic inspiration, creativity, productivity and worth.

Become curious about what you don't know about your self and how new ideas and deeper insights could spark creativity and shift your life?

FREE 40 MIN ONLINE SESSION

Book a free 40 minute online session to meetup and see if we’re a good fit to work together. Once I understand what you need, I will give you a proposal on how we can work together.

Email richelle.steyn@pm.me for more details.

MY BACKSTORY

In 2013-14 I created and facilitated a personal transformation experience called Journey into the Underground Forest. It was based on the myth Handless Maiden (Silver Hands) and is essentially a story about the development and evolution of consciousness – the way certain life experiences shatter our egocentric reality and wake us up to deeper dimensions of ourselves and life.

I became curious about our own unique personal myths (stories) and started a formal study of Evolutionary Astrology (the astrology of the evolution of consciousness) which provides insight into the subjective experience of being human as well as proposing a psycho-spiritual framework of consciousness. I certified with Maurice Fernandez after completing his Comprehensive Diploma Program.

In 2018-21, my in-person workshops and then online course 12 Steps to Mastery, focussed on a feature in our symbolic birth maps that dominates our consciousness and urges us to achieve mastery (synthesis) of the polarities in our lives to reach towards our evolutionary (consciousness) imperatives.

A major shift during 2022-23 has been my integration of Bernadette Brady’s work which includes the broader perspective of the entire skydome (rather than focussing only on the ecliptic, as in the Tropical Astrology tradition).

I was born in apartheid South Africa in Durban, on the tropical Indian ocean coast of KwaZulu-Natal. My passion for the human psyche - or rather my need to understand what it means to be human and to better navigate my life - led to a formal study of psychology and philosophy, an then later an Honours degree in Psychology and a Post Graduate Diploma in Community Psychological Practice both from the University of Johannesburg. This in parallel to full time work in corporate Information Technology (IT) as a programmer, business analyst and project manager which I formally left in 2013.