“Keeping it real.” The words echo across social media, birthing countless memes and colloquialisms. Self-help books abound on the topic, and seminars and classes expand it. Entire businesses and platforms are crafted on it. The phrase itself implies an act of genuine authenticity and being true to oneself or others. In its highest expression, it means honesty, sincerity, and a lack of pretense or artificiality. When someone says they are “keeping it real,” they are typically emphasizing their commitment to being honest and straightforward in their thoughts, actions, and interactions. They strive not to pretend or put on a facade for the sake of conforming to societal expectations or gaining approval.
But this is where things get shaky. Because sometimes masking or defense strategies masquerade as authenticity. As a survival strategy, we may shapeshift and edit genuine parts of ourselves for acceptance. We may front or deny inner truths to avoid discomfort, inner and outer. We may use the phrase to bypass trauma or pain. In this way, it might be argued that our masks could feel as real as our most healed parts.
Being real isn’t the same as being right, which is a crucial distinction point. Just because we feel a part of us intensely doesn’t make that part an accurate expression of reality. In other words, if a part of us is really triggered, that part is authentically feeling those feelings, but it may not be correct in assessing the situation or what actually caused the trigger. Furthermore, the persona we offer the world can be a fraction of whole we really are. In this world of carefully cultivated realities, how do we negotiate what is real and what isn’t?
Complicated, I know. But these are complicated times, where Truth deserves deep assessment and respect. Maybe “keeping it real” is not simply about the freedom to express whatever we feel but a need to assess which part of us is in charge and, therein, gauge how authentic our expression is. Maybe it is about critically assessing everything. Because Aquarius reminds us of this need to create emotional distance and perspective to observe the totality of our world- both inner and outer. So maybe keeping it real is just that. The intention and practice of being extensively aware of our whole system. The parts that protect or manage. The parts that deny or hide. The parts that celebrate and inspire. And the self that watches it all. To keep it real, we must see the real. To do that, we must step out of a situation long enough to observe it critically.
No doubt, reality is a theme we will be exploring this lunation and in the upcoming two decades when Pluto moves into Aquarius once and for all. Because reality involves technical Truth- the kind of Truth which is often inconvenient. Technical Truth is cause and effect. It is action and consequences. In life, reality wins every time. No doubt, life will “keep it really real” for us.
Thus, if there are any places reality is fact-checking your experience (look to the sign and house), it is vital you pay attention. The goal is ultimately more true authenticity, more realness, more innovation, and more freedom. The challenge is getting up close and personal with what is (which is very likely not what parts of you want it to be).
The Sabian Symbol for this Moon echoes this theme of grounded humility. The original description is “A popularity proves ephemeral.” Rudhyar rephrases this to mean “a man who for a time became the embodiment of a popular ideal is made to realize that he as a person is not this ideal.” That’s a reality check for you. Popularity is heady, coveted, and the pinnacle of acceptance, but without substance it is unsustaining. Like a castle made on sand, it is all pretense with no substance. Life has a way of Truth bombing any excess hubris, though, one way or another. So, seek it. Embrace it even. Keep it honest. Keep it true. Keep seeking integrity and avoiding hypocrisy. Keep keeping it really real.
In the words of American writer David Foster Wallace, “The Truth will set you free, but not until it is finished with you.”
~This Super Full Moon occurs at 9° Aquarius.
~If you could use some help figuring out what that all means, Contact Me for a mini chart reading.
~Photo Photo by Tobias Bjerknes on Unsplash
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