What is the difference between freedom and liberty? Do you know? And what does it have to do with astrology, the study of the stars and cycles of time? Lots! But enough for starters to remind my readers that we are in the beginning decades of the Aquarian Age, the age of universal brotherhood, love and freedom. And even though, as explained in previous posts, the Piscean Age passed the torch to the Aquarian Age relatively recently (end of 20thcentury, beginnings of this century), I would argue that the precursor to our time began with the American Revolution in which the newly created states bonded together to gain independence from Great Britain and to defend the exalted cause of Liberty.
The First Continental Congress met in Philadelphia from September 5th to October 26th, 1774. 56 delegates from twelve of the thirteen colonies convened largely in response to the Intolerable Acts passed by the British Parliament earlier that year in their continual efforts to control the escalating rebellion in the colonies. Hardly more than six months later, on March 23rd, 1775 during a speech given at the Second Virginia Convention held in Richmond, Virginia, Patrick Henry exclaimed his oft-quoted cry to action: Give me Liberty or give me death! Fervor for independence from the mother country was mounting!
Note: During the First Continental Congress, Pluto was at 21 degrees Capricorn. (Pluto is at 23 degrees Capricorn at the time of this writing—February 14th, 2020). In 1774, Pluto was trine Saturn in Virgo. When the Civil War broke out, Pluto (in Taurus) and Saturn (in Virgo) were trine as well. Pluto and Saturn are conjoined in Capricorn now. However, I’ll leave the fascinating topic on the role these two heavy-weight planets play in fomenting and framing revolutions, such as the one we are currently experiencing, for a future post!
We all need to know the difference between freedom and liberty. And we need to make no mistake regarding the horrific consequences of allowing socialism to take root in America; socialism destroys prosperity, freedom and personal initiative. Socialism results in widespread poverty and misery.
The question at hand arose for me some 22 years ago. A friend living in Mexico City, Salvador, had graciously invited me to be a guest at his house during my three weeks stay there. One day in conversation with Salvador, I realized that in Spanish, freedom and liberty are both translated as libertad, but I insisted, there exist important shades of difference between them. Salvador asked me, “Please explain to me how they are different, to me they’re the same.” That is when it dawned upon me that I did not really know. I soon would, however, allow me first to share an experience I had during that Mexico City trip which I found helpful in my exploration for an answer.
Salvador introduced me to a 23-year-old Cuban friend of his who had two or three years earlier fled from communist Cuba. Let’s call her Yamila. First impression—Yamila was bright, pretty and perky, but I perceived an unmistakable sadness in her eyes. Something was troubling her soul. When Yamila came to see me for an astrological consultation, I learned that she was living with a Bulgarian man who had been instrumental in helping her get out of Cuba and move to Mexico. They were lovers, but he physically beat her often and was abusive in other ways as well. For a moment, I was baffled: how was it that this intelligent young woman, who by then was financially commanding a decent salary at a job she very much enjoyed and could live independently, felt locked into this destructive relationship? And then the lightbulb went off in my head —Yamila had traded Castro (under whose repressive regime she had grown up since birth) for another Castro!
She was afraid of freedom, of having to make her own choices, of deciding what she wanted to do and how she would accomplish it. I believe that consultation got things moving in the right direction for Yamila. She did end up freeing herself from that man; she moved to the US (spending a summer with me in Montana) and went through different stages as her journey in freedom continued. She eventually married a Mexican-American man in Texas and began to really blossom. Last I heard she’s happy, the mother of three children. She loves the USA!
Back to my story. Upon completing my stay in Mexico and heading home to Montana that year, I spent a day in San Antonio. I immediately took off to a Borders bookstore and combed through the major dictionaries on sale there. What did they have to say about the difference between freedom and liberty? There I found the answer I sought. Freedom was the ability for the self-disciplined person to live free of restraint. I understood that. If I go to a boutique and see a dress I like, no one restrains my shopping. But if I try to steal it, of course I would be restrained. As a parent of three teenagers, I knew that the freedom they enjoyed as part of our household depended upon their self-discipline and ability to be responsible. Come home at 4:00 am inebriated on a Saturday night, they knew there would be consequences–common sense, right? Liberty was defined as the laws (like the Bill of Rights) protecting individual freedom.In which dictionary did I find this? Frankly, I cannot say: I thought Collins or Oxford, but I cannot find the explanation now. All the dictionaries I have recently combed basically say that freedom is the power or right to do and say as you please. I do not agree with this. Although, many people, especially young people who have no notion of what it would be like to live without the freedom they have enjoyed throughout their lives in this nation, seem to think so.
The free person is self-disciplined and responsible which implies having a strong moral code of behavior. Liberty protects the responsible person living in a free society through law.
What do you think the difference is? Please leave a comment and let’s get this discussion rolling! It’s timely!