Crystallized Mushroom said:
Stormblood said:
Aquarius said:
Stormblood probably has a lot to say about this
I'll abstain. The question wasn't addressed to me in the first place anyway.
hi did you read the reply I made a while back?
Hi. Thanks for your question. My beliefs and mindsets are always expanding in line with my spiritual growth.
In my opinion, the difference between a friendship and a romantic relationship is MAINLY (but not exclusively) quantitative rather than qualitative. The intensity and depth is the same, except that a romantic relationship also includes romance and sexual activities, while friendship includes neither of those.
Both types of bond are of the highest quality, and friendship is mainly measured by how much inconvenience you're willing to experience for the sake of the other person. This must of course be reasonable and positive, not toxic, and it also needs to be mutual. If it's not mutual, it's not friendship, let alone any kind of relationship. As to relate to someone means to connect. A one-way connection is parasitism, nothing else.
I firmly believe that the saying "You're the average of the 5 people you spend most of your time with" holds water, which is why it is very important to choose what people to invest your time in. This 5 people, in my opinion, is comprehensive of yourself (aka alone time) and your spouse/partner. When I was doing a billionaire mindset course, they always told me, grossly oversimplifying, that you should invest 80% of your time with high-quality people, which is usually 20% of your acquaintanceships, and 20% of your time with the rest. This is based on the
Pareto principle which is taught in life and time management classes.
Going back to your original questions, I believe that friends are part of the family and as such should be regarded, and that's why they are few in number. The rest is just acquaintances and other types of social and professional connections, which are lower in emotional intimacy and strength compared to family and friend.
In my opinion, in a Pagan/Satanic planet friends would have your back at all times and protect you from danger, yes. And, I remark again, this is mutual. The goal in front of danger becomes for both individuals to survive, not for either of them. If your "friends" disappear in the face of physical or psychological distress, then they are not people you want to surround yourself with, as they don't understand loyalty nor the requirements of such a deep and involved type of connection.
Friendships are ruled by the 11th house, which is ruled by Aquarius. Aquarius is a fixed sign, which indicates the stability of this type of relationship (i.e. friends don't "come and go" because they are not turncoats), the straightforwardness of it (Aquarius can be very blunt and shock people), and also the high degree of 'idealism' behind it. In my opinion, the anime Fairy Tail shows a lot about what friendship means. Only that it's a little excessive in calling everyone "friend". If you replace "friend" with "comrade/volk", you have another type of relationship which would be quite strong in the Pagan world, but in a very different and more generalised way rather than the personal way that the inner family core and friends have.
Romantic relationships are ruled jointly by the 5th house (love, romance) and the 7th house (marriage). The fact that the natural ruler of the 5th house is Leo/Sun, shows how that family nucleus is the centre everything revolves around and from which everything emanates, holding your life together. Before people correct me and tell me that family is ruled by the 4th house (Cancer/Moon), just think that there is no family if a love affair between 2 people doesn't occur first. No family can be formed without two people entering a relationship first. A lot of factors go into the formation of a family unit, which is why I also mentioned the 7th house. The 7th house plays a role in determining the type of person you attract in a partner. It's naturally ruled by Libra because this person needs to complement you (balance you out) like the Moon complements the Sun.
Shared beliefs are not always necessary in a relationship, but there can be enough similarity and mediation to hold the couple together. Shared beliefs are, however, necessary with friendships in most cases, as are shared goals. As for "cheating", that depends on the type of relationship. Some people recognise and agree they cannot fully give each other what they need in terms of sexual outlets, which is where the natural consequences will be either to agree in seek external fulfilment or to renounce those "needs".
In reality, also, unfortunately love is not always needed to form a family unit. Sometimes a marriage ensues out of other necessities which may overshadow love. Duty marriages and things like that, which is why there were concubines in places like Ancient Greece. That is perfectly normal as, the more you advance, the more you understand that the needs of the collective (i.e. your children, your clan, your nation, your race, the entire species, etc) trump the needs of the individual. This means that sacrificing love for a greater purpose may be needed in some cases.
For example, you're a widower with children and you cannot support them on your own anymore because of whatever reason. Your children come before you on most cases, so a marriage of convenience may be the solutions until you're in better shape to take care of your children. The parent's birth chart and solar returns may show indication of that. Another example is things like preserving the bloodline, and so on. Sometimes people may have such a deep level of brainwashing that they cannot differentiate between misplaced lust and love, or they are deeply programmed to act against themselves. The first step there is becoming aware of this and where it originates from, so you can detach yourself from it and heal.
An ideal SS world is built on a growth mindset and care for your community. Everyone takes care of each other in a reasonable way, either on an individual level (i.e. directly helping someone) or on a collective one (i.e. spiritual warfare, a public office, writing sermons/articles, research, financial contribution to specific causes, and so on). The focus is on developing yourself and your community according to your power, advancement and role. This reflects on all types of connections/relationships you have.
So, friends are not just to have fun/entertainment with. Same for the lover.
I hope this answer is satisfactory. Just remember, as highlighted multiple times, that this is the fruit of personal opinion and experience, and not the law. So there's no need to fight about it. For any clarification and respectful discussion, I'm available accordingly.
