Empathy is the ability to feel and understand what someone else is feeling
– there is an innate sense of understanding and connection present.
However, when our receptors are so open that the feelings, thoughts
and energies of others flood our own senses, it becomes less of an ability and
more of a limitation.
Astrologically, empathy correlates to the element of water (such as the
water signs of Pisces, Cancer and to a lesser degree Scorpio and the water
houses, the 4th, 8th and 12th) as well as Libra, the sign that seeks
balance and harmony. The associated planets, Moon, Neptune and Venus,
also show the degree of sensitivity that an individual will experience and how
they will need to express that sensitivity in order to be most effective in
their lives.
Conversely, an overabundance of fire (Aries, Leo, Sagittarius and to a
degree Scorpio) can sometimes demonstrate a lack of empathy and a focus on the
Self. Ideally we can find a balance between a strong self-awareness
coexisting with a sensitive awareness of the needs of others, and an ability to
ground into our present existence in a way that provides stability and a firm
foundation.
Those of us with weak or permeable social boundaries can learn techniques
to become stronger and to eventually be able to feel empathically without
losing our center. This skill is essential to anyone working in the
healthcare field as it is all too easy to allow our ability to strongly feel
the pain of others to disintegrate our ability to provide care and strength.
Empathy and sensitivity is a wonderful thing when it helps us to understand
others or to connect creatively through art or music. But empathy and
sensitivity also can bring with it a lack of well-defined boundaries with
others and difficulty maintaining a strong sense of Self.
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