It is nearly twenty years since I first wrote Evolutionary Astrology: The Journey Of The Soul Through The Horoscope. The same feelings and longings I experienced in 1973-1974, which seemed to have vanished in the interim, have returned. As in the early 1970's, I once again recognize that I -- and the world -- am experiencing a crisis in faith. The source of this crisis, and certainly the resolution of it, is a vast and unknown mystery. Yet the mystery has a warm and special magnetic effect upon me. I am compelled to search and explore, and I feel a great adventure awaits. If I embark upon this journey, I know that a special outpouring of love, compassion and understanding will unfold. The love and compassion will be first of all for other people, and especially for the children of this planet, for ultimately it is the child (within us) that truly is pure and innocent. I had already begun to experience this phenomenon when I contemplated the rewriting of this book.But enough about me. This book is not really about me. I am simply a messenger, and whether or not the message which comes through this book is valuable depends upon the effect it might (or might not) have upon each person who reads it. In one sense this book is for the individual who seeks understanding of him or herself, as I do.Yet understanding does not come in an isolated vacuum, and its presence is not without influence in the outer world. To understand one's Self is to begin a quest for freedom and liberation -- freedom and liberation from loneliness and emotional or mental suffering. As one makes progress on this journey, others will do likewise through example, for everyone is pulled like a magnet to this same Mecca, even on a subconscious level. It is like the flower or plant which leans naturally towards the Sun. In its cycle other obstructions may arise which block out the Sun, and the flower temporarily loses its natural direction. It copes unnaturally with stress the best it can. Yet it longs for the warmth and comfort of the light of the Sun, and when the obstructions are removed it recovers with full splendor. As humans, we do the same. In a very subtle fashion, obstructions enter our path. So subtle are they that we do not take notice in many cases, until a certain amount of stress can no longer be ignored. We set about to remove these obstructions, to correct the injustices, and when we succeed there is a burst of renewed vigor and radiance.I mentioned that once again I see myself undergoing a crisis in faith, and the world too appears to be undergoing the same. As I write this, it is the early 1990's. In the last section of the original text on Evolutionary AstroIogy, titled 'The Hope', I referred to this period of the early 1990's, as a time of spiritual and psychical revolution, a time of new awareness. The affairs of humankind are quite remarkable now: on the one hand we see the incredible act of peace and cooperation as the U.S.S.R. grants freedom to the Eastern European bloc countries, thus appearing to end the long, cold war between the free countries of the world and those which adhered to hard line Communist doctrines. What a great gift for humankind as it entered the last decade of the Millenium!One year later, however, the ugly face of war and conflict arose again as Iraq invaded Kuwait and the Soviet military shot and killed demonstrators in Lithuania. Instead of basking in the glow of a longterm peaceful world, humanity once more found itself having to face naked aggression and coercion amongst many of its brethren. On the positive side, nearly all the nations of the world have cooperatively come together to take a firm stand against the aggressors, or rather in support of a peaceful, war-free, world. Never before in the history of humankind have so many come together in a mutual mission whose goal was peace. Yet the leaders of the world are confronted with a difficult issue: if we want peace, must we again fall into the pattern of having to wage war to attain it? Are we really making progress by doing this? And will we regress, or continue our progress, towards attaining a world of peaceful cooperation?Yes, I am at a crossroads, and before me lies a choice. I am facing a crisis in faith. I wish to plunge headlong into this vast mystery which is myself. I know that incredible revelations in the form of inspiration and discovery await. And yet I am afraid. Afraid of what I might lose, what I must sacrifice. Do I have the faith that these losses or sacrifices are worth it?The events and conditions facing the world are in many respects similar to the events and conditions facing each of us in our own individual, outer world. For every effort we make to change these, there are known and unknown consequences. These two qualities -- choice and consequence -- require a great deal of mental and emotional energy. Within every choice there is a "right action", and the heart knows it. However the mind has created or accepted many obstacles that give doubt to that choice. A great deal of responsibility and self-imposed obligations to others have taken the form of obstruction to the sunlight. Or so we chose to believe. Perhaps these responsibilities and obligations are themselves part of the natural path. Perhaps they too serve the purpose of self understanding. Perhaps instead of feeling the need to remove and overcome them, they might better be viewed as something to be accepted and worked with, appreciated and cherished.The physical body is a privilege and a gift. Souls long for physical embodiment, for experience and sensation, for a means to express their visions and dreams. Yet it does present interesting dilemmas: in the pursuit of taking care of the body, the being takes on many responsibilities and obligations which appear to obstruct the path towards liberation and freedom. This path is a spiritual one, and it comes about from 'inner work.' The needs of the physical require 'outer work.' The challenge is simple: how to integrate the two. The solution requires the resolution to a crisis in faith, a crisis which each one of us individually, and collectively as a nation and a planet, experience on this plane.Let me suggest that you cannot change the world, its destiny or its karma. Let me also suggest that you cannot change the events or conditions in your own life, at least not outwardly by an act of will. You can however seek understanding of your Self, and in doing so, discover the beauty and wonder of who you are. As your understanding unfolds, the capacity to experience and express compassion and love will grow, and like the warm light of the Sun itself, others will 'lean' towards you and grow. Events and conditions in your life will undergo a process of evolution; movement will begin. The life which you live will begin to look different; more alive, more beautiful, more exciting. Once more you will begin to view the world from the eyes of a child, and with the experience and wisdom of a loving parent.It is with great joy that this book becomes available again. It is an opportunity for me to commune with others, to experience an outpouring of the little pieces of insight that I have experienced on my journey as I explore my own crisis in faith. I will leave you with one final understanding: my crisis in faith is an essential illusion on my inner path towards liberation. Ray Merriman, January, 1991