Revolution in the Square

Good afternoon friends and welcome to the Festival of Pisces, the twelfth and culminating sign of the zodiac. After countless cycles of incarnation on the wheel of rebirth the human being finally reaches perfection to become a World Saviour in this sign. For aeons, astrological energies have poured forth into the city that stands foursquare – the physical, etheric, emotional and mental substance that makes up the personality. And this has kept these four aspects of the personality in a state of flux – constantly changing their relationships with one another, with the consciousness inhabiting them, and with the surrounding environment.

As we know, in some defining incarnation when the human being has had his fill of ploughing the field of matter and unearthing its experiences, he changes course on the zodiacal wheel and the drive is on in the opposite direction, towards spirit and away from the prison of matter. A revolution takes place in the square of the personality and the journey back to the Father's home begins in earnest. The disciple has now become sensitive to the higher astrological frequencies pouring into him from the reversed motion of the wheel but he still has to contend with the forces from its former direction too.

He is now conditioned both by the forces flowing into his personality in accordance with his horoscope and the exoteric mode of the zodiacal revolution, as well as forces impacting him from the reversed wheel whereon he, as a soul, finds himself; hence the increased conflict in his life and circumstances. These, we are told, constitute the reason for the tests of initiation. The fight is now on to overthrow the dictatorial personality and replace its long, tyrannical rule by the group laws that govern the life of the soul on its own plane.

The entire question of the revolving zodiacal wheel with its dual action and effect upon consciousness is difficult for us to understand until we have unfolded a "four-dimensional consciousness" as the wheel turns upon itself, "every way and both ways simultaneously". This, on a tiny scale, is true of the centres in the etheric body as they too display the same dual activity once the Path of Discipleship is trodden and the Path of Initiation is taken. The zodiacal wheel is itself essentially a cosmic centre; it is a twelve-petalled lotus, but it is a twelve-petalled lotus within the thousand-petalled lotus of an unknown cosmic Entity. We have a picture therefore, of the revolution of wheels within wheels. Within the "city" of man the many centres that make up his being respond to the greater wheels of greater lives. He is thereby subject to increasing inner motion until eventually a revolution in the political sense of the word takes place within; the old order is overturned and a new government – that of the soul – is set up.

Let us take a few moments of reflection and then say the Affirmation of the Disciple, confirming our stance as a group that is revolving between "men and God":

I am a point of light within a greater Light
I am a strand of loving energy within the stream of Love Divine
I am a point of sacrificial fire focused within the fiery Will of God.
And thus I stand.

I am a way by which men may achieve
I am a source of strength enabling them to stand.
I am a beam of Light shining upon their way
And thus I stand

And standing thus revolve
And tread this Way the ways of men
And know the ways of God
And thus I stand.

The human kingdom as a whole is, we are told, beginning to respond to energies on the reverse wheel of the zodiac and this is one of the reasons why life at present seems confused, harsh and exacting. The heart of society appears to be hardening somewhat as, in the richer countries, people's standards of living are threatened, even though by comparison with the poorer parts of the world, they remain lands of plenty. The hardship felt by those in so-called developed countries is relative but sufficient to awaken them to the higher energies and qualities of the wheel of life and begin the move towards a correspondingly higher state of reality. Through life's experiences each of us is presented with innumerable choices which slowly but surely elevate consciousness towards the realm of the soul. Ultimately, this constitutes a tremendous revolution in one's life, using the word "revolution" in its true sense, as a complete turning around; and we see this revolution happening now on a global scale in the lives of individuals and countries.

In its political-social context, „revolution' clearly means different things to different people; to some it may mean overthrowing a tyrannical regime while to others it may mean anarchy and the freedom of doing whatever you want. In modern advertising, "revolutionary" has come to mean "radically new," and hence, by implication, "improved." When used in everyday speech, it is another way of saying "drastically different." From such usage one would hardly suspect that the word had its origins in astronomy and astrology being applied to the movements of the planets. Copernicus called his great treatise that displaced the earth from the centre of the universe, On the Revolutions of Celestial Bodies. Sixteenth-century astrologers serving princes and generals spoke of "revolution" to designate abrupt and unforeseen events determined by the conjunction of planets-that is, by forces beyond human control. In this way the original scientific meaning of the word, conveying regularity and repetitiveness, and we could say ritual, came to signify the very opposite when referring to human affairs, namely, the sudden and unpredictable.

Unpredictability seems to characterise the entire world today. This is not just a reference to the terrific upheavals being experienced due to flooding, earthquakes and tsunamis, but even the main world players are no longer a fixed constant. Within the recognised power blocks and even within world powers like the US, new questions are galvanising a new dynamic. As Ian Bremmer of the Eurasia Group observed "It is not the G7, G8, nor G20 that is really in control of things; that the Obama administration does not have a „doctrine' for the Middle East - that, in other words the question: „What does the State Department do now?' is for the first time in living memory not the most important question in world affairs… we're beginning to feel in global politics what business consultants have known for half a decade: it's a multi-polar world'.

This year we have witnessed the seemingly rapid chain of events that led to the people's revolution in Egypt and other North African and Arab countries. A trigger or spark set off in one country, Tunisia, with some success, has caught fire in other countries leading to the demand for greater freedom through a collective voice in the socio-economic and political affairs of their country. It seems to approximate the statement in the Agni Yoga teachings that "the free heroic spirit commands its destinies in the full light of consciousness". In spiritual terms, a time comes when it is legitimate to "take the kingdom of God by force", in other words to demand entry when all due preparation has been made. A lower reflection of this is to be seen in these countries where people are seizing their opportunity to demand change from corrupt regimes. These uprisings are of course the outcome of a change of consciousness, fuelled by a deep set frustration and fiery aspiration for a better and fairer future.

At the end of the Piscean Age the ideals of the French revolution for equality, liberty and fraternity are being replicated by peoples subjected to corrupt and autocratic rulers in the Middle East. The teachings tell us that these three ideals were far from being realised at the time of the French Revolution. The masses saw liberty, for example, simply as the freedom to do as one pleased in personality terms and licentiousness. But slowly during the course of history, an altogether more responsible attitude has emerged with a rightful emphasis on individual freedom with responsibility and so we see mass consciousness evolving into right human relations. Although, in Egypt, the revolution was largely

instigated and influenced by the young, facebook generation who were in touch with people and events in other democratic countries, these revolutions are surely not just led by Western ideals but more the evidence of the self determination of the human spirit to seize greater freedom and soul values. So vital is it to them that many are prepared to sacrifice their lives in order to achieve the higher principles of freedom and human rights.

It is significant that the revolutions occurred in public squares in these countries for the square is ever the symbol of humanity – the city that stands four square. It wasn't just the events in the square of Cairo (and the public squares in other countries) however that destabilised the established order of the region's strong military and autocratic states. The demonstrations and mass demands were the turning point of course, but it followed upon the suffering of previous generations who had kept alive the flickering light of liberty so that, when the time was right, it could ignite. The ideals of human rights, greater democracy and a purging of an evil secrecy were surely the motive force for this revolution.

The signs of the Aquarian consciousness are seen in such virtually leaderless revolutions as took place in Egypt which allow the emergence of a new form of community and tolerance among religious and secular people as they unite to produce change. The spirit of humanity is rising and one of the main characteristics of the current world situation is the sense of expectancy – a word which derives from the Latin `expectare ' meaning to `look out' and which later shifted metaphorically to mean `to look forward to'. `Expectancy' is therefore based on `seeing', and this, of course, requires light. An important part of esoteric service and meditation is to cultivate in ourselves and others the attitude of `looking forward to light'. When we are able to move on, metaphorically removing the "r" of revolution, we will have evolution – the power to sensitively respond to light.

One of the ways we can assist the revolution of the human spirit in its struggle towards freedom is through the visualisation of a new redeeming light settling down upon humanity, and the Tibetan gave us a simple formula to help us do just that. Meditated upon and used in service, it helps us to contact those truths that lie just outside the present field of consciousness. Working creatively with this formula will help to bring harmony and beauty out of the current chaos of conflicting forces that characterise our global society. It takes the form of a dynamic, multidimensional symbol, beautifully named "The Sun on the Square" and is described as follows:

"A square or oblong, composed of a kaleidoscopic mass of inchoate colours, moving, pulsating and in constant indescribable confusion. Superimposed upon this square is a radiant sun with a penumbra composed of the seven prismatic colours; these radiate from the sun in regular rhythmic bands and produce a marvellous blaze of colour. The background of the square appears to have its confusion of colours shown of a heavy, brilliant kind and quality; the scheme of beauty emerging (even if it appears as superimposed) is translucent and delicate and radiantly living in hue. The heavier background can be distinctly seen through the translucence. (Discipleship in the New Age Vol. II)

The formula is said to differ according to the polarisation of the one who visions it and who studies it. If the investigator is focused in the personality, and is therefore conditioned by the personality ray, one type of energy will impinge upon the consciousness; if soul conscious and soul focused, another type of energy will have its effect. Two different pictures will emerge. Both will be correct, but the interpreting agent will be different." Its beauty lies in the eye of the beholder according to the perceiving consciousness.

This formula is one of several that, used by the guides of the race, condition the evolutionary process through the subsequent happenings and events they initiate. They indicate what is on the way as a result of the divine thought and are known as revealing patterns for they veil that which is in process of being revealed. This formula is also related to karma and has the symbol of one of the Four Lords of Karma at the four corners of the square. From this it is clear, therefore, how our use of it takes on the significance of a kind of vicarious atonement as we tackle karma on behalf of humanity. Part of the work of meditation is to assist hierarchy in straightening out the jumbled mass of forces that form the karmic web in which humanity is caught. In this sense, use of this symbol is a kind of vicarious atonement

which we can perform by taking on responsibility for correcting some of the karma of the times and stand with the new group of world servers as a saving force. We can imagine the spiritual sun imposing its radiant colours through the seeming chaos upon the square that is humanity, and which is currently focused in North Africa and the Middle East.

The current uprisings are all part of humanity's struggle to escape from limitation and confinement into greater spiritual space and light. To assist in this transition ourselves we need to have undergone a revolution which enables us to live on the edge of two worlds in order to see and relate them together. In this way we help to prepare consciousness for those entirely new environments which will evolve from the emerging qualities and truths. The sun upon the square is symbolic of the Central Spiritual Sun that works through Shamballa, the source of our planetary light, carrying those new patterns of energies which are ready to emerge in consciousness. These "knowable things" are, however, produced by the joint action of this Sun working through Shamballa and humanity itself, increasingly making a direct appeal through the new group of world servers to this source. Our task is to move beyond the square, outside the perimeter of the concrete mind, and through group perception, to see through the outer events to the order and synthesis ready to emerge.

The spiritual revolution that humanity is undergoing, much like any political, economic and social revolution, involves death of the old form and order, and the power of Pluto is predominant in Pisces to bring this about resulting in transformation. In Esoteric Astrology, this transformation is described as so vital and basic that: "... the Ancient One is no longer seen. He sinks to the depth of the ocean of life; he descends into hell, but the gates of hell hold him not. He, the new and living One leaves below that which has held him down throughout the ages and rises from the depths unto the heights, close to the throne of God."

Here is a reference to the opportunity for complete renewal, and we are told that even though these words are strongly connected with Christ, the present world Saviour, in their implications, yet they were written in the Master's archives over seven thousand years ago. The pilgrim travels to Pisces where he dies "unto an eternal resurrection." But this can only be achieved once the personality has been overruled.

Our seed thought for meditation tonight is I leave the Father’s Home and turning back I save. As we meditate to help progress the spiritual revolution of mankind, every effort to take on a little of the dharma of the world in addition to our own through redemptive meditation will help to assist the revolution that is taking place in the "city of man", and reveal the light of the spiritual sun that shines behind the world of appearances with the promise of a new and better world.

PISCES FULL MOON –
March 2011 –
London –
Christine Morgan

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