Aquarius Festival Talk

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A Spontaneous Inner Happening

Good evening friends. It is always particularly uplifting to enter the influences of Aquarius each year corresponding as they do with the greater astrological cycle and the Aquarian age now upon us. The energies of Uranus, the orthodox ruler of this sign, brings the transformational energy of ceremonial order within which to work, while Jupiter, its esoteric ruler, provides bounteous qualities of love-wisdom and the expansive power of joy. In the New Age, joy can be expected to intensify and it even seems to be on the increase at this time, strange as this may seem given the stress and strain of modern life and the many crises that are currently facing humanity. It is evidence though that joy is of the soul, not the personality, and not to be confused with happiness. Joy is an energy that can be experienced regardless of outer circumstances; and indeed, it is often seen in those whose outer lives appear full of hardship and endurance. Being of the soul, it is a great revealing energy, speeding up the vibratory rate of the personality vehicles to resonate with new truths and spiritual principles; and as such it is one of the keys to unlocking the world of meaning that stands behind this outer world of appearances. Despite the continuing search for happiness through the accumulation of riches and the indulgence of the senses, the signs are that people are beginning to turn inwards in the search for meaning in their lives, as they awaken to the realization that the outer world can never supply this.

This is only the beginning, of course, and a clearing process is needed at this stage to make way for the entering light. All of humanity’s ill-conceived creations, past and present, are cluttering the psychological atmosphere and the New Group of World Servers is pioneering the way forward in addressing this wrong use of force and creativity. It's fair to say that with the growth of such sciences as psychology and psychiatry, we have been learning collectively to investigate the shadow side of human nature that impedes the light. Nevertheless it's hard to investigate the investigator himself. To realise the true nature of the Self which has been veiled and hidden by the shadow of the mind calls for what Nietsche describes as “jumping beyond one’s shadow".

To this end the philosopher, Dane Rudyhar, wrote

“To transcend is to pierce through nature and nature-born conditions. It requires an act of will and spiritual courage. We are involved in a process of creative imaging, holding the universal whole or symbol of its activity within the consciousness of the personality which has been transfigured by the vision and the dream experienced in Aquarius."

The vision and dream of Aquarius is the transit into a new age of service where we all live for one another. For this next stage of soul service, Aquarius bestows the oft, unexpected and transforming power of the planet, Uranus. This planet has been called "the Master of Transformations", its energy piercing through every wall and defence, through inertia, peace, comfort, rigidity, austerity, morality and practicality of every manifested and concrete thing. Dane Rudhyar writes of Uranus as "moving through every protective complex, veil, bringing the light of the higher realms. He is the revealer of the next truth, the rouser of doubt. ‘What if’, he asks, ‘we were slaves to a giant fraud and misconception because of our desire for security, what if there were nothing but ever-fluid, ever unstable, ever-creative and renewed Life?’" This question bears direct relation to our attachment to the forms of the planet and the over-use of its resources.

Certainly this description of Uranus's actions on the disciple in Aquarius gives pause for thought as the relatively clock-like stability of life even a few decades back is now characterized by flux –an ever changing scenario which is propelling the search for a deeper meaning of security. Uranus, the transformer, has been described as pitiless to those who cannot let go of the outworn, past idols, the forms of the world that need reforming and which otherwise will fail. Uranus, Rudhyar writes, "is not concerned with memory, he simply moves on from that which is, to that which is next. If the latter is unreachable, it leads to death because that which cannot be transformed is a hindrance and must be destroyed." So not only do the contents of the form need reconstructing, but the form itself must be “seen through”and “gone through”. This involves the use of the higher energy of the 7th ray of ceremonial order carried by Uranus. The order and rhythmic patterns of life concern the cadence of the spiritual consciousness alive to ordered step by step evolutionary progress and not to the static order of things that belong only in a mechanical universe.

In Esoteric Astrology we further learn that Uranus is the "will to be and to know simultaneously on all planes of manifestation" and as we have seen it gives "innate spontaneous activity and this produces evolutionary development - both natural and spiritual. It is the urge to better conditions". Uranus throws into the consciousness, images of the more universal and freer world which extends outside of the walls or boundaries of our previous thinking. This is transformation not just expansion. Its action is described as sharp and explosive, penetrating the lower consciousness with flashes of inspiration or genius.

It is just this energy that is required in human thinking today as we collectively face the responsibility of piercing through the glamour of historical events and past activities. A breakthrough can truly occur now. Individuals, groups and nations are now demonstrating more willingness to look the world in the eye, come to terms with the past mistakes and face the present responsibilities. Preconceptions are being dropped and thought is being reconfigured based around a new inclusive vision. This new way of seeing the world draws upon the power of the imagination and discards reactive thought patterns which would result in largely destructive uprisings. It expresses freshness and originality with a quality of insight that is not dependent on existing patterns.

This form of intelligent perception has the power to resolve long-standing problems as it is not dominated by fixed or automatic categories and is capable of creating new lines of thought. This new way of working is being driven by the group which serves in Aquarius, turning things on their head and moving from a foundation of light and from beauty to bestow life giving forces on those who are ready, expectant and prepared to receive them.

May we now take a few moments now to reflect on the true nature of service and then say together the mantram of the new group of world servers:

May the Power of the one Life
Pour through the group of all true servers.
May the Love of the One Soul characterise the lives
Of all who seek to aid the Great Ones.
May I fulfil my part in the One work
Through self-forgetfulness, harmlessness and right speech
OM

In connection with all the worn-out cluttering forms and over-intellectualised thinking about them that has marred the education systems of the world, we need to move on and to understand that the physical plane is the world of symbols and, while science has intelligently observed and noted the way these symbols behave and interact with one another, no inkling has been gained of the inner meaning that lies behind each symbol’s form. As the Rosicrucian Max Heindel put it in connection with the constitution of the earth, “The different kinds of quartz, the metals, the disposition of the various strata – all have a much higher significance than the materialistic investigator has ever been able to grasp. To the occult scientists, the way in which these materials are arranged is full of meaning. On this subject, as on every other, occult science stands in the same relation to modern science as physiology does to anatomy. Anatomy states with minute detail the exact position of every bone, muscle, ligament, nerve, etc., their relative positions to one another and so forth, but does not give any clue to the use of any one of the different parts of which the body is composed. Physiology, on the other hand, not only states the position and structure of every part of the body, but also tells their use in the body. To know the different strata of the Earth and the relative positions of the planets in the sky without having also a knowledge of their use and meaning in the life and purpose of the Cosmos, is as useless as to know merely the positions of bones, nerves, etc., without understanding also their use in the functional economy of the body.”1

We find ourselves today, blessed with great technical advancement and finely tuned instruments that enable scientists to explore the world of symbols in minute detail. However, without any penetration into the world of meaning, these discoveries remain superficial and disconnected, and do not really enlighten – for in the words of the ancient sage Patanjali, “Incorrect knowledge is based upon perception of the form and not upon the state of being”. In this sense modern science is the observer of maya – forces on the physical plane that are destined to forever mutate, both in appearance, behaviour, and conformity to laws of nature – the laws of nature themselves, by no means being set in stone.

However, as we move into the Aquarian dispensation, the world of meaning is starting to reveal itself and spontaneous changes are literally in the air. Although it is hard to precisely define the changes that are taking place, there are signs in human behaviour that many are becoming sensitive to the world of meaning and starting to live their lives in accordance with higher, spiritual laws. Of humanity as a whole, it could be said with some justification that an innate urge to synthesis is beginning to manifest itself. Humanity has made much progress over the last half-century despite the evil in the world that might make us think otherwise. And in fact, while the urge to synthesis is a basic law or rule of life itself, one of its initial effects on the form side, is destruction and wreckage with its accompaniments of pain and sorrow. On the life side, it results in release, liberation and subsequent expansion… it is caused by the impulsion of the sensed and innate purpose of God.”

As the pre-eminent sign of service, and an air sign, it’s significant that Aquarius rules the Spiritual Hierarchy on the buddhic plane. Its wisdom and life giving energies are available to all who work as souls and who stand within its influence. Aquarius also has a pervasive effect and one that will have a growing influence on the evolving consciousness and forms of our planetary life. The impact of Aquarius upon the kingdom of souls, the Spiritual Hierarchy of the planet, is summed up by the Tibetan as bringing “in the energy of Shamballa which is essentially the energy of life itself, implemented by the will. This necessarily has created…major adjustments within the Hierarchy itself. The principal type of energy hitherto used by the Hierarchy is…the energy of love. Now, to that must be added the energy of the life-giving will. New methods, new approaches to the human problem and new modes of work will have to be tried; experiment with the incoming forces will necessarily be the order of the day, though they will be experiments based upon vast knowledge and implemented with wisdom and understanding.”

Symbolically speaking, the waters of the Piscean age are now being absorbed into the water pot or pitcher carried on the shoulder of the server, the well-known symbol of Aquarius. The mystical approaches to the kingdom of souls which the Christ deliberately encouraged in order to put humanity in touch with the Hierarchy during the Piscean era, are being rapidly replaced by a more scientific approach of working intelligently with energies and forces. So it’s encouraging to note that So it are being rapidly replaced by a more scientific approach pot or pitcher carried on the shoulder of the server, the well-known symbol of Aquarius. The mystical approaches to the kingdom of souls which the Christ deliberate whose keynote will be universality and initiation.”

Symbolically speaking, the waters of the Piscean age are now being absorbed into the water pot or pitcher carried on the shoulder of the server, the well-known symbol of Aquarius. The mystical approaches to the kingdom of souls which the Christ deliberately encouraged in order to put humanity in touch with the hierarchy during the Piscean era, are being rapidly replaced by a more scientific approach of working intelligently with energies and forces. So it’s encouraging to note that “Each year carries us closer to the centre of power, the major effect of which will be to induce recognition of man's essential unity, of the processes of sharing and of cooperation and of the emergence of that new world religion whose keynote will be universality and initiation.”

The permeating qualities of Aquarius influence every field, plane and kingdom, its life sustaining properties providing a fitting symbol for its spiritual energies and that ‘life more abundant’which nourishes and stimulates inner growth. The keynote of the disciple in Aquarius is “Water of life am I, poured forth for thirsty men”–it illustrates the world server who emerges in this sign to intelligently direct the streams of living energy that are pouring through the planetary ethers. In a higher sense, the disciple is cleansing the Augean stables as depicted in the myth of Hercules. On a lower turn of the spiral, water is also a symbol of the emotional life of the average person: restless, changeable and at times, destructive. The vast majority of the human race are dominated by these lower forces and the opportunity of the incoming Aquarian energy is to raise consciousness to mental levels so that they can “walk upon the waters of the emotions”to contact the soul.

The Tibetan’s teachings give a breathtakingbreath taking forecast of human and planetary destiny in the Aquarian age – a vision that goes way beyond any mystical visions of the past. Pondered upon, they bring flashes of realisation of the divinity inherent in the Whole, of how vast the scheme of evolutionary process actually is and the unimaginable beauty, splendour and meaning of all that awaits humanity’s discovery and creative engagement with it. Pioneering this foray into the subjective worlds are the esoteric groups working to reveal the hidden vision and to empower the work of the new group of world servers. And while this esoteric work may at times seem abstruse and beyond our individual capabilities, the essence of it is simply to cultivate the state of joy in which all may share.

Where there is joy, there is meaning – not a meaning that can be adequately described in words but simply a state of right orientation to the purpose of God and a subsequent awareness of the waves of divine energy that are continually breaking on the edges of human consciousness, steadily awakening and preparing mankind for the glory to come. Just as the filament in a bulb provides the resistance essential to produce light, so does the purification of the personality offer positive resistance to this energy with the resulting emission of lighted joy. To the extent that joy is present in a person’s life so is the soul. The extent that it colours and conditions all of our relationships reflects the extent to which we are actually living the Ageless Wisdom teachings and freeing ourselves from dependence on that which is lifeless. The bringer of joy, Jupiter, is very active as the esoteric ruler of Aquarius and the exoteric ruler, Uranus, is injecting joy as burst of energy into the ethers of the planet – truly we are experiencing a series of spontaneous inner happenings at this time – all based around the joy of seeing through things to the meaning that lies beyond.

Goodwill is spread throughout the world on the wings of joy and as we work together in meditation this evening, may it pour forth to humanity to bring hope succour to those who are struggling in the darkness that ever precedes the revelation of meaning.

Aquarius Festival Meeting
New York - February 2014
Christine Morgan