Polarization and the Problem of the Pairs of Opposites

"Polarization and the Pairs of Opposites"

Presentation by John Horan

“I Choose The Way Which Lies Between The Two Great Lines of Force”

We find ourselves in the time of Libra, symbolized by the scales, when balance is paramount.  We have journeyed through the Equinox, when every place on Earth has the same length of day and night.  Resulting in a planet half in light, half in darkness, an apt metaphor for our times.

This seeming divide is known throughout the world, for who among is not aware of the polarization occurring in human affairs?  Today, we can reflect on “Polarization and the Problem of the Pairs of Opposites”.  Yet as every crisis represents an opportunity, perhaps the problem itself contains the solution.

Polarity may be defined as “a relation between two opposite attributes or tendencies”.  This implies a pair of opposites.  Polarity also governs electricity, the distribution of energy — for, as the Tibetan teaches, it is an electric universe. 

Matter as we currently understand it consists of particles which can have a positive charge, a negative charge, or be neutral in nature — in effect combining both types of energy.  Doe this not apply to where we find ourselves?

The word polarity also means “to have two poles”,  just as the Earth has two poles, North and South.  If we draw an imaginary line between the two, it is around this line that the Earth itself rotates, this axis passing from the north pole, then through the center of the material mass of Earth, and finally to the south pole.  Remember that this line goes through the very center of mass.  What could be clearer than this to show that matter itself and the resulting materialism makes up the fabric of our lives?   

The words we use to describe polarity shapes our very thoughts.  For example, think of how you feel when I say “that was a positive outcome”. 

Then observe your impression when you hear me say “the result was negative”.  

We generally associate the word, the idea of “negative” as “bad”.

Yet it is a negatively-charged particle, the electron, which both names and circulates the system of electricity.  Electron.  Electricity.  It is an electric universe and both types of force, Positive and Negative, are needed and both have value. 

The Tibetan says that Libra

“…is a governing sign and a major conditioning factor where law, sex and money are concerned.  Ponder on this.”

These three — the law, sex, and money — are the concepts, the thought forms  in the news today, in which humanity faces its “Dweller on the Threshold”, that reservoir of unredeemed activity, thoughts, and long-held concepts which prevent our advancement. 

The astrological symbol for Libra is also the same symbol used for the legal profession, the Scales of Justice.  Could you imagine a scale with just one side?  Both sides are necessary to determine the point of equilibrium which we call balance.

The Tibetan also writes in Esoteric Astrology,

“The first aspect of will or power expresses itself in the sign as law, as legislation, legality, justice; the second aspect manifests in the relation between the pairs of opposites (of which the scales are the symbol) and upon the physical plane shows itself as Sex; the third aspect demonstrates as concretized energy, and this we call Money.”

…If students will, therefore make a careful study of these three - law, sex and money - as they express themselves today and as they can express themselves in the future, they will have a picture of physical human achievement and of future spiritual expression which will be instructive and most worthwhile.”  Esoteric Astrology, pages 243 -244.

The keynote of Libra is “I Choose the Way Which Lies Between the Two Lines of Force”.  The choice not to bounce back and forth between extremes, but to revolve, as the Earth itself does, around a central line of force between two poles. 

The Tibetan describes Libra as:

“The sign of balancing, of careful weighing of values, and of achieving the right equilibrium between the pairs of opposites. It might be regarded as the sign in which the first real version of the Path appears, and the goal towards which the disciple must ultimately direct his step. This Path is the narrow razor-edged Path, which runs between the pairs of opposites and which – if it is to be safely trodden – requires the development of a sense of values, and the power to utilize rightly the balancing analytical faculty of the mind.”  Esoteric Astrology, page 227

When we humans collectively make this choice, we are to redirect our attention (as much as possible) from the astral plane, where all of us have been polarized for so long, and anchor our focus on the mental plane, conducting the energy “between the two great lines of force”. 

We had heard in talks recently given in our Triangle Meditations about the Bhagavad Gita, that ancient guidepost for initiates.  The Tibetan writes:

“A study of The Bhagavad Gita and of Arjuna’s problem when he sat down in despair between the two opposing armies will be found most illuminating in connection with Libra.”  Esoteric Astrology p. 238

The Bhagavad Gita is a story taking place on a battlefield, an allegory for the battle within.  The hero, Prince Arjuna, is faced with making a difficult choice — which side of his warring family he will support in the war.  The tale is a dialog between Arjuna and Krishna, the charioteer, as the Prince struggles in despair to find his way between what appears to be differences he cannot reconcile within himself.  In the end, Krishna tells Arjuna he must enter into the battle between good and evil, which the Prince does.

Another framework to help us navigate the pairs of opposites comes from those teachings of The Buddha, referred to as “the Great Middle Way”.  These eastern texts describe a “Noble Eightfold Path” leading between two extremes.

The Middle Way directs us to avoid over-indulgence in the pleasures of the material world, as the Buddha had himself done in his youth.  Yet this teaching also informs us not to deny practical, physical need entirely, as Siddhartha Gautama (the Buddha) himself is said to have refused to take nourishment almost to the point of death, just before attaining enlightenment. 

Libra can offer its share of confusion as one tries to thread the way between those lines of force.  It requires our concentration and our attention to remain poised on  that narrow razor-edged path.  We may find that we lose our way for a time before finding it again.  The Buddha’s teaching advises “neither to the left, nor to the right, but straight down the middle.” 

There are some who would criticize us if we don not take a stand on some contentious issues of today.  For guidance, we have the Bhagavad Gita and Arjuna to remind us that each of us has an obligation, a duty, a dharma to fulfill. 

It is not the day-to-day arguments and squabbles that we seek to mediate in our group work, but rather we adhere to those underlying principles which will move humanity forward.  And for this, we need to create that line, to fulfill the function of that axis, which connects the astral plane (where most are polarized today) to the mental plane, “the plane where the Masters can be found”. 

We may regard the polarization which we see all around us as a feature of the emergence of a new culture and civilization, embodying the quality described by the Sanskrit term “sattva”, rhythmic and cyclic appearance. 

In conclusion, we can reflect on the Tibetan’s words from “A Treatise on White Magic”:

“In relation to the human unit, the secret of liberation lies in the balancing of the forces and the equilibrising of the pairs of opposites. The path is the narrow line between these pairs, which the aspirant finds and treads, turning neither to the right, nor to the left.”

And so the keynote of Libra:  Let us choose the Way which lies between the two lines of Force.

Thank you.