3. Spiritual Effects of the Zodiacal Constellations. - Part 6

Secondly, Mars is closely related to sex, which is an aspect of the pairs of opposites, and its effect is also definitely to vitalise the blood stream; it vitalises, purifies and stimulates all aspects and organisms in the body, via the blood stream. It will be obvious to you, therefore, how the tests in Scorpio and the activity of Mars are potent to arouse the entire lower nature and bring about its final rebellion and the last stand, so to speak, of the personality against the soul. It is Mars who brings the world Arjuna into the active fight. The whole man is then engaged and the "quarrel of the sexes" is resolved in its highest aspect [212] through the battle between the highly developed personality or form nature and the soul which seeks to be the ultimate controlling factor.

The colour assigned to Mars is, as you know, red and this is a correspondence to the colour of the blood stream and hence also the association of Mars with passion, with anger and a sense of general opposition. The sense of duality is exceedingly powerful. Hence also the necessity for the entire life of man (for the blood is the life in this sense) to be swung into the conflict, leaving no side of human nature uninvolved; hence again the need for the disciple to carry his physical nature, his emotional or desire nature and his mental processes up into heaven. This takes place as a consequence of overcoming the "serpent of evil" (the form nature with its promptings and demands) by the means of the "serpent of wisdom," which is the esoteric name oft given to the soul.

In connection with the symbolic connection between Mars and the blood, producing the resultant conflict between life and death (for Scorpio is one of the signs of death), it is interesting to note that Christianity is governed by Mars. One is apt to recognise with ease that the sixth ray, working through Mars, rules Christianity. It is a religion of devotion, fanaticism, of high courage, of idealism, of the spiritual emphasis upon the individual and his worth and problem, of conflict and of death. All those characteristics are familiar to us in the presentation of Christian theology. It is however pre-eminently a religion which has waged a cruel and oft illogical war upon sex and its implications; it has emphasised a militant celibacy (militant where women and their rights and natures are concerned); it has regarded the sex relation as one of the primary evils in the world and has laid the emphasis upon [213] the inviolable nature of the marriage bond when endorsed by the Church. This has all been the result of the beneficent or the malefic effect of the impact of sixth ray force upon the form nature. Little emphasis has been laid nevertheless upon the influence of Mars upon Christianity, making it a definitely militant religion, oft cruel and sadistic (as witness the murders and tortures carried out in the name of Christ, who was the outstanding Representative of God's love). Throughout the teaching of Christian theology, the theme of blood runs ceaselessly and the source of salvation is laid upon the blood relationship and not upon the life aspect which the blood veils and symbolises. It is the creed of a crucified and dead Christ which rules Christianity and not that of the risen Master. One of the reasons for this travesty of the truth has been that St. Paul, that great initiate, prior to taking the third initiation which he did at the time he was functioning as related in The Acts of the Apostles, was potently under Martian influence and was born in Scorpio; a study of his horoscope would demonstrate this were you in a position to study as can we who are connected with the Hierarchy. It was he who gave the Scorpio-Mars slant to the interpretation and exposition of the Christian teaching and deflected its energy into channels of teaching which its Founder had never intended. Such is often the undesirable effect of the activities of well-meaning disciples upon the work which they undertake to carry on after the originator of some work for the Hierarchy passes over to the other side through death or relinquishes his task in order to take up other duties.

The blood theme and the death theme, the suffering and the dire testing of the disciple, the value of the individual conflict and the consciousness of the misery of existence are basically due to the combined influences of Scorpio and of [214] Mars which have ruled Christianity for so long and which are only now beginning somewhat to lose their influence.

A study of the processes of death as the sign Scorpio conditions them and the processes of death as we see them working out in the sign Pisces would be of very real value. Death through the influences of Pluto and death through the influences of Mars are widely different. Death in Pisces through the energy of Pluto is transformation—a transformation so vital and so 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."

The connection of these words with Christ, the present world Saviour, is obvious in their implications, and yet they were written in our archives over seven thousand years ago. Death in Scorpio is of a different nature and is also described in the same ancient writing in the following words:

"... Ancient One dies by drowning. Such is the test. The waters envelop him and there is no escape. He drowns. The fires of passion are then quenched. The life of desire ceases its appeal and to the bottom of the lake he now descends. Later, he re-ascends to Earth where the white horse waits his coming. And this he mounts, proceeding towards the second death" (that is, towards Pisces).

The reference here to Sagittarius is clear. The disciple—after the death of the personality and after the killing out [215] of desire—goes on towards Pisces where again he dies "unto an eternal resurrection." In Scorpio there is the death of the personality, with its longings, desires, ambitions and pride. In Pisces there is the death of all attachments and the liberation of the soul for service upon an universal scale. Christ, in Pisces, exemplified the substitution of love for attachment. Christianity exemplifies the death of the personality, with individual and not universal implications; love has been conspicuously lacking and the controlling colour of Christianity has indeed been red. It is not Christ's expression but the Scorpio-Mars presentation of St. Paul. Mars has ruled Christianity because St. Paul misinterpreted the esoteric significances of the New Testament message and he misinterpreted because the truth—like all truths as they reach humanity—had to pass through the filter of his personality mind and brain; it was then unavoidably given a personal slant and twist and this is responsible for the sorry historical story of Christianity and the dire plight of the nations today—ostensibly Christian nations yet swept by hate, ruled by fear and at the same time by idealism, governed by a fanatical adherence to their national destiny as they interpret it and "out for blood" as the piling up of armaments discloses. All these are sixth ray characteristics, emphasised by Scorpio and conditioned by Mars which ever rules the path of the individual disciple, and today the world disciple, humanity as a whole, stands at the very portal of the Path. The entire west is at this time under Martian influence but this will end during the next five years.

Thirdly, Mars governs the senses which are five in number. These senses are the basis of all human knowledge where that which is tangible and objective is concerned or inferred. Mars, therefore, rules science and hence the reason in this present era for the fundamental but not permanent [216] materiality of science—a materiality which is rapidly lessening as Mars nears the end of its present cycle of influence. Already, the trend of modern science is shifting into the realm of the intangible and into the world of the non-material. Hence also the fact that the opposition to occultism is waning and its day of power approaching. These subtler senses will supersede the physical senses over which Mars has so long had a successful control, and hence again the growth in the world today of the psychic senses and the appearance on every hand of the subtler and more esoteric powers of clair-voyance and clair-audience. This development is inevitable as the influence of Scorpio and of Mars begins to lessen, as is the case today. The year 1945 saw this influence almost completely vanish, particularly from the astral plane. Astrologers would do well to remember that the influence of the constellations, signs and planets, work out upon three levels of awareness—three descending levels—and are felt first of all upon the mental plane, then upon the astral plane and finally upon the physical plane. But it is with this last plane that astrologers are primarily concerned, emphasising happenings and events and not their conditioning causes. At present, astrology deals with effects and not with that which is causing them. There is much confusion over this matter and the horoscopes of the three levels are often much distorted. A horoscope which could be interpreted purely upon the mental plane is given a physical interpretation, and thus happenings which are entirely mental are portrayed as physical occurrences. A clue to this triple interpretation which astrology must eventually recognise can be found in the relation of the orthodox, the esoteric and the hierarchical planets and the rays of which they are the expression.

You will see from this how important are the functions [217] of Scorpio and Mars upon our planet at this time, and you will note also how brief a time remains in which humanity can (rightly or wrongly) handle its tests. You will realise also the pressure under which the Hierarchy at this time struggles now that Martian energy is expressing itself upon the astral plane. Will the world Hercules lift this problem up into heaven and "elevate the Hydra" of passion and hate, of greed and aggression, and of selfishness and ambition up into the region of the soul? Or will it carry the whole matter down on to the physical plane with the inevitable corollary of world disaster, world war and death? Such are the problems with which the guiding Hierarchy is faced.

Scorpio is also most interestingly connected with the constellation, Cancer, through the influences of the sixth ray, for it should be remembered that that ray is also expressing itself through Neptune, but in a spiritual and esoteric manner. Neptune governs Cancer esoterically. The significance is therefore clear, for Cancer is the sign of birth; it is the door into incarnation and the sign of generation. Scorpio is the sign of sex and of regeneration, and birth is ever the intended result of the sex relation. Father-spirit and Mother-matter when brought together produce the Son. The tests and difficulties and pains of this era are symptoms or indications of the "entering into manifestation" of the new civilisation and culture. They portend the birth of the new era for which the entire world waits. This will happen if—speaking esoterically—the sixth ray energy of Mars is transmuted into the sixth ray energy of Neptune, for the one is "objective and full of blood" and the other is "subjective and full of life."

A great mystery is veiled and hidden in the above relationship, for Cancer-Neptune is expressive of the seventh [218] ray which rules and controls the eighth Creative Hierarchy. This is one of the five Hierarchies whose names are unknown to us and this particular one stands upon the verge of liberation. At the same time it is closely connected with the mind principle as it works out through the solar Angels or through the human hierarchy. It is related to the birth of the fourth Creative Hierarchy in a sense not to be understood by anyone below the stage of the fourth initiation, but it is an interesting fact to remember for it is in the connection between the sixth and seventh rays that that potent "desire for incarnation" was aroused which resulted in the fall of the angels in primordial times. This sixth ray influence coming from three angles—orthodox, esoteric and hierarchical—and hence involving both Neptune and Mars—predisposes the race and individual man as well to become one-pointed disciples in Sagittarius. This latter constellation is ruled by Mars, bringing the man into control or closer touch with the lunar lords, the sixth Creative Hierarchy. Students should study their charts with care, remembering to differentiate between the five Hierarchies which are the non-manifesting Hierarchies, and the seven Hierarchies which are in expression now, and of which the sixth Creative Hierarchy is a part. This Hierarchy, from the larger angle of the entire twelve hierarchies and not simply the seven manifesting hierarchies, is the eleventh or the second. The sixth Ray of Devotion is consequently most powerful in this age or cycle and hence the expression in every land today of its best and its worst features, of which the intense devotion to material things and the intense devotion to spiritual values are dramatic instances.

Scorpio and Aquarius are also in a peculiar relation to each other through the planet Mercury which governs the [219] human family (being the hierarchical planet in Scorpio), and through Neptune which rules Cancer, thus governing expression upon the physical plane. In this connection the Moon is given as the orthodox ruler and the hierarchical rule of Aquarius. I would here remind you that the Moon is usually regarded as "veiling" or "hiding" some planet and of these there are three which the Moon may be veiling. Here the intuition of the astrologer and of the esoteric student must be called out. These planets are Vulcan, Neptune or Uranus. These three create and influence certain aspects of the Mother principle, which nourish and feed the life of the inner divine reality until the time comes when the Christ child is brought to the birth. They determine or condition the physical, astral and mental natures, thus creating the personality. They form a triangle of immense creative potency, upon which theme I will later enlarge when dealing with the Science of Triangles. The point which I am here making is that through the influence of Mercury and Neptune the group consciousness of the individual is developed, so that through the tests in Scorpio and the experience in Aquarius the disciple emerges on the physical plane into the position of a world server; all world servers are decentralised workers and are governed by the need and the reactions of the mass or group. That is one of the reasons why, when in training, disciples are absorbed into a Master's group which is integrally a collection of individuals who are imbued with the group idea and are learning increasingly to react to it. In this world period and in a peculiar manner, as far as the race (Aryan) to which the Western world belongs, Neptune is known esoterically as the Initiator. In certain ancient formulas, the great Teacher of the West and the present world Initiator, Christ, [220] is spoken of as Neptune, Who rules the ocean, whose trident and astrological symbol signifies the Trinity in manifestation and Who is the ruler of the Piscean Age. The formula runs as follows, speaking esoterically: "... the fish goddesses who have leapt from earth (Virgo) to water (Pisces) unitedly give birth to the Fish God (Christ) who introduces the water of life into the ocean of substance and thus brings light to the world. Thus does Neptune work." This is, however, a great mystery, revealed only at the time of the second initiation in which the control of the fluidic astral plane is demonstrated.

Cancer, being the door to incarnation, has a close relation to Scorpio through Neptune and Mars, both of whom are expressions of the sixth ray energy. In Cancer, you have the devotion of the soul, developed to such an extent that the urge to manifest overcomes all other urges, and the processes of incarnation impose themselves upon the soul. In Scorpio, that same spirit of devotion (which is based on the sense of duality and the need to go out towards that which is not the Self) is turned in the reverse direction and the urge towards liberation and the desire to tread the Path of Return becomes so strong that the disciple submits to tests, reverses—at tremendous cost and pain—his position upon the wheel of life and assumes the attitude of the Observer in contradistinction to that of the Experiencer. Old identifications cease; new trends toward higher, subtler and more spiritual identifications begin to appear and then Neptune and Mars begin to play their part.

A close study of all the above relations will reveal the fact that four signs of the zodiac play a dominant part, therefore, in the life of the man who is working whilst in incarnation with his Sun in Scorpio or with Scorpio rising. These are:

[221]

These are signs 1-4-8-11. These numbers in themselves are most significant for they are the signs of will-desire, of human expression, of the Christ principle and of initiation. There is no need for me to enlarge upon this fourfold theme and the truth of its implied teaching, for it is obvious and clear and the history of the soul is sealed up in these numbers.

I would like to touch upon another interesting point which will serve to demonstrate the potency of Scorpio and its energies in the life of the disciple. Scorpio is one of the four arms of the Fixed Cross of the heavens, as you well know. Upon that Cross, the correctly poised man stands right at the centre where the four arms meet and, therefore, at the point where the energy of all the four signs and of their ruling planets can pour through him and evoke the needed reactions, produce the conditions wherein test is possible and so bring about the necessary reversal of the life currents in the man's nature and place him upon the reversed wheel. The planets which will rule and condition him in some aspect or other of his nature are:

From this tabulation, it will appear that the influence of only one ray, that of the third Ray of Active Intelligence, [222] is missing. All the other rays pour through, vertically and horizontally, into the man's nature and his environment. Life, quality and appearance are all tested, but as the entire experience has to be fought out subjectively and lifted "up into the air" finally and raised into the world of spiritual values where all problems must be solved in the light of the intuition and by the soul, the stimulation of the intellect and the focussing of the disciple's attention upon the physical plane (the world of material values) is not desirable. Therefore, the influence of the third ray is omitted or "occultly deflected," as it is called, except in so far that the substance of the brain is automatically conditioned by the third ray which is the subconscious ruler of matter. This pouring in of six potencies is that which provides the setting and conditions of the tests; all these ray energies express themselves as the active sub-rays of the ray upon which the soul of the disciple is found; hence the necessity to ascertain the ray of the soul, prior to casting the horoscope and setting up the chart.

This brings me to two points about which I would like to speak a word. In dealing with the horoscope of the personality and with the average non-aspiring man, the astrologer should endeavour to discover the personality ray from a study of character, of the physical indications, of the emotional qualities, of the type of mind and the nature of the environment. He will then be able to lay out a far more useful chart with the orthodox planets ruling the life. In the case of the horoscope of a disciple, he should do the same, endeavouring to discover the ray of the soul. The soul ray only sets its mark and emphasises its quality and nature in the case of advanced people, and when that emerges clearly, the man is obviously a disciple and the esoteric planets will then govern his chart. Having [223] determined [223] the ray of the man undergoing tests in Scorpio, the astrologer can then place the other rays in relation to him and his probable experience.

The other point to which I sought to refer is the constant use of the word "relation" or "relationship" and analogous phrases. This is unavoidable for the reason that the entire Science of Astrology is, in the last analysis, the Science of Relations and there is consequently no use in avoiding the term, especially when there is no other which seems to meet the requirements as adequately. Inter-relation, inter-dependence, inter-communication, interplay—these are words governing the scientific basis of astrology, and they are beginning to be words in general use today in connection with human affairs and human conduct. This will be increasingly the case. The preparatory stages for world fusion, blending and synthesis are present at this time, and in this fact lies the hope of the world and the surety of the ultimate solution of the world problem along right lines.

In connection with the vertical and the horizontal life of the Fixed Cross, it is instructive to note that the vertical life of the man upon that Cross (no matter in what sign his sun may temporarily find position), is ever Aquarius-Leo. This indicates that the self-centred individual in Leo learns the lesson of the Cross and becomes decentralised, group conscious, and given to service. The horizontal arm is Taurus-Scorpio, indicating that desire for materiality is finally superseded by desire for the spiritual values, and this is demonstrated through the tests in Scorpio. Earth and water (Taurus and Scorpio) must be blended and related and it is this truth connected with these two signs of the zodiac which lies behind all teaching upon baptism and purification. The earthly material desires of Taurus must in [224] due time be brought under the influence of the purifying water in Scorpio. Baptism by water (a name for the second initiation) needs a preparatory period of testing and purification, and this the experience in Scorpio is intended to give. Likewise, fire and air (Aquarius and Leo) must also be blended and thus the four elements as well as six out of the seven rays must all play their part in conditioning the man in Scorpio for the final stages of the Path.

The place of the planets in this sign is also most revealing, and in line also with the general purpose of the experience in Scorpio, as outlined above. Uranus is exalted in Scorpio; the power of Venus is lessened in this sign, whilst the Moon falls. What do these facts symbolically portray? Let me see if I can make the beauty of these implications clear to you.

Uranus is the planet whose characteristics are the scientific mind, which, at this stage of the disciple's career, means that he can begin to live the occult life and the way of divine knowledge can take the place of the mystic way of feeling. It means also that knowledge can be transmuted into the way of wisdom and of light. This necessarily brings in the will aspect or the influence of the first ray (Vulcan) blended with the seventh ray (Uranus) producing the desired manifestation upon the physical plane. Uranus, therefore, initiates a new order of life and conditions and this—when developed in the life of the disciple—in its turn produces an understanding of the causes of things as they are, and the desire to change the old order and the old orientation into the new. This produces the reversal of the wheel. This can be seen happening today most clearly in connection with humanity and with world processes. Carried forward to its logical conclusion, the influence of Uranus finally produces an unfolded spiritual consciousness in contradistinction to [225] the human; for this reason, Uranus is exalted in this sign and assumes a position of power and of directed influence.

Venus, the intelligent mind, has its power lessened in this sign because the intellect—having been developed and used—must now be subordinated to a higher power of the soul, the spiritual intuition. The Son of Mind, the solar Angel, must now manifest as a Son of God. This solar Angel, when in control, must give place eventually to the Presence. This it has hitherto veiled or hidden. Venus must wane and the Sun—as a symbol of Deity—must wax in influence and finally take its place. Such are the symbolic and esoteric significances.

The Moon is here regarded as functioning in its true nature and, therefore, as expressing symbolically that which is dead. The Moon here stands for the personality and, in the final victory in Scorpio, the personality is entirely vanquished and defeated. Desire is killed, for it is through expressed desire of some kind that personality demonstrates life, quality, appearance. Ponder upon this, for in Scorpio the Moon falls and its influence fades out.

Extremes ever meet in the disciple who stands at this midway point or at the centre of the Fixed Cross in Scorpio. The spiritual imagination, which is the factor of greatest service to man, begins to take the place of the ancient glamour by means of which we have fabricated the untrue world in which we appear to live and move and have our being. The self-indulgence which was initiated in Taurus gives way in Scorpio to the selfless attitude of the disciple; ambition gives place to the executive activity of the soul, whilst attachment to personality desires, likes and dislikes is transmuted into the tenacity of soul purpose. The hidden powers of the soul nature—secret and misused because misunderstood and misapplied and, therefore, misdirected—are [226] superseded by the mysteries of initiation, and the practical understanding of the energies thereby conferred upon the recipient. Such are some of the great transformations which take place in the life of the disciple who submits intelligently to the tests and difficulties in Scorpio.

The three decanates and their rulers are given very differently by various astrologers. One group posits Mars, the Sun and Venus as ruling the decanates of Scorpio whilst another regards Mars, Jupiter and the Moon as the three rulers. Perhaps the truth lies in both conclusions, if we view them from the esoteric standpoint or from that of the undeveloped man. This will be an interesting point for astrologers to investigate and study. Some day they will arrive at a clear decision as to the position of the five planets suggested as ruling the decanates (they agree on one); I cannot indicate to you the essential truth because a new planet is arising in this sign and it is for man to discover and rightly place it within the circumference of the Great Wheel.

The keywords of this sign are significant and illuminating. Deception and triumph—control by Maya and control by the soul—conflict and peace—such are the hidden secrets of this sign and these are summed up for all disciples in the two keywords. Upon the ordinary wheel, whereon the soul is found, blind and apparently helpless, the Word goes forth in the following terms: "And the Word said, Let Maya flourish and let deception rule"; upon the reversed wheel, the soul chants or sings the words: "Warrior I am and from the battle I emerge triumphant."

LIBRA, THE BALANCE

The sign Libra is one of peculiar interest, but in a most paradoxical manner, for much of its interest is based upon [227] the fact that it lacks spectacular interest of any kind—except in the case of disciples or those nearing the Path. It is a 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 vision of the Path appears and of the goal towards which the disciple must ultimately direct his steps. 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 utilise rightly the balancing, analytical faculty of the mind. It is also the sign of intuitive perception and, on the ordinary way of progression around the zodiac, it comes after the normally drastic experience of the man in Scorpio; this is usually of such a nature that the instinct to self-preservation has been aroused to such an extent that in the dire need of the man (not the disciple, at this time) a call to the soul has gone forth and has evoked response. The first few faint flashes of the intuition have been sensed and vaguely recognised. Then follows the experience in Libra wherein a life is spent in quiet, thoughtful reflection or in a condition of static unresponsiveness; it may be a life of balancing, of weighing this and that, and of determining which way the scales shall fall so that in the next sign certain designed results will occur. The following Virgo life will be either one of a personality, materialistic nature, lived under the influence of the material aspect of Virgo, the Mother, or there will be evidenced a slowly emerging soul vibration, indicating that hidden spiritual life of which the Virgin Mother is the fore-ordained custodian. As progress is made, recurrently or cyclically, around the wheel of life, these experiences and vibratory activities intensify in character until the time comes when the reversal of the wheel [228] takes place. Then Libra leads on to Scorpio and the active soul life (active through the medium of the personality nature and not simply on its own plane) is registered, recorded and noted in Virgo, and balanced and assessed in Libra, eventually bringing about the tests and trials between the soul and the personality, which latter fights with power and determination to preserve the status quo of the balanced expression of these two where the preponderance of the personality influence is not possible.

Libra can also be spoken of in terms of the meditation process as taught both in East and West. It can, therefore, be regarded as the "interlude between two activities," which is the explanation given to that stage in meditation which we call contemplation. In the five stages of meditation (as usually taught) you have the following: Concentration, meditation, contemplation, illumination and inspiration. These five stages are paralleled in the five strictly human signs of the zodiac:

1. Leo—Concentration—Soul life focussed in form. Individualisation. Self-consciousness. Undeveloped and average man. Human experience.

2. Virgo—Meditation—Soul life, as sensed in man, the gestation period. The stage of the hidden Christ. Intelligent man. Personality, as hiding the Christ life.

3. Libra—Contemplation—Life of soul and form is balanced. Neither dominates. Equilibrium. An interlude wherein the soul organises itself for battle and the personality waits. This is the probationary path. Duality known.

4. Scorpio—Illumination—The soul triumphs. Experience in Taurus consummated. Astral glamour dissipated. [229] Soul light pours in. The Path of Discipleship. The Disciple.

5. Sagittarius—Inspiration—Preparation for initiation. Soul inspires personality life. Soul expresses itself through personality. The Initiate.

I would here remind you that, though initiation is taken in Capricorn, the man is an initiate before he is initiated. This is the true secret of initiation.

You have, therefore, the activity wherein the personality grows and develops, and yet at the same time it veils and hides the hidden "man of the heart," which is the Christ, within each human form. You have then the interlude wherein the point of balance is reached between these two and neither is dominant. The "scales tip back and forth" in either direction or—as it is sometimes expressed—man swings between the pairs of opposites. Hence the importance of this sign in the life expression of the man and hence also its peculiar difficulty; it provides the curious see-saw experience which proves so distressingly bewildering first to the man who seeks to be entirely human but finds within himself impediments and urges which drive him on to something which is higher than the human and, secondly, to the aspirant or the disciple. His focus of interest and his aim is soul life, yet he finds within himself that which seeks ever to draw him back to the old ways, the old habits and the old desires.

This sign is sometimes called "the place of judgment" for it is here that the decision is made and the die is cast which separate the "sheep from the goats" or those constellations ruled by Aries (the Ram or Lamb) and those ruled by Capricorn, the Goat. It really marks the distinction between the ordinary wheel of life and the reversed [230] [230] wheel. In the days before Leo-Virgo were divided into two signs, Libra was literally the midway point. The situation was then as follows:

and in this round of the zodiac (as far as humanity is concerned) you have depicted the entire history of the race. This involves its mental beginnings in Aries (the will to manifest) and the start of the outgoing life; you have its directed desire in Taurus, producing manifestation; then emerges its dual consciousness in Gemini or the soul-body realisation; the processes of physical incarnation go forward in Cancer, followed by the dual development of the soul-body, or the subjective and objective consciousness, and the God-man in Leo-Virgo. Next comes Libra, wherein the point of balance is eventually reached between spiritual man and personal man and the stage is laid for the final fivefold process which is, in reality, the subjective correspondence to the outer externalisation upon the Path of Outgoing and which is carried forward upon the Path of Ingoing, or the Path of Return. Then takes place the reversal of the wheel and the beginning of the new orientation and of discipleship in Scorpio, the directed, controlled life of the disciple in Sagittarius, initiation in Capricorn, followed by service in Aquarius and the work of a world saviour in Pisces and final liberation.

In this world period we have the division of the sign of the Sphinx into two signs (the Lion and the Virgin, soul and form) because the state of human evolution and conscious realisation is that of a recognised duality; it is only at what is called the "final judgment" that another fusion [231] will take place and Virgo-Libra will form one sign, for then man's sense of antagonistic dualism will be ended and the scales will have been turned finally in favour of that which the Virgin-Mother has hidden from expression for aeons.

This final judgment, as far as this planetary cycle is concerned, will take place in the next great world cycle and by that time two-thirds of the human race will have unfolded the Christ principle in one or other of the various stages of unfoldment and be upon one of the final stages of the path of evolution; they will be either probationary or accepted disciples or upon the Path of Initiation. Eventually, in some mysterious way, there will be only ten signs of the zodiac again; Aries and Pisces will form one sign, for "the end is as the beginning." This dual and blended sign is called in some of the ancient books "the sign of the Fish with the head of the Ram." We shall then have

Fire and water will then blend, veiling the past which has gone instead of the future as is now the case. Earth and air will then fuse and in this way the old prophecy, repeated in the Bible, that "there shall be no more sea" will be proved correct. Air (heaven) will then have "come down to Earth" and fusion will be established.

In the cosmic sense then and not in the individual sense, the unfoldment of the cosmic Christ will be manifested for which "the whole creation waits"; thus will come the consummation of desire as a result of dedicated aspiration. [232] Then, and only then, will the "Desire of all nations come" and He for Whom all men wait will appear.

The history of desire is to be found in the four signs of Taurus, Libra, Scorpio and Pisces.

1. Taurus—the Bull of Desire.—Material desire rules.
(Life.)

2. Libra—the balancing of desire.—The opposite objective to desire is the scales or balances.
(Balance.)

3. Scorpio—the victory of spiritual desire.—The soul triumphant.
(Quality.)

4. Pisces—consummation of divine desire.—The "Desire of all nations." The Cosmic Christ.
(Appearance.)

There is therefore the individual experience in Libra of the balanced life wherein experiment is made and the consequent tipping of the Scales in one direction or another until either desire or spiritual aspiration weighs the balances down sufficiently so as to indicate the way that the man must go at the time. There is the experience of humanity in Libra in which the same adjustments and experiments are being made, but this time the entire race of men is involved and not just an individual. This group experience, carried out upon the mental plane, will only happen when all men are polarised mentally and will take place and constitute the Judgment day, referred to above. Of this, the "point of crisis" in Libra and the present world situation and needed adjustment is the forerunner; this time the balancing is, however, upon the astral plane and the desires [233] of men are predominantly in a position of casting the deciding factor, whereas in the next great cycle it will be the minds of men which will do the deciding. Today, the foremost men of the age—disciples, aspirants and the intelligentsia—are being tested under the Scorpio experience whilst the masses are in the Scales; the weight of mass desire will turn them either up towards spiritual decision or down towards material and selfish ends.

It is because of this balancing quality in Libra that this constellation can be associated more specifically with the problem of sex than can any of the others. Sex is usually connected in the mind of the average astrological student with the signs Taurus and Scorpio. This is probably due to the fact that the Bull is so frequently regarded as the symbol of the mad urges of the uncontrolled sex principle and because in Scorpio fundamental tests are applied. For most aspirants in the early stages, sex does constitute a fundamental problem. Esoterically, however, it is in Libra that the whole question comes up and will increasingly come up for answering, and it is in Libra that the balancing of the pairs of opposites must take place and reach solution through the activity of the judicial mind and the establishing of a point of equilibrium between the male and the female principles. This again (for it is a piece of recurrent symbology) is the problem existing basically between the Sheep and the Goats, between negative and positive, and between those who blindly follow either instinct or custom and those who climb freely where they choose and are self-directed in conduct and attitude. This self-direction may lead them in either direction upon the wheel of life, following either selfish desire or spiritual aspiration, but the point to have in mind is that, judicially and with intent and after due reflection and balancing of the various ways, they then [234] do as they will and as seems to them right and desirable. This is of itself of a basic usefulness and thereby they learn; for all action produces results and the judicial mind weighs cause and effect more correctly than any other.