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CHAPTER IV - The Sacred and Non-Sacred Planets

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CHAPTER IV

The Sacred and Non-Sacred Planets

There is, as you may imagine, little that I can say on this matter for it concerns one of the great and major mysteries of initiation. It deals with and is related to the spiritual status of the planetary Logoi, those great Beings in Whom all forms of life on all planets live and move and have their being. It is concerned with Their point in evolution, with Their goals and objectives upon the cosmic Path and with the initiation for which They—in Their incomparable and incomprehensible livingness—are preparing.

Basically it might be said that a planet is regarded as "sacred" when its informing spiritual Life has taken five of the major cosmic initiations and that a "non-sacred" planet is one whose planetary Logos has not taken these initiations. This is an inadequate definition and is only in any way to be understood if you bear in mind that initiation is a process of developing inclusiveness.

a. Man is becoming inclusive in the planetary sense; the five major initiations which he eventually takes give to him a range of awareness which is infinitely beyond anything of which he can conceive at present. These initiations endow him with the "freedom of the planet." He is then responsive to all states of consciousness within the planetary ring-pass-not, and is becoming sensitive to extra-planetary perception.

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b. The Logos of a non-sacred planet is becoming inclusive in His consciousness to all that is found within the solar ring-pass-not. He is establishing an esoteric "understanding relation" with all that lives within the body of manifestation of a solar Logos and is likewise registering a sensitive response to the quality of the Life which informs the Sun, Sirius. He has taken three cosmic initiations.

c. The Logos of a sacred planet transcends the knowledges, reactions and responses which are purely those of the solar system, is conscious of or vitally responsive to the life of Sirius and is beginning to respond consciously to the vibratory influences of the Pleiades. You need here to bear in mind in this connection that the Pleiades—though they are regarded as embodying the matter aspect in manifestation—are in reality and literally the expression of that Principle of Life which we call vitality, prana in its various stages or degrees, ether or substance.

The Logos of a sacred planet has taken five cosmic initiations.

d. The Logos of a solar system is esoterically called the "Sacred Triangle of all-inclusive Force" because this great Being includes within His focussed awareness the fields of expression of the Great Bear, the Pleiades and Sirius. They are to Him what the heart, the head and the throat centres are to the developed initiate on this planet. He has taken those initiations of which the highest initiate upon our Earth has no faintest conception. Forget not, that I have told you elsewhere that there are divine aspects and divine characteristics which are [505] as yet totally unrevealed even to the most advanced humanity. No human being of a lower degree to that of the third initiation can even faintly sense and dimly react to these underlying factors in the existent divine manifestation. Today, the significance of will and its distinction from determination, strength and fixed intention is only just beginning to be understood. Just as a discussion of the intuition or of the nature of the eternal revelation would be utterly meaningless to the savage in the darkest part of the undeveloped areas of the world, so would a discussion of these unknown divine attributes be equally meaningless to you. All that you can comprehend (and that with the utmost difficulty) is the three divine aspects—will, love and intelligence. There are others, for our Logos is a sevenfold Being and four remaining aspects are as yet unrevealed to humanity, though sensed by the Hierarchy. These are "objectives of esoteric spiritual attention" by the Logoi within the solar ring-pass-not.

You will see, therefore, that the section of our teaching upon which we are now entering will be necessarily brief, because we shall be dealing with factors which must remain incomprehensible. It is consequently a waste of your time and mine to do more than touch very briefly upon such matters.

Some understanding of the distinction between a sacred and a non-sacred planet will come if you can realise that there is a paralleling correspondence between the consciousness of the initiate (up to and including the third initiation) and the consciousness of the Logos of a non-sacred planet. Soul and body, consciousness and form are blended and a [506] definite fusion is taking place. Two divine aspects are in process of intimate relation. The disciple brings about this relationship within his little system, and the planetary Logos on a far larger scale within His range of influence and control. In this process He carries with Him all the four kingdoms in nature. For both these lives—microcosmic and macrocosmic—this fusion produces Transfiguration, the third initiation. The Logos of a sacred planet has carried the divine work further along and is occupied with the task of synthesising into one unit of conscious response and activity, the higher divine aspect, that of the Monad, the will aspect. When this is accomplished, will, love and intelligence are blended and spirit, soul and body are at-one. Then the quality of the divine expression will be divine purpose, impulsed by will, motivated by love and carried forward with intelligence.

Astrologers should here note that, in their work, they have not duly taken into consideration (when dealing with the twelve houses or mansions of the soul) whether the planet is sacred or not. The effect of the influences of a sacred planet or a non-sacred one are very different, for one will affect primarily the life in the three worlds whilst a sacred planet will aid in the processes of affecting the fusion of soul and body, of consciousness and form; it will also produce the quickening of the intuition (the spiritual soul) which is the lower aspect of the Monad. The sacred planets are, as you know, seven in number:

 

1. Vulcan

 

4. Jupiter

2. Mercury

 

5. Saturn

3. Venus

 

6. Neptune

 

7. Uranus

 

 

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The non-sacred planets are only five:

 

1. Mars                                 

4. The Moon, veiling

2. The Earth

   a hidden planet.

3. Pluto

5. The Sun, veiling a planet.

 

It is interesting here to note that the non-sacred planets rule the first, the fourth, the fifth and the eighth houses in the lesser zodiac. Our Earth is also a non-sacred planet. You have, therefore, four non-sacred planets, controlling or ruling a fifth non-sacred planet—a correspondence to the four aspects of the lower man. You have there, first the physical outer shell, the etheric or vital body, astral body and the mental body, plus a fusion with the fifth body, the personality. The task of our planetary Logos and of all advanced human beings is clearly to be seen. From a larger and more synthetic attitude, you have the four kingdoms in nature and the veiled fifth kingdom, the kingdom of God.

From still another angle you have:

Aries—ruled by Mars.

Cancer—ruled by the Moon, veiling a sacred planet.

Leo—ruled by the Sun, veiling a sacred planet.

Scorpio—ruled by Pluto.

You will note that Pluto and not Mars is here mentioned by me as a non-sacred Planet, ruling Scorpio. The reason for this is that there is a relation between Mars and Pluto analogous to that between Venus and the Earth. Esoterically speaking, Mars is the alter ego of Pluto; the activity of Pluto at this time and in this lesser world cycle is very important on account of its esoteric approach to the Earth, impelled thereto by the vivification of its life by a display of Martian energy. The Earth, Mars and Pluto [508] form an interesting triangle with Venus behind the scene acting as the impelling soul acts towards a rapidly integrating personality. This triangle should not be forgotten when casting the horoscope, because it indicates a relation and a possibility which can be (though it often is not) a major determining factor, prior to passing on to the Probationary Path. The four houses, governed by the four non-sacred planets (not counting the Sun) are "houses of the personality, mundanely oriented" and the reason is not far to seek. The seven remaining houses, governed by the seven sacred planets are not so purely material nor are they so exoterically oriented, yet all the twelve indicate limitation or that which withholds the Dweller in the mansion from expanding his consciousness, if he permits himself to be imprisoned by them. On the other hand, they offer opportunity if he is oriented towards the higher life.

I might again point out that Mars is the transmitter of sixth ray force and it is this which makes the first house of action in the physical body that of the devotee who fights for that which he desires or for that to which he aspires. The warrior, devoted to a cause, comes into being upon the field of action, the Earth, which is itself an expression of the third Ray of Intelligent Activity. Aries, the first house, and Mars and the Earth initiate conflict, focussed in a form.

Again, the Moon is the ruler of Cancer and is related to the fourth ray, and rules the fourth house. Here you have the idea of form being the custodian of a living spiritual essence, of the home, whether the home is the fourth or lowest aspect of the personality or the fourth kingdom in nature, but all ruled by the fourth Ray of Harmony through Conflict—a harmony to be wrought out within the form on Earth.

The Sun, the transmitter of the energy of the second [509] ray, rules the fifth house or mansion of the soul, the causal body in this case; the force of Leo is also involved, the force of the self-conscious soul. The spiritual man, aware of his identity says in this house: "I am the eternal cause of all relation. I am and I exist." The dualism of the second ray is first realised in the fifth house by man, the embodied fifth principle.

Pluto, transmitting first ray energy, rules Scorpio, the sign of discipleship, of the man ready for the fusion brought about through the influence of the sacred planets, and governs the house of major separations and of death. "The arrow of God pierces the heart and death takes place." But in this connection it must be remembered that death is definitely brought about by the soul. It is the soul which shoots the arrow of death. (The upward pointing arrow is the astrological symbol of Pluto.)

It is only in the present cycle that the Sun and Moon "veil" certain planets and are the exoteric symbols for certain esoteric forces. As evolution proceeds, the planets will not be veiled. Their influences will not be so remote. At present the mechanism of the majority of the human family is not tuned to the reception of the rays from Vulcan, Uranus or Neptune whilst Pluto at present only evokes response from groups or from those disciples who are enough evolved rightly to respond. The three veiled planets—Vulcan, Uranus and Neptune are all sacred planets, embodying first, seventh and sixth ray energies. Vulcan is never an exoteric ruler and only comes into real activity when a man is on the Path, whilst Uranus and Neptune are rulers of the eleventh and twelfth houses, and govern Aquarius and Pisces. The implications will be clear to you.

It is not my intention to deal with the houses in detail. Modern astrologers have worked this out relatively satisfactorily, [510] for the houses concern the prison of the soul and its limitations and with these there is a widespread familiarity. As you know, I am concerned with the astrology of the soul and with the influences of the esoteric planets.

Three suggestions I will however make:

1. If the investigating astrologer will substitute the esoteric planets for the orthodox exoteric planets (and I have indicated these in connection with the signs of the zodiac) he will get much instructive information, and (if he perseveres) the verification of my ideas.

2. If he will distinguish between the effects of the sacred planets and the non-sacred he will find the sacred planets endeavour to fuse the personality and make it the instrument of the soul and the non-sacred planets influence more specifically the form nature; much light on the pull between the pairs of opposites may then pour in.

3. If he will study the "fluid area" where the planets, veiled by the Sun and Moon, come into play and will realise that he must decide (from a study of the chart of the subject and any knowledge he may have) what is the point in evolution reached and which of the three veiled planets is the ruler, he will get much intuitive understanding. He will find himself able to throw much light upon the problem of the probationary disciple when considering the exoteric rulers and upon the problems of disciples when dealing with the esoteric rulers.

If the astrologer will consider these three points and will be willing to experiment with them, a great stride forward into the unveiling of the astrology of the soul will take place. He will find it useful also to work out the higher correspondences to the material realities for which the houses stand. For instance, I will give you some idea of [511] these correspondences in connection with the first two houses:

First House:

Physical body or form.—The causal body of the soul.

Appearance or manifestation.—The emergence of the soul.

The head. Brain.—The head centre.

Personal activity.—Soul expression.

Mannerisms, etc.—Ray types and qualities.

Second House:

Finances. Monetary interchange.—Prana.

Expenditures.—Use of energy.

Possessions.—Control of the form.

Losses.—Withdrawal from matter.

Gains.—Acquisition of spiritual powers.

The other ten houses you can work out for yourselves. It is interesting to note, for instance, in connection with the second house (and the same idea can be applied to all of them) that Taurus, the mother of illumination, and Venus, the endower of mind plus the embodied soul, are related and active in this house. The light of matter and the light of the soul are both involved in the use of energy and in the problem of what is desired, what is regarded as loss, and what shall be the gained objective. It is, therefore, the house of values—material or spiritual.