The present-day hero is sustained by the realization that from no earthly quarter can he expect cooperation. When he says, ‘I will not abandon the field of battle,’ he already finds new strength. We are ready to provide the strengthening current in accordance with the firmness of his decision not to abandon the battle.1

Our history is filled with warriors and heroes across all cultures and over all time – human and supernatural, fighting the darkness to rescue into our world the Light and Consciousness of Life. The heroes’ journey is our story. It’s a journey back to our source and along the way we discover the truth and do our duty as best we can know it.

From the centre which we call the race of men
Let the Plan of Love and Light work out
And may it seal the door where evil dwells.2

It can be enlightening to read stories of those warriors past and present, who have and are, helping to clear the path. “Some believe that precise knowledge is the crown of thought; but it would be more correct to say that legend is the crown of thought.” 3

What is Evil?

Mythologist Joseph Campbell says that, “It would not be too much to say that myth is the secret opening through which the inexhaustible energies of the cosmos pour into human cultural manifestation.”4 Perhaps the crown of thought and the secret opening are both names for that place where we each act to seal the door of evil. And what is evil?

One definition for evil is, “that good which we should have left behind, passing on to greater and more inclusive good”5 or, “The domination of spirit (and its reflection, soul) by matter is what constitutes evil.”6 Even that which was good and desirable in previous times may now be an outmoded good turned evil. The deeds of the hero frequently include slaying the boon-givers of the past. “A god outgrown becomes immediately a life-destroying demon. The form has to be broken and the energies released.” 7

The ancient wisdom teachings tell us that matter is a shadow, the garment of God/ the Source which veils the causal life or reality behind. “Here lies the mystery of maya, and here is to be found the secret of illusion.” 8So matter is not evil, but when matter tries to, or is allowed to, control spirit, then it is evil. So evil’s a tricky, chameleon-like force that changes over time.

Electric Stories

Cutting edge thinkers are utilising the abstract mind to bring together mythology and astrophysics to reveal the hero ideal of old, clothed now in the electric universe of plasma, lightning and thunderbolts. In his book, “Thunderbolt of the Gods”, David Talbot suggests that, ‘only a few thousand years ago the terrestrial sky was ablaze with electrical activity.” In his book he shows the link between primitive cave paintings, “devoted to the utterly fantastic: cosmic serpents and dragons, winged bulls in the sky, mountains, towers, and stairways reaching to the center of heaven, “sun” disks with heaven-spanning wings, cosmic “ships” sailing about the sky,”9 and plasma science.

He explains that in the early days of human evolution, it was recorded that, “a great serpent or dragon attacked the world, bringing darkness and universal detestation. A legendary warrior then set out to engage the monster in direct combat.” He had a magical weapon, fashioned by gods or divine assistants who turned the tide of battle, vanquishing the monster. The warrior, “defeated chaos and saved the world from catastrophe.”10

This is the ancestral warrior, and it’s comforting to know that the same battle between the forces of darkness and light are still occurring in the sky above and in the earth all around us, right now. Talbot says that, ‘the essence of the divine thunderbolt was etheric…plasma discharge formations appearing above the ancient witnesses (which) readily inspired such fabulous interpretations.”11

Cosmic Dragons

In the Secret Doctrine, Helena Blavatsky suggests that the dragons are, “the turbulent confused principles in Chaos, brought to order by the Sun-gods or creative powers,” and that this is the “War in Heavens”.12

Our battle, like the ancient warrior, is to ward off evil in the form of confused, imperfect matter, rescuing from it the good, the beautiful and the true. We are raising the quality of matter to a more truly beautiful expression of itself. By thinking of the sacred and aspiring to the good; by rejecting that which was once good but is now no longer appropriate to us, we master the art of the battle. We are learning how to raise the vibration of the substance of matter – the atoms of our bodies, and the atoms that constantly dance around us. By using our mind power, our thoughts, we are gradually liberating the spirit, the soul within. We are re-enacting the heavenly battle, using the thunderbolt of the higher mind13 to defeat the chaotic, random lower vibrations of matter, healing/saving ourselves and by extension, helping to heal the world.

“The nation that ascends, dreams of heroes. But for the worn-out nation the idea of a hero seems wearisome and pointless. Though this nation may be showered with gold, though its conceit still may be impassioned, it will be unfit for podvig (Russian term for a selfless heroic act). The dreams and ardour of real daring have passed out of the walls of the nation that knows only reason.”14

Cutting edge science is tapping into the archetypal vein in humanity that dreams of magnificence, transcendence, courage, and beauty. In black and white science is demonstrating what occultists have long known: that stories, like anything in life, are electric. A continuous process of electromagnetic interactions between spirit and matter: between electrons (negative charge or matter) and protons or spirit (that something that gives energy to matter – its positive charge) to create neutrons or the son/soul (the neutral charge). This electricity is called Fohat by Occultists.15

Plasma Universe

That’s why the scientists, pushing aside the garment of god to reveal plasma as the linking, connecting stuff in an electric universe, are also spiritual warriors. They are battling the forces of inertia in matter to find what lies behind; what animates the electrons carrying them through the cosmos as suns, stars, comets and planets relate, create, destroy and live out their own awesome story.

They are showing us the consciousness within all life – plasma – “a collection of positively charged ions and negatively charged electrons, together with the remaining non-ionized or neutral atoms or molecules”. Plasma is the fourth and most abundant state of matter (the other states are solid, liquid and gas). It forms at high temperatures, allowing the bonds between atoms to loosen and move freely. Space is filled with plasma and the freely moving electrons in plasma are excellent carriers of electric currents.16

This plasma or ether as it’s also called, is like the soul of all forms. Without it life could not exist because there would be no relationship and communication across space and time.

Building a bridge from the concrete to the higher mind motivated by the love of their work, these scientists are drawing forth the intuition. As they forge ahead into the dragon’s lair, the unknown realm of deepest, darkest matter, their urge to serve protects them like the archetypal magical helmet and shield of all good warrior legends.

Liberating Ourselves

For some, the battle is very obvious and very physical. It’s with the forces of drought, disease, famine and war. For others who live in zones of greater abundance and peace, the battle is more internalised. It’s here, in the middle-class affluence that the dragon lurks, veiled by the illusion of comfort and security.

The constant challenge facing the spiritual warrior is the struggle with the forces of inertia, “the dragon to be slain …is precisely the monster of the status quo.” 17 Paradoxically, this is the hardest battle, calling on the best warriors the human race has yet produced. It’s the call to fight the veils of illusion, glamour and materialism. Where to start? With our selves.

Our task, is to each create our own personal story akin to the cosmic drama. In so doing we are participating in the majesty and magnificence of all heroic legends – the liberation of light from darkness; of the real from the unreal; and of the perfection that lies within the substance of matter.

Alice Bailey argues that matter is imperfect. “This imperfection is the evil latent in matter…this evil being non-existent in the perfect whole. It’s the cycle of distress resulting from the conflict between the perfect and imperfect, that causes the evolutionary urge and manifestation. The drive to liberate the perfect from the bonds of matter is the effect of evolution.18

To do battle with the dragons of chaos we need to intensify the vibration within the matter of our own bodies, raising the temperature of the atoms, so that the electrons vibrate faster enabling them to move freely. Then they are better conductors of electricity throughout our body bringing better flow of energy and health, and intensifying our positive radiation out into the environment and to others.

If our bodies are composed of imperfect matter, then the story we weave is one of conflict, crisis and surrender as chapter by chapter, we fight the battle between the coarse vibration of our lower self and the faster more refined vibration of our higher self. Eventually we liberate the illumined serpent of wisdom, the higher mind or love-wisdom, from within the primordial dragon of darkness and chaos.

This is our journey around the wheel, liberating the imperfect substance of our bodies as we go. Daily we enact the heroic quest of liberating by learning to think, live and serve in ways that serve something greater than ourselves. With every thought we are acting the role of Sun-god or creative power, setting up vibrations that affect the matter around us, for all is interconnected.

We are resonating more with our own soul’s purpose, our holy grail. As our consciousness attains to broader concepts of what love, wisdom and knowledge means, we build a bridge between spirit and matter. We realise the magnificent responsibility we each have to use our every thought and intention to choose what and how we will think because we know that every thought creates a domino effect in the vibrations of matter.

Ride The Tiger

We’re part of an electrical interplay on Earth which is reflected in the lightning, thunderstorms, and auroras, in our sky; and the cosmic drama of planets, suns and stars in near and far off galaxies. All are part of the hero’s journey; part of the warp and weft of the attraction and repulsion that goes on continuously between atoms, as spirit and matter combine to create the consciousness of soul.

“…the Occultists…regard physical nature as a bundle of most varied illusions on the plane of deceptive perceptions (and) recognise in every pain and suffering but the necessary pangs of incessant procreation: a series of stages toward an ever-growing perfectibility, which is visible in the silent influence of never-erring Karma or abstract nature… Stagnation and death is the future of all that vegetates without a change. And how can there be any change for the better without proportionate suffering during the preceding stage? ”19

It seems that storytelling has and is intrinsic to our ability to make sense of our world and our lives. We do it everyday in our little, mundane lives, and what is the media if not a giant storytelling machine? All life is the result of an electro-magnetic interchange within the substance of matter. Humanity loves, or perhaps has a fatal attraction to, conflict and crisis, facilitating the pain and suffering necessary if we are to birth harmony, order and beauty in our lives. Viewed from an atomic through to a cosmic level, conflict, crisis and its resolution into harmony seems to be the way of all life in our dual universe. As the saying goes, “ride the tiger”20.

The human story of conflict leading to birth and redemption change over time as we function with increasing mental sophistication. Campbell reminds us that, “Mythology is defeated when the mind rests solemnly with its favourite or traditional images, defending them as though they themselves were the message that they communicate. These images are to be regarded as no more than shadows…”.21 The form of the myth reflects the consciousness of the storyteller, the characters in the story and the audience. From different perspectives, we are each all these things.

Who is the Ring Bearer?

We may ask, ‘who will lead us in our quest; who is the ring bearer?’ And in times past we would have looked to one who rose from the crowd to serve and save. Who is leading the heavenly quest? What causes our sky to constantly enact the tremendous stories of crisis and conflict lying behind the gorgeous shows of colour and light of auroras, or the dizzyingly exciting lighting and thunder displays? We only know that we are part of a much bigger play than the microcosmic one played out on Earth. We are the ring bearer. As we move into the Aquarian age, this is a collective quest, a cosmic task and Creative Change Makers – those on the cutting edge of their disciplines; those walking the road less travelled – lead the charge.

Myths dismantle edifices, tear down veils and call us all to face the dweller dragon on the threshold so that we, the personality-soul, can release spirit from the thraldom of matter. Here is the plasma-filled electric universe alive with dragons of un-redeemed creative power, chaotic until tamed by the love-wisdom of the higher creativity. With our lower, concrete minds we can easily analyse, dissect and quantify vibrating, atomic matter. Only by applying the higher mind fuelled by love and wisdom to the task, are we able to cooperate with those who guide us.

As we align ourselves with this Universal Mind, we unfold our relationship with these guides of humanity. They are referred to as the ‘Spiritual Hierarchy’ or as ‘Masters’. They have walked the same path but before us, fought the dragons as we do now, and they remain on Earth, in some form, to help us continue the fight. They are the hidden guides, our supernatural patrons, always there at critical moments to offer the magical weapon, the secret word of power or the sudden insight.

When we, today’s warriors, have proved ourselves ready and willing to learn the ways of the battle and to stay with the fight, then will the ancient secrets be placed in our hands.22

“When we quit thinking primarily about ourselves and our own self-preservation, we undergo a truly heroic transformation of consciousness.”23 Like every warrior of old, we must undergo many tests to ensure we are ready to handle such power. Service is the primary training tool used by all who seek to serve humanity and the Plan.

We see this repeated throughout the warriors’ tale: sharing the load, giving loving service, shunning reward. We see the same fact repeated in the depths of space. Electric currents circulate through plasma which is like the divine circulatory flow in space. This is mirrored in the ether which surrounds us and our planetary life, and is again reflected in the blood flow through our human body. Space plasma is charged with Life, the electric spark that’s carried, in service, by the plasma throughout the known universe. It’s like the cosmic Soul distributing cosmic Life to all forms and atoms in space.

As above, so below. We are a microcosm of the cosmic Soul, and whether macro or micro we’re all cosmic in our heroic task of staying with the battle; of staying with the sometimes Atlas-like task, of liberating spirit from matter. We discover that we are the hero, symbol of, “that divine, creative and redemptive image which is hidden in us all, only waiting to be known and rendered into life.”24

Doing our duty, we know we are fulfilling our destined task, in helping to defeat the dragon of chaos as we journey back to sit at the sacred feet of the one who sent us forth.

References:

1. Agni Yoga, Agni Yoga Society, New York, 1929, sutra 290
2. The Great Invocation, stanza four.
3. Agni Yoga, sutra 19
4. Campbell, A. The Hero With A Thousand Faces, Paladin, Great Britain, 1993, p. 3
5. Bailey, A. The Rays and the Initiations, Lucis Trust, New York, p. 132
6. Bailey, p.147
7. Campbell, p. 338
8. Bailey, A. A Treatise on Cosmic Fire, Lucis Trust, New York, 1962, p. 624
9. Talbot, D. Thunderbolt of the Gods, Mikamar Publishing, Oregon, 2005, p. 31
10. Talbot, p. 32
11. Talbot, p.41
12. Blavatsky, H. The Secret Doctrine, Vol II. The Theosophy Company, Los Angeles, 2004, p. 386
13. Campbell p. 87
14. Agni Yoga, 46
15. Blavatsky, H. The Secret Doctrine, Vol I. 2004, p. 111 also see http://education.jlab.org/qa/atom.html
16. Thornhill, W, and Talbot, D. The Electric Universe, p. 4,29
17. Campbell, p. 337
18. Bailey, A. Esoteric Healing p. 295
19. Blavatsky, H. The Secret Doctrine, Vol II .p. 475
20. Evola, J. Ride the Tiger: A Survival Manual for the Aristocrats of the Soul,
Inner Traditions, U.S. 2003
21. Campbell, p. 270
22. Bailey, A. A Treatise on Cosmic Fire, p. 615
23. Campbell
24. Ibid, p. 39

Labour 6: Virgo (22 Aug to 21 Sept). Seizing the girdle of Hippolyte.
There is a mythological man called Hercules who it is said, was an ordinary human who also was a son of God, or a seeker like us. He was a hero, as are we.

The Labours of Hercules is a story of this hero, and of his journey through the ups and downs of life as he quests for his own holy grail – life’s meaning, greater illumination on his path, more intense moments, spiritual creativity, and a knowing that the greater part of himself has triumphed.

This story has been interpreted by Alice Bailey in terms of the twelve labours through which we each pass on our journey. The story traces Hercules’ experiences and exploits as he passes through the twelve signs of the zodiac. Each sign represents a part of Hercules’ character, and so of our own. Each is a story that, if pondered deeply, can give us insight into our own natures.

According to Bailey, in the future, each month will be dedicated to the type of energies which are channeled to our Earth by the constellation governing the particular month. This is the basis for full moon meditations – to come together to learn more about these energies and how we can use them in our own life and for the benefit of humanity.

What can Hercules’ labour in Virgo help us to understand about this month, September? Each month we will follow Hercules’ experiences and exploits as he passes through the twelve signs of the zodiac, understanding how each sign represents a part of Hercules’ character that he now needs to transform so that he can travel further along his path.

The following is a description by the Tibetan Master DK, of Hercules’ as he starts to walk the spiritual path around the zodiac from Aries to Pisces.

“The centuries passed. The great wheel turned and, in turning, carried all the sons of men, who are the Sons of God, upon their way. And as these centuries passed, a group of men emerged who slowly turned the other way. They found the Way. They passed the Gates and struggled towards the mountain top, and towards the place of death and sacrifice. The watching Teacher saw a man emerge from out this crowd, mount the fixed Cross, demanding deeds to do, service to render unto God and man, and willingness to travel the Way to God.

He stood before the great Presiding One who works within the Council Chamber of the Lord and heard a word go forth:
‘Obey the Teacher on the Way. Prepare for the last tests. Pass through each Gate and in the sphere which they reveal and guard, perform the labour which befits their sphere. Learn thus the lesson and begin with love to serve the men of earth.’ Then to the Teacher went the final word: “Prepare the candidate. Give him his labours to perform and place his name upon the tablets of the living Way’”.

This month is the story of Hercules’ labour in the sign of Virgo: Seizing the girdle of Hippolyte. I’ll read the story and then share a brief explanation of its meaning for us to take into our meditation.

“The presiding One called: ‘Arise O Hercules, and pass through the sixth gate.’

‘Word has gone forth that on his way there comes a warrior whose name is Hercules, a son of man and yet a son of God; to him I must give up this girdle which I wear. Shall we obey the word, O Amazons, or shall we fight the word of God?’
As the women listened to their Queen’s words and pondered over the problem, a word came saying that the warrior was there, ahead of time, waiting to seize the sacred girdle of the fighting queen.”

In the fifth labour Hercules defeated the lion of his personality by sealing the openings of its cave and facing it square on. He achieved the task by strangling, with his bare hands, the lion which represented his lower personality selfishness. By so doing he was able to dedicate his personality with its well developed skills, knowledge and powers, to the purpose of his soul.

In this sixth labour, Hercules is challenged to use a different approach to the task, but will he succeed?

“Hippolyte went towards Hercules holding out the girdle as a gift in peace, but he fought and struggled with her, not listening to the fair words she tried to speak. He wrenched the girdle from her; the symbol of unity and love, of sacrifice and faith.

Down the red tunnel of his throat rushed Hercules, in search of Hesione; finding her deep within the belly of the monster. He seized her with his left arm and held her close while with his trusty sword he hewed his way out into the light of day. And so he rescued her, balancing his previous deed of death. For such is life: an act of death, a deed of life, and thus the sons of men, who are the sons of God, learn wisdom, balance, and the way to walk with God.”

It is said that Virgo is the oldest of the zodiacal signs. Through the ages the mother of the world has been portrayed as Lilith or Isis, Eve or the Virgin Mary. In this sign the Christ consciousness is conceived and nurtured through the period of gestation until at last in Pisces, the oppositen, the world saviour is born.

Virgo is a cave experience. In the womb of time all is warmth, quiet, deep experiences and slow yet powerful crises. The Tibetan DK tells us that Virgo’s symbology concerns the whole goal of the evolutionary process which is to shield, nurture and finally reveal the hidden spiritual reality.
We all pass through all signs, and those born in Virgo, or having it on their ascendant – which indicates soul purpose – display the Virgoan qualities of gestating something that they’re struggling to bring into manifestation.

The keynote for Virgo is, “I am the mother and the child. I God, I matter, am”. Virgo marks a critical point in the soul’s experience, a point of integration where the soul is striving to unify itself with its physical vehicle, and also with spirit. The child is the Christ consciousness which is our own soul.
In this labour Hercules eventually achieved the task, but performed badly. He slayed the queen of the Amazons, though she offered him the girdle, and then he had to rescue another maiden, Hesione, to compensate for the life he had unnecessarily taken.

We could say this is the war of the sexes, but if we look at it from another perspective we can see Hippolyte, the Amazon queen as our body, our resources, the three kingdoms or the environment in general. How many of us, male or female, truly honour our body, the worlds resources and the other kingdoms, as sacred matter? We too often use force such as unhealthy activities, drugs and stimulants to wrench energy and actions from our bodies which slowly wear it out, prematurely killing it in the process.

The Virgoan task for us all is to honour matter in all forms as that which is a vehicle for spirit – therefore it’s sacred. This means loving our body, the environment and the planet, by remembering that we have a physical body whether our own individual one or our collective planetary home, for a purpose which is to express our soul.

By the same token perhaps the Amazon’s yearly sortie into the world of men was not done in love but by war. They wanted new girl-children for their man-less world. So the Amazons too didn’t recognise the sacred within the masculine form of matter. We seem to be now reaching the final stage in the rebalancing process where during the last 2,000 years men seem to have been treating women with the same disregard as women did during Hippolyte’s reign. Now we hope that as we enter the Aquarian age both men and women will recognise themselves, each other, and the environment, representing the feminine, as all equally sacred; all containing spirit in matter.

To compensate for his failure in killing Hippolyte, Hercules is given the opportunity to rescue Hesione from the sea monster. The act of death is always redeemed by an act of love.
Virgo is one of the arms of the mutable cross, with its opposite sign of Pisces. Gemini and Sagittarius form the other two arms. On this cross our personality must learn the right use of material things and matter by dedicating them to divine use. Whether our sun, ascendant sign or whenever the sun is in one of these signs, this is our opportunity to take on and heroically achieve the task.

Hercules failed this task at first, because he didn’t understand that his challenge was to unify soul and personality, spirit and matter, not to try and kill it. The more we try to deny our bodies, the stronger become the urges that work against our soul’s purpose. The task offered to us by Virgo is to purify the matter of our body, making it a fine vehicle to express our soul which is the Christ consciousness.

Pisces with its keynote of courage, faith and liberation, is the polar opposite of Virgo. Liberty must be fought for and earned as it is not a gift. Virgo is often preoccupied with too much detail, technique, analysis and negative crisis, failing to see the whole picture. If the Piscean qualities of courage and faith are brought in to balance the Virgoan energies, then we see the more positive side of Virgo which is understanding the value of each crisis as a part of life on Earth.

We are helped to see the blocks in ourselves that need redeeming as we strive to bring together the disparate parts of our personality. Gradually as we stand more clearly as a soul, we can identify with both divine aspects, spirit and matter. We renew the substance of our consciousness by liberating the spirit, the sacredness in matter. By so doing we use the Virgoan attention to detail to strengthen our courage and sense of a higher purpose on a daily basis, as we continue on our life’s journey.

1. Adapted from Labour 6. For the full story refer The Labours of Hercules, Alice Bailey, Lucis Press, 1974. (p. 112-124).
August 2010

Journalists are asking themselves who they are now that the internet and digital recording technology is making everyone a citizen journalist.
They ask: whats the difference between ‘old’ and ‘new’ journalism. They call this the difference between vertical and flat news.
It questions the line between deliverer and receiver of information, the journalist and the audience, and who is the authority and why.
Essentially journalism, news, media are terms for how we communicate whether its over a cuppa with a friend or via breaking world news.

Vertical news is news from above, from authorities and experts, while flat news is the information and communication that happens everywhere from everyone. With access to flat news, most of us have the opportunity to shape and interpret the fantastic parade of life’s events for ourselves. I wonder whether this means that as individuals and cultures we are becoming more intent on reinforcing our perspectives and attitudes to life, or whether we will access a broader range of information that challenges us to re-think them. Are we using the tools of the internet and technology as a means to broaden our communication and ability to learn about the world and other cultures and perspectives, or is it just a means to maintain our little status quo?

One way that the internet may assist is in the sometimes random way that search engines (often due to broadly worded queries), cause us to stumble on information that is outside our comfort zone. Providing this is not because we’ve been delivered a porno site or similar, then the find may be useful in helping to broaden our personal horizon.

Intrigued we may have the opportunity to take in information that hasn’t been sanitised and prepared for our consumption, or that fits with our normal world view.
Access to flat information may help us to broaden our ideas about who else is in the world, what they’re doing, and why they’re doing it.
I think we need to remember that both flat and vertical information is tinged with the perspective of the mind that wrote/shot/spoke it. This means we’re all being influenced all the time by each other’s thoughts about life and events.

Whether it’s been reported by a qualified journalist, a citizen journalist or a blogger, all information that we access is a secondary source unless it’s our own first-hand experience, and so it’s only one person’s perspective.
The benefit of flat information, in my view, is that the information is easier to de-construct, than that served up by reporters paid by media organisations.
The audience has only to sift through the veil of one perspective, than the many veils of corporations with a particular culture-shaping agenda.
The disadvantage of flat information is that this one veil can be more elusive than the conglomerate. It’s often difficult to know who wrote, shot, or said it – what’s their frame of reference, their bias?

An audience can choose to shun vertical information delivered by experts or qualified journalists, for the freedom of surfing the plethora of flat information available via the internet. But with freedom comes responsibility.
In this new dynamic, fluidic world of the internet, the media’s purpose in reflecting a society or culture back to itself is unclear. Who is doing the reflecting? We all are. We’re all becoming the media, the medium and the message.

There’s a world-wide interaction going on and if we wish to claim the right to report and air our views in the flat news environment, then, in my view, it’s up to each of us to hone our skills in communication, and to broaden our knowledge of what’s happening. Then we can analyse and contribute in a consciously and critically intelligent way to this great and exciting global conversation.

Each of us, as audience, will value this interaction on an item-by-item basis, rewarding and reinforcing the contributor accordingly asking ourselves, how did this add to my sense of what’s going on in our world, and how can I more effectively relate with it?

WikiLeaks is a destroyer energy. Its actions perform a valuable public service in helping to reveal and tear-down outmoded forms. A wiki is a collaborative website designed to provide knowledge, and Julian Assange and his team are providing us with information we need to know.

According to some Assange is a hero (see Ted Talks interview), while to others, like the White House he is irresponsibly threatening national security.

In the confusing and chaotic times we live in, many of us are wondering what’s really going on – we don’t believe what we’re told in the news, by politicians or CEO’s – but how do we find out the truth?

Wikileaks provides an important source of information that helps us put the soothing, soma-inducing and apparently benign voices of those in power into a bigger, clearer perspective.
The leaks are helping many to question these voices or maybe they’re just adding to the already jaundiced view we have of ‘authority’. Many are now saying it’s time to destroy or at least take the best from, the old, outmoded institutions and belief systems so that they can make way for the new.

There’s another form of energy we can call the builder energy. Those working with this energy are taking their cue from the destroyers. Now’s the time for the builders to get really busy. They’ve been quietly creating the forms for many years, waiting for the time to come when the new age is ready to be revealed, and by now they’re not just isolated individuals but groups and they’re building in numbers.

The builders are the non-government organisations, groups and organic collections of individuals who are working to help create an equitable, sustainable and purposeful life for us all. They are the environmentalists, educators, scientists, financiers, businesses, philosophers and spiritual groups who are working with different but complementary methods and all with the same aim.

These groups of builders rely on the destroyers to dig out the dying, decaying debris that’s no use to us anymore. The destroyers are clearing the path so that the young, green shoots of a strong, beautiful and harmonious new world can emerge. It’s embryonic and experimental because that’s how all new life begins, and this gives us all cause for joy because we’re all needed to help in the rebuilding.

We can listen and perhaps support the destroyers if we feel they are destroying in a responsible way that will benefit the many, rather than the few. And we can each decide how we can do our bit to help create a new way of living life on our shared planet – a way that enables us all to share resources, engage in meaningful activity and better understand our individual and collective purpose in being here.

A Spiritual Perspective on the Burqa Veil

As European countries debate whether or not to ban the burqa, or burka – the complete covering of the head, face and body, we can see that the issue can get pretty heated. In order to make use of this opportunity we can take a step back and try to get an objective perspective by pondering what the term ‘veil’ symbolises to us on a deeper level.

Is the controversy about religion or does it touch the nerve of our often subconscious social and cultural values of what is and isn’t acceptable? Let’s drill-down to try and find what underlies the actions being taken to legislate against the wearing of a particular item of clothing.

What is the burqa? It’s a veil isn’t it? A veil is an ancient symbol which means to shroud something – usually a clearer sense of reality. So we have the veil of mystery, glamour and illusion.

When brides marry they sometimes wear veils, we veil monuments and thrilling achievements just before they are unveiled by a dignitary. The mist veils the moors and streets in a mystical shroud of natural secrecy, and we cover our naked bodies in the veil of clothes, sometimes out of embarrassment, hoping to improve on our inheritance. Animals and soldiers employ the veil of camouflage to protect from the enemy, and our lies veil the truths we prefer to keep hidden.

So what is the mystery that the veils seek to protect? In all the instances cited above, the veil is used to cover-up something to provide physical, emotional or mental protection. And there seem to be myriad reasons for the cover-up.

The veil is sometimes interpreted in erotic terms as veiling something to make it more alluring and desirable (1) such as the veil over a bride’s face, or the transparent veil over the harem women’s faces.

According to the Ageless Wisdom texts, the veil is interpreted as a separation between the physical and spiritual worlds or realities.(2) In this case, the veil is intended as a temporary but effective means to prevent humans accessing the spiritual realities before adequate preparation has been made to understand and withstand their power.

Often there is more than one veil. Spiritual mysteries are veiled in secrecy and as the veils are withdrawn, the truth is revealed. As with everything the axiom ‘as above, so below’ can be applied. The veils are like peeling an onion; we remove one layer only to find another until eventually we come to the ultimate Truth in the centre.

So what does this have to do with the burqa? This item of clothing is just another veil. Like all other veils, it is designed to obscure reality. And, as Einstein showed, reality is relative.

Mohammad Qadeer says that the burqa is a tent-like cloak that completely drapes a woman’s body and face, with only a crocheted screen as an eye-piece. It has been worn by women to go out in public for almost a century or more in Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, Bangladesh and parts of the Arabian Peninsula. It literally draws a curtain around a woman and allows her to move about outside the family compound, while conforming to the religious-cultural custom of remaining secluded from men”. (3)

The burqa is used in this context to create or retain an illusion agreed upon by those conforming to the tradition. What is the agreement? That depends on who’s been conditioned and how because our social and cultural upbringing creates our prejudices, beliefs, fears, hopes and desires – our collective veil – until we decide to unveil ourselves. We can ask: Is the burqa being used so that men can own their women; is it to protect women; or maybe because she’s having a bad hair day? Then again it may be so that men can pretend to be women?

In all societies and cultures the veil has been used as a convenient means to cover for unsociable or even culpable behaviour. Be it the balaclava, scarf, mask, sleeping with the enemy, corporate lies in memos, ‘read my lips’ whoppers, or promises made on the campaign trail – where does the veil really end? It all depends what we have culturally decided is an okay veil, what lies and deceit, norms of behaviour or prejudices, we have collectively agreed to protect or turn a blind (veiled) eye.

So in the west enough of us have agreed it’s okay for women to wear makeup, low cut tops, short skirts, and be available for sex 24/7, but it’s not okay for them to cover up their face. That is our collective veil – our agreed belief system about how the world is and should be.

The veil is about protecting illusions. Sometimes we don’t know why we’re condoning the veiled behaviour or attitude, like allowing banks to charge interest, or polluting our waterways, but we’ve collectively agreed to cast a veil over such actions – it’s just expeditious, but for who’s benefit?

To wear a burqa or have a boob-job; to perpetrate corporate crime that’s covertly concealed by layers of veils, or to detonate a car bomb that enjoys no such protection – all are actions that are supported or condemned based on veiled beliefs. But who can really point the finger and condemn one veil as being okay and another as not?

It may be clear to some, but to others the issue of how we legislate is based on often deeply hidden motives. What laws do we want to see enacted, how will they affect our social good (the highest good of the greatest number), and on what values are they really based? This question needs to be at the forefront of our minds because whether it’s about women’s freedom, cultural fit or religious freedoms, the burqa debate is just another veil to be lifted.

May 2010

Sources:
1. The Lure of the Veil, A History and Examination of the Practice and Pleasures of Veiling, http://www.talesoftheveils.info/lure/lure.html, retrieved 11.5.10
2. The Torn Veil, Jean Borella, The World Wisdom online library: www.worldwisdom.com/public/library/default.aspx, retrieved 11.5.10
3. The Evolution Of The Burqa, Mohammad Qadeer, http://iramz.wordpress.com/2006/10/05/the-evolution-of-the-burqa/ March 23, 2002, retrieved 11.5.10

Labour 5: Leo (22 July to 21 Aug). The Slaying of the Nemean Lion
The story of Hercules’ labours has been interpreted by Alice Bailey in terms of the twelve signs of the zodiac. Hercules represents the seeker within each of us.
We follow Hercules’ experiences and exploits as he passes through the twelve signs of the zodiac, and gradually we realize that each sign represents a part of Hercules’ character that he now needs to transform so that he can travel further along his path. Each story, if pondered deeply, can give us insight into our own natures, and offers guidance in what we can do to be stronger, clearer, wiser and more powerful creators of our lives.

This month is the story of Hercules’ task in the sign of Leo.

The presiding One spoke: “O Hercules, a call has sounded forth. A call of deep distress. Your outer ears have not responded to that call, and yet the inner ear knows well the need, for it hath heard many voices tell you of need, and urging you to venture forth. The people of Nemea seek your aid. Word of your prowess has gone forth. They seek that you should kill the lion that devastates their land, taking its toll of men.”
***
In the fourth labour of Cancer (21 June – 21 July), Hercules learned how to capture the elusive intuition, and once caught, he found out that this is a lesson that is constantly repeated throughout life.
In this fifth labour Hercules has to slay the lion of his personality by dedicating its well developed skills, knowledge and powers to the purpose of his soul.

“ ‘What is that savage sound I hear.’ Asked Hercules. ‘Is it the roaring of a lion I hear, upon the evening air?’ The Teacher said: ‘Go, seek the lion which ravages the land lying upon the further side of the fifth Gate. The people of this ravaged land live silently behind locked doors. From north to south, from east to west the lion prowls and prowling seizes all who cross his path. His shocking roar is heard throughout the night and all are trembling behind locked doors. What will you do, O Hercules?’

‘The deed is done. You slew the lion. The lion and serpents must be slain again and once again. Well done, go rest in peace with those you have released from fear.’ ”

****
In Aries Hercules learned to work in the world of ideas, in Taurus he learned to integrate the sensous/emotional body with the mind, and in Gemini he understood the duality of his body-emotion-mind, and his soul. In Cancer Hercules learned about the intellect as a vehicle to contact and use his intuition.

Now in Leo, Hercules performs his best known labour – the slaying of the Nemean lion. This is Hercules’ fifth labour and five is the number of man, because man is a divine son of God made up of the lower four-fold nature – physical, emotional, mental and etheric or vital body – plus the soul. Hercules’ journey, reflecting our own, is the gradual integration of the soul- personality into one functioning whole, and using it to serve others.

In Leo we develop the powerful individual- lower mind consciousness of ‘I’ and ‘mine’, while in the polar opposite sign of Aquarius we learn about the universal consciousness of the higher mind. As our purpose is to integrate all the opposites, the Leo lesson is to transmute the selfish personal consciousness into that of the whole.

Hercules represents the aspirant, the soul, and after defeating the lion, he wears the lion’s skin because he has subdued his dominant personality represented by the lion. With the trinity of physical,emotional and mental bodies integrated into one, the personality can be a selfish and powerful individual, terrorising others in its quest for personal gratification.

As the aspirant, Hercules must slay the lion of his personality to stop it devastating the countryside of family, friends, society. The self-protective instinct of selfishness must now give way to unselfishness which is the higher side of Aquarius.

Hercules closes one opening of the cave so that he can face the personality square-on. He must track down all the illusions and tricks played by his personality to distract from the spiritual path, and with bare hands, must strangle it, conquering its ploys. As we learn the lessons presented each year, when the Sun is in Leo, we, like Hercules, are ready to dedicate our powerful, well-rounded personality to our soul so that we can fulfill our higher purpose.

1. Adapted from Labour 5. For the full story refer The Labours of Hercules, Alice Bailey, Lucis Press, 1974. (p. 95-111).
July 2010

Nicholas Roerich’s painting, Madonna Oriflamma, or Great Mother of the World holding the Banner of Peace Through Culture. The Mother of the World represents the biosphere, our planet, solar system and beyond – all we rely on for life and sustenance.

PAX CULTURA

“In Beauty we are united,
through Beauty we pray,
with Beauty we conquer.”

- Nicholas Roerich

This banner of three circles is an ancient diagram symbolising the trinity – in this case the triune reality of Love, Beauty and Action, and of Art, Science and Spirituality.

“The Banner of Peace is the official flag used around the world and displayed at all events, gatherings, and centers which
promote natural time and planetary peace.

The Roerich Pact and Banner of Peace was designed by Russian artist and humanitarian, Nicholas Roerich (1874 – 1947) as a response to the destruction of the first world war and the Russian Revolution.

It is an international treaty signed by India, the Baltic states, and 22 nations of the Americas including the United States. The Roerich Peace Pact established an international agreement allowing any nation to protect its cultural or artistic heritage with a symbolic banner, the Banner of Peace. Signed in 1935, this treaty is international law today.

Just as the Red Cross protects hospitals, the Banner of Peace was implemented to protect culture.”

“Let us be united – you will ask in what way?
You will agree with me: in the easiest way,
to create a common and sincere language.
Perhaps in Beauty and in Knowledge.”
Nicholas Roerich

Source: Reviving the Roerich Banner of Peace http://www.13moon.com/banner%20of%20peace.htm

The next World Forum of Spiritual Culture will be held in Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan, from October 18 – 20, 2010.

Organised by the Kazakh government, this Forum calls on representatives – people who are inspired to be part of positive change – to streamline their efforts, to make the Spiritual Culture a priority over other values in human civilization. Ideals of cooperation, nonviolence, and a belief in the victory of common sense and light are suggested as those to which we can all aspire.

On the Forum’s site is a letter written by V. Augustat – the president of the international society “Peace through Culture – Europe”. He says that the basic idea for the Forum began in the early 90s as leaders in various countries realised that new knowledge and attitudes were required for the development of Civilization and Culture. Thus a series of intercultural and international conferences were born to encourage global dialogue and active cooperation.

There is also a letter from Michael Gorbachev dated 30 April, 2010. He says that although a lot of things depend on government policy, without participation of civil society, policy can’t fix the challenges facing us all now.

The Forum’s programme is a three-day event that offers a range of topics and speakers that are as refreshingly tantalising as they are broad and deep, with headings like, ‘The spiritual culture of mass media’, and ‘Family and upbringing of the spiritual man’. There’s also the city of Astana to explore with its spiritually inspiring architecture.
I’m going!

Here’s the website for more info: http://www.astanaforum.kz/en/index.php?option=com_content&view=frontpage&Itemid=73

What Caused the Global Financial Crisis?
We are collectively bumping into the other side of our long-time enjoyment of the treats and treasures of the physical world. The Global Financial Crisis (GFC) is the painful realization that it hurts when we’re hit in the face. So we recoil, rubbing the spot, whimpering at being caught unawares. That’s how many of us felt about the 2008 collapse in the financial markets.

But there is a positive side to this apparent ‘downturn’ as the economists call it. Many of us are familiar with the phrase, ‘there’s always another side to it’. This is great news when you’re not liking the experience, but bad news when you want it to go on for ever. But as we know, for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. This is commonly referred to as opposites attract, the law of karma, you get what you give, reap as you have sown, give and take, cause and effect, and now, as the law of the pump.

“The process of intensification of energy is similar to a pump. Thus, the upward striving of energy is absolutely conditioned by the downward pressure. People usually regard this pressure as misfortune, failure, whereas, this is the physical threshold of ascent.”1

There’s the answer – simple isn’t it? We can see the world as a giant pump and the ups and downs of life being the effect of pumping water. In technical terms when the pump lever is lifted up the water is drawn into the pump and when the lever is pushed down, the water is expelled.

What causes the water to be drawn into the pump? A vacuum. The air flows out making room for water to flow in because, as we have been told, ‘nature abhors a vacuum’.

If we apply the law of as above, so below, we can say that the vacuum is another word for change or that point of critical mass where events take on a different hue.

What is the Sustainable Solution?
If the water can be equated with resources, money, things we want, stuff we desire, items we ‘must have’, then we’ve been pumping it happily for aeons. The business cycle of boom and bust is like changes in the pump’s flow as business and governments try to control it to their benefit. But as many know, this is neither sustainable nor equitable.

“The dark forces have brought the planet into such a condition that no earthly solution can restore its conventional prosperity. None can regard the earthly standards of yesterday as suitable for tomorrow. Hence, humanity must understand anew the meaning of its transitory sojourn in an earthly state. Only through a fundamental defining of one’s existence in the carnate form and through an understanding of the Subtle and Fiery Worlds can one strengthen one’s own existence. One should not think that the delusion of trading can even temporarily insure a secure existence. Life has been turned into trade, but who of the Teachers of Life has ever been a shopkeeper? You know the great symbol of driving the moneychangers out of the Temple; but is not Earth itself a Temple?”2

As nations and citizens we are becoming inextricably entwined in a global market and the GFC is affecting us all. The pump can’t be as readily controlled and instead of continuing to deliver a regular supply of good, clean water, at our command, the handle’s ceased and the water’s unreliable. Is that because we’ve squandered the water, hoarded by the few at the expense of the many, forgetting to maintain the source from whence it flows?


Cause and Effect
Perhaps it’s our familiarity with the law cause and effect or karma, and its workings, that causes many world-weary economists, short sighted politicians, hopeful traders and greedy brokers to repeat the mantra, ‘it’s only another cycle; it will right itself all we need to do is …’. What else can they say?

So some economists see the solution in more growth – but it’s got to be sustainable.
“The lesson from the GFC is that this was an unsustainable financial system, based on shonky assets, accelerated by poor information and allowed to burn through under-regulation. In short, it was unsustainable. So too are the majority of our economic activities in the west, and it is this point that pushes us to finding ways of doing economic activity that will be sustainable, and not just with regard to oil, but with regard to the big elephant in the room — the forgotten environment. We need to find economic practices that continue the progress of growth and prosperity dispersal around the world which will be sustainable for the next 50 or 100 years.”3

If the answer to the GFC is to continue growth but do it ‘sustainably’, how is this to happen? At present we are conditioned to filter life through financial eyes meaning that everything – money, food, clothing, housing and resources – our basic needs plus, are a commodity to be traded.
The GFC is like a blockage in the arteries of the world. It’s the pump, offering us information about our state of health. We find that we may be on the brink of a heart attack, and the pump appears to be running out of water, so why do we keep on band-aiding the symptoms?

The Hanged Man
In the 1960s James Lovelock presented the western world with a new perspective based on an ancient and indigenous belief: that our world is a dynamic, living entity – called Gaia. The theory asserts that living organisms and their inorganic surroundings have evolved together as a single living system that greatly affects the chemistry and conditions of Earth’s surface. Some scientists believe that this “Gaian system” self-regulates global temperature, atmospheric content, ocean salinity, and other factors in an “automatic” manner. Earth’s living system appears to keep conditions on our planet just right for life to persist.

The only trouble is that since the release of Lovelock’s initial theory he’s published another book, The Revenge of Gaia, Lovelock asserts that our planet’s homeostasis is now being disrupted by our brief binge of fossil fuel consumption, which has released a huge amount of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. He believes that we’re pushing our planet over the brink.

Lovelock’s Gaia hypothesis was a step towards helping us see with a new vision. But as with all theories, it is part of a stairway of knowledge upon which others can build. Now another step is due; a new way of seeing must emerge. This next step takes us beyond the limitation of planet-bound homeostasis, beyond the scarcity of an enclosed system based on laws of thermodynamics and gravity.

The new theory could be called, Fohat or the Fohatic principle and it basically contends that electric force is everywhere, and it influences all matter, from subatomic particles to galactic clusters. Rather than being an insulated sphere, our earth is part of an electric circuit within the Milky Way solar system alive with ever moving electrical excitement. The universe and planet earth are not limited by the laws of lack and scarcity but rather, by the laws of abundance and never-ending galactic electric energy.4,5,6

How Does This Help Us?
With this way of looking at things we can see that the pump’s not really running out of water and we’re not really running out of resources, or money. We’re not really in debt nor do we really need to starve or work ourselves into a grave, or suffer the inequities of our current system that is based on the law of scarcity.

This is because electricity underpins all life including our planet’s resources. In essence, there is enough for everyone, but because we haven’t understood the law of the pump, we’ve cut ourselves off from that divine flow of universal energy that’s free to all.

That’s why conversations around sustainability are so important and need to be widened to take in this broader perspective on planetary and cosmic life. Obviously there are many entrenched interests who are not going to let go the reins without a battle. An electric universe paves the way for a money-less world where all have access to all resources, where work is no longer required, leaving time for pursuing and participating in the real meaning and purpose for life.

We don’t want a bloody battle – that’s the way of the old age. The new way is now being paved for a bloodless coup. Alternatives to the current systems are being built from the ground up, based on this electrical, unified, infinite way of looking at life.

The law of the pump shows us the problem and the solution. By our own actions in line with evolution, we have basked brilliantly in the sensuous enjoyment of all things physical. Only trouble is it’s been only a small percentage of the world who have benefitted from the orgy. But we’ve done such a good job of greedily indulging, raping the environment and brutally pillaging our fellow man, that we’ve fulfilled the law of the pump. Now it’s time for the other side of the equation to kick in.

Changing Perspective
It’s time to change our perspective and see life as a continuous flow of life-sustaining electric energy with the capacity to nurture all necessary growth, provide all necessary power, and give real meaning to our often jaded sense of who we are and why we’re here. In so doing, the sustainable down flow of life-giving water is assured.

This new way of seeing the world is based on the law of synthesis – that everything is connected, all is in abundance, and all are equally unique, important and divine. Flowing from this it’s clear that everything needed for an equitable world for all humans and all kingdoms in nature is available. In other words, life is not sad, painful, cruel or unjust; life is benevolent, nurturing, fair and joyful.

There are already many groups experimenting with sustainable ways to take the world and all its people into the next age. Examples include:

In science & environment – the Venus Project and Findhorn Foundation
In education – Arcane School and Robert Muller School
In politics & government – World Government of World Citizens and World Resources Forum
In arts and culture – New Earth Creations and World Spirit Forum
In spirituality and religion – Lucis Trust and The Global Interfaith Movement.

These individuals and groups have heeded the vision; they have understood the trumpet call of their own heart connected with the heart of humanity, to recognize their power as the heart of the planet. They are visioning and creating positive, viable alternatives that are sustainable socially and environmentally. They have understood the law of the pump, and they are applying that law with wisdom and great intelligence to the problems and challenges of our time.

References:
1. Heart, Agni Yoga Society. Sutra 45
2. Fiery Worlds 1, Agni Yoga. Sutra 83.
3. Lessons from the GFC for the GEC, Dept of Economics, Monash University. Melbourne, Australia 7 April, 2009. http://www.econnow.com/wp/?p=53 retrieved 18.6.10
4. The Electric Bridge, Lucis Trust. http://www.lucistrust.org retrieved 28.6.10
5. The Electric Universe, 2007. http://www.thunderbolts.info/resources.htm retrieved 28.6.10
6. NASA’s Dim View of the Stars 22.12.08. http://www.holoscience.com/news.php?article=b8zgwr0h retrieved 28.6.10

This symbol indicates some of the significant forces and deeper factors now increasingly operating as the new age advances.

The symbol is set in a limitless field of blue, which signifies the sphere of life expression of our solar Logos, who is said to be a deep blue, second-ray Logos. The potency and quality of his pervading life maintains and conditions all within the solar system including the life and destiny of our planetary Logos, Sanat Kumara. It is the most powerful factor which we are able to touch mentally.

The golden disc, against which the triangle and the star appear, symbolises the all inclusive background of our life on this planet. Sanat Kumara may look through it. We look at it, being aware of its reality. It is spoken of in that most ancient of all mantrams, the Gayatri: “Unveil to us the face of the true spiritual Sun, hidden by a disc of golden light, that we may know the truth”.

Behind the entire symbol, extending beyond the disc of golden light, emerges the cosmic cross, which is found in the consciousness of the great ones on that distant sun, Sirius. This cosmic cross is the origin of all the cross symbology as perceived and used by humanity down through the ages.

As evolution proceeds, spiritual potencies ebb and flow. In the coming age certain forces are available to Sanat Kumara not formerly at his disposal. This is largely so because he has achieved an expansion of solar consciousness, or, as we might put it, “taken an initiation”.

Some of these forces are partially available in the council chamber of Shamballa, and from thence in the Hierarchy led by the Christ. Our symbol touches only a few of these new potencies and includes a blend of both the old age and the new. It is the perfecting of this blend which is a supreme task of the Christ at this time. A blend must be achieved which is suitable to the condition of humanity as it is now.

The triangle superimposed upon the disc is yellow, because that is the colour of buddhi. The Hierarchy functions on the buddhic plane, so-called, and the potencies of this triangle make their entry into our planetary life there. This triangle is formed by the three great extra-planetary entities now aiding the Plan for the planet, and especially standing behind the Christ to aid his work for humanity. The values they bring, therefore, reach us primarily through him. Their influence on human consciousness is of transcendent power. How that power is used is up to us, and will be constructive if we respond to the Christ.

One of these great beings is known to us as the Lord Buddha. This, however, limits our understanding far too much. His work as the founder of what has become the Buddhist religion, is completely transcended. He, like the Lord of the World himself, has achieved an expansion of consciousness, making him now of extra-planetary potency. He brings a balancing wisdom especially adapted to human need. He is the closest of the three to the Christ. He stands at the right hand of the Christ, depicted, therefore, at the lower right hand point of the triangle.

At the lower left hand point stands the great Entity who carries the potency of solar equilibrium, now newly available to Sanat Kumara. He Is referred to by the Master Djwhal Khul as the “spirit of equilibrium”, and also as the “spirit of peace, the peace that passeth all understanding”. The active agent of peace is goodwill, which will find ultimate expression in the human family as established right relations. Right human relations are the practical goal of the coming Christ in the new age.

At the top of this new and unique triangle stands the Avatar of Synthesis, whose direct influence is now identifiable in the human consciousness in emerging trends. He is the most potent of the three in relation to mass consciousness at this time. His permeating influence hastens the realisation by humanity that, in fact, we live in one world as one humanity with a common destiny.

Such, in brief, indicates a small part of the significance of the new triangle now standing behind the Christ to aid his work.

Superimposed upon the triangle of new age forces is the five pointed star of the Christ. This star has been his vehicle in the human family during the entire Piscean era. It has been, and is today, of marvellous potency. The Star is blue because it represents as much of the solar quality to which humanity can respond.

Humanity today, in mass consciousness, is largely the product of Piscean pressures. Although we are already entering the Aquarian age, the established rhythms of the old era are still dominating humanity as a whole and will do so for what may seem to us a long time. Were the Christ to abandon the old and go all out for the new, the automatic inevitable revolt of the sons of men would crucify us all. The old and the new must merge. The problem is not a fight to kill out the old, but a wise and rightly timed infiltration of the new into the boiling cauldron of our times.

Our symbol, therefore, blends the two eras and rightly pictures the work of the Christ today and the forces he must wield. The point in the centre is the place where the Christ stands. It is the centre of the star, the centre of the triangle, and the centre of the disc of golden light.

From that centre he works, and as he works the cross of the new era emerges. This is the equal-armed cross, reflecting its cosmic archetype, which will in its own right become the cross of humanity in the days to come. It symbolises the balanced life of right relation to God through aspiration and right relation to man through service and sharing. Eventually we shall know and live by the fact that nothing actually belongs to any individual man.

By focusing attention on this centre of power in our symbol, illumination comes. Concentration on this point, where the Christ stands, reveals the entire field; this, according to our individual spiritual status.

by Foster Bailey
copyright Lucis Trust

http://www.lucistrust.org