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.’
Then word also went forth to a great queen who reigned over all the women of the then known world. They were her vassals and her bold warriors. Within her realm dwelt not one man. The women gathered around their queen and in the temple of the moon they daily worshipped and sacrificed to Mars, the god of war.
Back from their annual visit to the haunts of men they came. Within the temple precincts they awaited word from Hippolyte, their queen who stood on the steps of the high altar, wearing the girdle given her by Venus, queen of love. This girdle was a symbol of motherhood and of the sacred Child to whom all human life is truly turned.
‘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.
Yet, grasping it, Hercules then slaughtered her, killing the one who gave him what he required. And as he stood beside the dying queen, aghast at what he had done, he heard his teacher speak: ‘My son, why slay that which is needed, close and dear? Why kill the one you love, the giver of good gifts, custodian of the possible? Why kill the mother of the sacred Child? You have not understood. Redeem this moment, e’er again you seek my face.’
Silence fell and Hercules, gathering the girdle to his breast, sought out the homeward way, leaving the women sorrowing, bereft of leadership and love.
Hercules set sail and coming to a rocky shore he saw a monster of the deep, holding between his jaws poor Hesione. Her shrieks and sighs rose to high heaven and smote the ears of Hercules, lost in regret and knowing not the path he trod. He rushed to her help, but too late. She disappeared within the cavernous throat of the sea serpent. But losing sight of himself, this son of man who was a son of God, breasted the waves and reached the monster who, turning towards Hercules, opened his giant mouth and attacked with a load roar.
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