Esoteric Astrology

by Alice A Bailey

  1. Desire—leading to aspiration upon the reversed wheel.

  2. Blindness—leading eventually to sight.

  3. Darkness—leading finally to light.

  4. Death—leading at last to liberation.

  In the last analysis, we come back to the eternal dualities, leading as they ever do to the interplay of the polar opposites, to the cyclic ebb and flow of the inner life and the outer periphery of expression, and to that attraction and repulsion which leads to a steady shift of the attracting force to an ever higher and wider appeal. It is the secret of eventual synthesis, which is the final illumination, seen through the eye of Taurus. It is for this reason that this sign is regarded as being one of universal movement, of great and constant activity under the impulse of material desire or the urge of the divine will, when recognised and sensed. The triangle of expression is one of potent energies:

  1. Desire . . . . . . . . . . . . aspiration . . . . . . . . . . . will.

  2. Man . . . . . . . . . . . . . the disciple . . . . . . . . . . the initiate.

  3. Materiality . . . . . . . . duality . . . . . . . . . . . . . divinity.

  4. Form . . . . . . . . . . . . Soul . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Spirit.

  5. Humanity . . . . . . . . . Hierarchy . . . . . . . . . . Shamballa.

  I ring these changes constantly as the consideration of them, intelligently grasped, will lead eventually and inevitably to their fusion in your individual consciousness.

  It is not my intention to say much here anent the Fixed Cross of which Taurus is one of the arms. I dealt with this in several places when considering with you the constellations Leo, Scorpio and Aquarius. I would, therefore, refer you to my earlier comments. Scorpio is, as you will have realised, the dominant arm through which the most effective potency flows upon the reversed wheel, where advanced humanity is concerned because it is the testing sign for humanity and [382] the one in which the human being reaches the depths or attains the heights. Taurus is the dominant stream of energy upon this Fixed Cross where average man is concerned. The energy let loose through this Cross is stupendous in its effects, producing finally the great reversal and renunciation. In this Cross, Taurus is the Initiator for it “impulses the Will,” producing movement and momentum. You have (if I may repeat earlier implications) the following conditions and correspondences in connection with the three Crosses:

  1. The Cardinal Cross . . . Spirit . . . . Will . . . . . . . . . . . Shamballa.

  2. The Fixed Cross . . . . . Soul . . . . . Consciousness . . . Hierarchy.

  3. The Mutable Cross . . . Form . . . . Activity . . . . . . . . Humanity.

  The initiate is one who is in process of relating consciously and effectively all these three within himself. Man the essential triangle of energy, man the square, man upon the Cross, and finally, man the five-pointed star! In these four simple symbolic forms lies the whole history of the fourth kingdom in nature. The triangle and the star are subjective expressions of a fixed consciousness, focussed in reality, whilst the square and the Cross are objective expressions of the man focussed outwardly.

  We come now to a brief study of the Rulers of this sign. As Taurus is so close, esoterically speaking, to the sign Aries which—in this world cycle—is the sign of beginning, it constitutes, relatively speaking, a very complex aggregation of forces, being related not only to Aries with its cosmic contacts, but also to the Pleiades and the Great Bear. Yet at the same time, it is very simple in its expression for it is governed by only two planets. Venus is its exoteric ruler and Vulcan its esoteric and hierarchical ruler. We touch upon one of the mysteries of the Ageless Wisdom. Venus [383] holds a unique relation to the Earth, different to that of any other planet and this, therefore, brings about a much closer relation between Taurus and the Earth than perhaps exists in any other zodiacal relation where our planet is concerned. In saying this, I mean in this particular world cycle and at the peculiar stage of evolutionary unfoldment at which mankind now finds itself. All is in a state of flux and change; as man unfolds his consciousness, other constellations may come into pronounced activity in conjunction with the controlling sign and still others may become more remote in their contact and effect. Today, however, Taurus, Venus and the Earth have a very close karmic relation and a very definite dharma to work out together. Just what that karma and relationship may prove eventually to be lies beyond ordinary human understanding but some idea of it may be gained by relating in your mind the words: Will, Desire, Light and Plan. In voicing it thus, I but step down and distort the relation, but until men can think in simple symbols and without words and can interpret these hitherto unrecognised symbols correctly, more it is not possible to add.

  To understand the relation of Venus and the Earth, I would have you ponder on what I earlier gave in A Treatise on Cosmic Fire.

  The entire relationship has been summed up in the words: The planet Venus is to the planet Earth what the higher Self is to the Personality. Remember that the planet Venus is one of the seven sacred planets whereas the Earth is not. This statement involves, as you can see, a deep mystery of relativity, of interplay and of eventual revelation. This revelation as to the relation of the Earth's alter ego to the world of human life will only be revealed at the third initiation, at which time all glamour and illusion is dissipated [384] and “the light which shines through the eye of the Bull will be unimpeded” and carry light into the darkness.

  Venus connotes in our minds, even if we have only a glimmer of occult truth, that which is mental, that which concerns final sublimation, that which deals with sex and that which must work out into symbolic expression upon the physical plane. These are the major concepts which enter our minds when Venus and Taurus are considered in unison. These factors of expression have ever been related to these two since the night of time, because they are essentially basic and eternally cosmic in their implications. Taurus is one of the signs which veils a certain divine mystery. For the sake of disciples in training, these four concepts have been briefly summed up in an archaic writing of great significance. This writing states:

  “The holy Sons of Mind embraced the two. They saw and understood. Thus was sex born and thus the great mistake was made. The mind was outward turned. The form appears to view and not the life.

  “Out of the dark, they cried aloud, the holy Sons of Mind. In pain, they cried aloud. They inward looked and knew the error they had made but knew not what to do.... The Lord replied and gave to them the sign of resurrection.”

  Do you grasp the significance of this statement, and its fundamental simplicity? Let me give you a hint. The earthy triplicity has been designated by astrologers as embodying the idea of plains (Taurus), of caves (Virgo) and of rock (Capricorn). It might be stated that these caves exist in the rocks, deep under the plains. I am speaking figuratively and symbolically. Out of the rocky cave, the Christ emerged [385] and walked again upon the plains of Earth and from that time “the woman knew Him not.” Form had no further hold upon him for He had overcome it in the depths. Into the cave of Initiation, the light of resurrection streams when the stone at the entrance is rolled away. From life in the form to the death of the form—deep in the rocky place, down in the crypts of the Temple—the human being goes. But into that same place, the new life streams, bringing fresh life and liberation; old things pass away and the darkness becomes light.

  Sex is then seen to be in truth only the relation of the lower nature to the higher Self; it is then lifted up into the light of day in order that man may reach complete union with divinity. Man discovers that sex (which has hitherto been a purely physical function, carried on sometimes under the impulse of love) is elevated into its rightful plane as the divine marriage, carried out and consummated upon the levels of soul awareness. It is this great truth which lies beyond the sordid story of sex expression, of sex magic and the distortions of modern Tantric magic. Humanity has stepped down the symbolism and in its thoughts debased sex to an animal function and failed to lift it up
into the realm of symbolic mystery. Men have sought through physical expression to produce the inner fusion and harmony which they crave and this cannot be done. Sex is but the symbol of an inner duality which must be itself transcended and wrought into a unity. It is not transcended by physical means or rituals. It is a transcendence in consciousness.

  The esoteric ruler of Taurus is Vulcan, the forger of metals, the one who works in the densest, most concrete expression of the natural world (from the human angle). He is the one who goes down into the depths to find the material upon which to expend his innate art and to fashion [386] that which is beautiful and useful. Vulcan is, therefore, that which stands for the soul, the individual, inner, spiritual man; in his activity we find the key to the soul's task upon the eternal round of the wheel of life. You will remember how Hercules upon the Fixed Cross had to fashion his own weapons before he succeeded in the struggle. This is in reality a reference to the art of Vulcan who rules the inner man and guides his fashioning.

  Vulcan also rules nations at a certain stage of embryonic soul expression, such as the present, and governs their activities, fashioning the instruments of war when war and conflict are the only means whereby liberation can come, though woe betide those through whom wars come. Vulcan then takes hold and—since the Middle Ages—has brought the mineral kingdom, “the depths from which supply must come,” under human control. In the present war, Vulcan is concerned along with Venus in the relation of man to man, and of man to the mineral kingdom. Venus, the mental energy of humanity, establishes relation between man and man, between nation and nation whilst Vulcan establishes relation between the fourth kingdom in nature and the first. Vulcan, as we shall see later, is governed by the first ray, and the first ray and the first kingdom are definitely bound together. This, therefore, brings in the Shamballa force and you consequently have an esoteric triangle of energy—will, humanity and the mineral kingdom. They have a very close rapport with each other, both from the angle of the Plan and from the expression of material selfishness. Hence the great use of minerals (iron, copper, etc.) in the World War II. It is literally a war in which the mineral kingdom is used against the human. Humanity had gone down into the caves and the depths of concretion and is ready now for an upward shift or move, this time consciously taken [387] and taken all together. This is a most difficult situation for the average man to comprehend but the entire problem of the conscious use of that which exists upon the planet and also its destructive usage is tied together into one most critical situation. Part of the solution will come along similar lines and of this the prophecy now coming into the racial awareness that there are those “who sleep in the caves of the earth who will arise and bring liberation” has reference. But be not too literal in interpretation for “that which is of the earth can also be found in the sky.”

  Hierarchically also the ruler is Vulcan, conditioning the planet and determining the fact that man is the macrocosm of the microcosm and that the fourth kingdom fashions or conditions all subhuman kingdoms.

  It is the subjectivity of this sign which makes the understanding of it so difficult. It will not be until humanity has grasped the nature of the will that the true significance of the Taurian influence will be grasped. Both the sign, Aries, and the sign, Taurus, are concerned with the initial impact of energy upon form or of energies upon the soul. Man today is becoming slowly aware of the distinction to be found between the opposites and is grasping vaguely the true nature of desire. But he is still in the vale of illusion and—whilst there—cannot see with clarity. One of the first opposites which the disciple has to grasp is that of the subjective and the objective worlds.

  Three signs are also closely connected with initiation. The hidden secret of Aries, Taurus and Gemini is revealed at three successive initiations:

  1. The secret of Aries is the secret of beginnings, of cycles and of emerging opportunity. At the third initiation, the initiate begins to understand the life of the spirit or the [388] highest aspect; until that time, he has expressed first the life of the form and then the life of the soul within that form. This experience is of so high a nature that only those who have passed through it could in any way comprehend anything I might say.

  2. The secret of Taurus is revealed at the second initiation by the sudden removal or disappearance of world glamour in the blinding energy of light. This constitutes the final radiant activity which consummates the play of the Taurian force upon humanity during the long and cyclic journey to which man is committed. The individual enacts on a tiny scale what humanity—as a whole—will enact when it takes initiation in Taurus.

  3. The secret of Gemini has to be grasped at the first initiation because it is the mystery of the relation of Father, Mother and Child. The birth of the Christ-child upon the physical plane is the consummating glory of the Gemini force.

  All this concerns the subjective energies which express themselves through the medium of the personality or form aspect. When, therefore, I speak of subjective energies, I refer to the forces pouring from the soul (on soul levels) into the form nature upon its own level of awareness. I could illustrate this by pointing out that desire is not (from the angle of reality) a subjective quality except in so far as it is a distortion or a glamorous use of the energy of will. Desire is the force of the form nature; will is the energy of the soul expressing itself as direction, progress, and conformity to the Plan. This Plan, from the standpoint of the individual, is as much of the sensed will of God as he can, at any particular stage in his experience, grasp and understand. These distinctions also merit consideration. The [389] average human being may consider desire as subjective because he is so completely identified with form life upon the outer planes that the impulses and incentives coming to him along the stream of consciousness are viewed by him as intangible and mystical. Yet they are in reality but form radiations and reactions and are not truly and technically subjective at all. The high call of duty, the sense of responsibility are truly subjective in nature for they come from the soul and are the response of the soul to the pull of the form. Gradually, the disciple learns to distinguish between these distinctive aspects of energy and force which impinge ceaselessly upon his consciousness. As time goes on, his analysis becomes ever more acute and more discriminating until he knows finally which is an expression of force (coming from the form) and which are energy contacts (coming from the soul).

  This digression was necessary at this point because it is essential that esoteric astrologers should realise that these three signs, Aries, Taurus and Gemini are (from the standpoint of the disciple and initiate) purely subjective in their effects within the life of these signs. They can only find outward expression in the life of the subject and be consciously directed and controlled in Cancer, thus leading to the great liberation which takes place in the polar opposite to Cancer, Capricorn and also in Aquarius and Pisces. This of course refers to effects upon man upon the reversed wheel. In a certain sense these six signs constitute two major triangles of force.

  I have here indicated to you the higher or spiritual aspect of King Solomon's seal. When these six types of energy are fused and blended and so form one unity, you will then find emerging the “Star of Christ.” This is one of the symbols of the sixth initiation and is the inner correspondence [390] of the star with which you are familiar. In order to understand this more clearly I would point out to you that:

  1. That which is begun or “entered into” at the first initiation is consummated and completed in Pisces.

  2. That which impelled to the processes of involution and evolution (the desire to incarnate) takes form at the second initiation in the will-to-liberation in Taurus and finds itself released through the will-to-serve—universally—in Aquarius.

  3. That which is fluid and changeable in Gemini produces the great shift in consciousness which distinguishes the initiate from the disciple. This, at the third initiation becomes a fixed attitude in Capricorn. The concrete form life is transcended and the inner man reor
ients and assumes an unchangeable direction.

  You might here ask why I deal here with these abstractions? I would reply, that in your effort to understand and to grasp the truth which lies beyond your reason (even when regarding it as a hypothesis hereto unproven) you are gradually developing an aspect of your mind which is much needed in the processes of realisation, and which must be called into effective service during initiation. Such an effort [391] is needed if true understanding is to occur; initiation is the demonstration of intuitive understanding put to practical expression.

  As we resume our initial theme, I would call your attention to the fact that through the exoteric or orthodox planet, Venus, this sign Taurus is related to Gemini, Libra and Capricorn. It is of interest to note that Taurus is, therefore, related to the Mutable Cross by a linking stream of energy, via Venus, but is at the same time linked in a dual sense with two arms of the Cardinal Cross, by a Venusian connection with Libra and Capricorn. There is therefore to the true Taurian who reaches illumination one link with the body and soul aspects of expression and two links with soul and spirit—the higher octave of manifestation. Thus is shown the perfection of the sublimation process, for aspiration has entirely superseded desire as a motivating agency. The soul is linked with form but its major link is with the spirit. It is for this reason that in Taurus, the man comes to the point wherein the real goal or the true vision appears. Desire in its lowest expression is linked with the form in Taurus. Aspirational idealism in its highest possible expression is also achieved in Taurus. Aspiration is linked, however, in its lowest expression with the soul and in its highest with spirit. Self-will relates man to form; the will of God relates the soul of the man to the spirit. It takes three initiations to make this clear to the disciple.