Esoteric Astrology

by Alice A Bailey

  Looking at the matter from another angle: Venus, the mind or the soul in Libra reveals to man the exoteric significance and results of desire. In Gemini, Venus reveals the desire of the pairs of opposites for each other for this is the underlying theme of the entire creative and evolutionary process—the interplay of the opposites. In Capricorn, Venus reveals to man that desire for the whole, for the universal, [392] which is the hallmark of the initiate and the true expression of the spiritual life.

  When we come to a consideration of the esoteric ruler of Taurus, we find ourselves confronted by Vulcan, one of the veiled and hidden planets and one which is, therefore, little known or understood. I have earlier referred to Vulcan as the Fashioner of divine expression. In a peculiar sense, the energy which streams from Vulcan is fundamentally the strength and potency which sets the world evolutionary process in motion; it embodies also the energy of the first ray, that force which initiates or begins and that which also destroys, bringing about the death of the form in order that the soul may be set free.

  Vulcan is the ray or planet of isolation for, in a peculiar sense, it governs the fourth initiation wherein the depths of aloneness are plumbed and the man stands completely isolated. He stands detached from “that which is above and this which is below.” There comes a dramatic moment when all desire is renounced; the will of God or the Plan is seen as the only desirable objective but as yet the man has not proved to himself, to the world of men or to his Master whether he has the strength to move forward along the line of service. There is revealed to him (as there was revealed to the Christ at the fourth great initiatory crisis in His life) some definite, active undertaking which embodies that aspect of the will of God which it is his peculiar function to appropriate and make possible of expression. This has been called in the Christian phraseology, “the Gethsemane experience.” The Christ, kneeling beside the rock (symbolic of the depths of the mineral kingdom and of the activity of Vulcan, the fashioner), raises His eyes upward to where the light of revelation breaks forth and knows at [393] that moment what it is He has to do. Such is the test of Vulcan, ruling Taurus, of the soul, ruling desire, of the Son of God, fashioning His instrument of expression in the depths, grasping the divine purpose and so bending the will of the little self to that of the greater Self. The depths have been reached and there is no more to be done. The light from the eye of the Bull which with ever increasing radiance has guided the struggling soul must give place eventually to the light of the Sun, for Vulcan is a substitute for the Sun; it is spoken of sometimes as being veiled by the Sun and at others it stands for the Sun itself. It stands between the man and the Sun, the soul. Therefore, we have in this connection three symbols of the light:

  1. Taurus.—The eye of illumination or light. The Bull's eye. Illumination. Exoterically—the physical Sun.

  2. Vulcan.—The one who reveals that which is deeply hidden and brings it up into the light. Esoterically—the heart of the Sun.

  3. The Sun.—The great Illuminator. Spiritually—the central spiritual Sun.

  Thus from every angle, illumination remains the theme of this sign.

  We have somewhat considered the rays and their effect and relationship as they, through Taurus and its rulers, pour their force and energy into individual man, or into humanity as a whole. The two rays which directly affect the sign are, as we have seen, the fifth (through Venus) and the first (through Vulcan). These two when viewed in combination with the Earth (which is an expression of the third ray) demonstrate a most difficult combination of rays, for all are along the line of the first Ray of Energy: [394]

  Ray 1.—The ray of Will or Power.

  Ray 5.—The ray of Concrete Knowledge.

  Ray 3.—The ray of Active Intelligence.

  This combination tremendously increases the already difficult task of the Taurian subject. Only indirectly does the second Ray of Love-Wisdom and its subsidiary line of energies appear and, therefore, love and wisdom are often noticeably lacking in the person born in this sign. Such a man will have much self-love, self-esteem, self-respect and a good deal of selfish centralisation or personality focus. He will be intelligent but not wise; aspirational but at the same time stubborn and set so that his aspiration does not take him very far very rapidly. He will move spasmodically and in wild rushes; steady measured progress upon the Way is very hard for him. He finds it difficult to apply practically the knowledge gained. It is apt to remain a mental acquisition and not a practical experience. He will be almost painfully conscious of duality but, instead of its producing a struggle for unity, it produces often a set and static depression. He will be destructive because “bull-headed” and because the hammer aspect of Vulcan will be dominant. Because he has a measure of light—his power to be thus destructive will distress him.

  He needs to grasp the spiritual side of Venus which emphasises that the Son of God who is the Son of mind is the instrument of God's love; he must learn, therefore, to transmute knowledge into wisdom. He must transcend the destructive side of Vulcan and so of the first ray and instead work as a “fashioner of souls,” including his own. He must aim at clear seeing, pure joyful will and the death of personality desire. Such is the goal of the Taurian disciple. [395]

  Through the three other arms of the Fixed Cross and their three streams of divine energy, the force of love can he brought indirectly to bear upon the man born in Taurus. The rulers of two of these signs, Leo and Scorpio, include the Sun (second ray), Mars (sixth ray) and Mercury (fourth ray). The Sun and Mars are esoteric rulers of Leo and Scorpio and Mercury is the hierarchical ruler of Scorpio. Uranus is the orthodox and Jupiter the esoteric ruler of Aquarius. The Moon is also present but again veils Vulcan, whose influence we have already considered. The only ray influence lacking is that of the third ray and basically that is present also as it is the ray of Earth. Therefore, in this important sign, the Taurian person is under the influence—directly or indirectly—of all the seven rays for the reason that desire, leading to final illumination, motivates them all. Such is the amazing situation which faces the man—particularly the disciple or the initiate—who is born in this sign. Such constitute the difficulties with which he is confronted but such also bring about his immense opportunity for progress.

  It will be apparent to you that a whole new field of study will open before the astrologers of the New Age and fresh light on this greatest of all sciences will be available when the investigator can determine the relative age of the person or of the group whose destiny is to be determined and whose horoscope is being cast. Each of these signs will eventually have to be considered in such cases from:

  1. The angle of the unevolved man who will be centred

  a. In one or other of his vehicles.

  b. In the integrated personality, prior to the Path experience.

  In these, the Mutable Cross controls. [396]

  2. The angle of the cycle of lives wherein the dualities are recognised and the aspirant is then “reversing himself upon the Wheel.”

  The Fixed Cross then controls.

  3. The angle of the initiate.

  Here the Cardinal Cross is beginning its control.

  These Crosses are also known as:

  The Cross of the hidden Christ—The Mutable Cross

  The Cross of the Crucified Christ—The Fixed Cross

  The Cross of the Risen Christ—The Cardinal Cross

  The individual, planetary and cosmic Crosses.

  To determine these angles will involve among other things a close analysis of the qualities of the four energies which play through each arm of the Cross upon humanity. One aspect of this will eventually determine statistically the average of the signs governing the various types of men.

  It has been said that “four energies make a man; eight energies make a Master; twelve energies make a Buddha of Activity.” During this process of “fashioning,” great changes take place in consciousness and there are fundamental changes wrought through this sign which—in combination wit
h its polar opposite, Scorpio—is one of the major conditioning signs of the zodiac. Under its energy impact, profound disruptions and alterations in character, quality and direction take place. It is a dangerous sign because the destructive aspects are so easily over-emphasised and so intelligently applied to circumstance that the career of the Bull can be both destructive within its field of contacts and [397] at the same time self-destroying until such time that self-will or selfish desire is tempered by aspiration. Aspiration eventually gives place to intelligent activity and the acceptance of the will emanating from the spiritual Centre of life. This leads to cooperation with the Plan in the fullest sense and the end of individual self-centredness. Temper, which is so characteristic of the Bull, must give place to directed spiritual energy, for temper is but energy run wild in the interests of the personality; blindness (for the Bull is blind for much of its career) must give place to vision and the right focus of the sight and this will finally dispel the self-engendered illusions and glamours of the aspirant; self-pity, which is the effect of a constant concentration on the frustration of desire in the personality life, must be succeeded by compassion for all humanity, and this must be developed into the self-less service of the salvaging initiate. The task of the Taurian is a hard one for he embodies in himself, to a marked degree, outstanding limitations as regards the processes of spiritual evolution; there are, however, no insuperable difficulties and the liberated Taurian is ever a constructive, planning, creative, forward-moving force; such men are greatly needed in these serious days of re-adjustment and strain.

  Taurus, as you know, rules the neck and the thyroid gland. This is essentially the region whence must emanate the creative activity of the man who is upon the Path. The throat is a point to which the energy of the sacral centre must be lifted so that creation through love and by the will eventually will prove the sublimatory effect of the transference to higher use of the sex energy. The right use of the organs of speech gives the clue to the processes whereby the disciple must bring about certain basic changes. The Taurian upon the way of liberation would do well to employ the [398] method of directed and motivated speech of an outgoing and explanatory nature in order to transform himself from one who goes wilfully on his personality way into a wise cooperator with the Plan. By this I mean that, as man translates his ideals into words and acts, he brings about transformation, transmutation and eventually translation upon the mountain top of Initiation. The results of this creative work of materialising the vision must be carried to the point of effectual demonstration in Scorpio in which sign the final tests are applied to prove that the energy is flowing freely and without impediment and obstruction between the throat and sacral centres; to show that right direction has been achieved and that there is no longer any fear that the Taurian subject will blunder blindly forward again in his own self-interest but will, in the future, move intelligently upon the Way of Liberation—the way that brings about his own release and at the same time sweeps him into those activities which bring about the release of others. In Scorpio, the man who has mastered his lessons in Taurus must demonstrate that creativity which will work under the inspiration of aspiration and vision and constructively attempt to express the beauty which all forms intrinsically veil, thus bringing to all revelation of that underlying purpose which motivates all events and forms. All these aspects of basic change in purpose, interest and orientation must manifest in Scorpio, thus proving the effectiveness of the evolutionary processes undergone in the great repeated transition from Scorpio to Taurus and from Taurus to Scorpio. This cycle of moves constitutes (with the greater cycle) a rhythm of experience of tremendous moment. These seven signs are pre-eminently life-experience signs. The preceding sign of Aries is the “sign of institution” [399] whilst the four which come after Scorpio prove to be signs of discipleship and initiation. This is on the reversed wheel and the implications along the same line on the ordinary wheel can easily be applied by you.

  It is the recognition of these goals and a grasp of the Taurian problems which will make clear to you the position of the planets in this sign. I would remind you again that the exaltation of a planet in any particular sign, its fall within the sphere of influence of a sign as well as the lessening of a particular planetary influence in any sign cycle (making it what has been technically called “in detriment”) is purely symbolic of the effects of energy as it impinges upon the form-nature, meeting resistance or non-resistance, evoking response or non-response, according to the calibre of the planetary instrument subjected to the impact. In this sign, the Moon is exalted. Symbolically this means that the form side of life is a powerfully controlling factor and one with which the man must ever reckon. The Moon is the Mother of the form and in this case veils or hides Vulcan—which might be expected. The Moon, therefore, stands here for the fashioner or moulder of the form, bringing in both the feminine and masculine aspects of form-building, the dual functions of Father-Mother. This is a point for astrologers to remember. This process of interplay brings about two phases of the needed fashioning:

  1. A process wherein is created a form of great potency in which self-interest and personality aims and desires are the motives bringing about activity. The Moon and Taurus activity.

  2. The processes, self-applied by the awakening Taurian, wherein the form nature is fashioned anew and motivated [400] in a different manner and so is “raised up into Heaven” and thus irradiated and glorified. The Vulcan and Taurus activity.

  The exaltation of the form, ruled by the Moon, can be traced throughout the entire zodiac and provides in itself an interesting and progressive story with which I have not at this time the intention to deal. It is told by the various women who figure in the different constellations and around them some day the astrology of the form will be built. There is Cassiopea, Venus, Coma Berenice, Andromeda and one or two others, as well as Virgo, the Virgin, the most important of them all. I can only indicate here a field of thought and of astrological investigation hitherto untouched but I have not time for the interpretation of this vast and profitable field of knowledge. “Our Lady, the Moon” is related to all these and before the great disruption in an earlier solar system which led to the Moon becoming a dead planet, the energies of these stars and certain of the planets which were produced through their activity, were all focussed in and transmitted by the Moon in a most mysterious yet powerful manner. Through desire translated into terms of spiritual will, the form is esoterically “exalted” and of this fact the exaltation of the Moon in Taurus is a symbol. To this the ordinary astrological symbol of the Bull's horns testifies. This is the crescent Moon and also the symbol of the destructive nature of the form life of the Bull. Forget not that in this connection the destruction or death of the form and the ending of form influence thereby is the goal of the process which changes desire into aspiration.

  Uranus, the planet of the hidden mystery and one of the most occult of the planets “falls” in this sign, producing [401] the accentuation and the sharp division between body and soul which is so marked a characteristic of the Taurian subject. It prepares the inner man for the sharp interplay and conflict in the next sign, Gemini. The presence, therefore, of the exalted Moon and the fallen Uranus gives a marvellous picture of man's history during the stage of personality development and power. The task of Uranus, hidden in the depths, is to awaken and evoke the intuitive response of Taurus to an ever-increasing light until such time that full illumination is achieved and also the development of the spiritual consciousness—substituting these higher soul aspects for the lower form reactions. It is interesting to note that in Scorpio, Uranus is exalted which gives indication of the success of the task which the Uranian forces undertook. Achievement is attained.

  Mars is in detriment in this sign. Its activity adds constantly to the naturally warlike nature of Taurus but the potency of the Taurian struggle is so great, esoterically speaking, that the effect of Mars is lost in the larger whole. It “adds to the glamour and confusion and yet
holds within itself hope for the struggling man.”

  Constantly in this sign comes the emphasis upon struggle. It is a cosmic, planetary and individual struggle, for desire-will underlies the manifested activities of the Logos, the planetary Life and of man and also of all forms in nature. It is the struggle of that which is deeply hidden in darkness to reach the light of day; it is the struggle of the hidden soul to dominate and control the outer form, the struggle to transmute desire into aspiration and aspiration into the will to achieve. It is the struggle to attain the goal which an increasing light reveals. So potent is this struggle that on the ordinary wheel it culminates (prior to the re-entry in Aries of the soul seeking incarnation) by the fixed [402] desire, growing steadily stronger, to follow the wheel of re-birth; on the reversed progress around the zodiac, the struggle is to overcome and destroy all that has been so laboriously achieved upon the ordinary wheel and to demonstrate in Scorpio (through the terrific tests there applied) that the form no longer controls but that the lessons learnt through the use of the form have been retained; the struggle is to achieve initiation in Capricorn and thus release the soul from the revolving wheel and achieve final liberation from the thralldom of desire and from form control of any kind.

  This is curiously emphasised by the rulers of the decanates in this sign. Both the astrologers, Leo and Sepharial, practically and to all intents and purposes, agree in their assignment of planets to govern the triple aspects of the sign. They only vary exoterically on one point for Sepharial gives the Moon as governing the second decan whilst Leo gives Venus as ruling the first decan. However, Venus and the Moon are often used interchangeably and both express or emanate the same basic energy of active intelligence in its higher and lower aspects. One expresses intelligent love and the other the intelligence of matter; this dual emphasis is concerned with the dominance of the form nature in the Taurian subject and his release through the Venusian Son of Mind. The Moon or Venus, Mercury and Saturn control the decanates and our consideration of these planets in the other signs will have indicated to you their right interpretation, both here and elsewhere. Form life, intelligent activity, and intense struggle summarises the Taurian problem, whilst Mercury, the Messenger of the Gods, reminds the struggling man that he must become ever what he essentially is, thus escaping from illusion and entering into light.