Roberto Assagioli (FCD)

(continued)

As previously indicated, the story of Assagioli’s evolving discipleship is told in Discipleship in the New Age I, pp. 138 – 156, and Discipleship in the New Age II, pp. 459 – 473, which contain letters from the Tibetan to F.C.D. over a fifteen year period, Assagioli’s ages 44 through 60.

In the two previous installments of this study, we learned that Assagioli evidenced tendencies and problems classically associated with his Pisces Sun, angular Moon, and Cancerian Ascendant.  We read that the Tibetan advised Assagioli repeatedly to curb the innate emotional and psychic sensitivity which  flowed forth abundantly from the personality centered expression of these factors in Assagioli’s chart. 

We found that the Tibetan recommended as an antidote that Assagioli call upon his spiritual will.  This spiritual will, we found, was largely symbolized by Assagioli’s Venus in Aquarius, indicating his Ray One mental body.  As it so happens, Assagioli’s Venus is configured by hard angle with Saturn in Leo and Mars in Scorpio, thus creating a redoubtable T-square in fixed signs.  It was precisely this imposing arrangement in his chart which was activated by transit during the period when the Tibetan predicted that Assagioli could achieve a definitive victory over his astral sensitivity through the activation of the spiritual will. 

We thus saw that if we were to translate the Tibetan’s spiritual guidance and advice to Assagioli into astrological terms, the instruction imparted would amount to an admonishment for Assagioli to minimize the potentially worst manifestations of his Sun, Moon, and Ascendant signs, and by contrast to emphasize and enlarge upon the potentially best manifestations of a particularly challenging planetary configuration. 

Such advice would be in the main consistent with the principles of esoteric astrology, which on one hand state that the Sun and Moon signs are in fact nothing but a veil or impediment, while on the other that planetary force (such as that found in Assagioli’s T-square involving Venus, Mars, and Saturn) must be mastered and put to use for soul purpose.[1]  The Ascendant, by contrast, is never mentioned by the Tibetan as representing a potential point for regression.  However, the Tibetan does say that right management of the energies represented by the Ascendant can lead to alignment with the soul.[2]  Thus, even the corrections urged upon Assagioli in regard to those characteristics which might be symbolized by his Ascendant can fit amicably well under the umbrella of esoteric astrological principles.

When we last left off with the story, Assagioli had just received the letter of January 1939, as recorded in Discipleship in the New Age I.  The story resumes on p. 459 of Discipleship in the New Age II, which opens with a letter from D.K. to F.C.D. dated August 1940.  This letter was of course written against the backdrop of deeply disturbing world events, as Nazi Germany seized Belgium, Holland, Luxembourg, Denmark, and Norway, waged the blitzkrieg over London, and signed pacts with Italy and Japan, thus solidifying the intentions of the Axis Powers. 

Within this context, the Tibetan acknowledged that the past few months had been extremely difficult for Assagioli.  Then D.K. stated ominously, “The future also holds for you much of anxiety and of this I warn you….”[3]  Undoubtedly, the Tibetan here alluded in general to the anti-Semitic policies taking root under the Axis Powers and in particular to the coming capture of Assagioli by the Italian Fascist regime due to happen in that same year.[4] 

Much can be learned from an examination of the astrological transits under which Assagioli labored during 1940.  The “past few months” to which the Tibetan referred were largely conditioned by hard angle transits of Pluto and Saturn to Assagioli’s natal Saturn and Mars.  Let’s look first at the Pluto transits. 

Transiting Pluto in Leo was conjunct Assagioli’s natal Saturn from October 1937 through May 1940, a much longer time than it currently takes Pluto to pass over a position in the zodiac.  Likewise, transiting Pluto was square to Assagioli’s Mars at 0 Scorpio during the same two and a half year period.  The very slow zodiacal motion of Pluto back in the first half of the twentieth century produced protracted periods of duress. Assagioli certainly had one of these, for as a Jew and an altruist, he was living and trying to survive in a political climate that sought the eradication of everything for which he stood, precisely while these difficult Pluto transits affected his chart. 

This long conjunction of transiting Pluto to his Saturn began in late 1937, and shortly thereafter, anti-Jewish legislation was passed in Italy (in 1938).  In 1942, the Holocaust began, just as Assagioli was in the midst of a two and half year opposition of transiting Pluto to his natal Venus, which as stated earlier, is configured with Saturn and Mars in Assagioli’s chart.  The historical context of Assagioli’s life makes clear what a long term activation of  Pluto to a major planetary configuration can in fact signify.  And the Tibetan was candid with Assagioli about it all.  His comments to Assagioli during August of 1940 were consistent with the implications of the transits under which Assagioli labored in that year.

Those transits included the interaction by transiting hard angle from Saturn to Assagioli’s Saturn and Mars as well.  In March of 1940, transiting Saturn in Taurus made a square to Assagioli’s natal Saturn and an opposition to his natal Mars.  Transiting Saturn went on to square Assagioli’s natal Venus in April 1940. 

Thus, “the past few months” to which the Tibetan alluded in his August 1940 letter to Assagioli were characterized by powerful activations to various parts of Assagioli’s T-square.  Specifically and primarily, these activations involved Pluto, Saturn, and Mars, either by transit, natally, or both.  Two out of these three are non-sacred planets (Pluto and Mars), and as such, have the potential to kick up much greater difficulty.  The power of the personality world is intensified under the influence of the non-sacred bodies, while Saturn (a sacred planet but still the “Lord of Karma”) brings the full repayment of karmic debts, so the combination of non-sacreds with Saturn can exhume ancient karma established by one-time wayward personality choices.  What exactly such ancient personality missteps may have been (if indeed there were any), in Assagioli’s case we do not know.  Yet we are given to understand that he met and mastered the forces released by this transit, for he not only survived this period handsomely, but also went on to continue his world discipleship work for an additional three and a half decades.

Today’s seekers and servers seem to have just as much trouble in their own ways with Pluto and Saturn, even though Pluto transits clear out in approximately one year nowadays, thanks to the place of Pluto in its very elliptical orbit (and  perhaps this is indicative of a significant increase in the momentum of Humanity’s evolution).  Just the same, all astrological counselors would do well to remember the potential for grave difficulties under Pluto transits, or a combination of Pluto and Saturn.  Under such configurations, something may come which severely tests the spiritual determination of the individual, just as Assagioli was tested, both by sociological-political intimidation and real physical danger.

Such considerations are timely.  The whole world currently labors under a transiting Saturn-Pluto opposition, just as, oddly enough, the whole world labored under a transiting Saturn-Pluto square in late March of 1940.  That Saturn-Pluto square of 1940 coincided with the persecution of the Jewish people in Europe, while the Saturn-Pluto opposition of 2001-2002 witnesses a world crisis in which the situation of Israel is central.  Further, the very existence of Israel as a modern political state has its roots in yet another Saturn-Pluto aspect.  During the Saturn-Pluto conjunction of 1947,  the United Nations decided to divide up what once was Palestine in such a way as to provide land for a newly created Jewish country.

Thus, the waning square of 1940 coincided with the persecution of European Jews, the following conjunction of 1947 saw the decision to create the Israeli state, and then an opposition over 50 years later brought to a head the conflict which has raged since the founding of Israel between that nation and the entire region in which it is (perhaps unwisely) situated.  It is clear enough from this brief history that the fate of the Jewish people is linked to the Saturn-Pluto cycle.

 In the case of Assagioli, an Italian Jew, the link between his personal astrological chart and the group karma in which he partook is equally clear, for his planetary aspects were arranged in just such a way as to receive the otherwise general impact of the Saturn-Pluto square of 1940 in a very direct and personal way.  Thus, Assagioli’s story provides a revealing case history of the ways in which group karma and individual destiny can be entertwined.  And we must not forget that the Tibetan knew of and acknowledged the gravity of Assagioli’s personal situation (or individual destiny) in the midst of the challenges of the Saturn-Pluto square of the World War II days (or group karma).  Nowhere did the Tibetan seek to soft-pedal or downplay the severity of the moment, a fact which counseling astrologers of all stripes might well take into consideration in these days of a persisting Saturn-Pluto influence.

Today’s Saturn-Pluto opposition is in effect broadly from mid 2001 through mid 2002, and it has aggravated many of the scars left in the world from previous Saturn-Pluto aspects, the Jewish people being only one of the several groups now affected.  It might also be noted that during the Saturn-Pluto conjunction of 1947, India reclaimed its independence and was divided in such a way as to create Pakistan.  Both these countries, India and Pakistan, have emerged as central to the world crisis of 2001-2002 under yet another Saturn-Pluto hard angle transit, evidence that the group karma of these two countries is also linked to the Saturn-Pluto cycle. 

 We might wonder what esoteric astrological principle underlies the link of the Jewish people, certain of the Palestinians, India, and Pakistan with the planets Saturn and Pluto.  In the case of the Jews, the connection is obvious and straightforward.  According to the Ageless Wisdom teaching, Ray Three is the personality ray of the Jewish people, while Ray One is that of the soul of the Jewish people collectively.[5]   Rays One and Three are the dominant rays brought into play by the Saturn-Pluto opposition, for Saturn distributes Ray Three, and Pluto distributes Ray One.  Thus, it is easy to see the esoteric reason why the Jewish people have been so potently affected by events and conditions of the Saturn-Pluto cycle.

India, too, is much affected.  Again according to the Ageless Wisdom, India’s soul ray is Ray One.[6]  Information for the ray rulerships of Palestine and Pakistan lacking, no definitive statement can be made about their linkages to the Saturn-Pluto cycle other than those revealed by the historical correspondences.  However, the signs in which today’s opposition is occurring offer a rich set of possibilities for ray affiliations, as Gemini, the sign through which Saturn now moves, distributes Ray Two, and Sagittarius, the sign through which Pluto now moves, distributes Rays Four, Five, and Six.  Certainly something here must fit the groups involved.  Ray Six looks conspicuously appropriate, as many of the groups involved in the current  world crisis derive their identities from a religious basis. 

Thus, as we can readily see, because of the influence of the Saturn-Pluto cycle, Assagioli’s situation as described in the letter of August 1940 was in some very fundamental and essential ways just like the situation of the server today.  Now as then, the conscientious disciple seeks to navigate a course through a threatening world situation and distressing group karma, all the while keeping a firm grip on the steering wheel of relationship to Hierarchy and the rudder of service to the Plan.  Our situation today thus being roughly analogous to that of Assagioli in the 40s, it would seem fitting that we study the advice given by the Tibetan to Assagioli in some of the gravest hours of peril that disciple would ever face.

Interestingly enough, the spiritual guidance offered by D.K. to Assagioli in August 1940 was much the same as it had been before.  Assagioli was admonished yet again to restrain the habits of his astral body, the Tibetan writing that Assagioli’s “…extreme psychic sensitivity and impressionability…must be overcome.”[7]  Of course, this extreme psychic sensitivity came naturally to Assagioli, with his Sun in Pisces, angular Moon, and Cancerian Ascendant.  Yet, the Tibetan urged Assagioli to direct his psychic impressionability away from the personality world and more forcefully toward the world of the soul.  “Register only those impressions and contacts which concern your service…,” D.K. advised Assagioli.[8] 

Further, D.K. wanted Assagioli to completely release the sentimental type of emotional response for which the water signs are so well known, this being especially true of Cancer.  Putting the matter quite plainly, D.K. stated to Assagioli, “Learn…the futility of emotional feeling as a means of salvaging your brothers.”[9]  Assagioli was encouraged to develop a “divine indifference,”  untrammeled by personality reactions, which the Tibetan reminded him, were only solar plexus responses. These solar plexus responses, as the Tibetan pointed out, were incapable of lifting others out of their troubles, instead just multiplying the emotionalism in the situation. 

Of importance to this discussion is the fact that the solar plexus is ruled, according to the Tibetan, by the planet Neptune[10] and Ray Six, which ray it distributes.  Observing the principle of numeric correspondence, this ray links to the Sixth or astral plane, the zone of emotion and glamour.  Neptune was to be a life-long factor in Assagioli’s energy field, for it was the esoteric and hierarchical rulers of his Ascendant, the exoteric ruler of his Midheaven, Sun, and Mercury, and involved in a wide conjunction with his Pluto.  Thus, any astrologer of the time would have made a good bet that management of Neptune and its related ray would constitute a main feature of Assagioli’s evolution. 

Certainly the issues of Neptune and Ray Six were addressed by the Tibetan in his clairvoyantly based spiritual and occult recommendations for Assagioli.  At the time the August 1940 letter was written, such considerations were becoming even more important and timely, for Assagioli would in June 1941 begin to experience a one year activation of his natal Neptune by transiting Uranus, which would conjunct Assagioli’s Neptune degree until the following spring.   In preparation for that coming energy condition and in view of Assagioli’s already demonstrated life tendencies, D.K. minced no words but stated forthrightly that the main factor holding Assagioli back in his service and evolution as a disciple was “the glamour of an extreme sensitivity” caused by a “solar plexus wide open to all impressions.”[11] 

What was to be the cure for this indiscriminate absorption of astral currents?  The Tibetan told Assagioli to take drastic measures, some that might be seen as hard-hearted by certain seekers of the huggy-feely persuasion.  D.K. told Assagioli the following.  “Insulate yourself, “ he said, “ from too close a contact with those in distress.  Aid them; love them; but do not identify yourself with them.  I speak of an astral insulation and not a refusal to meet and contact suffering humanity upon the physical plane.”[12] That was tricky advice, for Assagioli was to remain available yet resist the old habit of joining others in their anxiety and unrest.  Instead, Assagioli was to connect with them at the level of the soul, rightly identifying with others through an intuitive recognition of the underlying soul purpose as it was working out for any individual with whom he interacted.[13]  Here is good advice for us all in this day and age of potent world events and high anxiety in the public.  How can we best help?  By not joining them in their agitation, but rather by meeting them at the level of the soul, which is in full knowledge and wise understanding of the plan for each incarnation.

In order to help Assagioli move into this kind of thinking and a consequent new relationship with his social and psychic surroundings, D.K. gave Assagioli a meditative exercise designed to draw energy out of the solar plexus upward to the heart and head, then outward through the throat chakra.  Such an exercise was in keeping with the life direction into which D.K. hoped to encourage Assagioli – away from disabling sentiment and grim forebodings (wide open solar plexus) and toward the articulation (throat chakra) of a message of universal love (heart center) and right use of the spiritual will (head center).

Such an aggressive strategy in correcting Assagioli’s life long problem with astral sensitivity was urgent given the upcoming transits, likely sensed by the Tibetan clairvoyantly, who well knew what invitations to deadly levels of fear Assagioli might experience in the coming years.  The potential for fear, plus the very detrimental effect of the unguarded solar plexus on Assagioli’s health, had to be addressed if Assagioli was to stay on course in the very near future.  Thus, in the process of supplying Assagioli with abundant reasons why he should deal decisively with the solar plexus situation, D.K. told Assagioli one more time in the August 1940 letter that the potency of Assagioli’s astral activity was depleting his physical and mental bodies, thus leading to inertia.[14]  We are given to gather that all this “scolding” must have accomplished its purpose, for Assagioli was able to say of his potentially terrifying incarceration that it had proven a valuable interlude during which he was able to attend to his meditations and inner exercises.[15]

Roberto Assagioli (FCD)

(continued)

As previous installments of this study have shown, Roberto Assagioli’s spiritual and occult development flourished under the watchful eye and able guidance of the Tibetan Master, who encouraged Assagioli in ways that much enhanced that disciple’s ability to serve the Plan.  Let us continue to follow the story of Assagioli’s progress as he evolved from a well-intentioned but somewhat ineffective Hierarchical co-worker, to a clear thinking disciple whose efforts have borne significant fruit, together with the astrological and ray influences that played into his issues and transformations.

When we last looked in on our brother Roberto Assagioli, he had just received the letter from the Tibetan dated August 1940.  In this letter, D.K. once again advised Assagioli to exert himself toward achieving a thorough   reorganization of his energy field.

The whole matter was situated in a context which Assagioli could not ignore.  Placing Assagioli’s gaze upon the distant goal of his efforts, D.K.  stated,  “You are, my brother, upon the path of the Christ, and in preparation for treading this path of aiding and salvaging humanity, you have to learn (through intense feeling) the futility of emotion and feeling as a means of salvaging your brothers.  You need to acquire that divine indifference which leaves the soul free to serve – untrammelled by personality reactions….”[1]

Photographs of Assagioli reveal a brooding, pensive appearance made the more dramatic by his gentle, compassionate eyes, which were encircled by deep, dark shadows strongly reminiscent of those depicted in traditional portrayals of “The Man of Sorrows.”  That Assagioli felt and identified with Humanity’s suffering is evident.  This sensitivity to suffering was to be both his stumbling block and his password to the mount of ascension.

The Tibetan ever drew Assagioli’s attention to this fact.  Putting it plainly, D.K. wrote to Assagioli in the letter of August 1940 that Assagioli would be overcome by his emotional sensitivity if measures were not taken to protect himself from that region of consciousness, to which he was inordinately responsive.  On this point, the Tibetan stated to Assagioli,  “Your problem this life has been…the transfer of energy from the solar plexus to the heart.  The first stage of that process is, esoterically speaking, the discovery of how potent is the astral polarisation of all our personality forces; the entire focus of your life is upon the highest level of the astral plane.”[2]

In other words, before Assagioli could move forward in his occult development, it was necessary that he admit to himself the actual nature of his preoccupations and dominant thought streams.  This fact was brought to Assagioli’s attention just as transiting Uranus in Taurus was about to make its first conjunction to Assagioli’s Neptune, which was located at 27 degrees and 23 minutes of Taurus.  In August of 1940, transiting Uranus was moving through the 26^th degree of Taurus, due to make a retrograde station in early September in that same degree.  This is as close to the transiting conjunction that Uranus would get until it made the exact conjunction in June 1941, December 1941, and March 1942. 

Given that Neptune :

1)  distributes Ray 6,

2)  correlates to the astral or sixth systemic plane (counting downward from the first or logoic plane),

3)  and rules the emotionally-driven solar plexus,

it makes sense that this very issue of emotional polarization should be brought to light when Assagioli’s natal Neptune was soon to be activated by transit.  Here is an important principle that might be used by all astrologers with esoteric leanings.  Whenever an individual is experiencing a strong activation to his or her natal Neptune, issues concerning the solar plexus and astral sensitivity may appear. 

Certainly this was the case for Assagioli.  Present too, were the matters of the higher octave of sixth ray Neptune, with its link to refined spirituality and even saviorship, for D.K. notified Assagioli not only of his astral vulnerability, but also of his abiding karmic connection to the Christ, the head of Hierarchy.  Keeping the discussion in this context, the Tibetan stated straightforwardly to Assagioli, “Before you can take the initiation for which you are being prepared, there must be a change of life focus and a transfer of energy from the astral body into the mental body, and consequently from the solar plexus to the heart.”[3]

Assagioli was just past 52 ½ years of age when he received this letter.  Imagine how he must have felt when he realized that his entire 30 plus years of adult living had been dedicated to the service of a region of consciousness which, though part and parcel of divine expression, represents a very small fraction of the potential universe of consciousness to which any serious disciple aspires.  However disheartening this realization may have been, it is evident that Assagioli overcame any moment of deflation he may have experienced  (which would itself have been an astral reaction), for in a few short years, D.K. was to commend Assagioli thoroughly for his discipleship progress. 

Speaking of Assagioli under his group name of F.C.D., D.K wrote the following in a June 1946 letter to the entire group of disciples to which D.K. addressed his teachings in the 1930s and 40s.  Said the Master, “I have no criticism of F.C.D., who has come through deep waters to heights from which he can do most effective work.  I am happy to be associated with him and have asked the Master K.H. to leave him a little longer in my group.”

This single statement reveals a number of points worthy of notice. First, it should be noted that D.K. phrased Assagioli’s spiritual success in imagery completely connected with Neptune, god of the waters, for he stated that Assagioli had “come through deep waters.”  Spiritually and occultly considered, the deep waters to which the Tibetan alluded can be none other than those of the astral plane.  Quite evidently, Assagioli had, by the year 1946, successfully re-oriented his astral body and put into place those shifts of emphasis and activity previously recommended by the Tibetan.

The subduing of astral impulse is, of course, characteristic of preparation for the Second Initiation, also called the Baptism Initiation in reference to the fact that the initiate must know the waters of the astral plane and how to rule them constructively.  It is in preparation for this initiation that the candidate must demonstrate an ability to renounce the reactions of the lower astral subplanes, which are the breeding grounds of all “bipolar”  emotions, such as attraction versus aversion, liking versus hating, and so on.  Further, the toxic sentiments of possessiveness, anger, blame, and guilt have their genesis in the lower subplanes of the astral.  Tendencies to depression, pessimism, debilitating sorrow, loneliness, and general dissatisfaction also emanate from the lower and intermediate levels of the astral plane.

The higher subplanes of the astral plane contain a more refined version of astralism, such as genuine sentimentality, protectiveness toward loved ones, and some authentic desire for higher realizations.  It is these better forms of astral impulse which can operate as a conduit for the universal love vibrations of the buddhic plane.  The buddhic plane, being fourth among the seven, must find its way into expression through a similarly constituted  plane of an even number. Thus, as the buddhic or Christ love seeks to make its way into the seventh plane of manifested material existence, it must do so through the higher levels of the second or astral plane.

The preparation for the Second Initiation involves the transformation of the candidate’s astral patterns so that they can accommodate and vibrate to the incoming, higher love impulses of the buddhic levels.  Both the astral and buddhic planes are connected with Neptune,[4] which symbolizes the spectrum of vibrations represented at the lower level by the astral plane with its misleading, confused perceptions warped by a tendency to refer all things to one’s own likes or dislikes, and at the higher end by the buddhic plane with its appropriately selfless and universal perspective.  The Second Initiation marks the moment when the individual has learned how to impose the higher, universal love impulses upon the astral body, so that his or her personal sentiments come into line with the Christ or Buddhic principle.

It is thus of use to note the prominence of Neptunian symbolism in the natal chart of Roberto Assagioli.  First, Neptune rules the Cancerian Ascendant esoterically and hierarchically.  Second, Neptune is the exoteric ruler of Assagioli’s Pisces Midheaven together with his tenth house Sun and Mercury.  Third, Assagioli’s natal Neptune is involved in a wide conjunction with Pluto.  All these factors might be considered astrological hints about the region of work intended by the soul for at least part of that incarnation.  Hindsight shows us that the prominence of Neptunian symbolism in Assagioli’s chart might have alerted an intuitive and esoteric astrologer to the fact that Assagioli’s soul had slated this incarnation for a serious effort at mastering the astral level, incorporating the divine love nature of the buddhic plane, and completing the Second Initiation.

Thus, D.K.’s statement that Assagioli had “come through deep waters” strongly suggests that Assagioli had, between 1940 and 1946, overcome his sentimental nature and painfully potent psychic sensitivity well enough to have stabilized the astral body and to have taken the Second Initiation.  Some may recoil at the idea that Assagioli, so great a world server as he proved to be, could have been taking only the Second Initiation at this time in his life, and not the Third or Fourth.  However, the evidence points strongly toward the notion that Assagioli was in preparation for the Second Initiation in the early 1940s.  Note that in the August 1940 letter, the Tibetan stated that Assagioli needed to shift his focus from solar plexus to heart center.  This is precisely the movement associated with the Baptism Initiation, a fact which further supports the contention that it was indeed the Second Initiation, symbolized by Neptune, toward which Assagioli was marching in the early 1940s.

Given all this, it would seem that something very significant happened in Assagioli’s inner life and occult development between late 1940, when the Tibetan was still urging Assagioli to contend with an essentially astral orientation, and the summer of 1946, when the Tibetan described Assagioli as having made his way successfully through “deep waters.”  Thus, the period from roughly mid 1940 through mid 1946 merits careful study.

During this interval, there is published record of just three communications from the Tibetan to Assagioli, and these are dated August 1942, September 1943, and November 1944.  The next letter, dated August of 1946, begins with these telling words: “You will have, by now, read and absorbed the papers and communications which have been held for you until the close of the war and the attainment of physical safety for you.”[5]  From this statement of the Tibetan’s, it is clear that Assagioli was not able to receive at least some of the letters intended for him in a timely fashion, but exactly which letters were held in safe keeping is not indicated in the published Bailey material.

However, it is certain that between 1940 and 1943, Assagioli’s life was significantly disrupted by the wartime political situation in Italy and Europe.  According to astrologer Dane Rudhyar, a personal associate of Assagioli’s both before and after World War II, there were at least two particular periods during which Assagioli’s life and liberty were severely threatened.  First, Assagioli was seized and held in solitary confinement for approximately one month by the Italian Fascist government some time in 1940.  Second, Assagioli was again pursued by Mussolini’s agents in 1943, during which time Assagioli maintained his safety by fleeing to a remote mountain region.[6] As Rudhyar’s describes it, Assagioli in 1943 “…had two narrow escapes from the Nazi-Fascists who were after him personally and who sacked and destroyed his family’s country house near Florence.”[7]  It is clear, then, that the evil powers behind the Axis had every intention of disabling Assagioli before he could bring to the world the spiritualized form of psychology and the esoteric organizations he was destined to establish. 

As is evident, at least part of what Assagioli confronted during the critical period of mid 1940 through mid 1946 was a very real, immediate, and physical confrontation with authentic forces of evil.  We can be very sure of this because of what the Tibetan has revealed regarding the actual powers behind the Axis countries during World War II.

During this time, Assagioli was experiencing several important astrological transits.  Transiting Pluto in Leo activated his Saturn-Mars-Venus T square throughout 1940 and continued to do so through mid 1942, returning to square the Venus position of the T square in the spring of 1943.  Meanwhile, Uranus began an almost year long transiting conjunction of Assagioli’s Pluto in July of 1942, becoming exact also in October-November of 1942, and April-May of 1943.  On top of this, transiting Saturn in Gemini conjuncted Assagioli’s Pluto, opposed his Jupiter, and squared his Midheaven, Moon, Sun, and Mercury from June 1942 through early July 1943.

These are the astrological indicators of the tremendous obstacles that Assagioli encountered from 1940 through 1943.  Transiting hard angles from Pluto, Uranus, and Saturn tell the astrological end of the story, indicating that Ray One, which is associated with all three of these planets, was a significant conditioning energy, and certainly Assagioli was imperiled at the hands of grossly misqualified Ray One energy in the form of a murderous totalitarian government. 

Yet on the inner level, the application of Ray One energies was another matter.  Recall that Assagioli had been encouraged by the Tibetan to diminish his astral responsiveness by developing his spiritual will, a Ray One correlate.  Thus, under the Ray One activation brought forth by Assagioli’s transits from 1940 through 1943, this desired objective could be more readily attained, and perhaps it was indeed facilitated by the very same transits linked to the horrific geo-political conditions under which Assagioli labored during this period of his life.

And consider the earthly conditions under which this achievement was made!  Hounded by one of the most heinous forms of evil known to have stalked our planet, driven from his home and his professional position, existing on the run and under near constant threat to his life, Assagioli was still able to heed the words of his spiritual mentor.  No wonder the Tibetan would say in 1946 that he had “no criticism” of F.C.D.!  Rather, one might think that such a display of fortitude as demonstrated by Assagioli at one of the then most trying points in the history of the planet might well indeed inspire some degree of utmost regard from the onlooking teachers, and we are given to understand that this was so.

Evidence to this effect might be found in yet another important development in Assagioli’s life which took place during the critical period of 1943 through 1946. This important development is reported in the September 1943  letter, which chronicles a direct contact between Assagioli and his Master.  This connection transpired some time in or around September of 1942.[8]  According to the Tibetan’s recapitulation of the event, Assagioli was received for interview in his Master’s Ashram in some way, but whether this event took place on the mental, astral, etheric, or physical level is not revealed.  Nonetheless, it is known that a conversation of some sort took place between the Master Koot Hoomi and Assagioli.  In this conversation, K.H., then a Master of the Sixth Degree and therefore a Chohan, is reported to have asked Assagioli if Assagioli was ready to begin certain work in preparation for a definite assignment upon the Path of World Saviors. 

The exact nature of the assignment offered to Assagioli is not made clear in the published form of the letter, yet it is evident enough from the wording that Assagioli was given the opportunity to undertake a definite task of world-influencing dimensions.  Such tasks are only offered to those who have proven a capacity to discharge them correctly, so here again is strong evidence that Assagioli had risen to the challenge of his moment in time.  The Tibetan underscored this fact near the end of the September 1943 letter, in which he offered immense encouragement to Assagioli.  D.K. wrote to Assagioli, “You can now go forth from where you are with the endorsement of your Master, with the aid and backing of myself and of A.A.B., and, at all times, the protective aura of K.H.; and – with reverence I would call your attention to this – an aspect of the aura of the Christ is incorporated in that lesser aura.”[9]

Among the many glittering gems of significance contained in the above passage is the certification that Assagioli was indeed a disciple of the Master Koot Hoomi, a fact to which D.K. alluded in the group letter of June 1946, quoted earlier.  In that letter, D.K. divulged that he had asked K.H. to allow Assagioli to stay in D.K.’s group for a time yet.  K.H. is of course Koot Hoomi, who was at that time the primary Master of the Second Ray Ashram.  Djwhal Khul was and is a member of this Ashram as well, and it was at that time his duty to oversee a portion of K.H.’s work.  Thus, K.H. was at that time D.K.’s Master,[10] and Assagioli’s as well.

How  sweet must have been those words, “You can now go forth with the endorsement of your Master.” In that acclamation rests all the assurance any striving disciple would ever need.  Such an utterance would have brought peace, certitude, and confidence to its recipient.  In that Assagioli received such commendation, it is certain that he conquered his tests between 1940 and 1946 masterfully.  In fact, he probably did so early in that interval, for it was September 1942 during which the pivotal interview with K.H. occurred. 

That month there was a transiting conjunction between Mars and Neptune at 29 degrees of Virgo (tropical), which would have affected everyone on the planet. The strong Sixth Ray impact arising from the conjunction of these two Ray Six distributors would have been significant.  For those responsive, it may have injected a moment of sacred consideration in and amidst the din and fury of World War II, then ongoing with ferocity.

This strong influence from the Ray of Aspiration and Devotion may well have created a vibrational environment in which Assagioli could register the summons from his home Ashram and answer the call by undertaking a journey in the astral body, the astral body being linked generically with the Sixth or astral plane.

Assagioli’s personal transits were another matter at that time, though.  As mentioned earlier, he was in the midst of an activation to two potent configurations in his natal chart – one from Pluto to his T square in fixed signs, the other from Saturn to his T square (and other placements) in mutable signs.  On top of this, transiting Uranus was activating his natal Pluto in Gemini from July 1942 until May 1943.  In fact, it is this latter transit which was most nearly exact in September of 1942, the approximate time of his definite contact with Master K.H.

Assagioli’s natal Pluto placement in the air sign of Gemini shows that he was part of a large karmic soul grouping which came into incarnation to highlight the nature of the mind, its workings, and the reality of telepathy.  This portion of his destiny was in process of conversion from latency to active expression under the transiting conjunction from Uranus, for Uranus precipitates inner forces into form, esoterically considered.[11] 

Hence, though Assagioli’s contact with K.H. may have contained an element of the astral, it probably drew heavily upon an established  telepathic communication between the earnest and impressionable disciple on one hand, and the far-reaching mind of a Chohan on the other, as indicated by the involvement of mentally oriented Gemini in this event. 

Telepathic interplay between two minds is symbolized by the twins or brothers of Gemini, in which sign occult Uranus was transiting at the time of Assagioli’s contact with his Master.  Hence, we can look to the transiting conjunction of Uranus over Assagioli’s Pluto in 3 degrees Gemini as the indicator of a tremendous breakthrough in the life of this disciple, signifying a point in time in which he may have not only broken the hold of the astral upon him, but also advanced to the functioning of the mental plane, the frontier of the Third Initiation.

Thus, the air element associated with Gemini brings us to yet another important consideration, and one with which this installment of the Assagioli study will conclude. 

Returning to that important laudation of Assagioli issued by the Tibetan, let us note that not only had F.C.D. “come through deep waters,” but also had he arrived at “heights from which he can do most effective work” by June of 1946.   Use of the word “heights” most certainly suggest mountains and peaks, geological features associated not with the watery Second Initiation, but with the airy Third Initiation, or mastery within the world of the mental plane.  Hence, we are given to contemplate that the Tibetan was informing his disciples in code that Assagioli had at some point not only passed the astral tests of the Baptism, but that he had also progressed to the next level of endeavor – which would of course have been the Third Initiation with its emphasis upon the mind, the ajna center, and the purposeful direction of thought energy. 

We are thus left with a satisfying implication in regard to Assagioli’s probable initiatory progress.  This picture might by some be thought to better match the intellectual and organizational heritage left by this great server at the conclusion of this particular incarnation.