“The term United Nations was originally used during World War II to denote those countries that were allied against the Axis powers (Germany, Japan, and Italy). A conference at Dumbarton Oaks an estate in Washington, D.C., was the earliest attempt to permanently establish this United Nations. Representatives of the "Big Four" (United Kingdom, United States, U.S.S.R., and China) met there from Aug. 21 to Oct. 7, 1944, to draft some preliminary proposals, which were later discussed and more clearly outlined at the Yalta Conference in February 1945 by the Allied war leaders Winston Churchill, Joseph Stalin, and Franklin D. Roosevelt. The proposals, supplemented by these three leaders' decisions, formed the basis of negotiations at the United Nations Conference on International Organization, held in San Francisco two months later; the resultant Charter of the United Nations was signed in June and came into force on Oct. 24, 1945.” (Britannica)

“The three months of March, April and May in this year [1945] mark a moment in time of major significance in our planetary history. I refer to the Easter Full Moon, celebrated on March 28th, the Wesak Full Moon, which falls this year on April 27th, and the Full Moon of June—Christ's "Unique Occasion" as it has been called—which falls on May 26th. From the standpoint of both the Hierarchy and Humanity, the events during these few weeks of spiritual and mundane import (focussed through these three Festival Moons of Aries, Taurus and Gemini) will be of stupendous effect. What is done during this time by the Members of the spiritual Hierarchy of our planet (Who face a major test of Their hierarchical power, not a test of Their love), what is accomplished by the disciples working in the world at this time, and also by the New Group of World Servers, can and will determine the destiny of man for centuries to come.” (EOH445)

The last year of the war certainly was of “major significance in planetary history”. It saw the end of the war, the formation of the United Nations and the dropping of the atomic bomb.

Meetings had been convened in San Francisco from April 1945 to June 1945. During the five day period of the 1945 Wesak full moon (April 27, 1945), the full weight of the Hierarchy focussed:

“It was realised that there was an ascertainable measure of hemispheric unity upon which statesmen could count and thus a foundation could be created for the far more difficult international conference to be held in San Francisco.  Not for nothing, brother of mine, is this conference being held during the five days of the Wesak Full Moon [1945].  It will be a time of supreme difficulty in which the Forces of Light will face what I call ‘the forces of selfishness and separativeness’. . . . Subjectively speaking, the conference will be under the direct influence of the Hierarchy.  The consequent stimulation of both the selfish and the unselfish aspects will evoke a tremendous emotional and mental potency.  It is, therefore, essential that all aspirants and disciples throw the weight of their spiritual development and the light of their souls on the side of the forces which are attempting to plan for the good of humanity, and who regard the welfare of the whole as of far greater importance than any national situation or demand . . . A supreme effort will be made by [the Buddha and the Christ] this year during the five days of the Full Moon (April 25-30) and a major test of the effectiveness of Their activity will be given at the San Francisco Conference.” (EOH450,464)

Therefore, at the following full moon of Gemini, the consolidation of forces mustered in Taurus, were given a tremendous boost by the release of the Great Invocation, “which hitherto had not been permitted to be used except by the most exalted, spiritual Beings.” (ROC31) It was also at this time that the Christ set himself the date for his return.

This gives the United Nations organisation quite a pedigree. The Wesak horoscope may be more subjectively accurate than the others for the convening, ratification of the charter signing in June, or the commonly used UN chart for October 24, 1945. Although they will all ‘work’ in expressing the various steps along the way.

The T-square of Sun/Moon and Pluto indicate the awesome power and massive transformation and regeneration that the world aspirants (Taurus) and the world disciple (Scorpio) were to undergo. Pluto ruling the ninth house of higher principles and ethics indicates where that field of transformation lay -  the higher mental plane through negotiation, conferences and dialogue. It also indicates the selfish abuse of power that could come about as a result of stimulation at that full moon time.
     The Ascendant in the last degree of Aquarius is also most potent, indicating the Aquarian Age to come. It was only a several weks later that the Christ:

“…definitely and consciously took over His duties and responsibilities as the Teacher and Leader during the Aquarian solar cycle. He is the first of the great world Teachers to cover two zodiacal cycles—the Piscean and the Aquarian.” (ROC82)

 Uranus, exoteric ascendant ruler, is placed in Gemini conjunct the fourth house cusp indicating the forward thinking and innovative communications that the family of humanity would have to engage itself. This 'family of humanity' theme is further borne out by Saturn's placement in Cancer, and the "sacrifices and pains, in order to salvage the lives with which it had an affinity" (EA342).

Conjunct Saturn is the Moon's node in Cancer, which is also conjunct Sirius, indicating the development of sympathy and compassion in the human family, according to higher guiding principles.

1945 Wesak’s progressed Saturn is going over this point now, and only half a degree from natal Sirius - opening up the possibility for dialogue that gets something done. 

1945 Wesak chart has Uranus  going over this last degree of the Aquarian ascendant on and off until the end of 2003, so there should be reflected some major changes accordingly. Therefore the Aquarius rising potential of this chart may start to wax to its true potency soon – and not before time, the UN must come into its true power. The progressed Moon in the 1945 Wesak chart is at the same degree as the 1945 Gemini full moon, which in turn is conjunct the Gemini full moon eclipse of 2002, signalling perhaps a revival of the forces which the Buddha and the Christ initiated in 1945.

Transiting Saturn is now going over progressed UN Uranus, a most promising conjunction. When Aung Sun Suu Kyi was released recently, she had the same transit going on. (See essay at www.esotericastrologer.org) In fact, her release may be a sign of things to come world wide we would hope.

Another landmark in the development of freedom was the Magna Charta of June 15, 1215. Sirius is on the Sun/Venus/MC in that horoscope. The progressed Moon of the Magna Charta chart has reached the same degree as the Moon in Wesak 1945 chart. The long line of progressive liberations is reaching a point of synthesis.

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Gemini, Harmlessness and Meditation



Phillip Lindsay © 2002

(Written for newcomers to the Ageless Wisdom - though there may be something here for you long term students! )

It is said that the practice of harmlessness is the greatest spiritual tool (besides meditation) that one can possess. Harmlessness on all the levels of personality expression: mental, emotional and physical, or in thought, word and deed.

How often in our everyday life do we harm or injure others emotionally or mentally? Whether we are in traffic, directing negative thoughts to someone close to us, or criticising verbally or mentally – we are not practicing harmlessness, which is really an aspect of the law of love. Its practice is not about being a peace-loving wimp, it is in fact a dynamic practice associated with the spiritual will, and can be a most demanding path to follow.

The fact that we are all incarnate indicates that none of us have really fully achieved this state of being, otherwise we would be liberated from human evolution. Harmlessnes may be practiced/perceived from the very obvious to the quite subtle.

Gemini, the Twins, are known as the two quarreling or warring brothers. Harmlessness is obviously not their forte. Gemini rules Humanity in general, or ‘average humanity’, hence the state of the many ‘warring brothers’ in the world today. The Gemini solar festival (usually in June) has as its theme the unique relationship of Christ or Lord Maitreya to each individual human being. This full moon period is an opportunity to get in touch with that Christ force.

The new spiritual cycle of the year starts in Aries at Easter and the celebration of Christ’s resurrection; is consolidated upon in Taurus at the Wesak festival of the Buddha; and is distributed at the Gemini festival of the Christ. Christ focusses within himself the outgoing spiritual aspiration of Humanity.

Gemini is a sign of the‘common’ cross, and Gemini’s are noted for their ability to find a point in ‘common’ with almost anyone they meet, establish a dialogue and hence develop a relationship. This makes Gemini (apart from Libra) a primary sign of relationships.

Gemini only has one ray passing through it, Ray 2 of Love-Wisdom. Gemini is ruled by Mercury the Divine Intermediary, and god of speech and communication. Therefore communication is the key element that underlies the expression of Love. Hence speech is sacred.

Gemini, therefore, is the ideal sign that relates Humanity to the Christ and Christ to Humanity. Humanity is the younger brother and Christ the Elder Brother in our planetary family.

Gemini is very sensitive to its environment and wants to react and respond to it immediately, such is the restless, quicksilver nature of this sign. Therefore Gemini’s can be quite garrulous at one extreme, not pausing for deep and considered thought. They are gatherers of information, not necessarily having complete discrimination about what is gathered. Of course there are many other planets in the horoscope that modify these qualities in an individual.

However, this has been bought out because Gemini has a lot to do with the lower mind, or kama-manas, “desire-mind”, where most of humanity are polarised today. Therefore the “two brothers” are the lower mind and the higher mind, the latter being  the seat of the soul. The ‘war’ is between the desires of the lower mind and the spiritual will of the soul.

The lower mind is really “emotional-mind” where thinking is coloured with emotion of some kind. Emotions ‘idealise’ an idea (mental), rendering it somewhat distorted from the original.

The symbol of the two pillars of Gemini, are where we bang ‘from pillar to post’ in balancing the pairs of opposites within ourselves – on all levels. Its is for this reason that Gemini is the sign in ‘common’ with all pairs of opposites in the zodiac, and is the ‘third party’ in the Science of Triangles so fundamental to Esoteric Astrology.

Yet it is also between these two pillars that Gemini finds peace from ceaseless thought and activity. It could be said that the stilling of thought preliminary to meditation is in fact practicing harmlessness. It is not allowing mind chatter to ‘harm’ or block the overlighting influence of the soul.

When meditating, not allowing any thoughts is in one sense practicing harmlessness, as it is a process of not reacting or responding to stimuli in the environment, whether it is an itch, noise, or thought that can lead to a whole chain of lower mental thoughts and chatter, sometimes called the “monkey mind”. An analogy would be practicing harmlessness toward someone who is angry or insulting toward you, by not responding or reacting – not engaging in dialogue. Practicing tao.

When one stands poised between the two pillars, thought as we know it disappears and intuition supercedes. This is why the more advanced Gemini’s are extremely intuitive. Time also disappears, and one glimpses the Eternal Now, where neither the past nor future penetrate.

Venus is the energy responsible for bringing about this intuitive state. She is the soul ruler of Gemini and harmonises the pairs of opposites on the mental plane, so that it in turn can be a vehicle for the intuition from the buddhic plane. Mercury as personality ruler also has much to do with the process, as it has a close association with the buddhic realm.

The Twins of Gemini are sometimes known as the “brothers who live in the light”. The twins could also refer to the two rulers Mercury and Venus, as they are the two most light reflective planets of the solar system, and also known as the ‘most occult’ planets.

When standing between the pillars, in the intuition, one has also engaged the polar opposite of Gemini, Sagittarius. The one-pointed concentration of the Archer has been bought into play, and he aims his arrows between the pillars, thereby eliminating dualistic thought, and honing to the ‘target’ - meditation. One shoots the arrow, but is also the target!

The soul ruler of Sagittarius is the Earth, which is to Venus what the personality is to the soul – therefore Venus and the Earth are truly the warring brothers – one already a sacred planet (Venus/soul), and the other (Earth/personality) in the process of becoming sacred. Venus is primarily a planet which governs right human relationships:

 “He [The Christ] announced [Gemini 1945] to the assembled spiritual Hierarchy and to all His servants and disciples on Earth that He had decided to emerge again into physical contact with humanity, if they would bring about the initial stages of establishing right human relations…” (ROC31)

That obviously includes right relationship between the brothers - soul and personality. In our ongoing internal personal wars, (you don't have one?) the solar plexus centre is where most of the action is - where the smoke of the ‘burning ground’ arises. The solar plexus is the expression of emotion and lower mind, the ‘animal brain’ and its direct chakra correspondence is the heart, to where its energies are raised. The heart of course is the chakra/organ expression of love, therefore the heart and solar plexus can also be seen as the ‘warring brothers’, as harmonisation and alignment are bought about between the two.

The Christ heads the great Ray 2 department of the Hierarchy, and is the outstanding example of Love-Wisdom expressing on this entire planet. This has ramifications that extend beyond this solar system to Sirius and the Cosmic Christ, but is beyond the bounds of this discussion.

It was no accident that at the Gemini full moon of 1945 (at the end of the war) that the Great Invocation, a new prayer for the Aquarian Age, was given by the Christ to Humanity - for ‘the common man in the street’ it was so described.

That 1945 full moon was in the sixth degree of Gemini/Sagittarius, the same degree for this Gemini full moon eclipse of 2002 (Sunday 26, 23 51 NZT). As eclipses create etheric imprints that tend to last for a while, perhaps there may be some stimulation of the original release of the Great Invocation over the next year or so.

This full moon also marks the last 'hit' of the Saturn/Pluto opposition behind the scenes of much world turmoil in recent years, and although it will be going out of orb, the eclipse pattern may hold its influence for a while as well.

Let us hope that the 'warring brothers' in India and Pakistan, Israel and Palestine and elsewhere can meet 'between the pillars' in cooperation and mutual dialogue - as a result of the Gemini influences and our harmless thoughts.

THE GREAT INVOCATION

"The above Invocation or Prayer does not belong to any person or group but to all Humanity. The beauty and the strength of this Invocation lies in its simplicity, and in its expression of certain central truths which all men, innately and normally, accept—the truth of the existence of a basic Intelligence to Whom we vaguely give the name of God; the truth that behind all outer seeming, the motivating power of the universe is Love; the truth that a great Individuality came to earth, called by Christians, the Christ, and embodied that love so that we could understand; the truth that both love and intelligence are effects of what is called the Will of God; and finally the self-evident truth that only through humanity itself can the Divine Plan work out." ALICE A. BAILEY

 

In human relationships one of the most difficult things with which we are challenged is to take responsibility for our actions, or what ‘happens’ to us. The planet which immediately comes to mind of course is Saturn, Lord of Karma, who forces us to face up to the results of our actions. Hence the keyword of ‘responsibility’ which goes with Saturn.

The wayward or unaligned personality has for aeons seen Saturn as a ‘malefic’ through its own inability to measure up to the behests of the soul. Hence the prison house which the personality can be, whose jailor is the shadow or ‘dweller’.

Yet Saturn offers opportunity, freedom and ultimately liberation, with the condition that we ‘own our stuff’. This is easier to see if we can see the immediate results of our actions in this life, the law of cause and effect at work.

However it is not so easy to see when things ‘happen’ to us without much indication in this life as to the cause that bought about the effect. We could say philosophically, ‘oh that must be my karma’ and accept the situation on ‘faith’ or without much reasoning. And this is a perfectly valid way to deal with it. Or we could be hard on ourselves and make an in depth identification with our current ‘karmic situation’ and identify with the presumed or reasoned cause.

This is where it gets tricky as one can quite easily identify with a situation through guilt or an over-zealous need for ‘redemption’, and take on something that actually is not yours. On the other hand the conclusion drawn could be quite accurate. Sometimes one never knows and just lives with the situation, but usually there is a degree of blame toward oneself, or projected outwardly to others.

This latter option of projecting outwardly to othres, is the most common behaviour for humanity in general. In our aspiring to be better people we may not want to identify with something either in this life or in a past life that makes us look bad or weak. The selfish motive for many is how the situation would ‘appear’ to others, and how that would affect one’s self image (the illusory ‘ahamkara’), in the social context within which one finds oneself.

Blame is a personality trait, specifically in the dweller, or shadow, which does not want to acknowledge the existence of some part of itself. Responsibility is more of a soul quality which expresses itself through a relatively integrated personality.

So if Saturn and responsibility go together, what planet pairs up with blame? What is unconcious within us and constitutes the dweller? The Moon would be first choice, that unreasoning, sometimes irrational part of our natures. It is that part of our horoscopes that get us into the most trouble because we are unconscious of  those traits. They are only brought into awareness through engaging in human relationships and dialogue.

Therefore we could seriously consider the cardinal cross signs of Cancer and Capricorn, which Moon and Saturn rule respectively, as representing this blame/responsibility polarity. Of course this does not mean that Cancers are blamers or blameworthy, and that Capricorns are the only responsible people – although I know one or two who would have you belive that!

Mars is another non-sacred planet that is intimately associated with the dweller, particularly in the expression of anger and hate. It finds its ‘fall’ in Cancer and its ‘exaltation’ in Capricorn.

In Cancer we have the most delicate of emotional sensitivities being ‘intruded upon’ by the god of war, who also happens to co-rule the solar plexus centre, expression of those emotions. Hence Mars’ position here is perfect for stirring up the ‘mud from the bottom of the pond’ and dealing with the dweller.

In Capricorn, Mars goes to war between the lower personal materialistic inclinations and the higher spiritual sensitivities.

In this Cancer/Capricorn polarity we have non-sacred planets Moon and Mars, versus sacred planet Saturn, relating to the personality in the former, and the fusion of consciousness and form in the latter.

The Aries/Libra polarity of the cardinal cross may be even more apt in our exploration of blame and responsibility. Mars is the non-sacred ruler of Aries and initiates (aggressive) action on the physical plane. Saturn is exalted in the opposite sign Libra, which is the first sign that Aries  reaches - on its journey between Aries and Libra - where one is held accountable for one’s initial actions. It also represents where a choice can be made ‘at the point of balance’.

Here is where we see most human conflict, whether it is the ‘war of the roses’ in a personal relationship, or hawks (Mars/Aries) and doves (Venus/Libra) in the Middle East. This is where blame and lack of responsibility are most apparent.

Unredeemed Mars will use force and emotion to reinforce the personality’s will. The dweller will do anything to maintain the status quo. Unredeemed Saturn and its Ray 3 attributes will twist and manipulate a situation mentally, creating confusion in the ‘opponent’. As soon as force is employed, you can count on a degeneration and downward spiral of the situation from thereon in.

This is why personal slanging matches are simply two dwellers fighting for survival. There is no relinquishing of the ‘gained’ or ‘captured’ territory; will does not want to move over for love – this is basic to the human dweller.

Behind all this is the issue of identity, that which is threatened when asked to relate. Consider Aries, where the Sun, the symbol of personality, identity and self, is exalted. It is locked in permanent embrace with its opposite Libra, wherein it finds itself, and yet where it also can lose itself.

Hence the razor-edge path of relationships, of identity or submersion of identity in another; the love dance around the zodiac circle, where sometimes the divine conjunction (conjugation) takes place.

The Israel/Palestine conflict is an ideal place to observe this Aries/Libra axis. Both sides want an ‘identity’ in their respective states and homeland. Both are aggressive and martial, yet peace is still only a distant possibility. They both want to maintain autonomous cultures, yet there is a great synthesis of cultures going on in many western nations. This is related to Libra being prominent in the planetary horoscope at this time.

The Capricorn/Cancer axis is also strong with the Jewish Race ruled by Capricorn, and of course Cancer, with the homelands for both nations. Arafat is Cancer rising with Venus and Pluto conjunct the ascendant.

In a personal relationship when something ‘happens’ to you, such as let us say, your best friend runs off with your wife. Who is to blame for plunging you into such a profound crisis? Why have I been betrayed?

Is my best friend to blame for lying to my face, cheating behind my back and manipulating my wife? Or is my wife to blame for lying to my face, cheating behind my back and manipulating my best friend? I am innocent, right? I mean how can such bad things happen to a good person? (I think there is a book called that!)

Perhaps this person’s whole identity hinged on his relationship with his wife. Perhaps both the wife and lover were just plain mean and ran off together, oblivious to the pain that they had caused. Perhaps they rationalised it in that neither of them could communicate with the husband because he had such deep set unchangeable ways that he could not see, even if they were shoved in front of his face? Perhaps the wife felt the burden of the husband expressing himself through her only, and that he was being lazy in not addressing his own issues. Or that he was wanting mothering and she was reluctant to give it. Or that she never really wanted to be in a relationship with him in the first place, as she was still finding her identity. Now that she really found it, she knew what she wanted. Or there could be dozens of other reasons.

So what is he going to do? Is he going to blame one or both of them in righteous indignation? Is he going to hold onto the sense of betrayal and become bitter and twisted about it? Or will some responsibility kick in, and he eventually examines himself and sees that yes, there were some limiting patterns, and acknowledge them, the first step in the healing process. And might he not eventually intuit that he was the perpetrator of such a situation in another life with these two? If that were true, then he has moved to a deeper level of responsibility.

It is all a process of moving toward the truth as we become aware of the various layers in ourselves that we discard when we realise that we don’t want to be wearing that moth-eaten clothing. Peeling back these layers is beautifully portrayed in the movie “Dead Man Walking” with Sean Penn and Susan Sarandon.

Even if he were completely ‘innocent’, a healing and a moving on must occur, preferably in that life rather than drag it out to the next! Many people love their pain or miserable existence because it is familiar like an old friend. The dweller wants it to be just like this thanks, so I can wallow in my self pity, its mine and nobody else’s. Funny how we can be so possessive about those things that possess us and imprison! One at least knows it and how to manage it or maintenance it.

However, we all know how maintenance of an old vehicle is simply pouring all your money into a black hole. So we have to be courageous and daring, and get a new vehicle! And when we get it, we should drive on the wrong side of the road into the oncoming traffic at 100mph! Well now I am getting silly, but what is meant here is a mini ‘reversal of the wheel’ and a ‘taking of the wheel’ from the hands of the ‘nut benind the wheel’!

The pain of abandonment is perhaps humanity’s greatest existential problem, brought out with Jesus’s words on the cross: “My God, My God, why hast thou forsaken me?”. (It is also beautifully bought out in the somewhat sentimental “Footprints” poster)

The perennial problem of the unfolding consciousness of humanity: To evolve a personal identity for the expression of soul over countless aeons of lives. But on the fixed cross of Love we are asked to gradually give up all that we have worked so hard for because it gets in the way of love and Life! Such is the ongoing process of abstraction, as we take on more responsibility, (becoming blameless!) and are rewarded with commensurate freedoms that finally lead to Liberation.

Gemini is of course very much related to the process of blame and responsibility. Both the aforementioned Moon and Saturn have ancient relationships to Gemini. Venus is the planet which links  the Cardinal Cross to the Mutable Cross through its several exoteric and esoteric rulerships.

Gemini is the ‘tit for tat’ of the two warring brothers in the wrestling ring, as they slam from ‘pillar to post’. It is the projection and counter-projection, or punch and counter-punch that bounces from one pole to the other – just mindlessly fighting with no resolution, except for dominance of another by force.

When the brothers can embrace in the middle of the ring with the referee jubilantly holding up each of their hands (which Gemini rules), declaring them both winners, then the battle has been won. The hands are now freed to serve and heal one another.

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