Pisces, Addiction and Transformation:
Clash of the Ages

Have you reneged upon your New Year resolutions already? Well you have another chance to make reparation because Pisces is the last sign of the year before the true spiritual year starts in Aries.

The outer ‘new year’ on January 1st is during Capricorn, the sign of achievement and finality, so that is a good time to make those resolutions. Yet the inner ‘new year’ of Aries is preceded by Pisces, a sign that gives access to forces that help break down the old to prepare for the new. This occurs partly through Pisces ruler Neptune who dissolves the past, but also through esoteric ruler Pluto, who transforms ‘resolve’ into ‘resolution’.

Pisces is the last sign of the zodiac, having this role in common with Capricorn - the last sign of the zodiac during Atlantis, before Aquarius and Pisces were ‘activated’ at the start of this Fifth Rootrace. Capricorn and Pisces, along with Aries and Scorpio, constitute the four signs related to death and finality – physical or psychological. Naturally Pisces as a water sign ruled by Neptune, Lord of the Oceans, is related to death by drowning:

“The waters drowned the man. The fish was made to disappear. It then appeared again only to die or else to die and bring salvation" (Pisces). … The death by drowning or by water in Pisces releases man again into that great centre which we call Humanity, and there experience is gained. Herein lies the mystery of the fish-goddesses of this sign "who spawn their young again and yet again."[1]

Water is of course the element associated with the astral body, also known as the desire or emotional body; it constitutes the greatest battle ground in terms of reaching liberation and Pisces is a sign par excellence, of Liberation. When the emotional body is conquered then there ‘shall be no more sea’. Most of humanity are still astrally polarised in the consciousness of Atlantean times, despite the fact that in this Fifth or Aryan Rootrace the mental nature has gained unprecedented development:

“… the state of consciousness called Atlantean.  It is the condition of the masses at this present time.  The bulk of human beings are still Atlantean, still purely emotional in their reactions and in their approach to life.  They are still governed predominantly by selfish desires and by the calls of the instinctual life.  Our earth humanity is still in the Atlantean stage, whereas the intelligentsia of the world, and the disciples and aspirants, are passing rapidly out of this stage, for they reached individualisation on the moon chain, and were the Atlanteans of past history.”[2] (Author’s emphasis)

Quite a shocking statement isn’t it? However it still seems to hold when one surveys the state of affairs in the world. The statement also refers to the two predominant groups of souls on Earth, those who individualised on either the Moon or Earth chain evolutions. Another passage,

“Those souls who can now be classed as intelligent human beings, capable of mental application, if trained, and showing that they can think when need arises.  They are still, nevertheless, predominantly emotional.  They constitute the bulk of modern humanity at this time.  They are the average citizens of our modern world,—good, well-intentioned, capable of intense emotional activity, with the feeling nature almost over-developed, and oscillating between the life of the senses and that of the mind.  They swing between the poles of experience.  Their lives are spent in an astral turmoil, but they have steadily increasing interludes wherein the mind can momentarily make itself felt, and thus at need effect important decisions.  These are the nice good people, who are, nevertheless, largely controlled by the mass consciousness, because they are relatively unthinking.  They can be regimented and standardised with facility by orthodox religion and government and are the "sheep" of the human family.”[3](Author’s emphasis)

Pisces is a sign of mass consciousness, symbolised by the instinctual nature of all the fish that inhabit the ocean. The materialistic Atlantean civilisation was wiped out by four major floods over a vast period of time, representing the astral polarisation of that race.

Noah’s father Lamech[4] represents Aquarius and Noah represents Pisces. Noah, or Vaivasvata Manu as he is known in the Hindu tradition, is (along with his father) the representative of the Fifth Rootrace - who sets the vibration or tone for the purpose of the entire race. The symbolism of Noah’s Ark and the ‘animals two by two’ relates to the salvaging of the remnants of Humanity ‘in spite of themselves’ (as a Master has it), and who survived the flood, to be the seed of our race that followed Atlantis.

Pisces has several planetary rulers which give many insights into this sign. Neptune of course relates to the emotional and psychic sensitivity of this sign and it is no coincidence that it is the co-ruler of the solar plexus chakra where the astral body is ‘anchored’. It is also ruler of the sixth ray of Devotion and Idealism one of the primary rays that pass through Pisces.

Likewise, Jupiter is the other co-ruler of Pisces and rules the second ray of Love-Wisdom, the other key ray to pass through Pisces. Jupiter’s relationship to Pisces holds a great capacity to be loving and accepting and possessing a range of consciousness that is as broad and expansive as the Pacific Ocean!

The two fishes of Pisces are bound together in the ocean of matter and represent the inherent duality of all human existence. Pluto is the esoteric ruler of Pisces and those who are sufficiently unfolded in their consciousness, beyond the more Neptunian astrally focused Pisces, are able to utilise Pluto’s power to destroy hindrances on the path.

Pluto is the Lord of Death in a sign of death, doubly potent. It is no accident that Pluto’s discovery was toward the end of the Piscean Age in 1930 between two world wars when a major recapitulation of the Atlantean conflict was being fought. Pluto’s force is utilised in ‘cutting the thread that binds’:

“The Fishes in Pisces are bound together … and this is a symbol of the captivity of the soul in form … the experience of the many changing incarnations has done its work, and the Band (uniting the two fishes) is in process of dissolution, for part of the work of Pluto is to "cut the thread which binds the two opposing lives together."[5]

Pluto is the ‘power’ part of the first ray ‘will-power’ equation, creating unity from duality - by destroying. Pisces is well known as being a sign of addiction, although everyone has their addictions (!) - under all the zodiac signs.

Nevertheless, on the Sun’s annual passage through the signs, whether one has strong Pisces in the horoscope or not, it is an opportunity to utilise Pluto’s destructive powers to ‘clear the decks’ before the start of the new cycle in Aries; this is a very subjective process, as befits the Piscean nature. As the fishes are immersed in the sea of matter, the main challenge is to take the blowtorch to old patterns and addictions that are preventing full soul-life from emerging.

There are many addictions of course: Food, shopping, smoking, alcohol and substance abuse, sex, gambling; they all fill a void that emanates from the astral desire nature and can never be satiated; an absence of love tries to fill the space. This is a key point and we can reflect for a moment on the relation of the solar plexus chakra to the heart chakra; the solar plexus is a gateway to the heart via the feeling nature, but is not inherently love, high aspiration and idealism at best, low desire and selfishness at worst.

The ten petals of the solar plexus centre signify the perfection that can be achieved when the astral nature is brought under control; when added to the twelve petals of the heart centre =22, corresponding to the various paths of the tarot.

Pluto has a relationship to the solar plexus in that its energies are aiming upward to the heart, drawing that which inhabits Pluto’s underworld to be purged in the light of day. (Hence Pluto’s new symbol is the vertical arrow pointing up.) [6]

Are any of us completely free from these addictions? When was the last time we engaged in some needless ‘retail therapy’, bought some nice new toy to feed the ego, or ate a whole tub of chocolate ice cream?  Of course one does not have to live like a poor monk in a hair shirt, but when is ‘enough’, enough? How can we say no to the constant barrage that we are confronted with on a daily basis? This is the key to living in the world but not of it. Pisces offers the opportunity to be utterly ruthless with ourselves, to grasp the nettle and root it out.

Addictions can be countered by the small renunciations that we can make in everyday life. Pisces is the sign of the Renunciation Initiation or the Fourth Degree, where Liberation is achieved and the soul returns no more. Hence the lesser renunciations of lifetimes lead to the Great Renunciation, also called the Crucifixion Initiation, the one that Jesus took in Palestine over 2000 years ago - as the avatar of the Piscean cycle.

“...It is only as the disciple is willing to relinquish all in the service of the Great One, and to hold naught back, that liberation is achieved, and the body of desire becomes transmuted into the body of the higher intuition.  It is the serving perfectly each day—with no thought or calculation about the future—that brings a man to the position of the perfect Server.  And, may I suggest one thing?  All care and anxiety is based primarily on selfish motive.  You fear further pain, you shrink from further sad experience.  It is not thus that the goal is reached; it is reached by the path of renunciation.  Perhaps it may mean the renunciation of joy, or the renunciation of good reputation, or the renunciation of friends, and the renunciation of all that the heart clings to.  I say perhaps; I say not, it is so.”[7]

Addictions are certainly a distraction in a very distracted, short attention-span world; they keep us tethered to that other fish (the not-self) for lifetimes; they are obsessions that throw us off course and keep the two fishes trapped in the oscillating pairs of opposites.

Pisces rising or Pisces Sun individuals are great therapists at an emotional level because they are able to hold up the mirror, because they have been there! They draw upon the energies of the mutable cross as a whole and bring in the strong Mercury energies that partially rule this cross. Leonard Cohen (Pisces rising and Moon) reflects that great Piscean sensitivity but also that Plutonic ruthlessness that does not flinch from what must be expressed. (He has been a serious practitioner of Zen Buddhism for much of his life.) Einstein was a Piscean who entered those abstract realms of thought from the comfort of the waters in his bathtub!

If Capricorn is considered as a sign of organisation, the following sign of Aquarius is about re-organisation, whilst Pisces is about dis-organisation! (Pisces can drive Virgo types crazy with their seeming ‘dis-organisation’ and disconnection to linear time.) In other words, everything dissolves in Pisces at the end of the cycle, to allow for a new impression to precipitate and initiate the new Aries sunrise.

Hence the very subjective nature of Pisces, a sign of impressionability because of its yielding yin nature; the fishes’ binding thread of dual existence is in dissolution, the ocean symbolically floods and purifies the world again, all boundaries are blurred and the universal consciousness of Love Wisdom holds sway.

Occult rumour has it that the Master Koot Hoomi (K.H.), Chohan or custodian of the Second Ray of Love Wisdom, is a Pisces-Gemini, most appropriate as these two signs are both conduits for this ray. Likewise the Office of the Christ or Lord Maitreya that KH will soon assume, will carry on the work that was initiated by its current holder over 2000 years ago – after the so called ‘second coming of Christ’. When is your second coming due - the drawing nearer of your higher self, once you have co-operated with Pluto to pave the way?

Pisces is exoterically and esoterically related to illusion, also known as ‘glamour’ in the context of the astral plane. The higher Neptunian frequencies impact astral bodies vibrating at a denser pitch and are distorted, hence addiction and craving are the most common side-effects, followed by unrealistic fantasy and idealism. But its all good – because ‘without vision, the people perish’. Neptune keeps a good supply of those other-worldly visions coming and is closely allied to the heart. Ultimately it is the energy of ‘buddhi’ or the higher intuition and this is one of the ultimate contributions to Pisces as a sign of liberation.

The World Today and the Clash of the Ages

Germany [8] has a Pisces personality and toward the end of the age of Pisces in World Wars I & II, many of humanity’s glamours were focused through this nation. Hence the two world wars were a battle between the soul nature of humanity and its ‘dweller’. Germany also has a ray one personality ruled by Pluto, leading to ruthless destruction of others and ultimately itself.

The world has still not emerged from the Age of Pisces, still in the cusp period for a couple more centuries.[9] What nation now is the focus of world glamour? It is of note that the progressed Sun in the exoteric chart of the USA (1776), has just entered Pisces, an interesting conundrum for this (esoterically) Aquarian soul.

What is the nature of human illusion now, sixty-five years on from the end of World War II? Has it diminished, stayed constant or increased? It has more than likely increased due partly to the amazing acceleration in mental evolution and also because of the population explosion bringing many more souls into the world.

When considering Pisces, it is always important to look at the position of transiting Pluto, to determine the nature of the challenges in the larger Age of Pisces cycle - and the annual solar cycle. In a recent essay about Pluto’s transit through Capricorn,[10] some of the following scenarios were pointed out:

. Abuse of power by nations or races on the 1st ray and/or Capricorn line.
. War through nuclear fission technology.
. Fight for resources like oil and manipulation of governments by secretive cartels.

So while we can ask ourselves what are the illusions that we labour under personally, what are some of the illusions under which Humanity as a whole currently labours? What are the answers to the following questions?

1. What is the real truth behind 9/11?
2. Is most of the world’s money manipulated by certain cartels and selfish groups?
3. Is world media also largely controlled by the group that controls the money?
4. Do vested interests have a strangle-hold on the US Congress and administration?
5. Do these same vested interests have networks of control in many nations?
6. Is the war in Afghanistan about oil, just like the war in Iraq ?
7. Is Iran going the same way as Iraq in terms of propaganda used to attack it?
8. How critical is the rise of world Zionism?

Even if the answers hinted at here are true, how are we going to direct our indignation and rage? Perhaps you can work in the outer world and lend your hand to an activist group of some kind, disseminating the injustices and raising awareness; or put ‘bandaids’ on situations that alleviate suffering. Or perhaps one can work more interiorly and subjectively, cultivating a certain spirit of ‘divine indifference’ that also prevents the sense of overwhelm and helplessness:

“I wonder, brother of mine, if you understand the significance of this word "indifference"? It means in reality the achieving of a neutral attitude towards that which is regarded as the Not-self; it involves a repudiation of similarity; it marks the recognition of a basic distinction; it signifies refusal to be identified with anything save the spiritual reality as far as that is sensed and known at any given point in time and space. … It is active repudiation without any concentration upon that which is repudiated. …Indifference, technically understood, signifies direct descent from there to here, without deviation or distortion.[11]

Humanity today is at a very similar position to the last days of Atlantis. The Fifth Rootrace was emerging in the dying days of Atlantis just as the new Sixth Rootrace is now superceding the fifth. The Kali Yuga cycle of death and destruction was active in the late Atlantean period, as it is once again in this race, having commenced in 3102 BC. Kali is of course, Pluto:

“… the Kali-yug, or age of iron, of darkness, misery, and sorrow … the all-annihilating — the goddess of death, destruction, and human misery.  Kali is the best emblem to represent the “fall of man”; the falling of spirit into the degradation of matter …  We have to rid ourselves of Kali before we can ever reach “Moksha,” or Nirvana, the abode of blessed Peace and Spirit … Only one part or one quarter of the Truth prevails, because materiality and ignorance with their evil relations of selfishness and anger and indifference hold sway over men's hearts.”[12]

As the feminine consort of Shiva, Kali rules the base chakra which is esoterically the same rulership as Pluto. Shiva or Vulcan rules the crown and their eventual divine union leads to liberation.

The yugas overlap one another, as do rootraces and subraces. When Atlantis was in its Kali Yuga, the best of the race was emerging within the overlapping Satya Yuga or ‘golden age’, as seeds of the Fifth Rootrace. Likewise this is occurring now, we see the excesses of the age expressed in the Kali Yuga, yet the best of the race holds an essential essence that is the seed of the Satya Yuga of Sixth Rootrace. The Kali Age is the polar opposite of the Krita or Satya Age:

“Krita literally means ‘that which is well done’. Satya means 'truth'. The age of innocence, of innate goodness, the age when Dharma or Truth prevails. The Golden Age of knowledge and wisdom, peaceful, happy and blessed life. Neither sickness nor suffering are known. That period of time when beings remain engaged in noble deeds. The Krita-yug is the type of justice.”[13]

Hence today we are watching (in dismay) the clash of the ages, both yuga and zodiacal; one world toppling over, reaching a point of crystallization that is about to shatter, whilst another new paradigm is emerging that is not based upon the spirit of separation and divisiveness, is oriented to love, healing and universal community. A certain detachment is required to maintain our equilibrium during this period, especially as the next ten years will expose much by Pluto in Capricorn’s purging process, the world will be in for many shocks, jolts and wake-up calls.

Phillip Lindsay © 2010.
_________________________________________________

[13] The Hidden History of Humanity I, Phillip Lindsay.