Leo Full Moon Festival 2010


Leo: Sovereignty, Pride and Initiation



(Artist: Johfra)

A Cosmic Perspective

Leo is a sign of intense self-awareness and strongly influenced the Earth when the human kingdom came into being about 21 million years ago. This was the period when ‘animal humanity’ became soul-infused humanity, self-aware, self-conscious, with the spark of mind. In a way, Humanity is ‘a Leo’. Thus did the period of “individualisation” give birth to ‘individual’ Leo.

Leo is ruled by the Sun and thus human beings became ‘solarised sparks’ or solar angels incarnate; Individualisation is a time where many of the mysteries of human existence still lay hidden, as the following passage alludes:

“The sacrifice of the solar angels brought the fourth [human] kingdom in nature into being.  The "returning nirvanis" (as they are called in esoteric literature), with deliberation and full understanding, took human bodies in order to raise those lower forms of life nearer to the goal.  These were and are ourselves.  The "Lords of Knowledge and Compassion and of ceaseless persevering Devotion" (who are ourselves) chose to die in order that lesser lives might live, and this sacrifice has made possible the evolution of the indwelling consciousness of Deity.  This consciousness, having worked its way through the subhuman kingdoms in nature, needed the activity of the solar angels to make further progress possible.  Herein lies,

a. Our service to God, through sacrifice and death;
b. Our service to other souls, through deliberate self-sacrificing purpose;
c. Our service to other forms of life in other kingdoms.”[1]

It is said that one of the major spiritual festivals in the future will be the full moon period when the Sun is in Leo. This is because Leo is a sign intimately associated with that great Sun Sirius. The Sun in this solar system rules the sign Leo and our Sun is but the progeny of this greater Sun Sirius. The solar angels that we have all appropriated are composed of substance related to Sirius. Sirius is where most souls will return, once they have reached the point of self-liberation from Earth life. At the time of “individualisation”, the forces of Sirius were potent and it is said that, “Only one Being (from Sirius) has visited our system and that was at the time of individualisation.”[2]

This ‘Being’ would have been a mighty avatar of sorts, and its power would have had a profound effect upon the planet. Along with the 108 Kumaras who came to the planet at the time of Individualisation, it may well have contributed to a mighty electrical storm over the whole planet as my oft-quoted passage illustrates:

“At human individualisation in the middle of the third rootrace.  This was produced by a vast destruction of the forms we call animal-man.  This point has seldom been brought out in teaching.  The advent of the Lords of the Flame [Kumaras], the electrical storm which ushered in the period of man, was distinguished by disaster, chaos, and the destruction of many in the third kingdom of nature.  The spark of mind was implanted and the strength of its vibration, and the immediate effect of its presence caused the death of the animal form, thus producing the immediate possibility of the newly vitalised causal bodies vibrating to such purpose that new physical vehicles were taken.  That was the Will aspect manifesting in the fourth round in connection with the human family.”[3]

Leo culminated the process of Individualisation that began in Gemini, this sign itself known as a ‘gateway’ for Sirian forces:

“It was the activity of Venus—under the influence of Gemini—which produced the great crisis of the individualisation when the two kingdoms "approached" each other. Venus, Mercury and the Earth then set up a magnetic field which made the intervention of the Great Lodge on Sirius and the dual stimulation of Gemini effective in producing significant results of which the fourth kingdom in nature is the expression.”[4]

And so Gemini started the process from the etheric point of view, Cancer birthed it physically and Leo culminated the process mentally.

Sirius the Dog Star

From the Earthly Perspective

Leo is the king or queen, that sovereign entity that has rulership over self and others; it can be the tyrant and despot or the compassionate ruler who serves on bended knee – his or her kingdom; whether that ‘kingdom’ is one’s immediate mental, emotional and physical selves (the personality/lower self) or family, work, group, society and nation.

Leo is a sign associated peculiarly with the first ray of will or power and the second ray of love-wisdom. The first ray pours through Leo along with the fifth ray, yet both are distributed mainly by second ray love-wisdom planets, the Sun and Neptune.

The crown of the Leonine ruler is literally the crown chakra from where the ‘will to rule’ emanates. Leo the Lion Heart is of course the heart chakra from whence benevolent rulership radiates.

Hence Leo is a sign of the one who is responsible for others, the latter symbolised by the opposite sign Aquarius. Indeed, the archetypal King Arthur sits with his knights at the Round Table of Aquarian group consensus.

King Arthur and the Round Table

As this Aquarian Age starts to unfold, Leo rulership and leadership will still prevail, anchoring for others, holding a point of tension for the group. Yet that leadership will be far more decentralised, in contrast to Piscean age methods where the king was absolute ruler. Hence greater democracy evolves from dictatorship.

As the race evolves out of mass consciousness (Cancer) into individualised consciousness (Leo), so there will be less of a need for the one to rule the many. This newly found individualised consciousness is of course a greater mental development in Humanity - as opposed to the emotional polarisation of mass consciousnes, still widespread over the planet. The mind or manas is of the element fire; it is the ‘fifth principle’ and the fifth sign Leo rules this quality.

As experimental communities start to unfold, so this period of transition between the Pisces and Aquarian ages may be characterised by endless consensus in groups wishing to move away from the one ruler, yet all wanting input in the decision-making process; this is very much the dynamic of Leo-Aquarius, constituting a fine and fiery line to tread for those who aspire to Aquarian ideals and who want to anchor the Sangha or community.

Leo, Pride and Humility

The pride of the lion (the lion’s pride) stems from the mental power of Leo. The lion’s mane is manas (mind), the aura of the mental body. In this Fifth Rootrace that has developed powerfully the mental principle more than at any other time, the fifth sign Leo rules - particularly from the pride perspective.

The Fifth Rootrace has achieved much, but its pride, selfishness and arrogance have reached heights (or is that depths?) hitherto unexpressed; it constitutes the real shadow or ‘dweller’ of our race; it is indeed the ‘beast’ of the jungle that must be hunted down. (For a more detailed essay on the astrology of pride, click here.)

What must be bought to bear (not the animal!) is the abundant heartful expression of generous Leo who shines resplendent like the Sun, radiating unconditionally upon all. The sovereign must serve his or her ‘subjects’ with a loving and generous heart and for the benefit of the greater good. This seems to be occurring with far greater frequency in the world, despite massive selfishness and the worship of materialism. And if this generosity and ‘shining’ is not ultimately expressed, then Humanity will eventually be bought to its knees in humility – in order to save it from itself.

Moving toward the Age of Aquarius, the Leo polarity is invoked with greater intensity. More individualised beings yet more of that unfortunate by-product, pride. (Fifteen minutes of fame.) In the ranks of the ‘spiritually aware’ or ‘spiritually advanced’, it may be an even a greater problem, it just gets more subtle. (Leo Moons are one of the worst in the pride stakes but Capricorns, Aries and Scorpio are all big contenders!)

Humility in Service

But its also quite blatant in the ‘spiritual’ world. Some students who do a read-through of the Alice Bailey material for instance, think they know it all after several months, what initiation they have taken and there is nothing in some cases that one can say to reason with them. One student who was doing a correspondence course claimed that the 4^th and 5^th degree initiations were recently achieved! (So I said why are you studying with me?)

Another who claimed to have broad experience in this area could not stand to be corrected on incorrect answers to study course questions. Seventy very emotional emails later they dropped out of the course. A little humility goes a long way toward ego destruction! Then there are group brothers who claim to be channeling the Masters when in fact its just clever personal regurgitations of the ageless wisdom with a dash of higher self. The motive for claim-making is always around ego and power. The real material does not require such proclamations, it stands on its own merit and has staying power.

The fundmental injunction from all spiritual teachers is “annihilate ego”. Kind of a paradox isn’t it? We spend 21 million years understanding what constitutes an individualised self-consciousness and separate identity/ego - then we have to kill it in order to realise liberation!; its just a temporary vehicle that gets us to a certain point. But ego is not going to let go of its long fought-for power so easily! The greater EGO (soul) must supervene and the lesser ego fade away. For many lifetimes this battle of E(e)gos goes on until the Great Defeat; Vanquisher and vanquished – the Angel of the Presence and the Dweller on the Threshold.

Ramana Marhashi
(Successful ego destroyer and liberated Being)

Ramana Maharshi: “In the ordinary man when a thought occurs the ego takes delivery of it as ‘my thought’ and gets involved. The thinking mind is nothing but the ego identifying with a thought and getting involved. In the enlightened Sage, when a thought arises, witnessing happens and involvement with the thought does not take place. Ramana Maharshi says, “The Sage has no thinking mind and therefore there are no ‘others’ for him.”

Today I asked how to detach from my identification with ego. Maintain awareness I am That. For me it helps to concentrate on the vast OM.

Eventually there will be no identification with the mind no matter what the circumstances. All that occurs joy or tragedy is accepted as God's Divine Will.”

Note the phrase “I am that”. Esoterically Leo’s injunction is “I am that and that am I”. This refers partially to the third initiation as discussed in the next section.

Leo, Initiation and the Aquarian Age

If Leo rules individualisation, it also rules initiation, particularly the first degree initiation where the soul or Christ consciousness is recognised within the heart. Its like Individualisation all over again only that soul has reversed the zodiac wheel and treads it in a different direction. This is the start of a fiery journey of lives that eventually leads to the third degree initiation, the initiation of the fiery mental body that has been able to triumph over the three-fold personality, hence its name, the Transfiguration. The third degree initiation is regarded by the Masters as the first degree from the point of view of solar consciousness. Aquarius rules generically over this initiation, but Leo is closely associated with it as well.

Significant groups of individuals from the esoteric and exoteric worlds are certainly approaching this point in their development - in this first decanate of the Age of Aquarius, unfolding over the next 700 years. It represents a flowering and effloresence of the race and has the capacity to establish a ‘station of light’ on this planet that has never been in existence before, somewhat guaranteeing a certain safety-net for human evolution – in terms of protection from materialistic forces.

But of course the approach to any initiation invokes the Dweller on the Threshold (the shadow) and this is where the West is now, straddling the cusp of the ages: The Dweller on the Threshold for the Fifth Rootrace (5.5.5) Hence the very real dangers and threats that exist subjectively and objectively today. World Wars I & II were the first phase of Humanity facing their Dweller, yet the battle for the soul of Humanity goes on furiously on the subtler planes.

Very soon after the third degree initiation is taken, the higher degrees that lead to the creation of a Master of Wisdom (5^th degree), apparently come very fast, just a lifetime or few. The Hierarchy of Enlightened Being – or the Great White Brotherhood, represent those perfected humans who watch over and guide evolution.

So in the Age of Aquarius, huge shifts will be occurring within the Hierarchy as other perfected humans move up the ladder and take their positions of responsibility. Likewise, existing Masters of Wisdom will choose various cosmic paths that lead out of the solar system all together!

It is no accident therefore that the Sirius festival of Leo is intimately related to the Hierarchy who represent the heart lotus of the planet. Perfected Lions with integrated head and heart will be emerging to take their place in the real ‘pride of the planet’ the Hierarchy.

But the other reason is that the Hierarchy plan to externalise amongst Humanity once again and this has not occurred since the dying days of Atlantis. Hence their approach, culminating with the physical return of the One who holds the Office of the Christ or Lord Maitreya, is causing conflict and disruption. This is the Law working out as the descent of super refined spiritual forces collide with the existing lower frequencies of the status quo.

We do live in amazing and dangerous times, yet if the livingness of the Hierarchy of Compassionate Being can be emulated and practiced by Humanity, then it has a fighting chance of survival. Humanity must be Leo the Lionheart with a heart full of love and fiery courage.