Pisces 2011
(Part II in two parts.)

A. The Forge of Forgiveness.
B. Japan’s Earthquake and Tsunami 2011.


The Forge of Forgiveness


“To forgive is to set a prisoner free
and discover that the prisoner was you.”
Lewis B. Smedes

Forgiveness is the Keynote of the Age of Pisces
The Cusp of the Pisces and Aquarius Cycles

Forgiveness is the Keynote of the Age of Pisces

The greatest teaching of the Christ Avatar who inaugurated the Age of Pisces, is the theme of forgiveness. Forgiveness is the highest keynote of the zodiac sign Pisces. During the annual passing of the Sun from Pisces to Aries, a potent transitioning can be effected through the dynamic of forgiveness. Forgiveness and sacrifice, another powerful Piscean theme, are synonymous terms, yet grossly distorted and misunderstood:

“THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE LAW OF SACRIFICE: It [sacrifice] means the impulse of giving.  The whole secret of the doctrines of "the forgiveness of sins" and of the "at-onement" lies hid in this simple phrase.  It is the basis of the Christian doctrine of love and sacrifice.  Hence the emphasis laid, in the Piscean Age and through the influence of Christianity, upon just these two things, — forgiveness and atonement.  That man, as usual, distorted and misinterpreted the teaching and the truth, and that it fell, as does all else at present, under the glamour and illusion of the astral plane, plus the Piscean influence, is true. 

Man's thought dominated and distorted the ideal and produced such a damnable doctrine as the elect of God, the chosen of the Lord, or the sole people to benefit by the sacrifice and death of the great Son of God, and who pass, due to the merits of that vicarious death, into a state of bliss in heaven, simply because of an emotional choice, which ignores millions of those who have made no such choice, nor had the opportunity to do so.”[1]

“Forgiveness is the fragrance
the violet sheds on the heel that has crushed it.”
Mark Twain.

The word ‘sacrifice’ connotes a ‘death’ that we undergo when a sacrifice is made; through that death comes new life. Hence the importance of the Lord of Death Pluto as the esoteric ruler of Pisces.

This is where Pluto links with his brother and co-ruler of the first ray of will or power, Vulcan - in expressing first ray energy through Pisces, a sign traditionally associated with the Love-Wisdom ray. Like Pluto, Vulcan also works underground and unseen, sweating at his furnace, forging the swords and armour of his spiritual ‘weaponry’.

Hence forgiveness is forged through through Pluto’s destroying work - where the past is released; and through Vulcan’s building work - that allows the springs of life to flow anew. An act of true forgiveness and sacrifice (or absorption) – puts an individual in touch with the forces of Shamballa, the planetary head centre:

“This spirit of sacrifice is ever found when the Shamballa force is rightly contacted, even in the smallest degree, and the underlying impulse behind the loving will of God is sensed and understood, accompanied as this always is with the desire to participate in that will and its spirit of divine sacrifice.”[2]

DK goes on to tell us,

“… the word "forgiveness" is a curious and unusual one and signifies … "to give for." Forgiveness is not therefore, a synonym for pardon though the word has been distorted in theological circles to mean this … Forgiveness is sacrifice, and is the giving up of one's self, even of one's very life, for the sake of others and for the good of the whole group.”[3]  

“The weak can never forgive.
Forgiveness is an attribute of the strong.”
Mahatma Gandhi.

It is interesting to note that at the end of the Age of Pisces, the quality of forgiveness does not yet quite seem to be part of the major expression of Humanity. When is humanity going to ‘let itself off the hook’? This latter term has interesting connotations, implying the lower Scorpionic expression of the cycle of blame and revenge - the polar opposite to forgiveness and sacrifice. The Tibetan Master Djwhal Khul pointed out that forgiveness is ‘not as strong as it should be’ partly because of its distorted interpretation:

“One basic divine attribute is not yet as strong as it should be in humanity—the attribute of forgiveness. It is still associated with magnanimity.”[4]

The Cusp of the Pisces and Aquarius Cycles

Even though the world is still moving through the 500 year cuspal cycle of Pisces and Aquarius, there are still a few centuries to go – for learning the lessons of Pisces. The Piscean cycle finishes astronomically in 2,117 AD,[5] yet its forces will linger for a century or two afterward whilst the Aquarian energies gradually gain more traction.

Hence, though many aspirants and disciples look forward to the new emerging Aquarian cycle, some of the greatest lessons of the Piscean Age still have not been learned or applied – by Humanity as a whole, and even by ‘advanced Humanity’.

Indeed, it has been said that some groups of mentally polarised Humanity have not entered into the Age of Pisces yet, hence have not even started to learn about forgiveness. We are still in the cusp of the ages and there is plenty of time to really search ourselves and ask, have we ‘got’ what the keynote of Pisces actually is?

Of course one does not have to wait for the yearly cycle of the Sun passing through Pisces. But it can certainly help to ponder these matters during this time, in order to get in touch with the energies which are present, to make it a real and felt experience. Speaking at the end of World War II, The Tibetan comments upon the past age and the new age approaching – from the viewpoint of forgiveness:

“Therefore, forgiveness or sacrifice in order to save others is increasingly the recognised needed keynote at this time and in this recognition lies much to justify the sorry story of past evolutionary processes and methods.

When it is recognised that the "giving-for" involves right living upon the physical plane and not (as is so often thought) the dying of the physical body then we shall see a revitalised world. It is the living Christ (the living world Saviour) Who saves humanity. It is the sacrifice, day by day, in the process of daily living which can save the world of men—the sacrifice of selfish personal interests for the good of the whole and the giving up of one's practical life to the salvage of the world.

It is living in order that others too may live which is the theme of the New Testament. When, therefore, the mode of sacrifice enters into the realm of the subtler and subjective values and the true meaning of forgiveness is intellectually, practically and spiritually comprehended, the New Age will be abundantly realised with its truly human civilisation and a culture which will embody the realities of the esoteric teaching, as well as the best of the externalised past.

Then and only then will the new esotericism be revealed to a race of men who have made aspiration a fact in their outer experience. The attitude of the masses in the present conflict is the guarantee of this and the proof also of the success of Christ's mission.”[6]

How can Humanity be the true Aquarian Water-Bearer who pours forth the waters of Love-Wisdom, unless the Piscean waters have been absorbed through forgiveness?

“This faculty of forgiveness is not a form of magnanimous forgetting or overlooking, neither is it a gesture of superiority whereby the slate is wiped clean.  It is the very breath of life itself—the giving of all to all and for all.”[7]

It is the ‘very breath of life itself’ and so essential for the Aquarian theme of group work:

“The recognition of the faculty of forgiveness, which is, or rather should be, the expression of the relationship between unit and unit within the larger group, or of group and group within a still larger whole.  Forgiveness is essentially the process whereby each gives to each along psychical lines, and it is one of the rudimentary expressions of the quality of self-sacrifice which is, in its turn, an aspect of the will nature of Deity. 

Being therefore related to the monadic or will life, it is as yet completely misunderstood and misinterpreted.  It is in reality the sense of synthesis or of identification and of "each for all and all for each."  This sense is being developed today as never before, but it is still so embryonic that words do not help in explaining it.  This faculty of forgiveness … is the very breath of life itself—the giving of all to all and for all.”[8]

Again we see the connection to the monad, to synthesis, to Shamballa. More on the new Aquarian cycle:

“Hierarchy, responsibility, group interplay, and forgiveness or sacrifice—these are the four categories of recognition which will enable each person to do his part and take his share in bridging between person and person, between group and group, and between nation and nation, thus establishing that new world of recognised corporate relationships - which will eventually produce the civilisation of light and love, which will be characteristic of the Aquarian Age.”[9]

“I can forgive, but I cannot forget, is only another way of saying, I will not forgive. Forgiveness ought to be like a cancelled note, torn in two, and burned up, so that it never can be shown against one.”
Henry Ward Beecher

Methods that can assist to expedite our transition from Pisces to Aquarius are ‘forgiveness’ days, encouragingly, held on various dates throughout the world:

“To hold before humanity, as part of the living instruction which the men of good will teach and live out in their daily lives, the necessity of a great group participation in a Day of Forgiveness and of Forgetting.  …  This is a forgiveness which is based upon a recognition of the universality of human error in the past, and the fact that there is no blame to be apportioned to this or that group, nation or church, but that we have all made mistakes, have all failed to understand, and have all been guilty of lack of love and of tolerance. 

It is not, therefore, a forgiveness which is based on a spirit of magnanimity or a sense of expediency or superiority, but upon a desire to forget the past, and to push forward into the New Age and participate in the new social order, free from the ancient hatreds, relinquishing the memory of the old mistakes in policy, judgment and method, and ignoring the habitual barriers and our normal separative instincts.”[10]

“When you hold resentment toward another,
you are bound to that person or condition
by an emotional link that is stronger than steel.
Forgiveness is the only way to dissolve that link and get free.”
Catherine Ponder.

And last but not least, the whole universe that we inhabit, has been created through forgiveness!:

“Manifestation is itself the Great Forgiveness. The stupendous Lives—outside manifested existence—entered into manifestation in order to give Themselves for the lesser lives and forms of existence - in order that these lesser lives might be enabled to proceed onward towards a goal which is known to Deity alone, and thus eventually reach high places of spiritual expression.

Achievement is ever followed by sacrifice and the giving of the greater for the lesser. This is an aspect of the Law of Evolution. Such is the note and theme of the entire creative process and is the basic meaning of the phrase, "God is Love," for love signifies giving and sacrifice, at least in this solar system”[11]

Indeed, our various mountain peaks of achievement equip us to serve to a greater degree. Those achievements have been brought about through renunciation and sacrifice. The reward? More renunciation and sacrifice!

"Father, forgive them,
for they do not know what they are doing."
Jesus

_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________

Japan’s Earthquake and Tsunami 2011

Japanese painter Katsushita Hokusai painted the Tsunami wave off Kanagawa in 1829-1833.

Japan’s Astrology and Rays
Planetary Centres: Is Tokyo the Solar Plexus?
The Sixth Ray of Devotion or Idealism

Tsunami is a Japanese word meaning ‘harbour wave’, no doubt coined from this nation’s extensive experience with them. The latest earthquake and tsunami has caused Japan’s biggest crisis since World War II.

The devastation has taken many lives, created several nuclear plant crises and not only plunges the already ailing Japanese economy into further jeopardy, but impacts upon the whole world.

Obtaining an esoteric perspective of events allows us to move past the outer maya that enshrouds these kind of tragedies.

Japan’s Astrology and Rays

Japan is a Scorpio soul and a Capricorn personality.[12] Capricorn is shared by several other nations at a personality level, including Australia, Spain, India, Greece, Austria Ireland and the Jewish Race. All these entities are, or will undergo profound changes in the next several years as the relentless passage of Pluto in Capricorn persists. Bear in mind that most national personalities are not that well integrated in their spiritual evolution, nor have they reached a very high level of soul expression.

Hence part of the cause of the ongoing disaster in Japan is Pluto’s transit through Capricorn. Pluto has jurisdiction over plutonium, just as Uranus, that was about to enter Aries within hours of the quake, has rulership over uranium.

Pluto in Capricorn has been discussed in another essay at this link. Suffice to say, Pluto as a planet of power, in Capricorn, a sign of power, will have profound ramifications for the nuclear power industry and its reform, and/or the development of nuclear fusion power. Pluto is also the co-ruler of the first ray of will or power, the soul ray of Japan.[13]

Hence this incident underlines the challenge to Japan around the right use of power, physically, economically, politically and globally. Of course, as an Axis power in World War II, the memories of Japan’s misuse of power linger in the racial memory, and equally, the utter devastation by nuclear bombs dropped upon Nagasaki and Hiroshima.

The uncanny resemblance of the tsunami devastation to the carnage wrought at Hiroshima and Nagasaki must be stirring to the Japanese soul. Recollection of those events and the irony of its own nuclear fallout must weigh upon them today. The invocation of these memories around the world during this period of Pisces, may provide a further opportunity to release the past and tread that two-way street of forgiveness.

Capricorn is also closely related to financial affairs, especially whilst its ruler Saturn is transiting through the sign of its exaltation, Libra – intimately connected to the theme of money, its right use and distribution. Japan has been an economic powerhouse for many decades and this current crisis will have an enormous impact on the world economy, let alone itself.

Zen Master Dogen

The disaster underscores the current global competition in resources, trade and military that must urgently be supplanted by a far greater degree of co-operation and sharing. If nations do not cease their ‘infinite resources’ expansionism whilst Pluto transits through Capricorn, then the universal law of cause and effect will kick in - Nature will inflict catastrophes that will bring those nations to their knees (Capricorn), instilling some humility. Perhaps this has already happened to Capricorn personality, Japan; maybe it is already happening to Ireland and Greece economically.

Capricorn and Saturn are also related to karma, individual and collective. Whether these recent events are a karmic retribution of some kind, is open to speculation. What are the other lessons here?

- A re-assessing of values for a very materialistic society?
   (Shared by most Western nations.)
- A stern lesson in the ephemeral nature of things, their impermanence and    transient nature? (A subject that Japanese Zen masters have commented upon    no doubt.)
- Putting short term energy solutions ahead of public safety, driven by economic    factors, i.e. greed?

In Japan’s exoteric chart for 1952 (Taurus Sun, Capricorn rising), it is notable that the Moon is in the last degrees of Gemini, a sensitive degree with regard to the study of earthquake data, by this author. Hence transiting Uranus in the last degree of Pisces, just before its entry into Aries, seemed to deliver a last ‘flick of its tail’, jolting the square to Japan’s Gemini Moon. Uranus is also a recognized factor in the astrological study of earthquakes. It is significant that natal Uranus in the exoteric Japanese horoscope was squared by transiting Jupiter at the time of the quake.

Also in the ‘event chart’ for the time of the quake near Sendai, transiting Moon had just entered the first degree of unstable Gemini, making a close square to Neptune, itself about to enter the sign of its rulership, Pisces. One could almost name this a ‘tsunami signature’ – the God of the Waters moving into his own sign, creating walls of water charging toward land. Likewise, Uranus was also moving from Pisces to Aries by a matter of hours.

Neptune and his horses

Planetary Centres: Is Tokyo the Solar Plexus?

Five cities can be viewed as the main planetary chakras that bring evolutionary forces into the world. Speculative essays about these five ‘planetary inlets’ of London, New York, Geneva, Darjeeling and Tokyo, can be found here. (See also the Appendix at the end of the article.) The following table gives the author’s current hypothesis:

Note that Tokyo is the only city/chakra ‘below the diaphragm’.

The solar plexus is an important centre in spiritual evolution, through transferring energies from the lower centres as a whole, to the higher centres, particularly the heart centre. The solar plexus centre is the seat of the astral or emotional body, through which the entire feeling nature of the planet moves.

A lot of feelings have been generated in Japan through the anguish and grief for lost loved ones, the destruction of homes and possessions, fear about nuclear radiation, imminent aftershocks and tsunamis and uncertainty about their economic future. Fear of the future looms large:

“Fear of the Future.  This is a fear that will as yet show a growing tendency to develop and will cause much distress in the world before it is obliterated. 

Instinctive psychological thought habits, which have their roots deep in the animal nature and hark back to the primal instinct of self-preservation. … That forward looking anticipatory state of mind is predominantly a human characteristic and is that germ of the imaginative faculty, linked to the mental processes, which will eventually merge into that intuitive meditation, plus visualisation, which is the true basis of all creative work. 

But at present it is a menace and a hindrance.  Ancient suffering, dire memories, haunting miseries, deep-seated in the subconscious rise to the surface frequently and cause a condition of fear and of distress which no amount of reasoning seems able to quiet. 

Facilities of communication put even the most unimportant en rapport with the tragedies, pains and sufferings of his brother thousands of miles away.  The economic catastrophe of the present time [1930’s] has brought about a condition of mass terror, and the more sensitive the individual the more he will react to this state of mind.  Fear of the future is therefore a distressing blend of instinctual memory and anticipatory imagination, and few there are who escape this menace.  Worry and anxiety are the lot of every man and cannot and will not be offset and overcome by any lesser factor than the soul itself.

… A mass of individual distress and fear can be taken on by an individual and yet have nothing to do with him whatsoever.  It is quite possible for a man to tune in on the fears of other people whilst he himself has literally nothing to fear of any kind.  He can so identify himself with their forebodings of future disaster that he interprets them in terms of his own coming experience.  He is unable to dissociate himself from their reactions and absorbs so much of the poison in their emotional and mental auras that he is swept into a very vortex of terror and of fear. 

Painting by William Blake

Yet, if he did but know it, the future holds for him no hidden catastrophes.  He is simply deluded, but the effect on his astral body and upon his solar plexus is identically the same.  This is painfully the case now that there are so many thousands of sensitive aspiring souls, inexperienced in the handling of the world karma, wide open to the suffering of others and unable to distinguish between their own destiny in the immediate future and the destiny of others in their environment.”[14]

Water is a symbol of the astral body and it is also a symbol of cleansing. On the many film clips covering the tsunami (played ad nauseum like the 9/11 footage), the water is dark black!

For those outside of Japan, the emotional reaction is a mixed one of sympathy for the  plight of the Japanese and fear for how far nuclear radiation will spread around the globe.

The Sixth Ray of Devotion or Idealism

Japan is a sixth ray personality,[15] the ray also of the soul of Tokyo.[16] That ray is slowly going ‘out of incarnation’ but conditions other major global powers such as the USA, Spain and Russia. The rulers of the sixth ray are Mars and Neptune and these are also the rulers of the solar plexus centre. Hence Tokyo, along with its Cancer rulerhship is a sound contender to be assigned as the solar plexus (See link and/or Appendix for more reasoning about this.)

There are many problems in the world that have been caused by this outgoing sixth ray – through its Mars militancy, it’s unrealistic Neptunian devotion and idealism, its fanaticism and fundamentalism. As the seventh ray of Ceremonial Order and Magic takes a greater grip, the Humanity will be able to gain more control of the somewhat unruly sixth ray.

As Japan is the ‘capital’ of the Far East, it plays an important role in bridging East and West. This factor was vividly revealed when some of the residual effects of the tsunami reached California, rocking a few boats around on their moorings. This global ‘sharing’ apart from the obvious trade links, also relates to nuclear fallout passing from Japan to the USA, hence the USA would be one of the first recipients via the jet stream. But eventually of course, the fallout circulates around the whole planet - the implications are profound.

The fourth ray of Harmony through Conflict is the ray in common between the Orient and the Occident:

The Occident     Soul Ray    Ray II.       Personality Ray    Ray IV.
The Orient          Soul Ray    Ray IV.     Personality Ray    Ray III.

Tokyo is a fourth ray personality, hence the soul of the Japanese nation working through it will help to not only awaken the Japanese nation to greater soul awareness, but will link (a 4^th ray keyword), the East-West hemispheres. This factor is a most potent one to reflect upon as the incoming fourth ray cycle which is due in 2025, has been felt for some decades by those sensitive to its impression.

Like New York City, Tokyo is ruled by Cancer, it is the ‘mother of the nation’ and further emphasizes the emotional sensitivity that equips it to be a solar plexus centre. Cancer is ruled by Neptune at the soul level, highlighting not only its astral sensitivity, but the watery oceans by which she is surrounded.

It is probably the first time that a tsunami has been filmed live and so thoroughly as it approached the Japanese coast, capturing the subsequent deluge and destruction upon the coast. Most of it was probably filmed on Japanese video cameras! Yet apart from any voyeuristic info-tainment in some media, the coverage has been a good thing, connecting the rest of the world instantaneously to the plight of the Japanese people, allowing an outpouring of compassion and assistance. It has also raised issues in many nations about the dangers associated with nuclear technology. Hence events like this, whilst painful for many, bring the world closer together in a recognition of its common humanity, leading to a greater sharing of resources and international co-operation – materially and spiritually.

Japan has had many tremors and quakes, yet this current event of 2011 will have a far greater impact globally, for all the outer reasons mentioned earlier, yet far more subjectively too. The stimulation of world feeling, sympathy and compassion, as with many other global disasters, will certainly be a powerful factor. Whether this disaster will stimulate an acceleration by Humanity of shifting from the solar plexus up to the heart, remains to be seen. Moving from fear to courage always requires a big leap!

Phillip Lindsay © 2011.

(Click and wait 5 seconds.

___________________________________

Appendix

Solar Plexus: Tokyo (Click here for complete essay, Five Planetary Centres.)

The East is always associated with the ‘right brain’ hemisphere, the heart, meditation, devotion and so on - it is on the love ray line 2, 4, 6. Tokyo is ruled by the fourth and sixth rays and is connected with the solar plexus because all second ray aspect centres are ruled by rays on the line 2, 4, 6 – unless one is a disciple. The majority of the human race has sixth or second ray astral bodies. It may be possible that before one has a second ray astral body, there may be some lives with an astral body on the fourth ray – this is a speculation.

The soul ruler of the Eastern Hemisphere or the Orient is the fourth ray. Tokyo as a fourth ray personality expresses this fourth ray energy which is that of the soul of Brazil. Brazil has the biggest expatriate Japanese community and also the biggest expatriate Italian community. (Italy is a fourth ray personality) This may indicate the links between Japan, the solar plexus, and the abstract mind of the Fifth Rootrace (Brazil), the ego/soul aspect of the Fifth Rootrace (USA 2nd ray soul), and the concrete mind of the race (UK 2nd ray soul). All centres must be synthesized before the Fifth Rootrace can move as one to the Sixth Rootrace.

So, considering Tokyo as the solar plexus, the astral body is of course anchored here; it is the body for the irradiation of the love of the soul through the personality – after it is purified and perfectly reflecting the light of the sun/sol/soul.

In between all centres of the body the only one that is called soul/sun is the sol–ar plexus. Japan is also known as ‘the land of the rising sun’. All centres are divine and sacred, they need only to be aligned with the higher planetary purpose. DK comments about the great contribution that Japan is going to give to the World. [20]

The path from solar plexus to heart was the goal of Atlantean race, the path from heart to head is the goal of the Aryan or Fifth Rootrace. As the East represents the heart, and the West represents the mind, the East can be considered as the past and the West as the future in this particular world cycle. The path from heart to head and after that, the synthesis between heart and mind, between East and West, is the goal of the Fifth Rootrace. The East is related to the feeling nature, and the West to the thinking nature. The West represents the ‘left brain’ hemisphere of mind and science, of experiment.

Would Tokyo be the sacral centre, one of the most linked to the form aspect of nature, and on the line 1,3,5,7 - as some students consider it?; it may not be so. DK also said the Chinese and Japanese are the remainder of the Fourth Rootrace, and that they are one of the oldest races on the planet, older than India.

The Fourth Rootrace has had its highest expression in the functioning of the heart, hence a city directly linked to this race seems the most indicated to be the solar plexus, an evolutionary step before the heart. Japan has a very refined culture and Zen Buddhism is regarded as one of the highest forms of Mahayana Buddhism.

The great majority of the human race has Atlantean consciousness and the majority of the Earth’s population is Asiatic in culture and physical traits - almost 70%. China, Tibet, Japan, Indonesia, Korea, Thailand, other Asiatic nations and indigenous South Americans - they are also spread everywhere. The number of victims from these races in world cataclysms such as floods, earthquakes, tsunamis and volcanic activity is greater than in any other race. DK tells us that the nation focusing world maya in World War II was Japan. [21]

Maya is materialised glamour and illusion and the degree of materialisation depends upon the amount of magnetism and desire attached to it; this is revealed through the ‘heights of luxury’ reached by the Fourth Atlantean Rootrace.

Being an ancient race they are better fitted to fulfill this dharma/karma of focusing the world maya. Also, the solar plexus has a close relation with the sacral centre, closer than the heart, before the upper point of the solar plexus is awakened.

The black magicians are related to Atlantis and the problem of Atlantis was the desire of the solar plexus, selfishness (emotions-water) - so much so, that it was finally sunk in the waters of desire. It is in the realm of desire that the masters of matter hold more power, as they did in Atlantis. Selfish desire, solar plexus desire, desire without soul; from selfish desire they gather their strength, and it is through desire that they can control non-vigilant students and the ones whose personal desires are disguised as soul desire. The main task of Humanity and of the individual student is to ‘close the door were evil dwells’. The ‘door’ where evil dwells is the solar plexus, the seat of personal desire.

The ‘door’ where evil dwells' is the solar plexus, before the ‘two openings’ are closed, and before the Sun is raised up to irradiate it, this time united with the heart. The astral body, the second aspect of the personality, is the body that expresses in the three worlds the love of the soul, the second aspect of the egoic lotus. The door ‘where evil dwells’ is any ‘opening’ or division caused by personal desire, that leads to separation (separativeness) and this applies in all three cases: the individual man, humanity and the planetary body; there are many implications in this fact that can be utilised for practical purposes.

(Click here for complete essay on the Five Planetary Centres.)

(Click and wait 5 seconds.