Gemini 2011

“Star of the Hero” Nicholas Roerich 1931.

"I recognise my other self and
in the waning of that self, I grow and glow."

The Festival of Humanity or of Goodwill
The Last Sermon of the Buddha
Gemini and The Pentecost
The Importance of Utilising The Great Invocation
Gemini Busyness into Stillness: Transformation through Meditation


The Festival of Humanity or of Goodwill

“The Festival of Goodwill. This will be the festival of the spirit of humanity—aspiring towards God, seeking conformity with the Will of God and dedicated to the expression of right human relation. This will be fixed annually in relation to the Full Moon of June. It will be a day whereon the spiritual and divine nature of mankind will be recognised.

On this festival, for two thousand years, the Christ has represented humanity and has stood before the Hierarchy and in the sight of Shamballa as the God-Man, the Leader of His people and "the Eldest in a great family of brothers" (Romans VIII:29).

Each year at that time He has preached the last sermon of the Buddha before the assembled Hierarchy. This will therefore be a festival of deep invocation and appeal, of a basic aspiration towards fellowship, of human and spiritual unity, and will represent the effect in the human consciousness of the work of the Buddha and of the Christ.”[1]  

Gemini is the third of the first three major spiritual festivals for the year, disseminating the impulse of Aries, consolidated upon in Taurus. It is the ‘Festival of Unification carried forward by the Christ, the Master of all the Masters and the Teacher alike of angels and of men.’

These three festivals set the keynote for the year. The continuity of the link between Buddha at Taurus (Wesak) and Christ at Gemini is profound, indicating that the Christ will take over the responsibilities of the Buddha in the not too distant future.

This will occur as Humanity moves toward the Sixth Rootrace and a gradual synthesis takes place between the two major evolutions upon the planet, the Earth and Moon chains, of which the Christ and Buddha are the respective representatives.

Krishna [Christ].
(Nicholas Roerich 1929)

The Last Sermon of the Buddha

“It has long been a legend (and who shall say it is not a fact?) that at each Full Moon of June, Christ repeats and preaches again to the assembled world (to the hearts and minds of men) the last sermon of the Buddha, thus linking the full enlightenment of the pre-Christian era and the wisdom of the Buddha to the cycle of the distribution of the energy of love, for which Christ is responsible.”[2]

Hence the appropriateness of the blending of the two festivals Taurus and Gemini and their dissemination in Gemini, a sign of ‘distribution’. Here are some excerpts from the last sermon, bearing in mind that the Buddha’s Taurean message was to point the way to liberation - through freeing the self from the desire nature, with all its cravings and addictions:

“Herein, O Ananda, let a brother, as he dwells in the body,
so regard the body that he, being strenuous, thoughtful and mindful may,
whilst in the world, overcome the grief which arises from the body's cravings.

… While subject to sensations let him continue so to regard the sensations
that he, being strenuous, thoughtful, and mindful, may, whilst in the world,
overcome the grief which arises from the sensations.”

And so, also, when he thinks, or reasons, or feels, let him so regard his
thought that, being strenuous, thoughtful and mindful, he may, whilst in the world,
overcome the grief which arises from the craving due to ideas, or to reasoning,
or to feeling.

…Those who, either now or after I am dead, shall be a lamp unto themselves,
relying upon themselves only and not relying upon any external help, but holding
fast to the truth as their lamp, and seeking their salvation in the truth alone, shall not
look for assistance to any one besides themselves, it is they,
Ananda, among my bhikshus,
who shall reach the very topmost height. But they must be anxious to learn.

My age is now full ripe, my life draws to its close:
I leave you, I depart, relying on myself alone!

Be earnest then, O brethren, holy, full of thought!
Be steadfast in resolve! Keep watch o'er your own hearts!

Who wearies not, but holds fast to his truth and law,
Shall cross this sea of life, shall make an end of grief.

When the light of gnosis has dispelled the darkness of ignorance, when all existences
has been seen as without substance, peace ensues when life draws to an end,
which seems to cure along sickness at last. 

Everything, whether stationary or movable, is bound to perish in the end. 
Be ye therefore mindful and vigilant! 
The time for my entry in Nirvana has now arrived! 

There are my last words!”

The Buddha and the Christ are like the two pillars of Gemini, the sign that is a cosmic ‘gateway’ for the forces of Sirius to permeate its ‘lower self’ - our solar system, with the greater cosmic plan and purpose. Venus as esoteric ruler of Gemini provides a further point of contact in stepping down that purpose through relationship with its higher self, Earth – which happens to be the highest or hierarchical ruler of Gemini.

Sirius is the source of Love-Wisdom in our solar system, emanating from the cosmic mental plane. The second ray is the only one which pours through Gemini, whose constellation is connected to the ‘cosmic Christ’. Venus transmits that force of mind to Humanity, giving mental understanding, love and compassion. Both Sirius and Venus are associated with initiation.

Gemini and The Pentecost

Also called Whitsunday, the Pentecost falls upon the 50th day after Easter (Aries), close to two full moon cycles hence, always falls in Gemini. It commemorates the descent of the Holy Spirit on the disciples after the death, Resurrection and Ascension of Christ. This Holy Spirit was known to manifest in the phenomena of ‘speaking in tongues’ and was associated with healing, prophecy and the expelling of demons (exorcism). Today Pentecostal Christian groups seem to be obsessed by spirits rather than exorcising them.

“Worship has ever been known to produce a group stimulation when successfully oriented and focused even to the point of ecstasy or hysteria, Pentecost or revelation.”[3]

One account in the bible says:

“And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.”[4]

The Pentecost
(Alexander Sadoyan)

Pentecost art often depicts a descending dove above a group of people. The dove has always been a symbol of the Christ or soul principle coming into manifestation - as well as Venus, the soul ruler of Gemini. Hence the Pentecost is the precipitation of revelation and wisdom.

The Pentecost
(El Greco)

Sophia (wisdom) is also depicted as a dove. The ‘holy spirit’ is the third or ‘mother’ aspect of the divine trinity who births spirit into matter. Hence this third aspect/third ray has a correspondence to the third sign Gemini, just as Aries has a correspondence with the first or ‘father’ aspect of the trinity. The Wisdom of Taurus and the Love of Gemini are both blended and intermingled in their precipitation.

 
The Mother of the World  (Nicholas Roerich 1924)      Goddess Sophia

The following passage suggests a futuristic angle on the Pentecost, putting the emphasis upon ‘right human relations’, the theme of Gemini:

“The Festival of Easter and the Feast of Pentecost will be the two outstanding days of the religious year. Pentecost is, as you must well know, the symbol of right human relations in which all men and nations will understand each other and — though speaking in many and diverse languages — will know only one spiritual speech.”[5]

“The fact of the resurrection will be demonstrated during the next few centuries, and the Living Christ will walk among men and lead them onward towards the Mount of Ascension. The Pentecost will become truth. All men will come under the tide of inspiration from on high, and though they may speak with many tongues, they will all understand each other.”[6]

How will humanity ‘know only one spiritual speech’ and ‘all understand each other’? Is is an inner recognition that comes about through alignment and right human relations, resulting in a telepathic understanding?

“Pentecost. This event does not portray the triumph of orthodox Christianity (as the theologians believe and teach), but signifies the universal dissemination of the Christ consciousness throughout all time in the heart of every human being; to this the words and promise, "Lo, I am with you all the days, even until the end of the world," bear witness.”[7]

Mark these words, ‘dissemination...in the heart of every human being’. Gemini is the great disseminator, rules the thymus gland associated with the heart and has only the second ray of love wisdom pouring through it.

The Importance of Utilising The Great Invocation

(Courtesy Lucis Trust)

How may of us practice the Great Invocation on a regular basis, i.e. not just at full moons; many meditators use it every day. How effective are we in our individual or group use of this mantram?

As Gemini is related to speech, it is also connected to sound. The Science of Mantrams (and sound) is one of the most occult practices of the Gupta Vidya (Occult Knowledge). The Great Invocation is a potent mantram and its use by groups at the time of the full moon can have far-reaching effects:

“The result of this solemn three days of invocation will be followed by a climaxing day wherein the Hierarchy will unitedly, and led by the Christ, pronounce the entire Invocation, prefacing each stanza with its appropriate keynote, again sounded in unison. These notes you cannot know, but if, for instance, a very large number of the New Group of World Servers were brought together, their united OM might approximate the appropriate keynote.”[8]

“… the Festival in June, peculiarly the Festival of the Christ, when He—as Leader of the New Group of World Servers—employs the new Invocation on behalf of all men of goodwill in all lands; at the same time, He gathers up the inchoate and unexpressed demands of those masses who seek a new and better way of life. They want love in daily living, right human relations, and an understanding of the underlying Plan.”[9]

Transforming Busyness into Stillness through Meditation

The previous sign Taurus rules the organs of speech, yet Gemini is more commonly related to this mode of communication. ‘Right speech’ is also one of the precepts of the Buddha.

Undeveloped Gemini is known for its verbosity and undiscriminating use of speech whilst more evolved Gemini understands the potential of using sacred language to clothe pure thought.

Herein lies the pairs of opposites symbolised by Sagittarius (pure thought) and Gemini (speech). The Moon is in Sagittarius at the full moon period of Gemini, bringing its influence to maintain the Zen archer’s one-pointed stance, as a counter-balance to the often busy, distracted and scattered Gemini juggler! The world today is so Geminian – it is literally driven to distraction!

Polovstians (‘With One Bow’)
(Nicholas Roerich 1943)

Above all, Gemini needs to learn utter stillness, the silencing of the ‘monkey-mind’ in order to maintain its impressionability to the higher self – of which it is eminently capable; open to impression through its rulership of the etheric body, the messenger between the soul and the physical brain. With the aid of Gemini’s ruler Mercury, Gemini also ‘does impressions’, a brilliant and funny mimic like French mime Marcel Marceau - a Gemini rising.

Marcel Marceau

Lotus
(Nicholas Roerich 1933)

Meditation is one of the main means whereby the ‘brothers’ come into alignment and maintain their ‘conversation’; it is a dual process of an active visualisation process and a passive receptivity; the ‘younger brother’ can choose to consciously invoke the ‘elder brother’ who can in turn evoke a directing response; the positive soul impacts upon the negative personality and the electrical circuit is established and maintained. ‘Electrical’ really means ‘etheric’ here:

“Gemini … is related to the etheric body; it is the custodian of conditioning energy and the intermediary, as far as basic essentials are concerned, between soul and body ... In the average person, the etheric vehicle is the transmitter of psychic energy, galvanising and coordinating the dense physical body and permitting, therefore, astral and mental control of the personality.

When the man is upon the Path of Discipleship and, therefore, upon the reversed wheel, leading to initiation, the etheric body becomes the transmitter of soul energy and not of personality force; the powerful effect of the second Ray of Love-Wisdom—working through the subjective six rays, according to ray type—begins steadily to dominate the vital body, producing consequently the shift of force and of intensity to the centres above the diaphragm.

The power of the personality lessens and wanes whilst that of the soul waxes and grows. There is much to be learned from the study of the dual activity—higher and lower—of the etheric body and its relation to and responsiveness to the constellation, Gemini ...”[10]