VIRGO 2011

Kwan Yin: Bodhisattva of Compassion
(Artist: Nicholas Roerich)

“I am the Mother and the Child, I God, I matter am.”
(Full Moon: September 12, 2011. New York City, EDT 5.26 am)

Virgo, Kwan Yin and this Solar System
Virgo-Intelligence: Virgo-Love-Wisdom
Virgo the Virgin: Abstinence and Purification
Virgo the Virgin and Sex
Virgo-Scorpio and Sex: The Sons of Will and Yoga
Virgo Rising Steve Jobs: Will he Stick Around?



Virgo, Kwan Yin and the Big Picture in this Solar System

In the esoteric philosophy, simply put it is said that we are currently in the second incarnation of three solar systems. In the first solar system the principle of Intelligence (mind, manas, mahat) was developed. In this second solar system we are learning about the Love principle and in the next solar system (untold trillions of years away!), the Will aspect of deity will be developed. This trinity underlies the many triplicities such as Father, Mother Son; Siva, Brahma, Krishna etc.

Will

Virgo serves an unique role as she embodies both the intelligence of the first solar system that has passed, and the potential development of love-wisdom in the incarnation of this second solar system. Intelligence of the first solar system is the foundation for the development of the love principle in this solar system.

Esoterically speaking, Kwan Yin is the feminine expression of this solar system, the 'female logos', the 'mother of mercy' - and the divine voice of the soul. She is also Padmapani, the feminine expression of the 1,000-armed, 'masculine' Avalôkitêshwara; she assumes any form in order to salvage humanity.

Hence Virgo the nurturing Virgin goddess and Kwan Yin, the goddess of chastity, are close allies. Its interesting to note that the highest ruler of Virgo is Jupiter, ruler of the second ray of love-wisdom, the foundational 'substance' of this very solar system.

Esoteric students know that spirit (masculine) and matter (feminine) are interchangeable: Spirit is matter vibrating at its highest, and matter is spirit at its lowest frequency. In this way we understand the essential illusion of the dualism between spirit and matter. (It is also connected to the mystery of sex.) Yet we work within that illusion (sometimes consciously!), and Virgo as an earth sign is a great anchoring point for spirit into matter.

Virgo-Intelligence: Virgo-Love-Wisdom

"Virgo is, therefore, the cosmic mother because she represents cosmically the negative pole to positive spirit; she is the receptive agent where the Father aspect is concerned. In a previous solar system, this matter aspect was the supreme controlling factor, just as in this solar system it is the soul or the Christ principle which is of paramount importance.

Virgo is, from certain angles, quite the oldest of all the signs ... "the Holy Spirit overshadowed the Virgin Mary." The life of the third divine aspect played then upon the ocean of quiescent matter and prepared that substance (over untold aeons) for its work in this solar system. It is in this system that the Christ Child, the expression of the divine consciousness and the result of the relationship of Father-Spirit and Mother-Matter, must he brought to the birth."[2]

H.P. Blavatsky also tells us that Kwan-Yin means the “Divine Voice”, a synonym of speech as the expression of thought. Likewise Isis and many other goddeses fulfill this role in the active forces of nature, the Word, Voice or Sound, and Speech.[3]

   
Vulcan's Forge                        Virgo Glyph                               Iron Smelter
(Artist: Paul Veronese, a previous incarnation of the Master Serapis)

Isis is one of the goddesses intimately related to the triple Virgo sign (see glyph above), specifically with the integration of the astral body within the three-fold personality. The personality is the 'matter' through which soul or spirit expresses, hence Virgo is connected with the refining process that goes on continually within the personality vehicles. Vulcan, for the disciple upon the  Path, is one of the 'veiled' rulers of Virgo, refining the personality within the 'smithy's smelter' - for those who have submitted themselves to this process.

In the passage above we also find other connections to Virgo the writer or word-smith, who encapsulates the word or sound by clothing it in language, lyrics, poetry or art. The beauty of this expression is related to the fourth ray of Harmony and Art and its connection to Virgo.

There is also a hint here about Virgo the scholar upon the second ray of 'meticulous entirety'. Intelligence is combined with love-wisdom or 'love of wisdom'. We are told by The Tibetan that the second ray of love-wisdom finds its strongest expression through Virgo in this cycle, and...

"Inclusive Reason, which is the theme for the initiatory meditation of the second ray disciple, produces that inherent divine capacity which enables the detail of the sensed Whole to be grasped in meticulous entirety. This wide, yet detailed, scope or universal recognition is extremely difficult for me to explain or for you to understand.

The second ray has been called the Ray of Detailed Knowledge and where this term has been employed, the beginner has necessarily laid the emphasis upon the word "detail". It might rather be called the Ray of Detailed Unity or the Ray of the Divine Pattern, or of beauty in relationship. It involves on the part of the disciple a very high point of synthetic comprehension."[4]

Second ray scholar, St. Jerome at his scriptorium.

Virgo the Virgin: Abstinence and Purification

Virgo and its symbol of a sheaf of wheat or an ear of corn, is a sign of fertility and nourishment; it rules the lower intestinal area where 'wheat is sorted from chaff'. That is, nourishment and waste are separated. At a higher level this is related to the mentally discriminating nature of Virgo that discerns truth from untruth.

Paradoxically somewhat, the fertile Virgo is a virgin - a profound symbol of several factors related to the three-fold personality:

1. Physical Purification of the etheric-physical body through diet, hygiene, yoga, tai-chi etc. Abstinence from alcohol and drugs or grosser foods. There is a sensitivity to health issues due to the refinement of the Virgoan form, giving Virgos the reputation of being hypochondriacs at times!

2. Emotional Purging of the astral or desire body through right relationships and sometimes celibacy or abstinence from sex - for part of a lifetime or lifetimes. It is not uncommon to see those with strong Virgo placements in their horoscopes (Sun, Moon etc) to avoid relationships and sex altogether. (Part of this is related to an ideal of Virgoan perfection on all personality levels - that usually no one can live up to!)

3. Mental Purification of thought and the development of discrimination and discernment. Abstaining from certain lines of thought. The development of scholarship, studiousness and service; expansion of the mental body.

One will note here the sense of restraint and the use of the word 'abstinence', connected to the small renunciations that are made over many lifetimes, until the perfected human is ready to take the initiation of Liberation, also called the 'great renunciation'.

This theme of 'restraint' is also reflected by the fact that the great 'restrainer', Saturn (Lord of Karma), rules the middle decanate of Virgo; hence the discipline of Virgo upon the Lighted Way - for which the physical level disciplines are only the beginning.

Virgo-Scorpio and Sex: The Sons of Will and Yoga

What is the symbolism of the Virgin Mother who conceives 'divinely', i.e. not through physical sex - 'begotten', as the biblical term has it?

In Esoteric Astrology, the zodiac signs are essentially groups of angelic beings who intimately influence human evolution. Virgo governs a 'creative hierarchy' or group of angels called The Divine Builders and most interestingly, 'the sons of desire'. This group is related to the power of kriyashakti that is ...

"... the mysterious power of thought which enables it to produce external, perceptible, phenomenal results by its own inherent energy ... divine power latent in the will of every man, and which, if not called to life, quickened and developed by Yogi-training, remains dormant ... and gets atrophied."[5] 

Blavatsky tells us that the Third Rootrace (Lemurians), had created the so-called SONS OF WILL AND YOGA, the spiritual forefathers of all subsequent and present Masters of Wisdom - in 'a truly immaculate way'. They were not 'begotten' like the following Atlantean rootrace, who reproduced sexually after the separation of sexes, the so-called 'Fall of Man'.[6]  

Hence the story of the 'immaculate conception' of Mary mother of Jesus, a feat not impossible for a being such as The Christ, an Adept of Kriyashakti. Mary is connected to the triple Virgo goddess through the birth of the Christ principle upon the physical plane, like Isis to the astral and Eve to the birth of humanity upon the mental plane.

The Sons of Will and Yoga,

“... could live with equal ease in water, air, or fire, for it had an unlimited control over the elements. These were the ‘Sons of God’ ... the real Elohim ... It was they who imparted Nature’s most weird secrets to men, and revealed to them the ineffable, and now lost ‘word.’”[7]

 
"Eve Tempted by the Serpent"                                "Elohim Creating Adam"
        (Artist: William Blake)

The signs of Leo and Virgo were 'activated' during early Lemurian days, standing together as the mystery of the sphinx and the divine hermaphrodite. Sanat Kumara or the Lord of the World is also known as the 'Virgin or Chaste Youth'.

Scorpio is usually associated with sex, yet other signs like Libra and Sagittarius are also related. Virgo is connected anciently with Scorpio and in these two archetypes are contained a pair of opposites - the virgin and the whore - of both sexes; the celibate and incontinent. These are extreme characterisations and quite often Virgo-Scorpio reverses roles. Yet the polarity exists - abstinence versus satiation. At a basic level, Mercury as ruler of Virgo is the discriminating mind that seeks to contain the astral body, whilst Mars as ruler of Scorpio governs the desire nature.

In ancient times it is said that Virgo and Scorpio were one sign or 'duplicates' of one another, eventually separated by Libra. Libra is the balance between the extremes of Virgo and Scorpio, hence its association esoterically with sex as it treads the middle way through right relationship.

There is a great mystery in this ancient relation of Virgo-Scorpio, too long and complex to be explored here, but essentially connected to Jodheva, male-female, Adam and Eve.[8] One of the main teachings that emerges from Virgo and ancient tales of goddesses is the emergence of the spiritual oriented person from the control of matter.

Ezekiel’s Wheel[9]  

The Tibetan tells us,

"There can be no fusion of the opposites of soul and personality apart from the physiological processes of sex, and I say this deliberately, for it is in the relation of the sexes that the element of time enters into the experience of the soul, and the

understanding of this will come when the doctrine of reincarnation is properly comprehended and taught universally. 

It is here that sex magic and the inner tantric teachings have gone so woefully astray, and been centralised upon individual development and the attainment of some experience which is presumed to promote spiritual attainment."[10] 

Virgo Rising Steve Jobs: Will He Stick Around?

Time and space do not permit a longer delineation of this chart, to do it real justice, but some major points will be discussed. Steve Jobs has been in the news because of his recent withdrawal from his work responsibilities. His innovation and genius behind the Apple products is well acknowledged, as is his extraordinary business acumen in creating a 'must have' brand. Apple recently catapulted to the top earning company in the USA, with a net worth of around $75 billion.

In Virgo we can see an acute intelligence, incredible attention to detail and fastidiousness in his craft. Yet Virgo's ruler Mercury, tells the real story of his genius, placed in Aquarius, the sign of the inventor, science and technology. The reader will note in the horoscope above that Mercury is 'unaspected', i.e. has no aspects to any other planet; this can create either a limited or super expression, obviously the latter in Jobs' case.

Jobs has been called a 'modern day Thomas Edison' and it is fascinating to note that Edison also had Mercury in Aquarius along with Sun and Neptune. Inventor Nikola Telsa, like Jobs, also had an unaspected Mercury, placed in the sign of Gemini.

Jobs has the Sun in Pisces, reflecting his mystical side, dropping out of college, backpacking off to India, influenced by the counter-culture of the late 1960's around San Francisco and being a serious student of Zen Buddhism. With his Pisces Sun in wide opposition to his ascendant in Virgo, he is one whose 'pair of opposites' qualify him for an unique life:

"It would also be interesting to make an analysis of those particular incarnations and their horoscopes wherein the polar opposites both appear in relation to each other—one as the sun sign and the other as the ascendant, for these lives usually express some degree of either equilibrium or of consummation; they will not in any case be negative lives or lacking in direction, event or purpose."[11]

The soul ruler of Virgo is the Moon and in his case is placed in Aries in the seventh house, creating fiery and volatile communications with others. Jobs is well known for his,

"... aggressive and demanding personality.' Fortune wrote that he "is considered one of Silicon Valley's leading egomaniacs." Commentaries on his temperamental style can be found in Mike Moritz's The Little Kingdom, one of the few authorized biographies of Jobs; The Second Coming of Steve Jobs, by Alan Deutschman; and iCon: Steve Jobs, by Jeffrey S. Young & William L. Simon. In 1993, Jobs made Fortune's list of America's Toughest Bosses in regard to his leadership of NeXT.

Cofounder Dan'l Lewin was quoted in Fortune as saying of that period, "The highs were unbelievable . . . [b]ut the lows were unimaginable," to which Jobs's office replied that his personality had changed since then. Jef Raskin, a former colleague, once said that Jobs "would have made an excellent king of France," alluding to Jobs' compelling and larger-than-life persona."[12]

This passage is very revealing! The 'king of France' and 'toughest bosses' comments are reflected by a 'brutal' square between Pluto in Leo and Saturn in Scorpio. Perhaps also the presence of the first ray, but the Aries Moon accounts for plenty of that kind of force.

The 'highs were unbelievable...' points to the probability of the fourth ray of harmony through conflict in Jobs' ray structure, either his personality or mental body. The fourth ray is connected to buddhi or the intuition and Jobs' products are very intuitive to use. (He has criticised Microsoft and others for their 'lack of imagination and originality'.) 'The Second Coming' may well relate to a 'Messiah complex in the field of business'.

Any Virgo-rising on the Path, with the Moon as esoteric ruler, is going to have a major showdown between the angel (soul/rising sign) and the dweller/shadow (Moon). The ruler of the Moon in Aries, Mars, is also placed in Aries (in the very powerful last degree) - in a grand cross formation with Neptune opposite and Uranus-Chiron squaring. This grand cross of conflicting elements lies behind and adds to the complexity of the aggressive and competitive Aries Moon.

The particularly important aspect of this grand cross is the Mars-Neptune opposition, as both of these planets are the rulers of the solar plexus chakra (and the sixth ray of devotion-idealism), seat of the emotions and the astral body. The endocrine gland associated with this centre is the pancreas. The fact that Jobs had pancreatic cancer is no doubt related to the volatile emotional temperament of the Aries moon.

The date of his pancreas diagnosis for July 2004 saw transiting Uranus exactly conjunct Jobs' Pisces Sun in the sixth house of health (the Virgo house). The dispositor of Pisces is Jupiter, placed in Cancer, where transiting Saturn was making a close conjunction.

The dispositor of Jupiter in Cancer is the Moon in Aries. There were other transits going on, most notably, the exact conjunction of transiting Neptune to his all-powerful Mercury in Aquarius. Uranus, Saturn and Neptune are all very long-term cycles, hence their coincidence closely aspecting Jobs' planets is quite remarkable, yet no doubt 'written in the stars' karmically.

Yet the Aries moon is what has made Jobs a passionate pioneer doing what he loves, hence its two-edged effect. Nevertheless, he does seem to be a pretty emotional guy, at least at this talk to Stanford students in 2005 may indicate. (Jobs tells three of his most inspirational life stories in this 15 minute video.)

No doubt many other emotional factors have played into this extraordinary soul's life, such as being adopted. A deep sense of abandonment (the biggest human issue); not only did his biological mother give him away, but there was a great reluctance by his adopted mother to accept him - as they had hoped for a girl. Exoterically, the Moon in a chart indicates the mother, perhaps without sounding too trite and simplistic, much of Jobs' rage may stem from this maternal relationship or lack thereof.

Yet we choose our incarnations to work out our samskaras, hence causes that we created can be traced a long way back into other lives. 'No one is to blame' as the book title suggests. 'Except for oneself initiating those causes in other lives' - could be an added subtitle!

We choose our 'hosts' (parents) for any incarnation and Jobs' parents were most likely that, providing an environment to grow up in, perhaps with a dash of karma! Other emotional factors impinging upon Jobs would have been the battle of business, getting ideas accepted, being focused upon psychically by employees and competitors etc.

Virgos can also easily generate the 'crystals of imperil' (as Master Morya names them), created and mentally projected by the critical and separative lower mind nature of Virgo. Imperil acts literally as a poison in the bloodstream. Neptune rules the blood and it is appropriate to consider its exact transit of Virgo's ruler Mercury - at the time of the pancreatic cancer diagnosis.

Jobs is somewhat the 'double Virgo' with health conscious Virgo rising and the Sun in the sixth house. Jobs was the recent recipient of a liver transplant, an organ also connected with the solar plexus, as are all organs in its vicinity such as the stomach, spleen and gall bladder.

Chinese medicine calls the liver 'the nest of dragons', describing anger that gets backed-up there. Whatever Jobs had going on karmically from other lives or simply the resentment and rage generated in this one - or both, there certainly was a terrific toxicity that poisoned these two major organs.

This latest liver transplant factor and the slowness of recovery led to Jobs to retreat from his CEO role. He is approaching an age where his soul must make a major decision,

"Another key point comes ever at the age of fifty-six ... pressure exerted ... by the conflicting pull of the Ashram ... soul ... personality ... dominant test. The age of sixty-three will see another and lesser crisis, and upon the decision ... will depend the future of ... [the] incarnation."[13]

In the middle of this 56-63 year period falls the Saturn return between the ages of 58-60. Its noteworthy that as a corporate leader, Jobs' has not suffered any heart problems, yet:

"...  heart disease is also a disease of stimulation, affecting very largely the advanced types of humanity who—through interest in business and leadership—often sacrifice their lives and pay the penalty of misused and over-concentrated energy by developing various forms of acute heart trouble."[14]    

The solar plexus centre and heart work closely together, the heart raising and absorbing energies from the solar plexus, over lifetimes.

Jobs' transits and progressions look extremely challenging for the next few years - and they mainly focus on his Moon! They could 'take him out' (i.e. disincarnate) or he could meet the challenge - all depending of course upon whether his soul chooses to stay incarnate or set forth on other quests.

Has he accomplished his life 'mission' or is there still a wealth of ideas to contribute to the world? Disease is one way to 'burn-off' karma, hence death through disease is recognised esoterically as healing. (Jobs has an understanding of esoteric concepts such as death and karma through his Buddhist training.)

Transiting Pluto Square Moon (February 2011 to November 2012.) The most potent transit on Jobs' horizon, to the Moon, the soul ruler of the chart. During this period, Jobs may well be battling his physical problems, yet the battle between dweller and angel may really rage.

Transiting Pluto square the Moon is a well known trigger for the onset of serious disease and eventual death. It is more usually related to profound psychological transformation. The Moon is connected to the physical form - our bodies are constructed by the 'lunar pitris'. Transiting Pluto square the Moon can bring up everything that is connected to all the crystallised patterns in oneself, certainly 'mother issues'.

A Pluto transit likes this forces one to get to the root cause of the disease and this may be the key factor for Jobs, understanding causes, whether he physically survives or not.

Depending upon the circumstances, this transit could trigger a change of heart or a relinquishing of something required by the soul - eventuating in physical survival. For instance, is Jobs too polarised in his throat centre (mental body), creating imbalances for his soul's evolution? Is he too capitalistic and competitive in business? Does he share enough of his billions as his nemesis Bill Gates now does? Is he perpetuating old emotional patterns that are preventing the soul's full expression?

Amazingly, Bill Gates has his Moon in Aries in the same degree, almost to the minute of arc! Here is a karmic connection between these two from way back! Arch-rival (and friend) Gates will be experiencing this transit at exactly the same time as Jobs. Gates is a water sign like Jobs and his Sun in Scorpio makes an exact trine to Jobs' Sun in Pisces.

There are many other harmonious aspects between these two 'titans of technology'; they are most likely 'brothers' in the deepest sense of the word, that is, souls that belong to the same ashram upon either the third ray (business/maths/communications) or fifth ray (science). They were both born in 1955.

Steve Jobs set the record straight regarding his relationship with Bill Gates. Although the two are business rivals, Steve Jobs joked during an event that he and Bill Gates have "kept our marriage a secret for 10 years."

Now that Jobs is withdrawing a little, who knows, he may follow suit like Gates did with Microsoft, and completely let go of Apple. That would be a huge move for a 'control freak' Pluto in Leo square Saturn in Scorpio!

Transiting Uranus Conjunct Moon (May 2012 to March 2013) Transiting Uranus picks up in May 2012 where Pluto left off in November 2012. This poses a fascinating possibility, because if Pluto does its healing transformative work rising like the Phoenix from the ashes, then Uranus conjunct his Moon, will have a 'clean slate' to exercise a further revolution and massive transformation.

Uranus is the hierarchical ruler of Aries, so if Jobs has transcended his Moon issues by then, he has the possibility of bringing through quite potent forces that could create great advances in technology, but maybe also a higher profile altruism and philanthropy. Given Jobs' focus on technology, Uranus may well be the planet 'veiled' by the Moon and which Jobs may access in a greater or higher expression.

Critics of Jobs' 'lack of philanthropy' are guided by the public record, no one really knows how much he gives, and as he is a very private person, then it may be no surprise that his philanthropic position is 'intact'. Paradoxically, Jobs does not think that gadgets are that big a deal:

"This stuff doesn't change the world. It really doesn't ... Technologies can make it easier, can let us touch people we might not otherwise. But it's a disservice to constantly put things in a radical new light - 'that it's going to change everything'. Things don't have to change the world to be important."[15]

True, and one could argue that the revolution in gadgetry has its shadow side through creating generations of distracted, short attention-span people who are obsessed with the next big thing that Apple or other companies produce. A modern-day worshipping of the golden calf at the expense of little or no spiritual values learnt.

Transiting Neptune Conjunct Sun (April 2013 to January 2015) Given the 160 year orbit of Neptune, this is a once in a lifetime transit. Neptune picks up on Jobs' Sun where Uranus left off his Moon a couple of months previously. This transit has a huge potential to trigger the capacity for unconditional love in his Pisces personality.

It could well be a time of major revelations, of visionary and mystical experiences, indeed, if any latent Messiah complexes are lurking, they may become fully-fledged at this time! (I can hear his mother(s) say, 'he's not the messiah, he's a very naughty boy'!)

Transiting Neptune on the Sun can have a dissolving effect upon the personality, on the ahamkara, the illusory sense of self. Jobs might feel a bit lost or 'out of it' during this period, but he has to survive the current Pluto transit first!

Phillip Lindsay © 2011

In appreciation of your appreciation, may our wealth appreciate!

Secure payment via Paypal. (Click 'donate' button and wait 5 seconds)

Other donation options: Please email for ... * Online deposits USA, UK or NZ bank accounts. * Checks to USA, UK or NZ bank accounts. * Western Union money transfer.