CHAPTER 4 The Celestial Design The stage is now set to undertake a spiritual journey that is essential for this particular time in our history. It is time to feed your heart with all the gems of experience and wisdom from the past twenty-six thousand years in order to charge your Ka with the energy of light. It is time to retrieve small parts of your awareness that have been the magnet for the creation of your dreams and ideas and yet have been abandoned when things haven''t worked out quite the way you planned. Despite your expectations, your consciousness has been transformed by the unfulfilled event. Therefore, only by getting to the heart of the matter or the core of the story is it possible for you to extract the pearl that waits within and offer it up to the Great Mother as your humble gift to the collective consciousness. In truth, this cycle of turning our dreams into form and then back into the pure essence of consciousness often remains incomplete. Many ideas flounder before reaching the full bloom of success, while at other times we cling desperately to manifested dreams without realizing that our soul''s fulfillment is based not merely on material success but also on dissolving form back into pure consciousness. Yet there is one part of our nature that never forgets: the higher self, the bearer of our spiritual blueprint.
It is our constant companion, urging us on when we get stuck; encouraging us never to compromise when it comes to spiritual abundance; and marinating us in compassion, whatever choices we make. Like other aspects of our being, its contribution to our spiritual journey is highlighted in mythological stories of gods and goddesses, reminding us first and foremost that we are immortal beings. The symbolism of our spiritual quest has been encrypted within many ancient divination systems, including tarot and astrology. Our ability to appreciate the wisdom and knowledge held within these sacred systems is directly proportional to the openness of our heart''s mind, which inherently recognizes the universal patterns flowing through all creative processes. Astrological Mythology The word zodiac is derived from a Greek word meaning "circle of little animals." Although not all the symbols of the zodiac are animals, the Indo-European cultures developed a zodiac of twelve signs or constellations of stars through which the sun appears to pass during its yearly journey across the heavens on what is known as the ecliptic. The twelve constellations are thirty degrees apart. Each symbolizes a particular phase of the sun''s/hero''s mythological story and impacts subconsciously this planet and its people.
Starting with Aries, the Ram, the constellations alternate between being either masculine-positive or feminine-negative; there are six of each polarity in the zodiac. Each of the twelve constellations is also aligned to one of three qualities essential for spiritual evolution. These qualities are deemed to be either mutable, fixed, or cardinal. Mutable: Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius, Pisces Fixed: Taurus, Leo, Scorpio, Aquarius Cardinal: Aries, Cancer, Libra, Capricorn As you can see, each quality is represented by four signs, which together create a cross. According to Alice Bailey, who channeled the sacred and alchemical teachings of the Tibetan Master Djwhal Khul, our spiritual quest requires us to embody each of the crosses symbolically in order to reach spiritual enlightenment.1 The esoteric meaning and symbol of each cross is as follows: The mutable cross: a place of action, reaction, experience, and the awakening of consciousness. The symbol is the swastika, which is an ancient sign reflecting the freedom that comes when we learn to master our thoughts and desires. Each zodiac sign of the mutable cross represents a different focus for the mind: Gemini: the consciousness of duality Virgo: the blending of spirit and form through self-reflection and contemplation Sagittarius: focused awareness on the truth Pisces: blended radiance through universal consciousness, which allows the individual to ascend to the fixed cross The fixed cross: a place of transmutation where desire shifts into aspiration and selfishness into selflessness.
The symbol is a cross whose four arms are of equal length. Each zodiac sign included in the fixed cross reflects the type of resources that will nurture our spiritual journey. Taurus: the wealth that lives within, awaiting manifestation Leo: the wealth and richness of the manifested form Scorpio: the wealth of experience extracted through trials and tests Aquarius: the wealth of group consciousness as the essence of light is finally extracted from the manifested form, allowing the individual to ascend to the cardinal cross The cardinal cross: a place of transcendence where the individual is free from the restraints of the physical world and is in service to universal consciousness. The symbol for the cardinal cross is an X, with each zodiac sign in the cardinal cross symbolizing the creative abilities inherent within the individual. Aries: carries latent creative consciousness urging the individual to take the risk to create Cancer: the creative plan in manifestation moves the individual to the awareness of his or her ability to manifest his or her own reality Libra: the creative plan realized in consciousness challenges the individual to use these gifts wisely Capricorn: the transformation of conscious awareness through the perpetual fire into pure essence; the individual becomes his or her own initiator as the mystic It is important to note that the statements above do not relate to our sun sign per se or necessarily to the placement of any of the planets within the natal chart. Instead, they relate to an esoteric understanding of spiritual achievement; each cross leads us toward our spiritual goal of eternal life. Yet it is true to say that humanity as a whole is, at present, poised on the fixed cross ready to ascend the cardinal cross through the portal of the age of Aquarius, which is just now beginning its twenty-one-hundred-year cycle. This epoch represents a time of self responsibility, group consciousness, social conscience, and detachment from personal desires and aspirations.
Are we ready?.