The Light of Egypt Part 2

To the average student the evolution of the Twin Souls is a profound mystery, embracing, as it does, the whole of involution and evolution, seeing that this beautiful constellation represents to us the first recognition, or consciousness, of the Divine Ego of its dual forces, sensation and aspiration, called forth by the action of Aries and Taurus. How beautifully has the poet expressed this first pulsation of Divine love: "They clasp for fear," etc. Evolved by the Divine will of pure intelligence, they must ever remain as separate, yet mutually dependent, forces, positive and negative, male and female, upon whose action and reaction rest the perfect evolvement of the powers and possibilities of the One.

In order to clearly grasp the whole of these ramifications, we again invite our student's careful attention to the same sign, Gemini, in its astrological aspect, as it is representatively expressed by refraction upon the human organism. We find that this sign (the representative of the constellation always) signifies the union of reason with intuition, and that it governs the arms, hands and executive forces of man.

Surely, as we reflect upon the almost marvelous inter-relations.h.i.+p between things spiritual and things temporal, we must conclude, with the man Jesus, that "They have eyes but they see not, and ears, but alas they hear not."

If it were not so man would, indeed, by virtue of the latent forces within him, take the kingdom of Heaven by storm and reign supreme as enthroned king of all material forms. Man, in his blindness, has relegated intuition to obscurity; has neglected the cunning of the left hand and debauched the pure love of the divine state. Consequently, the executive forces within him are unbalanced, thus rendering him the slave of material forms, instead of being their lawful sovereign. Therefore, not until, with clean hands and pure heart, he restores intuition to her throne, united with reason, can he hope to COMPREHEND the reality of this arcane mystery of the twin souls, Gemini.

IV. Cancer

"And next the Twins with an unsteady pace Bright Cancer rolls."

In this beautiful constellation we witness the reaction of Gemini, the closing scene in act II. Hence it is, of course, a feminine force we are observing. In other words, it is that period (or rather one of them) wherein the Kabbalah expresses the reaction of the En Soph, via his Creators, as "And behold the Lord saw everything that He had made, and behold it was very good."

Just so Cancer, spiritually interpreted, means equalizing, hence HARMONY, which is indeed very good as contradistinguished from chaos.

To the human soul Cancer is the period of exalted rest. It is the highest point in the arc of the Divine Soul's Angelic Cycle. From this glorious, but subjective, summit or alt.i.tude in the realm of spirit it must descend.

Restless energy and the still unsatisfied longings of its own immortal nature are the forces that bring such evolution about.

Having evolved the dual forces of its divine nature, the Ego sees that it is good and rests from its labor. But as this exalted state is purely subjective, and ideal, it must of necessity, to satisfy the longing for further unfoldment and desire to know, descend into material realms and conditions. From this point begins the soul's involution downward, until the lowest point in the arc is reached, viz., Capricorn.

Refer now to the sign Cancer, and carefully study out the parallel upon its astrological planes and also under its Occult aspects, as given forth in the "Light of Egypt," Vol. I, where we read: "Cancer rules the respiratory and digestive functions of humanity, and governs the reflective organs of the brain." Note the parallel. Within subjective realms the Divine soul has inspired and a.s.similated all that is possible to that angelic state, and knows a period of blissful rest. But the longings of its immortal nature urge on the soul. So we see that the sign Cancer symbolizes tenacity to life; to live we must breathe and eat and a.s.similate upon every plane of our being. It necessarily follows that, the mentality expressed by Cancer must be susceptible to inspirational currents; to inspire is to indraw.

In its application, we find that this sign symbolizes love. How beautiful the harmony and contrast of the constellation and its astrological representative.

V. Leo

"Then Leo shakes his mane."

Herein is typified the third grand spiritual action which, as we find throughout Nature, travel in pairs; hence Leo is a positive, masculine constellation.

Having attained the highest point in the super-celestial states of subjective, embryonic existence; having evolved sensation and aspiration; now, inspired by a desire for immortality, the DUAL SOUL of the Divine Ego is once more impelled forward; but, as all evolution works in spirals, it cannot ascend higher without first apparently descending lower; so ever onward in its eternal march.

This beautiful constellation symbolizes the first action on the downward portion of the are. It is the affinities of the heart, so to say, working from within to without.

Matter, in its more etherealized form, begins to a.s.sert its sway.

The allegorical serpent of Eden is working upon the feminine portion, symbolized by the heart, and, like a magnetic tractor, the soul's affinities are drawn downward, and, as if in defiance of all responsibilities, consequences, and Karma, the soul, lion-like, "shakes his mane in the imperiousness of deathless courage."

As we read these weird allegories, written by Deity in the starry vaults of heaven, the interested soul bows in reverence and awe before that almighty power we term Providence, and the profane call G.o.d.

No man has altered these pure records of divinity; no finger has interpolated one single line. They are as beautifully clear to the soul now as they were in the very dawn of Nature's awful creation.

To the Initiate into Urania's mysteries it is unnecessary to draw a parallel between the constellation and its astrological sign.

They are too clear, magnificent and impressive to escape notice.

To the majority of students the resembance may not be so apparent, hence, for their benefit, we will point out a few aspects of this interesting parallel.

We read that the sign Leo is the "solar Lion of the mysteries, that, ripens with his own internal heat the fruits brought forth from the Earth by the moisture of Isis (the soul)." Just so, the Divine Ego, by its eternal energy and strength, the pure fire of intelligence, externalizes through material forms the principles involved in the downward portion of the arc, as qualities and attributes of the soul (reflected in the physical man as traits and qualities). Again we are told, "this sign reveals to us the ancient sacrifice and the laws of its compensation." In the imperiousness of a deathless courage, the soul defies all consequences and responsibilities. Surely, this is the supreme sacrifice, to leave its pure, Edenic state to gain knowledge, to evolve its latent forces. And from this lion of the Tribe of Judah, is born that Divine love and sympathy which ultimately redeems and purifies the soul and saves it from death in matter.

The laws of its compensation are fulfilled in the prefected man.

In its intellectual aspect, we learn that the mental forces of those dominated by this sign are ever striving to attain unto some higher state. Their ideas are grand, compared with the nature of the constellation, and all that it implies. The reflection is clear, natural and beautiful. When we reflect upon this awful period in the involution of the dual souls of the Divine Ego, as symbolized by the constellation, and the grand truths represented by the astrological sign when refracted through the human organism, the reason for Leo being named the Royal Sign becomes quite plain.

VI. Virgo

"And following Virgo calms his rage again."

Beautifully expressive are these lines to those who read their mystic import aright. Virgo is the reaction of the leonine force, and is, consequently, a feminine symbol.

Action and reaction are the eternal laws upon which the cosmos is founded. They const.i.tute the inseparable affinities, attraction and repulsion, of everything within the realm of manifested being. In this mystic constellation, we see the first ideas of maternal instinct arise. This is a necessary result of the impulsive action of the heart in Leo--the reaction from a state of imperious, defiance. The heat of rage or energy and deathless courage results in the IDEAS of something to be encountered, overcome, and of self-preservation. The dual soul descends still another volve in the spiral of its celestial journey toward crystallized forms.

Virgo, the Virgin of the skies, and eternal symbol of that Divine, immaculate conception, shows wherein these forces lie.

Here is conceived, in a pure, holy sense, the first instinct of love within the dual soul. It represents that awful period in the Biblical Garden of Eden, wherein the VIRGIN WIFE stands before the tree of knowledge, of good and evil, where she is fascinated by the allurements of matter and is unconsciously becoming enveloped in the coils of the serpent. In other words, after the cosmic force had SHAKEN ITS MANE in defiance of material forces, it is the reaction of his subjective half which sees HOW GOOD material things are; or, in other words, "and following Virgo calms his rage again." The masculine half, or positive force of the soul, yields to temptation and is soothed by the alluring prospects.

It will be noticed in this connection that pity, reflection, and compa.s.sion, are the peculiar actions of the sign Virgo in the Zodiac (not the constellation), and that astrologically it governs the bowels. This symbolism is really very beautiful when closely compared and studied. That immaculate conception of pure love of the soul for its other half, upon the astrological plane, becomes refracted and reacts as compa.s.sion and pity. Again, the soul, within subjective realms, sees how good material things are, and its refraction represents the a.s.similating functions of the human organism. It also reveals to us the significance of the Lord's Supper. At this stage of its journey, the Divine Ego knows for the last time that close communion with the twin soul before the crucifixion, the wine typical of the sacrifice, the bread, and the sustaining forces, of its own immortal being.

The intellectual aspect of the sign Virgo forms a perfect a.n.a.logy to the constellation, and is too evident for further remarks.

VII. Libra

"Then day and night are weighed in Libra's scales; Equal awhile, at last the night prevails."

Another volve in the spiral, and we reach the grand climax of the soul's journey, within the spiritual world.

The nature of this constellation was, for ages, concealed from all but Initiates; for the reason that, it contains the most important mysteries connected with the human soul. It is the grand transition are between the spiritual world and the astral world; in other words, between ideal conceptions and elemental forms, between the world of design and the realms of force.

One of the chief mysteries of Libra is, that, it is androgyne, or bis.e.xual, in nature. So far the dual soul has evolved within the realms of spirituality; here it stands, in the celestial balance, between the two, giving way to temptation, takes the forbidden fruit and instantly awakes from its purely spiritual state to become surrounded by the illusions of matter. The struggle of the soul with the attracting forces of matter is very clearly expressed in the line:--

"Equal awhile, at last the night prevails."

In other words, astral and physical darkness bedim the soul's spiritual sight, and, leaving the realms of innocence and bliss, they sink into the vortex of the great astral world.

The celestial state is now forever lost as a realm of angelic innocence. It can only be regained amid trial, sorrow, suffering, and experience, and, when regained, it is as Lord and Master, not as the innocent cherub. But when, having gained or reached the equator of the upward arc of its progress, and, united once more to its missing half, gives expression to that deathless force with which it started from the opposite point, Aries: "I AM THAT I AM;" no longer an embryo, but being within the UNIVERSAL SOUL of being. Before closing this symbolic constellation, we must reveal the mystery of its BI-s.e.xUAL NATURE. In the higher or first portion of the sign it is {}, positive to some extent, and masculine. The soul is still within the Garden of Eden and pure, clad in the raiment of G.o.d, and is represented by the Chaldean statues of "The Bearded Venus," or Venus, the Angel of Libra, as a morning star, bright Lucifer. But in the latter half, after the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil (positive and negative, you see) has been partaken of, bright Lucifer falls.

The Sun of the Morning, shorn of his glory, becomes the symbol of night, or Vesper, the evening star, and the symbol is thus {}, and the soul loses its heavenly raiment, or spiritual consciousness, and becomes clothed with matter, the symbol of night.

The sign Libra in the Zodiac, in its astrological aspect, is a very external correspondence of all the foregoing.

VIII. Scorpio

"And, longer grown, the heavier scale inclines, And draws bright Scorpio from the winter signs."

We now behold the gates of Paradise guarded by the FLAMING SWORD which points to the four quarters of the world. This sword is, according to Genesis, "to guard the way of the tree of life," and such, esoterically, it really is.

The soul is no longer dual, but separated into male and female personalities; "and behold they see that they are naked."

Stripped of their spiritual raiment, they feel the chill of matter and the l.u.s.ts of an animal nature. They need clothing, "so G.o.d made them coats of skin." s.e.x is the symbolism herein typified, and the evolution of the animal pa.s.sions of procreation, of multiplication and evolution. It is the complete entry of the soul into elemental conditions, and the flaming sword guarding the four quarters of the Earth to the way of life are the four great realms of the astral world; the way to physical life in concrete forms; and the way to life eternal through the realms of the Sylphs, Gnomes, Undines and Salamanders. They are the basis of all matter, known as Air, Earth, Water and Fire. Here we see that, through the evolution of s.e.x and its accompanying desire for procreation, these blind forces of Nature find their avenue of expression. Spiritual consciousness almost lost, and without reason, the soul becomes the prey, so to say, of these forces of the astral world, which is the realm of design. The soul's creations must be met and vanquished upon the upward arc of the Cycle of Progress. They guard or oppose the way to eternal life. Here the soul, having gained the victory, stripped forever of its earthy raiment and the l.u.s.ts of the flesh, arrayed once more in its spiritual raiment, purified and sanctified, it will stand once more at the gates of Paradise, where, reunited with its missing half, it will partake of the fruit of the Tree of Life and become as G.o.ds.

Astrologically the correspondence is perfect, and so thinly disguised as to need no explanation.

IX. Sagittarius