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News From the Summerland

And Jacob Stole From Esau

–The solstices are those points in the zodiacal circle where, for a short time, the Sun
stands, or stops moving in declination, and soon turns back to move by declination in
the opposite direction. That is, on June 22 the Sun has reached its highest northern
declination and the days consequently are longest, and on December 22 the Sun has
reached its lowest declination and the days are shortest.

These days are much more easily ascertained than are the equinoxes, where the days
and nights are equal; for on the longest day of the year the shadow cast by a stake at
noon is shortest, while on the shortest day of the year the shadow cast by a stake at
noon is longest.

The difference in the angles cast by the shadow on the longest day and by the shadow
cast on the shortest day is, of course, the angular distance the Sun moves from its
farthest south declination to its farthest north declination; and this divided by two
gives the inclination of the ecliptic, or Sun’s path, to the equator. By such shadows
recorded at noon on the longest day and shortest day of the year the Chinese, in 1100
BC, ascertained the inclination of the equator to the ecliptic.

Slightly more than two hundred years before the Christian era, Eratosthenes, who
had been brought from Upper Egypt to act as custodian of the Alexandrian Library,
recorded similar measurements from the top of the library building at Alexandria.
There he found the angle of the shadow at the summer solstice to be 7 degrees, 12
minutes. Six months later, at the winter solstice, the shadow showed an angle of 54
degrees, 54 minutes, 39 seconds. The difference, 47 degrees, 42 minutes, 39 seconds
divided by two, gave the inclination of the ecliptic to the equator as 23 degrees, 51
minutes.

Then to the distance, 7 degrees, 12 minutes, that the Sun was south of Alexandria at
the summer solstice, he added the distance thus found that the Sun was north of the
equator at the solstice–23 degrees, 51 minutes, and some seconds which gave him
the latitude of Alexandria as 31 degrees and a little more than 3 minutes. Present-day
refined instruments give it as 31 degrees, 12 minutes, which is a difference of less
than 12 miles from that obtained by Eratosthenes through the use of shadows.

It was because the day of the solstice could so easily be ascertained merely by
watching the shadow of a stake, that the Aztecs, and those who possessed the same
calendar system, began their year, not at the equinox, but at the winter solstice. The
winter solstice, rather than the solstice of summer, was chosen because it was then
that the days commenced to lengthen, the Sun having reached its lowest station, and a
new period of increasing light was born.

Capricorn, which the Sun enters at the winter solstice, is an earthy sign; and as the
Sun is then lowest in declination, this position often is referred to symbolically as a
tomb or cave. Thus it is that Mithra, the Persian god of light, is held to have been born
in a cave; and Jesus remained three days in the tomb before the stone was rolled away
and he emerged. Pawnbrokers, who follow the footsteps of Jacob in taking advantage
of the weaknesses and misfortunes of others, also display the three golden suns as the
emblem of their trade; pledges being entombed until redeemed.

When the Sun has remained three days at its lowest declination, it then starts
climbing, and continues to climb during the next six months until it reaches the
pinnacle. This persistent tendency to climb, the ambition to mount higher and higher,
is one of the chief characteristics of people born while the Sun is in Capricorn, from
December 22 to January 20; therefore, the ancients who traced the starry figures in
the firmament, to portray this attribute of both Sun and people born in the sign,
employed the picture of a Goat, an animal which customarily moves to the mountain
tops.

In addition to vaunting ambition, however, the natives of Capricorn also possess a
flair for diplomacy. They are able to employ whatever is at hand to the best
advantage, which gives to the sign its Key-phrase, I Use. And they are equally at
home, and can adapt themselves to, any environment. Therefore, the ancient
constellation represents not a common Goat, such as travels merely on the land; but
one with the tail of a fish, which enables it, when occasion requires, also to live in the
water.

The Greeks called the constellation Pan. And the legend is that one day Pan, with
some other deities, was feasting near the bank of the Nile, when suddenly the
dreadful giant Typhon came upon them. In order to escape they all were compelled to
assume a different shape. In this camouflage Pan took the lead, Capricorn like, and
plunged into the river, the part of his body under water becoming the tail of a fish and
that part remaining in the air retaining the form of the Goat.

Typhon is the Egyptian conception of Saturn, the planet governing Capricorn. It is
the planet of fear; and the fright which Pan experienced upon the appearance of
Typhon, that is, the fright of Capricorn at Saturn, has been associated with a name
which perpetuates the legend of the obsessing terror of those who fled a danger which
was largely imaginary, on the bank of the Nile; for from this occurrence is derived the
word Panic.

Astrologers hold that the best quality of Capricorn is Diplomacy, such as symbolized
by the half fish half goat; but when this ability is abused it becomes the worst quality
of the sign, which is Deceitfulness. This use of false pretense to aid the ambition to
climb to wealth and power is set forth quite clearly in Genesis 27.

Already had Jacob taken advantage of his brother’s necessity to deprive him of his
birthright; for in this story he represents the Capricorn influence and Esau represents
the Sagittarius type: “And the Lord said unto her, Two nations are in thy womb, and
two manner of people shall be separated from thy bowels; and the one people shall be
stronger than the other people; and the elder shall serve the younger.”

When the Sun is at the winter solstice the days of increasing darkness are thus
separated from the days of increasing light, and Sagittarius is older than Capricorn in
the sense that the Sun passes through it first; yet in worldly matters Capricorn is more
shrewd and thus gains the advantage. Furthermore, “Esau was a cunning hunter, a
man of the field,” a typical outdoor Sagittarian; while, “Jacob was a plain man,
dwelling in tents,” with the Capricorn flair for trading and the desire to advance
himself among people.

Isaac, the father of both young men, loved the generous spirit of his elder son, Esau,
and when he was about to die called him: “And he said, Behold now, I am old, I know
not the day of my death: Now, therefore take, I pray thee, thy weapons, thy quiver and
thy bow, and go out into the field, and take me some venison.”

But word came to Jacob, the Capricorn brother, that his father was about to bestow
his blessings upon Esau; and advised by his mother, he sought by some cunning
means to gain the blessings that rightfully belonged to Esau, as he by other artifice
had acquired his brother’s birthright. Instead of using venison, such as the Huntsman
had gone to secure, he brought to his mother two good kids of Goats, ruled by
Capricorn, from which to make the savory meat to please his father.

To still further deceive his parent, who was blind, when he brought the savory meat to
him: “Rebekah took goodly raiment of her eldest son Esau, which were with her in
the house, and put them upon Jacob her youngest son: And she put skins of kids of the
goats upon his hands, and upon the smooth of his neck.”

And he came unto his father, and said, My father, I am Esau thy firstborn; I have
done according as thou badest me: arise, I pray thee, sit and eat of my venison that thy
soul may bless me. And Isaac said unto his son, How is it that thou hast found it so
quickly, my son? And he said, Because the Lord thy God brought it to me. And Isaac
said unto Jacob, Come near, I pray thee, that I may feel thee, my son, whether thou be
my very son Esau or not. And Jacob went near unto Isaac his father; and he felt him,
and said, The voice is Jacob’s voice, but the hands are the hands of Esau. And he
discerned not, because his hands were hairy, as his brother Esau’s hands: so he
blessed him.

“When, therefore, Esau returned with the venison which he had been sent to get, his
father was compelled to say: “Thy brother came with subtlety, and hath taken away
thy blessing.”

The sign of selfish Saturn is divided from the sign of benevolent Jupiter only by a thin
line called the solstitial colure. The one sign relates to business and the acquisition of
worldly goods and honor, the other to religion and the spread of useful information.
We meet both types of people every day; the Esaus who are more than willing to
work hard merely to please, who joy in the happiness of others; and the Jacobs, sly,
cunning, scheming, caring nothing for the pleasure or welfare of others, but only by
fair means or foul to gain an advantage and to further selfish ambition.

Such injustice will prevail so long as it is permitted. Therefore it is the task of those
who have the interests of humanity at heart to devise means by which these selfish
interests which grind down the poor and prey upon the helpless shall be prevented
from their depredations. With such a significance the story ends with a prophecy
concerning Esau: “And it shall come to pass when thou shalt have the dominion, that
thou shalt break the yoke from off thy neck.”

Only at its worst does Capricorn relate to deceit. On its better side it relates to
beneficial use. The text therefore, is: Every Environment Offers Opportunities
for Spiritual Advancement, and He who Makes Good Use of His Present
Circumstances for Spiritual Ends Will Attract New Opportunities.


.

News From the Summerland

–If Jesus was born at Christmas, as popular tradition holds, the Sun in His
birth-chart was in the first-decanate of Capricorn, pictured by the migrating Swan. It
had then just passed the colure where the days are shortest, and having had the three
days at its lowest declination, had started back north again, bringing, as does the
Swan, the promise of a new cycle of light and warmth.

At the opposite end of the colure is the point where the Sun six months previously had
entered the watery sign Cancer, turning back from its northward journey as it entered
the water. This going down, or decrease of declination, into the water at the summer
solstice is typical of the ministration of John the Baptist. According to Luke 1, John
the Baptist was six months older than Jesus, and therefore must have been born in the
Cancer sign.

Furthermore, from the birth-sign Cancer on the length of daylight decreases, while
from the birthsign Capricorn, where Jesus was born, the length of daylight increases;
a condition recognized and made use of by John in the symbolism of his prophecy as
recorded in John 3:30, “He must increase, but I must decrease.”

As the Nazarene brought the glad tidings, “Peace on earth, good will to men,” so the
graceful Swan is first of the migratory birds to return in spring, when its appearance
indicates, to those who know the way of nature, that ere long the tender shoots of
grass will thrust through the soil, that verdant leaves will adorn the trees, and scarcity
which marked the winter cold will give place to a more abundant season.

Swans are reared from downy youngsters in the icy regions of the north. But grown to
adult size, at the approach of winter they take their departure from that region which
so well, with its bleak hardness and cruel perils, symbolizes the environment which
we call the earth.

Like some friends we have known, loved ones who already have passed, they leave
the scenes of their early hardships, and wing their way to sunnier skies. As the stone
was rolled away from the sepulchre, or lowest point of the Sun’s descent, giving the
promise of a future life, so also at their appointed time, do the Swans again return.
Snow-white in purity, the most graceful of all that fly, with wide expanse of wing,
nothing so readily suggests angels. Message bearers, coming from a brighter realm
than this, bringing news of loved ones, and telling something of the surroundings
there, where we too will live before many cycles of the Sun.

After all, in basic essentials, the conditions of the after life, which are promised by
Cygnus, the flying Swan, are similar to those of this. There we shall live and work
and love, not just as we do here, but with added abilities and with vastly greater
facilities of expression. To the properties of existence with which we have become
familiar, there is added another dimension. And this immensely increases the range
of movement, thought and feeling. Everything is speeded up, given an intensity not
known on earth, and instead of the slow process of physical adjustment, by which
things here are brought to pass, in that realm the dynamic force is thought.

To build anything on the physical plane we require the application of energy to
slowly moving physical substance. It takes considerable time, usually, to collect the
various materials and properly to assemble them in the desired form. But, due to the
peculiarities of a four-dimensional plane, the substance of the astral world can
instantly be molded into any desired shape through the application of the energy of
thought. A house thus built on the astral plane through visualizing and imparting
thought-energy to it, is there quite as solid, perhaps more durable, and as useful for a
home or office, as a similar building of concrete or brick on the three-dimensional
plane.The immediate responsiveness of the environment to the power of thought is
probably the most striking feature of life in the realm where the soul finds itself
immediately after it passes through the tomb.

By this same process can be built a private heaven or hell. Not that the wicked person
can get away from the thought-cells which he has built into himself, and which attract
him to an environment corresponding to their nature. But if certain images are so
energetically impressed on the individual in his life that they dominate his
consciousness, these images will surround him after death until he awakens to a
realization of their true nature and origin.

The reports of those who have been in the after life only a short time are seldom very
enlightening. One must live on the physical plane many years to know much about it.
Even in the course of a lifetime the ordinary individual is acquainted intimately with
only a small section of the globe, with only a little scientific knowledge, and with
only a few of the happenings here. And while on the astral plane the reports of the
astral senses may be consulted, which have a wide range, yet the regions of that
four-dimensional world are so immense and varied that any comprehensive, even
though general, knowledge of them can be gained only at the expense of considerable
time and energy.

Yet those who have been on the inner plane for many years, who are investigative by
temperament, and who apply themselves diligently to obtaining precise information
about conditions as they there exist, do occasionally, like the migrating swans, come
back as messengers to enlighten us.

Their reports, and the investigations of those still attached to the flesh who have
journeyed to that realm, advise us that money is of no value there. Neither is false
pretense nor sham. Everyone is known and esteemed for his real character and
abilities, not for their semblance. And the only currency of any value there is that of
service to the common good. Those who by their efforts contribute to the welfare of
others, by that token possess a wealth reserve which they can draw upon. This they
display in their characters, and perceiving which, others are pleased to render them
willing assistance.

Having pointed out the two conditions that seem most strange from an earthly
standpoint– that thought does things directly, rather than merely acting as a guiding
force, as here; and that money has no value–it should, perhaps, be indicated in what
way the after life is most strikingly like the one with which we are most familiar.

On the earth plane action is always in the direction of the strongest desire. That is,
what we do is determined by those desires which are stronger than the combined
influence of other desires which tend to prevent it, or tend to move us in other
directions.

Furthermore, even while on earth, the thought-cells of the astral body which have
been built by experiences and thoughts, attract to us environmental conditions and
events which have a corresponding nature and corresponding harmony or discord.

It is this power of desire, and the influence of the thought composition of the body,
which seems to be the most striking similarity between life on earth and life in the
four-dimensional world. In that world, of course, all action being speeded up, the
result of desire is more quickly apparent.

On the physical, one desires strongly to go some place, and after considerable time
spent with some physical form of transportation–walking or riding –one arrives at
the designated spot. But on the astral one desires strongly to be in the place and one is
instantly there, provided its vibratory rate is not without the range of that which one is
able to develop within himself. That is, one can thus immediately move to any
location or environment on the plane where he is able to function.

In the after life when an individual’s desires are too low to find expression on the
plane or level where commonly he functions, if they are maintained, the individual
drops to a lower world where such thoughts can find expression. If they are vicious
and evil enough, he may find himself in the so-called astral hells. But if they are
higher than the plane on which normally he functions, if they are maintained, they
ultimately will raise him to a higher world, a heaven, as it were, where their full
expression is possible.

Whether from the standpoint of the physical world, or from that of the after-life
worlds, the most important things of life are man’s thoughts, desires and ambitions;
for here and hereafter they are the factors determining his destiny.

To many people the after life seems a vague and nebulous region. Not because it
really is so; for it is more vivid and intense and real than earthly existence; but
because that which we personally have had little contact with tends to seem less
concrete than those things with which we are familiar.

Had you endeavored to describe to the people of 100 years ago the world as it appears
today you would have been met both by incredulity and by a total inability to
comprehend what you were talking about. Moving and talking pictures would have
seemed as amazing to them as the thought-created environment of the astral world
seems to those who have had no experience with it. Automobile and airplane travel
would have startled them as greatly as the across the planes travel of those in the
four-dimensional realm. The radio and television would have seemed as improbable
as the thought-transference method which is common to the astral plane.

Far places and unusual conditions, even those of Mongolia or the South Sea Islands,
always seem hazy and unreal to those who have never visited them. So also, to most,
does the scenery of the astral region seem bizarre and unbelievable. Yet it is not a
weird region. It is a place where, with certain marked improvements, life is lived very
much as it is lived on earth.

The Swans, returning from the south, like messengers bringing information from this
after life, do not fly in loose flocks, but in well defined V-formation. The Key-word
for the decanate represented by the Swan, where the Sun may be found from
December 22 to January 1, therefore, is Organization. And the text is: Under
Certain Conditions the Stone is Rolled From the Entrance to the Tomb and
Man Consciously Exchanges Ideas with Those Who Have Entered the
Chamber of Death.

.

The Dolphin Makes A Rescue

–Not only does Saturn, the planet of Capricorn, rule the grave, but it is when the Sun
is in this earthy sign of Capricorn that it reaches its lowest point in the annual cycle,
representative of the tomb. All three decanates, therefore, quite consistently, give
some teaching in reference to the condition encountered after the stone has been
rolled from the entrance of the tomb at the winter solstice, and the soul has left its
tenement of clay and passed to more congenial realms. While, therefore, the
constellation picturing the middle decanate of the sign, where the Sun may be found
each year from January 1 to January 10, represents a Dolphin, it is not surprising
that in various lands it is also known as a coffin. Among nations familiar with the
Bible it is more commonly referred to as Job’s Coffin.

The Dolphin, which is the picture of the constellation in the sky, is always
represented as a beneficent sea dweller which performs good deeds and rescues from
death those who are persecuted, especially those who are martyrs to some just cause.
It is due to these legends. and to the observation that those born when the Sun is in this
decanate often take up some worthy cause and work ardently for it in spite of its
unpopularity, that the Key-word of the constellation is Martyrdom.

There are three Greek legends which give the outstanding teachings which the
Dolphin was placed in the sky to reveal. One relates to the administration of strict
justice in the after life; one pertains to the reunion of loved ones in that realm; and the
other to the importance of harmonious thoughts as a means of attracting those who on
the other side of life will assist the one who has passed from earth life to make a quick
and satisfactory adjustment to the new conditions.

It is related that the famous poet Hesiod was slain and his assassins, in order to escape
retribution, threw the body into the sea. They supposed this would be the end of the
matter; but the Dolphins, who are the friends of poets and all who are benefactors to
the human race, recovered the body and brought it to the shore, where it was found by
Hesiod’s friends. These then gathered together, and using the poet’s own dogs trailed
the murderers until they were captured; then threw them into the sea so that they
should receive as punishment exactly the same kind of death they had caused the
famous poet.

It is not always possible, in the after life, to make complete restitution to the person
who has been wronged. But before much advancement can be made in that realm,
injuries to others must be paid for, if not directly to them, at least by rendering some
commensurate service to society. Unless we are willing to pay for our transgressions,
their persistence as factors in our finer bodies weights us down, Saturn-like, so that
we drop to lower vibratory spheres. As progress consists in moving to higher levels,
and such movement is accomplished through refinement, these self-centered,
destructive, and therefore downward pulling vibrations must be sublimated into
those which are constructive and uplifting.

Repentance, like most other activities, can be approached from either a negative or a
positive direction. All make mistakes, all take actions which later they regret. Under
these conditions the negative approach is to feel sad and despondent, to dwell on the
effect of the mistake and to feel miserable because it was made. Yet this sackcloth
and ashes method of repentance is disastrous to the individual, and because it unfits
him for constructive work in the universal scheme, still further injures society. The
discords he thus cultivates attract to him misfortunes, and these hamper him and
make him less effective in that which he should do.

The true way of repentance, either here or hereafter, is the positive approach in which
the error is acknowledged, but is not dwelt upon in thought, nor permitted to cause
mental anguish. Instead, the individual recognizes he has injured someone, or
retarded the progress of society. He therefore focuses his attention, desires and
efforts on paying this debt to society through doing something for the individual
injured, or at least for society, which will be of as much benefit as he has caused
harm.

Another Greek legend narrates that Neptune was very much in love with the goddess
Amphitrite and greatly desired to marry her. This goddess, however, had taken a vow
of perpetual celibacy, and consequently refused his proposal. Neptune, after
pursuing his courtship in vain, finally called to him the Dolphin and told him his
difficulties. Acting as a mediator, the Dolphin succeeded in persuading the goddess
to marry the Sea-god, and as a reward was placed in the sky as one of the
constellations.

Neptune in astrology is the octave expression of Venus, the planet of love. The love
he rules is not the ordinary Venus type, but an expression which is devoid of the
physical element; an ideal love which, rather than express in physical marriage turns
to celibacy. Yet when those who thus love are able to sublimate their affections, so
that they express as a complete circuit of energy which flows between the two,
blending completely their thoughts and feelings, as pictured by the ribbon binding
the two fish which Neptune rules, they are more truly married, in the inner sense, than
those who enter merely physical matrimony.

Life in its various expressions tends to move from lower levels of expression to
higher levels of expression. This is not merely true of the aims of action and the
acquisition of ideas, but is equally true in emotional expression.

According to the findings of psychology the normal love life passes through well
defined evolutionary stages, moving from an expression which is suited to the
infant’s capacity, to such heights and complexity as the individual is capable. These
successive levels are now so well recognized that they each have been given definite
names by which they commonly are recognized in psychological literature.

The infant’s affectional interest, quite naturally, centers about himself. This level of
the emotional life is called the Narcissus stage. As the infant develops there is a
transference of his love from himself to a parent. This level is called the Oedipus
stage. The third level is when the growing child transfers his affections from
members of the family circle to some person of the same sex outside the family. This
stage usually just precedes the change at the end of adolescence. The fourth
transference, which normally occurs as the youth approaches maturity, is toward
some member of the opposite sex. This stage is the level of marriage. The fifth
transfer should not be from husband or wife, but merely a widening of the affectional
interests to include the children, which normally are now a part of the family.

Neptune, however, when its influence is powerful in the birth-chart, is never content
with this fifth level, or state of affectional expression. Up to this point Venus has
dominated the love life; but it is here, if progress is to continue, that Neptune exerts
his power.

The children grow up, marry, and have homes of their own. Thus the sixth level of
expression of the love life expands the affectional interest to embrace humanity at
large, and causes the individual to work as if he were responsible for its welfare. And
if the proper transference is made, husband and wife are not less in love, but more so.
Yet the physical aspect of union has been left behind, and instead, an inner exchange
of energies takes place. This is the regenerate union, which is excluded by physical
union.

Therefore, when the Dolphin persuades the goddess who has taken a vow of
perpetual celibacy to unite with Neptune, it is indicated that after man has passed
through the tomb he can rejoin his mate; but that, unless he remains in the lower
spheres of the astral world, his affectional expression will not be similar to physical
marriage, but will be that complete blending of finer forces which is even more
satisfying, and which when accomplished on earth is termed regenerate marriage.

It seems, according to still another Greek story, that Arion, the famous lyric poet and
musician, who was a native of the island of Lesbos, went to Italy with Periander,
tyrant of Corinth. There he attained both high honor and great riches through
following his profession.

After making such a success, it was quite natural that he should desire to return to his
old home for a visit, and he embarked on a ship to make the journey. The sailors on
the ship, learning of his wealth, determined to murder him and get possession of it.
But just before they put him to death they granted him a last request; that he might
play on his lute. The music attracted a number of Dolphins, and as soon as he was sure
these were present, Arion jumped from the vessel into the sea, and one of the
Dolphins immediately took him upon its back and carried him safely to land.

Paralleling this, there are those of the invisible world who, if we will but tune our
thoughts to them, will be ready to help us make the adjustment to the after death life.
Those who die in terror, those who with no preparation meet sudden death, and those
who are unduly attached to physical things, often are difficult to help for some time
after their passing.

Commonly the individual after leaving the physical body falls asleep. This may be a
long sleep, as in the case of an earth-bound soul, or it may be but a moment’s lapse of
consciousness. But during it the individual moves in his astral form to the level and
place where his new birth takes place. This is not the environment where later he will
find himself, but a transitional region. It is here he awakens into a knowledge that he
has entered a new life.

His home on the inner plane is the type of environment which he has built for himself
by his thoughts and desires while on earth. It may be a place of great beauty and
harmony. On the other hand, if his thoughts have been filthy, so will his astral home
reflect filth. If he has been cold and heartless, squalor will mark his after-life home,
until he gets a more expansive attitude.

The text associated with Delphinus therefore is: Man, by His Thoughts, His
Emotions, and His Actions on Earth, Builds for Himself a Home in a Higher
Realm where He Will Dwell After Passing From the Physical Plane.


.

When Venus Met Typhon

–In ancient Sumeria the plots of land on which produce was raised were laid out,
much after the manner of farming land today, in rectangles. The corners of these
areas, to provide means of identifying ownership, were marked with boundary
stones. These boundary stones, among other things, commonly bore an astrological
symbol.

Thus it was, following the still more ancient custom of regarding that which is on
earth as a replica of that which is in the sky, that they also sought to plot the heavens in
a somewhat similar manner. While recognizing its spherical shape, they established
corners, each corner marked by a first magnitude star, so that it was laid out as a great
rectangle. The spring corner of the sky was marked by Aldebaren, the summer corner
by Regulus, the fall corner by Antares, and the winter corner by Fomalhaut, a
lonesome star rising far to the southeast, to be seen only close to the southern horizon.
These four markers were later known as the four Royal Stars.

Fomalhaut marks the head of the Fish, Pisces Australis, which is pictured drinking,
and swimming in, the water which flows down from the urn of Aquarius. Aquarius is
the Man of the sky. Not only does he pour down an influence upon the earth, which is
eagerly absorbed by Pisces Australis, but with one hand he measures the place and
power of the heavenly bodies. That is, he represents not only the intelligence of those
who have passed beyond the tomb, but also the energies of the signs and planets
which descend from above to influence the life and destiny of man on earth.

The joining of the sign of the one who Knows, Aquarius, to the stream of planetary
energy pouring down upon man, indicates not only that, like the Fish, man on earth is
subject to this invisible flood, but that he should use his intelligence to take
advantage of it. How this may be done is set forth in the universal symbolism of the
Greek legend of Typhon and Venus.

Typhon is the Egyptian portrayal of Saturn, the planet of selfishness which rules
Capricorn, one decanate of which is pictured by the Southern Fish. Venus is the
planet of love, the influence of which is the natural antidote for the influence of
Saturn. According to the legend, Typhon made horrible advances to the beautiful
goddess of love, and to escape him she transformed herself into a Fish which now
may be seen in the southern autumn skies.

A fish lives in the water, symbol of the emotions, and love must have an emotional
environment to thrive. There is but one manner in which we can escape the Typhon of
selfishness, and that is through love. Whenever and wherever there is absence of love
of someone other than the Self, to that extent does love of Self take charge, with all its
terrible implications. If, therefore, we are to escape Selfishness it is imperative that
we acquire love of others, such as is symbolized by the Fish immersed in the
humanitarian stream.

Yet there is a still more technical significance to this transformation which took place
when Saturn and Venus met. Thought trends and planetary vibrations both utilize
astral vibrations, and are quite similar in their power to affect the finer body of man.
That is, certain groups of thought-cells are given additional energy, and therefore can
perform additional work, whether the energy supplied them comes from the
planetary vibrations of Saturn or the thought-vibrations of Saturn quality. The same
thing is true of the influence of all the other nine planets.

Astrologers find, therefore, that the most effective manner of counteracting the
undesirable influence of any planet is to cultivate a type of thinking which forms a
natural antidote to it, that is, the vibrations of which either cancel out the influence of
the planet, or combine harmoniously with it to form beneficial thought-cells which
attract favorable events instead of the misfortunes which would have been attracted
if the planetary influence had gone unnoticed.

To be more specific, the ancient initiates, as well as modern astrologers of the more
enlightened class, looked upon planetary influences not as indicating inevitable
events in the life of the individual, but as astral weather conditions which if not
recognized tended to cause the individual to be attracted to the indicated event. If the
invisible environment, such as the Southern Fish is seen to be swimming in, was
harmonious, a knowledge of the direction of its flow would enable the individual to
move with the fortunate tide and attain a success that otherwise would be impossible.
But if the stream were adverse, if it represented a period of stormy astral weather,
proper preparation usually would enable the individual to pass through the period
uninjured.

There were three methods advocated by which planetary energies could thus be
brought under control. These embraced the use of Rallying Forces, the employment
of Conversion, and the application of Mental Antidotes. It is this latter method,
which has the widest range of application, and can be used by the untrained
individual as well as by those of special skill, which is indicated in the story of Venus
and Typhon.

When there is an adverse influence from the planet Saturn, the best thing that the
individual can do to counteract it is to cultivate a line of thinking and activity which is
ruled by Venus. The thought energies having the Venus vibratory rate are of such a
nature that when they unite with the Saturn vibrations they tend to produce a
compound within the thought-cells of the astral body which has no inimical
influence. Furthermore, the Saturn thought-element and the Venus thought-element
quite readily enter into a very beneficial mental compound if they are thought about
in association in a pleasant manner.

Venus and Saturn are only one pair of Mental Antidotes; for each planet is naturally
related to some other planet in such a way that the vibrations of the two, or the
thoughts which they rule, tend to unite in a harmonious compound very readily.
Neptune, the octave of Venus, is also a mental antidote of Saturn. That is, not only
does harmonious thinking of the Venus or Neptune type overcome the inimical
influence of Saturn; but when the planetary influences of Venus or Neptune are
discordant, this discord, and the misfortune otherwise attracted, can most readily be
counteracted through cultivating harmonious Saturn thinking.

In the same manner thoughts of the Mars type most readily enter into harmonious
compounds with those of the Moon or Pluto type. The Jupiter discords may most
readily be annulled by cultivating thinking of the Mercury or Uranus type. This
signifies also that when the Moon is afflicted the best type of thinking is that of a
harmonious but aggressive nature; and that when Mercury is afflicted the best
antidote is to cultivate the hail-fellow-well-met attitude, and the benevolence of
Jupiter.

There is also a Bible story which revolves around the Southern Fish. It relates that
Peter at one time was hard pressed for money with which to pay taxes. Relying upon
the higher powers, he cast a hook into the water and drew forth a Fish which held a
piece of money in its mouth, of sufficient value to meet the urgent need.

Those who take up some worthy work, especially if it be of a type which is
encouraged by the better individuals of the inner plane, always find that they are
under a somewhat similar protective influence. This does not mean that they will
always escape danger, for the conditions may be such at times that those on the inner
plane can not make their influence properly felt. This is not due to lack of desire on
their part; but to the mental attitude of the one they wish to help, or to environmental
conditions, which shut them off from him. It is then as if the Southern Fish were to
desert the stream in which he normally lives, and for the time being is stranded.

Almost, or quite, every person who has become devoted to carrying out some noble
work on the physical plane which has the support of invisible brethren, can relate
experiences in which, when a crisis arose, he has been helped in a manner no less
startling than was Peter when he so badly needed money. And it is significant that, as
related in Matthew 17:27, the coin was not for the purchase of food, but for a purpose
which comes under the same astrological rulership as friends on the inner plane; for
both the dead and taxes are ruled by the eighth house of a birth-chart.

Yet even when the conditions for exchanging ideas with such friends on the inner
plane are perfect, the amount of information that can thus be acquired by one on earth
is dependent upon his mental capacity. Should an equation in differential calculus,
for instance, be given to an individual not well versed in mathematics, it would be so
meaningless to him that he probably would pay no attention to it. To bring things
from the unconscious, which is necessary in such communication, there must be a
bond of association between them and things already known and in the objective
consciousness.

Those on the inner plane who have advanced in character and in wisdom band
together in societies and groups, formulate better methods of living and higher
standards of conduct, and make the endeavor to project these ideals to people yet on
earth. The ideals of earth are thus received by those who are advanced enough here to
receive them, from minds on the inner planes. For this reason, and because those born
from January 10 to January 20, while the Sun is in the third-decanate of Capricorn,
are particularly receptive to such exalted ideas, the Keyword of the Pisces Australis
section of the zodiac is Idealism.

While such ideals, and valuable information, may be broadcast from the inner planes
to all the earth for anyone who is receptive to pick them up; usually some one
individual on the earth becomes the one through whom they are given to the world.
This individual, through his basic character vibrations and intellectual interests, has
an affinity for the ideals and knowledge given. His subsequent thinking about them
and teaching them, keep him in the stream of vibratory influence flowing from those
on higher levels, much as the Southern Fish lives in and absorbs the stream from the
Aquarian urn. Thus the text becomes: From the Inner Planes it is Possible For
Man to Attract Any Information Whatsoever He is Capable of Utilizing.

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