MACROBIUS ON “THE DESCENT OF THE SOUL FROM THE HEIGHT OF COSMOS TO THE DEPTHS OF

EARTH”

“[According to Pythagoras] when the Soul descends from the Boundary where the Zodiac and Galaxy [or Milky
Way] meet, from a spherical form, which is the only divine one, it is elongated into a conical one by its downward
tendency.

“Just as the line is born from the point and proceeds into length out of the indivisible, so the soul from its point, that
is ‘monad,’ comes into ‘dyad’—its first production [or lengthening].

“And this is the essence which Plato in the Timæus, speaking about the construction of the World-Soul, describes as
indivisible yet at the same time divisible.

“For just as the Soul of the World so also the soul of an individual man will be found in one respect incapable of
division—if it is regarded from the standpoint of the simplicity of its divine nature—and in another capable [of
division]—since the former is diffused through the members of the world, and the latter through those of a man.

“When then the soul is drawn towards body—in this first production of it—it begins to experience a material
agitation, matter flowing into it.

“And this is remarked by Plato in the Phædo [when he says] that the soul is drawn to body staggering with recent
intoxication,—meaning us to understand by this a new draught of matter’s superfluity, by which it becomes defiled
and gravid and so is brought down.

“A symbol of this mystic secret is that Starry Cup (Cratēr) of Father Bacchus placed in the space between Cancer
and Leo - meaning that intoxication is there first experienced by souls in their descent by the influx of matter into
them. From which cause also forgetfulness, the companion of intoxication, then begins secretly to creep into souls.

“For if souls brought down to body memory of the divine things of which they were conscious in heaven, there
would be no difference of opinion among men concerning the divine state. But all, indeed, in their descent drink of
forgetfulness—some more, some less.

“And for this cause on earth, though the truth is not clear to all, they nevertheless have all some opinion about it; for
opinion arises when memory sinks. Those, however, are greater discoverers of truth who have drunk less of
forgetfulness, because they remember more easily what they have known before in that state.

“Hence it is that what the Latins call a ‘lecture’ (lectio) the Greeks call a ‘re-knowing’ (repetita cognitio, because
when we give utterance to true things, we re-cognize the things which we knew by nature before the influence of
matter intoxicated our souls in their descent into body.

“Now it is this Matter (Hylē) which, after being impressed by the [divine] ideas, fashioned every body in the cosmos
which we see. Its highest and purest nature, by means of which the divinities are either sustained or consist, is
called Nectar, and is believed to be the drink of the gods; while its lower and more turbid nature is the drink of souls.
The latter is what the Ancients called the River of Lethe [or Forgetfulness].

“The Orphic [initiates], however, suppose that Dionysus himself is to be understood as ‘Hylic Nous’ [that Mind]
which after its birth from the Indivisible [Mind] is itself divided into individual [minds].

“And it is for this reason that in their Mystery-tradition Dionysus is represented as being torn limb from limb by the
fury of the Titans, and, after the pieces have been buried, as coming together again whole and one; for Nous—
which, as we have said, is their term for Mind—by offering itself for division from its undivided state, and by
returning to the undivided from the divided, both fulfils the duties of the cosmos and also performs the mysteries of
its own nature.

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“The soul, therefore, having by means of this first weight [of matter] fallen down from the Zodiac and Galaxy into
the series of spheres that lie below them, in continuing its descent through them, is not only enwrapped in the
envelope of a luminous body, but also develops the separate motions which it is to exercise.

“In the sphere of Saturn [it develops] the powers of reasoning and theorizing—which [the Greeks] call τὸ λογιστικὸν
and τὸ θεωρητικόν; in that of Jupiter, the power of putting into practice—which they call τὸ πρακτικόν; in that of
Mars, the power of ardent vehemence—which they call τὸ θυμικόν; in that of the Sun, the nature of sensing and
imagining—which they call τὸ αἰσθητικὸν and τὸ φανταστικόν; in that of Venus, the motion of desire—which they
call τὸ ἐπιθυμητικόν, in the sphere of Mercury, the power of giving expression to and interpretation of feelings—
which they call τὸ ἑρμη νευτικόν; on its entrance into the sphere of the Moon it brings into activity τὸ φυτικόν—that
is, the nature of making bodies grow and of moving them.

“And this [soul], though the last thing in the divine series, is nevertheless the first thing in us and in all terrestrial
beings; just as this body [of ours], though the dregs of things divine, is still the first substance of the animal world.

“And this is the difference between terrene bodies and supernal—I mean those of the heaven and stars and of the
other elements—that the latter are summoned upwards to the abode of the soul, and are worthy of immunity from
death from the very nature of the space in which they are and their imitation of sublimity.

“The soul, however, is drawn down to these terrene bodies, and so it is thought to die when it is imprisoned in the
region of things fallen and in the abode of death. Nor should it cause distress that we have so often spoken of death
in connection with the soul, which we have declared to be superior to death. For the soul is not annihilated by [what
is called] its death, but is [only] buried for a time; nor is the blessing of its perpetuity taken from it by its submersion
for a time, since when it shall have made it worthy to be cleansed clean utterly of all contagion of its vice, it shall
once more return from body to the light of Everlasting Life restored and whole.”

The characteristics of the spheres are according to their simple energies; there is no question of good or bad; it is the
“thinking” of the soul that conditions the use of these energies for beneficent or maleficent ends.

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From the sahasrāra chakra Divinity descends to the ājrīā chakra, located at the junction of the eyebrows. Here the
soul makes its entry into the physical body through the negative pole, the medulla oblongata, of the ājrīā chakra. It is
here that the individual soul has come into existence, distinct from God. The soul has not forgotten God, but there is
a separation,a duality.

As the soul descends from ājrīā chakra in the astral spine, to the fifth centre, viśuddha chakra, at the level of the
throat, the soul is no longer in union with God The soul still feels God’s presence; there is still an intensity of feeling
for God but it is not very clear.

The soul continues its journey downward in the spine to the level of the heart, anāhata chakra. At this level of the
descent, the soul has awareness of God but the intensity of feeling for God is lessened.

The soul comes to rest

God is still within the heart and soul of the individual being as it descends through the chakras, but as it descends
further below the three highest chakras, the soul’s awareness becomes more and more obscured. Below the level of
the heart the soul enters the next centre at the navel, manipura chakra. Here identification with the body-mind-ego is
beginning to take effect, and the awareness of God is fading.

The soul then passes deeper downward in the spine through the svādhisthāna chakra, becoming more entangled in
bondage to matter. Finally, the soul reaches the lowest centre at the base of the spine, mulādhāra chakra. In this last
stage of the downward journey through the chakras the soul comes to rest. Now the soul has become more aware

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and identified with gross matter, with the material form of the body and the mind. It has also forgotten God. Clothed
in the physical form, the individual soul forgets its real identity. The primal life-force known as kundalini śākti now
lies latent.

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According to Macrobius, the galaxy crosses the Zodiac in two opposite points, Cancer and Capricorn, the tropical
points in the sun’s course, ordinarily called the Gates of the Sun. Through these gates, souls descend to earth and re-
ascend to Heaven. In Cicero’s Dream of Scipio, a discourse on the nature of the cosmos, the Gate of Men; and the
other, the Gate of the Gods. Cancer was the former because souls descended by it to the earth, and Capricorn the
latter, because by it they re-ascended to their seats of immortality and became Gods.

According to Macrobius, the soul descended through the spheres of the seven planets as it descends from the
highest heavens to manifest as a physical matter on earth. When the soul encounters Saturn’s heaven, the seventh
sphere, it gains the power of reasoning and theorizing.

In the next sphere, the sixth level closer to earth, the soul alights on Jupiter where it showed the Saturn’s gift
of reason and critical analysis that can be put into practice so that the soul can direct the earthly body towards
success or spiritual enlightenment.

In the 5th heaven Mars, the soul obtains the passion, courage and zealous qualities to the soul.

Below Mars, the soul encounters the Sun in the 4th level, where it meets glorious light in the purest form and
envisages the potential for its own illumination or enlightenment. It absorbs the Sun’s spirit and brings with it the
soul potential during the lifetime.

In the third heaven Venus, the soul inherits the motion of desires, beauty, and balance.

At the second level from earth, Mercury bestows the power of language and communication in order for it to be
capable of interpreting human feelings and giving expression to its emotions.

When the soul enters the Moon’ realm the sphere nearest to Earth, the soul absorbs the Moon’s essence which
includes the awareness that it will soon experience the changes of physical movement, growth, and eventual decay.

When the soul is drawn towards the body, it begins to experience a material agitation, matter flowing into it and
likens to the human experience of drinking excessive amounts of alcohol as Plato’s remarked in the Phaedo.

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On its return, it restores to each sphere through which it ascends, the passions and earthly faculties received from
them: to the Moon, the faculty of increase and diminution of the body; to Mercury, fraud, the architect of evils; to
Venus, the seductive love of pleasure; to the Sun, the passion for greatness and empire; to Mars, audacity and
temerity; to Jupiter, avarice; and to Saturn, falsehood and deceit: and at last, relieved of all, it enters naked and pure
into the eighth sphere or highest Heaven.. from Morals and Dogma

The ascending pattern is the reverse of the descent which starts from the Moon, the Sun, Mercury, Venus, Mars,
Jupiter, then Saturn until enters the eight sphere of the highest Heaven,

All this agrees with the doctrine of Plato, that the soul cannot re-enter into Heaven until the revolutions of the
Universe shall have restored it to its primitive condition, and purified it from the effects of its contact with the four
elements.” …From Morals and Dogma by Albert Pike.

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Journey of the Soul

“The ancient Philosophers regarded the soul of man as having had its origin in Heaven. That was, Macrobius says, a
settled opinion among them all; and they held it to be the only true wisdom, for the soul, while united with the body,
to look ever toward its source, and strive to return to the place whence it came. Among the fixed stars it dwelt, until,
seduced by the desire of animating a body, it descended to be imprisoned in matter.

Let us, in order to understand this old Thought, first follow the soul in its descent. The sphere or Heaven of the fixed
stars was that Holy Region, and those Elysian Fields, that were the native domicile of souls, and the place to which
they re-ascended, when they had recovered their primitive purity and simplicity. From that luminous region the soul
set forth, when it journeyed toward the body; a destination which it did not reach until it had undergone three
degradations, designated by the name of Deaths; and until it had passed through the several spheres and the
elements.

All souls remained in possession of Heaven and of happiness, so long as they were wise enough to avoid the
contagion of the body, and to keep themselves from any contact with matter. But those who, from that lofty abode,
where they were lapped in eternal light, have looked longingly toward the body, and toward that which we here
below call life, but which is to the soul a real death; and who have conceived for it a secret desire,–those souls,
victims of their concupiscence, are attracted by degrees toward the inferior regions of the world, by the mere weight
of thought and of that terrestrial desire.

The soul, perfectly incorporeal, does not at once invest itself with the gross envelope of the body, but little by little,
by successive and insensible alterations, and in proportion as it removes further and further from the simple and
perfect substance in which it dwelt at first. It first surrounds itself with a body composed of the substance of the
stars; and afterward, as it descends through the several spheres, with ethereal matter more and more gross, thus by
degrees descending to an earthly body; and its number of degradations or deaths being the same as that of the
spheres which it traverses.

The Galaxy, Macrobius says, crosses the Zodiac in two opposite points, Cancer and Capricorn, the tropical points in
the sun’s course, ordinarily called the Gates of the Sun.

Through these gates souls were supposed to descend to earth and re-ascend to Heaven. One, Macrobius says, in his
dream of Scipio, was styled the Gate of Men; and the other, the Gate of the Gods. Cancer was the former, because
souls descended by it to the earth; and Capricorn the latter, because by it they re-ascended to their seats of
immortality, and became Gods. From the Milky Way, according to Pythagoras, diverged the route to the dominions
of Pluto. Until they left the Galaxy, they were not deemed to have commenced to descend toward the terrestrial
bodies. From that they departed, and to that they returned. Until they reached the sign Cancer, they had not left it,
and were still Gods. When they reached Leo, they commenced their apprenticeship for their future condition; and
when they were at Aquarius, the sign opposite Leo, they were furthest removed from human life.

The soul, descending from the celestial limits, where the Zodiac and Galaxy unite, loses its spherical shape, the
shape of all Divine Nature, and is lengthened into a cone, as a point is lengthened into a line; and then, an indivisible
monad before, it divides itself and becomes a dead–that is, unity becomes division, disturbance, and conflict. Then it
begins to experience the disorder which reigns in matter, to which it unites itself, becoming, as it were, intoxicated
by draughts of grosser matter: of which inebriation the cup of Bakchos, between Cancer and Leo, is a symbol. It is
for them the cup of forgetfulness. They assemble, says Plato, in the fields of oblivion, to drink there the water of the
river Ameles, which causes men to forget everything.

Dragged down by the heaviness produced by this inebriating draught, the soul falls along the zodiac and the milky
way to the lower spheres, and in its descent not only takes, in each sphere, a new envelope of the material
composing the luminous bodies of the planets, but receives there the different faculties which it is to exercise while
it inhabits the body.

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In Saturn, it acquires the power of reasoning and intelligence, or what is termed the logical and contemplative
faculty. From Jupiter it receives the power of action. Mars gives it valor, enterprise, and impetuosity. From the Sun
it receives the senses and imagination, which produce sensation, perception, and thought. Venus inspires it with
desires. Mercury gives it the faculty of expressing and enunciating what it thinks and feels. And, on entering the
sphere of the Moon, it acquires the force of generation and growth. This lunary sphere, lowest and basest to divine
bodies, is first and highest to terrestrial bodies. And the lunary body there assumed by the soul, while, as it were, the
sediment of celestial matter, is also the first substance of animal matter.

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The stars represent soul patterns, not experiences. The twelve signs of the zodiac are twelve patterns from which the
soul chooses when coming into the Earth realm. They are like races - patterns of temperament, personality, etc.

The star signs of the zodiac, for instance, influence people in subtler ways: by making them bullish, or lionish, or
airy, or introspective. The afterlife realms, manifested physically by the planets, are old dwelling places of the soul.
The planets influence people when they come to a point of prominence in the sky just as a person who had once
lived in a certain city would be influenced by reading of it, or meeting someone from the town, or by seeing
photographs of it.

Edgar Cayce, not quote

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In ancient cosmology, the solstices were visualized as gates or portals through which the Sun (the Soul/Sol) would
pass through each year. The gates that marked these great shifts in the Sun’s journey are still known today as the
Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn.

Note that the Tropic of Cancer and its opposite the Tropic of Capricorn represent the exact latitudes where the Sun
(sol) reaches its solstices. The Tropic of Cancer is the most northerly circle of latitude on the Earth at which the Sun
can be directly overhead. The Sun only reaches the Tropic of Cancer at the solstice on June 21st.

In ancient star lore and theology, the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn, were sometimes referred to as the two
entrances to the Cave of the Nymphs, a mythical place that described the journey of the soul’s (sol) generation
into physical form.

In the ancient world, the signs of Cancer and Capricorn linked the microcosm to the macrocosm. The former
represented the earthly material realm and the latter represented the immortal heavenly realm. Thus, the signs of
Cancer and Capricorn facilitated the perpetual cycle of souls through birth and death; from the descent into matter
to the ascent back into heaven.

Birth was when souls descended to Earth through the gates of Cancer.

And death was when souls ascended into heaven through the gates of Capricorn.

Thus, the Cave of the Nymphs, with its northern and southern portals, illustrates a kind of metaphysical distillation
process: the immaterial soul (sol) descends from Heaven into Earthly life (Cancer) and then from Earthly life back
up to Heaven.(Capricorn)

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We observe then in the above image, that the Sun on 22/12 stops its downward course to the South, the moment
it is found in the sign of Capricorn, in the month of Poseidon (December-January) which is visible from Greece, and
starts its upward course to the North. It is when the winter begins and the human souls passed after death through
that zodiac to reach the Heavens (“Gate of the Gods” – Winter Solstice). In reverse on 21/6 the Sun stops its
upwards course to the North, the moment it is found in the Sign of Cancer in the month of Skirophorion (June-July)
and starts descending to the South. It is the beginning of the Summer and the souls descended through this zodiac
to enter new bodies (“Gate of Mortals” – Summer Solstice).

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The Descend of the Soul

From the classical period it was understood that souls choose their life and then fall into matter in order to live out
the chosen life. Plato (450 BCE) tells a story in the Myth of Err about souls waiting to be born. An angel, messenger
of the Divine comes along with a number of lives from which the souls impetuously grab one, with little regards for
the consequence of their choice.

Taking their chosen life to the three Fates, they would wait while the Fates checked the spindle of life around
which the stars, sun, moon and planets spun and make sure that everything lined up to allow the life chosen to
unfold and end as it should. Only when everything lined up properly was the soul thrown down into incarnation to
live out their chosen life. Falling into incarnation the soul had to pass through the seven planetary gates or
spheres. At each gate they would take on qualities and gifts both good and bad that would help shape their
temperamental nature.

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The soul’s descent through the planetary spheres begins with Saturn the most distant of the visible planets where
they take on structure and authority. Here the soul also takes on grief, the grief of being restricted by the matter
and time, the physical reality they so readily jumped into.

At the gates of Jupiter the soul gains the desire to rule, to give and receive honour as well as the impulse for
wealth and the power to act. Envy is the down side of Jupiter’s gifts. Mars gives the soul bold spirit as well as
impulsive and reckless daring. Here the soul also acquires discernment and is given the ability to cut through the
dross, but with these new found gifts also comes the propensity for aggression and cruelty.

In the sphere of the Sun the soul acquires vision and the sense of perception. With these gifts comes pride and in
the extreme, arrogance. Venus the next planetary sphere through which the soul passes, offers the gift of love and
the impulse for passion. Beauty, luxury and the arts are also gifts of Venus, as is her negative expression, lust.

Mercury gives the soul the analytical faculty of the mind and language with which to communicate. But he also
gives them the ability for evil plotting, a yearning for money and greed. The final sphere is that of the Moon, which
imparts to the soul its body and the ability to change and grow. This is where the soul acquires hunger and its
pains. Gluttony is one of the Moons not so pleasant offerings.

This journey down through the planetary spheres is most profound for it begins with Saturn ruler of Capricorn
which is the point of the winter/summer solstice and ends with the Moon ruler of the summer/winter solstices.
Astrologically the Moon is a symbol of the infant and so it should that the soul is born into this plane of existence
as an infant.

On the way out of this life the soul again passes through the planetary spheres in the reverse order, but this time it
releases the qualities and gifts back to each planet, finally giving up structure, authority and grief at the gates of
Saturn. Astrologically Saturn is the symbol of the old man and death, a fitting end to the incarnated life.

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The Milky Way, which passes near Cancer and Capricorn, the two doors of heaven, was considered by the ancient
theologians to be the road which souls passed over (Porphyr. de Antro, p. 127; Manil. 1. I. ver. 762). They formed,
in fact, according to Pythagoras, that assemblage of shades which met in the Milky Way, or the Road of Milk, to
which this name is given on account of the souls which descend here below into the world of generation in order to
feed upon milk, which is their principal food; and it is for that reason also that those who invite the shades of the
dead to come to their tombs by means of libations mingle milk with the honey in them.

Macrobius (1. I. cap. ix.) speaks of the natural abode of souls, which he fixes in the first sphere: "Animis enim nee
dum desiderio corporis irretitis siderea pars mundi prsestat hubitaculum, et inde labuntur in corpora. Ideo his ill6 est
reditus qui merentur. Rectissime ergo dictum est, cum in Galaxia, quam Aplanes continet, sermo iste procedat: hue
profecti, hue revertuntur."

Macrobius gives nearly the same explanations as Pythagoras respecting the mode in which the cave of Ithaca was
arranged, and respecting the two gates of the Sun and of souls, and the Milky Way (Somn. Scip. 1. I. cap. xii.). He
also brings into this theory the celebrated crater, or celestial cup, of the mysteries, which is near Cancer and Leo,
that is, near the domicile of the two stars which were also called the two gates of the souls (Porph. de Antro),
assigning the one by which they descended to the moon, and the one by which they re-ascended to the sun.

As, according to Porphyry (Somn. Scip. 1.1, cap. xxi.), the progression of souls, or rather their progressive
movement through the universe, takes place through the midst of the fixed stars and the planets, those who
superintended the cave of Mithra did not confine themselves to delineating the zodiac and the other constellations,
and to marking gates at the four cardinal points of the zodiac through which the souls entered into the world of

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generation or left it, and through which they passed from the empire of light to that of darkness, and vice versa.
They also represented in it the seven planetary spheres through which the souls are obliged to pass in order to come
down from the heaven of the fixed stars to the elements which envelop the earth, and they marked seven gates, one
for each planet, through which the souls passed both when they ascended and when they descended. "Celsus," says
Origen (Contr. Cels. 1. VI.), "pretends, like Plato, that the path of souls from heaven to earth and from earth to
heaven lies through planets. And in order to make a great show of learning in his controversy with us, he says that
this doctrine is held sacred in the mysteries of the Persians, and in the ceremonies of initiation of their god Mithra.
Celsus says that in these mysteries they drew by varied symbols the celestial spheres, both the fixed stars and the
planets, and the paths which the souls took through these spheres. The symbolic imagery they used was as follows.
They represented a ladder which reached from earth to heaven, and which was divided into seven steps or stages, on
each of which was a door, and at the top there was an eighth door, which was no doubt the door of the fixed stars.

The first of the seven doors, which were ranged along the mystic ladder, was made of lead, the second of tin, the
third of shining brass, the fourth of iron, the fifth of alloy, the sixth of silver, and the seventh of gold. "The first gate
was the gate of Saturn, whose slowness of movement was represented by the heaviness of lead. The second was the
gate of Venus, whose soft, light and flexible nature was represented by tin. The third was the gate of Jupiter, whose
solidity and arid nature were expressed by brass. The fourth was the gate of Mercury, whose indefatigable activity
was expressed by iron, of which his gate was made; an allusion was also intended to his mercantile genius and his
sagacity. The fifth gate was the gate of Mars, and the alloy of which it was made represented his unequal and
variable nature. The sixth was the gate of the Moon, and the seventh the gate of the Sun. The colours of the planets
were designated by the metals of which their gates were made."

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Plato described our descent into life on planet Earth as a soul journey originating in the Fixed Stars and then
descending through the various spheres or influences of the [then known] seven planets.

When our life on planet Earth is finished, our souls then ascend back through the spheres or influences of the
planets.

Planetary Symbolism

Moon (Luna) - where we've already been, the past, instincts, the unconscious, body

Sun (Sol) - where we're going in the future, heart, identity, consciousness, vitality, spirit

Venus - relating abilities, pleasure, enjoyment, values

Mercury - communication, intelligence, thought, ideas

Mars - assertiveness, action, getting what you want, survival

Jupiter - expansion, beneficent, jovial, opportunity, religious

Saturn - restriction, limitations, structure, learning hard lessons

Uranus - independence, the unexpected, intuition, genius, ingenuity, shock, inventive, detachment

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Neptune - dependence, foggy, romantic, misty, mystical, magnetic, slightly out of focus, loss of ego, imagination

Pluto - intensity, hidden, invisible, transformation, survivor, eros, erotic

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In classical antiquity, the constellation Cancer and its counterpart Capricornus held the positions of the Sun at the
solstices. When the fixed stars of Cancer marked the position of the Sun at the June solstice, this key station marked
the gateway for the descent of souls into incarnation. Cancer was known as the 'Gate of Men' through which souls
descended from heaven into human bodies. During the migration of souls, men’s spirits dwelt in the Milky Way, the
seed-ground of the soul, between incarnations. It was also believed by the ancients that the souls of men, when
released from corporeity, ascended back to heaven through the stars of Capricorn, known as the 'Gate of the Gods'.
These two 'Gates' are located where the Zodiac and the Milky Way intersect. Because of the precession of the
equinoxes—i.e., by reason of the earth’s wobble the North Pole moves backward one zodiacal sign every 2,000
years—the Gate of Cancer is now in Gemini and the Gate of Capricorn is now in Sagittarius; for the constellations
that serve as 'Gates' must 'stand' upon the earth, meaning that they must rise heliacally at the solstices.

"The Galaxy, Macrobius says, crosses the Zodiac in two opposite points, Cancer and Capricorn, the tropical points
in the sun's course, ordinarily called the Gates of the Sun. These two tropics, before his time [Aries], corresponded
with those constellations, but in his day [Pisces] with Gemini and Sagittarius, in consequence of the precession of
the equinoxes; but the signs of the Zodiac remained unchanged; and the Milky Way crossed at the signs Cancer and
Capricorn, though not at those constellations.

"Through these gates souls were supposed to descend to earth and re-ascend to Heaven. One, Macrobius says, in his
dream of Scipio, was styled the Gate of Men; and the other, the Gate of the Gods. Cancer was the former, because
souls descended by it to the earth; and Capricorn the latter, because by it they re-ascended to their seats of
immortality, and became Gods. From the Milky Way, according to Pythagoras, diverged the route to the dominions
of Pluto. Until they left the Galaxy, they were not deemed to have commenced to descend toward the terrestrial
bodies. From that they departed, and to that they returned. Until they reached the sign Cancer, they had not left it,
and were still Gods. When they reached Leo, they commenced their apprenticeship for their future condition; and
whey they were at Aquarius, the sign opposite Leo, they were furthest removed from human life...

"...the soul falls along the zodiac and the milky way to the lower spheres, and in its descent not only takes, in each
sphere, a new envelope of the material composing the luminous bodies of the planets, but receives there the different
faculties which it is to exercise while it inhabits the body..." - 155:437-8

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In his book, "The Mysteries of Mithra", Cumont said:"The heavens were divided into seven spheres, each of which
wasconjoined with a planet. A sort of ladder, composed of eight superimposed gates, the first seven of which were
constructed of different metals, was the symbolic suggestion in the temples, of theroad to be followed to reach the
supreme region of the fixed stars. To pass from one story to the next, each time the wayfarer had to enter a gate
guarded by an angel of Ormazd. The initiates alone, to whom the appropriate formulas had been taught, knew how
to appease these inexorable guardians. As the soul traversed these different zones,it rid itself, as one would of
garments, of the passions and faculties that it had received in its descent to the earth. It abandoned to the Moon its
vital and nutritive energy, toMercury its intellectual capacities, to Mars its love of war, toJupiter its ambitious
dreams, to Saturn its inclinations. It was naked, stripped of every vice and every sensibility, an essence supreme, and
in the eternal light that bathed the gods,beautitude without end."

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Planet of the Sixth Ray

9
Esoteric Ruler of Scorpio

As both the exoteric and esoteric ruler of Scorpio, Mars has a dual expression. It is the ruler of the desire nature.

On the esoteric level, this is the desire for physical incarnation, hence the rulership of Mars over Aries on the
personality/physical level. It is here on the personality level that Mars reveals itself as a vehicle for sacrifice, as it is
through physical incarnation that the Soul is seen as descending into matter (form) and thus ~sacrificing~ an aspect
of itself for life in the denser physical world. It is that process which evokes the ~death~ of an aspect of one’s
Higher Self so that manifestation in the three worlds of the lower self is made possible. This is the ~mortification of
the Soul~ and the willing sacrifice of the ~Light which is Love~ so that It may be born into the world of Man, and
thus be of benefit to humanity. This descent into matter is part of each of our Paths.

Our ~rebirth into Light~ always requires the redemption of the lower self by the Higher. It is the ~Journey Home~,
as we progress through the Path of Discipleship to the Door of Initiation in Capricorn. It is also the testing ground of
the ~Doorkeeper~ - the Lord of Karma, Saturn.

The desire for the release from manifestation is also a function of Mars, as the personality seeks its death - the
~mortifcation of the flesh~, so that its inner, spiritual Essence may join with the Parent-soul after the experiences in
an Earthly incarnation.

Mars is thus the ruler of the death of the Higher Self as it seeks to birth itself in the personality. It is also the ruler of
the death of the personality (including physical death) so that reunification with the Soul may take place.

Mars stimulates physical vitality through its association with the bloodstream. It can be said to have rulership over
the entire physical body while consciousness is polarised exclusively in the lower self. This facet of its rulership has
a great deal to do with the relationship Mars has to sexuality and the urge to reproduce oneself - and thus, in the
biological sense, at least, conquer death. Mars is associated with the solar plexus centre, the source of the astral-
desire body of the personality, and is thus thoroughly linked with the passions of the five senses.

For the person who is mounting the Fixed Cross, Mars brings about those tests and trials which are so much a part of
the life of the Disciple and reveals the connection the Path has with Scorpio.

Mars is thus the agent of the ~war of dualities~ primary among which is the battle between the Soul and the
personality.

This particular duality has been interpreted by the major 6th Ray religion, (Mars & Neptune dominated)
Christianity, as the "battle between good and evil". Christianity embodies many of the Sixth Ray, martial qualities so
closely associated with this planet. It is a religion of intense devotion, idealism and courage. When examining it at
its height during the Crusades and its Inquisition period (which did not end officially until the 19th century), a
certain degree of fanaticism and consistent pre-occupation with the ~Blood of Christ~ is also a fixed quality of is
expression, especially in its Catholic forms. The ~war of opposites~, characterised by Mars, also applies to the war
which traditional Christianity has had with sexuality; its obsession with sinfulness, anti-feminism, and clerical male
dominance.

The higher Sixth Ray of this religion would be embodied in Mar’s higher octave, as viewed from the Soul level,
Neptune. The Lord Jesus was a Master of the Sixth Ray of devotion to Love. It is when Mars and the Sixth Ray are
expressed through the religion of the personality and the collective expression of the solar plexus that the so called
and self-proclaimed ~armies of God~ are created, which slaughter and main others.

This facet of Mars and its effect of religion is not limited to the Christian sects, but applies equally to any one of a
number of religions which may claim superiority over any other way to the One Divinity. In the Aquarian Age, we
can look for a calming of such war like expressions, as the Sixth Ray dominance gives way to the unfolding Seventh
Ray influence of the times.

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In the esoteric natal horoscope, the position of Mars by sign and house will indicate several matters.

1. Where and how the desires of the flesh have to be transmuted into the desires of the Soul.

2. Where the battle between the Higher Self and the lower is most likely to occur.

3. Where the primary magnetic attachment of the personality, and especially that which relates to the emotional
perspective of ~me-and-mine~ is located.

4. Where the Soul-personality fusion is likely to occur once the Fixed Cross has been mounted.

As to the timing of these events, transiting aspects of Pluto and Neptune to Mars are likely indications that the battle
lines are being drawn and the objectification of the inherent tension of duality are about to take place.

Mars through thr Signs

(Reference Alan Oken)

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

The polar opposite to Capricorn is Cancer and these two signs are the two great gates of the zodiac — Cancer opens
the door into incarnation and human experience, while Capricorn opens the door into the life of the spirit and the
Kingdom of God. Cancer admits the soul into the group of Humanity, as all souls take their very first human
incarnation in this sign. Capricorn is regarded as another door and is called esoterically the "doorway into life of
those who know not death," or those who will no longer incarnate. Capricorn admits the soul into conscious
participation in the Life of that world centre which we call the Hierarchy. It is said, Capricorn guards the Secret of
the Soul Itself, the Secret of the Hidden Glory.

Some astrologers assign Saturn as one of the rulers of Capricorn, although it may be more accurate to address the
Saturnian influence of Capricorn in those who have not yet taken initiation. The density and crystallisation process
Capricorn signifies can certainly be said to be Saturnian qualities. However, on the reversed wheel, the Saturn
influence exhausts itself in Capricorn and the initiate is then free from karma and stands free, a true Master Mason,
and can proceed with world service undeterred by any thought of self or selfish desire. At that point, Uranus is the
ruler of Capricorn. This influence will focus and develop the will nature as the initiate develops into a leader,
bringing about desired changes enabling the soul of humanity to express itself more freely.

Capricorn can express all the worst of which a person is capable, and all the best. It is a sign of extremes — all
world Saviours are born in Capricorn — but also the very worst type of person — hard, materialistic, cruel, proud,
selfishly ambitious and egoistic. The head rules the heart in such cases, whereas in the perfect example of the
influences of Capricorn, head and heart are perfectly balanced. In Capricorn we have the triumph of matter; it
reaches its densest and most concrete expression; but this triumph is followed by that of spirit. There is full
expression of the earthly nature in Capricorn, but also immense spiritual possibilities.

Capricorn rules the knees and this is symbolically true, for only when true humility is mastered can the disciple be
permitted to pass through the door of initiation and be entrusted with the secrets of life. Only on our knees can we go
through that door. When the person born in Capricorn can kneel in spirit and in truth, they are ready for the initiatory
process upon the mountaintop.

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

According to various sources including Edgar Cayce and Theosophists, as the soul enters the universe through the
galactic centre, it first travels to the star Sirius- the brightest and largest planetary body in our galaxy to receive its

11
divine path. Some believe these are where the Akashic records are stored. From there the soul enters our visible Sun
and enters Earth.

As the soul descends through the planetary dimensions, it gathers frequencies from each dimension. It will collect
the most frequencies from a specific dimension of a planet which becomes one’s Soul Planet- the planet with the
highest degree. Planets in your horoscope with high degrees… 24 degrees and up showcase very strong karmic
implications of those planets. Think of it as the planet reaching maturity, consolidation, strength, and wisdom.

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

THE DEEPER ROLE OF THE SOLAR SYSTEM

There are 9 main planets in the solar system: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and
Pluto. Each of these planets has a function to carry out in the project “Earth”. In this article I’ll discuss how planets
function among each other on the subtle level.

The solar system is a system intended for the improvement of beings. Improvement in the solar system starts at
two planets: Pluto and Neptune. Souls from dark places of the Universe come to Pluto in order to prepare for
rebirth on Earth. The souls who learn nothing on Earth, even in the hellish levels, also go to Pluto, and it’s like a
step backwards on the journey of the improvement of the souls. If the souls continue not improving, then they go
back to the dark layers. The souls from the bright parts of the Universe go to Neptune, and here they prepare for
going to Earth. The vibrations of these souls are very high, and in Neptune their vibrations are reduced in order to
fit the energetics of Mother Earth. On the other hand, Pluto, there are souls whose energetic vibrations are very
low, and here they are raised in order to be suitable for the Earthly vibrations. Sometimes it so happens that a soul
that has been to Pluto, and before that it had been to the darker layers of the Universe, and it later gets to Pluto,
and after that even to the dark layers of the Universe. This happens because the souls are not able to improve in
the vibrations and choose to know darkness in this way, and, after knowing it, they go back to Earth.

Transmission stops of the souls going from Pluto and Neptune to Earth are Venus and Mars. In these planets the
to-be human’s gender is formed. It’s said not without a reason that men are from Mars and women are from
Venus because the souls of to-be men form in mars, and those of to-be women in Venus.

Once a soul descends onto Earth, Mother Earth creates it a body. God the Father gives it spirit, heart and the
highest ones. The mind, the logics, the subconscious and the conscious are created by Father and Mother
together. When a person is created, then starts his path of improvement on Earth that lasts for many lifetimes. The
spirit, body, the highest ones, mind, logics, conscious and subconscious are given to a person for one lifetime, and
the soul, as well as the heart, are given for all the lifetimes. Learning of Earth consists of five stages:

THE STAGE OF APPREHENDING MATERIALITY. This stage consists of two parts. In the first part, the souls are
learning to conceive the importance of materiality through poverty. Before coming to Earth, the souls are without
a physical body and materiality barely has any influence on them, thus during their first lifetimes, through poverty,
they realize the importance of materiality. In the second part of this stage, the souls live the lives of fighters and
soldiers. Many close ones die in the environment of these souls. And often even they themselves lose the physical
body in their lifetimes. The purpose of souls that are in this stage is to learn to protect and value the physical body.

THE STAGE OF DISTRIBUTION OF MATERIALITY. Since, in the first stage, souls realize the importance of materiality,
in the second stage they’re then learning to properly distribute it. In this stage, people live a series of financially
rich lifetimes. If the distribution of materiality is completely incorrect, then karma returns to the first stage in the

12
following lifetime, or sometimes in the same one. In order for the allocation of materiality to be appropriate,
people must focus not only on their own benefit, but also see a global benefit for the humanity.

THE STAGE OF SPIRITUALITY. In this stage, a person renounces their possessions, and delves into himself or herself,
in order to get to know their true nature. Askesis is inevitable at this stage and separating oneself from the society
is truly necessary in order to get to know oneself and God. In this stage, a person finds their spiritual teacher that
guides them on the path of improvement. Cleansing from one’s dark parts takes place, while, eventually, one
dissolves into total light. Such souls liberate themselves from the karmic circle of Earth. They ascend and travel to
Jupiter, where preparation to move towards the Sun takes place. Ascended masters, also known as the ascended
lords gather in the Sun. They are beings that have passed the stage of learning on Earth, and with their knowledge
are helping the whole solar system to improve. These are beings such as Buddha, Christ, Krishna, Babaji, Sai Baba…

THE STAGE OF CONSCIOUSNESS. This stage started in 2012. The events of why and how the stage of consciousness
has occurred are described thoroughly in the first part of the article series “Deeper into the Secrets of the
Universe”. All the time, from the beginning of the creation of Earth, the highest state that was possible to achieve
in it had been spirituality. In 2012, this situation changed and now the highest state is there, where our hearts are
taking us. Consciousness is a combination of materiality and spirituality. How is spirituality different from
consciousness? While in spirituality there’s askesis, in consciousness, a person goes into the society (the system)
and changes it from within. While, in spirituality, one is guided by a spiritual teacher, in consciousness one is
guided by his or her heart. While, in spirituality, one focuses on observing, in consciousness one focuses on
creation. While in spirituality, materiality is refused, in consciousness, it is necessary in order for creation to take
place. While, in spirituality, one cleanses of one’s dark parts, in consciousness both bright and dark parts are
assimilated, in order to be bigger and to be able to create more – one is learning to direct them to follow the path
of one’s heart. While, in spirituality, beings that cleanse themselves of their dark parts are ascending, on the subtle
level, in order to dissolve into light and be able to control the Universal processes, in consciousness, one learns to
do that while in the physical body and on earth. Consciousness is a new stage, and souls are coming from all parts
of the Universe to learn it, including the ascended masters and angels.

Sometimes, it so happens that the whole civilization cleanses itself of dark parts and ascends. That has happened
with parts of the civilizations of the Mayans, the Toltecs, and the Atlanteans. When this happens, these
communities go to Uranus where they prepare to go to Jupiter, and from Jupiter to the sun. Such transitions take
hundreds of years, and, sometimes, thousands of years.

Mercury is the transformer of negative energy into positive energy. When on Earth there is too much negative
energy, its overabundance is transferred by angels to Mercury. Here it is shone onto by the ascended masters from
the Sun, in this way, transforming the positive energy, which angels then return back to Earth. The more people
become conscious, the better they’re able to deal with energies. The more people are able to deal with energies,
the more angels are reborn as humans because their old tasks become irrelevant. By taking on the responsibility to
deal with our lives on both the subtle and the physical levels, we receive the necessary abilities that we return back
from angels. In return for the responsibilities that had been transferred onto them, the abilities for protecting
ourselves had also been given away.

Saturn is the antenna of the solar system, through which it receives energy from the whole Universe.

Until next time!

Rokas Jarašius.

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……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
According to Chaldean teaching:

 The planetary spheres were conceived as a series of concentric spheres extending as

far as the sphere of the zodiac of fixed stars, with the Earth held fast at the centre.

 Sublunary bodies (between the Earth and the Moon's orbit) are of mixed nature: they are
formed of varying blends of the four ever-interchanging elements, earth, water, fire and
air, and so are subject to generation and corruption.

 Bodies situated beyond the lunar orbit are, on the contrary, formed of pure fire or of a
fifth quintessence whose designation (ether) derives from the unceasing motion of its
essence (tein aei: ever running). It follows that all celestial bodies are incorruptible. With
respect to the Earth, their ranking is defined by their period of revolution round the
zodiac: the slower the star's motion, the further it is from the Earth. This supposition fixed
the 'Chaldean Order' referred to from the 2nd century BCE onward.[2]

Each of the spheres was presided over by a god, as listed below, starting from the first sphere
encircling the Earth:

 the sphere of the lunar goddess Hecate, described by the Moon's orbit;

 the sphere of Hermes, described by the planet Mercury's orbit round the sphere of the
Moon;

 the sphere of Aphrodite, described by the planet Venus' orbit embracing the sphere of
Mercury;

 the sphere of Apollo - that of the Sun - containing the spheres of the Moon, Mercury and
Venus;

 the sphere of Ares (Mars);

 the sphere of Zeus (Jupiter);

 the sphere of Chronos (Saturn);

 lastly, the seven planetary spheres (Moon, Mercury, Venus, Sun, Mars, Jupiter and
Saturn) were embraced by an eighth, the sphere of the fixed stars comprising the
Zodiac;

 then came the spheres situated beyond the planets: the sphere of the gods who reside
beyond the planetary spheres; the sphere of the Demiurge in charge of creation; and the
sphere of the First Intelligence. Finally, beyond the universe thus far expounded, the
Creator of the world, He Whom the Chaldean Oracles name 'Father'.[3]

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The Formulation of This Vision of The World

The Incarnation of The Soul

In Chaldean theology the spheres were the worlds presided over by the planetary gods; worlds
traversed by souls on their way to incarnation and on their ascension after death. In the dream
of Scipio, which ends Book VI of his De Republica, Cicero explicitly states:

To men is imparted a soul emanated from those eternal fires you call stars and luminaries
which, round and spherical, quickened by divine spirits, perform their revolutions and
perambulate their orbits with an admirable celerity.

According to these teachings, the human soul lives in the celestial world. Then it enters the
terrestrial world through conception and birth, acquiring a physical body. On its way to
incarnation the soul traverses the planetary spheres, assuming a subtle, also known as 'astral',
body.[4]Just as in earthly life the native will each day put on a series of garments, from light
underclothes to heavy overcoat, so the incandescent flame of the human soul, in the course of
its descent from its universe of origin into the terrestrial body, assumes a vesture formed of the
substances of the spheres it traverses.

This astral body comprises 'virtues' (qualities and instincts) received from the planetary spheres
traversed. Since this involves on one hand the planetary spheres, while on the other their
traversal takes place outside time to end in birth into our terrestrial sphere, these qualities are
reflected in the configuration of the planets at the moment of birth. Macrobius' Commentary On
The Dream Of Scipio describes the descent through the planetary spheres thus:

"Souls freed of all material contagion dwell in heaven; but those who, from this abode on high,
where they are bathed in a light eternal, have cast a downward glance at bodies and at what is
here below called life, and who have conceived for life a secret desire, are dragged little by little

15
down toward the nether regions of the world, by nought but the weight of this earthbound
thought. Yet no sudden fall is this, but by degrees. The soul, perfectly incorporeal, assumes not
at once the gross mantle of corporeal clay, but imperceptibly, and through a chain of
adulterations suffered one by one as it recedes from the pure and simple substance wherein
once it dwelt, to gird and swell itself with substance of the planets. For, in each of the spheres
placed beneath the heaven of fixed stars, it swathes itself in several layers of ethereal matter
which, imperceptibly, form an intermediary bond by which it is united with the earthly body; so
that it suffers as many degradations or as many deaths as spheres traversed." (Ch.XII)

The qualities acquired by the soul in the course of its descent through the spheres are thus
described:

"And in its descent, not only does it [the soul] assume the aforesaid new sheath of matter from
these luminous bodies, but it receives there the different faculties it must exercise throughout its
sojourn in the body. From Saturn it acquires reason and understanding, or what is called the
logical and contemplative faculty; from Jupiter it receives the power to act, or executive power;
Mars gives it the valour required for enterprise, and a burning zeal; from the Sun it receives the
senses and the power of invention, that make it feel and imagine; Venus moves it with desires;
from the sphere of Mercury it takes the power to express and enunciate what it thinks and feels;
finally, from the sphere of the Moon, it acquires the strength needed to propagate by the
generation and increase of bodies. This lunar sphere, which is last and lowest with respect to
divine bodies, is first and highest with respect to earthly bodies. This lunar body, as it were the
sediment of celestial matter, at the same time is found to be the purest substance of animal
matter." (Ch.XIl)

This teaching underlies the practice of genethliacal astrology as it was originally conceived. In
the nativity the 'Chaldeans' saw a chart of the astral bodies, as the journey through the
planetary spheres had structured them. Correctly interpreted, this chart would reveal the native's
constituent parts, material or more subtle. It would speak of his daimon, the guardian angel who
would accompany him on his voyage here below and watch over the fulfilment of his fate.[5] It
would describe, therefore, the earthly existence which had devolved upon him.

The Firmament

Beyond the threshold of the world stands the firmament (from the Latinfirmamentum: pillar,
support), the vault of heaven, pillar of the stars, named 'sphere of the fixed stars'.

16
The Earth, or rather the observer, is located at the centre.

The Moon is the nearest planet. She receives and transmits to the observer the action of all the
other celestial agencies.

Then, from the nearest planet to the furthest: Mercury, Venus, Sun, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn.

The Ascension of The Soul

The Poimandres, first treatise of the Corpus Hermeticum, reveals what happens at death and
after death. In order to return in pristine purity to the divine, the soul must effect a divestment, in
reverse order, of the astral raiment it has donned. The soul first quits the material element
encountered in the last place, namely the stuff of nature, that is the body furnished by nature. In
the last place it quits the first material element encountered in its fall, namely the astral vestment
of the highest sphere. Death entails a sequence of effects:

 the body is consigned to dissolution, and the visible form disappears;

 the temperament (subject in each case to the individual blend of the four elements),
henceforth inert, is consigned to the personal daimon (the guardian angel which, at birth,
takes charge of the newborn);

 the bodily senses return to their respective planetary sources.

 ire and lust, irrational passions, revert to unreasoning nature.

After this first divestment, the soul begins its ascension. Soaring upward through the armature
of spheres, it casts off at each station the passion assumed there in the course of its descent: at
the 1st station (Moon), the faculty of increase and decrease; at the 2nd (Mercury), malice and
cunning; at the 3rd (Venus), the illusion of desire; at the 4th (Sun), the passion for command; at
the 5th (Mars), audacity and temerity; at the 6th (Jupiter), the lust for wealth; at the 7th (Saturn),
the falsehood that ensnares.

"And thereupon, stripped of the vestments generated by the armature of spheres, the logos
enters the ogdoadic essence (the 8th heaven, of pure ether, pure light), having nought now
save its own power." (Corpus Hermeticum I,26).

But it mounts yet higher, to the very Powers divine who reside above the ogdoadic essence. It
becomes in turn a Power, and enters into God.

"For such is the blessed consummation for those possessed of gnosis: to become God."
(Corpus Hermeticum I,26).

This ascension to the Powers divine is not, however, automatic, the spheres being equally

17
obstacles impossible to overcome. Since the soul's existence as a human being determines the
heaven it can attain upon divestment, it risks being unable to traverse one or other of the
spheres and plunging back into terrestrial existence. By fasting and prayer, by sacred rites and
the aid of mediating powers (gods for the Greeks or Egyptians, angelic hierarchies for the
medieval magi) incarnate man can ease from here below his divestment and his inner
transmutation.

© Denis Labouré & Michael Edwards (translator), 1994; published online December 2006.
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………

U : So the zodiac constellation system, is there the same system on every planet in the universe ?

C : Actually, usually there are 12 zodiac signs, that connect with the 12 rays emanating from the Source,
but the actual exact meaning of those signs vary from planet to planet and from star system to star
system.

U : Ok. How about the 13th sign and 14th signs that alternate every 13000 years, is that true ?

C : This is just a symbolic representation, because there's actually the 13th ray which is the mystery of
the free will, and it has been integrated in the zodiac as a 13th sign. And yes you also have various
interpretations of 14 signs, which actually describe more the stargate between the galactic central sun
and the edge of the galaxy.

U : So the silver and golden gate ?

C : Exactly.

U : Ok. Because these two constellations, the 13th and the 14th, they kind of touch the ecliptic, so do you
think it's only an interpretation, or is there an actual zodiac sign ?

C : Yes they touch the ecliptic because basically the solar system that we are now in, is entrained to the
cycles of the galactic central sun, and the tilt of the ecliptic is not a coincidence.

U : Ok. Yes it's synchronized with the beating of the central sun.

C : Exactly.

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THE GATE OF LIFE AND DEATH

Thus the Zodiac and the planets are as a book in which we may read the history of Humanity during
past ages, and they also give a key to the future which is in store for us. In the famous Zodiac in the
Temple of Denderah, Cancer is not pictured as we have it in modern days. There it is a beetle, a scarab.
This was the emblem of the soul, and Cancer has always been known in ancient times, as well as among
modern mystics, to be the sphere of the soul, the gate of life in the Zodiac whence the spirits coming into
rebirth, enter our sub-lunary conditions. It is therefore aptly ruled by the Moon which is the planet of
fecundation, and it is noteworthy that we find Capricorn, which is its opposite, ruled by Saturn the Planet
of Death and Chaos, who is mystically depicted as "the reaper with his scythe and hour glass in hand."
These two opposite signs are therefore turning points in the soul's career. Cancer and Capricorn
respectively mark the highest ascent of the Sun into the Northern Hemisphere, and its lowest descent into

18
the South. We observe that during the summer when the Sun is in the sphere of Cancer and allied signs,
fecundation and growth are the order of the day. But when the Sun is in the South, in Capricorn, we have
winter, when nature is dead. The fruits of the summer are then consumed and assimilated by us. As a
circle dance of the Sun among the twelve signs determines the seasons of the year when direct, causing
the germination of myriads of seeds cast in the earth, also the mating of the fauna, which then makes the
world alive with the sights and sounds of manifested life, and at another time leaves the world dumb, dull
and drear in winter's gloom, under the sway of Saturn, so by the slower backward movement, known as
the Precession of the Equinox, does it produce the great changes which we know as Evolution. In fact,
this precessional measure of the sun marks the birth and death of races, nations and their religions, for
the pictorial Zodiac is a symbolical presentation of our past, present and future development.

Rosicrucian

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

What is not so widely known however, (although the Ancients knew of it), is that the orbit of the Moon
symbolizes a 'ring-pass-not' (i.e. a metaphysical barrier) that prevents us from being able to leave the Earth's
energy system (or planetary 'aura'). In other words, the Moon is like a gatekeeper who admits the entrance
of souls to planet Earth and who guards the gate so that none may leave until they have developed the
attribute of physical 'non-attachment'.

When we die and leave our physical body we enter into (what is called) the 'sub-lunar' realm. Symbolically
speaking, this realm fills the space between the Earth and the orbit of the Moon. It's a realm that combines
elemental earth (from planet Earth) and elemental water (from the Moon) and therefore was known (in
ancient times) to resemble a quagmire—i.e. a region of 'mud'.

"Macrobius tells us about the opinion of some philosophers who think that
the moon is the demarcation of life and death and that souls falling from
there towards earth are incarnated, while those rising from the moon to the
heavens are returning to their former celestial life." From: Mystery and
Secrecy in the Nag Hammadi Collection and Other Ancient Literature: Ideas
and Practices. Pg. 26. Brill, 2012.

Astrologically, the Moon rules the zodiacal sign Cancer, and (in a similar vein) the Ancients thought that
the human soul enters the wheel of the Earth's Tropical zodiac through Cancer and leaves it via Capricorn.

"There was quite a bit of speculation in ancient literature about the exact
location of the star gates that the soul journeys through when it
incarnates (or descends) and when it exits (or ascends). The neo-
Pythagorean philosophers Numenius and Cronius identified the ascension gate
as Capricorn, while the gate to descend was through Cancer. These were the
winter and summer tropics, the "gates of the sun" or the "mouths" or
portals for the ascent and descent of the soul." Ibid. Pg. 25.

The same idea is expressed in the teachings of Alice Bailey.

This symbolism of the soul incarnating through Cancer is basically the same as the notion of the soul
descending from the Moon to the Earth. Both images emphasize the principle of physical/emotional
attachment as exemplified by Cancer and its ruler, the Moon. In fact, the sub-lunar realm can be imagined
as being an expression (or extension) of the sign Cancer. Interestingly, the soul is said to exit the Earth's
zodiac through Capricorn—the sign that is opposite Cancer in the zodiacal circle—the sign that embodies
most strongly the principle of 'non-attachment'.

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 The planet Saturn rules Capricorn, and like the Moon, Saturn's orbit defines a 'ring pass-not'—one that
prevents us from leaving our solar system until we have developed and integrated (in consciousness) the
attributes of independence and emotional detachment (among others). Thus, the Moon and Saturn work
together to help free Humanity from our dependence on the 'Earth' (and the Form principle in general).

So, on death we are thought to pass into the sub-lunar realm wherein our general future is determined
according to how well we have developed the attribute of physical 'non-attachment'. If we have adequately
cultivated this attribute then we're able to pass by the Moon (i.e. the 'gate-keeper' of the sub-lunar realm)
and leave the energetic sphere of the Earth/Moon system. If we are found wanting then we're compelled to
descend and reincarnate upon the Earth.

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I fijind it fascinating that in book four of the Pistis Sophia, the fijive abysses of Hades, each ruled by its
own demon, open and release their prisoners only when certain planets are aligned in specifijic Zodiacal
signs. From the information given, Alexandra von Lieven was able to map the correspondences,
revealing a trine relationship between Jupiter and Venus (in diagonal aspect, 120 degrees apart) with
respect to certain houses.96

Once released from these prisons, the souls then enter the Zodiac before becoming embodied again.
Could we be dealing with a similar system in the Peratic literature, where we fijind an ascension gate
into the Zodiacal pyramid, a gate between Hades and the heavens guarded by Korē and her fijive
assistants? Could the reference to a pyramid of twelve angles suggest a certain trine alignment of the
planets in houses that opens the gate to release souls? It is a seductive possibility, but not conclusive

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Paracelsus said: "The body comes from the elements, the soul from the stars, and the spirit from God. All that the
intellect can conceive of comes from the stars [the spirits of the stars, rather than the material constellations]."

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ARCHONS AS SEVEN RULERS OF THE PLANET

This very ancient idea of what we might call an inborn bill of debt to fate is the Western version of a prenatal karma.
It is the archons, the seven rulers of the planets, who imprint its fate upon the soul. Thus Priscillian (d. c. 385) says
that the soul, on its descent to birth, passes through “certain circles” where it is made captive by evil powers, “and in
accordance with the will of the victorious prince is forced into divers bodies, and his handwriting inscribed upon it.”
Presumably this means that the soul is imprinted with the influences of the various planetary spheres. The descent of
the soul through the planetary houses corresponds to its passage through the gates of the planets as described by
Origen: the first gate is of lead and is correlated with Saturn, from which it is clear that Maier is following an old
tradition
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